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Indy Online News Posts, March 29, 2024

3/29/2024

A rate hike for Brandt's Sanitation Service is on the way, effective this May

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service

A 7.9% increase to current rates charged by Brandt’s Sanitation Service for trash pick-up and recycling will go into effect this May. It’s the second fee hike in the past two years for the Monmouth-based company.

The increase was approved by the Independence City Council at its most recent meeting.

In a separate development, Independence’s leaf pickup program may become part of Brandt’s operation in the future through additional yard debris pick-up, due to city budget constraints, according to the head of the company, Joshua Brandt, who spoke at the city council meeting.

The challenge for any additional services is to “figure out how we can make those changes and try to have it not be so dramatic to everyone, the customers,” he said.

The pressure to keep costs down is a continuing one: Across the nation, rising charges for collection services have been reported due to factors ranging from increased landfill fees to growing labor costs. The situation is one that is no longer simply “creeping up” but now is “leaping up,” reported one regional trash service provider in California.

In Oregon, for example, the standard minimum wage increased from $13.50 to $14.20 this past July, according to the state’s Bureau of Labor and Industries.

Brandt’s Sanitation Service, a family-owned business, has been serving the Independence and Monmouth communities for more than seven decades. ▪

Polk County Commissioner Jeremy Gordon shares the developing county program on homelessnessBy Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, March 29, 2024

The saying goes that all politics is local. In addressing homelessness in Polk County, Commissioner Jeremy Gordon was handed a political "hot potato" that isn't local at all — in fact, it is involving multiple cities.

The funding that Polk County received from the state to help meet the challenge of homelessness is a cross-county collaborative effort with multiple public agencies, ranging from school districts to police departments. Gordon, who helms the effort, observed that it includes the cities of Independence, Monmouth, Dallas, Falls City, Willamina and the Grand Ronde community.

In a presentation to the Independence City Council in mid-March, Gordon explained the program. Called PATHS, an acronym for Partners Aligned Toward Housing Solutions, a chief goal is prevention — keeping homelessness from happening before it hits at-risk families or individuals.

“That’s the core of our goal here,” Gordon said, noting that PATHS meetings are now held every other month with community leaders. PATHS is detailing who these “struggling community members” can be. They “could include the check-out person at the grocery store, the people you volunteer to serve at the local food bank, your favorite barista making your coffee in the morning, or your child’s classmate,” according to the initial PATHS report.

The problem of homelessness has been dubbed in media reports as this decade’s “hot potato” issue, a term that seems to have been coined eight years ago by the Los Angeles Times, when homelessness was identified as a pressing problem with proposed solutions that almost invariably cause controversy.

The backlash has proven so formidable that a non-profit Canadian group battling homelessness calls themselves the “Hot Potato Initiative.” In Monmouth, a proposal to use a church lot for a modular shelter, which quickly reached “hot potato” status, was dropped after a sustained outcry by neighbors.

Gordon explained that it isn’t only collaboration that PATHS is undertaking though, obviously, that’s key. There is also emphasis on data-gathering, as well — the evidence being collected can help show where and when “we may need to change course,” he said.

For example, analysis shows the growing homeless rate has been affected by the lack of affordable housing. The vacancy rate across the county is “very low,” Gordon pointed out. Meanwhile, the median rent has climbed to an all-time high.

The average rent in Polk County rose hundreds of dollars from the four-year period of 2011-2016, a baseline period for the report. Currently, a two-bedroom apartment in Polk County typically is about $1,500 monthly, according to PATHS.

The findings so far indicate that 45 households, including 22 families, are homeless; 114 people are sleeping in cars, with 33 minors experiencing homelessness, he said.

When Independence City Councilor Sarah Jobe pointed out that some statistics in the city council agenda packet included a report on homelessness that listed an overwhelming majority of Independence households receive assistance from the Department of Human Services, Gordon said he would check those numbers. He followed up later by stating that he would notify DHS of the possible error.

The PATHS presentation appeared to be an introduction to the work performed so far, which is ongoing. Trammart News will follow the developments. ▪

A Marine who served in Vietnam shares a remembrance from his time there, a lesson for life

Trammart News Service

Billy Whisenant, of American Legion Post 33 in Independence, wrote the following memory about his time in Vietnam. With very light editing, it appears just as he composed it. Trammart News requested the essay for its deeply affecting account of a wartime experience – it is one from which so many can benefit, an account illustrating how, even in the darkest of hours, a small sign like a single flower can become a lifelong token of remembrance and restoration. It’s an inspiring tribute for National Vietnam War Veterans Day. -- AS

The White Bloom
By Billy Whisenant

When I was 19, I was enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, and I was stationed in Vietnam in an area known as Dong Ha. I had only been in Vietnam for two weeks and was waiting to be assigned to a unit.

An old-timer, the term for men who had been in Vietnam and close to being able to rotate out, asked me one day if I wanted to go to graves registration. It was an opportunity to take a drive in a Jeep, and to get away from the sitting and waiting with not much to do in that time.

When we arrived at graves registration there were a row of bodies, all Marines. They were not yet in the body bags. There was a body bag lying beside each body.

