Polk County
Voices
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • September 21, 2016 4A
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Roads caused 27
flat tires for driver
rations are not people.
Fred Brown, Lt. Col., Retired,
U.S. Army
Dallas
I’m writing to thank the
Polk County Commissioners
for giving us the worst roads
in all the 16 years I have
lived in Polk County. Over
the past three years, your
well-maintained roads have
resulted in my family’s cars
having a total of 27 flat tires,
all caused by sharp rocks on
the roads. Three of those
tires were damaged beyond
repair.
The dust and damage to
our cars from the miles of
washboard roads are an
added bonus that we can
look forward to as a service
from the county.
Vote Whitlow for
Polk County sheriff
I grew up in Dallas, and
then farmed in Polk County
for 53 years. There have
been approximately 25
times we have had to call
the sheriff’s department for
help.
The sheriff is the chief
administrator of law in rural
Polk County. It is apparent
that we have need for a
strong administrator to set
priorities and leadership for
our deputies.
Having researched the
candidates and their past
performance, I have deter-
mined that Todd Whitlow
has our support based on
his current position and the
leadership and approval he
has shown in his position as
a leader and administrator.
Vote Whitlow.
Michael Henich
Independence
Thank you for
celebrating Rotary
I want to thank Mayor
(Brian) Dalton and all oth-
ers who joined to celebrate
the 100th anniversary of the
Rotary Foundation at the
courthouse square on Sept.
13. Having the local recog-
nition of the Rotary Foun-
dation is appreciated, and is
an encouragement to Rotar-
ians and others who give to
this important work.
A little history: Rotarians
met in Atlanta in 1917, and
the international president,
Arch Klulmph, proposed an
endowment fund dedicated
to “doing good in the
world.” The Rotary Club of
Kansas City provided the
first donation of $26.50, and,
since then, several billion
dollars have been given.
Rotary’s top priority is the
global eradication of polio,
and the objective is nearly
met, with only 71 cases
noted last year.
Funds from the Rotary
Foundation have returned
to Dallas in matching grants
to complete the tennis
courts near the aquatic cen-
ter and improve several
parks. Also, these funds help
in both incoming and out-
going youth exchanges.
The Rotary Foundation is
unique in two ways. First,
the administrative costs are
funded over three years with
earnings off the principal,
then the entire donation is
utilized to meet the mission.
Few charitable enterprises
have such a high percentage
reaching the field.
Secondly, Rotary clubs in
the receiving country help
manage the expenditure of
the funds. Again, this maxi-
mizes the investment to the
targeted need.
The Dallas Rotary Club
invites those who would
consider membership in Ro-
tary to join us at the weekly
lunch meeting at the civic
center on Tuesdays. “Doing
good in the world” may be
100 years old, but it is cer-
tainly still a good objective.
Bob Ottaway
Rotary Foundation Chair
Dallas
Vote Gabliks for
Dallas council seat
Upon moving to Dallas, I
met Kelly Gabliks. Kelly has
become a great and valued
friend. Her qualities include
being a good listener,
abounding energy, interest
in others, community spirit,
and a heart as big as Oregon.
Kelly’s interest in the Dal-
las community motivates
her to give unselfishly of her
time and energy. I urge all
eligible Dallas voters to
make sure Kelly Gabliks is
re-elected to another term
on the Dallas City Council
so all residents can thrive in
this growing community.
Thank you, Kelly, for the
many hours you have un-
selfishly devoted to making
Dallas an attractive commu-
nity.
Debra Nord
Dallas
Indy leaders fire
before aiming
Although several of the
council members seemed to
hear parts of what we had
to say Tuesday night, most
citizens who spoke were far
more eloquent and fact-
based than I, it was clear to
me that the council and the
mayor had an agenda to
move forward as quickly as
possible with their regula-
tions, regardless of the qual-
ity of their decisions, their
own lack of knowledge, or
the input they heard.
Although there was some
assigned investigative work
for some city employees to
perform, I am fairly certain
that the council and the
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mayor have decided to dis-
regard the written input and
the oral testimony at the
meeting.
I think they have put
themselves in a position in
which they have made
some commitments in ad-
vance of fact-finding and
now may be faced with legal
action. It is certainly a fact
that the city provided their
working document that the
council used in the meeting
to provide a framework for
decision-making, but the
time line was so short that I
suspect few council mem-
bers had the time to take a
look at what other commu-
nities have done or used the
input from the letters pro-
vided by those who wrote to
research for themselves
what the possible options
are.
There was a real sense of
“hurry hurry,” with the
mayor pushing pretty hard.
They do not appear to me
to be taking the time to be
deliberate in their actions.
