CENTRAL GIRLS BASKETBALL
RALLYING CRY
Volume 142, Issue 4
Page 11A
www.Polkio.com
January 25, 2017
$1.00
Flu comes on
strong this year
IN
YOUR
TOWN
Still time to get a vaccination
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS
POLK COUNTY — Flu season is packing a wallop this
year, but there’s still time to get your flu shot.
Local officials say you should, even if you are healthy
and not among high-risk groups, because it will stop the
spread of the influenza virus.
“Flu season is in full swing here in Oregon, and it’s
shaping up to be the worst season we’ve seen in the last
few years,” said Kirk Hillebrand, Polk County communi-
cable disease nurse. “The exact cause is unknown at this
time, but may be partly due to the predominant strain
we’ve been seeing — AH3. Some experts believe it to be a
more serious strain of flu.”
County-specific statistics aren’t available, but
statewide numbers indicate cases are still on the rise, but
not as sharply as the last few weeks in December and
early January. During those weeks, the number of visits
to emergency rooms with flu-like symptom skyrocketed.
During the week of Jan. 8-14 — the last week of statistics
available — 1,274 tests were positive for influenza. Of those,
1,220 were influenza type AH3, according to Flu Bites, the
weekly surveillance report of influenza and respiratory
viruses. Cumulative statistics for the season are 6,714 posi-
tive tests statewide, 97 percent of which are type AH3.
Hillebrand said locally, the most noticeable effect of
this harsher-than-normal flu season has been at long-
term care facilities.
“Since the beginning of January, there have been three
flu outbreaks in long-term care facilities in Polk County,”
Hillebrand said. “Some of the outbreaks may be con-
tributed to relatively low vaccination rates among staff.”
See FLU, Page 6A
Avoid the Flu
• Get the seasonal flu vaccine: The majority of flu is
spread by young, healthy, unvaccinated children and
adults. That's why vaccination is such an important
part of flu prevention. Flu vaccine is recommended for
people 6 months and older.
• Wash your hands: Use soap and warm water. Wash
for 15 to 20 seconds. If soap and water are not avail-
able, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or your
arm when you cough or sneeze.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs
spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• Stay home if you get sick and do not return to work
or school until 24 hours after a fever breaks.
• Clean work and household surfaces often.
• Wear a mask if you have a weakened immune sys-
tem.
• Ask your family, friends and health providers to get
a flu vaccination.
• Practice good health habits: Get plenty of sleep
and exercise, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids,
and eat healthy food.
• Manage any chronic conditions.
—Source: Oregon Health Authority
City to borrow $1.75
million to purchase
property surrounding
Mercer reservoir.
»Page 2A
FALLS CITY
Falls City to look at
making codes more
business and develop-
ment friendly.
»Page 6A
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Attendees at the community homelessness forum on Thursday learned about the re-
sources available in Polk County and shared ideas about how the community can help.
INDEPENDENCE
Central senior Marlon
Tuipulotu commits to
USC.
HOMELESS
»Page 11A
Community combines forces to help people in need
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — To afford an
average two-bedroom apart-
ment in Dallas, a person
must have a job offering
$14.36 per hour. In Oregon,
40 percent of jobs pay less
than $15 per hour.
Those stats were part of a
pop quiz put together by the
Salem Interfaith Hospitality
Network given to attendees
at a community forum on
Thursday addressing home-
lessness in the area.
Another number: Rental
vacancy rate in Dallas in
2015; 0.76 percent.
Those statistics paint just
one part of the picture fac-
ing people and families
struggling with homeless-
ness in the Polk County area.
Thursday’s meeting, host-
ed at Valley Life Center in
Dallas, was the first of its
kind that Brent DeMoe, di-
rector of Polk County’s Fam-
ily and Community Out-
reach department, can re-
member in the time he’s
worked with the county.
“We’re not going to solve
everything in 90 minutes,
but we’ve never had a meet-
ing like this in the decade
that I’ve worked here, so this
is a really good start,” he
said.
Nearly 80 people attended
the meeting, including indi-
viduals from county govern-
ment, law enforcement,
churches, and schools. It
was designed to inform peo-
ple of the resources available
to people and to brainstorm
actions to make the situa-
tion better.
Polk County doesn’t have
a traditional homeless shel-
ter, but does have resources
available to homeless peo-
ple, including transportation
to shelters in the Salem area.
T.J. Putnam, the executive
director of the Salem Inter-
faith Hospitality Network,
said the organization has
been branching out from
Salem to Polk County, start-
ing with a partnership with
Christ Church in Mon-
mouth.