I remember seeing the tag on the toe of one of the bodies that were used to identify them. I can remember the bodies, or at least some of them, being in parts. As I walked past, I immediately knew what death was. It was something that I had never experienced or seen so much of at one time.

I counted 12 Marines in that row and, as I raised my head from the downward right angle I had been viewing and understanding death, I saw a dead-looking bush ahead of me, about 10 feet to the left of the path I was on.

There was one white bloom on that dead-looking bush. The thought that came to me upon seeing this white bloom was that, as long as I am alive, I can perceive the beauty in that one flower. That flower represented life to me.

To continue my thought … that as long as I am alive, I can see that beauty, and that I will do everything I can to stay alive because of my very recent understanding of death.

This experience was one whose meaning has remained with me. Within the past five years, I have come to believe that, when we are completely engulfed by our day-to-day activities, functions, or responsibilities, that we can sometimes forget to look for that beauty that is always around us.

I have had times where I forgot to look for that beauty. In this time, I remind myself to always look, to be aware, to not be too absorbed with my circumstance no matter what it might be, and to not only see but appreciate the truth that beauty is around us and within us. ▪

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Indy Online News Stories March 22, 2024

3/22/2024

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Two city councilors call nearly half-million-dollar for park additions at Sunset Meadows too high

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, March 22, 2024

Nearly $460,000 to build a nature play area at Sunset Meadows Park was approved at the last Independence City Council meeting — but two councilors who questioned the process voted against it, calling the amount excessive.

“Oh my gosh, a half million dollars for this park?” said Councilor Sarah Jobe. She was joined by Councilor Dawn Roden, who urged the council to consider the deficit that the city is facing and the fact that the sum needed comes from a single bid. “I cannot believe we would bring this to the council with one bid,” Roden said. Both Roden and Jobe called for more bids.

A question about the bidding process by the city, in which the bid advertisement was found by Trammart News to include a requirement for interested parties to register with an outside agency prior to submission, went unanswered by the city’s communications coordinator, Emmanuel Goicochea, despite several attempts to obtain an explanation.

The nature-play area at Sunset Meadows Park, which was designed in part years ago, includes wood logs with netting, park benches, a slide and a swing set. The nature-play addition also requires drainage and other infrastructure, according to the plans.

Other cities seeking park improvements and similar infrastructure in the same period didn’t include this same pre-registration step with a separate company, according to several ads for bids that were published during the same period in the Journal of Commerce, where the city’s ad appeared.

Councilor Kate Schwarzler pointed out that the money for the Sunset Meadows Park infrastructure comes from a specifically designated fund for parks that is funded by system development charges from builders. Those funds are available and “dedicated to the SDC process,” she explained.

However, the amount of SDC money in the current budget shows the fund to be $434,735 — a sum more than $20,000 below the bid. The fund was confirmed as the one being utilized by Independence Public Works Director Gerald Fisher at a recent Parks and Recreation Board meeting.

Sunset Meadows Park also is the recipient of $75,000 from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and has received a private donation of $50,000 for the upgrades, as well, Fisher said. Pacific Power has donated $3,500 for the installation of trees.

In a vote in which Roden and Jobe dissented, the construction contract was awarded to GT Landscape Solutions in the amount of $457,112.20.

Though the Sunset Meadows Park nature-play addition was repeatedly referenced by Fisher, a city councilor and other city staff as being warranted in the City Parks Master Plan, no listing of this project as a priority could be found in the Independence Parks and Open Space Master Plan by Trammart News, and continued inquiries will be made. ▪

The new chair of the Historic Preservation Commission is a familiar face – and a voice for change
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, March 22, 2024

Jennifer Flores, the new chair of the Independence Historic Preservation Commission, became intrigued by the city’s historic preservation process from what arguably was a near-death experience associated with it.

Nearly a decade ago, she had identified a big tree in her yard as old and hazardous – but she got no traction with city staff over that declaration. The tall tree was seen as a historic asset.

“What caused me to join the Historic Preservation Committee was a 100-foot Bigleaf Maple,” she recalled, explaining that it was “a beautiful but very sick ‘historic’ tree.”

Then, one day, a crashing thud proved her assessment wholly accurate. The maple “took out my neighbor’s truck and almost me,” she said. “Eight years later, I'm still here.” Last week, with the departure of the chair, Curtis Tidmore, she was elected to replace him.

Flores has never been just a mere presence on the HPC, the acronym for the board to which she was appointed. She has made her opinions known almost since the day she accepted the seat. She called the apartment-townhome complex by the Willamette River, Independence Landing, a place that looks like a bunch of boxes. She decried the fact that a natural brick color, like the one previously on the exterior at Umpqua Bank downtown, would be painted over in light tones of whitish beige.

However, her most ardent pursuit of preservation has been in the service of trying to make people more aware of it in the historic district, which encompasses most of downtown, with a few notable exceptions. (One is the plan for what several have dubbed “the container house,” a lot that won approval for a design that looks like modern housing in Iceland, according to critics.)

Flores has been pushing for changes to better spread information, including the insertion of a line at the bottom of the utility billing that’s given to new homeowners or residents of Independence that would, essentially, state “if you own, rent, or otherwise live in a historic home and want to make external changes, please contact” the appropriate city staff member.
There are so many aspects to owning a historic home that individuals who live in them need to know, she pointed out.

