Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2016)
HOPS AND HERITAGE FESTIVAL DALLAS GIRLS SOCCER Page 7A Volume 141, Issue 38 STANDS TALL Page 11A www.Polkio.com September 21, 2016 $1.00 Myrold to appear in court Tuesday IN YOUR TOWN By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The Dallas High School teacher and coach charged with sex abuse involving a 17-year-old student will appear in Polk County Circuit Court on Tuesday at 9 a.m. for arraignment. Kirk Myrold, 36, a Spanish teacher and coach of the girls’ soccer team, was arrested on one count each of lur- ing a minor, a felony, and second-degree sexual abuse, also a felony, on Sept. 12 following a brief investigation, according to Dallas Police. Polk County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jayme Kim- berly said the District Attorney’s Office is awaiting all police reports and evidence in the case. The office will review the case to determine what charges Myrold will be arraigned on during the hearing. “I don’t know what the charges will be yet,” she said Tuesday morning. “We are waiting for the completion of all the supplemental reports.” Dallas officers received a report from Myrold the Dallas School District on Sept. 12 that a male teacher employed by the district was alleged to have been involved in an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old female student. Dallas Detective Darren Buchholz found evidence sup- porting those allegations and arrested Myrold that day. He was taken to Polk County Jail and assessed $30,000 bail. He was released on the night of Sept. 12. Myrold was hired to coach the soccer team in 2015, and had worked at Corvallis High School previously. Longtime youth soccer coach Ron Brooks replaced him as the head coach of the soccer team (see related story on Page 11A). Dallas Superintendent Michelle Johnstone sent a letter to parents last week informing them of Myrold’s arrest. “He has been placed on administrative leave and will not be at the school at this time,” Johnstone wrote in the letter. “This is still in the hands of law enforcement and we have very little information.” She noted that the district is “prohibited from releasing information about students or ongoing employee issues.” “We remain dedicated to the mission of providing a quality education for your children,” she wrote. Anyone with information regarding this is asked to contact Buchholz at 503-831-3516. Fatal accident at Clow Corner Road By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer POLK COUNTY — An Aloha woman died in an acci- dent Thursday morning at Clow Corner and Highway 99W. The incident happened at 8:05 a.m. when Nathina Rose Montgomery, 20, of Aloha, turned northbound onto Highway 99W from Clow Corner Road. Her car was struck in the driver-side door by a dually pickup truck driven by William Claude McDonald, 41, of Toutle, Wash. Montgomery was transported by Reach air ambulance to Salem Hospital with serious injuries. Oregon State Police was notified that she had died Monday from her injuries. Four occupants from the pickup were transported by ambulance to Salem Hospital with minor injuries. Both vehicles were towed from the scene. Safety restraints were worn, and airbags deployed in Montgomery’s car. Traffic was re-routed for about two hours while Ore- gon State Police troopers, Polk County Fire District No. 1, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County Road Depart- ment and the Oregon Department of Transportation worked on scene. The intersection of Clow Corner Road and Highway 99W has been the spot for 32 crashes in the last 10 years, said Lou Torres, spokesman for ODOT. Of those, five were very serious crashes, with one fatality. The intersection’s history of serious crashes puts it in ODOT’s top 10 percent of similar roads, making it a pri- ority, Torres said. “It certainly has our attention,” he said. “You have a high-speed rural roadway there. Typically, those are some of the toughest places to deal with traffic safety be- cause vehicles are going to go fairly fast through there.” A busy intersection with a lot of cross traffic at 55 mph or faster presents a challenge when it comes to safety, Tor- res said. See CRASH, Page 5A THE NEXT 7 DAYS PLANNING FOR YOUR WEEK DALLAS Oakdale Elementary School receives a visit from George Fox pro- fessors. »Page 13A FALLS CITY City council to send letter to county to pave road. »Page 3A EmIly mENTzER/ Itemizer-Observer Toni Bordadora, center, helps Elaina Myrick, 6, of Monmouth, practice using her hands during a hippotherapy session on Friday. Happy HART INDEPENDENCE Council considers changes to city codes regarding marijuana grows. »Page 6A Center provides horse adaptive riding therapy for people with special needs MONMOUTH Western Oregon the- ater students form Can- dlestick Productions. »Page 3A By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer RICKREALL — Elaina Myrick, 6, doesn’t say much. She has special needs that prevent her from speaking much or walking. At Horses Adaptive Riding and Thera- py, it doesn’t really matter. The horse knows what Elaina needs. Father, Dan Myrick, helps get Elaina out of her