DALLAS
WESTERN OREGON
ROTARIANS Page 5A FOOTBALL
Volume 142, Issue 35
www.Polkio.com
Page 12A
August 30, 2017
$1.00
Man
drowns
in Dallas
pool
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — A 22-year-
old Dallas man died after
being found unresponsive
at the Dallas Aquatic Cen-
ter Saturday afternoon.
At about 2:26 p.m.,
aquatic center employees
called 911 saying CPR was
in progress on a person at
the pool, according a
press release from the
Dallas Police Department.
Lifeguards attempted
lifesaving efforts until Dal-
las Fire & EMS medics ar-
rived to take over. Medics
took the man, Marshall
Weaver, to Salem Health
West Valley, where at-
tempts to save his life were
unsuccessful, police said.
Dallas Police Depart-
ment, in conjunction with
the Oregon State Medical
Examiner’s Office and the
Polk County District At-
torney, are investigating
the incident.
“At this point, it appears
this was a tragic drowning
accident,” Dallas Police
Chief Tom Simpson said in
the release.
The department didn’t
have additional details by
Monday evening, but will
release more as soon as it
is appropriate, Simpson
said.
Arnett arrested
on rape charges
Itemizer-Observer staff report
POLK COUNTY — Harol
Ramos Arnett, 23, was ar-
rested on Aug. 23 for al-
legedly
raping a
13-year-
old girl
between
July 1 and
Aug. 22.
Ac-
cording
to the
Arnett
probable
cause statement, Arnett
was living with the girl and
her mother in a detached
garage. He approached the
girl in an unwanted sexual
way, the statement said.
Later, he asked the girl
to help him with a dresser
in the garage. He shut the
door behind her, put his
hand on her throat, and
had unwelcome sexual in-
tercourse with her. Arnett
allegedly had unwanted
sexual intercourse with the
girl at least one other time.
He was arrested by Polk
County Sheriff’s deputies
and charged with first-de-
gree rape, second-degree
rape, first-degree sodomy,
strangulation, and first-de-
gree sex abuse. He is lodged
in the Polk County Jail. Se-
curity is set for $207,500. Ar-
nett was appointed an at-
torney, Julio D. Vidrio. His
trial is set for Oct. 13.
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DALLAS
high school track
and field project to be
completed over two
years.
»Page 14A
FALLS CItY
City seeks feedback
on transportation
needs.
»Page 6A
INDePeNDeNCe
Photo illustration by STEPhANIE BLAIr/Itemizer-Observer
the intersection of Sacre Lane and Church Street bustles with children when school is in session.
Traffic sparks concerns
Monmouth resident wants changes at intersection of MES
By Stephanie Blair
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Paul
Sieber, a resident of Mon-
mouth for longer than four
decades, is looking for a
change in his neighborhood.
Nine years ago, Sieber was
serving on Monmouth’s Traf-
fic Safety Commission.
He submitted a request to
the commission, asking that
the streets and sidewalks
around Monmouth Elemen-
tary School be improved for
the safety of the students
who commute to school by
walking and biking.
“You have to understand
that there are (more than
500) students at MES, they
all arrive basically through
that intersection, and they
don’t come alone, they come
with their parents and their
cars, all the buses come
through there, garbage
trucks, milk delivery trucks
all come through that inter-
section,” Sieber said. “The
street between Sacre and 99
is three blocks, and a lot of
kids are coming on bikes,
and there’s no bike lane, no
guidance to tell them or
show them where they
should be.”
The request — which
called for raised crosswalks
at the intersection of Church
Street and Sacre Lane, the
relocation of speed signs to
“effective distances” from
the intersection, and the in-
stallation of bike lanes and
school zone or school cross-
ing signs — was not pursued
by the commission.
Now, a f t e r n e a r l y a
decade, Sieber has directed
his request to the city coun-
cil — more specifically, to
councilor Laurel Sharmer.
In an email response to
Sieber’s request, Sharmer
claimed, “If nothing is done
about this I guarantee there
will be campaign signs
around town next year that
say, ‘Safety for MES Students!