She also has been calling for short videos with similar information to be placed on social media.

“We have some younger homeowners who aren't of the ‘paper generation,’” she explained.
Her first meeting as chair was no exception. She had an idea to make the city website easier to use for homeowners in the historic district. Finding information at one click rather than navigating different categories to find information would be beneficial, she said, suggesting “a single button on the home screen that says, ‘Here is all you need to know.’” ▪

The problem of succession on farms rears its head again in recent meetings and the state legislature

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, March 22, 2024

Who can save the family farm? Someone needs to – total farmland is down 4% and farms have decreased 5.5% in Oregon. “We are going to be looking for first-generation farmers,” said Lisa Charpilloz Hanson, the newly appointed director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, who was named to the post in 2023.

“We need to encourage our young people to explore agriculture,” stressed Hanson, who was deputy director of ODA for more than 15 years before taking the helm of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board about two years ago.

A newly released Agriculture Census by the USDA, which was completed in 2022 and is conducted every five years, shows a steady dip in the percentage of farms, farmers and farmland in the Pacific Northwest – findings that are troubling, Hanson told attendees at the annual SEDCOR Ag Breakfast recently, which was held at Mid-Willamette Valley venues in both Polk and Marion counties. The situation is serious, she said. But there are some countermeasures. Organizations like “Friends of the Family Farmers,” which is active across the state, offer engagement programs that enable work and study with participating farmers and ranchers.

The same topic dominated meetups that ranged from one at the Rickreall Grange, which showed a film documenting the history of land-use protection in Oregon and the fight for those laws, to the annual conference of the Nut Growers Society in Salem, where an entire session was devoted to succession.

At the Rickreall gathering, State Rep. Anna Scharf observed that one of her children told her flatly that farm life wasn’t going to be a professional fit in adulthood. She said she’s not certain about who will take over their family farm when that day arrives. Scharf, who represents the 23rd House District, which includes portions of Polk County, quipped: “Maybe I should have had more children.”

A staunch advocate of farmland retention and protection, Scharf also is worried about other farmers who are struggling with the same succession issues. Some offspring don't want a 365-day, no time-off job that involves stressors that may include constant decision-making amid periods of intense labor, she added.

The succession issue, along with other farmland-related matters, seemed to surface more intensively recently – perhaps due to the short session of the Oregon lawmakers. Two significant pieces of legislation came into wide focus over the past few weeks.

House Bill 4026 passed the House and Senate with an impressive bipartisan vote, prohibits land-use changes to be put on a referendum ballot. Senate Bill 1537, which is supported by Gov. Tina Kotek, would put millions toward solving the state’s housing shortages and homelessness – a broad measure that’s causing debate because it allegedly enables some avoidance of Oregon’s stringent land-use laws. ▪

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Indy News Online Stories for March 15, 2024

3/15/2024

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Independence City Manager Kenna West gets contract for new salary of $160,000 annually

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, March 15, 2024

The Independence City Council on Tuesday approved an annual salary of $160,000 for City Manager Kenna West, with an additional $670 per month for a car allowance. West was named to the position in May 2022.

The vote was unanimous.

The contract includes all the benefits afforded previous city managers, plus an agreement to pay $2,000 yearly for maintaining West’s membership in the Oregon State Bar. The organization oversees and regulates law practice in the state.

In making the decision to increase West’s salary, Independence surveyed other Oregon cities, to determine the levels of pay for other city managers.

In nearby Monmouth, for example, the current ad for a city manager – the city has an interim top administrator until a permanent city manager is appointed – offers the job at a negotiated amount between $140,000 to $170,000 a year. ▪

Monmouth Independence Climate Group announces the "Imagine Our Future" event and invites submissions

By Stephen Howard
for Trammart News Service, March 15, 2024
Earth Day this year will celebrate works from local participants in the "Imagine Our Future" showcase by the Monmouth-Independence Climate Group, now receiving submissions for its second year of the event. "We’re inviting everyone in our community to share their vision of a positive, sustainable future with each other through creative writing or visual art," said Stephen Howard, one of the primary organizers. "Too often the words 'sustainability' and 'the future' prompt images of despair or sacrifice," or both. "We would like to help our community change the narrative about our future."

Submissions for the event are open until the end of March with Earth Day launch on April 22 of the submitted works. The site for the showcase is at the link, including a link to last year’s submissions:
https://mitown-climate.org/imagine-our-future

Howard explains the genesis of the showcase, his involvement and the group itself.

The Imagine Our Future project started in a quiet period between our group’s education and
advocacy efforts. It is easy to slide into doubt and despair about what the future might hold in
store for us if we don’t address climate change quickly enough. Those fears can turn people
away from facing the problem instead of towards it.

In the spring of 2022, I came across an art and literary movement called solarpunk which aimed
to envision what the world might look like if we got things right: if we addressed climate
change well and took care of each other while doing it. I suggested we might try doing
something like that on the local level, and the Imagine Our Future showcase was born.
We reached out to local art groups, writers, and educators — both to let them know about the
project, and to see what the creative people in our community might need to participate in our
project. As a programmer and a writer I helped take the idea for the project and the feedback
from the community and built the showcase website and submission process.

