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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2016)
Polk County Voices Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 31, 2016 4a How to Contact Officials EDITORIALS Election letters begin next week Starting Sept. 7, our next issue of the Itemizer-Observer, we will begin printing election-related letters. We know the election season has been going all year, but with the final applications for local offices turned in, and final decisions on who is going out for what bonds made, we declare this the official opening of our local election season. We have already received endorsement letters and other election-related letters in our office, and we wanted to take a moment to remind our readers about our letters to the editor policy on election letters. Letter writers are allowed one election-related letter per election season. All election letters are limited to 100 words or less. For the sake of open discussion, we define “election let- ter” strictly. A letter making general observations about the nation would not be labeled as an election letter. Any mention of the election, candidates, measures or bonds will be considered an election letter. Election letters are not accepted from anyone living out- side of Polk County, so please, be specific about where you live. As always, addresses and phone numbers are required when submitting letters to the editor, as is the name of the letter writer. If you live in West Salem, please clarify that rather than saying you live in Salem. We do not accept guest columns. All opinions submitted must fall into the guidelines outlined in the letters policy. We maintain our policy to allow as many people a voice on our opinion page as possible. As writers, we understand how difficult it can be to nar- row down your thoughts into the allowed word count — in fact, we’ve seen many of you are talented writers, and have had trouble narrowing down your word counts on occa- sion, too. But we feel that the long-standing policies of the Itemiz- er benefit everyone in the long run. We want to help the conversation, and we’re proud to be partners in this com- munity. We look forward to as clean an election as possible — at least locally. For more information or if you have any questions: Emily Mentzer, 503-623-2373 ext. 117 or ementzer @polkio.com. — In last week’s editorial thanking our volunteer firefighters for keeping us safe, we failed to mention a part of that team: Falls City Fire Department. Falls City has a volunteer force 35 members strong and they deserve as much credit as any other department. As is the case for other fire crews in Polk County, call vol- umes are up in Falls City and training requirements contin- ue to increase. So far this summer, the department respond- ed to two major house fires, an unusual occurrence in a city so small. To you volunteers who respond to calls in Falls City, we apologize for the oversight and thank you for your service. PUBLIC AGENDA Public agenda is a listing of upcoming meetings for gov- ernmental and nongovernmental agencies in Polk County. To submit a meeting, send it at least two weeks before the actual meeting date to the Itemizer-Observer via email (ionews@polkio.com). — wEDnESDay, aug. 31 • Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. TuESDay, SEPT. 6 • Monmouth City Council — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Dallas urban Renewal advisory Committee — 5:30 p.m., Dallas City Hall, 187 SE Court St., Dallas. 503-831-3565. • Polk County Board of Commission work session — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, BOC office, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. wEDnESDay, SEPT. 7 • Monmouth Historic Commission — 6 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Monmouth Planning Commission — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. GOVERNOR gov. Kate Brown (Dem.) 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-378-4582 Email: via website, http://governor.oregon.gov/ — STATE LEGISLATORS Sen. arnie Roblan (District 5, Democrat) S-417 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 sen.arnieroblan@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/roblan Sen. Jackie winters (District 10, Republican) S-301 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1710 sen.jackiewinters@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/winters LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Indy Landing noise will hinder building The Independence Land- ing redevelopment site has a noise pollution problem from unmuffled motor boats on the Willamette River. No, this is not your grandpa’s fishing boat or even modern manufactured ski boats. Think a dragster motor on the back of a racing boat, and they are just as loud at 120+ decibels. What tourist would stay at a hotel, feet from the equivalent of a drag strip? What homebuyer would purchase a condo in a loca- tion where their children are subject to permanent hear- ing loss when they go out- side to play? What developer would in- vest in such a risky site? The Polk County Marine Patrol has admirably tried to control the worst offenders, but current law ties their hands. The laws to control noise from these craft are old and inadequate. For example, in the nar- row case when violators are cited, only Oregon boaters can be penalized by the courts and the Oregon State Marine Board. For out-of-state boaters, there are neither conse- quences nor penalties. In a spring 2016 survey of unmuffled boats on the Willamette River at Inde- pendence, one of every three unmuffled boats were registered in California. The solutions are too complex for this short note, but require legislative action to solve the many inadequa- cies of the unmuffled boat- ing laws in Oregon. Unless and until the noise pollution problem from un- muffled boats on the Willamette River is solved, development partners for Independence Landing may be hard to find. Mike Lippsmeyer Independence What is that awful smell in Rickreall Why does our small town of Rickreall smell like rotten, dying, fermented stench? I know the dairy smells, but this is different and the smell doesn’t go away. It makes me wonder if the air is even safe to breath. This has been happening the past few years, and each year it seems to last longer. Please bring this to atten- tion and get whatever is causing it to stop. My family can’t even enjoy summer outdoor ac- tivities because the smell keeps us indoors. If it were only a couple days, it wouldn’t be so bad, but it’s weeks. Why doesn’t someone do something to stop the smell? It has to be a viola- tion to our environment. Sherry Garcia Rickreall What is the holdup with senior center I am writing in regards to a letter a couple of weeks ago by June Krause about the hold up of our senior center. Many