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.
Survivors include wife,
Terry; children, Beth Cross,
Russ Bernard and Donna
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