(insert name) for Monmouth
City Council.’ And we will
throw the bums out.”
Sharmer read Sieber’s
emailed request during the
citizen comments section of
the Aug. 15 Monmouth City
Council meeting.
The council then passed
Sharmer’s motion to direct
city staff to prepare a report
describing how to maximize
pedestrian and bicyclist
safety near MES, as well as a
budget for those changes,
with a 4-1 vote.
Sieber requested to be
added to the group prepar-
ing the report as a citizen
advisor, but was denied ad-
mission due to the council’s
decision to “bypass any citi-
zen advisory group partici-
pation at this time,” as Pub-
lic Works Director Russ
Cooper, the leader of the
staff group filing the re-
quested report, explained to
Sieber via email.
Sharmer then wrote an
email to Cooper and Sieber,
endorsing Sieber’s request to
join the group.
The email was copied to
Councilor Royal Johnson,
City Manager Scott McClure
and Emily Mentzer, editor of
the Itemizer-Observer.
See MeS, Page 7A
Vets help fix home
»Page 6A
MONMOUtH
Community Yard Sale
returns on Saturday.
»Page 2A
POLK COUNtY
Suspect arrested
after pursuit into Polk
County.
»Page 6A
SPORtS
Dallas cross-country
coach Monique
Lankheet seeks elusive
accomplishment.
»Page 13A
Harvey,
Labor Day
increases
fuel prices
Itemizer-Observer staff report
POLK COUNTY — As
harvey continues to blast
Texas and the Gulf Coast
with heavy rains, inflicting
some of the worst flood-
ing in history in the hous-
ton area, gas prices are
climbing in many parts of
the country.
For the week, the na-
tional average for regular
unleaded adds 4 cents to
$2.38. This is one of the
largest one-week price
surges for the national av-
erage seen this summer.
The Oregon average gains
2.5 cents to $2.84.
harvey isn’t causing sig-
nificant increases in pump
prices in Oregon since
Oregonians don’t depend
on the Gulf Coast for gaso-
line. Still, prices here will
likely climb a few cents
due to increased demand
for the Labor Day holiday.
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Brandon
Doeden had recently pur-
chased a fixer-upper home
outside of Monmouth on
Airlie Road when his life
screeched to a halt.
Three months ago, he was
in the middle of do-it-your-
self renovations when he was
in a motorcycle accident in
Fossil.
“It was pretty surreal,”
Doeden said of the accident
that left several other people
injured, as well.
The crash put him in the
hospital and left him facing
months of recovery. Finish-
ing the renovations — or
even getting things to the
point where he could make
do — wasn’t possible.
“I’ve spent a lot of time
here, looking at what I need
to get done,” said Doeden,
who still walks with a signifi-
cant limp.
See VetS, Page 7A
City unveils new logo
featuring the Cooper
Block tower.
Social media
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Be sure to follow the
Itemizer-Observer on Twit-
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gram and like us on Face-
book and check www.-
polkio.com.
Marv Olson helps complete work on Brandon Doeden’s home on Aug. 19.
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Come support a
fundraiser at Salem
health West Valley
hospital going on
today and Thurs-
day.
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Celebrate the end of
summer with
Johnny Limbo and
the Lugnuts for the
final Sounds of Sum-
mer concert.
6:30 p.m. Free.
Show off your musi-
cal skills, or hear
some jams at the
Guthrie Park
Acoustic Music Jam
Session.
6:30 p.m. Free.
The Annual Mon-
mouth Community
Yard Sale returns to
Main Street Park.
See what items you
can find!
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Polk Flea Market
offers a variety of
treasures just wait-
ing to be found at
the county fair-
grounds.
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. $1.
Celebrate Labor Day
and get ready for
the first day of
school for Polk
County students on
Tuesday.
Support the Wolves
when Western Ore-
gon’s women’s soc-
cer team hosts
Northwest Chris-
tian.
4 p.m. $5.
Mostly sunny
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Partly sunny
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