Downtown business owners worry about city's diminished support of future of July 4th celebrations

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, June 27, 2025

Longtime entrepreneur Terri Pierce is busy preparing to sell items from her new shop on Main Street during the Fourth of July – anxiously awaiting the city permits needed to open her store. 

The delay for them has been hard, she said. In fact, Pierce has been so confused by what she sees are conflicting messages by the city on what’s required – time she says that has dragged on for weeks – that she took her frustration to the city council meeting in early June.

She plans to sell eclectic pieces, from home goods to decorative accessories, at the former site of Artisan Treasures in the 200 block of South Main Street. Like several along the thoroughfare, she considers July 4th to be a jumbo sales day, the ground zero of her hoped-for retail operation.  

At the city council meeting, Pierce was told by Mayor Kate Schwarzler that “staff is here and has taken note and will get back to you.” When Pierce asked how long that would take, City Manager Kenna West said it would depend on staff availability and other factors. 

“So far, I have not heard anything,” Pierce said this week. “And I was all ready to go back to the other June meeting of the city council to say so, but it got cancelled.” 

So, Pierce has taken matters into her own hands. “I may not be in the store on July 4th, but I will be in front of it, on the sidewalk, showing what I have to offer,” she said.  A Trammart News inquiry about Pierce's permit questions has not yet been answered by the city.

To several other merchants along Main Street, the patriotic holiday ahead is critical. They say it can triple the amount of dollars they ordinarily get from customers. 

“It’s huge. It’s a big deal,” said Darlene Brush, co-owner of Rockin’ Rad Relics, by the corner of D and Main streets. A large crowd can be counted to pack the place during Independence Days, she said. 

This year, as the Fourth of July holiday approaches, there is worry among shop owners about next year. The city’s fiscal budget doesn’t include any allocations for Independence Days’ celebration past the one for 2025. 

In a pronouncement issued by Melting Pot Candy, the chocolatier lamented not only possible future loss of business, but of a tradition that long has been enjoyed by so many. “We’d be sad to see it go. The Fourth has always been a staple of the Independence downtown experience. So, losing that would feel like losing a piece of the culture that brought us here to begin with,” according to a statement from the town’s fabled confectionery.  

Some business owners acknowledged that the Independence Fourth of July can attract out-of-town “looky-loos,” with sales that may not exceed that of most typical summer weekends. 

But those visitors can become important clientele, observed Kay Hales, owner of the The Collection at 278 S. Main St. 

Drifting around in her store familiarizes them with the content, which may not result in a sale that day, but can increase the likelihood of a future stop-in. 

Mitch Teal, who co-owns Brew Coffee and Taphouse by the trolley stop at C and Main, holds the same sentiment. The holiday “does increase our business – no question,” he said. But it seems to have a lingering effect, too, bringing back those who return to Independence and recall the cozy coffee-shop-and-tavern, he said. 

Some merchants say they need the holiday to continue – it helps them gain momentum in the summer. "It is just such a time of uncertainty,” Hales noted, gesturing around The Collection. 

Dina Carter’s business, Second Chance Books at 307 S. Main, attracts literary bargain hunters from all over the area. She said it “would be strange” not to have a festive Fourth of July celebration in the years ahead, after 15 years of aisle-cramming patrons on the holiday.

If that happens, it may be time to celebrate the holiday in whole new way. “I think if that happens, we might just close and take the day off,” she said. ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, June 27, 2025

The grip of a hand on my shoulder to thwart me from asking a question of the Independence finance director sent a shock wave through my system. Later, the city staffer who had grasped me to stop my reporting (photo at right), City Communications Director Emmanuel Goicochea, would characterize my reaction to his hands-on approach as a “freak out” in the Sheriff’s Office report of the incident. 

I would describe it as so emotionally jolting that I found it hard to fathom. 

