SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LAUREN WALLACE
Volume 142, Issue 25
Page 10A
www.Polkio.com
June 21, 2017
$1.00
LaCreole
principal
given
digital
award
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DALLAS
Morrison graduate
finds herself.
»Page 12A
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE
DALLAS — Photos of
LaCreole Middle School
Principal Jamie Richard-
son were plastered all over
the Dallas School District
boardroom last week.
The display, placed for all
board meeting attendees to
see, was in response to a
special
recogni-
t i o n
Richard-
s o n
earned
t h i s
month:
Digital
Richardson Principal
of the Year. It was a little
embarrassing for him.
“It was kind of an honor,
so I will give them that one
time,” said a camera-shy
Richardson, smiling.
He and five other princi-
pals were awarded the
honor by the National As-
sociation of Secondary
School Principals.
The award recognizes
principals “for integrating
digital media in their ef-
forts to improve instruc-
tion, student achievement,
and their own leadership.”
Richardson said when
he received the call from
the director of the NASSP
notifying him he has won
the award, he wanted to
ask, “Are you sure?”
“Not knowing how
many applicants and look-
ing at the people who gone
before and won the award,
it was just great to be in
the running,” Richardson
said. “I didn’t really expect
it. There are so many other
people in the country are
doing great things.”
See AWARD, Page 3A
Santa Train leaving
town.
»Page 2A
MONMOUTH
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
The old drying shed on the Weyerhaeuser property will be carefully dismantled in an effort to salvage timber.
Mill landmark comes down
Crews remove the Weyerhaeuser mill building known as Noah’s Ark
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Another piece
of Dallas’ timber town lega-
cy will be gone soon as the
dismantling of old drying
shed, affectionately known
as “Noah’s Ark,” on the for-
mer Weyerhaeuser mill
property began last week.
“It’s the end of an era,”
said Commissioner Mike
Ainsworth, who worked at
the mill for nearly two
decades. “I saw the big
crane when I was driving
into to town. It made me
sad. I have fond memories
of that facility.”
Ainsworth said the enor-
mous building was used to
store lumber when the site
was a working mill. It earned
its nickname because work-
ers at the mill calculated its
dimensions as similar to
those used to describe
Noah’s Ark in the Bible.
“It’s huge,” Ainsworth
said. “You don’t know how
big it is until you go in it.”
The property owner,
Northwest Demolition &
Dismantling, has been get-
ting the site ready for rede-
velopment.
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Workers inspect the roof Monday during the dismantling
process at the former Weyerhaeuser mill site.
“Part of the plan is that it
would have to come down at
some point,” said David Mc-
Clure, the controller for site
owner Northwest Demoli-
tion and Dismantling. “It’s
probably not usable for any
industrial purpose, besides
being a drying shed for a
lumber mill.”
He said the project started
June 11 and may continue
for up to three months.
“We have a company
that is salvaging the wood
from the building,” Mc-
Clure said Monday.
Other materials from the
building, including metal
siding, could be recycled as
well, depending on their
condition, he said.
Ainsworth said the closure
of the mill in 2009 was a big
blow to the local economy
and he had hoped during the
first few years afterward that
it would be reopened.
“I know we all have to
change, but it was a good
living,” he said.
But now that so much
time has passed, he thinks
tearing down some of the
buildings might be the best
option for the property.
“It would be wonderful to
see something come in
here,” he said. “It would give
people some hope.”
City Manager Ron Foggin
said the removal of the
building could open the
property to more uses.
“I think the city was always
in the hope that someone
would find use for that build-
ing,” he said. “Long story
short, it just never really
came to fruition. The proper-
ty owners have determined
that the site would be more
marketable without that.
Northwest Demolition &
Dismantling purchased the
site in an auction in 2012 and
began tearing down some of
the structures with the objec-
tive of selling the property for
industrial use.
No matter what happens
with the property, the en-
trance to the city is forever
changed with Noah’s Ark
being torn down piece-by-
piece, Ainsworth said.
“It’s the first thing you re-
ally saw when you came into
town on that side,” he said.
City to review council social media use
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — The city of
Dallas’ Administration Com-
mittee will examine possible
rules for council members
regarding social media use.
Committee members are
slated to review guidelines
and may make a recommen-
dation at the committee’s
July 24 meeting.
At the committee’s May
meeting — the committee
meets every two months — it
recommended the city coun-
cil adopt the policy governing
non-city employee use of
city-owned social media, and
personal pages when em-
ployees identify their associa-
tion with the city.
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
Committee Chairwoman
Kelly Gabliks reported at the
June 5 Dallas City Council
meeting that since then, the
recommendation had been
withdrawn to make sure the
policy doesn’t violate coun-
cilors’ First Amendment
rights. She said that the poli-
cy could inform further de-
bate on the topic.
“We wanted to see the
council adopt a social media
policy,” she said during her
report to the council. “We
had a copy of what the city
employees are required to
adhere to. We really liked it
and we voted to send that
forward to make that a rec-
ommendation to the full
council.”
See SOCIAL, Page 7A
wed
Curious about 3D
printing? Dallas Li-
brary will host a
Makerspace Work-
shop at Dallas Civic
Center.
5 p.m. Free.
Sunny
Hi: 77
Lo: 49
City passes 2017-18
budget after lengthy
process.
»Page 6A
POLK COUNTY
Valsetz residents
camp out for reunion.
»Page 3A
SPORTS
Registration contin-
ues for Monmouth-In-
dependence Fourth of
July tennis tournament.
»Page 11A
ROAD to hold
field day
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — The Radio
Operators Association of
Dallas will hold a field day
at Dallas City Park from 9
a.m. Saturday to noon on
Sunday.
The exercise is aimed at
giving practice of re-
sponding in case of a nat-
ural disaster when HAM
operators may have to op-
erate purely on standby
power.
The event is open to
the public and informa-
tion about the association
will be available and what
amateur radio operators’
role may be during and
after a natural disaster.
For more information:
503-881-5836.
Fourth of
July section
Be sure to pick up next
week’s issue of the Itemiz-
er-Observer to read all
about the Fourth of July
events happening in Polk
County.
Newsletter
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Dallas’ Administration Committee will review and may suggest a social media policy.
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
See what kind of
bounty you can
come away with at
the weekly Polk
County Bounty Mar-
ket.
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Come take part or
just sit back and lis-
ten to some great
music at the Guthrie
Park Acoustic Jam
Sesson.
6:30 p.m. Free.
Help get the Polk
County Fairgrounds
ready for the County
Fair by taking part in
the Fair Beautifica-
tion Day.
9 a.m. to noon.
Enjoy some great art
from a variety of
artists at the Last
Sunday at River
Gallery in Independ-
ence.
4 p.m.
If you’re looking to
show off your musi-
cal talents or want
to improve, check
out New Horizons
Orchestra.
6:30 p.m. $25.
The James2 Com-
munity Kitchen will
offer meals for any-
one in need in Falls
City at 242 N. Main
St., Falls City.
4:30 to 6 p.m.
Sunny
Hi: 77
Lo: 47
Sunny
Hi: 84
Lo: 54
Sunny
Hi: 90
Lo: 58
Sunny
Hi: 94
Lo: 54
Sunny
Hi: 85
Lo: 55
Sunny
Hi: 77
Lo: 51