Polk County
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Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 19, 2017 4A
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EDITORIALS
Eclipse to provide
chance to show off
We’ve been writing a lot about the Great American
Eclipse, with more stories to come each week until Aug. 23.
We’ve learned a lot about the phenomenon, what to ex-
pect, and what the worst-case scenarios could be.
A lot of people will come to Polk County, with estimates
ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.
Things such as weather and smoke from wildfires will
play a part in how many come for the big event on Aug. 21.
If everything goes well, we will still very likely see a lot of
traffic and people in our community who don’t usually
come to rural Polk County.
Some people are already dreading it — preferring to
stock up and preparing to bunker down for the week. Oth-
ers are excited for the opportunity.
The cities are opening up parks for out-of-towners to
camp, and landowners are doing the same.
For cities and the chambers, the point of planning these
events isn’t so much to make money for themselves, but to
provide quality entertainment and events for visitors. If
people have fun while in our area, they will spend more
money here, boosting the local economy by supporting
local businesses.
They’ll eat in our restaurants, and drink at our watering
holes and coffee shops. They’ll pick up trinkets and souvenirs
at our shops. When they leave — if we show them a good
time — they may go online and continue to support our local
businesses. Maybe they’ll consider moving here and opening
up their own business, providing jobs and tax dollars.
The idea isn’t to collect $300 a night for camping at one
of our public parks — honestly, those costs will likely pay
for cleanup, but wouldn’t really help the general fund —
but to showcase all the great things we love about our
county and towns to people who would otherwise never
put Polk County on their bucket list of must-see destina-
tions.
Go ahead and be prepared for a week or so, as though
we were expecting a hurricane unlike we’ve seen in Polk
County, but, unlike in a hurricane, be ready to enjoy the
party that comes with it.
Smile at strangers. Take time to give them directions or
suggestions of what to do and see in our town. Be patient
with each other, tourists, traffic, law enforcement and first
responders. If we all plan and work together, maybe that
week will go off without a hitch and we can all enjoy it safe-
ly.
It’s only going to be for a week, and it’s not going to hap-
pen again in Polk County for more than 100 years.
PUBLIC AGENDA
Public Agenda is a listing of upcoming meetings for gov-
ernmental and nongovernmental agencies in Polk County.
To submit a meeting, send it at least two weeks before the
actual meeting date to the Itemizer-Observer via email
(ionews@polkio.com).
—
WednesdAy, July 19
• Monmouth Planning Commission — 7 p.m., Volunteer
Hall, 144 Warren St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 Main St.,
Dallas. 503-623-8173.
ThursdAy, July 20
• Monmouth Arts and Culture Commission — 7 p.m., Vol-
unteer Hall, 144 Warren St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Independence Parks and recreation Board — 6 p.m., In-
dependence Civic Center, third floor, 555 S. Main St., Independ-
ence. 503-838-1212.
MondAy, July 24
• Independence library Board — 4 p.m., Independence
Public Library, 175 Monmouth St., Independence. 503-838-1212.
• dallas school Board — 6:30 p.m., Dallas School District of-
fice, 111 SW Ash St., Dallas. 503-623-5594.
TuesdAy, July 25
• Independence City Council — 7:30 a.m., Independence
Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212.
• Monmouth senior Advisory Board — 1 p.m., Monmouth
Senior Center, 180 Warren St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Polk County Board of Commission work session — 9
a.m., Polk County Courthouse, BOC office, 850 Main St., Dallas.
503-623-8173.
WednesdAy, July 26
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 Main St.,
Dallas. 503-623-8173.
GOVERNOR
Gov. Kate Brown (dem.)
160 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-378-4582
Email: via website,
http://governor.oregon.gov/
—
STATE LEGISLATORS
sen. Arnie roblan
(District 5, Democrat)
S-417 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
sen.arnieroblan@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/roblan
THE DOCTOR IS IN
T
he Mid-Willamette
Valley sits right in
the path of this Au-
gust’s total solar eclipse and
offers a once in a lifetime ex-
perience.
But don’t let a few care-
less minutes of viewing this
spectacle leave you with a
lifetime of regret.
