Polk County Living
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 9, 2017 9A
Tips to save water during a hot summer
As the heat ratchets up so
does water use, costing
homeowners money and
doing no favors for the en-
vironment.
Homeowners can learn
to save water and money,
however, with help from
Oregon WaterWise Garden-
ing, a statewide program of
the Oregon State University
Extension Service. Its web-
site includes profiles of
water-efficient plants.
Amy Jo Detweiler, a hor-
ticulturist with OSU Exten-
sion, compiled the follow-
ing tips to help you con-
serve water and save on
summer water bills:
When you’re selecting
new plants, look for plants
that use less water such as
native globe mallow, black-
eyed Susan, sedums, blan-
ket flower, lavender and
coneflower. Once estab-
lished, these plants require
minimal irrigation. Group
plants together based on
their water use for maxi-
mum water conservation.
If you like colorful bed-
ding annuals such as zin-
nias, marigolds, impatiens
and petunias, consider put-
ting them in pots or hang-
ing baskets where you can
provide water directly,
rather than watering the
entire garden.
Closely manage your wa-
tering. Hand watering and
automatic irrigation can be
adequate if you are an effi-
90th - Thompson
K YM
P OKORNY
Your
Garden
cient water manager. Moni-
tor how much water is used
and adjust it throughout
the season for warmer and
cooler periods. Water in
morning or late evening to
mitigate evaporation.
If using automatic irriga-
tion, consider drip emitters
in clay type soils and mi-
crosprays in sandy soils. Be
sure to provide adequate
moisture to the entire root
zone of the plant.
Soaker hoses are an alter-
native. Hook them to an au-
tomatic timer so you don’t
forget to turn off the water.
This works for vegetable
and ornamental gardens.
In western Oregon you
can let your lawn go dor-
mant for the summer. It will
green up when winter rains
begin.
In central and eastern
Oregon, select more
drought-resistant types of
turf grass such as tall fescue
or blended mixes and place
turf only where needed.
You will need to continue
watering throughout the
summer to prevent your
lawn from dying.
You can find profiles and
pictures of water-efficient
https://flic.kr/p/W62heJ
Hand watering is OK as long as it’s done in the morning
or evening when evaporation is at its lowest.
plants for Oregon’s high
desert in a 56-page publica-
tion authored by Detweiler,
much of which is relevant
in other areas of Oregon.
Also available are Conserv-
ing Water in the Garden,
and three infographics:
Keys to Water-efficient
Landscapes, It Pays to
Water Wisely and Land-
scape Maintenance to Con-
serve Water.
For all of your landscape
plants, encourage deep
rooted plants by watering
deeper less often. You can
look for clues to water
stress, such as slight wilting
or a dull, transparent look of
the leaves and adjust your
watering accordingly.
When you plant new
shrubs and trees, provide a
long soak from a hose to sat-
urate the soil deeply in the
immediate area. You should
repeat this process several
times, especially during dry
periods, to give your new
shrubs and trees the re-
sources to grow strong and
deep roots that will require
less water in the future.
MI TOWN
Thursday is the opening
of the Polk County Fair. All
summer long we’ve antici-
pated three special days
when everything good about
our communities is show-
cased for everyone to see
and enjoy. Our 4-H mem-
bers have been working
hard for weeks and weeks to
have their special projects
and animals prepared and
ready for judging and dis-
play, and their parents,
leaders and other volunteers
are delighted to share in the
fun.
—
It’s always so much fun to
be there bright and early to
enjoy the entire day and to
make new memories watch-
ing families with little chil-
dren who delight in every-
thing from petting the ani-
mals to enjoying the carni-
val rides and eating corn-
MILESTONE
P ATTY
T AYLOR
D UTCHER
Columnist
dogs with lots of bright yel-
low mustard. It’s our once-
a-year day to meet friends
old and new, to visit all the
commercial booths, to get
advice on house and home
projects, and to see all the
things that represent the
best of Polk County.
—
The berries and peaches
are at their peak now, and
our kitchens are busy with
jam and pie making. All the
hard work and efforts put
forth during these busy days
will be appreciated and re-
membered on those dark
and rainy winter mornings
when the taste of summer-
time will appear on our
breakfast tables. The apple
tree is heavy with fruit and
soon it will be time to savor
those first wonderful bites
and share the bounty with
those we love.
—
Cascade Crescendo is this
evening’s Music in the Park
featured group in Main
Street Park in Monmouth.
Pack a picnic basket or pur-
chase food and drinks from
various vendors and enjoy
an evening of bluegrass,
dubgrass and other Ameri-
cana music from an ex-
tremely talented group of
musicians who have per-
formed all over the country.
—
Our dogs sure enjoy
going on walks around MI
Town and on the Western
Oregon University campus.
They love the chance to get
out and about, and the walk
is good for all of us. We’re
always careful to carry
plenty of plastic bags for
cleaning up those not-so-
special items the dogs tend
to drop during our outing.
It’s not a fun task, but it
goes along with responsible
and caring dog ownership,
so we do it. Sadly, not
everyone shares our con-
cern and we frequently no-
tice dog “stuff” on lawns
and sidewalks. I’m sure the
other folks who share the
lawns and sidewalks and
streets don’t appreciate
dealing with somebody
else’s not so pleasant “stuff”
(this is a family newspaper,
so that word will have to
suffice). Let’s all remember
to pick up after our pets and
be good neighbors.
Longtime Dallas resident and teacher George Thomp-
son Sr. is celebrating his 90th birthday with a reception on
Saturday at the old gazebo in Dallas City Park at 2 p.m.
