NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
FALLON FOLLOWS HIS
BLOCK PARTY
PASSION
Page 11A
Volume 142, Issue 30
www.Polkio.com
Page 12A
July 26, 2017
$1.00
Get ready
for a space
adventure
EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer
Police and emergency workers are planning for a sharp increase in visitors for the weekend of the Aug. 21 eclipse.
First responders prepare for eclipse
First responders are ready Salem Health West Valley
for increase in visitors
prepared for the eclipse
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — First
responders and emergency
workers are preparing for
the influx of people expected
for the Great American
Eclipse on Aug. 21 and for
the days around it, but they
need our help.
Police and fire agencies
are urging people to pre-
pare, be patient, and be
aware of their surroundings.
“We want people to be safe
and have fun and enjoy this
once-in-a-lifetime event,”
said April Welsh, the Dallas
Fire & EMS spokeswoman.
Police agencies, fire de-
partments, local hospitals
and Community Emergency
Response Teams have had
Aug. 21 circled on their cal-
endars for awhile and it will
be all-hands-on-deck during
the weekend before and day
of the eclipse.
“We going to have extra
people working, obviously,”
said Sheriff Mark Garton.
“Our plan that we have, we
started a couple months ago,
but it’s kind a living docu-
ment right now because
things pop up and we learn
of an event.”
The sheriff’s office will be
patrolling the whole county,
and deputies will be strategi-
cally placed to be close to
eclipse-related events and to
make sure people are follow-
ing traffic laws. Garton said
he and Dean Bender, the of-
fice’s emergency manager,
are attending meetings for
local events and statewide
planning sessions to get an
idea where officers should be
placed and what to expect.
Garton said at the top of
his list of concerns is traffic.
“What happens if Depoe
Bay and Lincoln City are
fogged in? People are going
to try to go really, really fast
coming this way, and will
they stop here or go to
Salem?” he said. “There’s
going to be crashes. There’s
going to be traffic. People
need to understand that so
they don’t get upset.”
See ECLIPSE, Page 9A
sion capabilities, using
beds in other departments
if needed.
Surgery
No elective surgeries will
be scheduled Friday
through Monday.
Pharmacy
The pharmacy, for hos-
pital operations only —
not the public, will be
staffed with a technician
and pharmacist Saturday
and Sunday 10 a.m. to 10
p.m.
On weekdays the phar-
macy will maintain normal
business hours, 7 a.m. to
3:30 p.m., with the ability to
increase staff or extend
hours if needed.
Infusion and Wound
Clinic and Anticoagulation
Clinic
On Friday, the depart-
ment will operate as nor-
mal with the ability to ramp
up staffing. Saturday to
Monday, additional staff
will be on call and are only
scheduling urgent patients
to create flexibility.
See HEALTH, Page 9A
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — Jennifer
Broadus, the director of
clinical operations at Salem
Health West Valley in Dal-
las, said the hospital is
gearing up for the Great
American Eclipse.
“During major events
and when larger influxes of
sick and injured people are
expected, Salem Health
West Valley is prepared,”
she said.
Emergency Department
A tent will be set up at
the hospital on Thursday,
ready to treat patients in
the tent Friday through
Monday, if needed.
This tent will be staffed
Friday through Monday 10
a.m. to 10 p.m. Extra staff
will be on call to respond
to increased need.
Medical/Surgical Unit
The Medical/Surgical In-
patient unit is always
staffed and ready with six
hospital beds.
West Valley will have ad-
ditional staff on-call and
available to expand admis-
Putting out the embers
Firefighters with Polk No. 1,
Southwest Polk, Dallas Fire,
Adair Fire, and Salem Fire
saved a home on Buena
Vista Road Monday night
after a detached garage
and two sheds caught fire.
Three people were home
when it started. One per-
son, the adult son of the
homeowners, was taken to
the hospital with symptoms
of heat exhaustion from
fighting the fire and help-
ing evacuating his parents.
“(The garage and sheds)
were fully involved when
we got here, so basically
our goal was to protect the
home,” said Polk No. 1 Fire
Chief Ben Stange.
For more on the fire, see
polkio.com.
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
wed
thu
fri
sat
Jenny Don’t and the
Spurs bring an
evening of country
music to the Mon-
mouth Main Street
Park amphitheater.
6:30 p.m. Free.
Kids can make a
bookmark from
reused materials at
Polk County Bounty
Market, sponsored
by Republic Service.
Head to Indy’s
Riverview Park to
hear 5 Guys Named
Moe, a horn-driven
show band with
classic rock ’n’ roll.
7:30 p.m. Donation .
