Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-
NEWS DEADLINES
For inclusion in the
Wednesday edition of the
Itemizer-Observer:
Social news (weddings,
engagements, anniver-
saries, births, milestones) —
5 p.m. on Thursday.
Community events —
Noon on Friday for both the
Community Notebook and
Community Calendar.
Letters to the editor —
10 a.m. on Monday.
Obituaries — 4 p.m. on
Monday.
CORRECTIONS
The Polk County Itemizer-
Observer is committed to pub-
lishing accurate news, feature
and sports reports. If you see
anything that requires a cor-
rection or clarification, call the
newsroom at 503-623-2373 or
send an email to
ementzer@polkio.com.
WEBSITE
The Polk County Itemizer-
Observer website,
www.polkio.com, is updat-
ed each week by Wednes-
day afternoon. There, you
will find nearly every story
that appears in the print
version of the newspaper,
as well as some items, in-
cluding additional photos,
that do not appear in print
due to space limitations.
The Itemizer-Observer is
also on Facebook, Twitter
and Instagram. Watch for
breaking news, links to sto-
ries, sports scores updates
and more.
WEATHER
RECORDED
HIGH LOW
June 27............. 77
June 28............. 76
June 29............. 83
June 30............. 84
July 1.................. 77
July 2.................. 85
July 3................. NA
56
52
51
54
58
51
NA
RAIN
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
NA
Rainfall during June — 0.74 in.
Rain through July 2 — 33.30 in.
3A
NEWS IN BRIEF
DEADLINES
ADVERTISING DEADLINES
Retail display ads — 3
p.m. Friday.
Classified display ads
— 11 a.m. on Monday.
Classified line ads —
Noon on Monday. Classified
ads are updated daily on
www.polkio.com.
Public notices — Noon
on Friday.
Observer • July 5, 2017
Donate glasses at Lions garage sale
DALLAS — The Dallas Lions Club Garage Sale will be held at
439 SE Clay St. Dallas on Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Satur-
day from 9 a.m. until noon. Bring any unwanted eyeglasses,
eyeglass cases or hearing aids that are no longer needed. These
will be cleaned, refurbished and sent to Lion sponsored eye
clinics throughout the world.
Duck Race tickets for the July 29 event will be available. For
more information: Susan at 503-302-3848.
One arrest made during ped patrol
STEPhANIE BLAIR/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas resident Petra Cole inspires others through her book who struggle with raising
children who are born addicted to drugs and alcohol.
‘Lessons in Grace’
Dallas author shares realities of raising ‘drug baby’
By Stephanie Blair
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — In the late
’70s, Petra Cole and her hus-
band adopted two children:
Jay and Sally.
Sally was the younger sis-
ter of Jay, who, it would later
be discovered, was what
Cole refers to as a “drug
baby” — a child affected by
their mother’s drug and al-
cohol use while pregnant.
In 2016, Cole published a
book titled, “Lessons in
Grace, Mercy and Forgive-
ness: Adopting a Drug
Baby,” recounting her expe-
riences raising a drug-affect-
ed child and the challenges
she faced. In the year since
the book’s release, Cole has
received positive and re-
warding feedback.
“It’s been wonderful get-
ting the responses from peo-
ple having read it, saying, ‘I
needed this,’” Cole said.
It was this need that moti-
vated Cole to write her book,
along with some familial en-
couragement.
“My sister is the one who
said, ‘you’ve got to put your
story out there,’ because
there are so many mother’s
struggling and not able to
understand what’s going
on,” Cole explained.
Cole added that often,
adopted and foster children
who were exposed to alco-
hol or drugs in utero pro-
duce a false negative when
tested for Fetal Alcohol Syn-
drome Disorders and similar
conditions.
In 2015, the Children’s
Research Triangle published
a study in which it found
that 86.5 percent of adopted
and foster children in the
sample group of 547 chil-
dren had never been diag-
nosed or had been misdiag-
nosed when they were, in
fact, affected by Fetal Alco-
hol Syndrome Disorders.
Cole, though conscious of
her son’s differences from
other children, was unaware
of his condition until after
Jay was an adult.
“This was back in the ’70s,
before we knew anything
about the effect of drugs on
babies,” Cole said.
Raising a child affected by
drugs in the womb is a
unique challenge, as Cole’s
book explains. One chal-
lenge was a lack of guilt or
conscience in her child.
