Polk County
Voices
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 11, 2017 4A
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
EDITORIALS
Crowdsourcing is
‘buyer beware’
Postal carrier
thanks community
It’s sad, but true. When tragedy strikes, someone is ready
to take your money in the guise of a good cause. This is
true for large events — recent mass shootings and hurri-
canes — and for ones that hit closer to home.
In the last three weeks, Polk County has lost many to car
crashes. A GoFundMe account was set up for one in late
September to pay for “funeral expenses.” A week later, the
father of the deceased told us he had already covered the
costs of the funeral and posed the question: Who is raising
this money, and what is it really for?
A more recent tragedy has two GoFundMe accounts
claiming to raise money for the same thing.
The market is ripe for scammers in the world of crowd-
sourcing.
Ellen Klem, director of consumer outreach and educa-
tion for the Office of the Attorney General, says that when
it comes to crowdsourcing, it really is buyer beware.
“My best piece of advice is do your research — as much
research as possible,” she said.
Remember that any promises made on one of these sites
are not contracts. What the person does with the money is
up to them, with no requirements to report to donors.
Read the terms and conditions of the site you donate to
before you pledge money.
For GoFundMe, users can withdraw money at any time
without affecting the appearance of reaching the goal. If
you wouldn’t hand over that much cash to someone, re-
consider using crowdsourcing.
If practical, consider donating to an established, regis-
tered organization or nonprofit. If it’s funeral expenses that
are being requested, call the funeral home and donate di-
rectly to it.
Klem says that, while crowdsourcing is not well regulat-
ed, there are laws in place for outright fraud. If you suspect
a fraud, report it to the Attorney General’s office at ore-
gonconsumer.gov.
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. 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.
THURSDAY, OCT. 12
• Monmouth Tree Advisory Board — 7 p.m., Monmouth
Senior Center, 180 Warren St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Polk County Fire District No. 1 Board — 6 p.m., Central
Station 90, 1800 Monmouth St., Independence. 503-838-1510.
• Western Days Commission — 7 p.m., Independence Civic
Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212.
• Falls City City Council — 6 p.m., Falls City Community Cen-
ter, 320 N. Main St., Falls City. 503-787- 3631.
MONDAY, OCT. 16
• Independence Tourism and Events Commission — 6:30
p.m., Independence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence.
503-838-1212.
• Dallas City Council — 7 p.m., Dallas City Hall, 187 SE Court
St., Dallas. 503-831-3502.
TUESDAY, OCT. 17
• Independence Historic Preservation Commission — 4
p.m., Independence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence.
503-838-1212.
• Monmouth City Council — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 War-
ren 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, OCT. 18
• 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.
Thank you, Dallas. I have
had the pleasure of being
part of the community for
the last 35 years. On Oct. 1, I
had to retire from the Dallas
Post Office. I wasn’t quite
ready to retire, but after
knee surgery I decided it
was time to leave. From de-
livering the downtown in
my early years to my driving
route on the east side of
town, I have gotten to know
many good people whom I
will never forget. A big
“thank you” for letting me
be a part of your lives as
you were all a part of mine.
Dale R. Campbell
Independence
Reader fed up with
franchise fees
It seems the city of Dallas
is trying to run people out
of Dallas with increasing
fees, licenses, water, etc. Ex-
cept for the three council
members who should be
praised for voting no.
Ferrell True
Dallas
Historical society
grateful for grant
Polk County Historical
Society extends its gratitude
to the Dallas Community
Foundation for awarding a
grant to us this past year.
PCHS is continually acquir-
ing documents that chroni-
cle events of the local area.
To properly store and or-
ganize these materials for
the use of researchers and
posterity, the PCHS archivist
needs to periodically pur-
chase additional acid-free
storage sleeves and contain-
ers. This DCF grant allowed
for the purchase of addi-
tional, and much needed,
archival storage materials.
The Polk County Histori-
cal Society does not receive
WANT TO WRITE A LETTER?
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deadline.
For the full letters to the editor policy, see polkio.com.
financial support from any
government agency, and we
depend on our member
dues, donations and grants
to continue our operations,
which include the museum
at Rickreall and the Histori-
cal Brunk House.
Once again, Polk County
Historical Society would like
to thank the Dallas Com-
munity Foundation in help-
ing us preserve the past for
future generations.
David Moellenberndt
Dallas
President, Polk County
Historical Society
Dallas resident
demands answers
Fellow Dallas citizens, I
have a concern that I would
like to share.