Why? Because we were in the city council chambers; because the city finance director had just concluded a session in which he told attendees they could ask him questions; because the question I asked I had been trying to get answered for several days. 

When I was attempting to get my question answered, the city manager’s raised voice advised everyone within earshot, “You don’t have to talk to her.” In the report, Goicochea states that West gave him "some eyes" to take care of what was happening.

The question I asked was a simple one. Did the city pay for the attorney who assisted in the case of the mayor during her recent ethics investigation by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission? Because, if so, that would involve expenditure of tax dollars. 

I had emailed the mayor to ask that question and I had inquired it of her on the night of the council meeting. She said she didn’t wish to speak with me. That was the end of my quest to take the matter directly to her. 

In fact, the mayor herself did eventually address it. She told me she was paying for the lawyer herself. 

And so, on that night, the city communications director tried physically to stop me from persisting to ask that question of the finance director – and, in my view, crossed a line that went a bridge too far, to mix metaphors. 

If anyone reading this is curious if all this antagonism toward Trammart News will end, I can 

tell you that it has occurred in almost every encounter with the city manager and the city communications director over the past two years. 

It seems, at least to me, that a reporter tracking tax dollars is considered a pest by the city, and a few at the city have told me they would simply be better off if I weren’t around. 

Standing at the podium of the city council meeting a few minutes after the above event occurred, that’s essentially what I said to the city council – that it felt like a physical attack took place to interfere with my reporting. I also pointed out that it has been nine years of that reporting, in which there was only one occurrence in which I felt compelled to issue a full retraction – and that was years ago.

I‘d miscalculated the water rate using my ancient college algebra. (At that time, I learned an important lesson about my over-confidence in my ability to access past mathematical formulas.)

Since then, there have been no such mistakes in my reporting, as far as I know. And when smaller ones have been pointed out to me – a misspelled street name, a title change for an official – I have sought to correct them with speed and gratitude. Because, to put it in the phrasing of a great football coach from yesteryear, accuracy isn’t just everything, it is the only thing. A colorful and engaging writer – and I fall short of that in the stated opinion of one city councilor – means nothing if good, solid, reliable information isn’t imparted. 

Careful fact-checking over the past few years – fact-checking that’s occurred since the current city manager, finance director and communications director moved into their roles – has revealed some newsworthy findings. A $10 million mistake when the debt for the civic center was left off of a list of what’s owed to lenders; a nearly $3.9 million borrowed sum of a then-unknown origin, which was approved retroactively by the city council; A $7.5 million loan for the design of the planned water-treatment plant that was identified by the city manager in River City Briefs only as a “line of credit.” 

So, was I savvy enough at accounting to detect these? Nope. None of these tax-dollar revelations came from me, at least not initially. Sharp-eyed residents and sharp-brained city councilors – Dawn Roden and then-councilor, Sarah Jobe, in particular – deserve all the credit. 

I am simply the scribe who followed up on the what-is-this line of questioning. That is what journalists do. They often aren’t popular people with government agencies for this reason – we are staunchly defensive of the public’s right to know.

But even from the outset, this city administration was different – it responded to my fact-finding with hostility I’ve never encountered in a municipality in my long career as a journalist. City Manager West made it clear early on – thrusting a notebook of news clips into my hands that chronicled her time in Willamina – that she wanted positive coverage. 

She made two trips, with staff, to the county newspaper during covid – when I was contributing a news page there – to try to get me ousted. The publisher at that time stood by me, a vexation that seems to rankle her to this day. 

For at least the past 18 months, Goicochea – whose city policy-enshrined mission is to answer media inquiries – has ignored Trammart News’ emails, phone calls and hand-delivered queries. 

And so, this spring, when I felt his hand grasp my shoulder to pull me away, I filed a report with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. 

I did so under an Oregon statute, ORS 166.065, which partly defines harassment as subjecting another person “to offensive physical contact.” 

