DAVIS FAMILY SEEKS TO
RIBICH WINS NATIONAL
COME AND SEE
CHAMPIONSHIP
Page 7A
Page 11A
Volume 142, Issue 22
www.Polkio.com
May 31, 2017
$1.00
ODOT installs dynamic warning sign
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — Ore-
gon Department of Trans-
portation is installing a “dy-
namic warning sign” on
Highway 99W at Clow Cor-
ner Road with the goal of
p re v e n t i n g h i g h - s p e e d
crashes.
Installation will finish in
early summer, said Lou
To r r e s , a n O D O T
spokesman, but it doesn’t
change the long-term plan
of building a roundabout at
the intersection.
The warning sign will alert
drivers on Highway 99W
when cars are entering the
intersection from Clow.
“The idea is to get a dri-
ver’s attention that a vehicle
may be wanting to cross the
intersection or turn left,”
Torres said. “And, hopefully
they will slow down.”
Torres said four dynamic
warning signs are being put
in on ODOT’s Region 2,
which includes the mid-
valley area.
The total cost of the four
projects is $670,000.
The county and ODOT
reached an agreement to
build a roundabout at the
intersection early this year,
ending a long-standing dis-
pute between state and
county officials about in-
stalling a traffic light at
Clow Corner. The sign proj-
ect was already planned.
Torres said the round-
about project needs more
funding before it can begin.
“We have $3.4 million se-
cured for the roundabout,
but we will likely need
around $5 million to com-
plete project development
and construction,” Torres
said. “We believe that we
should be able to secure
the remaining funds.”
Once money is in place,
the project will take three
to four years to complete.
At that time, the dynamic
warning signs will be taken
down and could be reused
at another intersection,
Torres said.
“They can be effective
for high speed rural inter-
sections like the one at
Clow Corner and (High-
way) 99W,” he said.
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DALLAS
Relay for Life Polk
County kicks off Satur-
day at DHS track.
»Page 11A
FALLS CITY
Answering the call
Madeline Guiger re-
members her time at
Falls City High School.
»Page 14A
MONMOUTH
By Jolene Guzman
Bike repair stations
make traveling by bike
a little easier.
The Itemizer-Observer
FALLS CIT Y — Leon
Beauchamp, a longtime vol-
unteer firefighter with the
Falls City Fire Department,
remembered a call when he
and one other guy were the
only people available to re-
spond.
They went to the station
and waited for others to ar-
rive, Leon recalled. When it
was evident that no one else
was coming, they looked at
each and asked: “What do
you want to do?”
“Well, if we are going to
do anything, let’s go do it,”
he remembers saying. “No-
body else showed up, so we
had to go do it.”
The call was for a burn
pile that drifted out of con-
trol. The pair put it out and
went back to their day.
For a town like Falls City,
that kind of dedication is
needed — and that’s what
kept Leon going for 51
years as a volunteer in var-
ious capacities. He said
there were maybe 10 or 12
volunteers when he start-
ed in 1966.
“It was doing something,”
Be a u c h a m p e x p l a i n e d .
“Back then, it was a small
department.”
Last month, Leon retired
from the department.
Department spokes-
»Page 3 A
INDEPENDENCE
Monmouth-Indepen-
dence chamber has a
new director.
»Page 2A
SPORTS
Dallas’ softball team
defeats Lebanon to ad-
vance to state semifi-
nals.
»Page 11A
Friday Court
holds first
graduation
on Friday
Itemizer-Observer staff report
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
Leon Beauchamp retired in April from Falls City’s Fire Department after volunteering for 51 years.
woman Megan Sykes said
the he is the longest-serving
volunteer, and the depart-
ment made him an hon-
orary lifetime member — a
first for Falls City Fire.
Leon was talked into join-
ing the department by a
friend in January 1966.
Leon’s wife, Alice, remem-
bers the scene clearly.
“He came up in the
evening, and he sat there
and said, ‘Come on, let’s just
join the fire department,’”
she said. “He (Leon) was just
sitting there holding a baby
in his lap and finally said,
‘OK. OK. I’ll try it.’”
See LEON, Page 10A
Memorial Day: Paying their respects
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — It took them a
few minutes of searching,
but Lucile Mitchell and
S a l l y L o w r y, b o t h o f
Lebanon, found what they
were looking for at Dallas
Cemetery Thursday morn-
ing.
Pausing a second after
the walk up the hill to the
b a c k o f t h e c e m e t e r y,
Mitchell knelt over the
grave of Alton Mitchell. She
placed potted yellow flow-
ers next to the grave and
began pushing metal sticks
in the ground next to it to
keep it in place.
“He’s my brother-in-law,”
Lucile Mitchell said before
taking a small American
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
flag from Lowry to put in
the flower pot.
Alton Mitchell fought in
World War II and was in-
jured. He was given a Pur-
ple Heart for his service.
Down the hill in the
cemetery, others are mak-
ing similar journeys, from
near or far, to honor their
relatives on the eve of Me-
morial Day weekend. Red,
white, and blue flowers,
pinwheels and flags deco-
rate graves of those who
served.
A pair of sisters took the
morning to clean the head-
stones of their relatives,
choosing to come Thursday
morning to avoid the
crowds later in the week-
end.
See RESPECT, Page 6A
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
The Avenue of Flags help pay tribute to veterans during Memorial Day weekend.
DALLAS — The first
graduates of Polk Coun-
ty’s new Mental Health
Court will celebrate
their accomplishment
on Friday.
The ceremony takes
place at 9:30 a.m. in
Polk County Court-
house court room No. 1.
The key note speaker is
Sen. Brian Boquist. The
graduation is open to
the public.
The program, also
known as Friday Court,
began in April 2016
after more than a year
of planning to “develop
strategies to reduce the
impact of mental illness
on our criminal justice
system,” said a press re-
lease announcing the
graduation from Judge
Norm Hill.
“From the court’s
perspective, these de-
fendants are on a
carousel of dysfunc-
tion,” Hill wrote. “They
commit crimes, are
placed on probation,
then fail to obtain men-
tal treatment leading to
committing new
crimes. We needed a
new tool to try and
break that cycle.”
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Surprise a local busi-
ness during the Dal-
las Vitality
Connection Cash
Mob. Meet at Mill
and Main streets.
5 p.m. $20.
Dallas Public Library
will host a two-hour
workshop on the
Oregon Health In-
surance Market-
place.
5 p.m. Free.
Why not grab a tasty
treat and celebrate
National Doughnut
Day?
Looking to head
outdoors? Enjoy free
parking and camp-
ing on Saturday as
part of State Parks
Day. www.oregon-
stateparks.org.
Head out to Rickre-
all Grange for Sun-
day’s flea market —
and enjoy breakfast
or lunch while you
are there.
9 a.m. Free.
The Brew and BS
lecture series ex-
plores the New Tes-
tament at St.
Thomas Episcopal
Church in Dallas
7p.m. BYOB.
The public is invited
to a Latino forum
focused on market-
ing/outreach to the
Latino community
in Polk County.
9 a.m. Free.
Cloudy
Hi: 71
Lo: 52
Partly cloudy
Hi: 68
Lo: 51
Partly sunny
Hi: 69
Lo: 48
Mostly sunny
Hi: 71
Lo: 48
Partly sunny
Hi: 71
Lo: 45
Mostly sunny
Hi: 72
Lo: 49
Sunny
Hi: 84
Lo: 53