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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (May 11, 2016)
Polk County News 2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 11, 2016 Honoring a fallen son NEWS IN BRIEF Third property tax payments due POLK COUNTY — The Polk County Tax Office reminds tax- payers who pay their property taxes in trimester payments that the third installment is due by Monday. The 15th falls on Sun- day allowing an extra day to pay. For more information: 1-888- 643-8041, or visit www.co.polk.or.us. Payments that are mailed must bear the May 16 postmark to avoid interest. Monmouth PD on alert for seat belts MONMOUTH — From Monday through May 29, the Mon- mouth Police Department will join other law enforcement agencies throughout the state by conducting specialized traffic safety enforcement operations. Oregon State Police, sheriffs and local police will be working day and night to increase prop- er safety belt and child car seat use during a statewide traffic enforcement “blitz.” Officers will also be on the alert for persons exceeding the posted speed limit or violating the “hands-free” cellphone law. This enhanced enforcement is funded through USDOT’s Nation- al Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Officers from the Monmouth Police Department will work extra hours dedicating time to traffic enforcement and educa- tion. Celebrate history at Gentle House JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer U.S. Marine Sgt. Ian Tawney’s mother, Theda Tawney, center holding flag, looks over the unveiled sign at the newly dedicated park named after her son on Saturday. A large crowd gathered at the park near Main Street and Walnut Avenue in Dallas for the ceremony, which included the Marines, the Patriot Riders and Dallas Fire & EMS. The park was named after the city of Dallas held a poll for citizens to vote on suggested names. Falls City welcomes in style By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer FALLS CITY — People driving into Falls City will be greeted with a new “wel- come” sign. It’s replica of the old uniquely Falls City design — two axes crossed in the cen- ter with the city’s date of in- corporation, 1891 — carved into a log. Those who took a close look at the old sign knew a replacement has been nec- essary for quite some time, as the old log was rapidly falling apart. Falls City Mayor Terry Un- gricht said according to his research, the old sign was in- stalled at some point in the 1970s. He said the city’s parks committee had a discussion about the past-its-prime sign recently and that set in motion a volunteer-led ef- fort to give the city’s wel- come an improved look. Only work required by the city was installation, which the public works depart- ment did on April 22. Un- gricht said Weyerhaeuser do- nated a log and Dallas Sign donated a template copying the old sign. Falls City residents Warren Gookin and Cliff Lauder pro- vided the finishing touches. Gookin removed the bark and carved the sign, and Lauder volunteered to build a mechanism to secure it in place. “It was truly a volunteer inspired and completed project and will be seen for many years or decades to come,” Ungricht said. MONMOUTH — May is National Historic Preservation Month. To celebrate, Monmouth’s Historic Commission is sponsoring a Historic Preservation Celebration on Saturday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Historic Gentle House, 855 Monmouth Ave. N. The celebration will feature a presentation by Tom Branigar, archivist at the Polk County Museum, about historic develop- ment of Monmouth near Main Street Park. Terri Gregory will talk about the Howell House, which is included on the National Register of Historic Places and is now the home of MaMere’s B&B. The event features other guest speakers and includes a tour of the Gentle House Museum. Refreshments and desserts will also be served. For more information: Mark Fancey, Community Develop- ment Director: 503-751-0147. Eola raises money, donations for troops RICKREALL — Eola Hills Wine Cellars announced Eola Cares, a campaign to donate $1 per bottle of sales of its newly released Patriot Red wine toward care packages for American troops sta- tioned overseas. The public can join the effort in May, bringing items needed for care packages to any Eola Hills tasting room. A free wine tasting will be offered to those bringing in care package items (ages 21 and older). Care packages will be assembled at the end of May with the help of volunteers, and then shipped to troops with an Oregon connection. Each care package will be filled with $15 to $20 worth of toiletries and food items. A list of sought-after items can be found in the tasting rooms and online at eolahillswin- ery.com/RED. The Eola Cares donation campaign ties into the existing grassroots campaign called RED: Remember Everyone De- ployed, where people wear a red shirt on Fridays to recognize military personnel stationed overseas. Eola is taking RED one step further by generating the money to send care packages to those same troops. For more information: eolahillswinery.com. JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer See something interesting happening in Polk County? Call us at 503-623-2373. We check out your news tips! Visitors and residents are greeted by a new sign. 2016 Spring PEP Talks Series Stand Out, Get Noticed, See Results • All workshops 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Henry Hill Education Suport Center 750 S 5th St., Independence Tuesday, May 17 • Cost per workshop: • Learn Top Marketing Tools $15 for MICC Members • Review Free/Low Cost Tools $20 for Non-Members • Understand Do’s & Don’ts Includes lunch from Arena Sports Bar & Grill Presented by: • Register: www.micc-or.org Robert Sudeith, or 503-838-4268 Oregon Lithoprint Monmouth-Independence Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center The Itemizer-Observer Re-Elect Tuesday, June 21 • Know How to Work a Room • Pitch Your Business Efficiently • Engage Others Effectively Presented by: Jeremy McKern, Tunnel Radio Your community news source Aaron Felton ____________ for ____________ Polk County District Attorney ✓ Tough ✓ Tested ✓ Trusted • Effective crime prevention programs • Holding offenders accountable • Supporting law enforcement