To what do I attribute Goicochea’s act? A culture at the city that extols transparency to the public but conducts itself entirely in the opposite direction, by routinely marginalizing Trammart News’ efforts and, at times, even dismissing impassioned resident testimony. 

In his interview with the Sheriff's Office investigator, Goicochea is quoted as saying that the standard practice with the city is to “not respond to her,” meaning me.

Some councilors and the current mayor, have posted online about my alleged deficiencies. Several have taken on Councilor Roden as some kind of miscreant who needs to be silenced when she raises issues. 

My reaction: Go ahead and excoriate me with those postings in the name of free speech. But leave others alone. They may not have the time-toughened inner core of a seasoned reporter-type like me.  

I tried to warn the city manager long ago – following her into the City Hall lobby restroom as 

she seemed to flee from me – that I would have to include in my articles the fact that I tried to 

get answers from the city and couldn’t always do so. She didn’t seem to want to hear that message at all. 

But trying to quash the press is tricky. 

Professional ethics compel me to try to get the city’s side on any matters involving local government that rise to the level of news. And I have been told by mentoring colleagues to note  attempts to do so in my stories, so that the public will know I tried to get that perspective.

Goicochea followed me around the night of “the grab,” as I call it, to apologize for his actions. But his expression of sorrow seemed hollow. As the videos I obtained clearly show, he demonstrated to others that night, in at least two pantomime episodes, that all he did was to lightly touch me. The video – and the Sheriff’s Office investigator – found otherwise. 

Goicochea’s curling fingers on my shoulder provided evidence the complaint was founded. Early on, however, I’d told the investigator I didn’t want to take court time with this case; I’d covered the Polk County District Attorney’s Office on occasion, and I know they’re consumed with far more serious cases. 

My case has been deemed “inactive,” not qualifying as actual criminal harassment.  It’s my understanding that a case report is now available as a public record and anyone who wants to read it has my blessing, the number is DAS25002990.

I asked a lawyer who worked closely with the state legislature about why the city council, many of whom count themselves as very progressive politically, could allow this anti-press attitude to take on such dimensions.

He told me that political-party affiliation generally makes no difference to some elected officials because, when it comes to inconvenient information surfacing, they are equally likely to engage in finger-pointing and condemnation at whoever is responsible for bringing that to light. 

In some cases, that’s me, Trammart News. 

In fact, I'm at work on a financial snafu by the city right now! I’ve sent an unanswered inquiry (by email and printed letter left at the city reception desk) to Goicochea about why the June 10, 2025 budget resolution, 25-1635, contains two different dollar amounts. One is for $53,970,302 … the other is for $42,934,809. That’s about a $9 million gap. 

Predictably, the communications director has not responded as of press time, but fortunately, while walking around downtown this week, I spotted the city manager on a stroll with companions. I approached her, just as I had the finance director weeks before, to ask why this had occurred. 

It was an error, City Manager West told me. I thanked her. Later I got an email from the city recorder, who advised me this mistake would be corrected at the next city council meeting. 

That’s really all I wanted to know. 

So, in early July, in council chambers, as city councilors are seated on a dais and the city administrators are positioned at a table up front, I will be in the back, notepad in hand, to report on the correction at the next city council meeting. I want to make sure it becomes public knowledge.

I believe where I belong is at the bottom of the chain, toiling away – a back-of-the-room observer. And for any city reporter in that spot, doing their job, they’re only trying to keep up with tax expenditures and public safety for the benefit of the public good, as corny as that may sound. It's a pleasure to serve my community in this way. ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, June 27, 2025

This is a court day where everyone wins, where all are happy with the verdict and where the only sentences imparted are congratulatory ones, filled with praise. 

It’s a special treatment court in Polk County, and this past week a graduation celebration was held for Carrie Meaney (photo). 

Meaney was freed from addiction after passing through the court's five-phase program and was reunited with her son, a cheerful and charming toddler who patiently waited for the adults to stop talking. Balloons and cake decorated a center table. 

