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TRACK AND FIELD DISTRICTS Page 10-12A Volume 142, Issue 20 www.Polkio.com May 17, 2017 $1.00 Committee approves 2017-18 city budget By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The Dallas Budget Committee ap- proved the city’s 2017-18 budget, but not without a debate over the $30,000 added to pay for a recreation coordinator. In a previous meeting, the committee approved moving $30,000 from contingency funds to pay for the position, and added $10,000 in rev- enue and a matching amount in expenditures as a result of creating the posi- tion. Councilor and budget committee member Jackie Lawson pointed out the po- sition was slated to bring in $25,000 in revenue. She asked what programs would not be offered in 2017-18 to explain the dis- crepancy. “If we had $25,000 last year, that’s a $15,000 disparity,” she said. “We have to know what kind of programs we are not going to be offering.” City Manager Ron Foggin said the figure was a starting point and a lot of that would depend on what the person hired decides to pursue. See BUDGET, Page 5A Dallas 2017-18 budget How much? $41 million overall; $12.2 million general fund. What positions does it add? economic development direc- tor, fire department administrative assistant, two seasonal fire- fighters, three paramedics, part-time recreation coordinator, and moving a part-time finance and court clerk to full-time. What major projects will it pay for? Senior Center (by fed- eral grant); water reclaiming project (recycling treated waste water for other uses, such as watering grass in parks); continue installing automatic water meters; adding a second “aquifer storage and recovery” well; and beginning work on improve- ments to Godsey road. IN YOUR TOWN DALLAS Teachers from Oak- dale ask school district to reconsider cuts to the school’s teaching staff. »Page 14A Man charged with assault FALLS CITY Wagner Community library seeks feedback about the future of the library. »Page 2A INDEPENDENCE Crash totals car, but occupants are Ok. By Jolene Guzman »Page 6A The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Dallas Police officers arrested a Dallas man Thursday on attempted assault and menacing charges after he allegedly tried to run over a man and threw an ax at a woman following an argu- ment. Tyler N. Oldham, 23, is charged with two Oldham counts of first-degree attempted as- sault, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, three counts of menacing, second- degree disorderly conduct, reckless driving and reckless endangering in the incident, which occurred on May 9. Oldham is next due in court on Thursday at 1:14 p.m. According to the probable cause affidavit filed in Polk County Court, the incident began with the male victim going to his ex-roommate’s house in the 900 block of East Ellendale Avenue to ask for money he lent to him. Oldham was at the ex-room- mate’s house and began ar- guing with the man when he persisted in asking for the money, according to police. See Ax, Page 5A MONMOUTH Western Oregon’s baseball team wins the Great Northwest athlet- ic Conference title. »Page 10A EDUCATION Photo courtesy of Mark HalleTT/for the Itemizer-Observer Mark Hallett works on a restoration of archaeotherium. »Page 14A Bringing dinos to life By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Watched “Jurassic Park” lately — the original? Remem- ber how chillingly real the dinosaurs appeared? Dallas resident and artist Mark Hal- lett consulted with the film’s creators make those movie monsters look like they were living and breathing. “I was really thrilled by that,” said Hallett, a “paleoartist” who has made a career of helping bring dinosaurs and other extinct creatures to life through illustration and modeling. “I met Steven Spielberg and Michael Crich- ton, the author. I got to be a fly on the wall in meetings where they were hashing out the plot.” The author of the book “The Sauropod Dinosaurs: Life in the Age of Giants,” Hallett continues to Hallett study, illustrate and write about Earth’s prehistoric life. He will read from the book at Dallas Public Library at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Hallett will display models, fossils and the art he uses to create his depictions. In his 44-year career, Hallett found a way to stitch together his interests in art and science, earning a degree in art and using it to illustrate ancient life. In 1973, his first commission was with the San Diego Natural History Muse- um painting murals, and later as an exhibit specialist. Four years after that first gig, Fossils Magazine hired Hallett to create de- pictions of prehistoric animals and environments. Not a traditional career, Hallett said he had to do a lot of work on freelance basis — even for free to show what he could do. H e worked for the San Diego Zoo as a freelancer, as well as the publication designer and art director on the Zoo- books children’s series. See HALLETT, Page 7A Hurdling past the competition Dallas’ Jacob Deming, left, clears a hurdle during the boys 300-meter hurdles race at the Mid-Willamette Conference District Track and Field Championships on Saturday in Lebanon. Deming won the 300 hur- dles, long jump and triple jump. The Dragons saw 10 athletes qualify for state during the two-day event. Central athletes also com- peted and will go to state. For more, see Page 10A. 7 DAYS PLANNING FOR YOUR WEEK POLK COUNTY Get ready to discover MI Town on Saturday. »Page 3A SPORTS Dallas baseball and Central baseball and softball prepare for the state play-in round. »Pages 11-12A Election results online Itemizer-Observer staff report POlk COUNTY — See the Itemizer-Observer’s website, polkio.com, for the results of Tuesday’s election. results were posted on Facebook and Twitter, but came in after the I-O’s deadline. Visit our website www.polkio.com lUkaS eGGeN/Itemizer-Observer THE NEXT Books for Bikes helps kickstart a love of read- ing and riding. wed thu fri sat Tonight kicks off the final run of Central High School’s pro- duction, “aladdin Jr.” centralper- formingarts.org 7 p.m. $5-$8. Is clutter taking over your life? attend a free workshop at Monmouth Public library on getting rid of that clutter. 6-7 p.m. Free. Faith evangelical Free Church hosts a bluegrass music jam, open to all bluegrass musicians and music lovers. 7-10 p.m. Free. last chance to help Fill the Bus at roth’s — a food and personal item drive by Central’s trans- portation dept. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cloudy Hi: 55 Lo: 43 Partly sunny Hi: 69 Lo: 46 Sunny Hi: 73 Lo: 45 Mostly sunny Hi: 73 Lo: 45 sun Tour downtown businesses and enjoy local artists and wine at Wine Down Downtown Dallas. 2-6 p.m. $15-$23. Sunny Hi: 76 Lo: 51 mon tue You’re never to old to try something new with New Hori- zons Orchestra. 6:30 p.m. $25 monthly fee. On this day in 1999, Gerry Bloch, 81, be- came the oldest climber to scale el Capitan in Yosemite National Park, breaking his own record. Sunny Hi: 83 Lo: 56 Mostly sunny Hi: 88 Lo: 55