City moves to clinch land for a new water treatment plant less than a mile south of downtown

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service 
  
The city is acquiring about 10 acres of land several blocks south of town west of Corvallis Road for a new water treatment plant at an estimated construction cost of $44 million and, in a separate action, Independence plans to annex into the city limits nearly eight acres just north of that property.     
 
The western boundary for both parcels is 4th Street, along the railroad tracks. An approximately 2.5 acreage on the other side of Corvallis, extending to the river, also is part of the planned acquisition by the city.    
 
It’s part of a $95 million project to meet the town’s future water management and needs – called “The Water System Master Plan” – that was approved by the City Council last year. The treatment plant will process a new water source, the Willamette River, according to the plan. The annexation is an entirely separate action and would place a new mixed-use residential zone inside city limits.  
 
The property for the plant has yet to be purchased, but at a recent city council meeting, the councilors voted unanimously to allow the city manager, Kenna West, to take possession of the land for the city by eminent domain if the owners and Independence cannot agree on the compensation package for it.    
 
The need for a new treatment facility arrives when the city’s current supply of water in well fields is likely to reach capacity in only a few years.   
 
The funds to pay for the water treatment plant and property remain relatively unexplained, although state monies are expected to be one of the ways and federal grants or allocations have been mentioned as another possibility. West has mentioned the possibility of partnerships.  
 
However, neighboring Monmouth isn’t committed to any joint agreement use so far. “From what we understand, the water projects that Independence is moving forward with, are not projects identified in Monmouth's Water Master Plan,” explained Sabra Jewell, communication coordinator for the city of Monmouth. “We are evaluating how a partnership might fit into Monmouth's plans, but we have no partnership at this time,” she added.     
 
A comparison with other towns shows that water-sewer rates paid by Independence residents are higher than those in many other Oregon cities. In the past, Independence has relied on part of the water-sewer bill to contribute toward city debt payments.   
 
Portions from water-bill proceeds have helped subsidize MINET, the city’s municipal broadband, co-founded with Monmouth.   
 
However, at a recent meeting of the MINET board of directors, General Manager P.J Armstrong said the municipal fiberoptic now is solidly in the black and making full bond payments; An interest-only payment on loans the city made over the years to MINET was paid this past December, but it’s too soon to tell whether a larger repayment sum will be made this coming December, Armstrong said.    
 
Most residents who were queried for their response following the council meeting said they expect their water rates to rise regardless of how solidly MINET is performing. ▪ 
 
A series of townhomes in Brandy Meadows where builders say SDC increases would boost home prices

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service 
          
The City of Independence has proposed a massive $21,000 increase in their water System Development Charge (SDC), increasing Independence’s total SDCs to nearly $54,000. If adopted at the Independence City Council’s February 27th meeting, Independence’s SDCs would be the most expensive in the state of Oregon. 
 
The above statements may sound like the lead-in to an article on the city by Trammart News, but the sentences actually come straight from the latest report by the Home Builders Association of Marion and Polk Counties, which made Independence’s plan for water SDCs the top story in the group’s latest newsletter. The SDCs would be paid by developers as fees to build a single-family home.   
 
“I can tell you that this is a real threat to builders who want to keep building here,” said Larry Dalke, whose construction firm is responsible for most of the Brandy Meadows development in Southwest Independence. 
 
Several other builders also expressed deep worry over how they can continue with residential construction in the city. By comparison, nearby Monmouth has water SDCs of about $2,500 – a tenfold difference. In fact, Independence’s water SDCs are expected to rise to be about four times that of Salem’s, as well.     
 
At the initial work session on the water SDC increase, Steve Donovan, the city’s engineering consultant on water rates, said comparisons are always complicated, and often unreliable. The rates of other cities are in frequent flux, he pointed out.   
 
However, residents both within and outside Brandy Meadows have reacted to the proposed change with questions about where the additional money will be applied. 
 
