Polk County
Voices
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 2, 2017 4a
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Volunteers not
given enough credit
I, Keith Eberly do appreci-
ate attention of the article
about the movement of the
food bank, but I feel as
though the Boy Scouts and
some of the other volunteers
did not get enough recogni-
tion for all their hard work.
The 13 Scouts and the
adult volunteers that were
present worked for six hours,
and the volunteers of the food
bank worked even longer, fine
tuning the new space.
Because the move was
only one day, the food bank
was able to provide uninter-
rupted service to the com-
munity and served 245 peo-
ple/families in June.
I would also like to thank
Master Appliance for donating
valuable time and resources
so that we could move all of
the fridges and freezers.
I just want to make sure
everyone is recognized for
putting forth the effort to
help me in my project.
Keith Eberly
Monmouth
Trump fails to hold
campaign promises
Again, we are flooded with
more chaos in the White
House like this country has
never seen before. Our presi-
dent appears to spend more
time tweeting than he does
running the country.
Latest example — the ban
of transgender individuals
in the military.
On July 21, 2016, at the
Republican Convention,
Trump stated he would “do
all in his power to protect
the rights of the LGBTQ citi-
zens,” and on Oct. 30, 2016,
in Greeley, Colo., he was
waving a gay flag.
must, work in common
cause to make sure nothing
like the disaster at E. E. Wil-
son Refuge happens
again — ever.
Paul Evans
State Representative (HD 20)
Monmouth
Westview to host
closeout sale
This ban is made with no
prior communications to
the House and Senate
Armed Services Committee.
Another campaign prom-
ise bites the dust.
Trump wonders why he is
at “odds” with the press.
Maybe it’s due to statements
like, “You go ahead. She’s
rude,” when asked by a re-
porter about the transgender
ban on the day of his tweet.
After 71 attempts to elim-
inate Obamacare, the Re-
publicans are still trying to
repeal it (Newsweek, July
19) even though 15 to 20
million people could lose
health care.
And the interior secretary
“advised” the representative
from Alaska he may with-
hold support from his de-
partment if she doesn’t
change her vote.
The new communica-
tions director — now for-
mer director — implied on
the day of his appointment
the whole communications
staff may be fired.
Six-plus months in office
and not one significant item
accomplished, other than
losing six cabinet members
and close aids. But that may
not be a bad thing.
Clifford E Brown
Dallas
Fuel spills can be
eliminated
The recent tragedy at the
E. E. Wilson Refuge demon-
strates the need for a funda-
mental shift in transporta-
tion policy. While the spe-
cific cause of the accident
remains under investiga-
tion, the environmental
damage was preventable.
For too long we have
been satisfied with a combi-
nation of obsolete construc-
tion standards for contain-
ment of hazardous materi-
als, cleanup reimbursement
fees, and fines.
We have become numb
to the damage, accepting of
the false economics used to
justify our inaction.
Ironically, existing eco-
nomic practices reward a
robust, thorough disaster
response, rather than an ef-
fective proactive, preventa-
tive strategy.
Apparently, destruction
of our natural world is, in
economic terms, another
“cost of business.”
It is time to modernize
our understanding of envi-
ronmental economics.
Prevention is better,
cheaper, and smarter than
responding after an acci-
dent occurs. And preven-
tion is possible. Technolo-
gies exist — today — that
can prevent most, if not all,
“routine” fuels spills.
Our wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq required the U.S.
military to develop, test, and
implement remarkable self-
heal, seal-seal technologies
that can be, and have been,
adapted for civilian uses.
Accordingly, we can, we
must, secure industrial
usage of available presenta-
tion technologies with all
deliberate speed.
Together we must facili-
tate an inclusive process for
advancing specific propos-
als for action during the
2018 Legislative Session.
In the end, we are re-
sponsible for our legacy.
We are responsible for stew-
ardship of our natural world.
Together we can, we
In 1982, Westview Prod-
ucts was formed and began
operations north of Dallas on
what is now Westview Drive.
In 1993, we moved the
operations to the end of
Shelton Street. Over these
34 years, we produced thou-
sands of sunrooms, monu-
mental skylights, window
walls and unfinished occa-
sional tables.
In 2015, we sold the busi-
ness to Sierra Pacific, who
moved the production to
California. We have recently
leased the property to a new
business in Dallas.
We were greatly blessed
to employ many great peo-
ple and interact with thou-
sands of clients, designers,
and others who make the
system work.
We were especially
touched by the association
with two partners, Dave New-
ton and Bill Hockman. Along
with Bill and Dave passing to
cancer, our installation fore-
man, Roger Hall, took this
terrible path in 2016. We saw
the hand of God work in the
hard times of the 1980s, the
dot.com bust of 2000, and
the recession of 2008.
As a result of many years
of fabrication in the shop
and installation in the field,
Westview has quite a collec-
tion of equipment, raw ma-
terial, display items, and
even completed unfinished
furniture.
On Aug. 10 and 11, well be-
fore the chaos/blessing of the
eclipse, we will have a closing
business sale at 1350 SE Shel-
ton St. All proceeds will go to
Weekday Bible School, to
continue its good work in
presenting God’s message to
young people of Dallas.
Please join us in writing
the final chapter of this ad-
venture begun with a dream
35 years ago.
Many thanks and all the
best wishes to our good
friends in Dallas.
Bob Ottaway
Dallas
PUBLIC
AGENDA
Public agenda is a listing
of upcoming meetings for
governmental and non-
governmental agencies in
Polk County. To submit a
meeting, send it at least
two weeks before the actu-
al meeting date to the Item-
izer-Observer via email
(ionews@polkio.com).
—
wEDnESDaY, auG. 2
• Monmouth Historic
Commission — 6 p.m., Vol-
unteer Hall, 144 Warren St. S.,
Monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Monmouth Planning
Commission — 7 p.m., Vol-
unteer 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.
MOnDaY, auG. 7
• Central School District
Board of Directors — 6:30
p.m., Henry Hill Education
Support Center, 750 S. Fifth
St., Independence.
• independence Planning
Commission — 7 p.m., Inde-
pendence Civic Center, 555 S.
Main St., Independence. 503-
838-1212.
• Dallas City Council — 7
p.m., Dallas City Hall, 187 SE
Court St., Dallas. 503-831-
3502.
TuESDaY, auG. 8
• independence City
Council —6:30 p.m., Inde-
pendence Civic Center, 555 S.
Main St., Independence. 503-
838-1212.
• Polk County Board of
Commission work ses-
sion —9 a.m., Polk County
Courthouse, BOC office, 850
Main St., Dallas. 503-623-
8173.
• wiMPEG Board of Di-
rectors — Noon, Volunteer
Hall, 144 Warren St. S., Mon-
mouth.
wEDnESDaY, auG. 9
• independence Heritage
Museum Commission — 4
p.m., Independence Heritage
Museum, 112 S. Third St., In-
dependence. 503-838-1212.
• Monmouth Library ad-
visory Board — 7 a.m., Mon-
mouth Public Library, 168
Ecols St. S., Monmouth. 503-
838-0725.
• Monmouth Parks and
Recreation Board — 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.
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—
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.
How to
Contact
Officials
—
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. 31
(USPS) - 437-380)
The official newspaper of Polk County • Serving Polk County families since 1875
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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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