The public is welcome to attend. The family requests no
gifts. His actual birthday is on Aug. 28.
Thompson moved to Dallas in 1950, after graduating
from Lewis and Clark College in Portland. In his first years
in Dallas, Thompson taught band, chorus, and radio the-
ory at the high school. Later, he moved to the junior high
school, where he taught home room for a few years before
switching to ninth-grade English. Soon, he instituted
classes on journalism, speech and drama.
He also asked permission for, and was granted two pe-
riods per day to act as a counselor for students. He moved
to Portland for a year to complete necessary training and
received a master’s degree in counseling from the Univer-
sity of Oregon. The school held his position for him while
he studied.
For the next two decades and more, Thompson served
as a guidance counselor for Dallas Junior High School,
which moved to its current location LaCreole Middle
School in 1966.
A year after his retirement, the Dallas Education Asso-
ciation established the “George Thompson Dallas Educa-
tion Association Award,” granted each year since 1989 to
a graduating Dallas High School senior who plans to go
into education.
Thompson presents the $2,000 award each spring at
the senior awards ceremony.
BIRTH
Chabot
Celine Brooke Chabot was born at 8:37 p.m. on July 11
to Christopher and Stefani Chabot, of West Salem.
The baby is the couple’s first child.
Celine weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and was 20 ½
inches long.
Grandparents are Mitch and Caryn Hainsworth, of Dal-
las; and Keith and Kacey Chabot, of Peachtree, Ga.
Great-grandparents are Sally Zeigler, of Rickreall,
Kathilene Gwyn, of Caldwell, Idaho, Si and Sybil
Hainsworth, of Falls City, Roslyn Kania, of Peachtree, and
Louis and Shirley Chabot, of Sun City, Calif.
Great-great-grandparent is Myrle Young, of Joseph.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Continued from page 8A
—
TUESDAY, AUG. 15
• Overeaters Anonymous — Noon to 1 p.m., Salem Health
West Valley, 525 SE Washington St., Dallas. Support group
meets in the quiet room/chapel immediately inside the emer-
gency entrance on Clay Street. Dee Ann White, 971-718-6444.
—
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 16
• Willamette Valley Food Assistance Program Food Bank
— 1:30 to 6:30 p.m., 888 Monmouth Cutoff Road, Building E,
Dallas. Weekly distribution for eligible community members.
503-831-5634.
• Day-2-Day Diabetes Support Group — 3 to 4 p.m., Salem
Health West Valley (main conference room inside main en-
trance), 525 SE Washington St., Dallas. 503-623-7323.
• Pickleball — 9 a.m. to noon, Roger Jordan Community
Park. Meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m.
to noon and Sundays and Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. Karen Freeman,
503-871-4172.
• Music in the Park — 6:30 p.m., Main Street Park, Mon-
mouth. Root Jack, rock. Free. www.ci.monmouth.or.us.
PEDEE NEWS
Shawn and Trina and kids
Kalina and Kindan love to
camp so they spent several
days at Beverly Beach in a
tent with all the dogs a few
weekends ago, and then last
weekend they camped by
Quartzville Creek above
Green Peter Dam, a remote,
unimproved site. They all
love being outside and fish-
ing. Kalina is a diehard fish-
erperson and made her dad
go out two or three times a
day, finally catching five fish
the last day at Quartzville.
They also hiked for hours.
Shawn believes they are all
mountain goats — no trail is
unpassable. They even
camp in the yard sometimes.
—
Bill and Linda Chertudi’s
son James and wife Lily,
from Columbia Falls, Mon-
A RLENE
K OVASH
Columnist
tana, visited them for a week
and a half in July, with their
baby daughter Charlotte
Elizabeth. They all went to
Newport, the zoo, and visited
with the rest of the family,
with Linda keeping her eyes
mostly on granddaughter
Charlotte. After their visit
with Bill and Linda, James
and Lily drove to Colorado to
see her parents. Both teach
at White Fish Christian Acad-
emy in Montana.
—
Steve and Audrey
Cameron have reveled in vis-
its from grandchildren this
summer. Noah came for the
whole month of July while
his dad Chris, a commercial
fisherman, fished in Alaska.
Both he and cousin Ana
Barth attended camp at Ore-
gon State University for two
weeks during that time. Son
James and his wife Eliana
came down from Milwaukie
to join the group from time
to time. One night a cougar
went right into the Cameron
barn and killed a lamb. They
promptly called the trapper,
who was able to get it.
—
Judy Guida and I discov-
ered a great place to pick
blueberries nearby, and they
were so plentiful and reason-
ably priced that we will try to
get a total of 40 pounds each
during the month. Kings Val-
ley Gardens, on Tatom Lane
just this side of the store, will
have them through Septem-
ber, with some late varieties.
They’re open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays and
have lots. Best part is that all
the neighbors are there, too,
so lots of good company
while picking.
—
Adam and Emily Coe are
happy to announce the birth
of their son, Charley Scott,
on Thursday, 12:30 am. He
came out at 9 pounds, 5
ounces — half grown. All
doing well!
—
Several Pedee neighbors
will be working at and enter-
ing items in the county fair
this week, so look for us
there.
sic
Live Mu
le
Old Sty es
am
Board G abilia
or
& Mem
tti
Spaghe
Lunch
Reconnect with friends of yesteryear!
DALLAS CITY PARK
August 6 • 10AM to 3PM
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Find us on Facebook:
Dallas Old Timers Reunion Picnic
________________________________________________________________
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PREMIER
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