TN: You have invited anyone in the community to envision the future through visual art or
the written word. Do drawings from children qualify as entries? And, if so, what would
you like to tell youth about how to look at climate change to get ideas?

We absolutely want drawings from children to be part of the showcase. Kids should know that
climate change can feel like an overwhelming problem to adults too; but we don’t have to fix it
all at once. They should know that we already have most of the tools we need to fix things right
now, and we can still have a fun, promising future.

For ideas, we have a handful of different starter ideas on the showcase website, and lots of
short summaries on different kinds of climate solutions they can include in their art.

TN: When you received submissions last year, did any surprise you in terms of views on
sustainability -- was there some writing among them, for example, you had never thought
about yourself?

I really appreciated how many of the submitted pieces took time to show how we were caring
for each other in the future. When working on climate solutions it’s very easy to spend a lot of
time on the technical and political parts of the process. Those are important, but it’s good to be
reminded that this will only be sustainable if we make sure everyone has what they need, both
materially and socially.

TN: Climate change often is regarded as a future event but even with our current weather
you frequently hear people say the extreme rains or recent snow is a a result of "climate
change." So it is here already?

This is one of the hardest parts of communicating about the climate crisis. It progresses at a
pace that is hard to notice day to day, but is easy to identify looking back over time. The
increased frequency and intensity of weather events and natural disasters are the clearest
indicators to the public that climate change has arrived. But it is important to remember that
every bit of future warming we can prevent makes a difference in how much more extreme
these events can be in the future.

TN: The "Imagine Our Future" showcase seems like a good way to provide outreach for
this issue. Are there any other efforts by the climate group that people should know
about but haven't received much visibility?

About three years ago we worked with both cities to pass climate resolutions that recognized
the crisis and pledged to take local steps to address climate change. We hosted a home
energy efficiency forum at the Monmouth Library last year. A couple of our members write
climate related pieces in the Corvallis Gazette-Times and the Polk Itemizer-Observer. We are
also actively working on drafting a community climate action plan that we hope can be a
resource for the cities, the school district, businesses, and families.

TN: What are one or two actions you might recommend that people can do right away, in
their daily lives, to address climate change?

On our website, the resource guide for families and individuals starts, “Step One: It's ok to talk
about climate.” If you are concerned about climate change, you should let the people in your
life know it. Solutions only happen if people are thinking about the problem in the first place.
The important thing about taking personal climate action is that it be something you can
embrace as a new part of your life. For some people that might be learning a few vegetarian
dishes to add to their diet. Others might try taking the trolley or walking to work. Others might
be looking at the more affordable new electric vehicles that are starting to hit the market. The
best climate actions are the ones you can sustain and feel good about.

TN: How long has your group been engaged in this effort? I understand representatives of
both Monmouth and Independence are involved -- is it an M-I project or does it now
extend across Polk County?

The Monmouth-Independence Climate Group has been meeting since 2019. We have
members from both cities. A few folks from Dallas have attended some of our monthly
meetings, but until we have some dedicated members from there our focus is on the MI
community specifically. It’s important to us that any expansion of our efforts be led by people
who live where the changes are happening.

TN: If someone would like to become involved in your group, how would they do so?

People are welcome to reach out to us via the contact form on our website. We have both a
general mailing list for people who want to know what we’re up to, and a monthly online
meeting for people who would like to be more involved. They can also let us know if they have
public locations to put up posters for the Imagine Our Future showcase.▪

City Debt. First in a series that takes a look at the financial crisis of Independence

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, March 15, 2024
Is Independence broke?

This question began circulating after a recent city council meeting, following approval of fees for housing construction that caused multiple developers to say they will no longer work in Independence – citing new more-than-$50,000-per home costs to build.

If so, Independence is facing a serious money crisis, according to several of those associated with the city. An analysis by Trammart News confirms that finding – two indicators of municipal fiscal distress support it.

The per capita debt now exceeds $4,000 per person; Independence’s tax revenue barely pays for the police force.

The city manager, Kenna West, and communications coordinator, Emmanuel Goicochea, haven’t responded to numerous email inquiries about the debt by Trammart News. However, two city councilors – Shannon Corr and Dawn Roden – have publicly expressed worry over city finances.

City Councilor Corr observed that “we already are in a hole – already in a deep, deep hole.” Corr made those comments as building fees were being debated. Councilor Roden asked about the possibility of declaring municipal bankruptcy. If builders flee, “this isn’t going to work. It is not going to pencil out,” Roden said, referring to the recently adopted hikes, called system development charges.

The tipping point appears to be a plan for a new water treatment facility, which will require millions of dollars for acquisition of land south of town and millions more for construction and technology. Current estimates put the price at $44 million. A $10 million loan for the design recently won approval by the city council.

The loan, when added to the city's present nearly $37 million debt, appears to show two troubling signs for Independence.

