FALLS CITY, PERRYDALE
CENTRAL
HOMECOMING
CROSS-COUNTRY
Page 7A
Page 13A
Volume 142, Issue 39
www.Polkio.com
September 27, 2017
$1.00
Four fatal car crashes affect Polk County
Itemizer-Observer staff report
Crash on James
Howe is fatal
DALLAS — A California
man, formerly of Dallas, was
killed on Sept. 15 in an early
morning single-vehicle colli-
sion on James Howe Road.
The crash occurred be-
tween 5 and 5:30 a.m. in the
2500 block of James Howe
Road, said Polk County
Sheriff Mark Garton. He said
the driver and lone occu-
pant of a Toyota Corolla, Je-
remy Colley, 24, drove off the
road and collided with a
tree. The car landed down a
driveway off the road.
“There’s no apparent
cause,” Garton said.
Garton said the crash
wasn’t called in until about
6:30 a.m. Colley was de-
clared dead at the scene.
Colley had been visiting
his family when the crash
happened, according to a Go
Fund Me page set up to help
pay for funeral expenses.
“Jeremy Colley had re-
cently come back from Cali-
fornia to visit his mom and
two brothers,” the fundrais-
er page said. “He was excited
he had found work there
and was feeling life his life
was coming together.”
Colley was planning to
head back to California
soon, the entry said.
Grand Ronde
residents injured
in Hwy 18 crash
OTIS — Grand Ronde res-
idents were injured and one
person died in a multi-car
crash on Highway 18 near
Otis on Sept. 19.
At about 3:45 p.m., Ore-
gon State Police troopers
and emergency responders
were dispatched to a report
of a multiple-vehicle crash
on the highway near North
Deer Drive in Lincoln Coun-
ty.
The preliminary investi-
gation revealed a dark green
1995 Eagle Talon was west-
bound on Highway 18 at
about milepost 4 when, for
unknown reasons, it drifted
into the oncoming east-
bound lane and crashed
head-on into a 2016 red
Ford Explorer, according to
OSP.
A white 1993 Subaru
Legacy, which was following
the Talon, was struck by the
Talon as it spun back into
Increased
penalties for
distracted
driving
the westbound lane. A sec-
ondary crash occurred at the
scene after a westbound Kia
Sedan struck a stopped
Chevy Cavalier a few yards
from the original crash.
The driver of the Talon
was pronounced deceased
at the scene. The identity of
the driver is withheld pend-
ing family notification. The
driver of the Ford, Robert
James, 68, and his passenger
Barbara James, 67, both resi-
dents of Grand Ronde, were
transported to a Lincoln City
area hospital with minor in-
juries.
See ACCIDENTS, Page 6A
Itemizer-Observer staff report
POLK COUNTY — If you
haven’t already, starting
Oct. 1, you have more in-
centive to put down the
phone — or tablet or lap-
top — while you are driv-
ing.
House Bill 2597, passed
by the Oregon Legislature
earlier this year, applies
stiffer penalties to those
caught driving distracted.
Prohibited device use in-
cludes texting, talking, en-
tertainment, navigation,
accessing the internet or
sending emails if it takes
more than a single touch
or swipe.
The only legal way to
complete those tasks
while holding the device
in your hand is to pull over
and park safely. Red lights
and stop signs don’t
count.
Those restrictions don’t
apply to those 18 years
old and older using a
hands-free accessory or to
people who need to use
mobile devices while driv-
ing for their job — such as
emergency workers, com-
mercial truck drivers,
school bus drivers — or
those using a two-way
radio device as part of
their work
People can use a phone
to call 911 while driving if
no one else is in the car is
capable of doing it, ac-
cording to the new law.
A first violation is con-
sidered a class B traffic vio-
lation and can come with
a presumptive fine of
$260, but could be as
much as $1,000.
A second conviction in
a 10-year period or first vi-
olation that contributes to
a crash is a class B misde-
meanor and comes with a
$435 presumptive fine
with a maximum of
$2,500.
People with a third of-
fense in 10 years can face
a six-month jail sentence
and $2,500 maximum
fine.
For more information,
see “Distracted Driving” at
www.oregon.gov/ODOT/S
afety/Pages/index.aspx.
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer file
The Falls City Fire Department hosts a National Night Out Event in August. The city and Southwestern Polk Fire have struggled on an agreement.
Fire contract set to expire
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
FALLS CITY — A contract
between Southwestern Polk
Rural Fire Protection District
and Falls City Fire Depart-
ment regarding services in
that area of the district is on
the verge of expiring without
a new agreement.
Monday, The Southwest-
ern Polk Board met in Falls
City Fire Station, but were
unable to approve a new
contract because negotia-
tions are ongoing between
the city and Southwestern
Chief Fred Hertel, who also is
the Dallas Fire & EMS chief.
