Polk County News Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 9, 2017 3a Look back at Praegitzer fire 30 years later, employees are invited to sort-of reunion By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — It was Aug. 13, 1987, when Praegitzer Industries went up in flames. The circuit-board man- ufacturer employed 220 people. Being one of the largest industrial employ- ers in Dallas, the fire was devastating to the town. Now, then-facilities manager Eric Rogers is planning a reunion for those affected. He remembers that fateful night 30 years ago. “The fire started at about 8 in the evening on the 13th,” Rogers said. “I was at home and lived up on Reed Lane. I hopped in my car and could see a pil- lar of smoke. It looked like a smokestack on a battle- ship.” Dallas City Councilor Bill Hahn, then-firefighter, recalled that the depart- ment was on drill that Thursday night. “There had been nu- merous alarm calls prior to the incident,” he said. “So while we were on drill, the alarm came in. The as- sistant chief and myself drove out that direction thinking it was going to be another alarm sounding. When we turned onto the Monmouth Highway, we noticed a big, black col- DEADLINES nEwS DEaDLinES For inclusion in the Wednesday edition of the Itemizer-Observer: Social news (weddings, engagements, anniver- saries, births, milestones) — 5 p.m. on Thursday. Community events — Noon on Friday for both the Community Notebook and Community Calendar. Letters to the editor — 10 a.m. on Monday. Obituaries — 4 p.m. on Monday. aDVERTiSinG DEaDLinES Retail display ads — 3 p.m. Friday. Classified display ads — 11 a.m. on Monday. Classified line ads — Noon on Monday. Classified ads are updated daily on www.polkio.com. Public notices — Noon on Friday. CORRECTIONS The Polk County Itemizer- Observer is committed to pub- lishing accurate news, feature and sports reports. If you see anything that requires a cor- rection or clarification, call the newsroom at 503-623-2373 or send an email to ementzer@polkio.com. WEBSITE The Polk County Itemizer- Observer website, www.polkio.com, is updat- ed each week by Wednes- day afternoon. There, you will find nearly every story that appears in the print version of the newspaper, as well as some items, in- cluding additional photos, that do not appear in print due to space limitations. The Itemizer-Observer is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Watch for breaking news, links to sto- ries, sports scores updates and more. WEATHER RECORDED HiGH LOw Aug. 1.............. 101 Aug. 2.............. 107 Aug. 3.............. 103 Aug. 4................ 97 Aug. 5................ 90 Aug. 6................ 91 Aug. 7................ 93 60 67 64 62 53 55 64 Remembering the Praegitzer Industries fire of 1987 A “fire reunion” will be held on Saturday and Sunday for all the employees and businesses affected by the massive industrial fire that destroyed Praegitzer Indus- tries in 1987. The reunion will include a bring-your-own picnic from noon until 4 p.m. at the new side of Dallas City Park on Saturday. A golf outing is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. at Cross Creek Golf Course. A brunch will be on Sun- day at 11 a.m. at Eola Hills Wine Cellars, Rickreall. RSVP for brunch: 503-623-2405. For more information: eric.rogers1947@gmail.com. umn of smoke coming from the center of the building.” Rogers said he spent the night directing firefighters and volunteer firefighters who were not familiar with the layout of the plant. “That evening was pret- ty much a blur,” he said. “It was just panic time. They were trying to save the administration build- ing, because it was the fur- thest point from the start of the fire. The firefighters did a pretty good job about minimizing — or at least trying — to keep it from being a total loss.” It took a number of days for Hahn and the fire chief, the state fire marshal and the city of Dallas to deter- mine the cause of the fire: a faulty immersion heater in a chemical tank. The building was a total loss, with an estimated $30 million in damage, Rogers said. Rogers said the reunion isn’t really a celebration, but more of a remem- brance of the fire and the effect it had on the town and the 220 employees at the time. “For most of us, it was a traumatic event,” he said. The building was re- opened a year later, and roughly 180 employees re- turned to work, Rogers said. “Bob (Praegitzer) told reporters we’ll be back in business,” Rogers recalled. “We won all kinds of awards on the rebuild. It was an adventuresome time. A lot of new people came on. A lot of people went on to other ventures. … We need to celebrate that and reminisce and move on.” Falls City Neighborhood Watch Looking out for each other By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer FALLS CITY — See something amiss in your neighborhood you call police, right? In Falls City, sometimes people call mem- bers of the Neighborhood Watch. The city’s group — which has eyes on the entire town, not just certain neighbor- hoods — has been active for almost a year, and has 15 members who patrol regularly. Tracy Young, one of those members, is on the receiving end of a lot calls from fellow res- idents. She encourages people to call police, and sometimes they do. If not, she is willing to take the concern or tip and place the call herself. “We try and help out,” Young said. “I know we are making an impact.” Falls City hasn’t supported attempts to in- crease law enforcement presence in town at the ballot box, and residents’ relationship Polk County Sheriff’s Office is tenuous, but improving, Sheriff Mark Garton said. The only incorporated town in the Polk County without its own police department, Falls City voted down levies to pay for con- tracts for patrol in the city four times between 2001 and 2007. In Polk County’s two attempts to pass a public safety levy in November 2013 (failed) and May 2015 (passed), the Falls City precinct voted against the measures 90-212 (2013) and 136-198 (2015) Attitudes may be changing through a com- bination of Neighborhood Watch and the sheriff’s office renewed effort to make in- roads in Falls City. Garton or one of his deputies attends every Falls City City Council meeting, participates in law enforcement-re- lated town hall meetings, and has helped the