Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2017)
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 22, 2017 Polk County News Falls City gets a direct connection By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer FALLS CITY — Thursday morning Richard Faber ut- tered a phrase that people should get used to hearing from him: “Make sure you put your seat belt on.” Faber, the driver for the new Falls City Direct Con- nect bus service, drove his first official routes on Thursday, driving from Falls City to Dallas and back again four times. The first day didn’t see a lot of riders, but that didn’t surprise the people who worked about a year on getting the free service up and running. “The longer it runs, the more people we will get,” Faber said just before clos- ing the bus doors and pulling away from Moun- tain Gospel Church, the pick-up and drop-off spot in Falls City. It has stops at the Polk County Veterans Service Office, Flaming Medical Clinic, Walmart, the Ore- gon Department of Human Services office, and the Academy Building, where Polk County Public Health and Family & Community Outreach departments are located. Trips to Dallas take off from Falls City four times a day on Tuesdays and Thurs- day, except for the second Tuesday of the month, when the route goes to Monmouth. Monmouth stops are Monmouth Public Library, Waremart, Central Commu- nity Resource Center/Health Center, Polk County Behavioral Health and the Total Community Health Clinic. Marie McCandless, Polk County Veterans Service Of- ficer, said she’s thrilled to have her office in Dallas be a stop on the route. “I think it’s huge. Getting vets to the office is one of the biggest hiccups we JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer Richard Faber drives the Falls City Direct Connect bus, a service that connects Falls City to multiple key locations in Dallas and Monmouth. have, letting them know we are here and getting them here,” she said. “We don’t al- ways have two people to go and do a home visit.” Falls City Direct Con- nect’s free service is paid with a grant from Willamette Valley Commu- nity Health, the local coor- dinated care organization for Polk and Marion coun- ties. A group of county and Falls City representatives began meeting about a year ago to talk about the lack of transpor tation options available to Falls City resi- dents. With only 950 residents, it was a stretch for most traditional public trans- portation systems to offer service in the community, said Brent DeMoe, the Family & Community Out- reach director. People on what became known at the Falls City Transportation Committee had to think outside the box. The group consisted of Polk County department leaders, service organiza- tion leaders, Salem Health representatives, former Falls City Mayor Terry Un- gricht, Lynn Bailey with the Falls City School District, and residents Donna Creekmore and Teresa Vod- den. Polk County Commis- sioner Craig Pope, who serves on the WVCH board, also assisted the effort. “I was told by a commu- nity leader that transporta- tion was broken, and it could never be fixed in Polk County,” said Mona K- Hinds, the Polk County principal youth advisor with Community Services Consortium and one of the original committee mem- bers. “Those are like fight- ing words.” See CONNECT, Page 3A JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer Falls City Direct Connect is a free service paid with a grant.