Polk County News
6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 21, 2017
Monmouth passes 2017-18 budget
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — The
Monmouth City Council ap-
proved the 2017-18 budget
after a rather lengthy
process, City Manager Scott
McClure said.
“We had more meetings
this year,” he said. “We were
pretty thorough. The budget
committee proposed cuts
and revenue sources.”
One of the issues was that
the city had been drawing
down reserves to make im-
provements.
“We had to get things
back in balance, and had to
absorb the PERS hit this
year,” McClure said, refer-
ring to the increases in the
city’s contribution to the
Oregon Public Employee
Retirement System.
At one point in the budget
process, McClure said the
city was considering cutting
a police officer position.
“By the time they (the
budget committee) got
done, they added back a
couple more revenue
(streams) and we got the of-
ficer back,” McClure said.
A few departments were
reorganized and stream-
lined, including the finance
department and the police
department, he said.
“We maintained the
staffing level there without
having to lose the officer,”
McClure said.
The police department
will now have a lieutenant
and three sergeants, he said.
“We’ll have one less po-
lice officer, but the intent is
now the sergeants will be in
the field more, so you make
up for the officer by having
the sergeants have more pa-
trol,” McClure said.
The entire budget process
had a lot of ups and downs,
he said.
“We knew we were going
to have more work this year
to make sure we got through
it,” McClure said. “The com-
mittee did a great job and
stuck to policy. Instead of
rubber-stamping and say-
ing, ‘OK, sounds good,’ or
spending time focusing on
how many screws and bolts
are you buying, they stuck to
services provided.”
On the initial budget, Mc-
Clure estimated local mari-
juana tax revenue at $30,000
a year. He said he was sur-
prised when, right before
the last step of finalizing the
budget, the city received
$76,000 from the state for its
share of the state marijuana
tax.
“We got things balanced
with that,” he said. “We also
increased our internal fran-
chise fees, the fees we
charge to water, sewer and
electric. The good news is
our electric and sewer funds
are doing OK right now, so it
didn’t translate to an in-
crease.”
Two surprises for the
city’s utility funds came for
water and electric, McClure
said, which will mean rate
increases in the near future.
As far as water goes, a well
wasn’t functioning properly
and needed attention, Mc-
Clure said. The surprise ex-
pense for the electric fund
was brought by the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion’s project on Highway
99W. ODOT is requiring the
city to remove all of its utili-
ties from the highway’s
right-of-way.
“The idea is we are a guest
in their right-of-way,” Mc-
Clure said. “So if they say we
have to move, we have to
move.”
The bottom line: Mon-
mouth’s general fund is
back into a good place, and
though multiple depart-
ments contracted some
services, it didn’t get at the
heart of operations, Mc-
Clure said.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Police investigate Highway 22 crash
WEST SALEM — The Salem Police Department, with the assis-
tance of the Oregon State Police, is investigating a fatal motorcycle
crash that occurred Saturday afternoon in West Salem.
Officers were dispatched to the westbound lanes of Highway 22
between the Edgewater and Rosemont exits at about 12:05 p.m.
on a report of a motorcycle crash.
Officers arrived on the scene to find a black 2015 Honda motor-
cycle had hit the center guardrail, and the motorcycle operator de-
ceased at the scene.
The motorcycle operator has been identified as Phillip P.
Slivkoff, 24, of Woodburn. He was alone on the motorcycle, and
there were no other vehicles directly involved in the incident.
Traffic on the roadway was restricted while the crash was being
investigated. Anyone with information on this crash should con-
tact the Salem Police Department at 503-588-6123.
LaCreole hosts science summer camp
DALLAS — LaCreole Middle School will host its first annual
Rocket Summer Camp, Aug. 22-25.
The camp is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students work in teams to
design a way to retrieve vital payload from the Martian surface.
Camp activities include: Using 3D printing to design, build and
launch an ESTES rocket; and working with LEGO robotics to cre-
ate a rover and program it to complete a Martian obstacle
course.
T-shirts, snacks and swag bags provided by NASA are includ-
ed. Camp is free, but limited to 20 students.
Applications are available at the LaCreole main office and
due are Friday.