Towns fall short in a “financial strength test” when they exceed a debt of $3,500-to-$3,600 per person, which is calculated by dividing the amount of city debt by the number of residents. Another measure of strength is the ability of a city to pay for municipal services with tax dollars.
The first test was shared by financial authority Robert Barron. Before the pandemic, he spoke at a Salem City Club presentation, prior to departing from his Salem position as finance director for a regional job.

The second test of strength is a generally accepted one: How well do tax revenues fund city operations? The city's property tax revenue isn’t even able to entirely cover the police budget, Mayor John McArdle affirmed in his annual “State of the City” address recently.

The circumstances appear to have prompted Councilor Roden to ask about the plausibility of bankruptcy at a recent city council meeting – if the city filed bankruptcy on its outstanding debt, would that mean the money needed for the water-treatment facilities could be made available without placing such a heavy monetary burden on builders?

“You simply are taking local control away from you and putting it in the hands of a federal judge,” warned Steve Donovan, the water-engineering consultant on the project.

The debt was an issue raised a seven years ago, after the city’s auditor at the time, Kamala Austin of Merina & Co., presented the results of the municipal audit. Austin cited it as an area of concern.

After that occurred, Trammart News approached State Rep. Paul Evans to determine if bankruptcy could provide a potential option for local governments in Oregon. With very rare exceptions, the answer is no, Evans verified.

Although many in city management across the state have attributed the financial stress on cities to the limits on taxation – specifically the constraints of Measures 5 and 50 – Independence appears to be in more severe difficulty than Monmouth, its neighboring town.

Months ago, a longtime resident of Monmouth who works in both cities explained that the money-managing approach taken by the two towns is strikingly different. For example, Monmouth voters passed bonds to finance its city hall and police station – dollars that come from property-tax billing and not city coffers.

Independence, in contrast, took out loans for its city hall and police department, and added an event section, transforming the building into a “civic center. “ Another loan was taken out by Independence when the city opted to relocate the Heritage Museum to a building downtown.

The total cost to both cities appears to be about the same, substantially exceeding $10 million. But Monmouth relies on tax rolls to make those payments. Independence allocates the money from city funds.

(Next in series on Independence debt: Why funds for park improvement proved controversial) ▪

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Indy News Online stories for March 8, 2024

3/8/2024

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Where the sidewalk ends in Brandy Meadows, builders say development will, too--due to high fees

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, March 8, 2024

Builders in the southwest section of Independence – the site of the city’s newest subdivision, Brandy Meadows – have announced plans to abandon future construction there, citing development fees that have increased to more than $50,000.

A resolution unanimously passed at the last city council meeting hikes system development charges for water from $3,307 per home to $22,567, an addition that now makes total building fees so expensive it effectively shuts down the 226-lot project by Allied Development of Scottsdale Arizona, according to representatives of the company.

“It will kill this deal,” said David Hill, senior vice president at Allied. “Developers will not build in your community because the SDC rates will be cost-prohibitive,” added Mike Connors, Allied’s attorney. Both men joined the meeting remotely and requested a 90-day period before the vote finalized the proposal, though no extension was offered.

Citing a need to keep the cost burden for needed infrastructure away from the billings of residential rate payors, the city council approved the increase. The approval comes in the wake of plans for a new water treatment plant – a $10 million loan from the state already has been secured to finance its design package.

After the meeting, a builder identified as one of the most trusted names in construction across the Willamette Valley, said he will also call a halt to his work in completing the remainder of the Brandy Meadows subdivision. “It just doesn’t pencil out” with the adoption of the new SDCs, said Larry Dalke of Salem-based Dalke Construction.

Dalke was described by business colleagues as an industry leader for his fair-minded business practices and high-quality homes, including longtime Independence resident David Setniker, who owns a large portion of land in Brandy Meadows.

At the city council meeting, Setniker warned: “They are going to walk and you are not going to have anything.” He also offered potential well locations on his own land to help meet the pressing demand for water by the city.

Despite warnings by Connors, Allied’s lawyer, that the high SDCs could cause state officials to perceive Independence as failing to meet housing affordability standards – possibly jeopardizing millions of infrastructure dollars in prospective state allocations – Independence City Manager Kenna West called the potential funding from SB 1537 “a drop in the bucket.”

“The fact that they have $200 million on infrastructure funding is a drop in the bucket,” West said, in an apparent push for passage of the new SDCs.

A few weeks ago, Mike Erdmann, chief executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Marion & Polk Counties, met with city staff to address some of the objections about the SDCs, a meeting that resulted in lowering them by about $2,000. Asked why not all builders said they are leaving Independence, Erdmann said that any builder who has already purchased lots really has no choice. “They already have a sizable financial investment they can’t walk away from,” he explained.

“What I do believe will happen, though, is that developers won’t move forward with creating future residential lots as they’ll have tremendous difficulty finding buyers for those lots,” he explained.

Mark Bybee, of Bybee & Associates, told councilors he is now building in Dallas OR and doesn’t plan to continue in Independence. “We just cannot sustain it (here),” he said. ▪

Central School District announces recovery is underway from the recent cyberattack but slow-goingBy Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, March 8, 2024

As Central School District works to resume all online functions after a recent cyberattack, teachers and students will be “learning like it’s 1985” – and some of them have been dressing for that era, too, said CSD Superintendent Jennifer Kubista.