“My understanding is the cost of SDCs is for new developments, and not for other obligations, so why does it cost Independence so much more money to lay pipes than it does Monmouth?” asked one of them.   
 
The answer, at least in part, appears to be financing for a new water treatment plant, which is needed in order to exercise water rights from the Willamette River and meet a pressing water need.   
 
But the HBA is contending that Independence also plans to use part of these SDC increases to pay for replacement of existing water lines that are beyond repair – “a clear violation of Oregon law regarding the use of SDC funds,” the industry group asserts in the newsletter article. 
  
Despite being contacted several times by Trammart News to comment on  the HBA’s assertion, the city’s communications coordinator, Emmanuel Goicochea, failed to respond.     
 
The HBA is opposing the city’s water SDC change with an allegation that it wasn’t correctly done under Oregon law – asserting that SDCs cannot be used to repair systems and that they can only be utilized to create additional capacity needed for future growth. Independence Public Works Director Gerald Fisher confirmed during the recent SDC work session that a meeting with HBA representatives will be held.    
 
The city SDCs are designated funds earmarked for the development and repair of the water and sewer system, according to a definition provided in the city's 2022 municipal audit. ▪ 
 
Sheriff reports on trends in Polk County that suggest more brazen law-breaking

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service 
            
When it comes to conversing about crime, Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton isn’t afraid to use the g-word. In fact, he uses two of them together – gangs and guns. "There are more incidents involving guns and I don't hesitate at all to call some gang-related,” Garton said in a brief interview following a report on last year’s arrest record to the Polk County Board of Commissioners. 
 
In fact, overall crime declined from 2019 – from 2,237 to 1,647 – but incidents of theft have increased and so have “eludes.” Though Garton’s presentation ranged from staffing levels at the Sheriff’s Office to the fluctuating population at the county jail, it was the changing numbers of some offenses that drew the focus of the commissioners.
 
Juvenile arrests, reckless driving and “eludes,” the need for deputies to halt pursuits, all were points of discussion. So were crimes by youth, which have become a ”hot topic,” Commissioner Craig Pope said.  He asked how many had been recorded in 2023; Garton replied that two dozen juveniles had been arrested and a further breakdown to identify specific charges was underway. 
The “sheer numbers (of those) showing disrespect” have grown in Polk County, making law enforcement more difficult, Garton said. 
 
Suspects whose driving escalates to dangerous speeds are an example, Garton said, noting that some of those who were targeted for traffic stops seem to have become “emboldened” to flee this way. In 2019, there were 10 pursuits that were terminated due to public endangerment; last year it was 33. “It lies on us to be responsible in how we actively monitor those pursuits,” Garton said. 
 
“I appreciate your using discretion,” commented Commissioner Jeremy Gordon. 
 
After his presentation, Garton acknowledged that gun violence has been a growing concern for him, an observation that Independence Police Chief Robert Mason also made a few months ago in reporting the crime pattern in Independence to the town’s city council. Two serious events involved youth, guns and car chases. 
 
This past fall, a youth fired a gun at a Polk County sheriff’s deputy in Independence by Riverview Park.  About two weeks later, a sheriff’s deputy, acting in self-defense, shot and killed an 18-year-old after being fired at by a suspect on Highway 22, following a pursuit. A responding deputy had been struck and injured. 
 
An analysis issued this past spring on Salem’s violent crime showed gun-involved incidents and gang-related disputes had substantially increased since the police force there disbanded the anti-gang enforcement team in 2019. Incidents involving juveniles – both as victims and suspects – rose 20% by 2023. Gang-related conflicts were the second highest cause of gun-involved incidents, behind personal disputes – and many of those personal disputes involved gang members, according to the findings. ▪

The interim principal at Central High School, Dale Pedersen, agrees to take the helm permanently

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, January 19, 2024
          
Dale Pedersen said yes to his new address, the principal's office at Central High School. 
“I’m really excited to be here,” he said, responding to an inquiry about going from an interim replacement to permanently named for the top spot.
 