MONMOUTH
The organization works
with church congregations
to provide lodging and
meals. SIHN helps families
with finding work and hous-
ing.
“In the last three years,
every family we’ve helped
has been able to leave the
shelter for their own home,”
Putnam said. “It’s a testa-
ment of parents who want a
better life for their kids and a
community that can come
along side of them to sup-
port them.”
The Salvation Army offers
a similar program at its
Lighthouse Shelter in Salem,
which has 50 beds for men
and 33 for women.
The shelter runs a six-
month transition program to
help residents get back on
their feet.
People do not have to live
in Salem to use the shelter.
In fact, shelter workers will
drive to pick people up, said
Melissa Baurer, the director
of social services at The Sal-
vation Army.
See FORUM, Page 6A
Western Oregon’s
women’s basketball
team defeats North-
west Nazarene.
»Page 12A
SPORTS
Dallas’ wrestling
team takes second at
the reser’s Tournament
of Champions.
»Page 11A
POLK COUNTY
Committee agrees to
raises for county elect-
ed officials.
»Page 3A
Newsletter
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Monmouth shows off senior center expansion
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Hun-
dreds gathered at the Mon-
mouth Senior Center on
Thursday for its open house
and ribbon cutting, celebrat-
ing the 2,133-square-foot ex-
pansion project.
The $520,000 addition
was paid for through
fundraising from the
Friends of the Monmouth
Senior Center, coupled with
contributions from the city
of Monmouth as well as
grants from Ford Family
Foundation, Meyer Memo-
rial Trust, Oregon Commu-
nity Fund and the Collins
Fund.
While the actual con-
struction was speedy — the
ground-breaking was in the
summer of 2016 — secur-
ing the money took more
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
than a decade.
It was worth the effort,
and the wait, Senior Center
Director Sue Teal said Thurs-
day.
The center had run out of
space to accommodate all
the activities and classes
community members want-
ed.
New rooms have been
added to the building to
allow people to enjoy a class
or card game without dis-
ruption — even if another
event is happening in the
main room, Teal said.
The addition of a gener-
ous storage space makes the
multipurpose room feel
larger, she noted, since it will
no longer be needed for ta-
bles and chairs.
One of the most exciting
additions is the bath-
rooms.
“There are enough of
them,” Teal said. “The bath-
rooms were one of our main
reasons for expanding. We
continued to grow, and our
bathrooms haven’t.”
Another issue: The bath-
rooms weren’t accessible to
those with mobility issues.
Now they are.
Teal wants the communi-
ty to know it is their center.
“We’re open to sugges-
tions,” she said. “People
have wants and needs, and
we’d like them to tell us what
they would like.”
The senior center is open
to all, not just those over a
certain age.
With the expansion com-
pleted, there is still work to
do, furniture to purchase.
Monthly breakfasts will
continue to raise money
to support the ongoing
wish list of items for the
center.
EMILy MENTZEr/ Itemizer-Observer
Pat Jaffer (center) grabs a slice of cake, donated by Roth’s Fresh Markets, at the Mon-
mouth Senior Center’s open house and ribbon cutting on Thursday.
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Mark the 70th an-
niversary of Dallas
retirement Village
with a celebration
and ribbon cutting,
and tour the facility.
11 a.m. Free.
Dallas Senior Center
will host a Elvis
Music Jam, open to
all. Bring finger food
to share with friends
and enjoy the music.
6:30 p.m. Free.
Donate blood and
save a life at the Dal-
las United
Methodist Church
on LaCreole Drive.
redcrossblood.org.
1-6 p.m. Free.
Polk Community
Free Clinic will be at
Trinity Lutheran
Church for those
who are uninsured
or under-insured.
7-11 a.m. Free.
Help put the pieces
together by taking
part in National Puz-
zle Day.
Join the Willamette
Valley New Horizons
Orchestra and dis-
cover a hidden tal-
ent for music. Open
to all music levels.
6:30 p.m. $25/mo.
Take your little ones
to the library for in-
teractive story
times.
Dallas: 10:30 a.m.
Indy: 2 p.m.
Mon: 10:15 a.m.
Cloudy
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Lo: 33
Partly sunny
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Lo: 31
Partly cloudy
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Lo: 29
Sunny
Hi: 45
Lo: 31
Partly cloudy
Hi: 46
Lo: 33
Partly cloudy
Hi: 45
Lo: 33
Showers
Hi: 46
Lo: 37