UGANDAN CHOIR TOURS
BOYS SOCCER EARNS
FIRE STATION
VICTORY
Page 3A
Volume 142, Issue 41
www.Polkio.com
Page 8A
October 11, 2017
$1.00
Fatal accident claims life of Dallas man
Itemizer-Observer staff report
LINCOLN CITY — A Dal-
las man died when his car
struck a tree on Highway 101
on Saturday.
At about 1:30 a.m., Ore-
gon State Police and emer-
gency workers responded to
a single-vehicle fatal traffic
crash on Highway 101 near
milepost 111.
Preliminary investigation
indicates a 2005 Dodge Ram
pickup towing an empty
boat trailer driven by Timo-
thy Alexander Elizondo, 32,
of Dallas, was northbound
on Highway 101.
The vehicle was negotiat-
ing a curve on wet asphalt
when it crossed the oppos-
ing lane of travel and struck
a tree just beyond the south-
bound shoulder, according
to a press release from OSP.
Elizondo was pronounced
deceased at the scene. His
passenger, identified as Jef-
frey Dale Hendrickson, 36,
of Dallas, was not injured in
the crash.
Alcohol is believed to be
a contributing factor in the
crash, according to the re-
lease.
OSP was assisted by Lin-
coln County Sheriff’s Of-
fice, the Lincoln City Police
Department, North Lincoln
Fire and Rescue and the
Oregon Department of
Transportation.
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DALLAS
New owner at Starlite
Lanes brings hobby to a
new level.
PHOTO COURTESY OF OSP/ Itemizer-Observer
»Page 3A
A Dallas man died on Saturday after his car struck a tree.
FALLS CITY
Falls City football de-
feats Horizon Christian.
»Page 9A
INDEPENDENCE
Central boys soccer
remains undefeated.
»Page 10A
MONMOUTh
Monmouth council
puts off discussions.
»Page 2A
Deputy
cleared in
shooting
Itemizer-Observer staff report
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas police vehicles are parked outside in a lot near the Dallas Fire Station. The department doesn’t have secure parking for patrol cars.
City to gauge support
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — The city of Dallas has
hired a consultant to help gauge sup-
port for solutions to improve its police
and fire stations — including building
a facility to house both departments.
Campbell DeLong Resources Inc.,
the firm Southwestern Polk Rural
Fire Protection District hired to help
with its recent bond campaign, will
run focus groups on the topic. De-
pending on the outcome of the
focus groups, the firm will conduct a
telephone poll.
The city has considered consoli-
dating the departments into one
building, adding on to the current
fire station on Southeast Shelton
Street. The fire station would go
through a significant remodel, and
the police station would be new. Se-
cure parking for police vehicles is in-
cluded in that plan. The cost is esti-
mated at about $14 million, accord-
ing to a preliminary evaluation by ar-
chitectural firm Makenzie.
Another option considered is re-
modeling the fire station and mov-
ing the police station to another
building downtown, which would
also be remodeled. The cost of that
option is $14.7 million.
Police Chief Tom Simpson report-
ed to the council that his depart-
ment is stretched out over two floors
of city hall and at the city shops.
Locker rooms and interview rooms
are inadequate, and officers don’t
have secure parking for their per-
sonal vehicles or patrol cars, he said.
“We’ve had officers over the years
have their personal vehicles vandal-
ized,” he said. “We’ve had gas stolen
from our patrol cars.”
Dallas Fire & EMS Chief Fred Her-
tel said in his department, neither
the fire station nor the EMS station
has adequate sleeping facilities for
24-hour staff. The fire station lacks
sleeping rooms entirely. He said 24-
hour paid staff is the direction the
fire service industry is moving.
“As we know, the volunteer service
of today is a dwindling fact of life.
That’s across the nation,” Hertel
said. “We are in that transition time,
I think, with our coverage.”
Two full-time firefighters are working
day shifts, thanks to a grant expiring in
November 2019 and the city hired sea-
sonal firefighters during the past two
fire seasons.
“Those are reducing our response
time and giving us better coverage in
the daytime, when most of our vol-
unteers are at work,” he said.
The cost estimates for facility im-
provements are higher than city staff
anticipated, and left members of the
Dallas City Council questioning
whether voters would support a
bond at that price tag.
Martha DeLong, the director of
market research at the Portland
firm, said focus groups are designed
to provide clarity on that and other
questions. She said people in focus
groups are presented with the prob-
lem and proposed solutions to get
their reactions — and suggestions
for changing those solutions.
See RESEARCh, Page 11A
Toastmasters Club begins Tuesday
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Dallas resident
Ed Dressel knows many peo-
ple dread public speaking.
