Polk County News
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • September 13, 2017
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
Bob Dunn gives a thumbs up before his ride.
Honor ride
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — U.S. Navy
veteran Bob Dunn grinned
and said the best thing
about serving in the mili-
tary was “the girls.”
Dunn, 95, a former pilot,
served during World War II
and during the Korean War
as an instructor.
He humbly talks about
his flight feats during World
War II, including staying in
the air and landing after an
enemy fighter broke the tail
off his plane.
“He just chewed my tail
off a little bit,” he said. “I
managed to hold onto the
stick and fly it back.”
He was based on the USS
Wasp, so flying back meant
landing on the aircraft carri-
er — without the hook on
the tail to slow the plane
once it touches down.
“You do anything you
have to to stay alive, be-
cause man wasn’t meant to
fly,” he said. “No feathers.”
Saturday he was taken
for a different kind of ride,
one that has been on his
bucket list: Traveling by
motorcycle sidecar.
Independence resident
Marv Olson, also a veteran,
made one phone call to a
motorcycle club after he
heard of Dunn’s wish and
set up the trip, which took
Dunn to the coast.
Riders from Northwest
Patriots Motorcycle Club
and Bikers for Christ roared
up into his driveway, taking
Dunn by surprise.
A look of disbelief fell
over his face when riders
lined up to introduce
themselves and thank him
for his service. By the time
Sammy Manning, who
joined the ride with her
husband, stepped up to
shake Dunn’s hand, the
vet’s sense of humor re-
turned.
“I want to take this one
home,” Dunn said, with a
chuckle.
Manning said: “No, we’ll
take you home.”
“That’s the best offer I’ve
had all day,” Dunn replied.
Moments later, the cara-
van headed down the street
with Dunn waving to on-
lookers like the grand mar-
shal of his own parade.
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Pete Kalogeras and his wife, Cindy, serve gyros, Greek salads, Greek french fries, and the hot-seller, baklava. The
couple opened Greece Lightning Express in June and have attended many community events over the summer.
A taste of Greece
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — It
doesn’t matter how you pro-
nounce it, Pete Kalogeras at
Greece Lightning is happy to
serve it up.
“I should put in a button
right here, gyro,” Kalogeras
said, saying it correctly (ye-
ro).
But Kalogeras is happy to
pronounce the “g” if it
makes his customers more
comfortable in ordering
one of the tasty sandwiches
or salads from his food cart
on Catron and Jackson
streets in Monmouth.
The gyro meat — a mix-
ture of beef and lamb with
Greek seasonings — can be
served in a warm pita with
tomatoes, onions, feta
cheese and Kalogeras’ special
handmade tzatziki sauce or
over a Greek salad.
He also offers a chicken
option, cut into cubes and
broiled after marinating in
Don’t pronounce the G
What: Greece Lightning food truck.
When: Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesdays and Fridays open until 7 p.m.
Where: On the corner of Catron and Jackson streets.
Of note: Picnic benches sit under a shaded or covered
spot under trees to enjoy lunch. The food truck is parked
on the property of the Kalogeras’ son-in-law’s business,
Dr. Ryan Shurtz. Kalogeras offers lunch specials until 1
p.m. — a sandwich, fries and drink for $9.
oil, lemon and Greek season-
ings.
Ka l o g e ra s i s n’t f r o m
Greece, but growing up in
Youngstown, Ohio, he ad-
mired the owner of a Greek
food truck.
“It was a Greek gyro trail-
er,” he recalled. “I said, ‘I
want to be just like this guy.’
He always worked his butt
off during the summer, and
in the wintertime, he would
go to Greece.”
Kalogeras said he is far
from that dream, as his trail-
er has been open for two
months, but business is
good so far.
“ We did the eclipse
(Indy Goes Dark) in Inde-
pendence; we’re going to
do the PCL (Partnerships
in Community Living Inc.)
picnic; we did the Com-
munity Garage Sale in
Monmouth,” he said. “Lit-
tle by little, people are
starting to invite us and
wanting to get to know
us.”
Kalogeras and his wife
moved to Monmouth about
a year ago after their daugh-
ter and son-in-law suggest-
ed it.
“They kind of told us,
‘Guys, why don’t you move
out here so you can start
your own food trailer,’” he
said. “We kind of fell in love
with it, my wife and I, and
we kind of said, ‘Let’s just
sell everything back home
and move out west and give
it a shot.’”
While the gyro is the
most-ordered item,
Kalogeras said the baklava is
a close second — even if it’s
not homemade.
“Our salads are really
good, too,” he said. “They’re a
good portion. Matter of fact,
all our servings are good por-
tions. People tell me this is
the best gyro around.”
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
Kelly K. Denney
Financial Advisor
503-623-2146
244 E. Ellendale, Suite 2
Dallas, OR 97338
Ben Meyer,
AAMS ®
Bob Timmerman
Financial Advisor
503-623-5584
503-606-3048
193 E. Main Street
Monmouth, OR 97361
Financial Advisor
159 SW Court Street
Dallas, OR 97338
Solution on Page 6A
Solar Arrays
on Farm Lands
Public Forum
Independence Library Conference Room
Sept. 21, 2017 • 7 PM
• Sam Sweeney, Yamhill Farm Bureau
• Meriel Darzen, Circuit Rider Staff Attorney,
1000 Friends of Oregon
• Jeff Bissonnette, Executive Director,
Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association
• Tim Murphy, Department of Land Conservation
and Development, Farm & Forest Specialist
Each speaker will give a 10 minute overview of the
utilization of solar panels on farm land from their per-
spective. Topics will include economics, siting on non-
high value farmland, allowed sizes of facilities, and
required infrastructure for energy transmission. This
will be followed by a question and answer session.
Tremaine Arkley will moderate the session.
Hosted by Friends of Polk County
Refreshments will be provided.
Last week, a caption for a
photo running alongside
“Baskett Slough battles water
primrose” reported that
“refugee employees” had
drained the wetlands. The
employees were not refugees,
but rather employees of the
refuge.
The I-O regrets the error.
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
Sept. 5............... 89
Sept. 6............... 85
Sept. 7............... 86
Sept. 8............... 74
Sept. 9............... 84
Sept. 10............ 82
Sept. 11............ 94
65
61
64
64
62
60
52
RAIN
.00
T
T
T
.02
.00
.00
Rainfall during Sept. — 0.02 in.
Rain through Sept. 11 — 33.47 in.