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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 2017)
Polk County News 10A Polk County itemizer-observer • November 29, 2017 Take one more go at the garden before winter We’re well into the holi- days, daylight is in short supply and rain comes down day after day, but if you can get out in the gar- den or at least the garage, you’ll be happier come spring. A perennial question is whether to cut down plants now or in spring. The an- swer is not clear cut, said Jeff Choate, a horticulturist with Oregon State University Ex- tension Service. When it comes to vegetable gardens, everything should come out. Annuals, too, can be uproot- ed. With perennials, it de- pends. “With vegetable gardens, removing spent plants is es- sential because of the risk of disease; soilborne diseases can remain viable for years,” he said. “For herbaceous perennials, it’s more of a choice. Some people like to tidy up the garden; others leave it until spring.” You’ll recognize some perennials that are good choices to clean up now be- cause they die to the ground anyway. Clear up the debris and throw it into the com- post pile or yard debris bin. Avoid the compost pile for plants plagued by disease. There are perennials — like ornamental grasses, coneflower, Joe-Pye weed, sedum and black-eyed Susan — that provide birds with seeds in winter and are good candidates to leave standing. Choate noted that it’s also a good idea to de- sign your garden with shrubs and trees that pro- duce berries, which will help out the birds, as well. To spread leaves around the garden or rake them up is another oft-asked ques- tion. Yes, place them on veg- etable beds, where they’ll protect the soil from com- paction from the rain, sup- Amundson Emmet Dayton Amundson was born at 4:01 a.m. on Oct. 11 to Eric and April Amundson, of Los Alamos, N.M., in Los Alamos. He weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces, and was 21 inches long. Grandparents are Craig and Deb Amundson, of De Pere, Wis., Lynn Amundson, of Pulaski, Wis., and John and Cheryl Barton, of Dallas. Great-grandmother is Ruby Ahasay, of De Pere. K YM P OKORNY Your Garden press weeds, increase soil fertility and help open up soil structure to keep it draining well. Spreading leaves around shrubs is also a good idea. But once again, perennials beg the question. Those rascally slugs love to lay their eggs under garden debris, but that can be miti- gated with a low-toxicity slug bait. “It’s a tough one, I admit,” he said. “There’s a good side and a bad side. The good side is that the leaves break down and feed the worms and other beneficial organ- isms. The bad side is slugs. But the benefits of leaving leaves down around orna- mentals outweighs the dis- advantages.” It is a good idea, though, to keep leaves — and bark, for that matter — away from slug favorites like hostas. If you act quickly, it’s still an OK time to add lime to vegetable beds and lawns. Choate recommends buying a simple pH test kit at the garden center or home im- provement store. For the vegetable garden, if it reads below 6, apply lime at a rate of 5 pounds of lime per 100- square feet. One chore you can take off your plate is pruning. Choate recommends wait- ing until the latter part of February to prune shrubs and trees. Be sure to know what your plants’ needs are, he noted. Spring-blooming plants like rhododendrons, azaleas, lilacs, and forsythia shouldn’t be trimmed until after they bloom. COMMUNITY CALENDAR FLiCkR Ornamental grasses offer winter seeds for birds and are best left up for the season. One more thing before moving into the relative warmth of the garage: Gath- er fruit hanging in trees or rotting on the ground and get it out of there in order to minimize diseases and pests such as apple scab and cod- dling moth next year. Onward to the garage where tools and lawn mow- ers await your attention. Choate advises cleaning your tools as you go. He keeps WD-40 and a rag in his garden bucket to use as needed. But if you don’t get to it every time, be sure to clean them now so they don’t sit dirty and rusting during winter. Wash and dry them off, sharpen, oil any moving parts and rub linseed oil on wooden handles to keep them from drying out and cracking. Smooth edged tools can be sharpened at home, but other types — think pruning saws, chain saws and the like — should be taken to a professional to avoid dam- age to the tool or injury to yourself. Lawn mowers need atten- tion now, too. The single most important task is to empty them of gas. Turn on the motor and let it warm up for 30 seconds, then shut it off and siphon the gas. Restart the engine and run until it quits. “The No. 1 issue for small gas engines is bad gas,” Choate said. “That stems from the fact that gas has 10 percent ethanol, which will absorb water from the at- mosphere. Having water in your lawn mower is not a good thing.” Also, take the time to change the oil, spark plugs and