A much-quoted classic line -- "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times"-- seems to pretty much summarize what Pedersen signed up for this week when he accepted the permanent role at CHS. 
 
In fact, post-pandemic challenges are so rampant that about the time Central School District confirmed Pedersen's change from interim, Education Week magazine was busy promoting an article that labeled the job of principal "an increasingly tough gig," one that’s complicated by post-covid stressors ranging from discipline issues to political pressures. 
 
And, like the novel by Charles Dickens contrasting best-worst times, the circumstances at CHS also can be described as "A Tale of Two Cities." Monmouth and Independence have populations separated by more than the S Curves, with a college culture on one side and a river town on the other. But in one way, Pedersen’s appointment arrives at a prime time, a juncture when parents seem receptive, even grateful -- on the heels of what one likened to a game of musical chairs among principals at CHS.
 
Former principal Brent McConaughy departed after only a year on the job and, before his arrival, students staged a walkout to protest CHS’s popular assistant principal, Roseanna Larson, being passed over for principal and now she’s gone, too. Larson currently serves as coordinator of career and technical education for the district, as well as helming CSD 13J’s alternative education.  
 
Pedersen said he is committed to staying, having already been at CHS on an interim basis and settling in. “I don't want to be another administrator who comes in and then leaves,” he stated in the news release announcing his permanent appointment. “I want to be the consistency that our students and our staff deserve."  
 
Pedersen is stepping in at a time when standardized test scores at the high school are significantly below the state average in math and absenteeism is so high that it is now considered a chronic problem.  
 
High levels of absences – missing 10 percent and more of school days in an academic year -- are occurring all over the state and nationally. But CHS is particularly hard hit. The high school has been struggling for years to improve relatively low performance measures.  
 
But, as Superintendent Jennifer Kubista put it, Pedersen is a “veteran principal.” Pedersen acknowledged that in an early interview, noting his years of experience are good preparation for the leadership position. He served as principal at John F. Kennedy High School in Mt. Angel for more than five years and, before that, he was assistant principal at McKay High School in Salem.   
 
Asked if this accounts for what has been described by some in the district as his obvious quality of adaptability, Pedersen said he believes it arises mostly from his family circumstances, not simply going from math teacher to principal over the past decades. “I’m the parent of two sons with disabilities. It’s given me a unique perspective on inclusivity and equity,” he said, adding that he and his wife believe that’s “what has made us the parents we are.” ▪ 
 
Nutria numbers are down and members of the Ash Creek Water Control District are calling it a win

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service,
             
For more than 15 years, nutria have been documented as damage-inflicting pests along the banks of the city's signature waterway, Ash Creek, which creates important watershed and provides aquatic habitat. Now the orange-toothed rodents appear to be posing less of a threat, thanks to years of trapping and eradication efforts by the Ash Creek Water Control District -- a program that seems to have reduced nutria numbers dramatically. 
 
“I believe we have gotten those number way down,” said Ed Matteo, a director on the ACWCD board who heads the trapping program. The ACWCD, comprised of locally elected directors, aims to improve and maintain the channel of Ash Creek. Nutria, an invasive species, construct burrows that erode the creek’s banks, causing disruption to the natural ecology of the land, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which considers the round brown rodents a potentially serious environmental hazard.  
 
From 80 captures annually to an average of two dozen a year, the declining counts are making ACWCD board members optimistic that breeding colonies have been diminished. In fact, the method the ACWCD has used – trapping and continual tracking of sightings and “hot spots” – has proven successful in other areas, too, perhaps most notably in Maryland, around Chesapeake Bay. Last year, a decades-long partnership between U.S. Fish and Wildlife, USDA’s Wildlife Service and Maryland resulted in nutria eradication, according to a news announcement issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service two years ago. 
 
 At the last meeting of the ACWCD, Matteo reported that he had not caught a single nutria from one of his traps for the past four months,  following steady reductions in trapping of them by himself and others over the past few years. The ACWCD’s program began in 2008, and an early  partner was Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District. 
 
