Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 14, 2016 5A
Library district
would save Wagner
Falls City officials consider size,
scope of district needed for library
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
JOlEnE GuzMan/Itemizer-Observer
Doug and Renee Pierce, of Dallas, took over ownership at Courtyard Coffeehouse & Deli.
Settling into food service
New owners of Courtyard Coffeehouse keep old favorites
By Jolene Guzman
Check it out
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Doug and
Renee Pierce, of Dallas, got
married in June and wanted
to find a way to spend more
time together.
Doug worked 25 years as a
truck driver and wanted to
end his days on the road.
“I wanted to downsize a
little,” he said. “Not be gone
as much.”
Their solution? Taking
over Courtyard Coffeehouse
& Deli in downtown Dallas.
Renee said the move
seems perfect.
“We are going to be to-
gether all the time,” she said
with a laugh.
Doug worked in restau-
rants decades ago before he
joined the U.S. Navy, where
he was worked as a cook.
“He fed everyone on the
ship,” Renee said.
She said she’s leaving that
responsibility to Doug at
Courtyard.
What: Courtyard Coffeehouse & Deli.
Where: 156 SE Mill St, Dallas.
New Hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8
a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Contact: 503-623-9686.
“He’s the cook,” she said.
“I’m the cashier.”
The operation is a family
affair, with Doug’s daugh-
ter, Jamie Pierce, and
R e n e e’s m o m , C o n n i e
Ames, working behind the
counter, too.
While the coffee shop and
deli isn’t the full-scale
restaurant Doug has
dreamed of owning yet —
featuring sandwich, wraps,
soups, a salad bar and cof-
fee — it’s a start for the cou-
ple.
They officially took over
Dec. 1 and by the next day,
Renee was already nailing
regular customers’ names.
“Hi Tom,” she said to a
customer as he walked
through the door. “It’s Tom,
right?”
The man nodded his head
and headed toward the
counter to place his order.
Doug said they want to
make customers feel at
home.
“We want to make it a lit-
tle more personable,” he
said.
With that in mind, they
will be keeping favorite
sandwiches on the menu.
Popular creations — Gob-
bler, Spicy Jack, and The
Whittaker — still are fea-
tured.
Doug is adding chili dogs
to the menu on Thursdays,
and everyone’s favorite
soups still will be served.
The resident cook agrees
with his customers on the
best sandwiches — Gobbler
and Spicy Jack — and he
likes a good mocha, too.
“This is a perfect fit for
him,” Renee said.
FALLS CITY — Would Falls City residents support pay-
ing to keep the Wagner Community Library open?
That is what Falls City school and city officials want to
find out before plunging into planning to put a taxing dis-
trict or operating levy on the ballot.
The library’s funding is limited to what remains in the
Wagner Trust Fund managed by the city, which will run
out within a few years. Neither the city nor the school dis-
trict can afford to pay operational costs, so it would be up
to the citizens to provide funding necessary to keep the
doors open.
Both entities believe that may be a challenge, citing
losses at the ballot for a bond to build a multi-purpose
gym at Falls City Elementary School and weak support in
the precinct for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office levy.
“The city precinct has always been very tight on voting,”
Mayor Terry Ungricht said. “It would take a lot of educat-
ing and trying to get the no-sayers to come to a meeting to
offer their ideas.”
The group decided its first step should be surveying the
community, with suggestions of putting the survey in util-
ity bills, online and passing it out at sporting events.
Library Director Andy Rommel said material stating
what the library provides to the community should be dis-
tributed at the same time the survey goes out.
“To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t want to put a
whole lot of work into it if people are going to vote no on
it,” said Bob Young, who is on the school board.
He said, as a school board member, he’s willing to sup-
port the library to keep it open, but there only so much
that can be done once the trust money runs out.
“These people need to say yes or no to something, and
if they say no, fine, it’s no,” he said.
The library’s advisory board would oversee writing the
survey, which the city and district could help distribute to
community members.
Depending on the outcome of the survey, the two enti-
ties may schedule a meeting with state library and
Chemeketa Cooperative Regional Library System repre-
sentatives to discuss forming a district versus asking vot-
ers for a three- to five-year levy.
Ungricht said he would like to see community mem-
bers, both those who use the library and those who don’t,
attend that meeting to hear about options — or provide
their own.
“That’s what we are running into — we are not getting
public involvement,” he said. “We’re only trying to come
up with solutions to help the community, and we don’t
have all the ideas.”
Call us.
The Itemizer Observer can help you expand your market share, and make
your business more profitable. Call Heidi, Rachel or Karen at 503-623-2373.
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