air filter. When replac- ing the spark plugs, make sure you’re using the right one. Your owner’s manual (sometimes you can find it online if you don’t have the paper version) should indi- cate the correct one. Make sure the gaps are correct by using an inexpensive gap tool. Now all you have to do is wait for spring. MI TOWN One week and a day past Thanksgiving, and it’s al- most time to turn the calen- dar to the brand new month of December. Christmas ad- vertising has been a reality for several days now, and the music of the season is al- ready flooding the airwaves. Food pantries and donation sites need whatever you can share with others to help brighten the Christmas sea- son for families in the area. — Bring your family, friends and appetites to the Mon- mouth Senior Center this Saturday for the monthly community breakfast, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. It’s a great way to begin the season. — Continuing my medical journey, the radiologist called to confirm that I do have breast cancer. Pretty P ATTY T AYLOR D UTCHER Columnist much was a foregone con- clusion, I told her, but still kind of scary to get the de- finitive word. She is a very bright and gentle soul and gave me the phone number of a breast cancer surgeon, and suggested I call as soon as possible. — I did contact the cancer surgeon’s office to schedule an appointment and they were able to schedule me for the same day due to a can- cellation. As we walked in the office door, the Nurse Navi- gator for the cancer program was there to say hello and give me a lot of printed infor- mation about support pro- grams available for patients and their spouses and fami- lies. It was such a welcoming and thoughtful gesture. — My exam was brief, and I met with the cancer surgeon for a good, long and inform- ative appointment where he explained ultrasound and lab tests, the options for treatment and the proce- dures to follow. My head was swimming with so much in- formation, and between the two of us, we were able to remember the conversation and take additional notes. — I called Beverly as soon as we got home. In the course of her nurse practitioner studies, she had recently written a paper about breast cancer treatment and out- comes, so had a lot of things to talk about. Geoff called me in the evening to give me his thoughts and treatment options as well. What a re- lief to get even more infor- mation. The bottom line here is that both kids and Don have reiterated that it is my decision and my deci- sion alone regarding what treatment options to follow. — After several days of delib- erating, I decided to have the lumpectomy surgery, with six weeks of radiation to follow. It’s the best choice for me, I believe, and will be much less invasive than the mastecto- my. Since the cancer is very small at this time, I’m re- lieved we caught it very early. I’m grateful for great medical care and very knowledgeable medical professionals. PEDEE NEWS It seems Thanksgiving is pretty quiet in Pedee. Pam Burbank went to Albany to eat an early Thanksgiving dinner with her sister and brother-in-law Kathy and Scott McKinley and mother Elsie Jones, who now lives in Albany. She then ate a later Thanksgiving dinner with neighbors Tale and April Makalea. She has two clients now, but they worked and visited family. — Norm and Donna Bald- win’s son and family, Dan, his wife Jael and daughters Molly and Ginger came from Lebanon to spend the week- end. They all ate dinner on Thursday, then on Black Fri- day, Norm and Dan stayed home while the women hit BIRTHS A RLENE K OVASH Columnist the stores for some great bargains. The only other vis- itors on their mountaintop home were the deer, rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels. — Fred and Cindy Clark went with Fred’s sister and brother-in-law, Carol and Stu Hemphill, of Wren, to Portland to enjoy their an- nual visit with Stu and Carol’s son Nate and his wife Jennifer and son Jaspar. Typ- ical Thanksgiving, but fun to catch up with everyone. — We had two Thanksgiving meals, too. We went to daughter Lorraine and Doug’s house in Salem for brunch and games, then came back in time to eat with Judy Guida and her family, Joe and his daughter Jackie Trussel and friend Robbie Wiggins, and Dave and Suzanne Burbank. Rob- bie and Jackie are both in the nursing profession at OHSU in Portland. — It all doesn’t seem terribly newsworthy, but there’s something really special about getting together at Thanksgiving — the whole country eating turkey, green bean casserole, and pump- kin pie together with our fa- vorite and not-so-favorite relatives and friends, and without the Christmas pres- sure. — Speaking of Christmas, Pedee Church is preparing for this special time. They had a decorating party last Saturday, then on Dec. 12, acoustical guitarist Ron Diller will be here for a Christmas concert. The Christmas Eve can- dlelight service will include the children’s program at 7 p.m. on Dec. 24, and on Dec. 31, they are having a progressive dinner party with a New Year’s Eve wor- ship service afterward. — Must say, a highlight of my AAW convention in Minneapolis last week was a tour of the Spam muse- um in Austin, M.N. It gave me a renewed ap- preciation of Spam. Continued from page 9A — WEDNESDAY, DEC. 6 (CONTINUED) • Yarning for Others — 3 to 5 p.m., St. Thomas episcopal Church, 1486 SW Levens St., Dallas. knitters and crocheters gather to make clothing and accessories for those in need on the first Wednesday of every month. 