Neon clothing, big hair and other four-decade-old fashion trends have been adopted by some school staff, faculty and students as part of the adjustment to what Kubista called a new “pen and paper” time until Wi-Fi is fully restored.

Some of the perpetrators – from a group known as Lockbit – have been apprehended. Thanks, in part, to forensics experts provided by the school district’s insurance – as well as help from various local agencies – the process is now underway “to safely rebuild and restore our entire network and system,” Kubista said.

No ransom was paid and the only immediate cost to the district is payment of the deductible for the insurance policy. “We are really in a good position,” Kubista said, adding that there is an intense effort to get all desktop computers, including the software for PowerSchool, completely back up and running. Certain student information systems – Google, website and email – were relatively unaffected, she noted.

The Lockbit cybercriminals, as they are sometimes called, have been targets of the US Justice Department in recent years, resulting in multiple arrests of the hackers, often described as “Russian Nationals” in news accounts.

Over the past several weeks, the organization – considered one of the most prolific ransomware attackers in the world – was dealt a crushing blow through detection and suppression of its network operations by federal and international authorities, including the FBI. CSD’s system was one of its latest victims.

Kubista thanked the “community partners” who helped during the crisis. They include Independence Police Chief Robert Mason; Jason Kistler, the IT director for the City of Independence; PJ Armstrong, general manager of MINET, which delivered “hotspots” to some school areas; Evan Sorce of Western Oregon University – WOU delivered internet service to teachers in buildings, as well as providing printing services; And Willamette ESD, which took on some of the functions ordinarily performed by CSD staff.

The investigation is continuing, Kubista said. If it is found that information was compromised during the attack, those who may be affected will be notified “consistent with relevant laws,” she said. ▪

County probation officers are teaming up with behavioral health staff to meet the needs of offendersBy Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, March 8, 2024

County corrections staff and behavioral health specialists have teamed up to offer a voluntary program they hope will help reshape the lives of individuals on parole and probation who are battling mental illness.

In a presentation to the Polk County Board of Commissioners this past Tuesday, the aim of the program was explained: To reduce the level of repeat offenses for parolees or those on probation by meeting their mental health needs. “The hope is to find improvement” in both the lives of the participants and in guarding public safety, said Alba Garcia, health services supervisor for Polk County Behavioral Health.

Called FACT, an acronym for “Forensic Assertive Community Treatment,” the program has been providing services to approximately 35 clients since its inception in April 2021. An estimated 40% of those who are jailed are impacted by mental health issues, observed Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton, when asked about the percentage of those taken into custody who have mental health disorders.

Those in the FACT program struggle mentally and emotionally in ways both big and small, said Jim Rydzewski, probation officer for Polk County Community Corrections. One example is a woman who appears to have schizophrenia – but denies it.

In and out of the criminal justice system, she just wasn’t able to respond appropriately in fairly typical circumstances, acting disruptively and seeing “the world as being against her,” he said. She was homeless and in need of intervention.

Thanks to FACT, she’s now housed and complying with medication; Her day-to-day functioning has improved to the point that see seems ready for the next step, which may be employment, he said.

Both Garcia and Rydzewski observed that FACT helps build relationships, a result that seems to translate into greater engagement – and commitment – among staff with members of this at-risk group. Access to the program is limited to the individual's time they are being supervised by the Polk County Criminal Court system.

“As individuals meet the milestones of improvement and adequate life management, such as self-care and medication compliance, their involvement and contacts with the program decrease based on their individual needs,” explained Jodi Merritt, director of Polk County Community Corrections Community Service Programs Juvenile Department.

“Success is relative and different for every participant and is based on each participant’s individual challenges and mental health needs,” Merritt added.

Upon successful completion of supervision, FACT participants may have the opportunity to participate in a similar county program, even when they are no longer “justice-involved,” she said.

The FACT program relies on appropriate funding levels and staff to be provided at full capacity, according to county officials. However, it is likely to remain available for the foreseeable future, they confirmed. ▪

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Indy News Online stories for March 1, 2024

3/1/2024

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"State of the City" presentation by Indy's mayor showcases milestones amid new challenges ahead

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, March 1, 2024

Independence is a town filled with “cultural gems,” ranging from the MI Trolley to the Heritage Museum, but it’s grappling with the same financial strain affecting other small cities across the state, according to Independence Mayor John McArdle, who issued that message Wednesday morning during his annual “State of the City” address.

“We, like cities all over Oregon, are facing increased (funding) challenges as we try to fund our basic services,” Mayor McArdle said. The city's property tax revenue "doesn’t even cover the police budget,” he added.

Though the mayor was present, the nearly three dozen attendees viewed him in a video shown at the Monmouth City Hall, this year’s venue for the event.

In it, McArdle credited “successful grants and strong partnerships” with helping the city meet its goals. The hard work of clinching grants and forging collaborative partnerships, such as with the sibling city of Monmouth, has helped Independence attain some of the city’s success – showing a capacity “to do more with less.”