Two large colonies – one by a sewage lagoon and another by drainage areas in downtown Independence – appear to have been wiped out over the years, but continual monitoring is needed, Matteo said. 
 
Though ACWCD members were upbeat about the outcome, not everyone involved in wildlife biology is convinced. “I would predict that the trapping has had little effect on the local nutria population. They can bear 10 pups multiple times per year,” stated Michael Cairns, a former research ecologist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who now works in environmental consulting. 
 
However, federal wildlife experts say it’s possible. “Intense pressure with all removal techniques and seeing limited signs and reduced numbers is a good indicator that the numbers have been significantly reduced in the area they’re targeting, said Keith Shannon, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Northeast Region. After querying colleagues, including those from the Chesapeake Bay Nutria Eradication Project, Shannon said repeated surveys and monitoring of all areas can clarify results. In Maryland, floating platforms with hair snares, camera surveys and nutria detector dogs were all used to determine if nutria were still present, he added. 
 
Still, “constant and consistent pressure in a targeted area can keep numbers lower,” Shannon  said. However, if eradication is “the end goal” survey and detection methods will need to be employed. 
 
Continual and careful follow-up is needed, agreed Matteo, advising that time will tell whether large numbers of nutria are gone for good. ▪ 
 
A look at snow ice cream. Is enjoying scoops of this nature-made treat a frozen pleasure?

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
            
IN ACTUALITY: An editorial column to assist public knowledge and discourse on recent events.
  
WHO: Americans in general and Oregonians in particular seemed interested this week in a formula for using snow and a few other ingredients to make ice cream. Unsurprisingly, recipes for snow ice cream were a popular inquiry online, racking up millions of searches. "The moment there is a blanket of freshly fallen snow that means one thing--it's time to make snow ice cream," advises one online culinary website.
 
WHAT: A mixture of fresh snow, typically with the addition of milk and sugar, that tastes like ice cream when the combination is right. Scores of how-to guides for making it recommend the concoction as a great substitute for the commercial product and an enjoyable opportunity to create home-made ice cream.
 
WHERE: On the ground, all around, in heaps as a result of the recent mid-January snowfall. To get the best bounty for making snow ice cream, recommendations include waiting until there is complete ground cover, and taking from the layer atop accumulated snow while it’s fresh. Initial snowfall can collect a higher level of pollutants and later snowflakes usually don’t carry the same quantity of contaminants in snowflakes, according to a long-standing report by NPR.
 
WHEN: This week’s snow was a good opportunity for making snow ice cream, and Prevention Magazine weighed in two years ago on the activity with interviews among several healthcare providers.  “There really aren’t any snow-related illnesses that I am aware of,” noted one. Getting sick from eating snow would probably “take a lot of snow,” said another. The best approach: Ingest in moderation. 
 
WHY: Questions do arise about the safety of eating snow. The CDC appears to have no advisory about it, however, other than not eating it when cold outside, especially when stranded, because it can lower body temperature. In fact, boiling snow makes drinkable water, according to the CDC.
 
And, as we all know – don’t eat yellow snow! ▪

Water rate increases for households in Independence needed to finance upgrades
 
 
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, January 12, 2024

Increases in residential water rates are coming soon as Independence grapples with new demands on water capacity from population growth and addresses an aging infrastructure that requires repair due to deferred maintenance.

That was the message this past week from a city council work session that was held prior to the regular city council meeting, which showed that the ability to keep pace with the need for water will be outstripped in the near future without building a new water treatment system that sends H20 safely into pipes and faucets all over town.
The intent of the session was to discuss upward revisions in water fees for builders, fees collectively known as system development charges. Under questioning by members of the city council, both the water-rate consultant, Steve Donovan, and the city’s Public Works Director Gerald Fisher, confirmed that the increase in SDCs will not preclude a rise in residential water rates for all customers.

