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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 2017)
Polk County Voices Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 8, 2017 4A How to Contact Officials EDITORIALS Brown’s visit sheds light on attitudes We still have a long way to go to healing as a county, state and nation after the recent polarizing presidential election. During a visit from Gov. Kate Brown to Ash Creek Ele- mentary School on Thursday — as part of Read Across America — she told students about a recent trip to Wash- ington, D.C., where she took a picture with President Don- ald Trump. The children jeered. In the same day, a photo of the governor reading to kids garnered comments on our Facebook page such as, “I would have kept my kid out of school that day,” and other politically charged rhetoric. We wonder what kind of climate we live in when it is wrong for the governor to read to kids, and the president can be booed by school children without anyone counsel- ing, “Remember, he’s our president.” We understand that a lot of the sentiments for both Brown and Trump likely stem from each’s track record. People have strong feelings when it comes to politics — that’s why it’s on the list of things you’re not supposed to talk about with friends (politics and religion). Gov. Brown missed an opportunity Thursday morning to lead by example when it comes to the way we need to treat people who do not share our opinions. At the same time, it’s an honor that the woman who holds the highest politi- cal power in the state of Oregon chose to come to Mon- mouth’s Ash Creek Elementary School on Dr. Seuss’ birth- day, when she would have been welcome at any school. It’s clear from the comments online and letters to the editor that children are paying close attention to what is said at home — or in the classroom halls. They are absorb- ing their parents’ biases and agendas. It’s great to have kids aware of social issues, but let’s help them learn the basics of getting along in this world — how to share, how to play together, laughing together, playing video games and run- ning outside. It will prepare them to be better leaders than we are or have now. PUBLIC AGENDA Public Agenda is a listing of upcoming meetings for gov- ernmental and nongovernmental agencies in Polk County. to submit a meeting, send it at least two weeks before the actual meeting date to the Itemizer-Observer via email (ionews@polkio.com). — wednesdAy, MArCH 8 • Independence Heritage Museum Commission — 4 p.m., Independence Heritage Museum, 112 S. Third St., Independ- ence. 503-838-1212. • Monmouth Library Advisory Board — 7 a.m., Monmouth Public Library, 168 Ecols St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Monmouth Parks and recreation Board — 7 p.m., Volun- teer Hall, 144 Warren St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. tHursdAy, MArCH 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. • Falls City City Council — 6:30 p.m., Falls City Community Center, 320 N. Main St., Falls City. 503-787- 3631. MOndAy, MArCH 13 • Hops and Heritage Festival Commission — 6 p.m., Inde- pendence Elks Lodge, 289 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838- 1212. • wIMPeg Board of directors — 7 p.m., 150 N. Knox St., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • dallas school Board — 6:30 p.m., Dallas School District of- fice, 111 SW Ash St., Dallas. 503-623-5594. tuesdAy, MArCH 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. • Polk County Board of Commission work session — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, BOC office, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. wednesdAy, MArCH 15 • Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. 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 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Driver needs fixing, not intersection About that roundabout. First of all — having driv- en through roundabouts in other countries, I do agree that they work very well for traffic flow. So far, the “roundabouts” around here are nothing more than cute little decorative traffic cir- cles that present an obstacle in the roadway that most drivers don’t know what to do with. I do believe we already have a pretty good road sys- tem. We don’t need to throw millions of dollars at it to make it safer. It’s not the roads that need to be ad- dressed. What needs to be addressed is the idiot be- hind the wheel that has be- come impatient and inat- tentive. Julianna Burke Independence Trump should resign presidency Were it only possible, I’d like to see AG Jefferson Beauregard Sessions in front of a jury charged with hear- ing all of the evidence and deciding whether or not he lied to the Senate panel about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. As in- teresting as that would be, it won’t happen of course. As long as I’m dreaming though, how about his sub- mitting to a lie detector test or taking sodium pentothal instead? He’s one lying “bad hombre” who should “man up” and resign — now — as he’s already been in office for far too long. Then there’s his boss, DDT — Dithering Donald Trump; his Twitter-pated rants and raves seem to in- dicate that he is close to being certifiably loco en la cabeza (I think that’s Span- ish for “crazy in the head”). He should resign too, for both his own and, more im- portantly, our country’s sake. Moreover, it’s the per- fect time for him to go. I hear there’s an opening on “Celebrity Apprentice” right now. Let’s face it, he’s an en- tertainer not presidential material — never was and never will be. Tom Augustyn Dallas Too much traffic, development What’s the deal with all the huge construction trucks on Ellendale? Why can’t they be routed to use Highway 22 to Kings Valley to avoid the already overly congested and dangerous conditions they attribute to on Ellendale, which is al- ready a burden because of the excess traffic caused by the huge Fowler subdivi- sions and other building going on. There was no in- frastructure put in place to accommodate the thou- sands of new residents and the thousands of vehicles they drive. Why is the entire town impacted in such a negative way because of a couple people? Some are not even residents of Dallas but live out of town or in the county. Why are the city fathers not addressing the negative im- pact of this too rapid and rampant growth, which is causing Dallas not to be the cute and quaint, slow-paced family community that it was up until a couple of years ago? Now it is just a bedroom community for Salem, where people come to sleep, occasionally shop in the already limited and crowded few stores that are here. It is sad that Dallas is becoming ruined by over building. Ali Rion Dallas Republicans show they hate everybody It is clear the Republican Party despises average Americans. Their hatred is intense and clearly mani- fests itself. Social Security is the most successful program of any government on earth. Work- ing citizens and employers pay into a required savings program; and at work’s end, have a modest retirement. Prior to this, millions of eld- erly lived in abject poverty. Now they can save. Elimi- nating the program will re- turn millions to poverty. That’s OK with the GOP. Of course, Medicare and Medicaid are on the chop- ping block too. Again, mil- lions of Americans will live out their years without health care. Very likely they will die of preventable diseases. No problem for the GOP. Republicans fight to pre- vent any sort of rational gun control. America suffers a world beating gun-death rate. Firearm restrictions? No chance, so we get mur- dered. Between paid-off congresspersons, the NRA and its lap dog, the GOP; no gun control. Should we be cheated by our banks and investment advisors? Yes, says the GOP. If Republicans can kill the Consumer Financial Protec- tion Board we will be easy pickings for those folks who put America in the trash can in 2007. Should we protect the en- vironment? No way, says the GOP. Why do they hate us? Per- haps they want us to be third- world level workers so corpo- rations may enhance profits. Maybe we are not good or successful enough to rate their respect. Readers should give the question some thought. Perhaps you can come up with something. The truly sad part of this question is that many Amer- icans support the GOP though it is clearly not in their interest to do so. They happily work to destroy their and their children’s fu- tures. This effort at self- delusion is astounding. 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 Fred Brown Dallas WANT TO WRITE A LETTER? Letters to the editor are lim- ited to 300 words. Longer letters will be edited. 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. Letters must be sub- mitted from individuals, not or- ganizations, and must be original submissions 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. sen. Jeff Merkley (dem.) 313 Hart SOB Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3753 Fax: 202-228-3997 Salem office: 161 High St. SE, Suite 250, 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 www.ci.monmouth.or.us HOW TO REACH US newsrOOM Emily Mentzer ..............Editor/Monmouth/Independence Reporter ....ementzer@polkio.com Vol. 142, No. 10 (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. 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