SEE INSIDE
TANNER OMLID LEADING
Section C
Volume 142, Issue 3
THE WOLVES
Page 11A
www.Polkio.com
January 18, 2017
$1.00
Dallas officers cleared by grand jury
IN
YOUR
TOWN
Unanimous decision made Friday after hearing testimony, watching body, dash camera footage
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Two Dallas of-
ficers involved in the Dec.
16, 2016, shooting in Dallas
that killed Jeremiah N. An-
derson will not face charges.
Friday, a Polk County
grand jury cleared Sgt. Rob
Hatchell and Officer Michael
Fleming in the incident, said
a press release from the Polk
County District Attorney’s
Office. The finding was
unanimous.
According to the DA’s re-
port, the grand jury found
that Hatchell and Fleming’s
use of deadly force was law-
ful and justified because:
• The use of physical force
was necessary to defend the
police officer or another per-
son from the use or threat-
ened imminent use of dead-
ly physical force; and
• The officer’s life or per-
sonal safety was endangered
in the particular circum-
stance involved.
On Dec. 16 at 5:18 p.m., a
911 caller reported a suspi-
cious vehicle in the Dallas
Walmart parking lot, 321 NE
Kings Valley Highway.
The caller described the
vehicle as a green F-150
pickup truck and said the
driver of the truck, appeared
to be intoxicated and was
flailing around in the driver’s
seat.
Dallas officers Aaron Mol-
lahan, Fleming and Hatchell
were dispatched to investi-
gate the call.
They contacted the driver
of the pickup, identified as
Jeremiah Nels Anderson, 36.
According to the DA’s office,
Anderson confirmed to the
officers that he had driven
himself to the Walmart in
the pickup truck.
Mo l l a h a n d e v e l o p e d
probable cause to believe
Anderson was impaired by a
controlled substance, based
on “poor performance on
several field sobriety tests as
well as his confused de-
meanor and speech,” the
DA’s office said.
Anderson refused the offi-
cers’ requests for consent to
pat him down for weapons.
The officers determined
they had probable cause to
arrest Anderson on driving
under the influence of intox-
icants and asked him to
place his hands behind his
back to be cuffed.
At that point, Anderson
actively began resisting ar-
rest and trying to break free
from physical restraint. An-
derson was told repeatedly
to stop resisting, but he
continued to struggle with
the officers, the release
said.
The officers restrained
Anderson face down, but
were unable to get his arms
out from under him. At this
point, Anderson told officers
he would shoot, and pro-
duced a .45-caliber pistol
from a shoulder holster. He
fired at least two bullets, hit-
ting Hatchell in the leg, ac-
cording to reports from the
DA’s office.
Hatchell returned fire at
close range, striking Ander-
son in the lower extremities,
the report stated. Anderson
continued to struggle.
Fleming fired one shot,
striking Anderson in the
head, according to the DA’s
office.
Anderson died at the
scene. Hatchell suffered ex-
tensive injuries to his leg
and back, the DA’s report
stated.
See DAllAS, Page 7A
DAllAS
City Council holds off
on replacing recreation
director.
»Page 7A
FAllS CITY
Owners of green
Haven park quarrel with
council over new water
rates.
»Page 2A
INDEPENDENCE
City Council appoints
Mike Hicks to fill sixth
spot.
Clow
Corner,
Hwy 99
to get
rounder
»Page 6A
MONMOUTH
Monmouth Public Li-
brary garners attention
from nASA.
»Page 14A
SPORTS
Andrew Barry gets
defensive for Central’s
boys basketball team.
By Jolene Guzman
»Page 11A
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY —
Roundabout.
That’s the solution for
the intersection at Clow
Corner and Highway 99W
that Polk County and
Oregon Department of
Transportation officials
agreed to pursue Tuesday
morning.
County officials say it’s
not a perfect solution and
more expensive than the
traffic signal they have
been wanting for a
decade, but it’s at least
doing something at an in-
tersection that has a his-
tory of serious crashes.
As of September, the
intersection of has been
the spot for 32 crashes in
the last 10 years, accord-
ing to ODOT. Of those,
five were very serious
crashes, with two fatali-
ties. County officials said
other serious crashes
have occurred since a fa-
tality in September.
ODOT has $3.39 million
in an account waiting to
be spent on a safety im-
provement at the intersec-
tion, about $1.6 million
short of what would be
needed to build a round-
about. Tim Potter, ODOT’s
Area 3 manager, said he
can get started with engi-
neering and right-of-way
acquisition now if the
commitment is for build-
ing a roundabout.
“I’ve been through my
seven stages of grief on
this traffic signal,” said
Craig Pope, the Polk
County Commissioners
board chairman. “We
have money, we can start
doing something.”
See ODOT, Page 2A
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
Ask Dr.
before going
to ER with flu
Itemizer-Observer staff report
ErIn OSgOOD/for the Itemizer-Observer
Erin Osgood, inset, begins work to reach out to Polk County veterans as the county’s first veterans service officer.
