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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2017)
Polk County News Myrold pleads guilty in court Dallas Senior Center DEADLINES NEWS DEADLiNES For inclusion in the Wednesday edition of the Itemizer-Observer: Social news (weddings, engagements, anniver- saries, births, milestones) — 5 p.m. on Thursday. Community events — Noon on Friday for both the Community Notebook and Community Calendar. Letters to the editor — 10 a.m. on Monday. Obituaries — 4 p.m. on Monday. Sentenced to 30 days in jail, five years probation By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Four months after his arrest on accusa- tions of sex abuse involving a 17-year-old student at Dal- las High School, former teacher and coach Kirk My- rold will be headed to the Polk County Jail. Myrold pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree sex abuse, a felony, in Polk County Circuit Court Thurs- day afternoon. A second count of sec- ond-degree sex abuse and luring a minor charge were dropped as part of a plea ne- gotiation with the Polk County District Attorney’s Office. Judge Norm Hill sen- tenced Myrold to 30 days in jail and five years of proba- tion among other conditions following the guilty plea. Myrold pleaded guilty to count 2 of the Oct. 5 grand jury indictment, which read: “On or between June 1, 2016 and Sept. 12, 2016, … the de- ADvERTiSiNG DEADLiNES Retail display ads — 3 p.m. Friday. Classified display ads — 11 a.m. on Monday. Classified line ads — Noon on Monday. Classified ads are updated daily on www.polkio.com. Public notices — Noon on Friday. CORRECTIONS If you see anything that re- quires a correction or clarifica- tion, call the newsroom at 503-623-2373 or send an email to ementzer @polkio.com. WEBSITE By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — Polk County Fire District No. 1 volunteers responded to more incidents with fewer volunteers in 2016. “We had 2,253 home re- sponses with 44 volunteers,” Chief Ben Stange said. In 2015, the home responses numbered 2,032 with 47 peo- ple. Stange said that while the district lost a few volunteers, the people who remained re- sponded to more calls on av- erage. St a n g e p re s e n t e d a n overview of 2016, as well as goals and challenges he saw coming in 2017, to the fire board at its Thursday meeting. “We have a cultural shift,” he said. “We have new vol- unteer firefighters, new pro- WEATHER hiGh LOW Jan. 10............... 42 Jan. 11............... 35 Jan. 12............... 35 Jan. 13............... 31 Jan. 14............... 34 Jan. 15............... 36 Jan. 16............... 38 RAiN 33 31 23 20 19 18 23 fendant, being a person of 21 years of age or older, did un- lawfully and knowingly sub- ject (the victim), a person in- capable of consent by reason of being under the age of 18 years, to sexual contact by touching her lips, mouth or sexual intimate part.” He was arrested on Sept. 12, 2016, following a report from Dallas School District of the inappropriate rela- tionship between Myrold and the girl. Chief Deputy District At- torney Jayme Kimberly said given his criminal history, the presumptive sentence per Oregon statute for the crime is three years of pro- bation. Because the offense is a sex crime, the sentence could be stretched to five years, she said. The District Attorney’s Of- fice recommended the longer probation term and the 30-day jail term. Myrold also must undergo a sex offender evaluation and treatment. Hill ordered Myrold to have no contact .79 .06 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 Rainfall during Jan. — 3.16 in. Rain through Jan. 16 — 3.16 in. fessionals; we have an op- portunity to take a look and see if we are who we really want to be.” Stange said that the dis- trict is in good shape halfway through its fiscal year, but that next year will bring chal- lenges, especially in the cost of the district’s contributions to the Oregon Public Em- ployee Retirement System. “If there’s an 8 percent re- turn for PERS, in the next six years, we can expect a $500,000 difference in what we’re paying now,” he said. Stange told the board to consider renewing the levy soon. He said waiting until April 2019 to decide to renew the levy could put the district in a difficult position for the 2019-2020 budget if taxpayers said no. The district has improved A Pleasant Place to Buy or Sell Your RV CALL TODAY FOR A NO-ChARGE EvALuATiON. OPEN WEEK! A 7 DAYS • Sat 9-5 i 9-6 Mon-Fr un 10-4 S Ruben 503-915-2080 Rick 503-437-5398 4075 NE Three Mile Lane, McMinnville, OR www.macrvsales.com Next to the Spruce Goose Aviation Museum macrvsales@gmail.com 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. • Friday, Jan. 27 at Dallas United Methodist Church 565 SE LaCreole Dr., Dallas $ 7 with the victim in the case and no contact with minors. He must register as a sex of- fender. Myrold was ordered to re- port to the Polk County Jail on Monday morning to begin serving his 30-day sentence. If he finishes probation successfully, Myrold can apply to have the charge re- duced to a misdemeanor. Kimberly said the DA’s of- fice notified the victim and her family about Thursday’s plea and sentencing. “The victim did not wish to attend or make a state- ment to the court,” Kimberly said. When asked, Myrold told Hill he didn’t wish to address the court either. Before sentencing, My- rold’s attorney, Clark Willes, said his client “wishes to apologize to the victim and her family for problems he has caused them.” Through his attorney, My- rold apologized to his own family as well. plans approved By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Plans to build a new senior center in Dallas cleared another hurdle on Jan. 10. The Dallas Planning Commission approved the site de- sign plan for the center’s soon-to-be new home near the corner of Southwest Court and Church streets, behind the Carnegie Building. Architect Rex Price submitted final plans to the city for review on Dec. 7, 2016. The city deemed them complete and scheduled a pub- lic hearing before the planning commission for approval. Plans submitted on Nov. 17, 2016, were found to be in- complete and returned to the architect to finish. Approved plans include a two-story, 7,248 square-foot center to replace the smaller space the Dallas Area Sen- iors use now, adjacent to the Dallas Public Library. The project will include seven off-street parking spaces and 2,527-square-feet of landscaping. More than two years ago, the city was awarded a $1.9 million Community Development Block Grant to pay for development and construction of the center. Since then, the project has taken more time to get off the ground than expected, but the list of roadblocks is get- ting steadily shorter, said Dallas City Manger Ron Foggin. Planning commission approval leaves just waiting on the state to approve the environmental review, which began in June 2015, before construction can begin, Fog- gin said. “We are hopeful that will be completed shortly,” Foggin said. “As soon as the site is cleared by the state, the proj- ect can move forward. We are planning on the project starting late spring or early summer.” Polk No. 1 in good shape The Polk County Itemizer- Observer website, www.polkio.com, is updat- ed each week by Wednes- day afternoon. There, you will find nearly every story that appears in the print version of the newspaper, as well as some items, in- cluding additional photos, that do not appear in print due to space limitations. The Itemizer-Observer is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Watch for breaking news, links to sto- ries, sports scores updates and more. RECORDED Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 18, 2017 3A 00 per person For information 503-623-8442 Bowl of Stew, Biscuits, Piece of Pie & Beverage Supports Projects of Dallas Naomi Chapter #22, Order of Eastern Star For list of MOVIES and SHOWTIMES visit us online independenceCinema8.com or call 503-606-3000 service through equipment purchased with the general obligation bond and levy, in- cluding installing some computers in vehicles that show where hydrants are lo- cated, allowing firefighters to see where to set up while en route to a structure fire. Efforts to recruit volun- teers at Station 40 in Buena Vista have been successful, Stange said. Volunteers at Station 40 have been a strug- gle for the district for years. Recruiting will begin at Station 80, in Airlie. A new shift captain and new volunteers and volun- teer lieutenants will be sworn in during a ceremony at Central High School’s au- ditorium on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. Solution on Page 10A
