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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2017)
CHECK OUT REAL ESTATE CENTRAL BOYS SOCCER Polk Properties HOSTS MARIST Section C Page 14A Volume 142, Issue 44 www.Polkio.com November 1, 2017 $1.00 Investigation ongoing for shooting Itemizer-observer staff report GRAND RONDE — Three Polk County Sheriff’s De- partment officers are on leave and one suspect is dead after an officer-in- volved shooting in the early hours of Saturday morning. Oregon State Police is in- vestigating the incident, which occurred on Highway 18 near milepost 23 in Grand Ronde, with help from the Polk County Major Crimes Team. Baltazar Escaloma-Berez, 17, of Silverton, was killed after an alleged carjacking and leading deputies on a pursuit that started in Salem. According to OSP, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office was notified of an armed carjacking and robbery that happened at about 4 a.m. on Saturday in the Safeway parking lot at the corner of Silverton Road and Lancast- er Drive Northeast. A black 2015 Toyota Corolla was reported “car- jacked” at that location, and the suspect, Escaloma- Berez, was reported to have possessed a weapon, ac- cording to reports from OSP. Polk County Sgt. Kevin Haynes, Deputy Kelly Lorence, and Deputy Mike Stevenson located the vehi- cle and a pursuit ensued, ending on Highway 18 near milepost 23. As deputies attempted to take Escaloma-Berez into custody, shots were fired. He died at the scene, ac- cording to OSP. Investigators recovered a weapon from the shooting scene, according to OSP. District Attorney Aaron Fel- ton declined to comment on the type of weapon be- cause of the ongoing inves- tigation. The highway was closed for six to seven hours Satur- day morning, reopening at about 12:45 p.m. The three officers are on administrative leave while the case is investigated by OSP. The case will be re- viewed by a grand jury when the investigation is done, Felton said, which should be in three to four weeks. OSP was assisted by the Polk County District Attor- ney’s Office, Polk County Medical Examiner, Yamhill County Sheriff's Office, In- dependence Police Depart- ment, Keizer Police Depart- ment and the Oregon De- partment of Transportation. This is the third officer-in- volved shooting Polk County has had since July 2016. IN YOUR TOWN DaLLaS Dallas Downtown As- sociation puts on mur- der mystery. »Page 9a FaLLS CItY City water bills will increase by $1.75 monthly. Dallas Dragons make final eight »Page 13a a pair of Dallas players go up for a block against Crater on oct. 24. Dallas’ volleyball team defeated Crater 25-20, 25-17, 21- 25, 25-22 in the state play-in round. Maggie Blair recorded 12 kills. tristin Savage added 11 kills and eight blocks and emma Classen recorded 31 assists for the Dragons. Dallas defeated Marist Catholic in the first round of the 5a state playoffs to advance to the quarterfi- nals for the first time since 1990, according to coach Shana Lavier. the Dragons play Bend Friday at 3:15 p.m. at Lib- erty High School in Hills- boro. For more information, see page 14a. ANDY ATKINsON/Mail Tribune Online NW to host Dallas Makeathon By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS —Transformative. That’s the word AJ Fos- coli used to describe his ex- perience at one of Innovate Oregon’s all-day make-a- thon sessions. Foscoli, the city of Dal- las’ economic development director, attended one of the events held in Yamhill County when he worked for Strategic Economic De- velopment Corporation, a regional organization serv- ing throughout the Mid- Willamette Valley. Innovate Oregon teams with McMinnville-based internet service provider OnlineNW, Colorado-based technology “electronics lit- eracy” company SparkFun, and a local community to design a day of computer coding and problem-solv- ing. Instructors teach partici- pants how to code in the morning. Then, in the afternoon, instructors ask them to form groups of all ages, from children to retirees, to use their new techni- cal skill