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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 2017)
Polk County News Continued from Page 1a Dallas School District has used five snow days, but has up to nine it could use. State law requires 900 hours of instructional time during a school year for students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. For grades nine through 11, the requirement is 990 hours. Seniors are required to attend 966 hours. Dallas officers cleared by grand jury: A Polk County grand jury found that two Dal- las police officers were justified in using deadly force during the Dec. 16, 2016, shooting in- cident that killed Jeremiah N. Anderson. The grand jury’s finding was unanimous, said a press release from the Polk County District Attorney’s Office. Clow Corner, Highway 99 to get roundabout: Round- about. That’s the solution for the intersection at Clow Corner and Highway 99W that Polk County and Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation officials agreed to pursue. County officials say it’s not a perfect solution and more ex- pensive than the traffic signal they have been wanting for a decade, but it’s at least doing something at an intersection that has a history of serious crashes. As of September, the inter- section of has been the spot for 32 crashes in the last 10 years, according to ODOT. Of those, five were very serious crashes, with two fatalities. Monmouth shows off sen- ior center expansion: Hun- dreds gathered at the Mon- mouth Senior Center for its open house and ribbon cut- ting, celebrating the 2,133- square-foot expansion project. The $520,000 addition was paid for through fundraising from the Friends of the Mon- mouth Senior Center, coupled with contributions from the city of Monmouth as well as grants from Ford Family Foun- dation, Meyer Memorial Trust, Oregon Community Fund and the Collins Fund. While the ac- tual construction was speedy — the ground-breaking was in the summer of 2016 — secur- ing the money took more than a decade. February Court security to limit ac- cess: County commissioners consider limiting access to the courthouse through the his- toric doors in an effort to in- crease courtroom safety. Final credits for Motor Vu Drive-in: Motor Vu owner Jeff Mexico took down signage at the snack bar at the drive-in on a Friday afternoon in mid-Feb- ruary. He closed the drive-in after an online campaign failed to raise money to purchase the land the theater occupied. great american Eclipse comes in august: A special section with information about the eclipse, as well as memo- ries of the last eclipse to hit Oregon, ran in mid-February. a blessed ministry: Jinett Yeager named First Citizen by Dallas Area Chamber of Com- merce. Other winners at the ban- quet were Business of the Year: Heartstrings Floral & Artisans; Young Pros of the Year: Devin Colby Jones and MacLarin Jones; Organization of the Year: CASA of Polk County; and Ex- cellence in Arts; Abe Huff. March Lights of the Community: Awards showcase Monmouth, Indy businesses, people. Steve Milligan, Monmouth’s mayor, was honored as First Citizen at the March banquet. Other winners were: Retail services – Independence Cine- ma; Nonprofit or organization – Partnerships in Community Living Inc.; Food and Beverage Service – Arena Sports Bar & Grill; Personal Service Provider – Monmouth Fitness Club; Pro- fessional Service Provider – M onmouth-I ndependence Networks; Financial Service Provider – Oregon State Credit Union; Distinguished Service – Josh Cronin; Junior Citizen – Andrew Love; Educator of the Year – Marcella Stepp-Rodarte; Education Support Staff of the Year – Becky McMillian. Central SD names top three: English, Kubista, Tucker make final cut for superinten- dent A meet and greet was held in late March to meet the three finalists for Central’s new su- perintendent. Jennifer Kubista got the job. An in-depth interview was printed in early April to get to know Kubista better. April american gas & Tech to name school after Fink: The man who sold the former Tyco Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 27, 2017 3a YEAR IN REVIEW Building in Dallas to American Gas & Technology will have part of the facility named after him. All future employees will train at the Harvey S. Fink Welding School at the facility, now primed to begin produc- tion of natural gas liquefiers. June Mill landmark comes down: Crews remove the Wey- erhaeuser mill building known as Noah’s Ark. Another piece of Dallas’ tim- ber town legacy disappeared with the dismantling of the old drying shed affectionately known as “Noah’s Ark,” on the former Weyerhaeuser mill property. The property owner, North- west Demolition & Disman- tling, has been getting the site ready for redevelopment. Most of the wood from the structure was salvaged, while other ma- terials were recycled. July Reach for the sky: This story about local amateur as- tronomers Jon and Susan Brewster, marked the first of many stories gearing up for the Great American Eclipse. In it, we meet the Brewsters, who have an observatory built at their Monmouth home, situat- ed for perfect stargazing. Events center awaits deci- sion: Owners of a proposed event center on Polk Station Road just outside of Dallas are awaiting a Polk County Hear- ings Officer decision on an ap- peal of its conditional use per- mit. Before the planning de- partment approved