CULTURES COMBINE
RIBICH CRUISES
SMITH FINE ARTS SPEED DEMON
Page 7A
Volume 141, Issue 39
Page 10A
www.Polkio.com
Myrold
to face
three
charges
$1.00
September 28, 2016
IN
YOUR
TOWN
OREGON
Elegance
By Jolene Guzman
DALLAS
Dallas City Council
race draws seven candi-
dates.
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Kirk David
Myrold, the Dallas High
School teacher accused of
having a
relation-
ship with
a student,
pleaded
not guilty
to three
charges
in Polk
County
Myrold
Circuit
Court Tuesday morning.
Myrold was arraigned
on one count of luring a
minor and two counts of
second-degree sex abuse
in the case that involves a
17-year-old female stu-
dent. All three counts are
Class-C felonies.
Polk County Circuit
Court Judge Monte Camp-
bell set the case for a pre-
liminary hearing on Oct.
14 a 9 a.m. Myrold is or-
dered to have no contact
with the alleged victim in
the case and minors not
related to him.
Dallas police arrested
Myrold, a Spanish teacher,
on Sept. 12 on one count
each of luring a minor and
second-degree sex abuse.
The arrest followed a re-
port from the Dallas School
District made that same
day that a male teacher
employed by the district
was alleged to have been
involved in an inappropri-
ate relationship with a 17-
year-old female student.
Dallas Detective Darren
Buchholz found evidence
supporting those allega-
tions and arrested Myrold.
He was taken to Polk
County Jail and released
on Sept. 12
»Pages 2-3A
FALLS CITY
Schools city talk fu-
ture funding for Wagn-
er Library.
»Page 5A
INDEPENDENCE
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Crews will continue to pick grapes at Cherry Hill Winery for the next few weeks after the vineyard’s earliest harvest.
Harvest indicators point to return to traditional pinots for 2016
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — Follow-
ing two hot growing seasons,
local winemakers are seeing
more of what made Oregon
pinot noirs famous coming
out for the vineyards.
While the beginning of
harvest this year is even ear-
lier than last year — by a full
two weeks in some places —
a milder mid-summer has
produced hints that has
been missing from the last
two vintages.
“It’s been great, ideal ac-
tually,” said Ken Cook, the
winemaker and vineyard
manager at Cherry Hill Win-
ery in Rickreall.
The hot spring made for an
early bud break, which ex-
plains the early harvest, but
Cook said the wines will have
characteristics of cooler years
with longer growing seasons.
“This year will have more
complexity and more inter-
esting flavors,” he said.
He said the 2014 and 2015
vintages were pleasing, but
atypical for Oregon wines.
“They are bigger, bolder
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
Volunteer picker Amanda Kelly dumps a bucket of
grapes at Emerson Vineyards on Sunday.
and rich with higher alcohol
content,” he said of the pre-
vious two vintages. “They are
nice wines by any measure.”
But in Cook’s opinion, and
that of other local winemak-
ers he’s talked to, those vin-
tages have too much in com-
mon with those produced in
the state to our south.
Elliott Johns, winemaker
and field manager at Emer-
son Vineyards in Mon-
mouth, said he hopes for a
strong contrast this year, too.
“Their (California) sea-
sons are so abbreviated that
they don’t get the complex
flavors out of their pinot
noir,” Johns said. “A long
season generally leads to
more complex, more elegant
pinot noir.”
He’s been watching the fla-
vors build and tracking
weather reports to find the
best time to take the grapes off
the vine. A rain storm forecast
for this weekend and next
week may force him to start
harvest Wednesday (today).
“They are very close,”
Johns said Sunday of the
wine flavors. “I did a sample
a few days ago. It tasted real-
ly nice and I was waiting an-
other couple of days to look
at the forecast. I’m happy if I
have to pick on Wednesday,
but I wouldn’t mind a little
more hang time to get our
traditional Oregon flavors.”
Cooks took an opposite ap-
proach, choosing to harvest
early to avoid the fruit being
overripe like it was the last
two years. He said those two
hot seasons had winemakers
and vineyard managers talk-
ing about techniques that
they could use during hot
years to maintain pinot traits
that set Oregon apart from
other winemaking regions.
Early harvest and late irri-
gation — on those vineyards
that are irrigated — are two
options being looked at, he
said. Later irrigation slows
the ripening process, which
allows flavors to develop.
The hope is creating wines
with lower alcohol content
and subtle taste.