—
SOLAR FILTER GLASSES
Gazing directly at the sun
can seriously damage your
eyes.
The only safe way to look
at the sun or eclipse is with
special solar filters.
Solar filter glasses are
100,000 times darker than
normal sunglasses, so don’t
be surprised if you can’t see
the house across the street.
Five manufacturers to
date have NASA-certified
solar filter glasses or viewers
that meet the ISO 12312-2,
the international standard
for safe direct viewing of an
eclipse, for such products:
Rainbow Symphony, Ameri-
can Paper Optics, Thousand
Oaks Optical, TSE 17 and
Baader Planetarium.
Filters should be inspect-
ed for scratches or damage
and thrown out if damaged.
Only use eclipse glasses
when you are viewing the
sun during an eclipse. They
are not made for full sun in-
tensity.
Viewing the eclipse with
filtered optical devices can
be fun too, but seek profes-
sional advice from an as-
tronomer.
Never view the sun
through an unfiltered cam-
era, binoculars, telescope or
other optical device.
Doing so can cause imme-
diate and severe retinal
burns.
Those seeking all the de-
tails can find them on the
About the author
Dr. Scott Stice performs eye procedures, including cataract
surgery, at West Valley Hospital on the fourth Monday of
each month in the afternoon.
Dr. Stice graduated from Wake Forest
University in North Carolina in 1988 and
completed his medical doctorate and in-
ternal medicine internship at the Medical
University of South Carolina. His residen-
cy and associateship followed at the Uni-
versity of Iowa, Department of Ophthal-
mology and Visual Science. He joined Eye
Care Physicians & Surgeons in 2000 and is
an active member of the Salem medical
community serving previously as president of the Marion
Polk Medical Society.
He spends his extracurricular time coaching youth sports,
assisting local scouting programs and traveling with his wife
and sons.
For an appointment with Dr. Stice, call 503-585-2022, or
fax a physician referral to 503-566-3734.
American Astronomical Soci-
ety website or in this docu-
ment, titled “How to View the
2017 Solar Eclipse Safely.”
—
EYE DAMAGE
The main concern over
improper viewing of the sun
is solar retinopathy, better
known as “eclipse blind-
ness,” when high intensity,
visible light causes retinal
burns.
The retina is a light-sensi-
tive tissue situated in the
rear of the eye. When sun-
light is focused toward the
retina, its cells can burn, re-
sulting in poor vision.
You can go blind if you
look straight at the sun.
The sun’s harmful radia-
tion can lead to permanent
damage to the retina even
after a second of sun gazing.
A few moments of unfil-
tered sun gazing can lead to
painless damage to the reti-
nal photoreceptors and ther-
mal burns that may not be vi-
sually apparent until several
hours after the damage is
done.
If you think you’ve dam-
aged your eyes, contact a
local ophthalmologist and
schedule an appointment as
soon as possible.
While there is no specific
therapy for eclipse blind-
ness, an ophthalmologist
may have treatment that
could help relieve some
symptoms, depending on
the severity.
Again, the only way to
prevent eclipse blindness is
through preparation and use
of sun filters.
—
DON’T FORGET
Remember that children
and young adults are at the
greatest risk for sustaining
eye injury during eclipse
viewing, but they also have
the most to gain in this in-
credible natural phenome-
non.
This event could begin a
lifetime of science adventure
so help them acquire the op-
portunity and assistance
needed in order to view the
eclipse safely.
And have fun out there.
sen. Jackie Winters
(District 10, Republican)
S-301 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1710
sen.jackiewinters@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/winters
sen. Brian Boquist
(District 12, Republican)
S-305 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1712
sen.brianboquist@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/boquist
rep. david Gomberg
(District 10, Democrat)
H-471 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1410
rep.davidgomberg@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/gomberg
rep. Paul evans
(District 20, Democrat)
H-281 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1420
rep.paulevans@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/evans
rep. Mike nearman
(District 23, Republican)
H-378 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1423
rep.mikenearman@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/nearman
—
U.S. CONGRESS
sen. ron Wyden (dem.)