the permit, neighbors and other groups expressed opposition and con- cerns, mostly about traffic, noise and safety. Taking matters into his own hands: Dallas resident Alex Lofton, family and friends restore and renew Tawney me- morial sign. When Alex Lofton found out Sgt. Ian Tawney’s memorial park sign was vandalized, he wasn’t going to let it sit overnight without trying to fix it. He, his brother, his girlfriend and friend packed up buckets of soapy water and scrub brushes, parked his car in front of the sign and used the head- lights to try and clean off the pink spray paint. The search for the grail: Caceu owns one of two olive farms in Polk County. Bogdan Caceu is searching for the “holy grail” of olive trees. He is the owner of La Creole Orchards, bordering the Bridlewood neighborhood of Dallas. He’s among about a dozen growers who are pioneering Oregon’s budding olive and olive oil industry. August his mother Natacia Abbe, along with two other children were able to evacuate. The home in the 700 block of North Catron Street was heavily in- volved in fire when firefighters arrived, said Polk County Fire District No. 1 Deputy Chief Neal Olson. The fire was electri- cal and started on or under the patio, Olson said. Two firefighters were injured in the attempts to rescue the 11-month-old boy, Sebastian, and to put out the fire. Both firefighters were treated for their injuries, Olson said. Lifelong dream realized at illahe Vineyards: At about 9:25 a.m., Lisa Hoople looked up at the sun shortly after the Great American Eclipse began at Illahe Vineyards in Dallas. “It’s starting to really shape up as the moon now,” she said. Hoople, from Por tland, watched the eclipse with her husband, James Hoople, and Carrie De Graaf, who visited them from Michigan just for this occasion. They had planned ahead. They even made a dry run of their drive from Portland on all back roads to get to the vine- yard in case of bad traffic. It took two hours, so they stayed for a wine tasting after route testing and made a con- nection with Illahe’s tasting room manager Kathy Grey- smith. Traffic sparks concerns: Monmouth resident wants changes at intersection of MES. Paul Sieber, a resident of Monmouth for longer than four decades, is looking for a change in his neighborhood. September Baskett Slough battles water primrose: Baskett S l o u g h N at i o n a l Wi l d l i fe Refuge is looking a little drier than normal for this time of year, and it isn’t because of the warm summer. The culprit is a plant with little yellow flowers that doesn’t belong here: the invasive water primrose. Refuge employees are trying to eradicate it early, which re- quires draining the wetlands, including those beloved by local birders and hikers. Purple Heart finds way to family: Quest to reunite medal to hero’s descendants takes 12 years. After a 12-year search, Kevin Coady finally found the family of fallen U.S. Marine Pfc. Jack Carl Kightlinger. City councilors vote to close wagner: The city of Falls City voted to close Wagner Community Library effective June 30, 2018 if a solution to long-term funding is not found. The council agreed in No- vember to keep the library open until Aug. 31, 2018, for the summer reading program. City staff is now scheduling public hearings required be- fore a public library can be closed. October Fire contract set to expire A contract between South- western Polk Rural Fire Protec- tion District and Falls City Fire Department regarding services in that area of the district is on the verge of expiring without a new agreement. A three-month extension of the contract ended, and the two sides did not see eye-to- eye on the details. Thursday, Dec. 21, Fire Chief Bob Young announced the end of the 70-year agreement. City to gauge support: The city of Dallas has hired a con- sultant to help gauge support for solutions to improve its po- lice and fire stations — includ- ing building a facility to house both departments. In December we learn that focus groups organized to gauge support of a combined police/fire/ems building didn’t offer much insight into how Dallas citizens would vote if funding for the facility were placed on a ballot. The council declined to move forward with preparing to place a bond before voters in May and didn’t authorize further research via a tele- phone poll. Teens to teens: never alone: Students in Central High School’s Power Peers leadership class decided to help raise awareness of suicide. With the assistance of the Mid- Valley Suicide Prevention Coali- tion and Central staff, the class kicked off a year-long suicide awareness and prevention campaign. Part of that cam- paign was a short video, “Alone,” which members of the Power Peers class helped write and starred in. November Make -a-thon inspires: Imagine building a high-tech greenhouse or chicken coop in one day — with no program- ming experience going in. The 50 or so students and adults who gathered at LaCreole Mid- dle School for Saturday’s Dallas Make-a-thon don’t have to imagine. They did it. The event was organized by SparkFun and DEADLINES Online NW, and Innovate Ore- gon. URD may extend duration 10 years: The Dallas Urban Re- newal District may extend the duration of its district, possibly another 10 or more years. On Nov. 6, the Dallas Urban Re- newal agency board and advi- sory council met with consult- ant Elaine Howard to review options. grand