Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current, September 20, 2017, Image 4

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Polk County itemizer observer., September 20, 2017, Page 4A, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextPolk County Voices Polk County Itemizer-observer • September 20, 2017 4a How to Contact Officials EDITORIALS It’s better to ask We’re in the business of asking questions. Sometimes, those questions are hard ones, and, honestly, we often know the answer before we ask. But we still have to ask. Last week, the Falls City City Council decided unani- mously not to ask voters about whether or not to close the Wagner Community Library. Instead, they decided them- selves to begin the proceedings required to close it. They had discussed putting a levy on the November bal- lot, asking voters to financially support the struggling facil- ity. Falls City voters have recently turned down two oppor- tunities to support the school district in its attempts to build gyms and better buildings. Thinking of those votes, the council was perhaps dis- couraged in thinking that the library request would be similarly denied. Also on the council’s mind are other needs — street repairs and firefighting equipment. What are the chances that voters would approve not one, but two requests for money? Sometimes it’s good to remember what it was like to be young. You know your mom is probably going to tell you that you can’t have another cookie, but you ask for it any- way. That’s exactly what Falls City City Council should have done in this case — ask for the cookie. The worst the community could do is say “no.” But resi- dents have the right to decide what issues matter to them most. The community of Falls City may have a string of “no” votes behind them, but they also have an impressive spirit of cooperation and support of things that matter to them. If the library matters to them, they will support it. The council’s vote is final, but the closure process can be reversed. If the community wants to keep the library open, it needs to act now and come together — as it so frequently does. The people of Falls City need to volunteer at the li- brary and decide how to pay for the library manager, as well as the building and programs. If not, the nearest public library will be in Dallas. Nonresidents can obtain a free library card, but it has more limits on how many items can be checked out. Nonresidents can pay a fee ($60 per year for a house- hold) to have the same check-out privileges as a Dallas res- ident. We understand the city council has to balance a num- ber of issues, but the people deserve a chance to show which of those issues are most important to them, not have others assume they know what’s important to the community. PUBLIC AGENDA Public agenda is a listing of upcoming meetings for gov- ernmental and nongovernmental agencies in Polk county. To submit a meeting, send it at least two weeks before the actual meeting date to the Itemizer-Observer via email (ionews@polkio.com). — WeDneSDay, SePT. 20 • Monmouth Planning commission — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 Warren St. S., monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Polk county Board of commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, ﬁrst ﬂoor conference room, 850 main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. THurSDay, SePT. 21 • Monmouth arts and culture commission — 7 p.m., Vol- unteer Hall, 144 Warren St. S., monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Independence Parks and recreation Board — 6 p.m., In- dependence Civic Center, third ﬂoor, 555 S. main St., Independ- ence. 503-838-1212. MOnDay, SePT. 25 • Independence library Board — 4 p.m., Independence Public library, 175 monmouth St., Independence. 503-838-1212. • Dallas School Board — 6:30 p.m., Dallas School District of- ﬁce, 111 SW ash St., Dallas. 503-623-5594. • Independence city council — 6:30 p.m., Independence Civic Center, 555 S. main St., Independence. 503-838-1212. TueSDay, SePT. 26 • Monmouth Senior advisory Board — 1 p.m., monmouth Senior Center, 180 Warren St. S., monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Polk county Board of commission work session — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, BoC oﬃce, 850 main St., Dallas. 503- 623-8173. WeDneSDay, SePT. 27 • Polk county Board of commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, ﬁrst ﬂoor conference room, 850 main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. GoVERnoR Gov. Kate Brown (Dem.) 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. nE Salem, oR 97301 503-378-4582 Email: via website, http://governor.oregon.gov/ — STaTE lEGISlaToRS Sen. arnie roblan (District 5, Democrat) S-417 State Capitol 900 Court St. nE Salem, oR 97301 503-986-1705 sen.arnieroblan@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/roblan LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Eclipse watchers prove thoughtful We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the local community and those who visited the Buena Vista and Hilltop cemeteries over the eclipse. We appreciate your thoughtful care of the grounds and your respect- fulness for others and their loved ones who are buried here. Thank you for caring. rep. Paul evans (District 20, Democrat) H-281 State Capitol 900 Court St. nE Salem, oR 97301 503-986-1420 rep.paulevans@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/evans Robbery could provide lessons Anya Thaker Monmouth AFS program differs from Rotary I would like to clarify some information presented by James Algood in his letter published Sept. 13. He conflated two differ- ent exchange programs which have operated in Dal- las for many years. Sen. Brian Boquist (District 12, Republican) S-305 State Capitol 900 Court St. nE Salem, oR 97301 503-986-1712 sen.brianboquist@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/boquist rep. David Gomberg (District 10, Democrat) H-471 State Capitol 900 Court St. nE Salem, oR 97301 503-986-1410 rep.davidgomberg@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/gomberg Marjorie A. Meador The Hilltop Cemetery District Board of Directors What saddens me about the Sept. 13 article about the bank robbery is that Mr. McKean was in need of money and ended up run- ning away with $714 in cash. Dallas is not known as an affluent community and, Bank of America, being a very large bank-corporation, could perhaps take this op- portunity to locally instill some help or alternatives for those in dire need of money, so that humbling experiences like this do