221 Dirksen SOB
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202-224-5244
Fax: 202-228-2717
Salem office: 707 13th St. SE,
Suite 285, Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-589-4555
Email: via website,
www.wyden.senate.gov
WANT TO WRITE A LETTER?
Letters to the editor are lim-
ited to 300 words. Longer letters
will be edited.
Election-related letters of all
types are limited to 100 words.
Writers are limited to one elec-
tion-related letter per election
season. Election letters from
writers outside of Polk County
are not accepted.
Each writer is restricted to
one letter per 30-day period.
Letters that are libelous, ob-
scene or in bad taste will not be
printed. Attacks by name on
businesses or individuals will
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The Itemizer-Observer does
not guarantee the accuracy of
facts presented by letter writers;
dissenters are welcome to re-
spond. Letter writers who dis-
agree with other published
letter writers should maintain a
civil discourse and address the
subject, not the author.
Letters, like all editorial mate-
rial submitted to the newspa-
per, are edited for length,
grammar and content.
Letters must include the au-
thor’s name, address and tele-
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Letters must be submitted
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Letters of thanks to busi-
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The deadline for letters to the
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tractable after this deadline.
—
Reach us at:
Mail: Editor, Polk County
Itemizer-Observer, P.O. Box 108,
Dallas, OR 97338.
Fax: 503-623-2395.
email: ionews@polkio.com.
office: 147 SE Court St., Dallas.
sen. Jeff Merkley (dem.)
313 Hart SOB
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202-224-3753
Fax: 202-228-3997
Salem office: 161 High St. SE,
Suite 250, Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-362-8102
Email: via website,
www.merkley.senate.gov
rep. Kurt schrader (dem.)
108 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-5711
Fax: 202-225-5699
Salem office: 544 Ferry St. SE,
Suite 2, Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-588-9100
Fax: 503-588-5517
Email: via website,
www.schrader.house.gov
—
POLK COUNTY
Board of Commissioners
850 Main St.
Dallas, OR 97338
Phone: 503-623-8173
www.co.polk.or.us
—
CITIES
dallas
187 SE Court St.
Dallas, OR 97338
503-623-2338
www.ci.dallas.or.us
Falls City
299 Mill St.
Falls City, OR 97344
503-787-3631
www.fallscityoregon.gov
Independence
555 S. Main St.
Independence, OR 97351
503-838-1212
www.ci.independence.or.us
Monmouth
151 W. Main St.
Monmouth, OR 97361
503-838-0722
www.ci.monmouth.or.us
HOW TO REACH US
Vol. 142, No. 29
(USPS) - 437-380)
The official newspaper of Polk County • Serving Polk County families since 1875
Winner of 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 General Excellence Awards
from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
Periodicals postage paid at
Dallas, OR, Independence, OR and Monmouth, OR.
Published weekly at 147 SE Court Street
Dallas, Oregon 97338
Phone: 503-623-2373
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Polk County — One Year $35
Other Oregon Counties — One Year $40
Outside of Oregon — One Year $45
neWsrooM
Emily Mentzer ..............Editor/Monmouth/Independence Reporter ....ementzer@polkio.com
Lukas Eggen..................Sports Editor......................................................................leggen@polkio.com
Jolene Guzman............Dallas/Falls City/Polk County Reporter ................jguzman@polkio.com
Stephanie Blair.............General Assignment Reporter........................................sblair@polkio.com
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Heidi Leppin .................Display Advertising Manager ....................................hleppin@polkio.com
Rachel Best ....................Display Advertising.............................................................rbest@polkio.com
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Dawn Ohren.....................................................................................................................ioads@polkio.com
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Kathy Huggins ..............................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com
The Polk County Itemizer-Observer assumes no financial responsibility for errors in advertise- Karyn Pressel .................................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com
ments. It will, however, reprint without charge for the portion of an advertisement
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Phone: 503-623-2373
Fax: 503-623-2395
which is in error if the Itemizer-Observer is at fault.
PosTMAsTer:
send address changes to: Polk County Itemizer-observer, P.o. Box 108, dallas, oregon 97338