to build some- thing that solves a real- THE NEXT 7 DAYS PLANNING FOR YOUR WEEK world problem. No weeks of courses — just a matter of hours — to go from learning to solving. Foscoli was on one of those teams in previous In- novate event working with students. “It’s hard to describe un- less you live it,” he said. “You think from the out- side, you think that there’s no way that can happen, and yet it did. I’ve seen it multiple times. It wasn’t just the one time. It wasn’t a lightning strike. It was replicable.” This Saturday, Dallas is getting in on the educa- tional fun with the Dallas Make-a-thon, at LaCreole Middle School. LaCreole Principal Jamie Richardson said he knew of the work Innovate Oregon has done in other commu- nities. “We knew we wanted it, but didn’t know how to ask for it,” he said. Innovate Oregon’s co- founder Thompson Morri- son, also a representative of OnlineNW, said the organi- zation began five years ago, an initiative of Technology Association of Oregon. See Innovate, Page 7a wed sit in on discussions about the New Tes- tament, the first of a new series of lec- tures at st. Thomas episcopal Church. 7-8 p.m. Free. Showers Hi: 58 Lo: 45 Fire displaces two House suffers heavy damage, cause unknown By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office and Polk County Sheriff’s Office are still investigating the cause of a house fire on Rueben Boise Road on Oct. 24. The fire left two people displaced and the home with heavy smoke and fire damage. April Welsh, Dallas Fire & EMS community service offi- cer, said Monday that the two agencies were still in search of a cause. She said it’s standard procedure to turn the investi- gation over to the fire marshal and local police agency if a cause isn’t apparent to fire- fighters on the scene. See FIre, Page 5a InDePenDenCe Timeless Antiques and More offers cool treasures at affordable prices. »Page 2a MonMoUtH Western Oregon’s women’s soccer team earns a 2-1 victory over simon Fraser. »Page 15a SPortS Falls City’s football team hosts echo in the first round of the 1A state playoffs. »Page 14a Dallas wrestlers sell poinsettias Itemizer-observer staff report DAllAs — The Dallas high school wrestling pro- gram is taking orders for its annual poinsettia fundraiser. poinsettias come in sizes 6.5-inch for $15 and 8.5-inch for $20. small sizes come in red, white, pink and jingle (variegat- ed colors). large poinsettias come in red, white, pink and burgundy. Orders are taken until Nov. 19, and will be deliv- ered starting on Dec. 5. Call Kerri to place your order, 503-779-8485. Extension Service to hire director AprIl Welsh/ for the Itemizer-Observer a house fire on rueben Boise road on oct. 24 left the home with heavy smoke and fire damage, and two residents displaced. thu “Democracy from the Inside Out” will be at Dallas library, by the Oregon hu- manities Conserva- tion project. 7 p.m. Free. Showers Hi: 53 Lo: 40 fri sat sun pick up your instru- ment or get ready to listen to fun music at Guthrie park’s acoustic music jam session. 6:30-10 p.m. Free. The rickreall Grange Flea Market has many vendors, fresh- baked goods, and the kitchen serves breakfast and lunch. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Don’t forget to turn those clocks back by one hour, or you may be early to church or brunch. Rain Hi: 50 Lo: 36 Showers Hi: 48 Lo: 37 Showers Hi: 48 Lo: 33 pOlK COUNTY — Ore- gon state University ex- tension service posted the job announcement for the West Central regional Di- rector. The West Central re- gion includes polk, Ben- ton, lane, linn Marion and Yamhill counties. The job announcement closes on Nov. 17. For more information: http://jobs.oregonstate.ed u/postings/51076. The posting number is: p0168UF. mon Willamette Valley New horizons Or- chestra gives musi- cians of all levels a chance to play to- gether. 6:30 p.m. $25/mo. Partly sunny Hi: 50 Lo: 36 tue Veterans of Foreign Wars post 3203 meets the first Tues- day of each month. Come find out what this group does. 7:30 p.m. Free. Partly cloudy Hi: 52 Lo: 38