Elation was evident throughout the original courtroom of the Polk County Courthouse, one of the oldest of its kind in the state. 

Meagan Flynn, chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, gave a brief keynote speech, calling her participation in the event “one of the highlights of my job.” Noting that parents with difficult challenges need this form of support to succeed, she said she was “excited and proud” to be included in the event.

Called CLEAR Court – an acronym for Cultivating Lasting Empowerment and Recovery – getting to graduation day meant the Meaney had to have “grit and commitment” to achieve completion, said Gary Dees, Meaney’s counselor. 

He held up signs in large letters that read: “354 days clean” and “300 days in treatment,” which drew applause. In attendance were lawyers, counselors, family members and friends. 

“Standing here today feels like a miracle,” Meaney said, addressing the crowd of several dozen, which nearly filled the historic “Courtroom 1.”  

CLEAR Court is relatively new, and it seems to be helping fill the gap created after the closure of Polk County’s Drug Court, which suffered a sudden shutdown a few years ago that was attributed, in large part, to budget cuts and the pandemic. 

“Through the CLEAR Court program, I found a way out of the darkness,” Meaney said. “I have hope. I have goals.” 

Judge Norman Hill, the presiding judge of the Polk County Circuit Court, likened the effort by Meaney to standing in the open doorway of an airplane while wearing a parachute, with sky diving as the path forward – and being able to “jump into something new.” 

In addition to his duties as presiding judge, Hill serves as the juvenile court judge and hears all child-dependency cases in Polk County. His role is to preside over court sessions with the participants every Tuesday and to facilitate staffing sessions with the treatment team, he explained. 

Meaney credited Hill’s compassion and encouragement with helping her stick with the program, along with life-changing support from Dees – and others, including her grandfather. 

Hill pointed out that the county has no role in this process or the creation of this program. It’s entirely a collaboration between the Department of Human Services, the Circuit Court and attorneys for parents and children, he said.

At the core of CLEAR Court in Polk County is Reconnections Counseling, which provides outpatient substance abuse treatment and serves as the preferred provider for the court. The Dallas facility is about a year old and within a block of the Polk County Courthouse. 

A duplex near Reconnections' center in Dallas has been purchased by the company and will serve as “high-barrier transitional housing” where reunified families can live temporarily, according to Lalori Lager, executive director of Reconnections Counseling, which is in several counties at multiple sites.  

Lager, who has a master’s degree in forensic psychology, began Reconnections in 2002. It’s a fee-for-service organization that bills insurers, such as the Oregon Health Plan, and accepts private payors, as well. 

Referrals come from the court, DHS, law enforcement and probation departments, among other agencies, she said. 

The “CLEAR Court Participant Handbook” lists multiple phases with mandatory steps for advancement, ranging from monthly courtroom appearances, weekly meetings and counseling sessions, substance-free drug tests and adherence to a treatment plan. 

Meaney fulfilled them all, showing the ability to meet high expectations during hard times, 

Dees said. ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, June 20, 2025

The Independence city motto is "Oregon's Story Begins Here." 

But is it accurate? No, not at all if it's alluding to the Oregon Trail, according to multiple references, including an outspoken local history buff, the time-honored Oregon Encyclopedia and even Indy's own informational record on the matter.

Oregon City, which is credited with being Oregon's actual starting point, considers it wrong, too – but a trip to that town proved there are folks in Oregon who have learned how to politely disagree. 

At the Oregon City Hall this week, some expressed only surprise to hear that Independence had claimed the slogan. After all, at the entrance to an Oregon City park a few blocks away a large sign promotes the historical site of the “End of the Oregon Trail.” 

"There were several routes for the Oregon Trail," affirmed Jarrod Lyman, Oregon's City's communications director. "But the end destination was always Abernethy Green," he said, alluding to the historic trail's endpoint that now is encompassed by a state park. 