It’s something people
have to do, not something
they look forward to. Dressel
used to be one of those peo-
ple.
“I remember I got nause-
ated and physically sick in
college when I had to give a
speech,” he said.
But Dressel has also seen
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
the power that public speak-
ing can bring.
That’s why he, along with
four others, are opening a
local Toastmasters Club, be-
ginning Tuesday at 6 p.m. at
Dallas Church, 450 SE Wash-
ington St., Dallas.
—
Toastmasters is more than
100 years old. Its club mis-
sion is to provide a support-
ive and positive learning ex-
perience in which members
are empowered to develop
communication and leader-
wed
Monmouth Public
Library will host an
after-school show-
ing of the movie,
“Boss Baby,” rated
PG.
3 p.m. Free.
Showers
Hi: 57
Lo: 42
Share a toast
What: Toastmasters Club.
Where: Dallas Church, 450 SE Washington St., Dallas.
When: Tuesdays from 6 to 7 p.m.
Cost: Club dues are $50 for six months/$100 for 12
months. Visitors are welcome to attend meetings for free to
decide if the club is right for them.
For more information: Ed Dressel, 503-269-0032 or Dres-
sel@gmail.com; or Brent Smith, 503-586-8971 or Running-
Brent@gmail.com.
ship skills, resulting in
greater self-confidence and
personal growth.
What people can accom-
plish with those new skills
never ceases to amaze, Dres-
sel said.
“There was one lady who
moved to Seattle,” Dressel
said. “She went up, did a
quick speech, and cried after
she was done. She’s since
become a top salesperson
for a military company.
Toastmasters helped her de-
velop that confidence.”
Meetings will generally in-
clude a table topic, when in-
dividuals will speak on a
subject for two minutes, and
an evaluation period.
See CLUB, Page 11A
SALEM — A Marion
County grand jury unani-
mously found on Monday
that Polk County Deputy
Sheriff Martin Watson was
justified in using deadly
force in the early morning
of Sept. 30.
The incident began in
Polk County when Watson
tried to stop a 1993 Honda
for a traffic violation on
Michigan City Lane near
Wallace Road. A pursuit
followed that went
through West Salem, into
downtown Salem, and
eventually ended in a resi-
dential neighborhood
near Walker Middle School
in Northeast Salem. There,
a confrontation occurred
and Watson shot at the ve-
hicle, striking it twice, ac-
cording to a press release
from Marion County Dis-
trict Attorney’s Office.
Neither Jeremy John-
son nor Timothy George,
the two men arrested in
connection with this case,
were injured. Watson was
also uninjured.
The same grand jury
that found Watson’s ac-
tions to be justified also
returned indictments for
both Johnson and George.
Johnson, 18, was indict-
ed for first-degree attempt-
ed assault, attempted as-
sault on a public safety offi-
cer and unlawful use of a
weapon. Timothy George,
31, was indicted for two
counts of felon in posses-
sion of a firearm and one
count of possession of a
methamphetamine.
Both men are currently
lodged in the Marion Coun-
ty Jail and are scheduled to
be arraigned Wednesday
(today) at 8:30 a.m. at 4000
Aumsville Highway.
Due to the ongoing na-
ture of these criminal cases
the District Attorney’s Of-
fice will not release any fur-
ther details of the shooting
or the crimes at this time.
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Dallas chamber’s
Young Professionals
will meet at Dallas
Retirement Village
for an evening of
networking.
5:30 p.m. Free.
Unwind after a hard
week at Indy Public
Library’s monthly
adult coloring pro-
gram. Pencils and
patterns provided.
4 p.m. Free.
Don your brightest,
most light-reflective
gear and take a walk
or run to benefit
Christmas Cheer at
the Dallas Glow Run.
6:30 p.m. $20-$30.
John Doan will de-
light listeners with
the magic of his 20-
string harp guitar at
Trinity Lutheran
Church.
6:30 p.m. $10-$12.
See what’s new at
Dallas Chamber of
Commerce and net-
work with others at
the monthly lunch-
eon.
Dig out those coins
in your pocket or
hidden in your
purse and see if any
are keepers at Polk
County Coin Club.
7 p.m. Free.
Showers
Hi: 55
Lo: 43
Cloudy
Hi: 58
Lo: 39
Partly cloudy
Hi: 60
Lo: 41
Mostly sunny
Hi: 65
Lo: 43
11:30 a.m. $12-$15.
Sunny
Hi: 65
Lo: 44
Showers
Hi: 61
Lo: 43