Polk County News
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 7, 2016
Indy Rehab, Polk No. 1 team up for drill
City, district search for financing
By Emily Mentzer
FallS CITy — Future funding sources for the Wagner Com-
munity library in Falls City will be the topic of a joint meeting
between the city and the school district on Thursday.
Falls City City Council members and Falls City School Board
members will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the Falls City Community
Center, 320 n. main St.
Polk County assessor Doug Schmidt will speak about form-
ing a library district to collect tax money to keep the library
open.
It would require a tax rate of 26 cents per $1,000 of assessed
value on properties to raise $10,000 within the city limits, ac-
cording to assessor’s office. It would cost 12 cents per $1,000 to
raise the same amount within the school district boundaries.
an operating levy also may be discussed.
For more information: 503-787-3631.
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE —
Smoke poured from the In-
dependence Health and
Rehab facility on Nov. 30.
The call came in at 6:55
p.m.: A fire had started in
one of the resident’s room.
Numerous vehicles and
firefighters from Polk Coun-
ty Fire District No. 1 re-
sponded in minutes, located
the source of the fire and ex-
tinguishing it successfully in
about 20 minutes.
Residents were evacuated,
while others were allowed to
remain and shelter in place,
said Neal Olson, deputy chief.
But it was a drill. It was
only a drill.
Not all the firefighters
knew it was a drill, and the
community was concerned,
Olson said.
“Our plan was to start the
scenario between 7:15 and
7:20 p.m.,” he said. “Howev-
er, the actual call was re-
ceived at 6:55 p.m. This did
create a bit of a problem for
public notification, since the
scenario was over before I
was able to place our ‘train-
ing’ exercise road signs.”
The drill was the first of its
kind that Olson could re-
member: A partnership be-
tween the care facility and
fire district.
Olson was contacted by
William Flumerflet, mainte-
NEWS IN BRIEF
Dallas PD to increase DUII patrols
emIly menTzer/ Itemizer-Observer
Polk County Fire District No. 1 participated in an unannounced drill with Independence
Health and Rehab on the evening of Nov. 30.
nance director for the facili-
ty, and the drill was organ-
ized in about two weeks.
“We decided that we
wanted this to be an unan-
nounced drill, which in-
creases the realism for the
facility staff as well as our
firefighters,” Olson said.
“The facility manager, Terry
Schneider, was in complete
support of the exercise.”
Schneider said the drill
went great.
“It was a marvelous learn-
ing experience for our staff
and the fire department,”
she said. “We were pleased
with our staff’s perform-
ance.”
The scenario was that a
resident at the facility had
gotten out of bed, dropped
his bedding and pillows on
the baseboard heater in his
room, and left for dinner,
Olson said.
“We were able to simulate
this with the use of a smoke
machine that we use regu-
larly for training, placed in
the resident’s room,” he said.
“The smoke machine acti-
vated the alarm system, no-
tifying the alarm company.”
Firefighters worked with
facility staff to evacuate resi-
dents out of the building or
to areas of refuge within the
structure, Olson said.
Overall, the drill was a
success.
“Although we would like
to be faster, the alarm and
sprinkler systems within the
facility assist the firefighters
by notifying us early and as-
sisting with fire control prior
to arrival,” Olson said.
Schneider added that she
hopes to hold these types of
fire drills on an annual basis.
“There is nothing better
than training together with
the ulterior motive of being
able to provide a safer envi-
ronment for all,” she said.
DallaS — The Dallas Police Department has been awarded
grant monies from Oregon Impact for increased enforcement
for driving under the influence of intoxicants related offenses.
The grant provides overtime funds to detect and arrest im-
paired drivers. The goal of the grant is to have extra officers
working on certain dates dedicated to detecting drivers who
are under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances.
Dallas police officers will complete several DuII enforce-
ment and prevention projects over the next year using the
awarded grant funds. Prevention is an important component of
these projects. Dallas PD will announce when extra patrols are
added in an effort to remind drivers of the legal risks of driving
under the influence and encourage them to make other trans-
portation arrangements.
For more information: Senior Officer Dennis Shields at 503-
831-3516. For more information on Oregon Impact: oregonim-
pact.org.
Local officers graduate from DPSST
Salem — The Oregon Department of Public Safety Stan-
dards and Training announced the graduation of its 362nd
Basic Police Class.
among the graduates will be Dallas police officer Kyle Buch-
holz and monmouth police officer Christopher lynch.
The Basic Police Class is 16-weeks in length and includes
dozens of training areas including survival skills, firearms,
emergency vehicle operations, ethics, cultural diversity, prob-
lem solving, community policing, elder abuse, drug recogni-
tion, and dozens of other subjects.
Basic Police Class 362 will graduate at the Oregon Public
Safety academy at 4190 aumsville Highway Se in Salem on Fri-
day at 11 a.m. with a reception immediately following.
Indy PD to focus on impaired drivers
InDePenDenCe —The Independence Police Department re-
ceived a grant from Oregon Impact and the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation Safety Division to pay for overtime pa-
trols focusing on getting impaired drivers off the road.
In november, seven arrests for driving under the influence
of intoxicants were made by Independence police officers.
Of those, five were for alcohol, one was for marijuana, and
one was for driving under the influence of both alcohol and
marijuana. Four of those arrests were also involved in vehicle
collisions.
“Four DuII contributing accidents is too many,” said Chief
Bob mason in a press release. “Fortunately, none of the acci-
dents were fatalities. It is our hope that highlighting the prob-
lem through the media will help remind people to plan ahead
and make good driving decisions this holiday season.”
If you see a motorist operating unsafely, call 911 immediate-
ly. The dispatcher will ask you for the location, direction of trav-
el, license plate number and vehicle description.
For more information: IPD, 503-838-1214.
Windermere’s 2016 “Share the Warmth” Coat & Blanket Drive is coming
up soon and this year we would like to get an early start on it! This year’s
donation drive will start on Monday, November 7 and go until Friday,
December 9. Seven Locations; Windermere – Monmouth; Windermere –
Dallas; Monmouth Fitness; Les Schwab – Monmouth; Independence Library
Les Schwab – Dallas; World Gym
Or call if you would like a load of leaves delivered to your residence.