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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2017)
Polk County News Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 26, 2017 5A New 15-year bond would replace station By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer POLK COUNTY — South- western Polk Rural Fire Pro- tection District Administra- tor Fred Hertel said he isn’t certain of the age of the dis- trict’s Rickreall fire station. “It was moved there from Camp Adair back in the 1940s, so it’s a military building that was moved to where its current location is,” he said Thursday. “Then it was added on to at least a couple of times and remod- eled a couple of more times. We’ve just outgrown it. It’s got some major issues.” Southwestern Polk be- came a district in 1947, so Hertel is assuming the sta- tion was moved in the 1940s. “The military could have used it for umpteen years before that,” he said. “We don’t know.” The station is showing its age, whatever that might be, with mold problems, roof leaks, old electrical, plumb- ing and heating and cooling systems, and limited train- ing areas. Replacing the station is on a long list of items that a 15-year, $5 million bond would pay for, if voters in the district vote in favor of it on May 16. The bond would cost tax- payers in the district 69.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value on properties. That amounts to $69.50 for every $100,000 of assessed value. In addition to replacing the station, the bond would include purchasing self-con- Learn more • Informational forums on the bonds are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday at Bridgeport Community Church, 16930 Bridge- port Road, Dallas, and at 6 p.m. on May 2 at the Falls City Com- munity Center, 320 N. Main St., Falls City. • For more information: swpolkfire.org/ or 503-831-3533. tained breathing apparatus units. If breathing units — which cost about $7,000 each, aren’t replaced before April 2019, firefighters won’t be able to enter burning buildings, Hertel said. “We will become an exte- rior-only firefighting serv- ice,” Hertel said. “That’s bad for you and bad for us, be- cause we have to make that safety decision to stay out, and we can’t go in and effec- tively do a rescue.” Moder n communica- tions equipment, fire en- gines and other vehicles, and building a station on Salt Creek Road to improve responses to incidents on Highway 22 also would be covered by the bond. “It adds coverage to a lot of the roads and community out in Salt Creek that cur- rently doesn’t have 10- minute coverage,” Hertel said of the Salt Creek station. “If we get that 10-minute coverage, it has the potential to reduce their insurance.” Southwestern Polk covers 123-square miles surround- ing the city limits of Dallas, including the Rickreall area. The estimated population in the district is 6,100. The dis- trict’s permanent tax rate is 86 cents per $1,000 of as- sessed value. American Gas & Tech to name school after Fink By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The man who sold the former Tyco Build- ing in Dallas to American Gas & Technology will have part of the facility named after him. All future employees will train at the Harvey S. Fink Welding School at the facili- ty, now primed to begin pro- duction of natural gas lique- fiers. AG&T Chief Executive Of- ficer Ray Tate announced the school and presented an award to Fink at the busi- ness’ open house on Thurs- day. Richard Ballew accept- ed the award on behalf of Fink, who was too ill to at- tend the event. Ballew is the real estate agent who help broker the deal. “ T h e f ra i l m a n w h o owned this property had an offer on this building that was more than we were will- ing to pay,” Tate explained to the open house crowd. “He said, ‘But I want to sell it to you guys, because I want the jobs for the community of Dallas. They need the jobs so badly.’” The building needed a buyer who intended to re- pair it, Ballew said. He said Fink had to reclaim the JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer AG&T CEO Ray Tate explains how the liquefiers work during a tour on Thursday. JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer Youbert Alkhato, vice president of business development, talks about liquefiers. building from the previous owner, and it was in poor shape. “There were 225 five-gal- lon buckets catching leaks, plus 55-gallon barrels catch- ing leaks,” he said. “It was raining in here, even when it wasn’t raining when Harvey and I first (had to take the building back).” Now under the care of AG&T, the facility is leak free and the production floor clean once again. “I spent most of the sum- mer on the roof,” said Chris Smith, who oversaw restor- ing the facility. “We took down a lot of walls.” Thursday’s open house included a tour of the build- ing and demonstration of a natural gas liquefier proto- Furniture Upholstery and that is why they (in- vestors) flew out, to see the building, to see the liquefier, to see our team,” Tate said. “We think we are going to get the production financing put to bed in the next 60 days.” Tate said the company has filed with the U.S. Secu- rities and Exchange Com- mission for a public offering. “We’ve already gotten back a comment letter from them and our attorneys, and accountants are answering the comment letter, so if we