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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2017)
Polk County News 2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 13, 2017 DEADLINES NewS DeADlINeS For inclusion in the Wednesday edition of the Itemizer-Observer: Social news (weddings, engagements, anniver- saries, births, milestones) — 5 p.m. on Thursday. Community events — Noon on Friday for both the Community Notebook and Community Calendar. letters to the editor — 10 a.m. on Monday. obituaries — 4 p.m. on Monday. ADVeRTISING DeADlINeS Retail display ads — 3 p.m. Friday. Classified display ads — 11 a.m. on Monday. Classified line ads — Noon on Monday. Classified ads are updated daily on www.polkio.com. Public notices — Noon on Friday. CORRECTIONS If you see anything that re- quires a correction or clarifica- tion, call the newsroom at 503- 623-2373 or send an email to ementzer@polkio.com. WEATHER HIGH low 36 38 29 26 22 24 22 By emily mentzer The Itemizer-Observer FALLS CITY — No one was hurt in an early-morn- ing fire in Falls City on Sun- day, but three family pets died as a result of the smoke and flames. The house fire, in the 1800 block of Falls City Road, started in the garage. Efforts from firefighters kept the fire there until it was extin- guished, effectively stopping it before it could go into the home, Dallas Fire & EMS spokeswoman April Welsh said. “The 911 call came in around 4:22 a.m.,” Welsh said. “One of the male resi- dents woke up, smelled smoke, and evacuated the house.” The home did not have working smoke alarms. Six adults and one infant have been displaced be- cause of extensive smoke damage to the attic and home. The American Red Cross is assisting the family. The contents of the garage, which was being used as storage of household items, are a complete loss, Welsh said. Two dogs and a baby pig that were in the garage were also lost in the fire. Firefighters from South- west Polk Fire District were assisted by Polk County Fire District No. 1, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Pa- cific Power, and the Oregon Fire Marshal’s Office. The fire marshal is inves- tigating the cause of the fire. From the time of the call RAIN .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 Rainfall during Dec. — 0.66 in. Rain through Dec. 11— 48.49 in. to having the fire extin- guished took about an hour, Welsh said. A couple things compli- cated the attack. “It is rural Polk County, so they do not have hydrants in that area, and they have to get their water from the en- gines themselves,” Welsh said. Four water tenders re- sponded to the call. Freezing temperatures added to the difficulty, Welsh said. “It’s very fortunate that somebody did wake up and got them evacuated out of the house safely,” she said. “Our thoughts definitely go out to the family. It’s terrible enough to have a house fire and to lose everything, lose their family pets. It’s very sad.” Monmouth Police Department clears up incident involving deaf man, Monmouth woman Itemizer-observer staff report MONMOUTH — The Monmouth Police Department held a media briefing on Thursday to clear up information surround- ing a report. Monmouth Police received a report at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 6 stating that an adult male tried to grab an adult female while she was walking on the sidewalk in the downtown area. Prior to the male trying to contact the female, the female was using her phone to take a video of the male’s vehicle, a white van, that was parked near her residence. When the male attempted to contact the female, she felt he was trying to grab her. Officers responded to the scene and the male returned to the scene to communicate with officers. It was determined that the male is deaf and communicates by reading lips and using sign language. The male parked his van in order to attend an appoint- ment at a nearby professional office. It was also determined he had previous appointments at the same facility within the past nine days, which is why he had been parking in the area. The male is cooperating fully with police. Further interviews have been scheduled. The case will continue as an active investigation until all in- terviews are completed and a determination is made as to whether any crimes were committed. Monmouth council votes yes on city utility fees The Itemizer-Observer The Polk County Itemizer- Observer website, www.polkio.com, is updat- ed each week by Wednes- day afternoon. Subscribe for $20 a year or $4 for one month. The Itemizer is also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Dec. 5................. 51 Dec. 6................. 58 Dec. 7................. 53 Dec. 8................. 47 Dec. 9................. 47 Dec. 10.............. 47 Dec. 11.............. 46 No injuries, but three family pets die in garage blaze By Herb Swett WEBSITE ReCoRDeD Seven displaced after fire MONMOUTH — Two utility ordi- nances were enacted by the Mon- mouth City Council on Dec. 5. One provides for full compensa- tion to the city for use of public rights of way and installation and use of utility facilities in the rights of way. The other charges $200 for ap- plication for a utility license and $200 for amendment, renewal, or transfer of a utility license. Both were approved on 5-1 votes, with Councilor Laurel Sharmer vot- ing no on both. She said that city residents would be “getting a service they’re not paying for.” Councilor Jon Carey noted that the Oregon Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of city utility fees and that many other cities are enacting similar ordinances. Much of the meeting was taken up by Mayor Steve Milligan's pre- sentations of years-of-service awards to the following city employ- ees: Ed Alvarez, public works em- ployee, 25 years; Darrell Tallan, po- lice chief, 20 years; Wendie Hamm, court clerk, 15 years; Kelli Carpenter, police detective, 10 years; Scott Mc- Clure, city manager, 10 years; Mark Robertson, police officer, 10 years; Jon Steed, finance employee and re- cently acting finance director, 10 years; Michael Strack, police detec- tive, 10 years; Billy Black, wastewater specialist, five years; and Mike Gre- gory, line foreman, five years. During councilor’s reports and comments, Carey reported that the Monmouth-Independence Net- works operating income had re- turned to springtime levels. Councilor Thomas Steinke noted that the safety commission had pro- posed a street light at Highway 99W and Madrona Street to illuminate the crosswalk. In a work session following the meeting, members of the Mon- mouth Engaged Committee urged making the city bicycle friendly by lighting intersections better, estab- lishing walking trails on existing sidewalks, and working with Cycle Oregon to promote tourism. Com- mittee members said wineries and breweries would help the city as well. Milligan mentioned clothing and sporting goods stores as ways to keep dollars in town. Another group proposed making Gentle Woods Park an overnight park for cyclists whose route in- cludes Monmouth. A spokesman noted that advance notice to the po- lice department would be necessary. Council members commented that an ordinance permitting such a use for the park should have a trial peri- od with a one-year sunset clause. McClure suggested that the city find ways to cooperate with home- owners whose sidewalks need im- provement. Steinke said that because maintenance of sidewalks is the re- sponsibility of the homeowners, the city should limit itself to reminding the owners that the law requires them to keep sidewalks in repair. The beekeeping issue came up again, with City Attorney Lane Shet- terly saying the main concern should be preventing bees from be- coming a nuisance. He added that Monmouth has an unenumerated nuisance ordinance, so it was up to the council to limit the number of hives if bees become a nuisance. There was disagreement as to what constitutes a hive, and Shetterly sug- gested that the council wait a few months for bee season to work on an ordinance. After the work session, the council reconvened to go into executive ses- sion. Topics were labor negotiations, consideration of exempt public records and trade secrets, and per- formance evaluation of public offi- cers and employees. “We have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” — Matthew 2:2 Christmas Eve St. Hilda’s Episcopal Add meaning to your Christmas season by celebrating the birth of Jesus in worship. Christmas Eve 7 p.m. Candlelight Service Carols and Eucharist 4:00 p.m. 10 p.m. Candlelight Service with Communion Everyone is welcome! Coffee & Cookies after each service 245 W. Main St. • Monmouth 503-838-6087 All are welcome. Come as you are. Trinity Lutheran Church 320 SE Fir Villa Rd, Dallas 503-623-2233 www.dallastlc.org