Polk gets own VSO to help local veterans
Erin Osgood starts work to reach out, help wade through veterans affairs
By Jolene Guzman
Serving those who served
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Erin Osgood,
Polk County’s new veterans
service officer, is more than
ready to begin helping those
who have served.
Since starting the job on
Jan. 3, Osgood and her assis-
tant Marie McCandless have
had their hands full getting
their new office running.
“It’s a brand-new build-
ing, so we’ve been hitting a
few roadblocks just making
sure everything works prop-
erly,” Osgood said. “We
haven’t been up and fully
functioning yet. We are hop-
ing for a soft opening by the
end of (this week) when we
can see veterans.”
The position is new for
Polk County, and the cost is
being split between the state
and county.
Before this year, veterans
had to go to the Veterans Af-
fairs office in Salem for help
with their claims.
Osgood, who grew up in
the Corvallis and Albany
What: Polk County Veterans Service Office.
Where: 240 SW Washington St., Dallas.
Hours: Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Contact: 503-623-9188; website,
http://www.co.polk.or.us/vso.
area, previously served as
the VSO in Grant County for
18 months.
She and McCandless are
U.S. Army veterans, and
they both are eager to bring
better service to the veteran
community in Polk County.
“I like working with vet-
erans. It’s a nice way to give
back,” Osgood said. “Since I
can no longer serve, it’s
nice to serve those who
served.”
Osgood said what she’s
seen of the support system
in Polk County for those in
need, including veterans, is
impressive.
She’s already a member of
the county’s service integra-
tion teams, a program that
pools resources in each
wed
thu
Donate to Dallas First
Christian Church’s
sock drive, benefit-
ing those in need
through Polk Com-
munity Connect.
8:30 a.m.-noon.
Join the community
at the open house
of the recently re-
modeled Mon-
mouth Senior
Center.
Rain
Hi: 49
Lo: 40
Showers
Hi: 45
Lo: 36
11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.
fri
What better way to
spend the evening
than with friends
and a free movie at
Dallas Public Li-
brary?
5:30 p.m. Free.
Showers
Hi: 40
Lo: 32
community to help those
needing assistance.
“I’m just really excited to
start work here in Polk
County,” Osgood said. “I’ve
been really surprised at all
the amazing services that
are already in place here.
There’s already such a strong
sense of community in this
county and I’m really excited
to be part of it.”
Osgood’s main responsi-
bility is to help veterans
navigate the complicated
claim process with the U.S.
Department of Veterans Af-
fairs.
She can walk veterans
through applying for med-
ical, disability, home loan
and education benefits.
“We spend time with vet-
erans making sure that their
… claims are correct so they
are getting the benefits they
deserve and they are getting
the money that they are en-
titled to,” Osgood said. “It is
very complicated. The VA is
very particular in how they
want claims filled out. The
paperwork can be very con-
fusing, so we spend a lot of
time with veterans filling out
the forms with them. We
make sure everything is cor-
rect so that they get the cor-
rect benefits as quickly as
possible.”
With an estimated 8,000
veterans living in Polk Coun-
ty, Osgood is betting her of-
fice will be busy.
“We are excited to take on
the challenge, and we will
meet whatever need is here
in the county,” she said.
Osgood said she plans to
begin outreach efforts to the
Falls City and Grand Ronde
areas soon in hopes of
reaching veterans who may
not otherwise come into the
office.
See VSO, Page 7A
POLK COUnTY — With
the onset of flu season,
winter weather condi-
tions, and usual admis-
sions for heart disease,
stroke and other health
conditions are keeping
many hospitals busy, ac-
cording to the Oregon
Health Authority.
Influenza can cause
achiness, fever, cough and
sore throat. People with
mild symptoms who want
to be seen can protect
others and avoid long
waits in the emergency
room by calling their pri-
mary care provider before
heading to the hospital,
the OHA stated.
Many people with flu
symptoms recover with
rest and drinking plenty of
fluids. People should call
911 if someone they know
with the flu has severe
shortness of breath or is
difficult to wake. For those
65 and older, pregnant
women, children and
those with chronic med-
ical conditions or weak im-
mune systems who get
fever with cough or sore
throat, talk to a health
care provider.
Flu cases in Oregon
have spiked in recent
weeks. Laboratories in the
state reported 1,641 speci-
mens that were positive
for influenza during the
week of Dec. 25-31 — up
from 609 positive flu spec-
imens the week before.
For more information:
flu.oregon.gov.
sat
sun
mon
tue
The Polk County
Livestock Associa-
tion will have its an-
nual meeting at the
fairgrounds. Scott
Wagner will speak.
5:30 p.m. $15-$20.
Has it been a while
since you’ve cracked
the cover of your
Bible? Today is na-
tional Bible Sunday,
a great reason to
start.
Join the Willamette
Valley Orchestra at
Monmouth Senior
Center to learn an
instrument.
6:30 p.m.
$25/month.
James2 Community
Kitchen feeds all
who are hungry
each week at St.
Philip Catholic
Church.
4:30 p.m. Free.
Rain
Hi: 39
Lo: 31
Showers
Hi: 40
Lo: 30
Showers
Hi: 40
Lo: 30
A.M. Rain/Ice
Hi: 39
Lo: 30