Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 29, 2016 3A
State report
finds county at
financial risk
DEADLINES
NEWS DEADLINES
For inclusion in the
Wednesday edition of the
Itemizer-Observer:
Social news (weddings,
engagements, anniver-
saries, births, milestones) —
5 p.m. on Thursday.
Community events —
Noon on Friday for both the
Community Notebook and
Community Calendar.
Letters to the editor —
10 a.m. on Monday.
Obituaries — 4 p.m. on
Monday.
ADvERTISING DEADLINES
Retail display ads — 3
p.m. Friday.
Classified display ads
— 11 a.m. on Monday.
Classified line ads —
Noon on Monday. Classified
ads are updated daily on
www.polkio.com.
Public notices — Noon
on Friday.
CORRECTIONS
The Polk County Itemizer-
Observer is committed to pub-
lishing accurate news, feature
and sports reports. If you see
anything that requires a cor-
rection or clarification, call the
newsroom at 503-623-2373 or
send an email to
ementzer@polkio.com.
WEBSITE
The Polk County Itemizer-
Observer website,
www.polkio.com, is updat-
ed each week by Wednes-
day afternoon. There, you
will find nearly every story
that appears in the print
version of the newspaper,
as well as some items, in-
cluding additional photos,
that do not appear in print
due to space limitations.
The Itemizer-Observer is
also on Facebook, Twitter
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breaking news, links to sto-
ries, sports scores updates
and more.
WEATHER
RECORDED
HIGH LOW
June 21............. 77
June 22............. 82
June 23............. 65
June 24............. 70
June 25............. 81
June 26............. 90
June 27............. 89
RAIN
50
50
54
51
50
53
57
.00
.T
.37
.02
.00
.00
.00
Rainfall during June — 1.00 in.
Rain through June 27 — 21.30 in.
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Lee Wanner opened Northwest Music Studio on Fairview Avenue after learning that
Dallas no longer had a music store. He offers lessons, instruments and accessories.
Learn to play a tune
Northwest Music Studios offers music lessons for all
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Lee Wanner
began taking music lessons
in a small music store.
His first job at 17 years old
was in a similar music out-
let. His first students took
lessons from him in the
same type of store.
When Wanner, 28, moved
to Dallas last year, he was
surprised the town didn’t
have one.
“There was only one rea-
son I thought I had to go out
of town, to go to a music
store,” Wanner said, adding
that he couldn’t be the only
person having to do that.
Getting to know the area a
little better, he found an ac-
tive music scene. Wanner
began thinking about open-
ing his own store to fill the
void.
That vision became reality
on June 1 when Wanner
opened Northwest Music
Studio on Fairview Avenue
in Dallas.
Northwest Music Studio
offers lessons, instrument
accessories, sheet music,
song books, used instru-
ment consignment and cus-
tom ordering. The retail side
of the store will probably de-
Play on
What: Northwest
Music Studios.
Where: 1254 SW
Fairview Ave., Dallas.
Hours: Lesson
hours: Tuesday and
Wednesday – 10 a.m.
to 7 p.m.; Saturday and
Sunday – 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. Store hours:
Thursday and Friday –
10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Satur-
day and Sunday – 3
p.m. to 7 p.m.
Contact: 503-519-
9805.
For more informa-
tion: http://northwest-
musicstudio.com.
velop slowly as Wanner gets
to know what musicians in
the area need.
Wanner teaches guitar,
bass guitar, piano and
drums, and may have teach-
ers offer lessons for other in-
struments, such as upright
bass and violin. Through les-
sons, Wanner is sharing
something he loves and see-
ing that develop in other
people.
Wanner began taking
music lessons at age 9, but
his love of music started
much earlier and solidified
when he found an old guitar
in his mom’s closet and
began to play.
Wanner pursued his mu-
sical passion to the Musi-
cians Institute in Los Ange-
les, the beginning of 10 years
of “surviving LA,” as he puts
it.
He moved to Dallas in
search of a better lifestyle
and what he refers to as “a
higher caliber of people.” It
just so happened that his
aunt and uncle live here, so
Dallas was the first stop on
that journey.
He didn’t need to look any
further.
“There’s definitely some
cool people here,” Wanner
said.
Now he’s brought to Dal-
las what he felt was sorely
needed. Wanner said busi-
ness owners open stores be-
cause they want to fill a need
or because the service or
item they provide is what
they know.
“It’s quite a wonderful co-
incidence that I’m doing
both,” Wanner said.
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Monday 7:00 p.m.
July 11th
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The 2016 Senior All Night Party Committee would
like to give a BIG THANKS to the following businesses and
organizations for their support and donations toward our
Alcohol and Drug free Senior All Night Party.
The Senior All Night Party provides a safe option for
graduates to attend on graduation night.
• Polk Victim Impact Panel • Dutch Bros • Mid Columbia Bus Company
• Dallas School District • Domino’s • Van Well Building Supply • Walt Markee Photography
• Kliever’s Carpet & Flooring • Oregon Family Health • Marquis Spa • OSU Credit Union
• Dallas Fire Department • Les Schwab • Oregon Schools Employees Association
• En-Core Fitness Personal Training • Woolsey Family Dental • Citizens Bank
• Avenue Mortgage • Home Comfort • Safeway • Chen’s Family Dish • Mira Mar • Pressed
• Walmart • North Dallas Bar & Grill • Washington St. Steakhouse & Pub • Murphy’s Grill
• Costco • A-Z Rental • In addition, thank you to those who donated anonymously.
The Senior All Night Party would not be possible without such great support.
In Appreciation, The 2016 Senior All Night Party Committee
POLK COUNTY — The Secretary of State Audits Divi-
sion has included Polk County on a list of four counties
at higher risk for financial distress.
Polk appears in the third biennial financial condition
review of Oregon’s counties released June 14, highlight-
ing four counties that may need further monitoring
based upon 10 financial, economic and demographic
indicators. The other counties identified are Curry,
Douglas and Josephine.
Auditors used information from each county’s annu-
al financial reports and other data from state and feder-
al resources to identify financial concerns, and con-
ducted in-depth analysis of those counties that may be
at a higher risk of distress. The report found that the
decline in federal forest revenue continues to hinder
recovery of some counties.
The indicators used in the report are: local support,
timber revenue dependence, debt burden, liquidity,
fund balance, retirement benefit obligation, public
safety, personal income, population trends and unem-
ployment.
Polk County has the 12th lowest permanent tax rate
in the state, has among the highest debt burden, and
was spending the least on public safety at the time the
report was compiled. Polk also has the 11th lowest un-
employment rate in the state, ranks in the bottom third
for retirement obligations and is less dependent on
timber revenue than the other three counties on the
list.
County officials responded to the findings by point-
ing out the information didn’t include the public safety
operating levy passed in 2015 and recent increases to
fund balances. If those had been included, county offi-
cials believe Polk wouldn’t have been considered one of
the “counties to monitor.”
“A report of this type is based on historical informa-
tion and does not address future plans or solutions,”
the county response portion of the report read.
To r e v i e w t h e e n t i r e r e p o r t g o t o :
www.sos.state.or.us/audits.
How much can you eat?
Itemizer-Observer staff report
INDEPENDENCE — The annual Watermelon Eating
Contest will be at 4 p.m. in Independence Riverview Park,
50 C St. on Saturday, part of the Hometown Appreciation
Celebration.
Event organizers need volunteers to run the stop-
watch — more importantly, they need people who want
to compete in eating the juicy red fruit of summer.
For more information: call or text 503-269-3731.
For more about the Fourth of July celebrations, includ-
ing Western Days, see Section C.