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Volume 141, Issue 34
www.Polkio.com
August 24, 2016
$1.00
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DALLAS
Public works crews
repair the bridge on
Monmouth Cutoff
Road.
»Page 3A
FALLS CITY
The school district
will replace nearly a
dozen faucets contami-
nated with lead.
»Page 14A
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Sol Sisters, Inc. purchased the former location of Lavender Lakes Farms in April.
Marijuana businesses step up
INDEPENDENCE
Sojourn International
donates shampoo to
help flood victims in
Louisiana.
»Page 8A
Organic Investments submits site design review to city of Independence
By Lukas Eggen
What is legal in Oregon?
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Organic In-
vestments submitted a site design
review to the City of Independence
for 16,840-square feet of greenhous-
es for growing cannabis, and a 8,740
square-foot building for processing
of cannabis and office use.
Mark Jennings, of consulting firm
Pure Botanicals, took part in a com-
munity meeting in January to discuss
plans. Jennings said at that meeting
there were no plans to grow plants
on-site and that the company was in-
terested in purchasing 1.2 acres. The
majority of the people at the meeting
spoke against the project.
The site design review submitted
to the city now includes a green-
house.
“My sense was (the community
meeting) was just an effort to bring
everyone to the table,” Joey Shearer,
Independence contract planner,
said. “Those informal meetings are
useful to notify the neighbors when
you have a new project, but it’s not a
code requirement meeting. It
doesn’t play an official role (in the
decision).”
The submitted site design review
is for two parcel frontings on the
east side of Stryker Road, just
south of the intersection with
Skyraider Drive. The area is zoned
for heavy industrial and would not
Age restriction: You must be 21 years old or older to possess and use
recreational marijuana.
Possession: You can carry up to one ounce of ready-to-smoke mari-
juana on your person and keep up to eight ounces at home. You can’t
legally take marijuana across state lines.
Growing: People can grow up to four plants per household (not per
each member of a household) for personal use.
Public use: Marijuana use in public is prohibited.
Measure 91, the measure that legalized recreation marijuana, defines
public as “a place to which the general public has access and includes,
but is not limited to, hallways, lobbies, and other parts of apartment
houses and hotels not constituting rooms or apartments designed for
actual residence, and highways, streets, schools, places of amusement,
parks, playgrounds and premises used in connection with public pas-
senger transportation.”
If using at a private residence, keep in mind that if someone outside
can see you, that could be considered public.
Edibles: Since June 2, medical dispensaries authorized to sell recre-
ational marijuana can sell one dose (no more than 15 milligrams of
THC) of cannabis-infused food or drink per customer per day.
Parole and probation: In Polk County, it is illegal to possess or use
recreation marijuana while under the supervision of Community Cor-
rections.
Driving under the influence: Like drinking and driving, it is illegal to
drive under the influence of marijuana.
For more information: OLCC has created a website www.whatslega-
lOregon.com to provide information on what is legal — and what isn’t.
*Compiled by Jolene Guzman
require any rezoning.
Public comments will be accepted
through Sept. 2.
The city’s decision on approving
the site design review is only de-
pendent on the development code.
“This decision has to be based on
the decision criteria in the develop-
ment code,” Shearer said. “Com-
ments from everyone are most use-
ful when they are specific and tied
directly to development code crite-
ria.”
Shearer said a timeline for deci-
sion is difficult to estimate and de-
pends on the completeness and any
potential issues with the site design
review materials.
Organic Investments isn’t the only
location looking to grow and/or
process cannabis.
The former location of Lavender
Lakes Farms, off highway 99W in
Monmouth, was sold to Sol-Sisters,
Inc. in April.
The farm is no longer selling
lavender.
Sol-Sisters is part of a national
nonprofit organization providing
holistic health services. The organi-
zation received a recreational mari-
juana license in May.
Nine recreational marijuana
growing licenses have been ap-
proved for Polk County as of Aug. 8.
A producer must establish culti-
vation batches, which may not have
more than 100 immature plants, and
assign each batch a unique identifi-
cation number.
A producer may have an unlimit-
ed number of cultivation batches at
any one time.
Canopy size limits are split into
indoor and outdoor tiers. Indoor tier
I producers are approved up to 5,000
square feet.