The Independence motto, "Oregon's Story Begins Here," blazes across the banner of the city's website and pops up on promotional videos for the town; City Manager Kenna West said it recently when signing off on a short clip of herself in River City Briefs. 

Repeated inquiries about this alleged mislabeling were made to the Independence communication director, Emmanuel Goicochea, without any response to questions from Trammart News. But several others weighed in, including a few long-time Independence residents, who said they don't think the catchphrase applies to the city. 

None wanted to be quoted by name, not even the amateur historian who brought it to the attention of Trammart News. However, he did urge anyone who thinks it could possibly be true to go "look it up" in a history book. 

So Trammart News did that. From the breezy "Oregon Companion" to the text "Oregon: This Storied Land," none mention Independence as the terminus of the Oregon Trail. 

Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery apparently never spent time in Indy, either. 

In fact, the city's self-chronicled online description, called "Story of Historic Independence," correctly observes that, prior to 1841, the residents were Native Americans. The Oregon Trail was laid years before that. 

There were some fur traders and explorers, but "there is no evidence of any sustained trading or exploratory activity in the Independence area," according to the city historical document. The Oregon Trail is alluded to, but only as a "grueling journey," and there's no evidence that it ended in what's now Independence. 

Several who live near downtown, and take pride in the city's history of settlement by Henry Hill and Elvin Thorp, have suggested that's enough to make the historic legacy a source of pride. 

As for Oregon City, the city's saying is as much about what lies ahead as it is about how the Oregon Trail helped populate Oregon's first official town. "Preserving our past, building our future" is the adage Oregon City uses.▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, June 20, 2025

A group of local fifth-graders this year gave a whole new meaning to the term civic-minded.

By year's end, the students in Emily Blythe's class at Ash Creek Elementary School each created their own city. 

As they head off to middle school in the fall, they leave behind a project they completed that no others in the district accomplished: building thriving towns from the ground up.  

These weren't just metropolitan dots on a map. These student had to find a way to sustain these municipalities economically – meeting infrastructure demands, finding ways to manage the needs of the population.

So when a student named Alaina created a beach town, she made it more than a tourist spot. It had a port for cargo ships to bring another source of revenue for the town, which she named – what else? – "Oceanside."

Also, by placing it on the East Coast, she located it on the seaboard within reach of the nation's most industrial cities. 

Students spent the first three weeks of the ninth unit reading about famous cities, such as Chicago, in order to study what has worked to revitalize cities.

Blythe (in photo) offered the project in a way that combined a need to address demographics, to consider taxpayer support, to determine what local companies would provide an economic base, and how products would be sold. 

One of the youths decided to go full-on with a resort destination. He placed his city on an island. The island had a volcano, so to make sure the air was fresh and pure for tourists who wanted to soak up sunshine amid pleasant tropical breezes, he invented a CO2-sucking machine. After all, without a lot of evergreens like those that grow in the Pacific Northwest, it is a good idea to help out those palm trees.  

One boy made his city a giant McDonald's but he was thinking proactively. Underneath huge golden arches, he put a hospital, presumably that included a cardiac unit. Another student made a town called "Cowpie," which grew a lot of fruits and vegetables – and a dairy herd.       

Most students created cities with local businesses, with plans to ensure they would work. A bakery for instance, had to list items on a cost-per-unit basis and show how a profit could be made. 

During the year, students learned through nine different three-week units. Each one touched on critical components that were used for the cities project. 

For example, unit one was all about agriculture; unit two about culture; unit three about government. 

"They needed to go back through their learning to create cities based on the examples they saw throughout the school year," Blythe said. "It is real-life application from the themes that they read throughout fifth grade." 

Though some struggled with the concept, many "amplified" it beyond expectations, she added. 