Neighborhood Watch program get started. For their part, the Neighborhood Watch group is active in the community and more than willing to report concerns they see — or Three arrested at butane hash oil lab itemizer-Observer staff report INDEPENDENCE — Three men were arrested on Aug. 1 after a search warrant revealed an active butane hash oil lab at 8400 Buena Vista Road in Inde- pendence. The lab was being used to make homemade marijuana extract, according to a press re- lease from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Dennis Lee Underwood, 35, was charged with unlawful manufacture of marijuana ex- tract (Class B felony), unlawful possession of less than a quarter ounce of marijuana extract (Class C felony), pos- session of cocaine (Class C felony), possession of methamphetamine (Class C felony), and possession of a schedule 1 controlled sub- stance — psilocybin mush- rooms (Class B felony). Joseph Matthew Soulier, 38, was charged with unlawful manufacture of marijuana ex- tract, unlawful possession of less than a quarter ounce of marijuana extract, and posses- sion of cocaine. Brandon Michael Axmaker, 18, was charged with unlawful manufacture of marijuana ex- tract and unlawful possession of less than a quarter ounce of marijuana extract. Members of the Polk Intera- gency Narcotics Team, assisted by the Oregon State Police and Polk County Sheriff’s Office, served the warrant at the resi- dence. Due to the hazards, mem- bers of Polk County Fire District No. 1 assisted during the dis- mantling of the lab in case of any emergency. Detectives collected more than 216 pounds of marijuana which was being used a make extract in the lab. The process was a closed loop system, and there was just more than 30 ounces of fin- ished hash oil product found at the location. Detectives estimate the street value of the hash oil to be about $25,000, the release from the sheriff’s office stated. In addition to the active lab operation, detectives also lo- cated user amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine and psilocybin mushrooms at the location. More charges are pending. Matinees are all shows before 6pm. New pricing for matinees are: Adult $8.00 Children $7.00 • Senior $7.25 Pricing does not reflect 3D showings. are told about — using Facebook to post tips and or directly contacting deputies. Garton said the idea of forming a Neigh- borhood Watch group in the town took off fast. He said there were only a few people a t the first informational meeting. The next meeting, interest had increased significantly. “There was like 20 people there wanting to be captain of their area, not just interested people. They really wanted to take a role in making it work,” he said. “It’s great. It’s really great to have that support. Anybody will tell you it hasn’t always been that way out there, and there are a lot of good people there.” Young said when the sheriff’s office was losing deputies and patrol hours to budget cuts, the perception was that the amount of crime increased and the trust in the office de- teriorated. That is getting better with patrol hours restored and a full complement of deputies who interact with residents on a reg- ular basis. Young added that responses are getting faster, which may encourage people to call police. “The community is getting over its fear,” she said. The sheriff’s office supports the group, which meets monthly, often with Garton or a deputy on hand to answer questions or offer training on how to safely and legally patrol and report po- tential crime. He’s encouraged by the enthusi- asm the group has for its mission. “We continually educate them on what in- formation we need to be able to act versus what the public thinks we need,” he said. “I honestly think most people are supportive of it because they want to make their city bet- ter.” Young said the group is happy to help the sheriff’s office — and its community — in any way it can. “They can’t be out here all the time,” Young said. Joyful Sound Hearing Have you considered reconditioned hearing aids? We are currently significantly over stocked with used & reconditioned hearing aids. Call now and schedule a hearing test. Mark Sturtevant 503-623-0290 • 312 Main Street, Dallas Monmouth 2017 Music in the Park Main St. Park Amphitheater Every Wednesday through August 30 ~ 6:30pm MUSIC, FOOD, BEER & WINE GARDEN Performing Tonight Look for the Music in the Park Series on Facebook for more information about this year’s artists. August 9 Cascade Crescendo Friday - Thursday • Aug 11 - Aug 17 SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (Digital) (PG13) (12:40) WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (Digital) (PG13) (3:40) NUT JOB 2: NUTTY BY NATURE (Digital) (PG) (12:20 2:35 4:50) ANNABELLE: CREATION (Digital) (R) (11:40 2:10 4:40) DARK TOWER (Digital) (PG13) (12:00 2:20 4:40) DUNKIRK (Digital) (PG13) (11:45 2:15 4:45) KIDNAP (Digital) (R) (12:40 2:55 5:10) EMOJI MOVIE (Digital) (PG) (11:45 2:00 4:15) DETROIT (Digital) (R) ATOMIC BLONDE (Digital) (R) (1:50 4:30) (Jamgrass) 6:45 9:45 7:05 7:10 7:00 7:15 7:25 6:30 9:20 9:40 9:20 9:45 9:40 FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Bring your chairs and blankets and we’ll see you in the park! For More Information Contact: Mark Fancey 503-751-0147 8:45 7:10 9:50 and presents Day Drink In The Dark A Total Solar Eclipse to Remember! The Dallas Forty is sponsoring it’s first PUB CRAWL August 18-21. Participating locations are throughout the town of Dallas. Get your Crawl Card at any one of the locations listed. Performing Aug 11 Schwing Band Show begins at 7:30 Rain .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 Lawn Seating — Bring blankets & chairs This Week’s FREE MOVIE: Rainfall during Aug. — 0.00 in. Rain through Aug. 7 — 33.30 in. Showing August 10 • 9:45 KONG: Skull Island Visit each one during Eclipse weekend and get a stamp at the register. Once card is full bring it to: AUG 18 Concert: Aerosmith Pump - 7:30 PM AUG 19 Concert: “Indy Goes Dark” Pyromania Def Leppard Tribute - 7:30 PM AUG 17 Movie: Star Trek Into the Darkness - 9:45 PM The Dallas Forty, 962 Main St. Raffle will be held at 9 pm on August 21st. No limit on amount of entries. • VENDORS • BEER & WINE GARDEN Riverview Amphitheater, Independence, OR Visit our website: independenceamphitheater.com