While out enjoying
Dallas Summerfest
Saturday, swing into
the Dallas Senior
Center for some
shortcake.
11 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Sunny
Hi: 84
Lo: 56
Sunny
Hi: 81
Lo: 52
Sunny
Hi: 83
Lo: 54
Sunny
Hi: 86
Lo: 56
10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free.
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — Four, three,
two, one.
Summerfest 2017 is
about to blast off for “A
Space Adventure” on
Thursday and, you should
be along for the ride.
This year has a few new
events, including live-ac-
tion role play lessons and
battles, and the return of
something from Summer-
fest past, the three-on-
three basketball tourna-
ment.
Believe it or not, the
space adventure theme
coinciding with the solar
eclipse happening just a
few weeks after the festival
ends is a coincidence.
“We put a vote out last
year after Summerfest and
asked, ‘What would you
like the theme to Summer-
fest 2017 to be?’” said Bon-
nie Dreier, the Dallas Area
Visitors Center programs
and events manager. “Peo-
ple just started throwing
ideas out. A Space Adven-
ture and 1950s Sock Hop
were pretty close, but
Space Adventure took it.”
That vote took place be-
fore the Great American
Eclipse fever outbreak.
“It was perfect,” Dreier
said.
Summerfest opens at 11
a.m. Thursday and will
spend three days occupy-
ing downtown Dallas,
bringing food and mer-
chandise vendors, enter-
tainment and a National
Guard demonstration tent
that is, yes, air-condi-
tioned.
Local “larping” group
Amtgard is offering three
days of live-action role
play lessons Thursday
through Saturday, ending
with an epic battle on Sat-
urday afternoon.
Returning to the sched-
ule is the three-on-three
tournament. An alumni
game will kick off the fun
on Friday night, with the
tournament beginning in
earnest on Saturday morn-
ing.
The Dallas Fire Depart-
ment is not to be left out,
with it always entertaining,
and possibly drenching,
waterball contest Friday
night at 6 p.m.
Saturday evening boasts
yet another new event, the
SummerQuest Scavenger
Hunt, hosted by the Dallas
Booster Club. The quest,
which replaces the fun
run, begins at 5 p.m., so
bring your team (up to six
people) and your smart-
phone to get clues on the
course.
West Valley Taphouse
will provide a brew for
each participate — beer
for adults and root beer for
those not yet 21 — at the
end and just in time for the
downtown close-out party
featuring Prince tribute
band Erotic City.
“It should be an awe-
some ending to a crazy
Summerfest,” Dreier said.
See SPACE, Page 9A
sun
Salem Health Med-
ical Clinic in Mon-
mouth is open on
weekends through
the end of August.
10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Free.
Sunny
Hi: 87
Lo: 55
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DALLAS
Dallas contemplates
options for public safe-
ty facilties.
»Page 3A
FALLS CITY
Falls City fire hosts
National Night Out
block party.
»Page 11A
INDEPENDENCE
Indy receives $1 mil-
lion grant from State
Legislature.
»Page 8A
MONMOUTH
Shakespeare takes
center stage in “Much
Ado About Nothing.”
»Page 14A
SPORTS
The Demarini Dirt-
bags are headed to the
American Legion state
tournament.
»Page 12A
POLK COUNTY
Open class entries
are due soon for the
Polk County Fair.
»Page 2A
King arrested
after citizen
tips
Itemizer-Observer staff report
GRAND RONDE — Carl
Wayne King was arrested
on July 18 after citizens
called in tips to the Polk
County Sheriff’s Office.
On July 8, sheriff’s office
asked for the public’s help
through Facebook to
identify a suspect in a
theft in the Grand Ronde
area. Within a short
amount of time the public
began to provide tips on
the sheriff’s Facebook
page and by calling into
the sheriff’s office to iden-
tify the suspect as King.
King was arrested and
lodged in Polk County Jail
on the following charges:
two counts of second-de-
gree criminal trespass, two
counts of first-degree
theft, unlawful entry into a
motor vehicle.
The Polk County Sher-
iff’s Office posted on Face-
book that it would like to
thank many members of
the public who assisted in
this case. The investiga-
tion is continuing with the
purpose of trying to re-
cover the victim’s proper-
ty. Contact Deputy Jeff
Williams at 503-623-9251
with information.
mon
tue
Engage in conversa-
tions about the New
Testament at St.
Thomas Episcopal
Church’s Brew and
BS.
4:30 p.m. Free.
It’s National Night
Out, time for neigh-
bors to gather with
local law enforce-
ment to take a
stand against crime.
Times vary. Free.
Sunny
Hi: 86
Lo: 55
Sunny
Hi: 87
Lo: 56