people have voiced the same opinion as to why the hold up. I feel that the citizens of Dallas that have lived and worked here, and raised their children here, and now retired here are being set aside and being ignored when it comes to getting a decent senior center for them to use and have func- tions in. It really is a shame that it has taken so long to move things along. Dallas has so many sen- iors that live here and more all the time. Just look at the growth of new apartments at the village. Other towns close by have such nice places for the seniors to gather and hold their functions. So what is the problem with Dallas? Why the long hold up? Our seniors are as important as anyone else and deserve to have a nice meeting place like other towns. They have worked long and hard for it. So come on, the people holding this up should stop and think that they, some- day, will be senior citizens and would like a new place with a decent location to go to and visit, play cards and have functions. I have been hearing for two or three years about the plans for a new senior cen- ter, so what is the hold up? Someone is not doing their part to make this hap- pen and I say shame on whoever is responsible for treating this with such little importance. We would like to see some action on this and get it done. Carol Chaney Dallas Dallas Rotary Club thanks community Members of the Dallas Rotary Club would like to thank the community of Dallas and Polk County who supported our recent Break- fast in the Park and Tom Newton Memorial Car Show. Because of your sup- port, the club will be able to continue its tradition of serving Dallas. Money raised by these club events is used to spon- sor various Dallas activities such as putting interpretive signs on the Rickreall Creek Trail and building Rotary Park, the Rotary Stage and tennis courts at Roger Jor- dan Community Park. We also provide scholarships to students at Dallas High School and Morrison Cam- pus and to participants in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. On July 31, Dallas Rotari- ans served more than 1,400 meals at the breakfast and had 172 car show entrants. We presented 50 beautiful fused glass trophies to car show winners. This was made possible through the efforts of club members and more than 50 local businesses and individual sponsors. The tro- phies were custom made by Lynda Barrett Art Glass. Roger Pope provided poster design and car show photography services. Focal Point Photog- raphy printed car show win- ner photos for us. Thank you to all who helped with Summerfest ac- tivities, the Rotary Breakfast in the Park and the Tom Newton Memorial Car Show. Most of all, thanks to the members of our com- munity who attended these events and support Rotary Club services in Dallas. Sen. Brian Boquist (District 12, Republican) S-305 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1712 sen.brianboquist@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/boquist Rep. David gomberg (District 10, Democrat) H-471 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1410 rep.davidgomberg@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/gomberg Rep. Paul Evans (District 20, Democrat) H-281 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1420 rep.paulevans@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/evans Rep. Mike nearman (District 23, Republican) H-378 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1423 rep.mikenearman@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/nearman — U.S. CONGRESS Sen. Ron wyden (Dem.) 221 Dirksen SOB Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-5244 Fax: 202-228-2717 Salem office: 707 13th St. SE, Suite 285, Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-589-4555 Email: via website, www.wyden.senate.gov Russ Dimberg, Dallas Rotary President Dallas Sen. Jeff Merkley (Dem.) 313 Hart SOB Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3753 Fax: 202-228-3997 Salem office: 495 State St. SE, Suite 330, Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-362-8102 Email: via website, www.merkley.senate.gov Rep. Kurt Schrader (Dem.) 108 Cannon HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-5711 Fax: 202-225-5699 Salem office: 544 Ferry St. SE, Suite 2, Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-588-9100 Fax: 503-588-5517 Email: via website, www.schrader.house.gov — POLK COUNTY Board of Commissioners 850 Main St. Dallas, OR 97338 Phone: 503-623-8173 www.co.polk.or.us — CITIES Dallas 187 SE Court St. Dallas, OR 97338 503-623-2338 www.ci.dallas.or.us Falls City 299 Mill St. Falls City, OR 97344 503-787-3631 www.fallscityoregon.gov independence 555 S. Main St. Independence, OR 97351 503-838-1212 www.ci.independence.or.us Monmouth 151 W. Main St. Monmouth, OR 97361 503-838-0722 www.ci.monmouth.or.us HOW TO REACH US Vol. 141, No. 35 (USPS) - 437-380) The official newspaper of Polk County • Serving Polk County families since 1875 Winner of 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 General Excellence Awards from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, OR, Independence, OR and Monmouth, OR. Published weekly at 147 SE Court Street Dallas, Oregon 97338 Phone: 503-623-2373 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Polk County — One Year $35 Other Oregon Counties — One Year $40 Outside of Oregon — One Year $45 POSTMaSTER: Send address changes to: Polk County itemizer-Observer, P.O. Box 108, Dallas, Oregon 97338 nEwSROOM Emily Mentzer ..............Editor/Monmouth/Independence Reporter ....ementzer@polkio.com Lukas Eggen..................Sports Editor......................................................................leggen@polkio.com Jolene Guzman............Dallas/Falls City/Polk County Reporter ................jguzman@polkio.com DiSPLay aDVERTiSing Heidi Leppin .................Display Advertising Manager ....................................hleppin@polkio.com Rachel Best ....................Display Advertising.............................................................rbest@polkio.com Karen Sanks...................Client Services ...................................................................ksanks@polkio.com CLaSSiFiED LinE aDVERTiSing Dawn Ohren.....................................................................................................................ioads@polkio.com PRODuCTiOn Kathy Huggins ..............................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com Karyn Pressel .................................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com The Polk County Itemizer-Observer assumes no financial responsibility for errors in advertise- ments. It will, however, reprint without charge for the portion of an advertisement web: www.polkio.com which is in error if the Itemizer-Observer is at fault. Phone: 503-623-2373 Fax: 503-623-2395
