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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 2016)
Polk County News Polk County Itemizer-Observer • September 14, 2016 3A INFORMATION OVERLOAD Blue Garden project paused temporarily Cohen to lead workshop on critical thinking Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — The remodel and reopening of the Blue Garden on Main Street in downtown Dallas is on hold — for the moment. Owner Bob Collins said work has paused for the time being so he can focus on bringing money into his busi- ness, Collins & Lindsey Con- struction, to finish the project. He said he has two homes under construction and two major home remodels in the works. “We will be back on the Blue Garden project soon,” he said. “Working on the Blue Garden is a passion. My wife keeps me grounded and re- minds me that I need to stop and make money instead of spending it all the time.” While active on the project, Collins demolished and re- modeled the interior, installed new plumbing and a grease trap, replaced sewer lines, in- stalled new grill kitchen floors, added two bathrooms and the back alley façade was re- paired and painted. The most visible improve- ment is on the front of the build- ing, the renovated sign and new front windows and doors. DEADLINES 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 WEATHER HIGH LOW Sept. 6............... 72 Sept. 7............... 77 Sept. 8............... 78 Sept. 9............... 85 Sept. 10............ 89 Sept. 11............ 76 Sept. 12............ 81 54 54 50 48 51 49 48 The Itemizer-Observer JOLene GuzMAn/Itemizer-Observer Doaks Ferry Road is the subject of safety concerns. Details emerge for Doaks Ferry By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer WEST SALEM — A project that would redirect some of the traffic using Doaks Ferry Road to increase safety will cost significantly more than the $2.1 million the state has available for Polk County to complete it. The cost overrun isn’t un- expected, said Polk County Public Works Director Todd Whitaker. Oregon Department of Transportation estimated it would cost $5.1 million to complete if the state per- formed the work. The state had only $2.1 million to do it and established an agree- ment with Polk County in hopes the county could re- duce costs. Whitaker said the agreement gave the county the right to back out if it proved too expensive. Preliminary designs were recently completed on the project that would close Doaks Ferry to all turns ex- cept for right turns off High- way 22. Left turns and right turns onto the highway would be moved west to Riggs Street. The design is estimated to cost $600,000 more than the county has at its disposal. “When we started this project, we knew funding would be a challenge, but we needed to get to this stage of the project to really know if, and to what degree, we were underfunded,” Whitaker said. “While the current esti- mate of $2.7 million con- firms the expectation that Polk County can deliver the project for less, it also con- firms that the available funding is inadequate.” Whitaker said the Polk County Board of Commis- sioners have a number of options moving forward, in- cluding: supplementing the project budget with county funding; seeking additional money from ODOT; adjust- ing the project to cut costs; or turning it back to ODOT. If the project does pro- ceed, construction probably won’t happen until 2018, Whitaker said. Adding another wrinkle in the timing, ODOT is working on engineering the next phase, which will extend Doaks Ferry from Riggs Street to 50th Avenue. The extension is scheduled for 2019 and is contingent on the Riggs project being com- pleted. “Like our project, they are not sure if the funds avail- able will be sufficient, but they need to get through the preliminary design to get a better idea,” Whitaker said. MONMOUTH — With 24/7 access to news, it may be tough to sift between the wheat and the chaff. “It’s pretty much cliché now to say we’re over- whelmed with information, but it’s true, and a lot of that information is misleading,” said Donna Cohen. “Even the news, especially televi- sion news. When I was a kid, the nightly news would be 25 minutes of straight re- porting, and then the last five minutes would be, ‘this is our editorial’; or ‘this is our opinion.’ Now a lot of the news is opinion, it’s part of the news.” Cohen, who has a back- ground as a teacher and li- brarian, will present “Misin- formation and Political Propaganda” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Mon- mouth Public Library. It’s one of three workshops she presents called Civics for Adults, in hopes of creating more informed, more en- gaged citizens. “It’s a challenge to take in the information and stop and think, is this really true what’s being said here,” Cohen said. “But we live in a democracy. Self-govern- ment does not work if peo- ple aren’t informed about the decisions that are being made on our behalf. We need to think more critical- ly about things that are coming at us.” People will make as- sumptions about data by Check it out What: Misinformation and Political Propaganda, with Donna Cohen. When: 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Where: Monmouth Public Library, 168 ecols St. S. Admission: Free. Of note: Cohen will present examples using current political candidates. She said her intent is nonpartisan, only to evaluate the form and accuracy of those mes- sages. reading a headline, for ex- ample, but when the full ar- ticle is read, it puts the in- formation in a different light, Cohen said. “I don’t expect people to analyze everything they come across, but if this headline means some- thing to you, you really should read the article,” she said. Another example of mis- leading information can be found in political advertise- ments. Cohen said she will present samples of these at the presentation. “My goal is to help peo- ple do this kind of (critical) questioning, critical think- ing by showing various ways that information can be distorted, everything from headlines, to graphs, to photos,” she said. Then, Cohen will take people through steps to un- cover good information. “The first thing, there are sites like Politifact, factcheck.org, but you shouldn’t necessarily accept everything they say, either,” Cohen said. “Then we go over some tricks to search online.” Some basic tools in a search can limit results to more reliable sources, such as educational institutions, nonprofit organizations or original documents, Cohen said. Not that all nonprofits are unbiased, Cohen added. “Cascade Policy Institute is right-leaning, and Ore- gon Center for Public Policy is left-leaning,” she said. “You can establish quickly where these organizations are coming from. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t read something from an or- ganization, but you should be aware.” A few red flags that an opinion is included in the news include the phrase, “more people,” or the word, “only,” Cohen said. “The moment you hear, ‘more people,’ the first thing to remember is there are more people — more people in our nation, more people in the world,” Cohen said. “That alone isn’t sufficient information. You have to look at the larg- er context.” This is one of several workshops Cohen leads in hopes of inspiring civic en- gagement. Solution on Page 6A $8, 9am - 10am Sept. 17th Pre-Sale Admission: Adults $5 10am - 4pm Kids 10 yrs & under Free Food Available Polk County Fairgrounds on site 520 Pacific Hwy W, Rickreall RAIn .11 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 Rainfall during Sept. — 0.35 in. Rain through Sept. 12 — 22.51 in. Dolls, Bears, Books, Toys, Miniatures & Related Items, Doll Stringing No Appraisals Arleta Day 503-581-1206 Sally Bradfrod 503-399-7679 Hwy 22 Rickreall Salem ★ Polk Co Fairgrounds I-5 Sales Table Reservation $35 per table 99W 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. The Itemizer-Observer is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Watch for breaking news, links to sto- ries, sports scores updates and more. RECORDED By Emily Mentzer RV Space Available everyone is aware of the catastrophic effects on europe, Africa and Asia produced by the World Wars…But how did the World Wars impact Polk County? What was the war like here at the “Home Front”? This is a part of Polk County history that is little known today, forgotten as the population has aged. How did we deal with the local effects of the war: rationing, labor shortage, black- outs, fear of invasion, the disruptions caused by the establishment of Camp Adair, the concerns for loved ones who were in the Services and the new pressures on women who had to deal with life in the absence of their men gone into the war effort? How did Polk County change? These are the topics that we wish to examine. A joint effort of the Itemizer-Observer and the Polk County History Museum is soliciting input from anyone who wishes to participate. Are you old enough to remember those times (at least WWII), do you have old letters, newspapers, photos, family history or diaries? We are open to almost anything that could give us an idea of “…how it was…” back then. I welcome your contributions…I can be con- tacted at: davidm3123@aol.com.