Perhaps the most important part, as well as the most poignant, was the mandatory "Constitution" that each pupil was asked to provide. Many showed a commitment to a diverse population, with laws to protect each segment – and some mentioned the need to uphold freedom of speech. "Their cities had lots of libraries and city halls," Blythe observed. ▪

By Lance Masterson

For Trammart News Service, June 20, 2025

Not every real estate transaction comes with a warning like this: This building may be haunted.

But that’s the message Becky and Ken Fetters received while negotiating to  buy the original First Baptist Church, sited in the town’s historic area. An area well known for its portal to the afterlife, according to some.

“I said, 'Bring it on, baby! That’s what we want,'” Ken said of the ghost warning. “I don’t know why this is, but in the real estate disclosures, the City of Independence put in there that it could be haunted. It was a  required notification.”

The warning, a deal breaker for some home buyers, only enhanced the property’s charm as far as the Fetters were concerned.

“We’ve been looking for this kind of property for a long, long time,” Ken added (see Fetters in photo).

What’s  a few ghosts when you finally find the property that’s so unique, so  perfect it would eventually bring closure to a 30-year quest.

The Fetters knew exactly what they wanted. For three decades, they passed  over countless old churches, firehouses, police stations and schools.  But the “Eureka” moment finally hit them as they drove down D Street on Christmas Day during the pandemic.

That’s  when they first saw the church. Unfortunately, as tales like this often  go, timing conspired against them. The church wasn’t for sale; it was home to the Heritage Museum. Ken remembers his wife telling him, “You’ll  never get that church.” So, their wait, and search, continued.

Several months later the museum moved to its current building, across the street from the post office. The church was then listed for sale on the internet. Becky noticed its availability.

“She said to me, ‘You’re not going to believe what’s for sale.’,” he said.  “It’s like 7 o’clock at night and I call our realtor. I said, we’re  buying it. Make the offer now. I don’t even have to see it.’”

Ken is no stranger to old buildings. He’s a former contractor with a passion for restoration. He got bit by the bug after watching an episode  of “This Old House” years ago, one that featured a church remodel in  San Francisco.

Given  his expertise, Ken was well prepared for the labors awaiting him. For example, plumbing and electrical were outdated, as were the acoustic ceiling tiles and the 1950’s paneling that covered the sanctuary walls.

In addition, the layout was a maze of sectioned-off rooms from its museum days.

Pleasant  discoveries were unearthed as well. The Fetters discovered original  stained glass windows, some still bearing the names of donors from the  early 1900’s. Information on one donor was easy enough to track down:  the Newton Center from Massachusetts.

“I’ve run the Boston Marathon three times. You go right past” the Newton Center, Ken said. “It’s right there on the route.”

Another discovery is a staple of most old churches.

“There is a bell. But it’s not the original bell,” Ken said. “The original is over at the new church.”

Remodeling was done with a critical eye towards preserving church character. The  copper-toned tin ceilings, stained glass window protections and original  light fixture restoration typify the couple’s love, craftsmanship and  precision.

The Fetters found similar inspiration in repurposing. One chandelier was salvaged from a bowling alley, while another was crafted from antique  gas fixture parts.

A  long-lost baptismal font was uncovered from beneath the flooring and  repurposed as a wine cellar. An original pew and pulpit anchors the  space where guests sometimes gather for musical performances or  meetings.

“We  wanted people to walk in and still feel that it was a church. Not just a  big building,” Ken said. “A place that means something.”

Collections  of crosses from New Mexico, nativities from around the world and  bobbleheads add atmosphere. As do figurines that celebrate Mexico’s Dia  de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), tributes to family and friends who  have passed, and a basement Tiki bar that includes a parrot, surfboard  and Santa Claus.

Jim  Humphreys has known the Fetters for several years. Humphreys is board  president of the Heritage Museum, and attended a concert at the Fetters’ home following the remodeling.

“(Ken’s) attention to detail and workmanship were impressive,” Humphreys said. Plus, “the acoustics are great.”

Humphreys heaped praise on the ceiling restoration and how natural light compliments the design.

