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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2016)
Polk County News Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 17, 2016 3A NEWS IN BRIEF DEADLINES Assistance available to homeowners POLK COUNTY — The state of Oregon has launched a fore- closure prevention program, “Home Rescue,” providing assis- tance to homeowners struggling with mortgage payments. Help can be provided in two ways: through up to 12 monthly mortgage payments, with a maximum benefit of $20,000 or a “re- instatement payment” (up to $15,000) to bring mortgages current. Homeowners interested in the program can apply online by visiting www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org. To qualify, applicants must be able to demonstrate at least a 10 percent reduction in projected 2016 income compared to any tax year between 2009 and 2015. Nelson receives National Guard honors MONMOUTH — Curtis Nelson, of Monmouth, was selected as Oregon Air National Guard Recruiter of the Year for 2015. He also was selected as Recruiter of the Region and Recruiter of the Nation. Nelson will attend a presidential dinner in Texas on Sunday for his recognitions. LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer The Oregon State Police Bomb Squad responded to a call of a suspicious bag found at the Polk County Courthouse on Thursday morning. Police found there was no danger. Sheriff’s Office clears suspicious package Monmouth PD to focus on seat belts MONMOUTH — Starting Monday through Sept. 4, the Mon- mouth Police Department will be joining other law enforce- ment agencies in conducting specialized traffic safety enforce- ment operations. Oregon State Police, sheriffs and local police will work to in- crease proper safety belt and car seat use during a statewide traffic enforcement blitz. “We hope that by taking part in this blitz period, we can make a difference in our community and state as a whole,” Monmouth Officer Mark Robertson said in a press release. Law enforcement agencies throughout Oregon will work to educate parents about the importance of proper child seat and safety belt use. Officers also will be on alert for people speeding or violating the hands-free cellphone law. The enhanced enforcement is funded through U.S. Depart- ment of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Ad- ministration. None injured in Indy house fire INDEPENDENCE — Polk County Fire District No. 1 responded on Thursday to a house fire at 357 E St., Independence. Upon arrival, crews found fire and smoke visible near the rear of the home. Crews made a direct attack through the rear door, quickly extinguishing the main body of the fire. The fire had extended into the attic space of the home and caused extensive fire and smoke damage to the laundry, kitchen and attic spaces. The two adult renters of the house were not home when the fire started. Crews had the fire under control within 40 minutes, and were on scene for another hour and a half completing over- haul and investigation. The cause of the fire was an electrical overload from power equipment. Due to smoke and water damage, the occupants will be relocated to another property. Damage is estimated at $25,000 to the structure and contents. Polk Fire was assisted by Dallas Fire & EMS, Southwest Polk Fire Protection District, Salem Fire Department and Independ- ence Police Department. Five engines, one aerial unit, one medic unit, two command vehicles and 30 personnel respond- ed. There were no civilian nor firefighter injuries. Field fire claims $5,000 in peas MONMOUTH — A fire sprouted in a pea crop in the 12000 block of Mistletoe Road in Monmouth on Friday morning. Polk County Fire District No. 1 responded and found about one-third to one-half an acre of partially harvested pea crop on fire. The farmer harvesting the crops had noticed fire dropping from under his combine. He had attempted to extinguish the small fire without success. The fire spread quickly because of high heat, lowering hu- midity and steady winds in the area. Crews attacked the fire and brought it under control in about 45 minutes. Crews remained on scene for about another hour. The combine was not damaged. The cause of the fire is believed to be from dry material com- ing into contact with hot components of the machinery. Esti- mated loss of crops is $5,000. Polk County Fire was assisted by Southwest Polk Rural Fire Protection District and Oregon Department of Forestry. Six en- gines, one medic unit, two command units, five water tenders and 27 personnel responded. Build your emergency kit: Week 11-12 POLK COUNTY -- The American Red Cross has designed a 24- week calendar to build a two-week home disaster kit. The following is Week 11: • One large can juice* • Large plastic food bags • One box high-energy snacks • Three rolls of paper towels *per person Additional: Keep extra battery for