The mayor noted that millions of dollars have been added to the city coffers – a result of federal and state assistance by Oregon legislators including Rep. Paul Evans and Sen. Deb Patterson – to help build infrastructure, such as the much-needed Chestnut Street Bridge and the realignment of Polk and Main streets.

He cited a community center as a future amenity and more housing as a necessity. “We can’t say we don’t want to grow,” McArdle said.

In the video, he stressed that Measure 5 and Measure 50 – tax measures that limit tax increases in Oregon – have seriously impacted the city, citing cuts in the recent city budget. “We had to do it,” he said.

Calling Independence the envy of other similar cities in Oregon, the mayor pointed out that, to stay the course, fees and levies cannot be ruled out. “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” McArdle said.

Please note: Nicki Marazzani, executive director of the MI Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the event, is providing a link to Mayor McArdle's address -- https://youtu.be/auO5RIcUW7U?si=4dNJDWrceyvCy0p5

Thank you, Ms. Marazzani from Trammart News -- the recording allowed a quote in the initial reporting to be expanded and clarified. ▪

Recent memories of Ukraine: A story of a homeland torn by war from a local exchange student

By Nelia Omelchenko
March 1, 2024

Nights with air raids, days with power cuts. Classes in basements, soldiers in the street.
Those were just some of the changes we felt in Ukraine, amid the sorrow and destruction of a full-scale Russian invasion that engulfed us in war.

I’m Nelia, a 16-year-old FLEX exchange student from Ukraine, who came here in August for a year-long stay arranged through ASSE International. And I’d like to describe for you how our typical day was running back home.

Mornings usually start with checking to see whether you have electricity.

Last winter, we suffered massive power cuts in Ukraine. For a certain period of time, we only had about two hours of electricity per day in my home Sumy region.

Our last power cut came in the spring, as everything has now been repaired. But the habit of making sure to turn off the light on time still persists for the majority of us.

Upon waking up, we were having to count how many hours we needed to cook, clean and study, versus things that are possible, at least theoretically, without electricity.

That kind of time management is tough. Hopefully, we won’t need to do that from now on.
Just as people all around the world learned to keep masks in every pocket during the pandemic, Ukrainians have learned to carry flashlights with them, and sometimes have extra generators at home.

Then it’s time to go to school. There’s a high possibility of meeting many defenders.

The city that I describe is Sumy. It lies in the northeastern part of the country, which shares 350 miles of border with Russia.

Sumy is not a battlefield itself, though proximity to Russia makes its outskirts prone to frequent attacks.

Badly injured soldiers and destroyed civilian buildings never fail to remind us of what is going on. But their reconstruction, through prosthetics in the one case and bricks and mortar in the other, imbue us with a strong belief that we will overcome this dark period of our history.
Classes at school are still productive. Teachers do their best to continue to instruct at a high level. But classes are punctuated by sporadic air raids.

Maks, a 16-year-old classmate of mine, has learned to predict local air raid sirens five minutes in advance.

A student of politics, statistics and analysis, he follows the pattern of air raid alerts on an online map. That way, he can see when our turn is coming.

That way, everyone has five more minutes to get down to the basement. Without any sense of fear, everyone in the school heads to the shelter.

Kids aren’t afraid of the danger posed by the missiles anymore. They just go downstairs to study, socialize or play together until it passes.

Some classes pay attention to managing stress, coping with mental issues and giving first aid to injured people.

NATO’s acronym MARCH is known now by the majority of students. It directs students to check for life-threatening conditions in an injured person in a specific order. M stands for massive bleeding, A for airways, R for respiration, C for circulation, H for head injuries and hypothermia.

Moreover, students have developed one more after-school activity. Some of them are staying after class to make camouflage net for the army under the direction of teachers.

Then it’s time to come back home, the streets are still crowded with busy people, as if it were peacetime. However, the billboards they pass now show them how to contribute to charities or help the army, and restored cafes play a warfare genre of music.

There’s no need to imagine these melodies as tragic or full of sorrow, though.

The majority of the wartime music is dynamic and positive. Its main aim is to emphasize Ukrainian military milestones and maintain the spirit of future victory throughout the society.
One of the most popular songs is “Pes Patron.” It tells of a little Jack Russell terrier named Patron, which means “cartridge” in Ukrainian.

With his light weight and keen sense of smell, this dog can detect explosives safely. One of his first assignments was locating Russian mines in the city of Chernihiv, lying in the north, which was liberated on April 2, 2022.

Owing to the hard work of this tiny dog, more than 250 mines were neutralized. Now Patron has his own bullet-proof vest, national recognition and a song commemorating his role in the war.
As you might expect, even very young kids know the lyrics. They are keen on repeating: “Who’s in charge of this region? Patron the Dog, Patron the Dog!” The song was written in Ukrainian, of course, but that’s a word-for-word translation.

Human civilians are also doing their bit.

Karina, a 14-year-old, spends her free time selling hand-made patriotic accessories. She has been doing that for more than a year, and her contribution to the Ukrainian Army recently passed the $3,000 mark.

“I’m not supporting certain people,” she said. “We try to help everyone. I do it because I want to do my bit; I want Ukraine to live.

“We attempt to supply soldiers with whatever they need. Mostly it’s special equipment or medicine.”

