Polk County News
6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 2, 2017
Indy
Continued from Page 3A
If users want to dig more
into the nitty gritty of the
budget — or any of the
data posted on the website
— they may download the
raw data files and create
their own graphs, Kistler
said.
Other ways the city has
attempted to be more trans-
parent include its meetings
portal, which is available
through a link on the city’s
home page. There, people
may sign up to receive no-
tices and agendas of public
meetings, including city
council meetings.
The city also has a
YouTube account, where
interested people may
subscribe to receive no-
tices when a new city-re-
lated video has been post-
ed.
The city records all city
council meetings and
posts them on YouTube
within a couple of days of
the meeting.
These methods are
aimed at communicating
with citizens.
“We try to communicate
the best we can,” Kistler
said. “But we don’t always
know how you need us to
communicate with you.
We just need to know:
What works best for you?
YouTube, Twitter, piece of
paper and an envelope,
phone call.”
For more information:
Gloria
Butsch,
gbutsch@ci.indepen-
dence.or.us.
NEWS IN BRIEF
AARP workshop for Polk residents
POLK COUNTY — AARP Foundation has awarded a grant to
MicroEnterprise Resources, Initiatives and Training to conduct
“Work for Yourself@50+” workshops in several mid-Willamette
Valley cities, including Independence and Dallas. The work-
shops will help residents older than 50 assess opportunities for
self-employment, build skills and connect with resources that
will enable them to generate income by working for them-
selves. Workshops will be held at the Indy Commons at 10 a.m.
on Aug. 15 and at the Chemeketa Community College Campus
in Dallas at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 15. For more information: Mona
Edwards, 503-584-7314.
Falls City slates annual Arbor Day
FALLS CITY — Now officially a Tree City USA, Falls City will
celebrate Arbor Day every year on the second Saturday of Sep-
tember. The Falls City City Council approved a resolution, re-
quested by the city’s park and recreation committee, to declare
that Saturday Arbor Day. The event will coincide with the city’s
annual Solve Clean Up. Falls City held its first Arbor Day event
on Dec. 10, 2016, in an effort to have its Tree City USA applica-
tion accepted.
Dallas Aquatic Center report approved
DALLAS — The city of Dallas’ Administration Committee ap-
proved its final report on Dallas Aquatic Center funding on July 24.
The report doesn’t recommend a specific strategy, but em-
phasizes finding sponsorship opportunities and has as a per-
formance target that the facility cover 60 to 65 percent of its ex-
penses with revenue.
Committee members also said the city should encourage
those who support the center to restart the “Friends of Dallas
Aquatic Center” group to help raise money to benefit the center.
“We are not proposing closure,” said Committee Chair-
woman Kelly Gabliks. “We are talking about continuing to for-
mulate and evaluate different revenue sources, but I guess we
are not proposing anything specific.”
The report now goes to the full council as a recommendation.
Willamina open for eclipse
WILLAMINA — Family friendly tent and dry RV camping will
be available for people spending the eclipse in Willamina at the
West Valley Community Campus.
On Aug. 19, Second Winds String Band will play in the cam-
pus auditorium, and Aug. 20, the West Valley Shakers will play.
Beer, wine and food will be available for sale during the music.
Eclipse viewing will be Aug. 21. The college will have viewing
glasses on sale. For more information: info@westvalleycommu-
nitycampus.org.
Monmouth public works to
replace valve, repair well
By Stephanie Blair
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — At the
July 18 Monmouth City
Council meeting, City
Manager Scott McClure
announced that the Mon-
mouth public works de-
partment would be taking
on two new projects, both
to do with water services.
The first is the replace-
ment of a valve at the
waste treatment plant.
Though the valve is still
functional, it is beginning
to show signs of impending
failure, according to public
works director Russ Coop-
er.
“We are taking steps
now to reinforce the valve
in the near term, while we
work with a consultant to
determine a path forward,”
Cooper said. “A worst-case
scenario would be that the
piping associated with the
valve will need to be re-
placed also.”
Cooper said the replace-
ment of the valve is expect-
ed to take place next sum-
mer, “when flows and la-
goon levels at the waste-
water treatment plant are
at their lowest.”
The second is a repair to
Marion County Well No. 2,
which failed in early July,
one of Monmouth’s two
primary sources of drink-
ing water. Cooper believes
the failure to be a result of
graphite build up.