not need to take place. Sen. Jackie Winters (District 10, Republican) S-301 State Capitol 900 Court St. nE Salem, oR 97301 503-986-1710 sen.jackiewinters@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/winters He was speaking about Rotary International spon- soring students from Dallas to go to other countries, and students from other coun- tries to come to Dallas for school. He described the pro- gram as American Field Service, which is a separate exchange student program. Dallas Rotary has indeed sponsored student ex- change for many years. At the same time, Ameri- can Field Service, now called AFS Intercultural Pro- grams, has been providing a similar service to our com- munity for more than 60 years. AFS was begun by former ambulance drivers in the American Field Service after World War II, with the mis- sion of promoting world peace. The first exchanges were between the U.S. and Ger- many in 1947. We continue to provide opportunities for intercul- tural exchange for both American students and stu- dents from over 70 coun- tries in most parts of the world. We recommend the expe- rience as the best way to in- crease understanding of our increasingly interconnected world. rep. Mike nearman (District 23, Republican) H-378 State Capitol 900 Court St. nE Salem, oR 97301 503-986-1423 rep.mikenearman@state.or.us www.oregonlegislature.gov/nearman — u.S. ConGRESS Sen. ron Wyden (Dem.) 221 Dirksen SoB Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-5244 Fax: 202-228-2717 Salem oﬃce: 707 13th St. SE, Suite 285, Salem, oR 97301 Phone: 503-589-4555 Email: via website, www.wyden.senate.gov Dale Derouin Dallas WANT TO WRITE A LETTER? letters to the editor are lim- ited to 300 words. longer letters will be edited. Election-related letters of all types are limited to 100 words. Writers are limited to one elec- tion-related letter per election season. Election letters from writers outside of Polk County are not accepted. Each writer is restricted to one letter per 30-day period. letters that are libelous, ob- scene or in bad taste will not be printed. attacks by name on businesses or individuals will not be printed. letters to the editor that are obvious promotions for a busi- ness, products or services will not be printed. The Itemizer-Observer does not guarantee the accuracy of facts presented by letter writers; dissenters are welcome to re- spond. letter writers who dis- agree with other published letter writers should maintain a civil discourse and address the subject, not the author. letters, like all editorial mate- rial submitted to the newspaper, are edited for length, grammar and content. letters must include the au- thor’s name, address and tele- phone number. This includes letters submitted via the I-O’s website. names and cities of res- idence are published; street ad- dresses and telephone numbers are used for veriﬁcation pur- poses only. letters must be submitted from individuals, not organiza- tions, and must be original sub- missions to the I-O, not copies of letters sent to other media. letters of thanks to busi- nesses, individuals and organi- zations are limited to 10 names. The deadline for letters to the editor is 10 a.m. monday. let- ters submitted may not be re- tractable after this deadline. — Reach us at: Mail: Editor, Polk County Itemizer-Observer, P.o. Box 108, Dallas, oR 97338. fax: 503-623-2395. email: ionews@polkio.com. Oﬃce: 147 SE Court St., Dallas. Sen. Jeﬀ Merkley (Dem.) 313 Hart SoB Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3753 Fax: 202-228-3997 Salem oﬃce: 161 High St. SE, Suite 250, Salem, oR 97301 Phone: 503-362-8102 Email: via website, www.merkley.senate.gov rep. Kurt Schrader (Dem.) 108 Cannon HoB Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-5711 Fax: 202-225-5699 Salem oﬃce: 544 Ferry St. SE, Suite 2, Salem, oR 97301 Phone: 503-588-9100 Fax: 503-588-5517 Email: via website, www.schrader.house.gov — PolK CounTY Board of commissioners 850 main St. Dallas, oR 97338 Phone: 503-623-8173 www.co.polk.or.us — CITIES Dallas 187 SE Court St. Dallas, oR 97338 503-623-2338 www.ci.dallas.or.us falls city 299 mill St. Falls City, oR 97344 503-787-3631 www.fallscityoregon.gov Independence 555 S. main St. Independence, oR 97351 503-838-1212 www.ci.independence.or.us Monmouth 151 W. main St. monmouth, oR 97361 503-838-0722 www.ci.monmouth.or.us HOW TO REACH US Vol. 142, No. 38 (USPS) - 437-380) The official newspaper of Polk County • Serving Polk County families since 1875 Winner of 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 General Excellence awards from the oregon newspaper Publishers association Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, oR, Independence, oR and monmouth, oR. Published weekly at 147 SE Court Street Dallas, oregon 97338 Phone: 503-623-2373 SuBSCRIPTIon RaTES: Polk County — one Year $35 other oregon Counties — one Year $40 outside of oregon — one Year $45 POSTMaSTer: Send address changes to: Polk county Itemizer-Observer, P.O. Box 108, Dallas, Oregon 97338 neWSrOOM Emily mentzer ..............Editor/monmouth/Independence Reporter ....ementzer@polkio.com lukas Eggen..................Sports Editor......................................................................leggen@polkio.com Jolene Guzman............Dallas/Falls City/Polk County Reporter ................jguzman@polkio.com Stephanie Blair.............General assignment Reporter........................................sblair@polkio.com DISPlay aDVerTISInG Heidi leppin .................Display advertising manager (ext.115).................hleppin@polkio.com Rachel Best ....................Display advertising ............................................................rbest@polkio.com aaron Stark....................Display advertising (ext. 110) ......................................astark@polkio.com Karen Sanks...................Client Services (ext. 118)...............................................ksanks@polkio.com claSSIfIeD lIne aDVerTISInG Dawn ohren .....................................................................................................................ioads@polkio.com PrODucTIOn Kathy Huggins ..............................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com The Polk County Itemizer-observer assumes no ﬁnancial responsibility for errors in advertise- Karyn Pressel .................................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com ments. It will, however, reprint without charge for the portion of an advertisement Web: www.polkio.com Phone: 503-623-2373 fax: 503-623-2395 which is in error if the Itemizer-observer is at fault.