wheel- chair, tightening her glasses around her head, and onto a horse in the arena at HART, located in Independence off Highway 22. “She’s done this before, but it’s nice to have one clos- er to us,” Myrick said. “Once she’s riding, she has more m u s c l e t o n e a n d c o re strength.” Elaina likely doesn’t even realize she’s getting a work- out — or a therapy ses- sion — as she’s led around the arena, giving the horse a tap with her hand to go, and practicing her grip. HART is a nonprofit organ- ization that puts people with special needs — physical, emotional, developmental, or social — together with horses and therapists. Currently, the nonprofit serves 70 clients. “It’s great to work with the horses,” said LeeAnn Nail, certified equine assistance psychotherapist. “They’re big and grounded and in the moment, and often, the client will be, too.” Physically, horseback rid- ing gives clients more core strength and other benefits such as use of their hands in new ways and building mus- cle memory. “The gait of a horse is the only animal that replicates a human’s gait,” said equine therapist and HART office manager Megan Newell. “When clients can’t walk, or if they’re working on that skill, having them ride on wed thu fri A new lecture series discussing God and three religions be- gins tonight at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Dallas. 7 p.m. Free. Want to know more about measure 97? Attend a public forum at the monmouth li- brary for both sides of the issue. 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Tour the new Richard Woodcock Building of Educa- tion at Western Ore- gon University in monmouth. 4 p.m. Free. Mostly sunny Hi: 70 Lo: 46 Mostly sunny Hi: 69 Lo: 48 Cloudy Hi: 66 Lo: 50 ELECTION Jim Thompson and mike Nearman are run- ning for House District 23. »Page 2A SPORTS Central’s Tony Rincon scored six goals in two matches. »Page 11A EmIly mENTzER/Itemizer-Observer Elaina Myrick, 6, readies to ride with her therapist. the back of a horse trains their muscles for the move- ment they’ll have to do for walking.” Newell saw the results of this firsthand when her daughter, who has Angel- man Syndrome, a genetic disorder, still wasn’t walking at age 3. “People kept pushing it,” she said. “After three months of adaptive riding, she was walking.” Emotionally, horses are good at reading people, Newell said. “They’re very empathic,” she said. “They can take your mood and personality and are really good at under- standing what somebody needs.” Myrna Gulick, member of the HART board of directors, said the organization at- tracts horse people. “When you know that connection, and you under- stand how magical that can be, and how healing that can be, you discover a program that helps anyone who has more to deal with than you do on your feet,” she said. “when you work with a per- son and they’re on a horse and their faces light up and they become stronger — it’s amazing. You go home and sat Catch ’em all at the community Poke- mon Go event in downtown mon- mouth and Inde- pendence. 1-4 p.m. Free. Cloudy Hi: 73 Lo: 54 Check it out What: HART Family Fall Fair. Where: HART, 6665 Rickreall Road, Inde- pendence. When: Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. Admission: $15 gen- eral; $7.50 children younger than 12; $40 for family of four — two adults and two children; those 2 and younger are free. Includes lunch. Of note: HART is seek- ing volunteers for a vari- ety of tasks, from filing to fixing fences to changing light bulbs. No experi- ence with horses is nec- essary. For more information: horsesadaptiveriding.org you feel like, ‘I did some- thing worthwhile today.’” Often the time a client spends at HART is the high- light of their week, Gulick added. “It’s just extraordinary,” she said. “When we work with someone, and there’s just a tiny improvement. A child who will touch nothing holds on (to the saddle) here, and then goes home and will work with their hands.” See HART, Page 5A sun listen to your fa- vorite guilty pleas- ure on National One-Hit Wonder Day. Sunny Hi: 82 Lo: 51 Firefighters put on fundraiser Itemizer-Observer staff report mONmOUTH — mem- bers of Polk County and Dallas International Asso- ciation of Firefighters local 4196 will be hitting the streets for the muscu- lar Dystrophy Association Fill the Boot Fundraiser Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Firefighters will be at th corner of main Street and Pacific Highway in monmouth. Contributions go to- ward mDA summer camps for children, pro- fessional and public edu- cation and research. The fundraiser began on Tuesday. The IAFF has more than 280,000 members in the United States and Canada. For more information about the IAFF, visit www.client.prod.iaff.org/. For more information on the Fill the Boot fundraiser, visit www.iaff.org/mDA/histo- ry.asp and for more infor- mation on the mDA, visit www.mda.org. mon tue Do something posi- tive for the commu- nity — and yourself — by sign- ing up for the inau- gural Glow Run, to be held Oct. 15. James2 Community Kitchen serves meals to all who are hungry each Tues- day at St. Philip Catholic Church. 4:30 p.m. Free. Sunny Hi: 81 Lo: 52 Sunny Hi: 75 Lo: 49
