AMERICAN LEGION: DEMARINI DIRTBAGS HEAD TO
STATE TOURNAMENT
Volume 141, Issue 30
Page 11A
www.Polkio.com
$1.00
July 27, 2016
Stange named as Polk Fire District’s fire chief
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer
Capt. Ben Stange was named Polk County fire District No. 1 fire chief on friday.
INDEPENDENCE — Polk
County Fire District No. 1
has a new fire chief. Capt.
Ben Stange, 35, was named
to the post by the board of
directors at a meeting Fri-
day.
The day he will start is yet
to be determined, pending
contract negotiations.
Stange was emotional
about the decision, which
came after three hours of
candidate interviews in ex-
ecutive session. The board
was unanimous in its choice
to promote Stange, board
chair Tom Snair said.
“It’s a role I’ve always
wanted to serve, and I never
expected for this opportuni-
ty to come this soon,” Stange
said. “I’ve had a lot of admi-
ration for Chief (Neal) Olson
and Chief (Mike) Mayfield.”
Deputy chiefs Mayfield
and Olson were the other
two candidates forwarded to
the board of directors for
final interviews.
See ChiEf, Page 6A
STAGECOACH DELIVERY
»Page 3A
fALLS CiTY
Sheriff’s Office re-
sponds to apparent
arson case.
Firefighters contain
field fire.
»Page 2A
DALLAS — Friday was a
first for Hank, Gus, Jesse and
Ywa.
The four mules have
pulled in competitive plow-
ing, wagon trains and have
even delivered the mail, said
driver Lynda Claypool.
“This is the first time
we’ve delivered wine,” said
Claypool, with C & O Stage-
coach Co.
The special delivery was
for Illahe Vineyards 1899
pinot noir. The wine was
made without electricity or
fuel — just horse and
human power.
Friday it began its journey
to Illahe’s distributor in Port-
land using mule power.
The foursome pulled
cases of wine via stagecoach
from the vineyard just out-
side Dallas to Independ-
ence, where it was packed
into five canoes for the trip
along the Willamette River to
Portland.
The first leg of the journey
took about an hour and a
half. The mule team and
stagecoach made for a curi-
ous sight for those driving
automobiles.
MONMOUTh
»Page 11A
POLK COUNTY .
There’s still time to
help “Paws for a Cause.”
»Page 5A
SPORTS
County aims to be-
come cycling haven.
»Page 11A
Dallas Old
Timer picnic
returns
itemizer-Observer staff report
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Gus, left, and hank wait to leave illahe Vineyards in Dallas on friday morning. They are headed for independence.
The mules trotted along
the roads as if they weren’t
unusual at all.
• Harvest of Illahe Vineyard’s 1899 pinot noir is done by
hand, and the grapes hauled to the winery by the power of
the vineyard’s two horses Doc and Bea.
• Pressing, racking, battling and labeling are all done by
hand.
• Finally, the vineyard delivers the wine to its distributor
in Portland without the use of fuel or modern vehicles.
“They are not afraid of
c a r s ,” C l a y p o o l s a i d .
“They assume that cars
are going to stop for them.
The fact that they (the
cars) are going 45 mph
doesn’t seem to register.”
Hank and company did
notice a few things on the
paved roads: manholes and
storm drains.
They don’t like them —
not at all.
See WiNE, Page 10A
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Delivering 1899 requires three days travel on the river.
Aloha and E Komo Mai to Summerfest
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Summerfest
2016 is bringing “Hawaii
cool” to Dallas as the four-
day celebration kicks off on
Thursday.
T h i s y e a r ’s t h e m e ,
“Hawaiian Luau,” sets a
laid-back mood for the
downtown activities, high-
lighted by Thursday
evening’s Sounds of Sum-
mer concert with Hawaiian
band Koral Jam. In an at-
tempt to keep the focus on
downtown, the show won’t
i
Western Oregon
hosts Bike MS ride.
