MUSIC, MOVIES, MORE
TYRELL WILLIAMS
SUMMER SERIES FOOTBALL CAMP
Page 8A
Volume 142, Issue 27
Page 11A
www.Polkio.com
July 5, 2017
$1.00
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DALLAS
City looks at street re-
pairs in a new light.
»Page 2A
INDEPENDENCE
Fourth of July festivi-
ties begin at Riverview
Park.
»Page 5A
MONMOUTH
Apple Box Theater
set to perform “Arabian
Nights.”
»Page 14A
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Jon and Susan Brewster built their home to be ideal to continue studying astronomy.
POLK COUNTY
Reach for the sky
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — In the
hills just outside of Mon-
mouth, Jon and Susan
Brewster built their home
with one thing in mind: as-
tronomy.
With the Great American
Eclipse around the corner,
it’s no coincidence that
their property is situated
perfectly, nearly on the
center line for optimum
viewing.
“When we found this
property here, we said,
‘Yeah, we can do astrono-
my here for a long, long
time,’ and we’re right
dead-center for the eclipse,
or pretty close,” Jon said.
“And it’s been great.”
Jon and Susan said
they’d always had an inter-
est in astronomy, but
didn’t begin developing the
hobby until Halley’s Comet
made its appearance near
the earth in 1986.
“As a kid, I was involved
in (astronomy),” Jon said.
“Back in the ’80s, we got
this (telescope) and con-
trolled it with our comput-
er. It was a little rough.”
Jon has worked as a soft-
ware engineer since 1977,
so programming his tele-
scopes comes easily.
“When we first got that
little telescope out there,
we unboxed it and put it
together,” Susan recalled.
The directions that came
with the scope said to find
a bright star and tell the
telescope the name of that
star.
“We look at this bright
star, and it turns out it’s
Saturn,” Susan said. “And
we can tell it’s Saturn right
away because it has ears on
it. And it was overpower-
ing; it was spiritual; it was
crazy. This is real.”
From then on, the Brew-
ster’s commitment to as-
tronomy has grown.
“We have enjoyed this
hobby so much,” Susan
said. “It keeps us home at
night.”
Technology has come a
long way since the 1980s,
and so has the Brewster’s
astronomy hobby.
The couple built a home
around the infrastructure
for an observatory, some-
thing Jon learned more
about while working for
two years as an engineer at
the observatory in Mauna
Kea, Hawaii.
After traveling back to
Hawaii to view the total
solar eclipse in 1991, the
couple began to more seri-
ously prepare for the Aug.
21 eclipse.
In 1991, none of Jon’s
photos turned out. This
time, he’s more prepared,
with a filter on one telescope
for the partial eclipse, an-
other telescope pro-
grammed to photograph the
totality, and a drone to cap-
ture the crowd of about 100
people invited to the Brew-
ster’s property for the spec-
tacle.
“A lot of the feel of the
eclipse — there’s the scien-
tific stuff and the wonder of
it all, but really the crowd re-
sponse is quite interesting,”
Susan said.
The environment changes
during totality, Susan said.
Birds nest down and stop
singing. The temperature
drops. Planets and bright
stars are visible.
See BREWSTER, Page 7A
Polk County’s Inten-
tional Use of Deadly
Physical Force Planning
Authority approved re-
visions to its response
plan Thursday evening.
»Page 6A
SPORTS
The Monmouth-Inde-
pendence Fourth of
July tennis tournament
returns.
»Page 11A
Full moon
Sunday can
serve as
practice
Itemizer-Observer staff report
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Jon and Susan Brewster still use their first telescope to
view the stars at their home outside of Monmouth.
Events center awaits decision A Falls City ‘Fourth’
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Owners of a
proposed event center on
Polk Station Road just out-
side of Dallas are awaiting a
Polk County Hearings Offi-
cer decision on an appeal of
its conditional use permit.
The Polk County Planning
Department approved the
conditional use permit on
May 1 for a home occupa-
tion on the 20.5-acre proper-
ty that is zoned “exclusive
farm use.” The permit would
allow two buildings on the
property to be used for the
center: a main venue with
room for maximum of 100
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
POLK COUNTY — Want
to take a photo of the
eclipse?
Make sure you’re pre-
pared for that once-in-a-
lifetime shot.
Those wanting to pho-
tograph the eclipse
should begin searching
for a solar filter for their
camera now. Without a
certified solar filter, you
could destroy your cam-
era — and your eyesight.
Similarly, practicing be-
fore the eclipse will help
improve the quality of
eclipse shots. The sun and
the moon will appear the
same size in the sky, which
is why the moon will be
able to completely eclipse
the sun on Aug. 21. To
practice, try taking pic-
tures of the full moon this
weekend, Saturday, and
next month on Aug. 7.
This will give you an op-
portunity to work with ad-
justing exposure levels as
well.
Newsletter
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
The proposed event center awaits an appeal decision.
guests and a second build-
ing with restrooms, a chang-
ing area for wedding parties
and a catering kitchen.
When reached by phone
last week, property owner
Jim Voges said the plan is to
mainly host weddings, but
it’s being called an “event
center” so not to exclude
other types of events.
See CENTER, Page 7A
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
Some patriotic kids take part in the Falls City parade
on Saturday. For more photos from Falls City, Inde-
pendence and Monmouth, see Page 5A.
Want to be more con-
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Also be sure to like the
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@PolkIONews.
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Stay active and play
some pickleball at
Roger Jordan Com-
munity Park. All
ages and skill levels
are welcome.
9 a.m. Free.
Come enjoy a tasty
bite to eat or find
your latest treasure
at the Polk County
Bounty Market, held
each Thursday.
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Today’s a perfect
day to make your fa-
vorite pasta dish to
help celebrate Na-
tional Macaroni Day!
Check out some of
the area’s best white
wine offerings at the
Great White Wine
Festival at Left Coast
Cellars.
Why not indulge
your sweet tooth
today? Today is Na-
tional Sugar Cookie
Day!
Looking for a way to
give back? Help
spread bark chips
and pull weeds at
the arboretum at
Dallas City Park.
6-8 p.m.
Learn more about
the Great American
Eclipse at a work-
shop at Chemeketa
Polk Center in Dal-
las.
6:30 p.m. Free.
Sunny
Hi: 86
Lo: 57
Sunny
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Lo: 57
Sunny
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Lo: 55
Sunny
Hi: 81
Lo: 52
Sunny
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Lo: 52
Noon to 7 p.m. $25.
Sunny
Hi: 82
Lo: 55