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
