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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2017)
RENAISSANCE FAIRE DRAGONS EARN SHUTOUT SHREWSBURY VICTORY Page 7A Volume 142, Issue 37 www.Polkio.com Page 12A September 13, 2017 $1.00 Bank robber arrested IN YOUR TOWN Officers found suspect running down the street DALLAS U.S. Navy veteran checks off an item on his bucket list. By Jolene Guzman »Page 2A The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — A Dallas man is in Polk County Jail after being arrested Thursday on bank rob- bery charges. Caleb McKean, 36, is fac- ing one count each of third- degree robbery, a felony, and sec- ond-de- gree theft, a misde- meanor. He was sched- uled in McKean be in Polk County Circuit Court on Tuesday after press time. he is being held on $50,000. Officers responded to a report of a bank robbery in progress at the Dallas Bank of America, 791 Main St., at 9:48 a.m., ac- cording to Dallas Police. Polk County Sheriff’s deputies also responded. According to the proba- ble cause affidavit of the incident, McKean went to the bank on Sept. 6, the day before the robbery, to take money out of his ac- count. The teller told him his Bank of America card wouldn’t allow access to his account, and he re- fused to provide identifi- cation. McKean said he would return. When he returned, he still couldn’t access his ac- count. “(The teller) said he was angry and demand- ing money,” the report said. “He was not armed and did not have any weapons. … She felt threatened because he was angry, aggressive and demanding.” McKean demanded money out of the teller drawer and, believing em- ployees were in danger, the assistant manager began to take money out of the drawer, according to the report. “The man reached over the counter and grabbed the money from her hands,” the report said. He left the bank and of- ficers found McKean three blocks from the bank, run- ning on the street where he lives. He threw $714 in cash on the ground before offi- cers apprehended him, the probable cause report said. The incident is under investigation by the Dallas Police Department in co- operation with the Salem Office of the FBI. THE NEXT 7 DAYS PLANNING FOR YOUR WEEK FALLS CitY Falls City’s volleyball team makes progress. »Page 12A iNDEPENDENCE Hop & Heritage Festi- val on hiatus. MIKE KISSELL/for the Itemizer-Observer Local fire crews have helped battle the Eagle Creek Fire. Polk, Dallas assist at wildfires By Emily Mentzer and Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer POLK COUNTY — Polk Fire Capt. Mike Kissell and members of Dallas Fire & EMS, Southwestern Polk Rural Fire Protection Dis- trict, Sheridan Fire and McMinnville Fire worked all night battling the blaze at the Eagle Creek Fire on Monday, Sept. 4. “We worked from 8 p.m. until Tuesday (Sept. 5),” Kissell said from the scene on Friday. “Monday night when we arrived, we had ac- tive fire pushing some struc- tures in a small community outside of Cascade Locks, and we did point protection and fire attack to stop the fire’s growth into that com- munity.” The Polk-Yamhill task force has since been as- signed to structural triage, Kissell said. The firefighters have been spending time as- sessing properties’ strengths and weaknesses in a fire sus- tainability situation. “We develop a plan to prepare that house better to survive a fire front well in advance,” Kissell said. That entails anything from removing vegetation from around the house to blowing leaves and rubbish off the rooftops to cleaning out gutters to trimming overhanging tree branches. “If they leave the houses unlocked, we’ll make sure the windows are closed, vents are closed, and pre- pare that building to with- stand a fast-moving fire coming through,” Kissell said. “We can’t completely protect from a hot, slow- moving fire, but we prepare … as best we can.” Kissell has spent more time in the past few weeks away fighting fires elsewhere in the state than he has in Polk County, said Polk Coun- ty Fire District No. 1 Chief Ben Stange. He started his deployment to the Chetco Bar Fire just before the Great American Eclipse weekend at the end of August. Dallas Fire and South- western Polk also sent crews, Fire Chief Fred Hertel and equipment to fight the fires. Dallas Fire spokeswoman April Welsh said Dallas and Southwestern responded when the state put out the call for help with the Chetco Bar Fire. Dallas and Polk firefight- ers, and volunteers from Southwestern and Polk took that trip. The state requires all firefighters working a for- est fire to have their wild- land fire certification. “We sent a Southwestern engine and Southwestern tender to the Chetco Bar fire during the week of the eclipse,” Welsh said. Stange said the crew worked on a lot of structure protection, including help- ing people make defensible space around their homes. The equipment and the firefighters returned from Brookings, but then Hertel was requested to be part of an incident management team directing the fire at- tack. “While he was gone, the fire in the gorge at Eagle Creek erupted,” Welsh said. That fire also needed statewide resources. On Sept. 3, Southwest ern Polk sent a brush rig and tender to the gorge, along with three firefighters. A Polk No. 1 firefighter went with Dallas and Southwest and joined with a team from Yamhill County. See FirES, Page 5A Purple Heart finds way to family Quest to reunite medal to hero’s descendents takes 12 years By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer MONMOUTH — After a 12-year search, Kevin Coady finally found the family of fallen U.S. Marine Pfc. Jack Carl Kightlinger. Kightlinger was killed in the Korean War in 1951 at the age of 23. