60TH ANNUAL DALLAS
AWARDS
Volume 142, Issue 9
EARHART, NEGRETE WIN
Page 8A
STATE TITLES
Page 11A
www.Polkio.com
March 1, 2017
$1.00
Veteran’s wish granted
Jill Starbuck to take final trip to Hawaii with loved one thanks to ‘Dream’
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
Jill Starbuck and her partner richard will take a trip to Hawaii before Starbuck is too weak. She battles pancreatic
cancer and is on hospice. The dream was granted by Dream for Veterans, part of the nonprofit Dream Foundation.
DALLAS — Monday morn-
ing, Jill Starbuck, and her
partner, Richard, boarded a
plane to fulfill a dream.
Starbuck, a military veter-
an, has pancreatic cancer
and is on hospice. She want-
ed to make a last trip to
Hawaii before she becomes
too weak.
Most of all, though, she
wanted to share the experi-
ence with Richard, who she
calls “my rock and my love.”
Dream for Veterans, part of
nonprofit Dream Founda-
tion, which grants the wishes
of terminally ill adults, gave
her that opportunity after re-
ceiving a heart-felt appeal
from Starbuck.
“Richard and I have been
together for four years, and
for half of that time, I have
been sick,” Starbuck wrote in
her letter to the foundation.
“He is my rock. He has sup-
ported me and cared for me,
and has done that because
he loves me.”
See DreAM, Page 6A
NW Natural project on LaCreole continues
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — A NW Natural project
in progress on LaCreole Drive in
Dallas is estimated to continue for
another few weeks.
The work will improve the utili-
ty’s service to customers in certain
areas of Dallas, according to NW
Natural. Drivers in the area may
run into minor delays while crews
are working. Flaggers have been co-
ordinating traffic around the proj-
ect.
“We are extending a pipeline in
that area to better serve customers
on the south side of town,” said
Melissa Moore, NW Natural’s cor-
porate communications manager.
“We hope to be done in the next
two weeks or by March 17.”
The project required digging
up part of the street on LaCreole
Drive. A temporary patch will
cover the area until June. Dallas
City Manager Ron Foggin said
the company will fully repair the
road at that time.
“The road repair will require the
street to be milled and resurfaced,”
he said. “After the resurfacing is
done, there should be no evidence
of the natural gas project.”
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — Local
government agencies and
private landowners across
the state are asking the state
legislature to restore “recre-
ational immunity,” protect-
ing owners who allow recre-
ation on their land or parks
from lawsuits.
Locally, the cities of Falls
City, Dallas and Mon-
mouth have approved a
resolution encouraging
lawmakers to pass legisla-
tion that would restore full
immunity.
That request follows a
2 0 1 6 O re g o n Su p re m e
Court decision that struck
down recreational immuni-
ty.
Dallas City Manager Ron
Foggin said the case, John-
son vs. Gibson, involved a
sight-impaired jogger in
Portland who was running
through a park and was in-
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
City of Dallas receives
clean audit report.
»Page 2A
FALLS CITY
Falls City will end its
co-op with Kings Valley
Charter School.
»Page
INDePeNDeNCe
Central’s girls basket-
ball team set to host a
state play-in game.
»Page 13A
MONMOUTH
Hall inspired to be-
come author.
»Page 5A
eDUCATION
Dallas School Board
sets deadline for out-of-
district transfer applica-
tions.
SPOrTS
Perrydale’s boys bas-
ketball team advances
to the state quarterfi-
nals.
»Page 11A
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
A NW Natural project is estimated to continue for a few weeks.
Law protects private, public landowners from being sued by people using property
jured when stepping in a
hole dug by a parks depart-
ment employee.
“Oregon, for a long time,
has enjoyed what they call
re c re a t i o n a l i m m un i t y,
which is basically to say that
if you participate in open
space, you do so at your own
risk,” Foggin said.
That allowed land own-
ers — public and private —
to open their property for
recreational use without
fear of being sued, so long
as owners didn’t charge for
use.
The woman’s attorney in
Johnson vs. Gibson argued
that while the city of Port-
land has recreational immu-
nity, its employee still is li-
able.
The court sided with the
woman in a lawsuit, saying
that the state’s Public Lands
Act never intended to pro-
tect employees or agents of
the land owner.
See PArkS, Page 7A
DALLAS
»Page 14A
Cities request recreational immunity
By Jolene Guzman
IN
YOUR
TOWN
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
A family enjoys using a playground at Dallas City Park. Falls City, Dallas and Monmouth
approved a resolution encouraging lawmakers to restore recreational immunity.
Newspapers
available in
digital format
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — The Dallas
Public Library has added
select years of newspapers
that served Dallas dating
back to 1868.
The newspapers are
available online in digital
and searchable format,
the library announced.
The following years are
available: 1903-1914 Polk
Itemizer, 1903-1914; Polk
County Signal, 1868; and
The Polk County Times,
1869-70. These newspa-
pers and others can be ac-
cessed at: http://ore-
gonnews.uoregon.edu.
These newspapers have
been scanned and con-
verted to digital format by
the University of Oregon
Digital Newspaper Pro-
gram. This means that
many of them are key-
word searchable. This pro-
vides those interested in
local history, research, or
genealogy a remarkable
and convenient resource.
This project was made
possible by a grant from
the Polk County Cultural
Coalition. The library will be
adding more years of digi-
tal material in the future.
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
“Bocon!” opens
tonight at Central
High School, a story
about a boy’s jour-
ney to the City of
Angels.
7 p.m. $3-$8.
Happy Birthday Dr.
Seuss! Libraries and
schools across Polk
County will host
special guests to
honor the author.
Cross and Crown
will host a dessert
appreciation. The
evening will include
live music, a raffle
and silent auction.
6:30 p.m. Free.
It’s the first Satur-
day, and that means
donations will be
accepted at the Fill
Our Home Donation
Center on Uglow St.
9 a.m.-Noon. Free.
Pick up some fresh-
baked goodies and
find some new
treasures at Rickreall
Grange Flea Market.
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.
Mom always said
you only get one set
of permanent teeth,
so share a big smile
and celebrate Na-
tional Dentist’s Day.
James2 Community
Kitchen volunteers
feed all who are
hungry at St. Philip
Catholic Church in
Dallas.
4:30-6 p.m. Free.
Showers
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Lo: 38
Rain
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Lo: 43
Rain
Hi: 47
Lo: 38
Rain
Hi: 45
Lo: 35
Rain
Hi: 43
Lo: 36
Rain
Hi: 46
Lo: 41
Showers
Hi: 47
Lo: 40