A three-month extension
of the contract ends Satur-
day, and the two sides have
yet to see eye-to-eye on the
details.
Mo n d a y, He r t e l s a i d
progress had been made at
the most recent negotiation
meeting, but he hadn’t re-
ceived a response from Falls
City Mayor Terry Ungricht
about the latest proposal as
of Monday night.
“From my perspective, I
guess I would say negotia-
tions are ongoing,” Hertel
said. “I would say there was
an uptick in positivity at the
last meeting, but I think we
are still a long ways from
having a finished product.”
Southwestern Board
member Bob Davis encour-
aged him to keep working
on the agreement
“We want to get there,” he
said.
Ungricht and Fire Chief
Bob Young have said they
would like to see the current
contract extended, which
maintains the relationship
the two fire departments
have had for decades.
Under that agreement,
Southwestern Polk keeps fire
engines and equipment in
the Falls City station to re-
spond to calls on that side of
the district. Falls City volun-
teers respond to Southwest-
ern calls, and Southwestern
helps Falls City on calls
within the city limits, if
needed.
In the proposal put for-
ward by Southwestern, all
administrative ser vices
would be provided by Dal-
las, similar to an agreement
between Dallas and South-
western’s Rickreall station.
Hertel said Young would
serve as a station chief
under that arrangement.
Young said at a Falls City
City Council meeting in Au-
gust that he’s afraid the de-
partment would lose its
identity if the administrative
role is filled by someone else.
“We have a lot of pride in
our department, and the city
has a lot of pride in our de-
partment. We provide a good
service,” Young said. “If we
do have them doing the op-
erations, Falls City ceases to
exist as a fire department.”
See CONTRACT, Page 6A
Social media
Be sure to follow the
Itemizer-Observer on Twit-
ter @PolkIONews, Insta-
gram and like us on Face-
book and check www.-
polkio.com for breaking
news, photos, stories and
more.
Two cases of pertussis confirmed at Central
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Two
students at Central schools
have been confirmed with
pertussis, or whooping
cough.
The students attend Tal-
madge Middle School and
Central High School, Su-
perintendent Jennifer Ku-
bista said.
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
She nor Wendy Zieker,
from Polk County Public
Health, could not disclose
whether or not the stu-
dents were from the same
family.
Zieker said the disease is
serious and can be deadly,
especially in young infants.
Complications from the
disease include pneumo-
nia, middle ear infection,
loss of appetite, sleep dis-
wed
Come meet at the
corner of Mill and
Main streets in Dal-
las for a cash mob
and support local
businesses.
5 p.m.
Sunny
Hi: 84
Lo: 55
turbance, fainting, dehy-
dration, seizures, altered
brain function, brief peri-
ods when breathing stops,
and death.
“Before the whooping
cough vaccines were recom-
mended for all infants,
about 8,000 people in the
United States died each year
from whooping cough,” she
said. “Today, because of the
vaccine, this number has
dropped to fewer than 20
per year.”
Pertussis has never been
eradicated, Zieker said, but
vaccinations have kept the
disease at lower numbers.
In 1934, there were more
than 265,000 infections in
the United States, she said.
By 1959, that number was
down to 40,000. In 1976,
1,010 infections were
counted in the U.S. But
cases are increasing now.
Zieker said a number of
things can be contributing
to the increase of whoop-
ing cough seen over the
last 40 years: Doctors and
nurses are more aware of
whooping cough and rec-
ognize it more often; test-
ing has improved; and pro-
tection from whooping
cough vaccines is not long-
lasting.
Because of the nature of
the vaccine, and because
having the disease does not
confer lifelong immunity,
Zieker recommends every-
one get a booster, particu-
larly people who live with
or are frequent visitors to
children, such as grandpar-
ents and relatives, or those
who are child care
providers.
See COUGH, Page 6A
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
The Storyteller festi-
val begins at the
Dallas Public Library.
Okaidja Afroso will
share African music
and stories.
6 p.m. Free.
The Dallas Booster
Club will present in-
formation about the
field turf project at
the Dallas High
School gym.
5 p.m.
Stephanie Wood will
present about Na-
tive American food
and medicine at the
Polk County Mu-
seum.
1:30 p.m. Free.
The Rickreall Grange
Flea Market returns
Saturday and Sun-
day to offer treas-
ures and tasty
treats.
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Get your well water
tested at the Polk
County Extension
Office to make sure
your water is free
from danger.
Free.
Don’t let a few
clouds keep you
forming checking
out the Independ-
ence Riverview
Market.
2 to 7 p.m.
Sunny
Hi: 82
Lo: 54
Showers
Hi: 68
Lo: 50
Cloudy
Hi: 65
Lo: 49
Partly cloudy
Hi: 65
Lo: 48
Showers
Hi: 65
Lo: 45
Partly cloudy
Hi: 65
Lo: 45