Polk County News
6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 25, 2016
Polk No. 1 joins
It’s all in the details
forces with CERT
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Steve Milligan, owner of Steve’s Abalone Jewels, shows his handcrafted jewelry at the Home-Based Business Fair
on Friday at the Independence Elks Lodge. About 20 small and home-based businesses attended the event, filled
with informational speakers throughout the afternoon.
Explore: Take a
peek at offerings
Continued from Page 1A
The county’s rich history
in agriculture brings local
food straight to your table at
restaurants and farmers
markets. In Polk County, we
still believe in making food
from scratch with fresh in-
gredients.
Whether you’re looking to
stretch your legs, canoe or
raft, or just lounge around
and relax, you’ll find it here
in Polk County. Enjoy the
journey.
Don’t see your favorite
thing about Polk County in
Explore? Send us an email
and we’ll put it on the list for
n e x t y e a r ’s e d i t i o n :
ionews@polkio.com, sub-
ject: Explore.
Chief: Alcalde resigns
after eight months
Continued from Page 1A
“It’s just frustrating for
the other
people
that don’t
t h i n k
things are
happen-
ing fast
enough,”
Snair said.
Alcalde
“No t a l l
the time does everything go
like everyone thinks it
should.”
Snair said Alcalde will
likely stay another two or
three weeks to wrap up
projects.
Assistant Chief Neal
Olson will serve as interim
until the board can begin
the process of looking for a
new full-time chief.
INDEPENDENCE — The
Polk Fire District No. 1
board of directors decided
Thursday to contribute to
Polk County CERT (county
emergency response
team).
To be considered part of
the CERT program, the dis-
trict will contribute $4,000
as a donation for the fiscal
year 2015-16, and incorpo-
rate $4,000 into its budget
on an annual basis. Fire
Chief Al Alcalde said the
money could be taken out
of the volunteer fund.
The money would help
pay for CERT’s insurance
costs. Right now, CERT Di-
rector Kimber Townsend
receives an annual stipend
of $12,000, paid for by the
cities of Dallas, Independ-
ence and Monmouth.
With the additional con-
tribution from Polk No. 1, it
will ease costs by the city of
Independence, which foots
the majority of the bill for
the program’s insurance
costs.
Townsend said CERT’s
insurance depends on how
many hours volunteers
work, and can fluctuate be-
tween $5,000 to $10,000 a
year.
With the fire district’s
contribution, Townsend
said 97 CERT-trained vol-
unteers will be at the ready
to help the district in what-
ever capacity is needed,
from traffic control during
wildfire season to firefight-
er support and rehabilita-
tion.
“If eight people come
and need more help with
food and more water, that’s
an easy call to CERT,”
Townsend said. “We can
help with evacuations. We
already support your dis-
trict several times for train-
ing.”
Alcalde said contributing
to the program will help
the whole county be more
prepared for a disaster or
emergency situation.
“We do not have a good
system for a major emer-
gency,” Alcalde said. “That
has to change. That’s not
good.”
He pointed out that peo-
ple in Polk County, includ-
ing first responders, need
to be prepared to maintain
themselves for about two
weeks. Joining the CERT
program is a step toward
better preparedness, Al-
calde said.
“It provides an avenue
for more volunteers in a
major emergency, a major
crisis,” he said. “Having the
CERT teams would give us
another avenue to provide
better service — we’re not
going to be able to help
everyone.”
The board decided to
make a donation to CERT
for the 2015-16 year be-
cause the budget had al-
ready been prepared, but
wanted to know how they
could work it into the 2016-
17 budget and on an annu-
al basis.
For more on prepared-
ness, see the June 1 Itemiz-
er-Observer.
OBITUARIES
Patricia Avis
Benjamin
Aug. 9, 1927 – May 7, 2016
Patricia Avis Benjamin,
88, of Dallas, died May 7.
She was born in Sunder-
land, Vt., to Irving and Mar-
jorie (Pike) Thompson.
She married Howard Ben-
jamin on Nov. 1, 1945. They
moved to Torrance, Calif.,
with the Thompson family,
and then moved to Eugene
in 1962.
Survived by son Rick
(Shirley) Benjamin; daugh-
ter Candice Benjamin Jones;
four grandchildren; and five
great-grandchildren. She
was preceded in death by
her husband Howard and
sister Nova Carr (Thomp-
son).
A private family gather
was held. The Dallas Mortu-
ary Tribute Center handled
arrangements. To leave an
online tribute: www.dallas-
tribute.com.
Janet Darrene
(Comstock)
Leibrant
Feb. 3, 1935 – May 4, 2016
Janet (Comstock)
Leibrant, 81, formerly of
Monmouth, died May 4 at
her home in Kingman, Ariz.
