Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 12, 2017 3A
DEADLINES
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.
A barn fire in the 1800
block of Falls City Road
was discovered at 5:30
a.m. on Thursday by the
property owner who
awoke to his barn fully in-
volved in fire, said April
Welsh, the spokeswoman
for Dallas Fire & EMS. The
fire was caused by electri-
cal issues. The barn did
not have any animals in-
side. It contained vehicles,
storage and a semi-trailer.
When 20 firefighters ar-
rived, they took a defen-
sive approach to protect
the surrounding property,
unable to go inside the
barn for an interior attack,
Welsh said.
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.
APRIL WELSH/
for the Itemizer-Observer
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
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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.
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WEATHER
RECORDED
HIGH LOW
July 4.................. 87
July 5.................. 91
July 6.................. 91
July 7................. NA
July 8.................. 89
July 9.................. 87
July 10............... 82
55
56
52
NA
52
52
57
RAIN
.00
.00
.00
NA
.00
.00
.00
Rainfall during July — 0.00 in.
Rain through July 10 — 33.30 in.
Visit us online
at www.polkio.com
Four fires strike in two days
Dallas Fire & EMS respond to two fires caused by cars driving in fields
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — Two of
four fires in two days from
July Fourth through Thurs-
day were sparked by cars
driving on fields, said April
Welsh, spokeswoman for
Dallas Fire & EMS.
“Our conditions are al-
ready getting pretty dry,”
Welsh said. “We had signifi-
cant rainfall this winter, but
that has allowed vegetation
to grow. Now that it’s get-
ting warmer, the warm tem-
peratures and the winds are
causing things to dry out.”
The call for the first fire on
July 4 came in just before 3
p.m., Welsh said.
“It had the potential to be
fairly substantial in size,”
she said.
People were driving to a
vineyard on Crowley Road
and may have gotten lost, so
turned around in a field. The
car caught the field on fire.
Welsh said, “It was a total
accident.”
Thirty firefighters and
eight apparatus responded
to the roughly 2.5-acre field
fire. The rye grass was not
combined yet. Loss was
about $2,800, Welsh said.
“One thing that was kind
of unique about this fire is it
started out as a fairly small
fire, but it was pushed by the
wind,” she said.
Polk County Sheriff’s
deputies, Southwest Polk
Fire District, Oregon De-
partment of Forestry, Polk
County Fire District No. 1,
Sheridan Fire and Amity Fire
assisted at the scene.
A barn fire in the 1800
block of Falls City Road in
the early hours on Thursday
was deemed as being caused
by electrical issues, Welsh
said.
“That call came in at 5:30
a.m.,” Welsh said. “The
property owner woke up
and found his barn fully in-
volved in fire and called
911.”
The barn did not have any
animals inside. It had three
vehicles, storage and a semi-
trailer which were all dam-
aged.
“It made it more challeng-
ing,” Welsh said. “When our
firefighters arrived, the shop
was fully involved, so at that
point, they had to take a de-
fensive-type approach and
protect the property around
it and control the fire itself.
There was no way they were
going to be able to do an in-
terior attack on that.”
In total, 20 firefighters
battled the barn fire, all from
Southwest Polk, Dallas Fire,
Falls City Fire and Polk No.
1. The barn and contents are
a complete loss, estimated
at $25,000, Welsh said.
Two smaller fires broke
out on July 5, Welsh said.
One was a burn pile that got
out of control. The other was
caused by a vehicle in a field.
No firefighters were in-
jured in any of the fires from
July 4 through 6, Welsh said.
A countywide burn ban
was initiated on July 3,
Welsh said.
“Even though we did have
the rainfall (this winter and
spring), it’s not going to be
enough to saturate the
ground at this point,” Welsh
said. “Our area is agricul-
ture. We’re going to start
into harvest season real
soon. We need to make sure
people are really cautious
with their farm equipment,
where they’re driving, dis-
pose of cigarettes properly,
and discourage people from
burning anything.”
When possible, mowing
should be done in the morn-
ing while there is dew on the
ground, Welsh said. If a fire
does start, call 911.
