Polk County Voices Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 13, 2017 4A EDITORIALS Event to refocus on homelessness When the organizers of the Polk County Homeless Con- nect event announced they had decided to refocus on those who are already homeless — away from also aiding those who are considered “at risk” of homelessness — it is understanding they would get some push back from those hurting in our communities. But they are right. We already have facilities and organizations to help those who are on the verge of becoming homeless — from a plethora of resources, five days a week, at the Dallas Academy Building, to food banks, clothes closets and school districts. We know it is easier — and less expensive — to keep a family in its home than to find a home for them after they have become homeless. We hope the word will spread about what the county already offers for all who struggle. What we don’t have are facilities and organizations to easily reach those who are already displaced. The face of those who are homeless is difficult to define. People who are homeless may not look like the “average” person on the street you would see in movies or downtown Salem. Part of the event is to get a semi-accurate head count of those who are homeless in Polk County. Make no mistake, we have homeless in Polk County, and not just in West Salem. They may not live under the Lyle Street Bridge, but they are camping in cars, in tents, in run- down trailers unfit for rats. Maybe they’re taking advantage of a friend’s generosity and sleeping on a couch until that generosity runs out, then they go to another couch. Reaching the “unsheltered homeless” is not an easy task. The idea to give them a “vacation” day, where they can come to an event and receive services — free of judge- ments — from a hair cut to pet treatments to getting a bike fixed or cavity filled is huge, perhaps more than we’ll really know. It’s going to change the whole feel of the Connect event. Only time will tell if it was successful in reaching the “un- sheltered homeless,” as is the goal. PUBLIC AGENDA Public Agenda is a listing of upcoming meetings for gov- ernmental and nongovernmental agencies in Polk County. To submit a meeting, send it at least two weeks before the actual meeting date to the Itemizer-Observer via email (ionews@polkio.com). — WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13 • Independence Heritage Museum Commission — 4 p.m., Independence Heritage Museum, 112 S. Third St., Independ- ence. 503-838-1212. • Monmouth Library Advisory Board — 7 a.m., Monmouth Public Library, 168 Ecols St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Monmouth Parks and Recreation Board — 7 p.m., Volun- teer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. THURSDAY, DEC. 14 • Polk County Fire District No. 1 Board — 6 p.m., Central Station 90, 1800 Monmouth St., Independence. 503-838-1510. • Western Days Commission — 7 p.m., Independence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212. • Falls City City Council — 6 p.m., Falls City Community Center, 320 N. Main St., Falls City. 503-787- 3631. MONDAY, DEC. 18 • Independence Tourism and Events Commission — 6:30 p.m, Independence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212. • Dallas City Council — 7 p.m., Dallas City Hall, 187 SE Court St., Dallas. 503-831-3502. TUESDAY, DEC. 19 • Independence Historic Preservation Commission — 4 p.m., Independence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independ- ence. 503-838-1212. • Monmouth City Council — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 Warren St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Polk County Board of Commission work session — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, BOC office, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20 • Monmouth Planning Commission — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 Warren St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725. • Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, first floor conference room, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Council owes the public answers The Dallas City Council owes an explanation to the citizens of Dallas. The abrupt dismissal of City Manager Ron Foggin, when there had been no inkling of dissatisfaction, cannot be explained by saying the council wants to go a differ- ent direction with the city manager role. Is Mr. Foggin not capable of change? Have we been moving backward during his tenure? What are the new opportunities which await us whose names may not be spoken? Voldemort? This smells like some- thing is rotten in the City of Dallas, and it is not our now-former city manager. I have had numerous in- teractions with Mr. Foggin during his time here, and have always found him will- ing to listen and reasonable to deal with. His dismissal out of the blue needs more explana- tion than we have seen so far. What’s up, council? An explanation that it is a pri- vate personnel matter will not be satisfactory. Dale Derouin Dallas Nuclear war would create fallout In the unacceptable event of a serious nuclear war, in addition to the dreadful human toll, fire storms would send much smoke and dust into the atmos- phere creating a nuclear winter and serious food shortage in our radioactive world. Walden Joura Dallas Pool manager will be dearly missed The Dallas Aquatic Cen- ter has lost a great asset. Tina Paul, the center’s man- ager, retired on Nov. 30. Patrons of the pool held a potluck for her last day to say farewell. She was a great inspira- tion to the youth of Dallas. To many of the young people who worked at the pool, she was their first boss. She taught them respon- sibility in the workplace. She encouraged and coun- seled them. Tina also had a natural rapport with the older gen- eration. She understood their needs and was always ready to listen to their concerns. The maintenance and safety of the pool was always her No. 1 priority. She became a good friend to me over the nine years I have been coming to the pool. I hope the city can find someone of the same high caliber and