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
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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