“Do not hesitate to call
911,” she added. “The quick-
er we can get there, the
quicker we can get their fire
under control. There’ve
been some cases when peo-
ple have tried to put out
their own fires. We can
come with more people and
more equipment. Just call
911. Don’t hesitate.”
ICE
V
R
I SE
X
A
T
• 24 Hour Service
• Pick up Drop Off Get home safe, call your D.D.
Merlin D. Berkey
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.
FRIDAY - WEDNESDAY • JULY 14 - JULY 19
Monmouth 2017
Music in the Park
(12:15 2:30 4:45) 7:05 9:20
DESPICABLE ME 3 (Digital) (PG)
DESPICABLE ME 3 (Digital) (PG)
(11:45 2:00)
BABY DRIVER (Digital) (R)
Main St. Park Amphitheater
(4:35)
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (Digital) (PG13) (12:35 3:40) 6:15 6:45 9:50
Every Wednesday through August 30 ~ 6:30pm
MUSIC, FOOD, BEER & WINE GARDEN
(12:40 3:45) 6:50 9:55
WONDER WOMAN (Digital) (PG13)
Dallas Lions Club’s 9th Annual
Performing Tonight
July 12
Wildwood
Allstar Revue
(Rock)
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Start at Levens St. Bridge - Finish at Main St. Bridge
Saturday
July 29 • 2 pm
Tickets
2 PER
DUCK
$
#9
Over 100
amazing prizes
from our
business community.
Tickets on sale at these locations: Bounty Market • Courtyard Coffee
& Deli • Dallas Animal Clinic • Dallas Chamber Office
• Dallas Trophy • Sassy’s Keggs & Eggs • The Car Doctor
• Walmart (Saturdays from 10-4). Or call 503-302-3848.
Bring your chairs
and blankets
and we’ll see you
in the park!
For More Information Contact:
Mark Fancey 503-751-0147
(1:00 4:00) 6:35 7:00 10:00
SPIDERMAN: HOMECOMING (Digital) (PG13)
(1:40 4:25) 7:10 9:55
THE BIG SICK (Digital) (R)
(12:35 2:50 5:05) 7:20 9:35
WISH UPON (Digital) (PG13)
Look for the
Music in the Park Series
on Facebook for more
information about this
year’s artists.
9:20
TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT (Digital) (PG13)
CARS 3 (Digital) (G)
(1:25 4:00)
THURSDAY • JULY 20
(12:40 3:45) 6:50 9:55
WONDER WOMAN (Digital) (PG13)
(12:15 2:30 4:45) 7:05 9:20
DESPICABLE ME 3 (Digital) (PG)
DESPICABLE ME 3 (Digital) (PG)
(11:45 2:00)
BABY DRIVER (Digital) (R)
(4:35)
6:15 8:45
DUNKIRK (Digital) (PG13)
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (Digital) (PG13)
(12:35 3:40) 6:45 9:50
SPIDERMAN: HOMECOMING (Digital) (PG13)
(1:00 4:00) 7:00 10:00
THE BIG SICK (Digital) (R)
(1:40 4:25) 7:10 9:55
WISH UPON (Digital) (PG13)
CARS 3 (Digital) (G)
VALERIAN (Digital) (PG13)
(12:35 2:50 5:05) 7:20 9:35
(11:50 2:25)
(5:00) 8:00
RECYCLE
A little effort.
A big difference.
Fri & Sat
JULY
21 & 22
2017
9 to 5 Daily
Kelly K. Denney
Maps available at
Willamina City Hall
Downtown and at
sale sites during the sale.
503-623-2146
SWAP MEET & Flea Market!
Fri & Sat July 21-22, 9-5 - Free!
Sponsored by 4th of July Committee - Fireworks Fundraiser!
Financial Advisor
244 E. Ellendale, Suite 2
Dallas, OR 97338
Ben Meyer,
AAMS ®
Bob Timmerman
Financial Advisor
503-623-5584
503-606-3048
193 E. Main Street
Monmouth, OR 97361
Financial Advisor
159 SW Court Street
Dallas, OR 97338