For more information: Anna Digby, anna.digby@dsd2.org or
Ken Guffey, ken.guffey@dsd2.org
POLICE REPORT
Information for the police
report comes from law en-
forcement agencies.
Not all calls for service are
included. The status of inci-
dents reported may change
after further investigation.
Individuals arrested or sus-
pected of crimes are consid-
ered innocent until proven
guilty.
—
DALLAS
Arrests/Citations
• Richard E. Buckley, 30, of
Dallas in the 200 block of SE
Washington St. on Saturday on
third-degree theft.
• Alma H. Johnston, 27, of In-
dependence in the 500 block of
SE Washington St. on Sunday
on second-degree criminal tres-
pass, resisting arrest and pos-
session of methamphetamine.
INDEPENDENCE
Arrests/Citations
• Kathleen M. Golden
Phillips, 51, of Placentia, Calif.,
on Gun Club Road on June 15
on DUII.
• Levi W. North, 38, of Inde-
pendence, in the 100 block of
D Street on Sunday on unlaw-
ful possession of metham-
phetamine, felon in posses-
sion of a firearm and carrying
a concealed weapon (knife).
MONMOUTH
Arrests/Citations
• George Antonio Davis, 38,
of Portland, in the 100 block of
Main Street on June 10 on ha-
rassment.
• Rusty A. Arp, 33, of Mon-
mouth, ion the corner of Mon-
mouth-Independence High-
way and Hogan Road on June
15 on probation violation.
born on Dec. 25, 1942 in
Artesia, California and grad-
uated from Hilltop High
School in Chula Vista, Calif.
The family moved to Chino,
Calif. in 1972. He entered
the army in 1964 and served
a year in Vietnam. In 1966,
he married LaVerna Van Der
Veen and moved to Forest
Grove, and in 1980, to Inde-
pendence.
John in survived by his
wife of 50 years; five chil-
dren, Rhonda Prouty, John
(Annola) De Jong, Sheri
(Kevin) Baker, Linda (Eric)
Shumaker, Jerry (Staci) De
Jong; 12 grandchildren and
three brothers.
We will miss coming in
the house not seeing him in
his favorite chair.
A graveside service will be
held Monday, June 26, 2017,
10 am at Willamette Nation-
al Cemetery in Portland. In
lieu of flowers, donations
may be made to Veterans of
Foreign Wars or Sunrise
Church, 823 N. Ford St,
McMinnville. Arrangements
are in care of Farnstrom
Mortuary.
Memories and condo-
lences may be shared at
FarnstromMortuary.com.
She was born on July 5,
1930.
She is survived by her son
Marvin Ross of Dallas and
daughter Sandy Armenakis
of Salem along with 10
grandchildren and many
g r e a t
grandchil-
dren. Also
surviving is
a brother
D u a n e
Dunaway
of Dallas.
She was
preceded
in death by a son Danny
Ross and a brother Rex Dun-
away.
Private family services will
be held. Private interment
will be in the Dallas Ceme-
tery.
Memorial contributions
are suggested to the
Willamette Humane Society.
The Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center is caring for the fam-
ily. To leave a message or
memory for the family
please go to www.dallastrib-
ute.com.
OBITUARIES
Jose M. ‘Pops’
Fernandez
Sept. 1, 1934 – June 11, 2017
Jose M. Fernandez,
known as “Pops” to his fam-
ily and friends, was born
Sept. 1, 1934, in Havana,
Cuba. He
spent his
early life
there and
became a
bantam
weight
b o x e r
known as
“Chico Fernandez.” In 1958,
he went to Mexico to fulfill
some fighting contracts and,
due to the turmoil in Cuba,
he came to the United
States. He finally settled in
Omaha, Neb. There he met
and married Jackie. The cou-
ple moved to Oregon in
1965. They had five children.
Jose worked at Swan Is-
land shipyards in construc-
tion, and later as a self-em-
ployed painter.
During his later years he
resided in Alaska, California,
and Oregon with his daugh-
ters.
He is survived by his
daughters Maria Rardin, of In-
dependence, Teresa Connor,
of Independence, Encarna-
cion Ingram, of Forest Grove,
and Caridad DeVries, of Dal-
las. He was the proud “Pops”
of 16 grandchildren and 17
great-grandchildren. He was
preceded in death by son
Jose, and brother Manuel.
