Polk County News
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 5, 2017
Pinwheels: Symbol of Child
Abuse Prevention month
Continued from Page 1A
“This is going to be a tra-
dition that we’ll just keep
going,” DeMoe said.
Collective Change jar la-
bels are available in English
and Spanish. To receive a jar,
contact DeMoe at
Demoe.brent@co.polk.or.us.
There’s plenty more you
can do throughout the
month of April to support
the cause.
Activities began on Tues-
day with the Polk County
Aw a re n e s s Wa l k , w i t h
speakers Judge Sally Avera
and District Attorney Aaron
Felton, and a walk around
downtown Dallas.
The pinwheel garden for
child abuse awareness and
flag display showing the
types and frequency of
crimes in Polk County in
conjunction with Crime
Victims’ Rights week are on
the Polk County Court-
house lawn now.
The top crime in the
county is property crime, but
next are domestic and vio-
lent crimes, DeMoe said.
“Because of input from the
victim’s assistance program,
we know that a lot of the folks
who are crime victims are
women,” DeMoe said.
Two free classes will
show women and girls how
to fight back — or avoid
being a victim.
Polk County Sheriff ’s
deputies are holding a self-
defense and situational
a w a re n e s s c l a s s e s f o r
women and girls on Satur-
day and April 15.
The classes are at the
Academy Building, 182 SW
Academy St., Dallas, from 10
to 11:30 a.m. on both days.
For more information or to
sign up, contact DeMoe at
Demoe.brent@co.polk.or.us.
More events are in the
works, including a fun run
and walk in Grand Ronde
on April 15, an evening walk
in Dallas, and a walk for
Monmouth and Independ-
ence residents.
Check the Mid-Valley
Parenting website,
www.midvalleyparenting.or
g, for updates.
Foscoli: Ready to rally
Continued from Page 1A
That actually helps me
do my job better,” he said of
his time in Japan. “I’ve
adapted to different cul-
tures. I’m at ease in new sit-
uations.”
During his time overseas,
Foscoli — who moved to
Oregon at the age of 12 —
returned home on vacation.
Those vacations kept get-
ting longer until he decided
it was time to move out of
the big, bustling city and
back to Oregon.
“I wanted a slower pace
of life and a higher quality
of life,” he said.
Three years after taking
the Sedcor job, Foscoli said
he’s seeing emerging trends
that may favor Dallas.
In 2014, businesses want-
ing to expand or relocate
were looking for properties
within five miles of Inter-
state 5.
As properties were filled,
that expanded to 10 miles,
and now to 15 or even 20
miles.
That puts Dallas within
the target region — and
there’s developed and un-
developed industrial land
waiting, he said.
“It’s now close enough
when before it wasn’t,” Fos-
coli said. “If Dallas is able to
recruit one or two of those
businesses, that helps the
entire region.”
Foscoli will begin on
April 17 and Foggin believes
he will help turn the poten-
tial he sees into economic
success.
“I am excited AJ is joining
our team,” Foggin said. “I
know he will be able to help
us move our economic de-
velopment efforts forward
in a positive way.”
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EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer
Kate Schwarzler operates Indy Commons, a co-working space in the old Opera House
in downtown Independence. The business will host its first workshop on April 19 at
5:30 p.m., “How social does my business need to be?” It is free and open to the public.
Ready-to-use office space
Indy Commons offers ‘plug and play’ for entrepreneurs
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — The
old Independence Opera
House is in use, but instead
of dances or performances,
it will be packed with entre-
preneurs and business peo-
ple.
Indy Commons opened in
the downtown spot and is a
co-working space.
“It’s great for people who
work from home occasional-
ly, or don’t want to commute
some days, but still want an
office environment to work
in,” said Kate Schwarzler,
owner.
The idea came to her when
she was working in Denver.
Co-working spaces were be-
coming more popular.
“When I was in Denver, I
was managing an office, and
we were trying to find a new
office space,” Schwarzler
said. “Just dealing with the
lease negotiations, and then
you have to line up the utili-
ties, and you have to do this
and that, and it takes you
away from your core busi-
ness. It takes a lot of time to
have to deal with that. So
with a small office, this is a
fantastic idea to be able to
come in and you have your
own desk space. It’s so easy.”
Schwarzler has a back-
ground in start-ups. When
she moved back to Oregon
last June, she tried working
from home.
“I hated it,” she said. “So I
thought about starting up a
co-working space.”
Turns out, the owner of
the Opera House agreed
with Schwarzler that the
building was a good fit for
such a use.
Inside, large, L-shaped
desks are available for
monthly rent, as well as
smaller desk spaces. All
desks are “plug and play,”
Schwarzler said.
“You have your own dedi-
cated desk,” she said. “You
can leave things behind; you
can meet with clients here.
So you just pay a flat rate
and it’s monthly.”
Ever yone who leases
space gets access to the con-
ference room, which is a
quaint schoolhouse situated
in the back of the building
and can accommodate eight
to 10 people, Schwarzler
said.
Another classroom up-
stairs can accommodate 15
to 20, Schwarzler said, in-
cluding future seminars and
workshops.
“There’s space for people
who need an occasional
space,” Schwarzler said.
“They can bring in their lap-
top, connect with the inter-
net, print, meet somebody,
but they don’t need a dedi-
cated desk. They can come
in and sit in any available
spot.”
All spaces can be leased
with a day pass, too, she
said.
Indy Commons has all the
amenities of an office with-
out the hassle, and it keeps
overhead low.
For more information:
503-930-4840 or email
Schwarzler at kate@indy-
commons.com.
A ribbon cutting and open
house will be held at 4:30
p.m. on April 21.