“The previous pump had
a cast iron body that is
more susceptible to the
process of graphitization,”
explained Cooper. “To pre-
vent this from occurring on
the new well pump, the
city has specified a ductile
iron body.”
Though public works is
currently waiting for the
new pump to arrive, the re-
pairs are expected to be
complete in two weeks.
While repairs are happen-
ing, the public works office
would like to encourage
residents using their serv-
ices to conserve water,
Cooper said.
“With the pending hot
weather this week, we an-
ticipate water demand will
increase. With one of our
main wells out of service,
any conservation measures
our customers can take
would be appreciated,”
Cooper said. “This can take
some of the burden of our
other water sources.”
POLICE REPORT
Information for the police
report comes from law en-
forcement agencies. Not all
calls for service are includ-
ed. The status of incidents
reported may change after
further investigation. Indi-
viduals arrested or suspect-
ed of crimes are considered
innocent until proven guilty.
—
DALLAS
Arrests/Citations
• Robert L. Busey, 62, of Dal-
las, in the 1200 SE Godsey
Road on July 26 on a failure to
appear warrant out of Marion
County.
• Christian J. Lange, 36, of
Dallas, and Kellye S. Phillips,
53, of Dallas in the 1900 SE
Miller Ave. on July 26, both on
a charge of second-degree
criminal trespassing, littering
waters in Rickreall Creek.
INDEPENDENCE
Arrests/Citations
• Isaac Ito, 20, of Salem, in
the 0-99 block of S. 16th St. on
July 27 for driving under the in-
fluence of intoxicants, unlawful
possession of a firearm, minor
in possession of alcohol while
operating a motor vehicle, and
unlawful possession of mari-
juana – younger than 21.
MONMOUTH
Arrests/Citations
• William Erin Hawkins, 38,
of Salem, in the 100 block of
Catron St. S. on July 27 for de-
livery of methamphetamine
within 1,000 feet of a school,
and on an arrest arraignment
warrant for failure to appear.
OBITUARIES
Junior Fischer
Feb. 3, 1933 – July 16, 2017
Junior Fischer, 84, of Falls
City, died on July 16 at
Salem Hospital.
He was born on Feb. 3,
1933, in Vernon Center,
Minn., to Max and Martha
Fischer.
He married Mary
Woodruff on Aug. 10, 1953,
in Tremonton, Utah. He
lived in Falls City most of his
life. He worked as a machin-
ist and was active in the SDA
Church.
Survived by wife Mary
Fischer; and children J.
Arnold Fischer, Rosita Tice,
Cindy Ostrander, Vernon
Fischer, and Trudy
Pritchard.
Memorial services will be
at 1 p.m. on Aug. 13 at Falls
City, SDA Church.
Salem
Teddy Thommen
412 Lancaster Drive NE
Salem, OR 97301
Dec. 5, 1951 – July 27, 2017
(503) 581-6265
Teddy “Ted” Allen Thom-
men, 65, of Falls City, passed
away Thursday, July 27,
2017, at his home.
A celebration of life serv-
ice will be held at 1 p.m.,
Saturday, Aug. 5, at Grace
Baptist Church, 1855 E. El-
lendale, Dallas, 97338.
Chaplain Russ Hilsinger will
be officiating. Memorials
may be made to B.A.C.A.
(Bikers Against Child
Abuse).
Ted was born Dec. 5,
1951, in Myrtle Point to Glen
and Patsy (Taylor) Thom-
men.
He graduated from Co-
quille High School in 1970.
He joined the Navy in Octo-
ber of 1970, and was honor-
ably discharged to the re-
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serves in January of 1974.
On May 20, 1974, he mar-
ried Loy Leann Boruff in
Myrtle Point.
Ted was
employed
as a heavy
equipment
mechanic
most his
life. He en-
j o y e d
working,
and only
retired a
few years
prior to his
passing.
Ted was a
loving hus-
band, fa-
t h e r ,
grandfa-
ther and
friend to
all.
He loved
riding his
motorcycle, and was an ani-
mated artist who created
sculptures and drawings. He
spent most his weekends
spending time with his wife,
children and grandchildren.
He also enjoyed cooking,
gardening, tinkering in his
garage and volunteering at
his grandchildren’s elemen-
tary school.