I went down to the Dallas
City Hall and talked to the
director of public works. I
asked a simple question:
What’s the percentage our
waste water treatment plant
is running at. Several years
ago, I heard we were run-
ning at 80 to 85 percent ca-
pacity. He stated he did not
have this information, and
he would have to contact
C2HM Hill, the company
that runs the treatment
plant, for the numbers. I
asked, does the city not
have a yearly report on how
the plant was operating? He
stated he did not know.
I did not hear back within
the period of time that the di-
rector stated he would call me.
I called back many times
and even left my email ad-
dress asking for the infor-
mation.
The city has approved
construction of up to 400
homes on the property at
the corner of James Howe
and Ellendale roads. The
city has also approved the
construction of up to 400
homes in the area where the
Dallas drive-in used to be.
First the city reminds us
to be careful with our clean
water because the reservoir
that we get our clean water
from cannot be enlarged.
So the city turns around
and allows up to 800 new
homes that will use that
much more clean water.
We all know that every
house in the city has to
flush wastewater to the sys-
tem, why will the city not
supply a citizen the public
information when request-
ed? Just how close are we to
capacity at the treatment
plant? I would like to know,
and so should you.
Larry Indra
Dallas
THE DOCTOR IS IN
Did you know that Ore-
gon is ranked second high-
est in the country for breast
cancer rates?
Nationally, an average of
one out of eight women will
develop invasive breast can-
cer, but Oregonian women’s
risk is slightly higher.
The word “cancer” can be
scary, but the good news is
that finding breast cancer
early greatly improves your
chances for survival.
Whether deciding when
to get tested or facing a diag-
nosis, a little information
can help make the recom-
mendations, choices and
varying guidelines easier to
navigate.
For women in the U.S.,
breast cancer death rates are
higher than those for any
other cancer besides lung
cancer.
While most patients are
female, it’s important to re-
member that we do see men
with breast cancer as well.
A man’s lifetime risk of de-
veloping a breast cancer is
about one in 1,000.
There are several types of
imaging available, which in-
clude digital mammogra-
phy, digital breast tomosyn-
thesis (commonly known as
3-D mammography), mag-
netic resonance imaging
and ultrasound.
About the authors
Pam Short and Diana
Hostetler are mammogra-
phers at West Valley Hospital
with more than 35 years of
collective experience.
They look forward to serv-
ing you.
Mammography is the
standard imaging examina-
tion for breast cancer detec-
tion, reducing breast cancer
mortality by approximately
49 percent in women who
are screened.
A yearly mammogram im-
proves your chances of sur-
vival.
Though you may have no
outward signs of breast can-
cer, mammography can find
tumors that are so small, it
would be unlikely they
would be found during a
self-examination.
Finding breast cancer
early reduces its chance to
become invasive or get into
the lymph system.
Did you know that 75 per-
cent of women who receive
a breast cancer diagnosis
have no factors that place
them at risk of breast can-
cer?
Additionally, less than 15
percent of women who get
breast cancer have a family
member diagnosed with it,
but the risk nearly doubles
if she has a first-degree rela-
tive (parent, sibling or
child) who has had the di-
agnosis.
West Valley Hospital fol-
lows the suggested screen-
ing guidelines of both the
American Cancer Society
and the American College of
Radiology. These recom-
mendations are:
• All women ages 40 to 74
should have an annual
mammogram.
• Women age 75 or older
should continue screening
with mammography for as
long as they are in good
health and expected to live
an additional 10 years or
longer.
• Women at higher than
average risk should have an-
nual screening of mammog-
raphy by age 30, but not be-
fore age 25.
With your care and com-
fort in mind, West Valley
Hospital’s Breast Health
Center sets 30-minute ap-
pointments for yearly mam-
mograms.
Some patients might find
the exam a little embarrass-
ing or uncomfortable, but
having 30 minutes gives us
time for the individual at-
tention you deserve.
We know that you will be
back each year for your an-
nual screening, and we want
to get to know you on a per-
sonal level.
West Valley Hospital im-
aging also offers bone densi-
ty dual-energy X-ray absorp-
tiometry, X-rays, magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI),
computerized tomography
(CT) scans and ultrasounds.
In closing, we hope that
you’ll be back each year for
your screening.
Remember not to count
yearly mammograms out
just because you’re over a
certain age.
Two ladies at age 97
walked to their appointment
because they gave up driv-
ing — it’s that important.
Increased awareness and
information is your key in
determining what your best
breast care choice should
be.
Here’s to your health.
HOW TO REACH US
Vol. 142, No. 41
(USPS) - 437-380)
The official newspaper of Polk County • Serving Polk County families since 1875
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from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
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