“Rather  than divide the structure into modern compartments, the Fetters  designed their remodel to allow daylight to flow naturally through the window,” Humphreys explained.

The church was built in 1888. The addition came in 1912, and included a downstairs level and overflow sanctuary.

Neither Becky nor Ken have experienced any encounters with ghosts since moving in. But others on site have reported hearing phantom voices.

“When we were doing construction, the electricians were working up here,”  Fetters said. “My brother and I came back from lunch, and an electrician  said, hey, is this place haunted? Now, these are electricians, union  electricians.”

Fetters asked for details. He was told that the electricians heard people talking downstairs. They went downstairs to investigate and nobody was  there.

“This  is a similar story to one that the museum had when its collection was  here. They had volunteers that heard voices. They would go downstairs,  and there wouldn’t be anybody down there. We think that the ghosts went with the collection to the new museum,” Fetters said. “It’s fun to have  stories like that.” ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, June 13, 2025

Independence took the first step in a partnership with Monmouth and Polk County for a $44 million dollar water treatment plant, but the legal agreement allows Monmouth or the county to exit at any juncture of the project and it doesn’t obligate either one to participate in construction.  

In fact, the document confirms that Independence may “proceed independently” if either decides to withdraw – and it explicitly allows that to occur “after each phase.” 

The intergovernmental agreement, as it is called, was passed unanimously Tuesday night by the Independence City Council.   The three-party agreement was undertaken in anticipation of future water needs and, in the case of Independence, to be able to act on a pending  deadline for use of surface water rights.  

Though initially Dallas was seen as a prospective partner, that city has declined to be part of the water treatment plant, at least so far, according to Polk County Commission Chair Craig Pope, who imparted that information at a meeting of the Board of Commissioners in early May. 

Pope’s comments on the planned water treatment facility came after Sally Penna, a Dallas resident, expressed worry that the public hadn’t been involved in the process. 

At the commission meeting, she asked if the public was going to have that opportunity. “I am concerned that this thing, like I say, will be cemented before the public even has a chance to have input on it,” Penna said.

Pope responded that the plans for a regional water treatment plant have been in development for more than 20 years and “followed significant study work.” 

“It’s a complex process,” he explained, involving a multi-jurisdictional contract and a complicated permit process. 

Though the water treatment plant hasn’t been the topic of a public hearing, it has generated public discussion. When a plan for a helipad and additional space for police was revealed at a site being claimed through eminent domain action, concern arose during an Independence council meeting. 

Subsequently, the proposed helipad, which City Manager Kenna West said was planned to be built with potential grant money, was dropped. 

The partnership agreement is a “first step” in establishing the regional water treatment plant’s official ties, West said at the recent city council meeting. 

The agreement seemed to fuel speculation on the part of some residents that the county would be able to help finance the cost, which may exceed the early $40-million-plus estimates due to rising prices for materials. 

But financial strain has been forecast for the county, causing Polk County Administrator Greg Hansen to predict a tough year ahead. The county’s new fiscal year begins at the close of this month.  

A few weeks ago, Hansen said he believes a hiring freeze at the county may be necessary. 

Due to the belt-tightening, sheriff’s deputy positions are likely to be lost, though the vacancies will probably occur through attrition – two spots were unfilled this spring and will remain so, according to Hansen. ▪

An analysis by Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, June 13, 2025

Central School District Superintendent Jennifer Kubista was found to be performing at or above standard in her annual assessment by the school board – but some community members say the school board would benefit from an evaluation, too. 

In a year of clashes over administrative turnover that brought standing-room-only crowds to school board meetings, the call for more information on board oversight was sought. To examine that, Trammart News reviewed the literature on high-achieving school boards and their characteristics. 

In fact, public accountability for superintendents is listed as a top goal on the opening web page of the Oregon School Boards Association. 

Community collaboration should be seen as key.

