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.