Wine the old-fashioned way
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
Dallas Schools put
lead testing on hold.
iNDEPENDENCE
The Itemizer-Observer
7
DALLAS
»Page 2A
By Jolene Guzman
THE NEXT
IN
YOUR
TOWN
be in its usual spot on the
Academy Rotary Perform-
ing Arts Stage, but instead
on the main Summerfest
Stage on the Polk County
Courthouse lawn.
No c e l e b ra t i o n w i t h
that particular theme
would be complete with-
out an actual luau, and
Wa s h i n g t o n St . St e a k -
house & Pub has that cov-
ered for Saturday’s down-
town close-out party.
Each year, the restaurant
celebrates its anniversary
with a luau, so Chelsea
Metcalfe, the executive di-
Inside ...
See Section C
For a complete schedule
of Summerfest and informa-
tion about some of the festi-
val’s highlights, check out
the Summerfest section.
All the fun begins Thurs-
day as Dallas will experience
a taste of Hawaii and some
fun in the sun.
rector of event host Dallas
Area Visitor’s Center, said
the event is in good hands.
“I knew I wanted to talk
to them because they do it
so well,” she said. “They
are very excited about
hosting it.”
The party begins at 5 p.m.
in the restaurant’s parking
lot. Live music will provide
entertainment and of
course, there will be all the
barbecue you can eat and a
beer garden for those 21 and
older.
Koral Jam and Washing-
ton St.’s luau may bring the
island spirit, but Saturday
morning’s parade is the
heart of Summerfest, draw-
ing thousands to downtown
Dallas.
See hAWAii, Page 10A
DALLAS — A Dallas tra-
dition since 1962, the re-
union will once again
gather “old-timers” in Dal-
las City Park Gazebo on
Aug. 7.
Event hosts Dallas Area
Visitor’s Center (DAVC) and
Dallas Retirement Village
are adding events and
hope to see it grow.
“We want people to
know that there is no age
limit for attendance,” said
Bonnie Dreier, with the
DAVC. “Our goal is to get
the younger generation of
‘Old Timers’ involved.”
New activities are
scheduled, including old-
fashioned board games
and a book signing by au-
thor Sue Hunter-Rohde,
Dallas historian and co-au-
thor of the book “Images
of America Dallas.”
The picnic runs 10 a.m.
to 3 p.m.
The event is open to the
public and provides free
live music with the Old
Time Fiddlers and Cash &
Company, spaghetti lunch,
memorabilia to look
through, special guests
and a chance to mix and
mingle with others.
Guests are invited to
bring yearbooks, Dallas
memorabilia or photos.
For more information,
www.facebook.com/Dalla-
sOldTImersReunionPicnic/
or www.exploredallasore-
gon.org/old-timers-pic-
nic.html.
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Charlie Horse rocks
out at the Western
Oregon Summer
Heatwave concert.
The show is the final
one of the season.
Noon. free.
Needing your Su-
perhero fix?
Riverview Park hosts
a showing of
“Avengers: Age of
Ultron,” rated PG-13.
10 p.m. free.
The annual kids
triathlon at the Dal-
las Aquatics Center
gives children a
chance to swim,
bike and run.
9:45 a.m. $25
A tradition returns.
The Summerfest
teen dance is back
for 2016 at the Bank
of America parking
lot, ages 13-19.
8-9:30 p.m. free.
Dallas City Park is
the place to be with
art vendors, a car
show and breakfast
in the park.
7 a.m. Breakfast
$7.
The Willamette Val-
ley New Horizons
Orchestra offers a
chance for everyone
to make music.
6:30 p.m. $25
monthly fee.
Enjoy a tasty, cold
treat to battle the
summer heat. Na-
tional Ice Cream
Sandwich Day, cele-
brated each year on
Aug. 2.
Sunny
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Lo: 56
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Lo: 56
Sunny
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Lo: 53
Partly sunny
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Sunny
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Sunny
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Lo: 54
G
p
p
b