commit- ment to fill her shoes. We will miss you, Tina. Jay Lee Roberts Dallas WANT TO WRITE A LETTER? Letters to the editor are limited to 300 words. Longer letters will be edited. Each writer is restricted to one letter per 30-day period. Letters that are libelous, ob- scene or in bad taste will not be printed. Letters must be submit- ted from individuals, not organi- zations, and must be original submissions to the I-O, not copies of letters sent to other media. The deadline for letters to the editor is 10 a.m. Monday. To see the entire letters pol- icy: polkio.com. THE DOCTOR IS IN Screening reduces cancer risk Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers. In fact, 9.4 million people were diagnosed with colon cancer in the United States in 2015. And did you know that most colon cancers happen in people without a family his- tory or any known family traits? Patient survival depends on the stage of the cancer when it’s found. The five- year survival rates for colon cancer are approximately: • Stage 1 – 90 percent • Stage 2 – 70 percent • Stage 3 – 40 percent • Stage 4 – 5 percent Unfortunately, early stage curable colon cancers come without signs or symptoms. By the time the patient has noticeable stomach pain, weight loss or rectal bleed- ing, the cancer is often at an advanced stage and incur- able. The American Cancer So- ciety, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and var- ious gastroenterology and endoscopy societies have created guidelines for colon cancer screening. Colonoscopy is the best tool for colon cancer screening and prevention. Studies show patient pop- ulations who follow the guidelines have a 50 to 75 Gates About the author: Dr. Lawrence K. Gates Jr. is a currently a specialist in gas- troenterology at Salem Gastroenterology Consultants in Salem. He graduated from Duke University School of Medicine, where he completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency. He completed a Gastroenterology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic and was an Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Gates is married and has two daughters. percent lower rate of colon cancer death. The guidelines are: • Non-African American people with no significant family history of colon can- cer or polyps (a mass of tis- sue) should have their first colonoscopy at age 50. • African Americans should start at age 45. • People with 1) no family history of colon cancer and 2) have no polyps on their first colonoscopy, should have a repeat colonoscopy in 10 years. • People with a strong family history of colon can- cer should have their first colonoscopy at age 50, or 10 years younger than the age at diagnosis of the youngest affected family member, and every five years thereafter. • Anyone with pre-cancer- ous colon polyps on any colonoscopy should have a colonoscopy every five years. What is a strong family history of colon cancer? Colon cancer in one or more first-degree relatives (parent, sibling, or child) before age 60, or in two or more sec- ond-degree relatives (grand- parent, aunt or uncle, cousin, or grandchildren) before age 60. Getting prepared: As any patient will tell you, the worst part of colonoscopy is the preparation. It involves a clear liquid diet and drink- ing two doses of a salty solu- tion. Then find an empty bathroom and a good book. The prep solution works to clean out your colon. The colon needs to be thorough- ly flushed, to give the doctor the best possible view. The day of the procedure: Arrive early, dress comfort- ably, leave valuables at home and get ready for a nice nap. With modern drugs that put you to sleep, most patients have no mem- ory of the procedure. You’ll need a family member, neighbor or friend to drive you home. By the next day, you will be back to normal, and able to resume all of your usual activities. Colonoscopy is a safe pro- cedure. The rate of major complications is about one in every 3,000 procedures. Please join us this March in recognizing Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Colon cancer is preventable, beat- able and treatable. Salem Gastroenterology Consultants is a practice of nine board-certified gas- troenterologists, four physi- cian’s assistants, and a dieti- cian, serving the mid- Willamette Valley. For the past two years, we have provided endoscopy services at West Valley Hos- pital and clinical consulta- tions at Oregon Family Health to better serve our patients in Dallas and the west side of the valley. While we provide the full range of services in the diag- nosis and non-surgical treat- ment of diseases of the adult gastrointestinal tract, the biggest part of our practice is screening for colorectal cancer. WHAT’S YOUR RESOLUTION? The Itemizer-Observer is collecting New Year’s resolutions, and we want to know what you hope to accomplish in 2018. With just a few weeks until the new year, time is running out to be included on our Resolutions page. Help inspire others with your goals — and what better way to hold yourself accountable than by seeing your resolution in black and white. We will use your first name and last initial, so there shouldn’t be too much on the line should you not succeed on your first try at whatever it is you want to do better next year. Email us your New Year’s resolutions by Dec. 21 at ionews@polkio.com. HOW TO REACH US NEWSROOM Emily Mentzer ..............Editor/Monmouth/Independence Reporter ....ementzer@polkio.com Vol. 142, No. 50 (USPS) - 437-380) The official newspaper of Polk County • Serving Polk County families since 1875 Winner of 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 General Excellence Awards from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, OR, Independence, OR and Monmouth, OR. Published weekly at 147 SE Court Street Dallas, Oregon 97338 Phone: 503-623-2373 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Polk County — One Year $35 Other Oregon Counties — One Year $40 Outside of Oregon — One Year $45 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Polk County Itemizer-Observer, P.O. 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