Asked to comment on the issue, the city’s communication coordinator, Emmanuel Goicochea, failed to respond to repeated requests.

The population growth, if it persists, will mean water will hit a “deficit” in 2028, Fisher noted.

A big part of the reason is that water SDCs for developers remained too low for too long. Using a “grocery store analogy,” Fisher explained that if apple prices remain the same for two decades, eventually “we have to charge the actual rate for the apple.” That means a potentially dramatic jump in SDCs – pushing the total SDC fees to an estimate of nearly $53,000 for a single-family home.

“I wish we could have charged more for that apple a while ago,” observed Councilor Dawn Roden.

Though no date has been set for residential water-rate discussions, the council tentatively decided to approve the new SDC rate for developers, a move that’s expected to come back for formal approval by the city council in the next few weeks. It is still subject to change, observed Donovan, the consultant on the project. He urged councilors to keep in mind that “this is a snapshot in time.” ▪
 
 
Financial cutbacks announced at 13J but superintendent promises to spare special education
 
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, January 12, 2024

Jobs in departments that stretch across CSD 13J's school district will remain unfilled as part of a first step to address an anticipated looming financial crisis – but special education is very unlikely to be included in the plan, Superintendent Jennifer Kubista confirmed at the school board meeting this week.

With a new school bond campaign now off the table, and pressure to whittle away at costs, there will be hiring moratoriums on positions that are vacant but previously were expected to have replacements, Kubista said.

Two different financial forces are exerting pressure on the budget: a drop in high school student enrollment of about 5% and loss of federal dollars of about $2.5 million, which was emergency-relief funding during covid.

In what she referred to as “belt-tightening,” Kubista announced that all plans for non-instructional purchases are under review and so are any open positions, including announced retirements. Travel will be limited to trips covered by grants, she added. “We are starting to make decisions to save some money,” Kubista explained.

The search for special education teachers, currently underway, will continue – the need is growing and state goals for that instruction must be met, she said.

Though the school board adopted a revised policy for alternative education at the last board meeting, alternative and special education are not the same, explained Emily Mentzer, communications coordinator for the school district.
Alternative education is a school or separate class group designed to best serve students' educational needs and interests and assist students in achieving the academic standards of the school district and state; special education refers to students experiencing disabilities.

Some parents have expressed worry over special education. At a recent holiday party for the community, one parent said she feels the program needs even more support. In fact, “that’s my wish for the coming year,” she said. ▪
 
 
Executive director of The GATE weighs in on opinions shared by Gen Z panelists
 
 
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, January 12, 2024

Gen Z representatives from one end of the Willamette Valley to the other told a packed audience at Salem City Club their life goals differ from the American dream envisioned by many of the attendees, a view that came as no surprise to Ben Bobeda, who has more than a passing familiarity with this generational cohort as executive director of The GATE in Independence.

The GATE, a church-affiliated youth recreation facility, located across Monmouth Street from Central High School, is a home-away-from home for many high schoolers. "They don't seem to want what we did," Bobeda said, noting that this has both an upside and a worrisome one.

Bobeda was interviewed after a panel of Gen Z participants, or "Zoomers," as they are sometimes called, shared their views of what later adulthood will be like for them – views that seemed far less skeptical of government assistance than previous generations.

The Gen Z generation ranges in age today from pre-teen 12-year-olds to those in their mid-to-late 20s. They comprise 20% of the U.S. population and, along with Millennials, will dominate the percentage of voters when they come of age to cast ballots. Their opinions so far seem, on certain issues, more conservative – they are comfortable with all kinds of technology, and consider the march for more of the same in a positive light – and they have developed an early distrust of politics, according to national surveys. However, they also see government’s role liberally, as a helpmate.

Two of the Gen Z panelists praised European policies that mandate low-cost universal health care and family-friendly subsidies. Government should be a provider, several stressed. That's something Bobeda sees, too.

