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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2016)
DALLAS, CENTRAL, FALLS CITY AND PERRYDALE FALL SPORTS GUIDE Volume 141, Issue 36 SECTION C www.Polkio.com $1.00 September 7, 2016 Minet plans to expand IN YOUR TOWN Company in talks with city of Jefferson for services daLLaS New principal at Oak- dale eager to shape lives. »Page 14a By emily Mentzer FaLLS CiTY The Itemizer-Observer Meet Andy Rommel, Wagner’s new director. INDEPENDENCE — Monmouth-Independence Networks may start pro- viding services to the city of Jefferson, said Don Pat- ten, general manager of Minet. “We’re going to put our beta test over in Jefferson as early as next week,” he said at Thursday’s board meeting. “I want that rev- enue coming in, and Jef- ferson is just pummeling me to get this thing mov- ing.” Patten said the Jefferson city council has come to consensus to move ahead with business planning, engineering, an intergov- ernmental agreement and setting up a beta test. He said the city has 1,200 potential customers, and has guaranteed Minet would have 600 new cus- tomers for internet along with telephone hookups. Patten estimated the an- nual revenue at $265,000 to $295,000 from the ven- ture. Patten noted that Minet would have to consider in- creasing staffing to accom- modate the agreement with Jefferson, as well as any other expansion op- portunities. According to the cur- rent intergovernmental agreement between the cities of Monmouth and Independence, dated 2009 — which is the gov- erning document for Minet — all new service agreements must be ap- proved by the Minet board of directors with a two-thirds vote. The proposal with Jeffer- son was not voted on by the board at its Thursday meeting. Board member Scott McClure said the board needs to have a full discus- sion on whether or not to move forward with the arrangement with Jeffer- son — and any future ex- pansions. “We want to know what projected revenues are; what expenses are; what staffing needs are,” Mc- Clure said. “And also just cash flow issues. Are we now front-loading some costs, and then that plays into when the revenue starts kicking in.” McClure said the board will be getting questions and needs to have the in- formation to answer those questions. See MineT, Page 5a THE NEXT 7 DAYS PLANNING FOR YOUR WEEK »Page 3a indePendenCe Buzz Brazeau works double as Central’s principal. »Page 14a COURTNEY MAY/Itemizer-Observer Chris Lillegard, right, and legal assistant Linda Baker will retire from the law firm at the same time. DEFENSE RESTS MOnMOUTH New BG’s Bar-B-Que brings the smoke. »Page 5a Longtime Dallas attorney Lillegard retires after 40 years By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Friends have been telling Chris Lillegard that retirement will grow on him. The longtime Dallas attor- ney isn’t buying it yet. “Everybody says I’m not going to miss getting up and going to work, but it just sounds a little bit weird to me right now,” he said. On Sept. 25, Lillegard will have been working for 40 years. He retires at the end of this month, except for a few projects he’s working to finish around the end of the year. That may take some ad- justment, so it’s a good thing Lillegard plans to stay busy. His primary home is in Bend, where there’s a bevy of outdoor activities to keep him occupied. Also, he and his wife, Marji, retired from a career at Microsoft, have eight grandchildren to spoil. “That’s plenty to keep you busy,” Lillegard said with a smile and chuckle. Lillegard spent his entire career in Dallas, saying he never had the desire to leave “to go to the big city.” “It’s a great place for chil- dren to grow up,” he said, re- ferring to his four children, Nathan, Sarah, Susie and Carissa. “I like that inde- pendence I’ve had running my own practice. I like the Noble & Weiser before earn- ing his law degree in 1976 from Willamette University, according a 1996 Itemizer- Observer story marking his 20th anniversary. Coincidently, he met a person who would become a key staff member, Linda Baker — his “work wife” — while at the Shetterly firm. The pair will make their career exit together, Baker retiring after more than 29 years of working as a law clerk for Lillegard. “I always figured when Linda wanted to retire, I would retire,” Lillegard said. “I don’t know what I would do without her.” See LiLLeGard, Page 12a friendships I’ve built with the people at the (Polk County) Courthouse and people I work with.” For all his love of being a small-town lawyer, Lillegard hadn’t planned on going to law school until after taking a friend’s advice. “I didn’t have a clue in col- lege, and a friend suggested I take the LSAT (Law School Admissions Test). I did that and did real well on it,” he said. “I didn’t have anything else in mind. I was working in the woods logging in the summertime. I knew I didn’t want to do that full time.” Lillegard began his career in 1975 as a law clerk in the in the firm Hayter, Shetterly, JOlENE GUzMAN/Itemizer-Observer First grade teacher Stephanie Hofferber helps dehvin Brumley-allison with putting crayons in a container at Ori- entation day at Lyle elementary School on Tuesday morning. First through third graders were introduced to their teachers and dropped off supplies during Orientation day. regular classes begin on Wednesday (today). thu Grab your dictionary and put your spelling to the test in Scrabble with Betty, Independ- ence Public library. 1 p.m. Free. Get involved in the business commu- nity through the In- dependence Downtown Associa- tion. 8 a.m. Free. Mostly cloudy Hi: 74 Lo: 50 Partly cloudy Hi: 76 Lo: 46 fri Show your boss some appreciation by celebrating Na- tional Hug Your Boss Day! Sunny Hi: 81 Lo: 50 Central’s girls soccer team finds its stride against North Salem. »Page 8a eLeCTiOnS Central and Falls City school bonds. »Page 2a Firefighters respond to blaze at Chase Grill itemizer-Observer staff report Welcome Back wed SPOrTS INDEPENDENCE — Polk County Fire District No. 1 responded to a commer- cial structure fire at Chase Bar and Grill on Thursday morning. Fire crews responded at 4:09 a.m. to 1083 Mon- mouth St., Independ- ence. Smoke was visible from Monmouth Street as per- sonnel arrived on scene and fire was present on the back side exterior of the building. Firefighters remained on scene for approximate- ly two hours while search- ing for fire hot spots and conducting an investiga- tion. Independence and Monmouth Police Depart- ments, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and South- west Polk Fire assisted on the call. The cause of the fire re- mains under investiga- tion, though the fire ap- pears to have started on the outside of the build- ing and extended into the walls and onto roofing materials, according to a release. Property loss is yet to be determined. No civilians or firefight- ers were injured. sat sun mon tue Independence pilots in EAA Chapter 292 will give Young Eagle flights in planes to youths aged 8 to 17. 9-11:30 a.m. Free. Happy Grandpar- ent’s Day! Celebrate by giving them a call, or take a trip through memory lane if they are no longer with us. Hear about retrac- ing the steps of the Oregon Trail at a presentation at the Independence Her- itage Museum. 7 p.m. Free. Dallas’ Tuesday on the Square in downtown will have art and wine, and celebrate 100 years of Rotary. 4-7 p.m. Free. Sunny Hi: 75 Lo: 49 Partly sunny Hi: 73 Lo: 47 Sunny Hi: 79 Lo: 53 Sunny Hi: 84 Lo: 54