It felt like Ready, Fire, Aim.
The mayor and the coun-
cil need to stop, regroup
and take a long, hard look at
how they do business. They
should suspend all deci-
sions with long-term effects
until the new council is
seated. The mayor is way
too eager to commit the
new council to a path which
will not include their input.
J. Gail Hill
Independence
Bond would relieve
cramped quarters
If you want to visit one of
the elementary schools in
Central School District,
avoid the cafeterias/gyms at
lunch time. There is not
enough room for the stu-
dents, let alone more bod-
ies. The same goes for Tal-
madge. Space in the cafete-
rias and gyms has been a
problem since my children
started school more than 20
years ago. We have the op-
portunity to approve a new
bond that won’t increase
our tax rate.
Passing the school bond
in November is the right
thing for our children and
grandchildren, and the
smart thing to do now.
David Ritacco
Monmouth
Fed spending not
responsible
Americans think their
taxes are high; they are right
for the wrong reasons. People
complain about money spent
on foreign aid or welfare. But
those programs are less than
1 percent of the U.S. budget.
Defense gets the real
money. Much of that money
goes to weapons develop-
ment so we can boast of the
most proficient weapons
anywhere.
Trouble is; we are not get-
ting our dollar’s worth. Ex-
ample; the F-22 Fighter was
canceled after 183 of
planned 750 planes because
it was incapable. The plane
demanded 30 hours mainte-
nance for every hour of
flight. It was found to suffer a
critical systems failure every
1.7 hours in the air. The pro-
gram cost $62 billion.
When the F-35 program
ends it will have cost us $1.5
trillion. The weapons sys-
tems are not fully function-
al, the pilot's environmental
system is deficient and the
engines catch fire. Pierre
Sprey, an engineer from
Lockheed, who designed
the A-10 and F-16, called
the F-35 the “worst airplane
ever designed.” The follow-
ing aircraft have beaten the
F-35 in simulated combat;
the French Rafael, the Russ-
ian Sukhoy 27 and the
American F-16; a 1970’s de-
sign.
The Navy's new Littoral
Combat Ship is a failure.
There are two.
Neither has made a
cruise without major engine
failure. The program’s been
cut from 55 ships to 32.
Total cost; $21 billion.
Why are we being shafted
with overpriced weapons
that will kill our service peo-
ple? Because our Congress
is fully paid for by lobbyists
for the defense industry. So
long as we allow big corpo-
rations to ply our Con-
gresspersons with bundles
of cash, we will continue to
come out on the short end.
We must get big money out
of politics and move to pub-
licly funded campaigns.
Money is not speech; corpo-
Vern Ratzlaff
Monmouth
School bond will
help children thrive
The school board, based
on the research and recom-
mendation of the Bond Ex-
ploration Committee, voted
to place a measure on the
November ballot asking our
community to continue
supporting the district by
approving a $26 million
bond. This bond will be
used to fund capital im-
provements in our district.
The timing is ideal, since
there is no expected in-
crease to property taxes,
and potential of a $4 million
state grant. This will provide
safe and equitable learning
environments for our chil-
dren to thrive.
If you’d like to learn more
about Ballot Measure 27-
122, please visit http://cen-
tral.k12.or.us/.
Steve Love
CSD Board Chair
Monmouth
Thompson works
with all
I moved to Dallas approx-
imately two years ago, and I
have had the privilege of
meeting Jim Thompson. I
am impressed by his in-
depth knowledge of a wide
variety of subjects, and I am
most impressed by his will-
ingness to work across the
aisle with Democrats and
Republicans alike to achieve
a solution for Oregon. So
my choice is clear; I am vot-
ing for rational representa-
tion, unlike the current in-
cumbent who has stated he
will never work with other
parties.
Clifford E Brown
Dallas
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 to the Itemizer-Observer via email
(ionews@polkio.com).
—
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21
• 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 Coun-
ty Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 main St., Dallas.
503-623-8173.
MONDAY, SEPT. 26
• Dallas School Board — 6:30 p.m., Dallas School District of-
fice, 111 SW Ash St., Dallas. 503-623-5594.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 27
• Independence City Council — 7:30 a.m., Independence Civic
Center, 555 S. main St., Independence. 503-838-1212.
• Monmouth Senior Advisory Board — 1 p.m., monmouth
Senior Center, 180 S. Warren St., monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Polk County Board of Commission work session — 9 a.m.,
Polk County Courthouse, BOC office, 850 main St., Dallas. 503-623-
8173.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 28
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County
Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 main St., Dallas. 503-
623-8173.
HOW TO REACH US
Vol. 141, No. 38
(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
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