"This is a generation that sees government that way," he said. Is this why planning doesn't seem to be a high priority for some? "I don't think many realize how expensive it will be to live, to have a middle-class lifestyle," he said.

Perhaps the lack of participation in the workforce during high-school years plays a role. Pew Research shows that Gen Z adolescents are less likely to have jobs than previous generations of teenagers: Only 18% of Gen Zs have jobs at typically employed teen ages (15 to 17) compared with 27% of Millennials and 41% of Gen X at the same ages. It may be a chicken-and-egg situation for some.

"Are we as adults helping them?" Bobeda asked. One girl applied to work at seven different places and never heard back from a single one, he said. The lack of outside jobs for Gen Zs can take an unseen toll, he said. The Gen Z panelists emphasized the importance of work-life balance – how important it is for them to carve out time for their relationships. "They are very relational, very oriented that way," Bobeda agreed. But although outside work may represent lost time with others, there's also a lost opportunity for learning, he observed.

The structure, pay and discipline of a job – even performing a list of daily chores – offer life lessons on meeting goals and completing tasks, he pointed out. That can be a huge benefit for navigating adulthood, Bobeda added. Some members of the Gen Z panel confessed that they feel like they spend too much online, scrolling through social media, a downfall of their generation. "Yes, they do know that, about their own (reliance) on electronics," Bobeda said. Both Bobeda and the Gen Z panelists describe this generation as more naturally accepting of cultural and ethnic differences, and more welcoming to those who were targets in previous ones, such as members of the LBGTQ community. But Z Generation also deeply values friends and family, or "traditional values," as Bobeda puts it.

Though the panelists openly disparaged the quest for the "white picket fence" life, the bonds that form in that situation – family members, neighbors, acquaintances – are something they hope they have in abundance.

Those relationships can suffer “if you are focused on that white picket fence, that house, that expensive car," said one. Promoting the American dream for a new generation is simply “a dream someone else is dreaming for me," said another. ▪

Editorial: A list of Trammart News articles that round out the top five stories of the past year
 
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, January 5, 2024

Goodbye 2023. This past year will be one I remember for this reason: The financial chickens came home to roost in Indy. Should this catch us by surprise? Nope.

Seven years ago, Independence's outside auditor expressed concern over the growing municipal debt, right around the time a couple of civil engineers issued warnings about the town’s infrastructure needs, from street deterioration to outdated pipes.

Ditto for aging buildings in CSD 13J School District, which this past year prompted far higher property-tax money from residents than homeowners expected, under a rarely used clause in the law that many found shocking.

The chair of the school board, Donn Wahl, issued a public apology. But what about the city, and its own revenue crisis?

The mayor, John McArdle, and City Manager, Kenna West, took quite a different approach to the city’s tax-dollar drain. The city manager made two trips to my former newspaper to try to get me quashed from covering Independence; The mayor opted for silence, refraining from comment in meetings when reminded that all that past spending occurred on his watch. This observation came from none other than one of the newer council members, Sarah Jobe, who requested an apology that never came.

Councilor Jobe, allow me to salute your bravura in trying to bring to the forefront the financial backstory that brought us to this point. Now for the next troubling question: What lies ahead? Cost cuts? Rate hikes? Reduced services? Or a combination of these?

So, if you want to know the top story of 2023, in my own view, it’s that Independence is in a big fiscal pickle. Meanwhile, CSD 13J is now putting its money woes front and center – possibly to foster more public empathy in preparation for another bond rollout down the road?

We don’t yet know how all of this will shake out. We’ll all have a better idea this time next year. In the meantime, here’s my opinion of the top five stories of 2023, based on my personal impressions of residential reactions in the past 12 months.

1) The wavering financial status of the city-plus-school-district is this year’s top story.
City Manager West may think so, too – she is embarking on a quest to gain support for changing a couple of long-standing propositions that have ruled our tax code, in a role assigned to her by the League of Oregon Cities. It looks like a long shot to get Measures 5 and 50 altered, but good luck with tax-code revisions to bring in more money!

