Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current, February 08, 2017, Image 4

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Polk County itemizer observer., February 08, 2017, Page 4A, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextPolk County Voices Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 8, 2017 4a LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Thanks Dallas Fire for saving lives senior center. Good churches, parks and restaurants. Debbie and Mel are so special — great food and nice and clean at Murphy’s Restaurant. The Four Seasons Beauty Shop, Sharon and Carol helping us all have pretty hair. Postal Connections where Jamie and Mark and Sunny make our day bright. Dr. Tom Flaming and his group have gone beyond caring for us. We are moving to Texas to be close to our daughter and son-in-law. We appreciate their invitation to help us in our senior years. Good friends and neigh- bors — it will be hard to say good-bye. Love you all. I would like to extend a thank you to all the mem- bers of the Dallas Police De- partment, Dallas Fire De- partment, Dallas Ambu- lance Service, and to the clergy, for your work to try to save my girlfriend last week in a medical emer- gency. Within seconds of my call for help, the first officer arrived and took over CPR for me as I was completely in shock, and that permitted me to regroup. I am proud to live in the city of Dallas and again, very proud of those emergency respon- ders, some of whom I have been honored to meet at our neighborhood func- tions. Bless you for your care of our city. Betty and Les Day Dallas Single-payer best health care fix Randy Wisnia Dallas Roundabout best, safest option The skid marks on 99W at Hoffman Road show why traffic signals at rural high- way intersections are dan- gerous: Inattentive drivers can be surprised by the presence of a signal on an open highway. Signalized rural intersec- tions often trade the high- speed T-bone wrecks they are built to prevent for high- speed rear-end crashes. ODOT considered three obvious redesigns for the dangerous 99W/Clow Cor- ner intersection; a signal, a flyover interchange, or a modern roundabout. A signal would be unsafe. An interchange would be prohibitively expensive. A roundabout is the safe and cost-effective alternative. People are understand- ably opposed when round- abouts are mentioned. In one study, 67 percent had negative or very negative impressions of roundabouts before construction. Surprisingly, acceptance skyrockets once the round- about is in operation. In the study mentioned above, negative and very negative reactions dropped to 0 per- cent post-construction. Support rises when peo- ple learn by experience that modern roundabouts aren’t like old-fashioned traffic cir- cles; that they are safe and simple to use; and that acci- dents are fewer and less se- rious compared to those at intersections controlled by stop signs or signals. Over 120 modern round- clists and pedestrians make safer crossings of roadways at roundabouts. I anticipate much safer travel on 99W north of Monmouth once the cur- rent 99W/Clow Corner in- tersection has been re- placed with a safe and sim- ple modern roundabout. John Oberst Monmouth Couple bids Dallas fond farewell abouts have been built statewide in Washington since 1997. Where those roundabouts replaced stan- dard intersections, acci- dents decreased 37 percent, while injury accidents dropped 75 percent. Most importantly, fatal accidents decreased 90 percent. These safety improve- PUBLIC AGENDA Public agenda is a listing of upcoming meetings for agen- cies in Polk County. To submit a meeting, send it at least two weeks before the actual meeting date to the Itemizer-Ob- server via email (ionews@polkio.com). — WEDnEsDay, FEB. 8 • Monmouth Parks and Recreation Board — 7 p.m., Volun- teer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. THuRsDay, FEB. 9 • Polk County Fire District no. 1 Board — 6 p.m., Central Station 90, 1800 Monmouth St., Independence. 503-838-1510. • Western Days Commission — 7 p.m., Independence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212. TuEsDay, FEB. 14 • independence City Council — 7 p.m., Independence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212. • Dallas Planning Commission — 7 p.m., Dallas City Hall, 187 SE Court St., Dallas. 503-831-3565. WEDnEsDay, FEB. 15 • Monmouth Planning Commission — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. ments come directly from modern roundabout design. Signs and lane design help approaching drivers know how to use the roundabout. Fewer vehicle path cross- ings mean fewer accidents. When accidents do occur, lower speeds and flatter an- gles of collision mean they are much less violent. Cy- My husband and I love Dallas. We both came to Dal- las when we were young. We have seen a lot of changes. The hospital is one of the biggest changes. Such a won- derful hospital. Salem Hospi- tal is our lifesaver. We appreciate the Dallas Senior Center. So many good people giving hours of their time, making a great The plan, Obamacare, was weakened by the pow- erful lobbying of the very profitable multibillion dollar health care industry, whose investors know that a civi- lized, single-payer plan would be cheaper. Medicare E (covering everyone who is a legal citi- zen) would be the single- payer. Under E, employers and employees would not have to purchase expensive employee health insurance. But, as President Obama has said, this is not a free lunch, and E would need to get a monthly fee from em- ployees. We are living with Social Security income, and some of it is collected by Medicare. Single-payer health care is most efficient and used by some progres- sive nations. Walden Joura Dallas Samaritans fix roof in nick of time I wanted to give a big shout out to Kimber Carra- her Townsend and her Good Samaritans that she got to- gether for me on Saturday, Feb. 5, in the rain, to tarp a leak that sprouted through my roof into my kitchen. I hadn’t thought to worry so soon about my roof — having installed a new 30- year roof only eight years ago. Many sincere thanks to Matt, Stephen, Brendan and Rick. It was so nice to have you help me do something I could not do on my own. How to Contact Officials GOVErNOr gov. Kate Brown (Dem.) 