Funeral Mass will be
Wednesday, (today) June 21,
11 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic
Church, Independence, with
interment at Gesthemani
Cemetery, 11666 SE Stevens
Road, Happy Valley, OR.
Farnstrom Mortuary is
caring for the family. Memo-
ries and condolences may be
shared at FarnstromMortu-
ary.com.
Joanna ‘Jean’
Larson Phelps
March 9, 1928 – April 2, 2017
Joanna “Jean” Larson
Phelps, born March 9, 1928,
in Petti-
b o n e ,
N.D., along
with twin
brother
L o w e l l
“Dean”
Larson
(precedes
her in death) to A.M. and
Laura Larson, passed away
April 2, 2017, at home.
She lived in North Dakota,
Minnesota, Washington, and
settled in Oregon in 1942.
She lived in Hood River,
Portland, and then moved to
Taft. She graduated from Taft
High School in 1946.
Joanna met John Phelps in
high school and they married
in 1948. She lived in Nelscott,
Otis, Rose Lodge, Tualatin,
McMinnville, Dallas, and
most recently Salem.
Joanna was a homemaker
and loved cooking, sewing,
camping, gardening, square
dancing, pets and spending
time with family. She was an
Avon Representative for a
decade and worked at the
State Capitol during two leg-
islative sessions. Joanna also
enjoyed the annual Phelps
family picnic and get-to-
gethers with high school
classmates known as “The
Fun Bunch.”
She is survived by sons,
Steve and Ron Phelps;
daughter, Tammy Inman;
two grandsons, a grand-
daughter and a great-grand-
son.
Service will be held Satur-
day June 24 at 2 p.m. at City
View Funeral Home 390
Hoyt St. S., in Salem. Recep-
tion following.
Donations can be made
to the Humane Society,
Heart/Kidney Association in
lieu of flowers.
John Richard De
Jong
Dec. 25, 1942 - June 16, 2017
John Richard De Jong was
Joyful Sound Hearing
312 Main Street • Dallas
Marie Diane
Adams
• Hearing Testing
• Hearing Aids
• Service
Call today for your
FREE Consultation
Mark Sturtevant
503-623-0290
Personally involved
and invested in the
Dallas community
July 28, 1938 – May 26, 2017
Welcoming new patients.
Most insurance health plans accepted. Also a Moda preferred provider.
No services are planned
at this time. Farnstrom Mor-
tuary is in charge of arrange-
ments. Memories and con-
dolences at FarnstromMor-
tuary.com.
Dolores J. Ross
July 5, 1930 – June 16, 2017
Dolores J. Ross, 86, a resi-
dent of Salem died Friday.
Salem
412 Lancaster Drive NE
Salem, OR 97301
(503) 581-6265
Low Cost
Cremation & Burial
Funerals & Memorials
Simple Direct Cremation $595
Simple Direct Burial
$710
Traditional Funeral
$2,275
Discount priced
Caskets, Urns and
other Memorial items.
Privately owned
cremation facility.
Locally owned and operated
by Oregon families.
www.ANewTradition.com
Bertha Shilling
May 1, 1920 – June 14, 2017
Graveside service is at 1
p.m. on Thursday at Alford
Cemetery, in Harrisburg.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center is caring for the fam-
ily.
Obituary
Information
Obituaries cost $8 per 25
words and include a photo
and flag for veterans.
Obituary information must
be submitted by 4 p.m. on the
Monday before publication to
be included in the newspaper.
Most funeral homes handle
obituary information and pro-
vide it to the newspaper. Obit-
uaries submitted by private
parties must be prepaid.
Color and black-and-white
photos can be submitted, but
photos will only be published
in black and white. Death no-
tices — like all information
submitted to the news depart-
ment — are subject to editing
for style, content and length.
Information can be brought
or mailed to the Itemizer-Ob-
server, 147 SE Court St., Dallas,
OR 97338, or emailed to
ionews@polkio.com.
For more information: Emily
Mentzer, 503-623-2373.