How is the school board handling their monetary squeeze? By wisely backing off from advocating for a new bond. Good thinking, board members. But now what? The needs initially identified by the bond committee for that funding still exist.
For those of you who saw grocery and gas prices go up while spending power went down, I’m going to keep following the monetary needs of the city and schools.

And I’m hopeful that City Manager West will quit trying to shut down my news coverage, but it’s not looking good. So far, she and the city’s communications coordinator have been ignoring all my media inquiries.

2) The worst nightmare at the Independence State Airport came true: a fatal crash.
It came almost a year after my best friend, Amy Jackson and her husband, Denny, died in an out-of-town private plane accident. In the interest of accuracy, I would like to point out that Amy was everyone’s best friend, not just mine.

I never expected anyone outside of Indy to appreciate the airport the way I do. But a few years ago, when I attended a statewide city-planning meeting in Bend, I asked a bunch of city planners what they thought of the growth in Independence. They drew a blank on the hotel, but not the airport – or the river.

Those are high-value aspects for the town, they said. A third is being so close to Salem.

I couldn’t imagine that the quaint downtown and postcard-pretty Riverview Park weren’t getting more buzz. I mentioned the Cooper Building and the way Ash Creek meanders through the park. But it was the river, the airport and Salem proximity that constitute our crown jewels, according to this group. All are enviable “fixed assets,” they explained.

Soon, I will write an article about the recent crash of three pilots seeking a better life in America who miscalculated their landing in the fog at our airport. But I’m not yet ready to do so objectively. When I see the cross by a trio of bouquets on Hoffman Road, my cardiac organ misfires right along with my ocular orbits.

My working title for the upcoming article: Sadness Visible.

3) The trolley made a spectacular difference.

The red, vintage-style buses enabled an easy and enjoyable ride from Monmouth to Independence, and vice versa.

Except for a few disgruntled dog owners who discovered canines can’t be passengers (assist dogs are approved), the trolley has proven to be both popular and iconic, a source of pride as well as a practical means of transportation between the two cities for folk of all ages.

4) The city’s industrial zone began transforming.
Marquis Spa largely moved out; Western Interlock got the greenlight for moving in. All happened in the industrial area along Stryker Road.

Big changes are afoot on the swath of land that’s there – land that is now not much more than open field. I hope to be able to track it all, from start to finish. (I have even set aside a hard hat for construction site visits.) Hopefully, good relationship-building will ensue since any development in the Stryker corridor will have immediate impact on a large neighborhood there.

5) Development took some nose dives.
This might not sound like a big story to you, but let’s put it all together. Dalke Construction feels thwarted by newly increased building charges and other imposed costs at Brandy Meadows in Southwest Independence – the city expects a traffic light at 7th and Monmouth Street to be paid by the developer, with the promise of future incremental reimbursement for the estimated million-dollar cost.

Also languishing is the unfinished downtown building known colloquially as Stonehenge – officially Station 203 – and it’s on the market again. This skeletal structure has changed hands more times than a square-dance partner since breaking ground in 2005.

And, the Elks Club is now suing the realtor-turned-developer Aaron Young for failing to build on a lot that was sold by the city at a whoppingly low price, as a site for the organization’s new lodge.

All three of these major projects seem stymied. Do they represent a trend? Time will tell.
This is why you need a news outlet. To keep abreast, to learn what’s transpiring. So, here is a reminder to City Manager West and all others who find bad news so downright irritating.

Nobody should feel compelled to express anything but dislike about the person named Anne Scheck – and if you want to shout disparaging phrases about me from the rooftops, that is your right under the First Amendment. And you should feel free to exercise that right.

But trying to stop the wheel of local journalism is different. Take a look at George Washington, who was verbally crucified by some news reports – and so was Abe Lincoln. Yet both presidents wanted those presses to keep rolling, to continue to provide an important part of American democracy, freedom of speech. So do I.