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, Or 97301 503-378-4582 Email: via website, http://governor.oregon.gov/ — STATE LEGISLATOrS sen. arnie Roblan (District 5, Democrat) S-417 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, Or 97301 503-986-1705 sen.arnieroblan@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/roblan sen. Jackie Winters (District 10, republican) S-301 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, Or 97301 503-986-1710 sen.jackiewinters@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/winters sen. Brian Boquist (District 12, republican) S-305 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, Or 97301 503-986-1712 sen.brianboquist@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/boquist Rep. David gomberg (District 10, Democrat) H-471 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, Or 97301 503-986-1410 rep.davidgomberg@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/gomberg Rep. Paul Evans (District 20, Democrat) H-281 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, Or 97301 503-986-1420 rep.paulevans@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/evans Rep. Mike nearman (District 23, republican) H-378 State Capitol 900 Court St. NE Salem, Or 97301 503-986-1423 rep.mikenearman@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/nearman — U.S. CONGrESS sen. Ron Wyden (Dem.) 221 Dirksen SOB Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-5244 Fax: 202-228-2717 Salem oﬃce: 707 13th St. SE, Suite 285, Salem, Or 97301 Phone: 503-589-4555 Email: via website, www.wyden.senate.gov Beth Blote Monmouth WANT TO WRITE A LETTER? Letters to the editor are lim- ited to 300 words. Longer letters will be edited. Election-related letters of all types are limited to 100 words. Writers are limited to one elec- tion-related letter per election season. Election letters from writers outside of Polk County are not accepted. Each writer is restricted to one letter per 30-day period. Letters that are libelous, ob- scene or in bad taste will not be printed. Attacks by name on businesses or individuals will not be printed. Letters to the editor that are obvious promotions for a busi- ness, products or services will not be printed. The Itemizer-Observer does not guarantee the accuracy of facts presented by letter writers; dissenters are welcome to re- spond. Letter writers who dis- agree with other published letter writers should maintain a civil discourse and address the subject, not the author. Letters, like all editorial mate- rial submitted to the newspa- per, are edited for length, grammar and content. Letters must include the au- thor’s name, address and tele- phone number. This includes letters submitted via the I-O’s website. Names and cities of res- idence are published; street ad- dresses and telephone numbers are used for veriﬁcation pur- poses only. Letters must be submitted from individuals, not organiza- tions, and must be original sub- missions to the I-O, not copies of letters sent to other media. Letters of thanks to busi- nesses, individuals and organi- zations are limited to 10 names. The deadline for letters to the editor is 10 a.m. Monday. Let- ters submitted may not be re- tractable after this deadline. — reach us at: Mail: Editor, Polk County Itemizer-Observer, P.O. Box 108, Dallas, Or 97338. Phone: 503-623-2373. Email: ionews@polkio.com. Oﬃce: 147 SE Court St., Dallas. sen. Jeﬀ Merkley (Dem.) 313 Hart SOB Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3753 Fax: 202-228-3997 Salem oﬃce: 495 State St. SE, Suite 330, Salem, Or 97301 Phone: 503-362-8102 Email: via website, www.merkley.senate.gov Rep. Kurt schrader (Dem.) 108 Cannon HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-5711 Fax: 202-225-5699 Salem oﬃce: 544 Ferry St. SE, Suite 2, Salem, Or 97301 Phone: 503-588-9100 Fax: 503-588-5517 Email: via website, www.schrader.house.gov — POLK COUNTY Board of Commissioners 850 Main St. Dallas, Or 97338 Phone: 503-623-8173 www.co.polk.or.us — CITIES Dallas 187 SE Court St. Dallas, Or 97338 503-623-2338 www.ci.dallas.or.us Falls City 299 Mill St. Falls City, Or 97344 503-787-3631 www.fallscityoregon.gov independence 555 S. Main St. Independence, Or 97351 503-838-1212 www.ci.independence.or.us Monmouth 151 W. Main St. Monmouth, Or 97361 503-838-0722 HOW TO REACH US nEWsROOM Emily Mentzer ..............Editor/Monmouth/Independence reporter ....ementzer@polkio.com Vol. 142, No.6 (USPS) - 437-380) The official newspaper of Polk County • Serving Polk County families since 1875 Winner of 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 General Excellence Awards from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, Or, Independence, Or and Monmouth, Or. Published weekly at 147 SE Court Street Dallas, Oregon 97338 Phone: 503-623-2373 SUBSCrIPTION rATES: Polk County — One Year $35 Other Oregon Counties — One Year $40 Outside of Oregon — One Year $45 POsTMasTER: send address changes to: Polk County itemizer-Observer, P.O. Box 108, Dallas, Oregon 97338 Lukas Eggen..................Sports Editor......................................................................leggen@polkio.com Jolene Guzman............Dallas/Falls City/Polk County reporter ................jguzman@polkio.com DisPLay aDVERTising Heidi Leppin .................Display Advertising Manager ....................................hleppin@polkio.com rachel Best ....................Display Advertising.............................................................rbest@polkio.com Karen Sanks...................Client Services ...................................................................ksanks@polkio.com CLassiFiED LinE aDVERTising Dawn Ohren.....................................................................................................................ioads@polkio.com PRODuCTiOn Kathy Huggins ..............................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com Karyn Pressel .................................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com The Polk County Itemizer-Observer assumes no ﬁnancial responsibility for errors in advertise- ments. It will, however, reprint without charge for the portion of an advertisement Web: www.polkio.com Phone: 503-623-2373 Fax: 503-623-2395 which is in error if the Itemizer-Observer is at fault.