Ted is survived by his wife
Loy; his son Jered Thom-
men, of Troutdale, his son
Jad Thommen and his fi-
ance Ashley Moore, of Oak-
land, his daughter Samie Se-
bring and her husband Josh
Sebring, of Dallas; his grand-
children Rob Thommen,
Kayla Thommen, Grace Se-
bring, Piper Sebring and Ava
Thommen; his sisters Karen
Helton, of Dexter, Mo.,
Tonya McGraw, of Spring
Valley, Calif., Debra Thom-
men, of Coquille, his brother
Dane Thommen, of Co-
quille; his mother-in-law
Leone Boruff, of Omaha,
Neb., his brother-in-law
Justin Boruff and his wife
Denise Boruff, of Albany, his
brother-in-law Marty
Toulou and his wife Mitzi
Toulou, of Coquille; his sis-
ter-in-law Joy Turner and
her husband Eric Turner, of
Sweet Home; his sister-in-
law Leah Boruff, of Carson,
Iowa; and several nieces and
nephews.
The Dallas Mortuary Trib-
ute Center is caring for the
family. Please go to
www.dallastribute.com to
leave a message or memory
for the family.
Renamae Johnson
July 9, 1918 – July 6, 2017
Renamae Johnson, 98, of
French Gulch and Inde-
pendence, passed away July
6, 2017.
She was
preceded
in death by
her hus-
band, Rus-
sell John-
son.
Rena-
mae is sur-
vived by her children, Roger
Johnson, Rita O’Neil, and
Royal Johnson.
Her family will have a pri-
vate memorial for her at a
later date.
Cherlyn Lewis
Aug. 2, 1959 – July 22, 2017
Celebration of life 3 p.m.;
Saturday, Aug. 5, at Dallas
City Park. Dallas Mortuary
Tribute Center is caring for
the family.
Ruth Louise Strand
Feb. 18, 1926 – July 25, 2017
Ruth Louise Strand, 91, of
~ Polk County’s ONLY Family Owned Funeral Homes~
Monmouth, died on July 25.
Ruth was born in Gyp-
sum, Colo., to Lawrence and
Helen Steinhoff, and spent
most of her childhood in
Denver and Fort Collins,
Colo.
She was preceded in
death by two sons, two
grandchildren and her hus-
band, Lloyd, in 1994.
She is survived by daugh-
ters Carole Gardner, of Inde-
pendence, and Laurie Ped-
ersen, of San Rafael, Calif.;
and sons Jeffrey Strand, of
Dallas, and Bruce Strand, of
Salem; as well as 10 grand-
children; nine great-grand-
children; and one great-
great-granddaughter; and
her brother Harold Stein-
hoff, of Windsor, Colo.
Memorial services were
held. Farnstrom Mortuary
handled arrangements.
Memories and condolences
at FarnstromMortuary.com.
Violet Mae
Bowden
March 25, 1927 – July 30, 2017
Violet Mae Bowden, 90, of
Dallas, died July 30 in the
Salem Hospital. She was
born on March 25, 1927.
Viewing will be from 1 to
5 p.m. on Aug. 6 in the Dal-
las Mortuary Tribute Center.
Funeral services will begin
at 1 p.m. on Aug. 7 in the
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center. Private interment
will be in the Dallas Ceme-
tery. To leave a message or
memory: www.dallastrib-
ute.com.
Obituary
Information
Obituaries cost $8 per col-
umn inch (25 words) and in-
clude photos and flags for vet-
erans.
Obituary information must
be submitted by 4 p.m. on the
Monday before publication to
be included in the newspaper.
Most funeral homes handle
obituary information and pro-
vide it to the newspaper. How-
ever, information can also be
submitted directly from family
members.
Color and black-and-white
photos can be submitted, but
photos will only be published
in black and white. The Itemiz-
er-Observer uses a flag logo in
the obituaries of people who
served in the armed forces.
Death notices — like all in-
formation submitted to the
news department — are sub-
ject to editing for style, con-
tent and length.
Information can be brought
or mailed to the Itemizer-Ob-
server, 147 SE Court St., Dallas,
OR 97338, or emailed to
ionews@polkio.com.
For more information: Emily
Mentzer, 503-623-2373.