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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 2017)
Polk County Voices Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 4, 2017 4a EDITORIALS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Newspapers keep you out of the dark What a somber start to the month, with multiple deaths in Polk County from car accidents, as reported in last week’s paper, to a mass shooting in Las Vegas that affects us all as we mourn with victims and their loved ones, to com- munities still recovering from massive hurricanes. This week marks National Newspaper Week. These tragedies are a reminder of the role that newspapers play in our community, and in other communities at large. With the use of Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat, Facebook and Reddit, the wrong news can surface quickly. As the events from Las Vegas unfolded, someone tweeted there were multiple shooters. Stories with incorrect information about the shooter spread quickly on social media. Numerous rumors were spread as if they were news without accountability that comes from being a professional member of the press. Local newspapers, with a staff of local reporters and sales representatives, know they will be held accountable by their readers and advertisers every day. We live, work and play in our community. We will see you in the grocery store — and we are confident you will tell us when we get it wrong. This local accountability helps us focus on getting it right before getting it first. But it does require some patience and investment from you, our readers. We don’t know every answer, but we know who to call to get it. We don’t sit and monitor the scanner all day, but we are happy to follow up. And you can bet we won’t be spreading fake news about breaking stories. 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, OCT. 4 • Monmouth Historic Commission — 6 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 Warren St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • 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 Coun- ty Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. MOnDay, OCT. 9 • Dallas School Board — 6:30 p.m., Dallas School District of- fice, 111 SW Ash St., Dallas. 503-623-5594. TuESDay, OCT. 10 • Independence City Council — 6:30 p.m., Independence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212. • Polk County Board of Commission work session — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, BOC office, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503- 623-8173. • WIMPEG Board of Directors — Noon, Volunteer Hall, 144 Warren St. S., Monmouth. WEDnESDay, OCT. 11 • Independence Heritage Museum Commission — 4 p.m., Independence Heritage Museum, 112 S. Third St., Independ- ence. 503-838-1212. • Monmouth Library advisory Board — 7 a.m., Monmouth Public Library, 168 Ecols St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Monmouth Parks and Recreation Board — 7 p.m., Volun- teer Hall, 144 Warren St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk Coun- ty Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. Trump continues to mess things up The weeks go by and the circus at the White House continues. We have a major disaster hit Puerto Rico and our president sends out 24 tweets on the NFL before making one comment about it. I was glad to see on the news that he knows Puerto Rico is an island “in the ocean.” It’s nice to know the acting Homeland Secu- rity Secretary can state Puerto Rico is a “good news story.” I don’t see being homeless, without food or drinking water or electricity “good news.” He continues to torment the leader of North Korea by calling him “Little Rocket- man” and we will destroy North Korea even though Putin says Trump should stop the insults. And we have this going on while four (five until Price was asked to resign) cabinet members who feel they are entitled to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on private jets and $24,000-plus on a private phone booth. Price did offer to pay back $51,000, even though he spent approxi- mately $400,000. Another big-hearted gesture. It’s like Trump accepting money being raised by the Republi- can Party to pay for his and Donald Jr.’s attorney bills. I wonder why Trump wants to repeal everything President Obama did. Instead of repealing health care, fix what may be broken. Why is Betsy DeVos revoking another Obama act — the College Guidelines for Sexual Assaults? We’ve become one of four countries that are out of the French Global Warm- ing project. Does our presi- dent knows more than mil- lions of scientist? And Trump will be “big- hearted” when he repeals DACA and deports thou- sands of young people. The circus continues. Clifford E. Brown Dallas Rally with others against injustice In the wake of the death of a young woman and seri- ous injury to many others at the hands of armed neo- nazis and white suprema- cists in Charlottesville, Va., members of our own com- munity have been gathering in front of the Polk County Courthouse every Saturday to affirm our commitment to peace and justice in the U.S. These rallies are every Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. Whether your concerns are about threats to social justice and rule of law, the environment and climate change, affordable health care for all, the disparate treatment of people based on their race, place of ori- gin, sexual identity or orien- tation, the privatization and dumbing down of educa- tion, or the saber rattling that may move us inexplica- bly into yet another war — come and share your con- cerns. We believe the role of government is to promote the common good, yet it too often fails us — on almost every front. For better or worse, we are part of a larger world. Acts of courage and love, cowardice and cruelty are as close as the cellphones in our pockets. Sometimes it seems overwhelming. Pub- lic protest is a time-honored way for ordinary people to express their thoughts and values and make them heard. If you are feeling the limitations of Facebook and Twitter, these weekly protests are a positive way to connect and be heard. The Veterans of Foreign War, Post 3203, is proud to be part of a community such as ours in helping vet- eran’s in need. When we help a veteran in need, it’s really you helping the veter- an through your donations. Dennis Pratt Dallas VFW Post 3203 Commander Councilors held to higher standard It is a sad day indeed when elected officials vote to lower the standards for civil discourse and behav- ior. On duty or off, those called and elected to serve are always called to a high- er standard, not a lower one. I cannot begin to ex- press my disappointment in the Dallas City Council’s recent vote to lower the decorum standards. Is this really the type of leadership you want to model for the children and young people of our city? Rev. Elizabeth Morse Dallas Dawn Reynolds Dallas Write Congress to up health spending You help VFW help other veterans On Sept. 12, I had the great honor and privilege of going to our Nation’s Capital with 700 other cancer advo- cates from all over our country. We sat down with our representatives and sen- ators and shared our cancer stories, challenging mem- bers of Congress to change millions of lives by increas- ing funding for cancer re- search. Our voices were strong and we felt heard. My need to do something to find a cure for cancer came about after having suffered the loss of a dear friend in July, because there weren’t any life-saving op- tions available to her, my need to feel like I can do something about Cancer is I would like to thank the generous people of Polk County who donated during our special Veterans of For- eign Wars Poppy Drive on Sept. 10 and 11. We were able to raise $900 to help displaced veterans in hurri- cane ravaged areas in our country. This money will be com- bined with other money raised across the state of Oregon and then it will be sent to our National office and it will be matched dol- lar for dollar. One hundred percent of the money will go directly to veterans in those areas. strong. That’s why I am an American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network vol- unteer and proud to partici- pate in this year’s Leader- ship Summit and Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. It has given me an opportuni- ty to fight back against this horrible disease, and I am very grateful. If you have lost someone you love to cancer or are a cancer sur- vivor or care about saving lives from cancer, please take the time to urge your member in Congress to in- crease the budget for the National Institutes of Health by $2 billion this year. To find out more about how you can impact the cancer fight, go to acscan.org. Kay Graven Dallas Remember root cause of kneeling Taking a knee has turned into quite a kerfuffle. As usual the GOP is screaming, “Look over there at that guy on his knee. How terrible.” Meanwhile, Puerto Rico is in shambles and the lunatic Right Wing is working on a tax plan that will hand more of America’s wealth to the super-rich. Our supposed leader is in a tweet war with the Na- tional Football League and members of the National Basketball Association. Who’s minding the store? If I could go to the U.S. Capital and prevent one po- lice officer from shooting one more unarmed black citizen by “Taking a Knee” on the Capitol steps, I’d go there in a heartbeat. After all, that is the point long since lost in this argu- ment. Being black in Ameri- ca should not be a capital offense. Fred Brown 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 disagree with other published letter writ- ers should maintain a civil dis- course 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. HOW TO REACH US Vol. 142, No. 40 (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 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 Karyn Pressel .................................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com The Polk County Itemizer-Observer assumes no financial responsibility for errors in advertise- Web: www.polkio.com ments. It will, however, reprint without charge for the portion of an advertisement which is in error if the Itemizer-Observer is at fault. Phone: 503-623-2373 Fax: 503-623-2395
