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Polk County Eclipse Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 14, 2017 7A Parlez-vous Francis? Espanol? Itemizer-Observer staff report CHARLES FULCO/for the Itemizer-Observer Total eclipses can attract thousands of visitors from around the world. CHS grad comes home for eclipse From Independence, Iowa, Smith family plans to travel for solar event By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE, Iowa — Eric Smith is far from an eclipse expert. “I think I recalled back to hearing something when I was in first grade, but that was a long time ago,” Smith said with a chuckle. But the Great American Eclipse has been on the Smith family’s radar for sev- eral years now — all thanks to their son, now 17. “Three or four years ago, he first picked up on this eclipse,” Smith said. “He’s talked about it since. We thought it sounded very in- teresting and unique.” The Smiths will be headed to Monmouth come August to take in the view, but the trip will also serve as a homecoming. Eric graduated from Cen- tral High School in 1990 and his parents still live in Mon- mouth. The chance to see a unique event in their old backyard was too good to pass up — even if it meant a tight schedule. “The eclipse is on Mon- day, we fly home on Tuesday and school starts on Wednesday,” Eric said. “We considered staying closer to home but it seems like a good opportunity to see my parents.” The Smiths will arrive early to take a trip to places across the state, including Crater Lake, and will arrive in Monmouth on Saturday. The Smiths have done their research and Eric, his wife and three children, are excited to be a part of some- thing that people across the country will be flocking to. “It’ll be our first experi- ence with this whole eclipse thing,” Eric said. “We’ve been paying attention to some of the feeds on eclipse websites, and it seems like it’s something people will be taking advantage of.” Whether the Great Ameri- can Eclipse inspires the Smiths to become eclipse chasers remains to be seen. But Eric said they are excited to share the moment with loved ones. “You read about it, how people in ancient times did- n’t understand why the sky went dark,” Eric said. “To ex- perience something they’ve only read in literature will be awesome. I think it’s pretty cool that there will be three generations of Smiths expe- riencing the eclipse.” POLK COUNTY — Calling all volunteers: As the Great American Eclipse nears, each event will need the help of volunteers for things to go smoothly. One way you can help is if you are bilingual in English and another lan- guage. If you will likely be around the Dallas area during the eclipse event and celebrations from Aug. 18 through 22, and are willing to help police, fire and other service groups for a few minutes if needed and called upon, sign up to be an interpreter during the eclipse. While the exact number of tourists who can’t speak English well is unknown, Dallas Police Department Lt. Jerry Mott is collecting names and contact information for people who could help tourists if they need it. “The most efficient and personable way to do that is to have a person who can speak their native language and may be familiar with their native customs available to help us,” Mott said in a press release. If you are willing to volunteer, give the Dallas PD a call. Your name and phone number will be added to a list of resources available. If things change and you can’t help out, just let them know and they will take your name off the list. “We will ask our local hotels to let us know what lan- guages are represented in their guest reservations as we get closer to the event, but it would also help if folks who are hosting or know of a large group of non-English speakers visiting us let us know what language resource we should try to have available,” Mott said. Volunteers would potentially help with things like giv- ing directions, reuniting lost children with parents and answering initial first-aid questions. They would not be asked to assist with significant criminal investigations. Languages expected to be represented include: American Sign Language, Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean, languages of China, East Slavic languages, and Swedish. If you can help with these or other foreign languages, call Mott at 503-831-3516 or email jerry.mott@dallasor. gov. Buy One Breakfast and 2 Drinks and Get A Free Breakfast Offer good Tue-Fri till 11 am $6 Breakfast Specials (3 to choose from) 50 $1 Biscuits & Gravy $1 Coffee $10 Delicious Burger, Fries & Drink Limit one per customer. Expires 6-30-17. Not to be combined with any other offer. 154 S. Main St, Independence 503-837-0394 Solution on Page 6A PUBLIC NOTICE FOR A CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION The Oregon Health Authority - Drinking Water Services has determined that the proposed drinking well #5 water pump house, treatment facility, and pipeline expansion for the Luckiamute Domestic Water Cooperative conform to the criteria and requirements of Oregon Administrative Rules 333-061-0063 and the supporting guidance manual "Environmental Review Process Handbook". The project involves building a 140 sq. ft. pump house, 120 sq. ft. treatment building, and approximately 1.5 miles of pipeline connecting well #5 to the existing system, is therefore categorically excluded from further environmental review as allowed in the above reference rules. A copy of the Categorical Exclusion and information upon which it is based is available for public viewing at: Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Services 800 NE Oregon Street; Suite 640, Portland, Oregon 97232 Additional copies are available for review at: Luckiamute Domestic Water Cooperative 8585 Suver Rd., Monmouth, OR 97361 www.polkio.com (June 14, 2017) 9 am Bike Ride Begins Visit Airlie Winery, Emerson, Treos 1 pm BBQ @ Redgate 3 pm 3 hour Ty Curtis Concert Begins $65 Inclusive Pencil us in! www.polkio.com $30 Ty Curtis & BBQ Sign up online at redgatevineyard.com Visit our website, www.polkio.com for local news, sports and community events.