Evenings still see families gather together, as in the past.

Some of the chairs may be empty, though, as some relatives may have already given their lives for the peaceful life of future generations. That helps us not to give up, to fight and to defend what we believe in.

Warm evening conversations have changed to news updates on military progress of the day.
Skill at making “trench candles” has marked my personal contribution.

A trench candle is a metal box or can filled with rolled paper and a mixture of wax and paraffin. Soldiers use them to warm up, heat their food or serve as a source of light.

They are popular with our defenders, as they can be re-lit repeatedly for a long period of time. Civilians are highly encouraged to create them, which serves as just one more thing shifting our reality.

It’s necessary for us to talk about the war, as it’s been dominating our lives for two years now. We appreciate it when nothing and nobody is forgotten.

Despite escalating sound of air raids sirens, time to sleep eventually comes.

Will the night bring drone or missile attacks? We are getting used to differentiating.

If the news channel warns about drone attacks, the biggest concern is the quantity. If the warning is about missiles, that’s not the case, as just one can wipe out your whole house.

Either way, the chain of actions is the same. You either head to the basement or go downstairs and follow the “two-walls rule.”

You need to make sure there are two reliable walls between you and outside locations. You also want to avoid windows or other sources of glass.

We spend so many nights sleeping in cold shelters and narrow corridors. Tomorrow may be a new day, but it will feature the same wartime routine.

We Ukrainians recognize and highly appreciate all the support we get around the world.
Peaceful protests, warm words of support, little blue-and-yellow accessories and stickers, donations and army supplies. It’s all noticed. It all makes a difference.

I want to convey our infinite gratitude to everyone who believes in and works for Ukrainian victory!

Nelia Omelchenko is a 16-year-old exchange student from Sumy, Ukraine, just across the border from Russia. She arrived in Oregon in August to spend a year with a local family. In her native land, her life has been disrupted the last two years by a full-scale Russian invasion, marked by missile and drone attacks. As a youth journalist, she drew on a wartime diary she’s been keeping for this article. Her article is reprinted with special permission from the News-Register in McMinnville OR, where it first appeared. ▪

A newly annexed area for the city arouses opposition and worries

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, March 1, 2024

A majority of the Independence City Council voted Tuesday to annex nearly eight acres outside the city limits but inside the urban growth boundary – simultaneously approving a zoning designation that makes it a potentially new subdivision, despite substantial opposition that included one of Independence’s former city managers, who called it a revenue-draining move.

City services such as police support for a new development there would mean “a net drain on the general fund,” said David Clyne, who preceded by a few years current City Manager Kenna West as Independence’s city manager. He was among the attendees who raised objections.

Opponents of the action aired their views both in writing and in personal testimony. Sarah Ramirez, a neighbor who lives nearby, told councilors that more information was needed about the residential zoning change for the pastoral lot, “seeing that this will probably be developed shortly.” The property to which Ramirez referred is on Corvallis Road, a little over a half-mile south of the Independence Civic Center

However, City Planning Manager Fred Evander explained that any housing proposal would need to go through many procedural steps before that could happen.

The owner of the parcel, Brendan McMullen, testified that he plans to put affordable homes on the acreage. “I have a strong passion for affordable housing, and I hope to do that someday,” he said. When asked about his definition of affordability, he described homes ranging from 1,000- to 1,500-square-feet, priced below market levels.

City Councilor Dawn Roden requested that the resolution for annexation and zoning be split into two parts, so that the zoning recommendation could be discussed separately from the plan to annex the land.

City Manager Kenna West countered that it was one application and “we cannot bifurcate it.”
However, the development code entry that was cited as supporting the dual action shows only that an annexation-plus-zone change can be undertaken “when requested concurrent with one another” – not as a requirement. An email inquiry for clarification sent to the city’s communications coordinator, Emmanuel Goicochea, as well as to West, went unanswered, despite several requests over the code’s language.

The inquiry by Trammart News was undertaken after some of those who attended the hearing asserted that the city is routinely engaging in attempts to push through plans without fully considering citizen perspectives.

For example, some in attendance expressed appreciation for an observation by Councilor Roden to city staff that tying annexation and zoning together was due to the way they chose to write it -- not the result of a rule. “We have mixed the two,” Roden said.

Others at the meeting made similar comments after the hearing. “I’m concerned further meetings will be handled the same way,” said Kathy Hill, who owns the property adjacent to the annexed plot. She found the agenda “unclear,” as well as the notification she received. She’s concerned city officials “won’t take our concerns into the conversation,” Hill stated, noting that her seven acres sits beside the new zone and “will be the most impacted.”

Hill lives on land passed down by Independence founders Henry and Martha Hill, from an original land patent in the wake of Oregon’s Donation Land Act of 1850. The pair were generous land donors to the city, she pointed out.

Both Councilor Roden and Councilor Sarah Jobe voted against the resolution to bring the land, as well as a new zone, into city limits. The vote was 4-2.

(Note: Next week, Trammart News will cover a unanimous decision by the city council to adopt System Development Charges for water that will cause SDCs for new construction to exceed $50,000 per home – a vote that has caused several builders to say they won’t be undertaking future building projects in the city.) ▪

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