SUMMERFEST: A SPACE
SUMMERFEST KIDS’
ADVENTURE Page 8A TRIATHLON Page 12A
Volume 142, Issue 31
www.Polkio.com
$1.00
August 2, 2017
Excessive heat warning issued for Polk County
“We want people looking
out for those who can’t
protect themselves,” mete-
orologist Gerald Macke
said. “That includes chil-
dren and pets. We also
want people to stay hydrat-
ed with non-alcoholic,
non-caffeinated beverages.
If you don’t have AC,
maybe it’s time to go
somewhere that does.
Itemizer-Observer staff report
POLK COUNTY — Polk
County is feeling the heat
this week — though some
relief is on the way soon.
An excessive heat warning
is in effect through 11 p.m.
Friday, with temperatures
predicted to reach as high as
105 on Wednesday (today),
according to the National
Weather Service.
Maybe go see a movie or
something else. These tem-
peratures can be potential-
ly life-threatening.”
Temperatures on
Wednesday and Thursday
in particular are expected to
be the hottest days with
poor nighttime recovery, he
said.
“If you can limit physical
activity during the after-
Macke said knowing the
symptoms of heat exhaus-
tion and heat stroke is im-
perative to staying safe.
“When someone stops
sweating, that’s an emer-
gency situation,” Macke
said. “As long as someone
is sweating, the body is
doing what it’s supposed to
do.”
See HEAT, Page 7A
noon, it’s a good idea if you
are able to,” Macke said. “If
you have work to do, if you
can do it at 7 a.m. as op-
posed to 2 p.m., that would
be smart.”
In addition to highs near-
ing or breaking records, low
temperatures are expected
to remain warm, dropping
only into the mid-60s or
lower 70s.
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DALLAS
Business registration
back on the agenda for
Dallas City Council.
The next total solar eclipses
»Page 2A
Eclipse: Why
all the fuss?
2045
Northern California
to Florida
2044
Montana
2037
Australia to
New Zealand
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
2034
China
to Japan
2034
Africa to China
2033
North Alaska
2030
South Africa
to Australia
2028
Australia
2027
Spain to
Egypt
2026
Greenland
to Spain
2024
Texas to
Maine
2021
Antarctica
2020
Southern South
American
2019
Southern South
American
POLK COUNTY — The
moon will cast its shadow
over Polk County the
morning of Aug. 21 during
the
Great
American
Eclipse. But what’s the big
deal?
The eclipse will take nine
minutes to cross the state
of Oregon. It will be done in
less than two minutes in
Polk County — so why all
this excitement?
Eclipses happen all the
time on earth — a lot of
times, a total solar eclipse
happens over the ocean, so
just the whales can enjoy it,
said John Farmer, market-
ing and communication
manager for the Oregon
Museum of Science and In-
dustry.
“Leave it to America,”
Farmer said. “We’re call-
ing it ‘the Great American
Eclipse.’ The last time we
had a ‘Great American’
eclipse was in 1919, but
it’s been a while since we
had a total solar eclipse
basically traverse the en-
tire country.”
When it comes to an
eclipse, timing is every-
thing. The total solar
eclipse on Aug. 21 has it all.
“For people who do this
sort of thing, it’s a big deal,”
Farmer said. “This is like
the World Cup. It only
comes so often.”
A couple factors con-
tribute to making this
eclipse so special.
The first one is because it
is in Oregon — and Oregon
will see it first, Farmer said.
“In 1979, it went through
Oregon, hit the tip of
Idaho, Montana, and then
went into Canada,” he said.
“Another reason this is spe-
cial is because the weather
in the Willamette Valley is
generally favorable. August
is generally good. This time
of year is super favorable
to viewing.”
The time of day — 10:18
a.m. in Salem — is also
good, Farmer said.
“It’s prime viewing
time,” he said. “It’s not
happening super late or
super early. The huge
tourism boost from Oregon
— Oregon’s expecting 1
million visitors.”
Another factor is loca-
tion. Cities in Polk County
FALLS CITY
Falls City to celebrate
Arbor Day on the sec-
ond Saturday of Sep-
tember.
»Page 6A
INDEPENDENCE
will be in the moon’s inner
shadow, or the direct path
of totality, when the moon
will completely eclipse the
sun.
“Cities like Portland and
Eugene will be about 99
percent (eclipsed),” Farmer
said.
Anyone who views the
eclipse from outside of to-
tality will need to wear eye
protection the entire time
— and 99 percent totality is
not 99 percent of the fun.
