STATE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
CENTRAL, DALLAS CRASH SEMIS
Page 10A
Volume 141, Issue 46
www.Polkio.com
November 16, 2016
$1.00
Love to
resign
from
chamber
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DAllAS
Voters elect three
new councilors, two in-
cumbents.
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH/INDE-
PENDENCE — Jean Love
announced her resigna-
tion as the executive di-
rector of the Monmouth-
Independence Chamber
of Commerce on Friday.
She will remain in the po-
sition until Dec. 30.
Love has served as di-
rector for four and a half
years. One thing she
helped with was the
switch to a tiered system
of membership rather
than basing dues on the
number of employees.
“I liked the transition to
tiers,” Love said. “It was
definitely an endeavor ...
but it was one that I
thought was very impor-
tant. I think we have bet-
ter membership benefits.”
During her tenure, Love
has helped design the
chamber’s professional
workshops, Pep Talks, as
well as managing the web-
site and Facebook content,
brought members of the
Canadian Consulate Office
to the region to expand
opportunities for trade,
and expanded programs
and services, such as the
after-hours mixers, lunch
forums, Discover MI Town,
and Chamber Chat, cham-
ber board president Josh
Brandt said in an email.
See lovE, Page 5A
»Page 2A
FAllS CItY
Two new faces join
city council, while Sick-
les wins re-election.
»Page 3A
INDEPENDENCE
City council will see
three new faces.
TOKOLA PROPERTIES/Itemizer-Observer
Plans for Independence landing include a hotel, 110 apartments, a clubhouse and 14 townhomes.
INDY LANDS HOTEL
Council approves development deal at Nov. 8 meeting
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — For Independ-
ence, a 20-year dream is on the cusp of
realization.
Doing something at the old Valley
Concrete site on the Willamette River
that would enhance the downtown
area has been on master plans for In-
dependence since 1996.
When Valley Concrete moved, it was
the city’s chance to take action.
The city bought the property for
$800,000, and spent about two years
and $3.2 million fixing the land up —
leveling, surveying, laying infrastruc-
ture — to attract a developer who
would build a hotel and housing, in-
creasing foot traffic in downtown and
supporting the Polk County wine in-
dustry.
Now, the city council has approved a
deal with Tokola Properties on four of
the nine lots available on what is now
called Independence Landing, 11 acres
of riverfront property. Tokola will build
a 75-bed, four-story boutique hotel
first, and then 110 apartments, a club-
house and 14 townhomes. The hotel
will be managed by Embarcadero Hos-
pitality, of San Francisco.
Tokola Properties paid the city
$162,000 for the land and plans to in-
vest $42.2 million in the project.
The city will end up giving $2.9
million in incentives for Tokola to
continue with the development
agreement. Those incentives will be
on things such as building permits,
system development charges, and
other non-cash items, City Manager
David Clyne said.
He said an economist from PNW
Economics estimates the city will re-
cover $5.3 million invested in the
property in 11 years.
See HotEl, Page 5A
»Page 2A
MoNMoUtH
Incumbent, three
new council members,
elected to city council.
Steve Milligan runs un-
opposed for Mayor.
»Page 2A
SPoRtS
Western Oregon’s
women’s basketball
team ready for new
start.
»Page 10A
Thanksgiving
dinner planned
in Falls City
Itemizer-observer staff report
Coping with the fallout, WOU students, staff unite
Students question future with president-elect Donald Trump, possible repeal of DACA
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Leaders
at Western Oregon Universi-
ty didn’t have many concrete
answers to questions follow-
ing the Nov. 8 election, but
still tried quell fears in a
quickly organized forum Fri-
day.
Called “WOU is Alive,” the
forum was put together by
WOU Student Body Presi-
dent Alma Pacheco and fea-
tured a panel including
WOU President Rex Fuller
and representatives from
public safety, general coun-
sel, student health and
counseling, and student af-
fairs.
