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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2016)
Polk County News Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 22, 2016 11A USACE seeks unexploded ordnances, munitions By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer MONMOUTH — Property owners in Monmouth have been getting requests from the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- neers (USACE) to access their property in search of unexploded ordnances and munitions. The site is part of a for- merly used defense site for Camp Adair, near Corvallis. “It’s kind of an interest- ing story,” said Scott Mc- C l u re, Mo n m o u t h c i t y manager. “When they had Camp Adair (during World War II), they’d drop bombs. Apparently people have just found ordnances, so they said let’s go ahead and do a complete survey and try and find everything that’s out there.” Kurt Baer, project man- ager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Mo., said money for this project and others like it was authorized by Con- gress in 2002. A 2007 investigation of the Monmouth area found that the property had his- toric munitions finds. “The munitions we’re looking for now have a high- er risk to cause human health and environmental concerns, so this project got a priority and funding,” Baer said. He added that he isn’t aware of imminent danger to property owners. “We have a history that high explosives were used at this site,” he said. “We have some history docu- mentations that munitions have been found in the past.” Out of 338 requests for ac- cess, 108 landowners have responded with permission so far, Baer said. The procedure for searching for munitions can be complex, as Baer said the USACE doesn’t want to be a burden on property owners. “We’ll contact the prop- erty owner and ask them when’s a good time to come out,” he said. “There’s a lot of farming there. When’s the dormant season? When (are we) not going to both- er them too much?” The USACE personnel will then take an all-terrain vehi- cle on the property with a ground-penetrating radar looking for metal debris. “We’ll look at it and see if it’s munitions debris or not,” Baer said. “We’ll take the data, go back and analyze it. We’re looking for clusters of subsurface anomalies.” Once the data has been analyzed, Baer said person- nel will dig up a few items in the fields of metal debris. “Sometimes it’s an old farmstead; sometimes it’s an old tractor,” Baer said. “We’re just trying to deter- mine there’s no munitions.” The search hasn’t officially started while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seek- ing permission from landowners, but Baer said he has already gotten reports of munitions in the area. “Some people have called me and sent me pictures of things they have, usually on their fireplace mantel,” he said. For more information, property owners should contact: kurt.h.baer@ usace.army.mil. District uses feedback from community in CTE extension plan By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — More than 1,500 parents, students and community members took Dallas School District’s sur- vey on goals for “career technical education” (CTE). That feedback is being re- flected in the district’s plans for CTE expansion at the high school and increasing the focus on “science, tech- nology, engineering and math” (STEM) at all grade levels. Dallas High School Princi- pal Steve Spencer said plan- ning for adding programs began last week. When asked what pro- grams would be of interest, health services was the top suggestion on the survey. Spencer said working with Salem Health West Valley in Dallas and staff already at the high school, DHS could have a program within the next school year. Superintendent Michelle Johnstone said the 2016-17 budget includes two full- time positions for CTE in- struction and online pro- gram Odysseyware, which offers a number of CTE courses. For the full version of this s t o r y, v i s i t o n l i n e a t www.polkio.com. ment. She married the love of her life, David J. Alison, on April 5, 1997, in Rickreall. They loved to travel and spend time with their family. She enjoyed caring for others, inspiring them to strive for their dreams, and not letting difficulties or dis- abilities stand in the way of enjoying life. Her mother, Marie Lebeck (Smith), and brother, Duane Smith, died before she did. Survived by husband, David Alison; sister, Laura Verdegan; and extended family. To leave an online tribute: FarnstromMortuary.com. Burggraf; nine grandchil- dren; sister, Merceda Hask- ins; and extended family. Sister, Lenore, and his parents died before he did. Memorial services will be on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Upper Park in Falls City. It will be a potluck. OBITUARIES Douglas Wiley ‘Jiggs’ Freeman Aug. 7, 1922 – June 15, 2016 Douglas Freeman, 93, of Salem, died June 15. Douglas was born in Yon- calla to Paul Gerald and Maud Jane Freeman. Dou- glas was given the moniker “Jiggs” at birth by his father after the main char- acter in t h e beloved c o m i c s t r i p , “Bringing Up Fa- ther.” The nickname lasted a lifetime. Jiggs moved with his fam- ily to Portland at a very young age, before coming to Oak Grove, west of Salem, in 1929. He attended Eliat Ele- mentary in Portland, a one- room school in Oak Grove and graduated from Inde- pendence High School in 1939. Jiggs lived most of his life in the family home in Oak Grove, nearly 77 years. Jiggs married Thelma Mae Barker