See HARVEST, Page 16A
Fire to bring regeneration to arboretum
Dallas firefighters help Delbert Hunter Arboretum volunteers try an ancient practice of using fire
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Dale Derouin
is hoping fire brings renewal.
A volunteer for the Del-
bert Hunter Arboretum,
Derouin decided to experi-
ment in the arboretum’s
meadow section. Planted
there are a number of native
bunch grasses that in former
centuries would have cov-
ered the Willamette Valley.
Derouin’s idea is to burn it
to see if it comes back
stronger in the spring.
His suggestion has a basis
in history. Native Americans
used to burn meadows in
the valley for the same pur-
pose, he said.
“I expect the grasses will
regenerate,” Derouin said.
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
“I’m assuming most of them
will come back because they
developed under this
regime.”
According to his research,
Native Americans noticed
that plants flourished in
areas of the valley that had
burned in natural fires. The
result was better hunting
and a healthier ecosystem.
“They thought, we don’t
have to wait for nature to set
the fire,” he said.
Part of the mission of the
arboretum is telling the his-
tory of the area through
plant displays and volun-
teers thought adding a tradi-
tional practice would further
that mission.
To make sure it was safely
done, the arboretum needed
assistance from the Dallas
wed
Want to learn to
paint? Head up to
The Boondocks in
Falls City for Paint-
ing, Canvas and
Cocktails.
7 p.m. $30.
Sunny
Hi: 75
Lo: 44
Fire Department.
Derouin said he didn’t
know if the city would be in-
terested in such an experi-
ment, but he was pleasantly
surprised.
April Welsh, Dallas fire
spokeswoman, said the
burn helps both volunteer
organizations — the arbore-
tum with testing the theory
and the department with
training.
“Anytime we get to work
with another organization,
especially another volunteer
organization, we will always
make that happen,” Welsh
said.
The controlled burn took
place on Thursday, with ar-
boretum volunteers and on-
lookers there to watch.
Both fire department offi-
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
A firefighter uses a drip torch to light grasses ablaze.
cials and arboretum volun-
teers are curious about how
the experiment will turn out.
“We want to try that and
see what happens,” Derouin
said.
For more photos of the
process, www.polkio.com.
Taylor’s Building
restoration is moving
very carefully.
»Page 6A
MONMOUTH
Suicide prevention is
the focus of meeting,
initiatives.
»Page 5A
ELECTION
Measure 97 is topic
of local forum.
»Page 3A
SPORTS
Quarterback, receiver
make connections for
Central.
»Page 10A
SEDCOR honors
Polk County
Itemizer-Observer staff report
POLK COUNTY — Polk
County was among a
group of partners recog-
nized with the Outstand-
ing Public/Private Part-
nership award at the
Strategic Economic De-
velopment Corporation
Annual Honors Luncheon
earlier this month.
The award honors
“outstanding cooperation
on a project or initiative
with public benefit in
mind” and was given to
the “Make It in the Mid-
Willamette Valley” proj-
ect.
The group includes
Polk County, Marion
County, Yamhill County,
Portland General Electric,
Pacific Power, Mid-
Willamette Valley Coun-
cil of Governments, Ore-
gon Manufacturing Ex-
tension Partnership, and
Incite.
The project was started
in 2013 with a $2.2 million
grant from the U.S. Eco-
nomic Development Ad-
ministration.
These funds have
helped keep businesses
and jobs at home and to
help train local workers.
The three-year project
has helped to support an
innovative and collabora-
tive culture for businesses
in the region.
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Last chance to shop
at the Polk County
Bounty Market for
the season. At the
Academy Lawn on
Main Street.
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Listen to or play
great live music at
the Guthrie Park
Community Center
during the acoustic
jam session.
6:30 p.m. Free.
Polk Community
Free Clinic at Trinity
Lutheran Church in
Dallas offers free
medical care to
those who need it
7 a.m. Free.
Two flea markets are
better than one. You
can visit two in Rick-
reall at the fair-
ground and the
grange hall.
9 a.m. Free or $5.
New Horizons or-
chestra invites be-
ginning to
intermediate players
to join for a monthly
fee in Monmouth.
6:30p.m. $25.
James2 Community
Kitchen offers free
meals to those in
need at St. Philip
Catholic Church in
Dallas.
4:30 p.m. Free.
Partly sunny
Hi: 70
Lo: 43
Showers
Hi: 63
Lo: 46
Showers
Hi: 59
Lo: 46
Rain
Hi: 60
Lo: 46
Showers
Hi: 61
Lo: 43
Showers
Hi: 61
Lo: 44