Pacheco said many stu-
dents had a fearful reaction
to the results of the presi-
dential election — she was
one of them — and she
wanted to help restore calm.
“It created a very negative
environment,” she said. “It’s
important for folks to be re-
minded that we need to
work together in order to
achieve some progress.”
Students at the forum
asked about the status of the
school’s international stu-
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Western oregon University held a forum on Friday that included university president
Rex Fuller, second from right, to quell fears after the election on Nov. 8.
dents and those who are
part of the Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals, or
DACA. The program, insti-
tuted in an executive order
by President Barack Obama,
allows undocumented chil-
dren who arrived in the
country at age 16 and
younger to apply to stay in
the U.S. to work or attend
school temporarily.
It’s a program that Presi-
dent-elect Donald Trump
may revoke or change after
he takes office in January,
Fuller said.
He said Western and other
universities across the coun-
try will lobby to be part of
the debate about the future
of that program and immi-
gration reform in general.
“I think you can expect to
see more conversation
around that, and that con-
versation will take its form
in why our current position
on DACA students is the
right position to hold with
regard to a moral, but also
educational, position,”
Fuller said.
Fuller said he believes
WOU will carry on its tradi-
tion of being a diverse and
inclusive institution.
“Five years from now, we
will have even greater par-
ticipation of underrepre-
sented groups than we do
today,” he said. “That trend
is here to stay.”
Fallout from another issue
on the ballot, Oregon’s
Measure 97, will have more
defined financial impact on
WOU. The measure would
have imposed a gross sales
tax on corporations with $25
million or more in sales an-
nually. It failed by a large
margin, which could spell
state budget deficits.
See WoU, Page 5A
FALLS CITY — The an-
nual free Community
Thanksgiving Dinner in
Falls City is set for 11 a.m.
to 3 p.m. on Saturday at
the Falls City Community
Center, 320 N. Main St. All
are welcome for a tradi-
tional thanksgiving dinner
with a variety of desserts.
Volunteers and food
donations are needed. For
more information or to
volunteer, please contact
Kristy Major at 503-881-
3993.
Fire District No.
1 receives grant
worth $5,000
Itemizer-observer staff report
POLK COUNTY — Polk
County Fire District No. 1
received a $5,000 grant
from Georgia-Pacific’s
Bucket brigade program to
help pay for equipment.
Polk No. 1 is one of 33
grant recipients and will
spend the money on re-
placing full-body protec-
tive gear that no longer
meets standards set by
the National Fire Protec-
tion Agency. Each set
costs more than $2,000.
This year, Georgia-Pacif-
ic awarded $170,000 in
grants to fire departments
for equipment for fire-
fighters’ safety. This is the
10th year of the Bucket
Brigade program.
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Grab your favorite
“brew” and join oth-
ers in a discussion
on the New Testa-
ment at St. Thomas
Episcopal Church.
7 p.m. Free.
Are you a senior
who loves to write?
Share your passion
with the Dallas Sen-
ior Writing Group at
the senior center.
10 a.m. Free.
Mickey Mouse was
first introduced to
the world in “Steam-
boat Willie” in 1928.
Bring your pet to
Old Mill Feed and
Seed to get pictures
taken with Santa,
take a ride on a cart,
and enter a drawing.
10 a.m.-2p.m. $6.
If you’re looking for
a creative gift, check
out the Empty Bowl
same at Oregon
State Fairgrounds.
Noon-4 p.m.
Meet the new direc-
tor of the Dallas
Chamber of Com-
merce and network
with others at the
monthly luncheon.
11:30 a.m. $15.
Bring your little
ones to the Indoor
Play Park at First
Presbyterian
Church in Dallas
Tues through Fri.
Showers
Hi: 50
Lo: 39
Partly sunny
Hi: 49
Lo: 37
Cloudy
Hi: 49
Lo: 43
Rain
Hi: 53
Lo: 46
Rain
Hi: 54
Lo: 45
Rain
Hi: 52
Lo: 46
Showers
Hi: 52
Lo: 45
9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.