run into problems, we will then be selling stock,” Tate said. “We can sell it to any- body because we will be a public company.” Monmouth Area Community Events Calendar All types: for homes, offices, equip- ment. Also, repairs, RV cushions, slipcovers, High Quality since 1966 Stephen type. The machine takes natural gas straight from the utility, filters and chills it, and converts it to liquid for use as fuel in vehicles con- verted to run on liquified natural gas. Tate said the technology could be applied to landfill gas and gas produced in oil fields. “We could take any of those three, or biomass, and put the gas into this ma- chine,” Tate explained to people on the tour, which included representatives of interested investors. AG&T can build the sta- tions in three sizes, depend- ing on the needs of the client, at 300 gallons, 1,800 gallons and 5,000 gallons. Tate said the company is working on financing through investors an d through a public offering, and could be gearing up for some production as soon as mid-summer. “We are in the middle of our production financing Winters Sewing 503-838-4999 or 503-375-9266 Emmy Joseph May 2 Polk Flea Market 9:00 am - 3:00 pm. Polk County's oldest and largest market with 183 tables selling antiques, collectibles, tools, etc. 520 S Pacific Hwy W. Rickreall 440 E. St • Independence, OR 97351 www.winterssewing.com Serving Polk County 16yrs Come to the Household FREE Hazardous Waste Collection Event! PCL Partnerships in Community Living 503-838-2403 480 E. Main St. Monmouth DownTown Trends 142 Highway 99 West 503- 838-1445 Monmouth May 6 May is National Historic Preservation Month. To celebrate, Monmouth’s Historic Commission is sponsoring this year’s Historic Preservation Celebration on Saturday, May 6th from 9:30 to 11:00 am. The event will be held as part of the monthly breakfast at the Mon- mouth Senior Center at 180 Warren Street S. The event will feature photo displays and several presentations. Kyle Janssen, formerly of the Oregon Heritage Commission, will talk about conducting on-line re- search using archived copies of historic Monmouth newspapers. The Polk Cemetery Savers will present their most recent work restoring local private cemeteries in the area. Come and enjoy breakfast and hear about some local history. May 20 Women and World War I “Sacrifice” was the word of the day for women during World War I. In addition to being asked to give up their loved ones, women were expected to maintain the family morale, bring home a paycheck, sacrifice certain items of food and clothing and to labor for social causes. The choices these women made during this stunning period of change continue to impact our own lives today. Quilt Historian Rachel Greco will discuss women’s roles during this “War to End All Wars” with a special Show-and-Tell of quilts that were made dur- ing that era. Join Polk County Historical Society for their May 20th pro- gram; 1:30 in the Stafrin Room at the Polk County Museum, 560 S. Pacific Hwy, located on the Polk County Fairgrounds in Rickreall. Light refreshments will be served. Free to the Public. May 29 Happy Memorial Day from the Monmouth Business Associa- tion. NO SCHOOL grades K-12. www.windermere.com 503-838-1141 297 N Pacific Monmouth 800-732-0173 464 S Pacific Hwy Monmouth oregonstatecu. Saving Carpets Daily Carpet Hero 503-838-0869 Monmouth LOOKING Discover MI Town — May 20 355 N Pacific Ave., Ste A Monmouth 503-838-4268 405 Hogan Rd Monmouth 503-837-0700 www.minetfiber.com Your Local Service Provider Presented by the Monmouth-Independence Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center, Discover MI Town is an opportunity for visitors and locals alike to explore the beautiful downtown areas of our community and showcase our wonderful local restaurants, stores, and organizations. Saturday, May 20. 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Eat, Drink, Shop! Downtown Independence & Downtown Monmouth Shuttle service provided (Locations TBD) FOR RENTALS? 297½ N. Pacific Hwy 503-838-1278 Western View Properties Property Management, LLC May Forum — May 10 Wednesday, May 10. 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Eola Hills Wine Cellars (501 S Pacific Hwy, Rickreall) Topic: Tour of Eola Hills Wine Cellars Lunch not available for purchase. Attendees may bring a sack lunch if preferred. How is wine made? Join us in May for a tour of Eola Hills Wine Cellars and learn about the wine making process from growing the grapes to bottling the wine! 503-838-2951 165 E. Main St. Monmouth Thirsty Thursday — May 18 Serving Polk Co. Since 1875 503-623-2373 503-838-3467 DATE: Saturday, May 6th, 2017 TIME: From 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. LOCATION: Polk County Works (820 SW Ash St., Dallas)__ SPONSORED BY: Polk County, The Cities of Dallas,_______ Independence, Monmouth and Salem Thirsty Thursdays are held the third Thursday of each month from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM at member locations. Registration is requested to help the host site properly prepare. Attendees are encouraged to bring a small giveaway (less than $10) to promote your business or organization. This month May — Pfaff-Karren Insurance, 1327 Monmouth Street, Independence 503-838-1773 410 E. Main St. Monmouth To advertise in this calendar call Heidi at the Itemizer-Observer 503-623-2373 ext 115