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his sacri- fice. The medal is engraved with the phrase “for military merit” and recog- nizes those wounded or killed while serving in the military. At some point, the award was lost. Coady, of Monmouth, has had Kightlinger’s Purple Heart since 2005. A local couple had found it at a garage sale in Berkeley, Calif., in the 1970s. They weren’t sure how to get it back where it belonged, so they gave it to Coady to find the owner. They told him that they bought it for a quarter. A medic in the U.S. Army at the time, Coady followed a family tradition of serving in the military. His parents met in the Army, and he and his two broth- ers enlisted. KEVIN COADY/for the Itemizer-Observer Kevin Coady reunited a Purple Heart with Jack Kightlinger’s family. He felt a duty to return the medal. His search led him to conversations with people who served with Kightlinger, including one, Floyd Swift, who sent him photos of Kightlinger when he was in the Army. “His mother died in 1983. I ran out of leads. This is in 2005,” Coady said. An answer to prayer The trail went cold until Easter 2017. It’s that day Coady discovered an or- ganization that reconnects veterans or their families with lost Purple Hearts, Purple Hearts Reunited. He sent a mes- sage saying he had a medal, but was at a loss for where to look next. “Then I go to my mom’s for the free Easter dinner, and I get a call,” Coady said. It’s Zachariah Fike, the director of Purple Hearts Reunited. “We found the family,” Coady said, quoting Fike. “I’m like, you’re kidding me. It took me 12 years. Then I get a call from his great-niece.” Coady and Kightlinger’s great-niece, Bernadine “Bernie” Ridgeway, con- nected in an emotional conversation. Coady said the calls were an answer to prayer, truly, as his brother Dan often prayed for the medal’s return to Kightlinger’s family. See HEArt, Page 5A »Page 3A MONMOUtH Pete Kalogeras offers a taste of Greece. »Page 2A SPOrtS Ys a b e l l a R i n c o n emerging as leader for Central’s girls soccer squad. »Page 12A Beware of scammers itemizer-Observer staff report POLK COUNTY — When crisis strikes, many want to reach into their pockets to help with relief. Unfortu- nately, scammers know how to take advantage of that charity. “Disasters that attract na- tional attention are often used by scammers to create fake charities and crowd- funding campaigns to rip off people who want to sup- port a worthy cause,” said At- torney General Ellen Rosen- blum in a press release. Red flags to look for to know you’re being duped by a bogus charity: • Do not give out person- al information such as cred- it card or bank account numbers over the phone. • Checks should always be made payable to the or- ganization, not the person collecting the donation. • Beware of callers who want money fast. No legiti- mate organization will insist you donate immediately. • Do not donate cash. Don’t send contributions with a “runner,” by wire, or overnight parcel pick-up service. • Be cautious before giv- ing to individuals raising money through crowd- funding websites. You can- not be sure that your gift will be used as intended, plus donations to individu- als are not tax deductible. • Be sure you are con- tributing to a legitimate or- ganization registered with the Oregon Department of Justice by searching the de- partment’s online database: www.doj.state.or.us/chari- table-activities, or call 971- 673-1880. wed thu fri sat sun mon tue All the bad news getting to you? Stop into Salem Health West Valley to get your blood pressure checked for free. 2-3 p.m. Free. Young Professionals will meet at Focal Point in Dallas for an evening of network- ing and social activi- ties. 5:30 p.m. Free. The Gate Youth pro- gram will host a tail- gating party before Central High’s foot- ball game at Panther Stadium. 6 p.m. $2. The 15th annual Fall Fling — a gardening festival and vendor fair — returns to the Col. Nesmith Readi- ness Center in Dallas. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. $40. The Polk Commu- nity for Human Equality will host a forum at WOU about health care as a human right. 4:30 p.m. Free. Get ready for the an- nual scarecrow con- test or a jump start on Halloween at a workshop at the Indy Public Library. 6:30 p.m. Free. Are you a veteran looking for sup- port? Check out the monthly Battle Bud- dies at the Veterans Service Office. 6-8 p.m. Free. Mostly sunny Hi: 74 Lo: 49 Mostly sunny Hi: 72 Lo: 47 Mostly sunny Hi: 75 Lo: 50 Partly cloudy Hi: 74 Lo: 49 PM Rain Hi: 70 Lo: 50 Showers Hi: 66 Lo: 46 Showers Hi: 64 Lo: 46