Good luck in the year ahead. Trammart News will do its very best to keep you informed. ▪

(Trammart News welcomes all editorial commentary that is not specifically targeted at a resident or business. For a guest editorial, simply email [email protected].)
 
 
Polk County District Attorney Aaron Felton says DA work takes an out-of-office team effort
 
 
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, January 5, 2024

The coat that Polk County District Attorney Aaron Felton wore to deliver a year-end update to the county commissioners represents the expansive role of the DA’s office, he said.

It’s a sherpa jacket, designed for outdoor use – in the field and out of the courtroom – at sites where he and his staff often need to be.

“The bread-and-butter things go on in the office,” he explained. From crime scenes to car crashes, “we often go into situations” that could be described as tragic events, he said. At such sites, he and his staff are easily identifiable as a “public safety partner.”

The term refers to the tack being taken by Polk County, which focuses on working tightly and collaboratively with law enforcement and behavioral health. It differs substantially from the way things were done when he started 25 years ago, Felton observed.

It’s a strategy that means more streamlined processing. There’s more immediate access to alternative treatment plans, a faster track to probation and quick action on uncomplicated cases, known as “contemporaneous” judgments, Felton said.

With 50-100 cases at any one time in his office, he credited a team in other parts of the system that has helped him with such “a big lift.”

Felton singled out two key people: Judge Norman Hill, who is managing a “rapid resolution docket” and Jodi Merritt, who has instituted a “lunch and learn” program for cross-coordination. Merritt is director of the county’s community correction service programs, juvenile department.

“All of the various professions (and) roles within the criminal justice system come with a variety of rules and responsibilities that are complex and, at times, misunderstood,” Merritt explained. “These meetings provided an opportunity to discuss, ask questions, develop relationships and solutions that will assist both agencies in the future.”

The topics so far have ranged from what constitutes “Intake” – supervision conditions, expectations of supervision, assessments and case planning – to the differences between probation, post-prison supervision and parole.
As one observer pointed out, “this is the anti-silo approach.”

Felton said the “lunch and learn” program is likely to become even more inclusive. He expects to continue to report on its impact in 2024. ▪

(This is part of an ongoing effort to report on the county judicial system, a series begun during covid.)
 

Endearing deer are making Independence home-sweet-home but need to be treated like wildlife
 
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, January 5, 2024

They leave paw prints on garden pathways and nose around yards, dining on azalea and rhododendron plants.
They’re deer, and they are being seen a lot this year -- by the railroad tracks on A Street, near the sidewalks of Riverview Park and on the taxiways by the Independence State Airport.

It is hard to pin down whether there are more deer now than ever before or simply more deer who are unafraid to venture into city limits, due to becoming familiar with friendly humans who don’t shoo them out of flower beds and, in some cases, provide food and water at special tree-covered stations.

“We don’t track population numbers at the town level but it’s not surprising that more deer are seen in Independence or other developed areas,” said Beth Quillian, North Coast, North and South Willamette Watersheds Communications Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A small town like Independence, flanked by open fields, often provides shelter and a variety of food sources safe from predators, she explained.

“Well-intentioned people often feed deer, elk and other wildlife without realizing the problems feeding can create,” she said, noting that this can interfere with the animals’ natural way of life. “Once wildlife associate people with giving them food, they come to expect it,” she added.

So it may be that deer are anticipating a warm welcome in winter by the Independence residential community.

If so, that makes it “a great time to get a head start on reminding people to leave young wildlife alone,” Quillian cautioned. Oregon's deer give birth from May through July. It’s natural for mother animals to leave their young alone and hidden for extended periods of time while they go off to feed,” she said. “So never assume a young animal is orphaned when you see it alone,” Quillian stressed. In fact, deer may park their fawns in seemingly odd places, like tall grass waiting for a lawn mower. ▪

(Trammart News periodically examines wildlife of the region. Next up: Where have all the nutria gone?)