See MARIJUANA, Page 12A
Wellness center exceeds targets
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE —
When Central Health and
Wellness Center opened its
doors last year, the goals
were to provide medical, be-
havior health and dental
services to Central School
District students and the
communities.
Brent DeMoe, Polk Coun-
ty Family and Community
Outreach coordinator, said
the center projected 1,232
visits with patients in the
first year. That target was de-
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
veloped through research
prior to opening the center.
By the third year, the center
was expected to have 2,956
patient visits.
After the first year, the
center has exceeded expec-
tations of DeMoe, as well as
partners West Valley Health
Services and Capitol Dental.
“We’ve gotten really busy,
much faster than we
thought we would,” said
Karen Remington, of West
Valley Health. “We went
from minimal, part-time
staff to full-time providers in
the first couple of months.”
The center opened in July
2015 for six hours, three
days a week. By September
2015, it was 8 a.m. to 4:30
p.m. Monday through Fri-
day. In May, the center
added three Wednesdays a
month where it is open until
6:30 p.m. for parents who
work during the day.
It serves both students and
community members, which
is one reason why it could be
self-sustaining earlier than
projected, DeMoe said.
“Most school-based health
centers in the state are not
open to the community,” he
said. “If it was only to serve
students here, it would not
be self-sustaining.”
While students can get
health care at the center re-
gardless of ability to pay, the
health and wellness center
was never created to be a
free medical clinic.
In addition to medical
care, the center has a dentist
on site two days a week and
a hygienist once a week.
“We may add another hy-
giene day once school starts
back up,” said Linda Mann
of Capitol Dental.
The need for dental servic-
wed
thu
fri
sat
Come enjoy music
by Jacob Miller at
Music and the
Bridge City Crooners
at Main Street Park
in Monmouth.
6:30 p.m. Free.
Find your latest
treasure at the Polk
County Bounty Mar-
ket located at the
Academy Building
Lawn in Dallas.
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The finale of the
River’s Edge Sum-
mer Music Series
features Pyromania:
The Def Leppard Ex-
perience. 8:30 p.m.
$5 donation
If you’re looking for
fresh food, check
out the Original In-
dependence
Farmer’s Market all
day long.
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sunny
Hi: 91
Lo: 58
Sunny
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Sunny
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es was great, Mann said, not-
ing that at least a third of
kindergarteners through sec-
ond-graders reported never
having seen a dentist. To help
serve more children, Capitol
Dental received a grant to
start a teledentistry program.
“We have a hygienist and
dental assistant that goes
into the three elementary
schools here in Central and
takes X-rays, oral photos
and does an assessment on
each child that’s returned a
consent form,” Mann ex-
plained.
See CENTER, Page 12A
sun
Take in and discuss
some beautiful art
at the Last Sunday
at the River Gallery
located in Inde-
pendence.
2 p.m. Free.
Sunny
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MONMOUTH
Western Oregon’s
new home for the De-
partment of Education
is open.
»Page 14A
POLK COUNTY
Continue building
your weekly emergency
kit.
»Page 2A
SPORTS
Western Oregon’s
volleyball team hopes a
new coach can turn
around program.
»Page 10A
Dallas man pleads
guilty to marijuana
charges
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — A Dallas
man pleaded guilty to
marijuana charges in Polk
County Circuit Court Tues-
day morning.
Morgan Keith Haney,
26, pleaded guilty to un-
lawful delivery of marijua-
na to a minor and unlaw-
ful delivery of marijuana
within 1,000 feet of a
school. He also pleaded
no-contest to possession
of a schedule 1 controlled
substance, felon in pos-
session of a firearm and
felon in possession of a
restricted weapon.
Polk County Circuit
Court Judge Monte Camp-
bell sentenced Haney to
34 months in prison and
three years of post-prison
supervision for these
crimes.
The Dallas Police De-
partment’s investigation
revealed that Haney had
been selling marijuana in
the parking lot shared by
Dallas High School and
Chemeketa Community
College. The case was
prosecuted by the Polk
County District Attorney’s
Office.
mon
tue
The Willamette Val-
ley New Horizons
Orchestra is open to
musicians of all skill
levels.
6:30 p.m. $25
monthly fee
With summer com-
ing to a close, why
not celebrate Na-
tional Toasted
Marshmallow Day
by enjoying the
timeless treat.
Partly cloudy
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Lo: 52
Sunny
Hi: 78
Lo: 54