However, Jay wasn’t mali-
cious. In fact, Cole described
that she struggled to find a
way to discipline him or
help him understand conse-
quences to his actions.
“That was the hardest
part: learning how to com-
municate with him in his
world,” Cole said. “He was,
in spite of all that, the funni-
est child I’ve ever been
around in my life — and al-
ways upbeat. Even when he
was going to run away, he
would let us know, ‘I’m just
going to run away for a little
while.’”
Despite Cole’s frequent
and open conversations
about increased chances of
addiction with her children,
as an adult, Jay became an
addict.
“He had gotten into
drugs, which is pretty typical
for a drug-addicted baby,”
Cole said. “He had gotten
into drugs and then, when
he was 37, he decided he
was totally finished with that
lifestyle.”
In 2008, Jay Cole checked
himself into the rehabilita-
tion program run by Moun-
tain Ministries, a church in
Rainer. He died shortly after
his 37th birthday.
“I’m at peace with that
because he had turned his
life around,” Cole said. “He
had really opted to change
his life.”
Petra Cole is a longtime
resident of Dallas; she loves
spending her time playing
tennis and directing her
church choir. “Lessons in
Grace, Mercy and Forgive-
ness: Adopting a Drug Baby”
is available on amazon.com
and xulonpress.com.
INDEPENDENCE — The Independence Police Department
conducted a four-hour pedestrian safety enforcement opera-
tion that focused on motorists who failed to yield the right of
way to pedestrians.
The operation was made possible by grants from the Oregon
Department of Transportation.
On June 26, a pedestrian enforcement and education program
was conducted which specifically focused on drivers and pedes-
trians who violated right-of-way laws. Six citations and 21 warn-
ings were issued. One arrest of a suspended driver was made.
IPD Sgt. Juventino Banuelos said community members
should follow basic safe practices:
Be on the lookout and stop for pedestrians; stop for pedestri-
ans in crosswalks and stay stopped until the pedestrian is two
traffic lanes away or has reached the sidewalk; pedestrians
should use a crosswalk when crossing and obey pedestrian sig-
nals; Look both ways for traffic before crossing; ensure cares are
yielding before crossing.
Foundation seeks Polk nonprofits
SALEM — The Oregon Community Foundation is seeking
more grant applications from Polk County.
The foundation awards grants ranging from $1,000 to
$50,000 to nonprofits around the region.
For more information: oregoncf.org.
Matinees are all shows
before 6pm. New pricing for
matinees are: Adult $8.00
Children $7.00 • Senior $7.25
Pricing does not reflect
3D showings.
Now Playing:
Despicable Me 3 (PG)
The House (R)
Transformers:
The Last Knight (PG13)
Baby Driver (R)
Rough Night (R)
Wonder Woman (PG13)
Premiering Thursday July 6th:
Spider-Man Homecoming (PG13)
For showtimes visit us online
independenceCinema8.com
or call 503-606-3000
NOTICE
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has in its physical possession the
unclaimed personal property described below. If you have any owner-
ship interest in any of that unclaimed property, you must file a claim with
the Polk County Sheriff’s office within 30 days from the date of publication
of this notice, or you will lose your interest in that property.
• Firearms, knives, bicycles, electronic equipment, jew-
elry,
tools, bags/backpacks, sports equipment
• 1996 Jeep Cherokee, OR 161FLB,
Vin #1J4FT68S5TL133117
• 2002 Subaru Outback, OR SL36977,
Vin#4S3BH665926656981
Contact Polk County Sheriff’s Office at:
850 Main Street, Dallas, OR 97338 • (503) 623-9251
(June 28; July 5, 12, 19, 2017)
Solution on Page 6A
Private Mail Box
Special $66
No more roommates misplacing mail or
hunting down a package because you we’re gone.
13 months for the Price of 12
plus no set up fees, a $16 savings!
Have your mail and packages delivered securely to one
location no matter your schedule or how often you move.
Just want secure location for package delivery? We have you covered.
Get discount when you ship as well. Your life can change a lot
in a year but your mailbox doesn’t have to.
Private Mail Boxes, Shipping—FedEx,
UPS, DHL, Notary, Color & BW Copies,
Fax, Party Rental, Cash for Textbook
Coming soon Western Union
Open Monday thru Friday 10 am to 6 pm
Saturday 10 am to 2 pm
169 Broad St S. Monmouth
503-917-9181