She was born in Salem to
Harold and Katrina (Staats)
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Comstock, of Monmouth,
and graduated from Central
High School in 1953.
Janet served as a nurse in
Houston, Phoenix, Ariz., and
in Kingman.
Husband, Patrick Arnold
Leibrant; son, Fredrick
Lewis Leibrant; and brother,
Ronald Day Comstock all
died before she did.
Survivors include daugh-
ter Marla Kay (Philip) Kiri-
akidois; sons, James Arnold
(Cory) and William James
Leibrant, all of Kingman; 10
grandchildren; seven great-
grandchildren; and twin sis-
ter Janice Marrene (Com-
stock) Chitwood Newton.
Celebration will be held at
a later date in the Kingman
area. Letters of condolence
may be mailed to Leibrant
Family, 3709 John L., King-
man, AZ 86409.
Evelyn Clare
Ripplinger
Nov. 27, 1924 – May 18, 2016
Evelyn Clare Ripplinger,
91, of Dallas, died May 18 in
the Dallas Retirement Vil-
lage.
She was born in Bellville,
Kan., to Cecil and Goldie
Thompson Carpenter.
She was a member of St.
Philip Catholic Church, and
enjoyed swimming at the
YWCA and visiting with
friends.
Husband Frank Sr. and
daughter Christine Ann both
died before she did.
Survived by children, Bar-
bara Johannsen, of
Ketchikan, Alaska, Frank Jr.,
of St. George, Utah, John, of
Dallas, Jack, of Clatskanie,
Jerry, of Vancouver, Wash.,
Paulette Sides, of Algeria,
and Paul, of Ketchikan; 15
grandchildren; and 23 great-
grandchildren.
She was preceded in
death by two sisters and a
brother.
Services were held. Burial
was in the Willamette Me-
morial Park in Albany.
To leave an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
Ralph Paul Wetter
Aug. 26, 1939 – May 18, 2016
Ralph Paul Wetter, 76, for-
merly of Falls City, died on
May 18 at Brookdale Senior
Living/Alzheimer’s and De-
mentia, formerly known as
Clare Bridge in Salem. He
fought a brave, arduous bat-
tle against Alzheimer’s dis-
ease.
He was
born to
Cora M.
and Paul H.
Wetter in
Buffalo,
N . Y. T h e
f a m i l y
moved to
Corvallis in
1949, set-
tling first in
Falls City,
and then
moving to Corvallis, where
Ralph graduated from Cor-
vallis High School.
Ralph joined the Naval
Reserves and was convinced
to attend Submarine School
and Training in New Lon-
don, Conn. He trained,
worked, and learned his skill
as a diesel mechanic, which
became his livelihood.
Ralph was a handyman,
carpenter, fisherman, “Mr.
Fix-It,” and became a heavy
farm equipment mechanic
for Polk County. He began
his work at Polk County
Farmers Co-op, which be-
came Ag-West Supply, as it is
known today. Ralph was a
member of the Elks Lodge in
Independence, and very ac-
tive in the Dallas
Wingdingers Remote Con-
trol airplane group in Dallas.
He built and flew many air-
planes as his hobby and
weekend entertainment.
These planes are now on
display at the Evergreen Mu-
seum in McMinnville.
Survived by wife, Donna
Wetter, of Dallas; son Brian
(Allison) Wetter, of Bend;
daughter, Dawne Wetter, of
Keizer; one grandchild; and
sister Helen (Richard) Hart,
of Cheyenne, Wy.
At his request, no formal
services will be held. Private
interment will be in the Dal-
las Cemetery.
The family requests dona-
tions to the Alzheimer’s Net-
work in Oregon, Serenity
Hospice, or Willamette Val-
ley Humane Society.
The Dallas Mortuary Trib-
ute Center handled arrange-
ments.
To leave an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
Merle William
Hague
June 16, 1941 – May 21, 2016
Memorial service for
Merle William Hague will be
at 3 p.m. on Tuesday at the
Valley Life Center, Dallas.
Visitation will be held
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on
Thursday and Friday at Dal-
las Mortuary Tribute Center.
Interment will be at Rest-
lawn Memory Gardens in
Salem.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments.
To leave an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
Carl A. Koenig
May 28, 1925 – May 21, 2016
Carl A. Koenig, 90, of Dal-
las, died on Saturday in Dal-
las.
Services will be held at 2
p.m. on Saturday at First
Christian Church, 1079 SE
Jefferson St., Dallas.
Obituary
Information
Obituary information must
be submitted by 4 p.m. on the
Monday before publication to
be included in the newspaper.
Information can be brought
or mailed to the Itemizer-Ob-
server, 147 SE Court St., Dallas,
OR 97338, or emailed to
ionews@polkio.com.