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
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—
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
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