Part of the excitement is
what you will be able to see
while the sun’s surface is
blocked, said Jim Todd,
OMSI director of space sci-
ence education.
“When the shadow’s right
over you during totality, you
can look up and you can see
Mercury, Mars and Venus,”
he said. “You’ll see the bright
stars, and maybe — if we’re
lucky — we’ll see a Perseid
meteor shower here and
there.”
Todd said the chances are
slim to see a meteor — the
peak of the Perseid meteor
shower is Aug. 12 — but the
debris path is a 14- to 20-day
window, so it’s possible.
See ECLIPSE, Page 7A
Local cold case featured on show
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — Detec-
tive John Williams thought
the Polk County Sheriff’s Of-
fice had the Glenn Pennie
disappearance case solved
in 2013.
Pennie vanished from his
home on Airlie Road at some
point between the evening of
Oct. 3, 2004, when he made a
phone call, and Oct. 5, 2004,
when he was due in Oakland,
Calif., for a hearing on his
late father’s estate.
“There’s just so many
weird things. His truck was
packed. He was ready to
go. He was supposed to be
in California,” Williams
said. “He told his neighbor,
you know, ‘Watch my cat,
get my mail. I’m leaving in
the morning.’ And he never
leaves. There was no sign
of a struggle. Absolutely no
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
COURTESY OF THE POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE/Itemizer-Observer
The producers of Oxygen’s “Cold Justice” looked into the case of Glenn Pennie.
indication of what hap-
pened to him, and nothing
from him since — bank ac-
counts — nothing has been
touched since.”
This Polk County missing
person’s case sparked the
interest of producers of Oxy-
gen’s “Cold Justice.”
The sheriff’s office had up
to seven suspects at the time,
but not many leads on the
case, until Dean Pennie,
Glenn’s nephew, started talk-
ing.
Dean is the son of Glenn’s
brother, Dale Pennie. Dale
has always been considered
a prime suspect in the case,
and his son had a habit of
saying things that indicated
he knew what happened to
Glenn, especially when he
was under the influence of
intoxicants, Williams said.
He said the Polk County
Interagency Narcotics Team
arrested Dean on distribu-
tion of marijuana charges.
He and his father lived in
Coos County at the time.
“We had a case that led us
to him through one of our
local informants. We got
him arrested,” Williams
said. “He’s made comments
over the years, usually when
he’s drunk. ‘I told dad Uncle
Glenn starting to stink, you
better put more lime on
him,’ that Glenn was kid-
napped, driven down to his
dad’s place, taken to a bus
that’s buried underground,
tortured and killed.”
See PENNIE, Page 11A
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
Local libraries and
senior centers, and a
church in Falls City
are acting as cooling
stations to help es-
cape the heat
through Thursday.
If you can brave the
heat, check out a
free performance of
“Much Ado About
Nothing” at Western
Oregon University.
8 p.m. Free.
Dallas Public Library,
950 Main St., will
host an end of the
teen summer read-
ing program cele-
bration.
5:30 p.m. Free.
Independent Chris-
tian artist Scot Rig-
gan will perform at
Dallas Church for a
free concert that is
open to the public.
7 p.m. Free.
Enjoy some baked
goods or find some
trinkets to take
home at the Rickre-
all Grange Flea Mar-
ket.
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunny
Hi: 105
Lo: 66
Sunny
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Lo: 63
Sunny
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Lo: 62
Sunny
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Lo: 57
Sunny
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Lo: 56
City launches web-
site aimed at increasing
transparency.
»Page 3A
MONMOUTH
Residents encour-
aged to conserve water
during well repairs.
»Page 6A
SPORTS
The Dirtbags place
second at the American
Legion state tourna-
ment.
»Page 12A
EDUCATION
Whitworth renova-
tions will make school
stoutest in district.
»Page 12A
Garage sale
coming
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — Bridgeport
Chapel, 16930 Bridgeport
Road, Dallas, will hold its
annual garage and bake
sale Friday and Saturday.
The sale will run from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday
and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on
Saturday.
Homemade pies, cook-
ies and breads will be
available, as well as furni-
ture, collectibles, house-
wares and clothes.
All proceeds go to a
building project in Roma-
nia.
For more information:
503-623-4082.
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mon
Take a moment to
celebrate the
beauty and useful-
ness of lighthouses
for National Light-
house Day.
Sunny
Hi: 89
Lo: 57
tue
Come check out the
Independence
Riverview Market
and find fresh pro-
duce or your latest
treasure.
2 to 7 p.m.
Sunny
Hi: 90
Lo: 57