Polk 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
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—
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
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which is in error if the Itemizer-Observer is at fault.