on Oct. 28, 1945. They celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary to- gether before her death in 2013. They lived in Willamina before moving to the Free- man family farm, where they were a part of the small farming community of Oak Grove. Jiggs and his brother, Gerald, carried on the family farm, Freeman Land and Livestock, for many years, growing grains, hay and cherries. Jiggs and Thelma raised a family of five children, Jency, Dwight, Lynn, Harold and Willetta (Willie). Jiggs was a member of the Oak Grove Grange for 51 years. He served as Grange Master for 12 years and rep- resented the Oak Grove Grange at statewide conven- tions. The Grange Hall is the setting for many Freeman Family celebrations, includ- ing Thanksgiving dinners for the last 75 years, continuing to this date. Following their retirement from farming in 1984, Jiggs and Thelma moved to their retirement home overlook- ing the Willamette Valley. Before his death, Jiggs lived with Thelma in the Gibson Creek Retirement community and at a group home in West Salem follow- ing her death. Jiggs worked at Western Oregon University (then Western Oregon State Col- lege) for several years main- taining the campus land- scape and sports fields. Jiggs and Thelma were avid square dancers, belong- ing to the Wagon Wheelers, Braids and Braves, and Salem Square Dance Associ- ation for many years. Survived by children, five grandchildren and six great- grandchildren, as well as ex- tended family and friends. Sons, Dwight and Harold; and siblings, Gerald and Harold Freeman, Mar y Davis, Grace Herzberg, Wil- letta Bannister and Barbara (Bobbie) Spencer, died be- fore he did. Memorial service will be Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Rest- lawn Funeral Home. Cele- bration following at the Oak Grove Community Grange, 5670 Oak Grove Road, Rick- reall. Donations may be made to the Oak Grove Communi- ty Grange in care of 22705 Business 18, Willamina, OR 97396. Condolences may also be directed to 22705 Business 18, Willamina, OR 97396. Paul David Reimer April 3, 1926 – June 17, 2016 Paul David Reimer, 89, of Dallas, died on Friday. Paul was born to David and Sarah Reimer and raised in the Salt Creek area around Dallas. He married Mary Penner in January 1949. They lived on the family farm raising cattle and hay. He also worked for Willamette In- dustries in Dallas until he re- tired. P a u l and Mary moved to Keizer to be closer to their daughter and son- i n - l a w, and to help them with their farm until, due to health is- sues, he could no longer help. Survived by wife, Mary; daughter, Alice; one grand- daughter, and sister, Flo- rence Bowman. Celebration of life will be held on Friday at 11 a.m. at the Evangelical Bible Church, 1175 SE Howe St. in Dallas. Contributions may be made to EBC missions. The Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center handled arrange- ments. To leave an online tribute: www.dallastribute.com. Ovid (Doc) Long May 27, 1924 – May 6, 2016 Ovid (Doc) Long, 91, of Independence, died on May 6. Ovid was born in Fort Scott, Kan., to Ethel and Charles Long, of Blue Mound, Kan. The Long fam- ily moved to Independence in 1934. Ovid graduated from In- dependence High School in 1942. He attended Oregon Col- lege of Ed- ucation (now West- ern Oregon University) in Mon- mouth a year prior to Amer- ica’s declaration of war and entry into World War II. Ovid joined the Navy in 1943. He was trained as a med- ical corpsman and spent three years in the South Pa- cific War Theater. He was honorably discharged in 1946. He married Virginia Link on July 8, 1947. Together they had three sons, Carl, Steve and Paul. Ovid earned his bachelor’s degree from Oregon State College. He spent his working ca- reer of more than 35 years as a local farmer and agri-busi- ness man in the Independ- ence area. He was an avid hunter and fisherman his entire life. He was a member of Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks No. 1950 most of his adult life, a founding member of the Oregon Fruit and Vegetable Association, and a member of the Hop Growers Associa- tion. Ovid and Virginia enjoyed traveling. His favorite desti- nation was Kona, Hawaii, where he traveled every win- ter. Virginia died on April 5, 2010. Survived by three sons, four grandchildren, five step-grandchildren, five step-great-grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. Coffee and cake celebra- tion of life will be at Green Villa Barn, 321 Independ- ence Highway, from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Mary Louise Alison July 26, 1961 – June 8, 2016 Mary Louise Alison, 54, of Rickreall, died on June 8. She was born to Robert and Marie Smith in Forest Grove. She graduated from Central High School in 1980. Mary went on to work for the federal highway depart- Donald Earl Bernard William ‘Patrick’ O’Malley Aug. 22, 1949 – June 16, 2016 Memorial service for William “Patrick” O’Malley is at 7 p.m. on July 1 at Bridge- port Chapel in Dallas. Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center handled arrange- ments. To leave an online tribute: www.dallastribute.com. May 25, 1936 – June 10, 2016 Donald Earl Bernard, 80, of Falls City, died on June 10. He was born to Clair Bernard and Luella Gresset in Portland. He joined the Army and served in the Ko- rean War. He was married to Terry Bernard for 43 years. Don en- joyed fish- ing, pic- nics, read- ing, jigsaw puzzles and flowers. 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