jury clears sheriff’s office in shooting: A Polk County grand jury cleared Polk County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Kevin Haynes and Deputy Kelly Lorence in the shooting death of Baltazar Escalona-Baez, 17, of Silverton. On Nov. 21, the grand jury unanimously found the officers were justified in using deadly force during the incident, which happened on Oct. 28 near Fort Hill in Polk County. December City council votes to termi- nate Foggin: The Dallas City Council voted to part ways with City Manager Ron Foggin in a 5-to-4 vote on Dec. 4. The termination followed Foggin’s annual performance evalua- tion and was effective immedi- ately. He will receive a severance package of $15,425.20 monthly for a maximum of nine months or until he is hired somewhere else. Council President Micky Garus, who voted in favor of the termination, said it was en- acted under section 10 of Fog- gin’s contract with the city and is a “no cause” termination. Along with Garus, councilors Terry Crawford, Bill Hahn, Jack- ie Lawson and Paul Trahan voted for the termination. Councilors Jim Fairchild, Kelly Gabliks, Jennie Rummell and Ken Woods Jr. voted no. When asked the reason behind let- ting Foggin go, Garus said the city is “moving forward and is hopeful for future opportuni- ties.” Greg Ellis accepted the job as interim manager in Dallas a few days later. For photos from 2017, see online at polkio.com. We know we missed a lot of important news — what were some of the headlines you re- member from 2017? Let us know at ionews@polkio.com. HOLiDaY DEaDLinES For inclusion in the Wednesday edition of the Itemizer-Observer: Social news (weddings, engagements, anniver- saries, births, milestones) — 5 p.m. on Friday. Community events — Noon on Thursday for both the Community Notebook and Community Calendar. Letters to the editor — 10 a.m. on Friday. Obituaries — 4 p.m. on Friday. aDVERTiSing DEaDLinES Retail display ads — 3 p.m. Monday. Classified display ads — 11 a.m. on Friday. Classified line ads — Noon on Friday. Classified ads are updated daily on www.polkio.com. Public notices — Noon on Thursday. CORRECTIONS The Polk County Itemizer- Observer is committed to pub- lishing accurate news, feature and sports reports. If you see anything that requires a cor- rection or clarification, call the newsroom at 503-623-2373 or send an email to ementzer@polkio.com. WEBSITE The Polk County Itemizer- Observer website, www.polkio.com, is updat- ed each week by Wednes- day afternoon. There, you will find nearly every story that appears in the print version of the newspaper, as well as some items. The Itemizer-Observer is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Watch for breaking news, links to sto- ries, sports scores updates and more. WEATHER RECORDED HigH LOw Dec. 19.............. 52 Dec. 20.............. 48 Dec. 21.............. 35 Dec. 22.............. 43 Dec. 23.............. 41 Dec. 24.............. 35 Dec. 25.............. 41 40 27 24 32 31 31 33 Rain .74 .08 .00 .19 .15 .35 .04 Rainfall during Dec. — 2.22 in. Rain through Dec. 25 — 50.05 in. LUCKIAMUTE DOMESTIC WATER COOPERATIVE BOARD MEETING Monday 7:00 p.m. January 8th 503-838-2075 Location: Business Office 8585 Suver Rd. • Monmouth Come and see me for your hearing needs. Mark Sturtevant Serving the community since 1992. 503-623-0290 • 312 Main Street, Dallas Eclipse: why all the fuss? The moon will cast its shad- ow over Polk County the morn- ing of Aug. 21 during the Great American Eclipse, but what’s the big deal? When it comes to eclipses, timing is everything. The total solar eclipse on Aug. 21 has it all. Local cold case featured on show: Detective John Williams thought the Polk County Sheriff’s Office had the Glenn Pennie disappearance case solved in 2013. Pennie vanished from his home on Air- lie Road at some point be- tween the evening of Oct. 3, 2004, when he made a phone call, and Oct. 5, 2004, when he was due in Oakland, Calif., for a hearing on his late father’s es- tate. This Polk County missing person’s case sparked the inter- est of producers of Oxygen’s “Cold Justice.” infant dies during house fire: An 11-month-old boy died in a Monmouth house fire on Aug. 9. Two adults, including Matinees are all shows before 6pm. New pricing for matinees are: Adult $8.00 Children $7.00 • Senior $7.25 Pricing does not reflect 3D showings. FERDINAND Friday - Monday • December 29 - January 1 FATHER FIGURES (Digital) (R) (1:55 4:35) (1:35 4:15) FERDINAND (Digital) (PG) (11:30 2:05 4:40) *JUMANJI (Digital) (PG13) *STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (Digital) (PG13) (12:00 12:30 3:15 3:45) 6:30 7:00 (12:15 2:35 4:55) PITCH PERFECT 3 (Digital) (PG13) DOWNSIZING (Digital) (R) (12:40 3:40) (12:00 2:30 5:00) THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (Digital) (PG) 7:15 6:50 7:15 9:55 9:25 9:50 9:45 7:20 6:45 7:30 10:15 9:40 9:50 10:00 7:15 6:50 7:15 6:30 7:20 6:45 7:30 7:00 Tuesday - Thursday • January 2 - 4 FATHER FIGURES (Digital) (R) (1:55 4:35) (1:35 4:15) FERDINAND (Digital) (PG) (2:05 4:40) *JUMANJI (Digital) (PG13) (12:30 3:15 3:45) *STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (Digital) (PG13) (2:35 4:55) PITCH PERFECT 3 (Digital) (PG13) DOWNSIZING (Digital) (R) (12:40 3:40) (2:30 5:00) THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (Digital) (PG) *STARRED ATTRACTION NO PASSES ACCEPTED RECYCLE Solution on Page 8A