Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 19, 2016 7A
Hall provides RARE opportunity for IDA NEWS IN BRIEF
Grand jury indicts Myrold
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE —
Imani Hall has spent the last
month learning everything
he can about Independence.
The Philadelphia native is a
volunteer with Americorps
Resource Assistance for
Rural Environments and will
serve as downtown manager
for the Independence
D ow n t ow n A s s o c i a t i o n
through next July 31. Since
arriving three weeks ago, he
has immersed himself in the
area’s history.
“There are nuggets of his-
tory here that you can’t get
anywhere else,” Hall said.
“That’s what makes any
community unique. … I’m
very interested in city plan-
ning, and I was attracted to
this, being a small commu-
nity and being close to Salem
was a really big draw for me.”
Hall is here to accomplish
four main goals during his
tenure: create a new event,
help IDA improve itself, help
with the group’s social
media presence, and assist
in promoting Independence
as a destination for the 2017
solar eclipse.
IDA is a group focused on
economic development and
the beautification of down-
town Independence, and
Hall wants to reflect the
city’s heritage in everything
he does for the city.
“I want to listen to the
community about what as-
pects of their history they
want to highlight,” Hall said.
Feedback from the com-
munity will be vital and af-
fect everything he does —
DALLAS — A Polk County grand jury agreed with the
charges prosecutors brought against Dallas High School
teacher and coach Kirk Myrold, indicting him on two counts of
second-degree sex abuse and one count of luring a minor.
Myrold pleaded not guilty to the charges in the Oct. 5 indict-
ment — the same as he was arraigned on Sept. 27 — in Polk
County Circuit Court on Friday.
The indictment states the alleged crimes occurred between
the dates of June 1 and Sept. 12, the day Myrold was arrested.
The case is set for a pretrial conference on Nov. 10 at 11 a.m.
Deputy crashes with car Friday
DALLAS — At about 8:48 p.m. on Friday, Polk County Sher-
iff’s Deputy Terry Brown collided with Jared Daniel Blake, 32, of
Albany.
Brown had his lights and sirens on, responding to an acci-
dent on Highway 22 when he collided with Blake at the inter-
section of Washington and Main streets, according to Oregon
State Police.
Sheriff Mark Garton said he responded to the scene, but im-
mediately called OSP troopers to investigate the accident, ac-
cording to policy.
“My deputy was responding to an injury crash on Highway
22 near milepost 20 with sirens and lights,” Garton said. “The
deputy was heading east on Washington Street, and the other
vehicle was heading south on Main Street when the crash oc-
curred.”
An OSP trooper spoke with the involved drivers and witness-
es, and arranged a tow for Blake’s vehicle.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Imani Hall will assist Independence Downtown Association as a downtown manager
thanks to Americorps Resource Assistance for Rural Environments.
from helping start an event
to using social media to
show the world what Inde-
pendence is all about.
“I hope to get Indepen-
dence’s name and identity
out there,” Hall said. “There
are a lot of things that are
happening that we haven’t
had the opportunity to
showcase. We want to show
the growth and beauty of
this community. This isn’t
about creating an image for
Independence, but show-
casing what Independence
already is.”
Hall also expects to have a
hand in planning for the
solar eclipse next year.
“For instance in 2012,
there was an eclipse in Aus-
tralia,” Hall said. “That
brought probably over
40,000 to 50,000 people to a
small community. To have
another event that has that
kind of magnitude for the
city can be really benefi-
cial. We want to bring the
businesses together, not
only to talk about how we
can control and manage
that many people, but also
how this can be a spring
board for the community
to grow and develop for
years to come.”
All of these goals can help
serve a greater purpose.
“With RARE being here, we
want to help jump start IDA
overall to the next level of
economic development and
prosperity,” Hall said.
To be successful, Hall
knows this will require coop-
eration from the city, but
he’s excited to see what can
be accomplished together.
“I have a lot of faith in the
community,” Hall said. “I
think it will be a very benefi-
cial relationship.”
Chamber: New CEO ready
Continued from Page 1A
In a joint statement,
Chamber President Joel
Giusti and Visitors Center
President Susan Morrill said
they were pleased to have
Shinn on board.
“Having considered many
options, the boards of both
organizations feel this
strategic restructuring will
position them to better ac-
complish their respective
missions,” they said in the
statement. “JD is uniquely
qualified to take the helm as
we redefine the
roles the cham-
ber and visitors
Center take in
the Dallas com-
munity”
Shinn will
work closely with
Metcalfe and Bonnie Dreier,
with the visitors center, to
learn about the organiza-
tions with an eye toward im-
Close knit community needs it’s local paper
In Chelsea Metcalfe’s opinion, the Polk County
Itemizer-Observer is “the best place to get the
word out about our events and programs.”
Metcalfe, Event Planner with the Dallas Area
Visitors Center, recommends the I-O to chamber
member businesses.
“Pricing is reasonable … especially when it
comes to some of the special projects (the I-O)
does, like Explore Polk County, Who’s Who, the
phone book, and then specific guides like the
medical directory,” she said.
Reasonably priced and effective advertising isn’t the only reason Met-
calfe likes her local newspaper.
Of the I-O’s special sections, the annual Summerfest preview is her fa-
vorite, naturally. She added Explore Polk County — an annual tourism
guide published each May — is high on her list, too. She said it “has been
fantastically put together over the last couple of years in particular.”
Metcalfe said she always finds time to read the weekly edition to keep
up with what is going on in her community.
“The local ‘heart’ stories are fantastic,” she said. “Being a very close knit
community, it is always fun to read about someone doing something ex-
traordinary.”
proving the value of cham-
ber membership.
“I couldn’t be more excit-
ed about JD joining the
team,” Metcalfe said. “We
have worked together in dif-
ferent capacities over the
years on special projects,
and I believe he will be a cat-
alyst in leading both organi-
zations to new success lev-
els.”
Pacific Power warns against scam
POLK COUNTY — Pacific Power is warning its customers and
the public of a phone scam targeting utility customers in the
Willamette Valley.
According to a press release from Pacific Power, criminals are
posing as utility customer service agents, trying to get money
and steal personal information.
The fraud calls are pestering people nationwide, but recent
weeks have seen an upsurge, the release states.
The scammer demands payment for overdue bills from a res-
idential or business customer. The thief advises the customer to
make a payment in one of two ways: either immediately on the
phone via credit card, or by going to a local store to purchase a
pre-paid card and calling back on a special toll-free number.
Pacific Power states in the release that this is a scam: Pacific
Power does not use these methods.
If such a call is received, hang up and call 1-888-221-7070 to
inquire about and report the call. Also, report the incident to
local police.
Some Things to celebrate birthday
DALLAS — Some Things, 857 Main St., Dallas, will celebrate
its seventh birthday on Saturday. The store will offer 20 percent
off everything beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Activities will run from noon to 3 p.m. and include caricature
portraits, music from The Salem Soundwaves and art from
Kelsey Ensz.
For more information: 503-831-3100.