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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