cell phone or change for pay phone usage in disaster supplies kit. Action Steps: Locate pay phones closest to your home. Here’s Week 12 (If you have pets): • Litter and box • Extra water • Pet first aid kit Additional: Make sure all pet vaccinations are current and ob- tain medical records from veterinarian for disaster records kit. Keep emergency supply of any special pet medication needs. Action Steps: Photocopy important documents and store in Ziploc bag: driver’s license, medical prescription, insurance in- formation and will. For past weeks, go to www.polkio.com. Itemizer-Observer staff report DALL AS — The Polk County Courthouse was cleared on Thursday after the Polk County Sheriff’s Of- fice responded to reports of a suspicious package. The Sheriff’s Office re- ceived calls on the package, a backpack, shortly after 8 a.m. on Thursday. The Salem Police Depart- ment Bomb Squad also re- Parking restricted Falls City to place barricades at Harding park By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer FALLS CITY — Parking will be restricted at Michael Harding Park in Falls City, the city park nearest to the falls on the Little Luckia- mute River. The Falls City City Council decided in a close vote to place cement barricades or a gate to prevent vehicle ac- cess inside the park. Mayor Terry Ungricht cast the de- ciding vote in favor of shut- ting off vehicle access, citing incidents in which people were reportedly hurt or felt threatened. “I would usually vote no, but with the stuff that has been happening, in not only that park, but our other lower park, there has to be a message sent that those are city parks open to everyone,” Ungricht said. “When the man who services the toilets is accosted for doing his job and they are talking about pulling our portable toilets out, we have a problem.” Ungricht said another se- rious incident was reported recently in which a mother and toddler had rocks thrown at them at the park. The victim decided not to press charges. The topic of restricting cars at the park was dis- cussed at a town hall meeting on Aug. 4, and councilors in attendance said the opinions expressed were about 50-50. Joining Ungricht in voting “yes” were councilors Jenn Drill, Tony Meier and Julee Bishop. The other three councilors, Lori Jean Sickles, Dennis Sickles and Gerald Melin, said the vote should have waited for more feed- back from the community, such as a survey sent out in PRESERVE and PROTECT! Home Canning Demonstration You are invited to attend Aug 30th • 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm Trinity Lutheran Church 320 SE Fir Villa, Dallas Presented by OSU Extension Service with Tonya Johnson This will be an informational demonstration on some of the basics of home canning. This is not a hands on workshop so you won’t get hot and messy. Sit and enjoy learning in our air-conditioning. Light refreshments will be provided. TASTY SAMPLES FREE and OPEN to ALL sponded and scanned the bag. “They determined no issue with the bag,” Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton said. “They found who it be- longed to. We're not sure why they left it there.” The lawn, which had been taped off, was reopened and people were allowed back into the courthouse. “Everything is safe,”Gar- ton said. Oregon State Police assist- ed on the call. water bills. “I would like to know what the general population thinks,” Lori Jean Sickles said. “Really, I don’t see how that hurts to do a survey.” Dennis Sickles said hear- ing more feedback probably wouldn’t change his mind about the need to close the park to vehicles, but he be- lieves those against the move should be heard. Drill said the subject has been debated for a long time and it’s time to do some- thing on behalf of neighbor- ing property owners. “If this was my home and I had been coming to the council for a year and asking the same thing, I would be pretty frustrated at this point,” Drill said. “It’s time to take action. We know it’s a problem and it’s been a problem for years.” Ungricht said he will pro- vide cost estimates and plans for installing the barri- cades at the council’s Sep- tember meeting. In other business, the council: • Heard that the city re- ceived an approximately $70,000 grant to help pur- chase the property on the north side of the falls on the Little Luckiamute River. The final amount will be known in September and it will be used to pay off the loan used to purchase the property on behalf of the Falls City Al- liance. 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. WEATHER RECORDED HIGH LOW Aug. 9................ 73 Aug. 10............. 81 Aug. 11............. 89 Aug. 12............. 97 Aug. 13............. 96 Aug. 14............. 94 Aug. 15............. 90 55 60 56 59 61 59 56 RAIN .07 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 Rainfall during Aug. — 0.40 in. Rain through Aug. 15 — 21.99 in. RECYCLE.