503-689-7222. • Pickleball — 9 a.m. to noon, Roger Jordan Community Park. Meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. karen Freeman, 503-871-4172. • Brew and BS: The New Testament — 7 p.m., St. Thomas episcopal Church, 1486 SW Levens St., Dallas. A lecture series on New Testament figures. Bring brew of choice – coffee, tea, chai, beer, wine, cider. 435-503-4304. Santa Continued from Page 8A This year, the Dan Can- non Art Gallery will be open during the tree lighting cel- ebrations, and the Historic Gentle House will host its annual Wine, Warmth and Music after the tree is lit. FALLS CITY Falls City’s annual tree lighting and kickoff to the Christmas season is Satur- day. The festivities take place at Mountain Gospel Fel- lowship, 257 N. Main St. where people can gather for hot chocolate and snacks. The tree lighting is at 6 p.m. INDEPENDENCE In spite of a hiccup earli- er this year, Santa Claus will, once again, arrive in Inde- pendence at the cinema via train, thanks to efforts led by Traci Cathcart and Port- land & Western. “Cynthia ( Jaramillo) started such an amazing event,” Cathcart said. “After I found out that we got the train, I asked Kim Hanson if she would want to help, and if she would partake in get- ting this event back for the community, and have Cyn- thia’s legacy live on. We wanted it to live on for those children.” Zach Van Patten stepped up to be Santa’s engineer, delivering him in a lighted train at 1 p.m., ready to hear the wishes of all the good boys and girls. Photos with Santa will be available for pickup at the Independence Public Li- brary starting on Dec. 8. The Monmouth-Inde- pendence YMCA will host a booth at the cinema where children may write letters to Santa. The city of Independ- ence has acquired a mail- box specifically for these letters, which will find their way directly to the North Pole. The mailbox will debut at the Santa Train, move to the Independence library, the Independence Elks Lodge and finally Riverview Park. The Grove will again walk around with hot chocolate dispensers. Independence Cinema will hand out pop- corn. Portland & Western will present information and goodie bags related to railroad safety, and a DJ will play Christmas carols. “We’re excited that this is a free event for kids,” Cath- cart said. “That’s what this is about, having the experi- ence of seeing Santa.” For various reasons, Toys for Tots was unable to pro- vide toys for the event. Or- ganizers will accept dona- tions of small gifts and candy through Friday at 5 p.m. at the Elks lodge, Young Realty, Chase Bar & Grill, the Arena Sports Bar & Grill, the Monmouth-Inde- pendence Chamber of Commerce, and the Mon- mouth-Independence YMCA office. Efforts to reinvigorate Santa Train took more than one person, Cathcart said. “Me and Kim (Hanson) just got the ball rolling,” she said. In fact, a large group of people were involved from beginning to end in organ- izing both Santa Train and the 15th annual Parade of Lights, which will have a new route this year. Last year’s route caused some concerns about safe- ty, said Teri Gregson, chair of the Parade of Lights com- mittee. This year, the parade will begin and end in Riverview Park. It will follow the newly finished Osprey Lane, up D Street to Second, left on B Street and down Main, back on Osprey Lane to complete the loop. After the parade, head to the Independence Elks Lodge for the reception party. The bar area will be open to all ages to mingle with Santa, have cookies and cocoa, and wish each other a very merry Christ- mas. McFarland finalist for superintendent okANoGAN, Wash. — Richard McFarland has been named one of three finalists for the okanogan School District Superin- tendent. interviews will be conducted the week of Dec. 4 and the okanogan School District Board of education plans to make a decision by Dec. 11. McFarland currently serves as Assistant Superintendent and Human Resources Director at the Central School District. Warming center meeting Wednesday MoNMoUTH — A meeting about hosting a local warming center will be held Wednesday (today) from 2 to 4 p.m. at Mon- mouth Christian Church, 959 Church St. W., Monmouth. The meeting hopes to hear from the Community Action Agency on what it takes to host a warming center and deter- mine if the community has the capacity to put it on. The meeting is open to the public. An RSVP is requested. For more information: 503-838-1145. Recycle for a better future