While conveying high marks to Kubista for her understanding of policy and her commitment to ethics, among other positive attributes, Board Chair Byron Shinkle read a board letter and included crediting the superintendent with replacing the turf on the multi-purpose field and replacement of the track – a project also secured by the efforts of parents and volunteers. 

Family and community collaboration in such processes is an important distinction, according to researchers from the FHI 360, a non-profit investigative team funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

The group’s findings, which were published this year in the journal Leadership and Policy in Schools, called lack of recognition of this important element a roadblock to effective community collaboration with a school district.

“The community worked hard to identify options for replacing the turf and track project and presented at many school board meetings,” noted Shannon Ball, a leader of the “turf-and-track” group. 

She added that the community is fortunate to have the school board approve spending of some of the capital improvement money, so the turf is able to be used this year – and for the district office following through with the request. 

Mid-year superintendent evaluation can be helpful. 

This “mid-point” review process can help pinpoint changes, if needed. However, the Central District School Board relied on what appeared to be less formal check-ins. “The board and superintendent check in with each other periodically, often through board leadership or through the summer or winter ‘retreats,’” which often involve long work sessions, explained Emily Mentzer, communications coordinator for the district. 

The superintendent-evaluation workbook used by the board suggests quarterly check-ins and recommends a summary evaluation concluded in March. (However, the workbook doesn’t call for more than one formal evaluation.) 

The superintendent’s evaluation was imparted at the June board meeting.

In the evaluation, Kubista was deemed to have “a sound understanding of our policies and uses fair and equitable judgment in carrying out her duties.”

Survey tools can help fill in gaps. 

It can be advantageous to include anonymous feedback from a variety of stakeholders with different perspectives on the superintendent’s performance as a leader, including direct reports, teachers, parents and students according to Ethan Ashley, an attorney and co-founder of New Orleans-based consulting firm School Board Partners. 

“This feedback is critical for the board to understand what is happening ‘on the ground’ in the daily experiences of children, families, staff and the community,” Ashley wrote in a 2023 blog, as schools continued to emerge from the pandemic.

Other educators have made similar observations. “Consider carefully including feedback from staff and community members,” advised Kathleen Vail, former editor-in-chief for the National School Boards Association in an essay last year on superintendent evaluations. The inclusion can offer “insight and perspective,” she stated. 

In fact, a “targeted feedback survey” of stakeholders is included as an option for superintendent evaluations in the workbook that was used by the Central School District Board. 

Specificity is beneficial for evaluations.

The categories used by the board members – accomplished, effective, developing, ineffective – don’t include the same ratings as the state guidelines for educator evaluation, known as “The Oregon Framework for Teacher and Administrator Evaluation and Support.” 

This teacher-and-administrator evaluation guide appears to be more detailed, emphasizing consistency and contrasting “effective” with “highly effective.”  It also recommends setting milestones with metrics. 

An anecdote about how Kubista steadily kept projects moving forward were provided. Over the course of the academic year, for example, there was improved parent communication attributed to the superintendent through the establishment of “Parent Square,” which was described as a successful messaging service in the school board’s letter. Several parents agreed and reported it as being informative and reliable.

For the year ahead, "particular focus will be on furthering student academic growth and achievement and providing support and leadership to the professionals who directly deliver education and support services to our students and their families," according to the letter of evaluation by the school board.

Testing results are linked to superintendent success. 

In the evaluation of Kubista, the fact that student test scores improved was highlighted, which led to “growth and achievement in grade levels and in focal groups,” Shinkle announced.

There is growing evidence of a positive relationship between superintendent success and student test outcomes; it’s now considered a dependable marker for good school-system leadership, according to the American Association of School Administrators. That finding is based on a study involving 2,706 superintendents.

“Particular focus will be on furthering student academic growth and achievement and providing support and leadership to the professionals who directly deliver education and support services to our students and their families,” according to the school board’s evaluation. 

The board also commended Kubista for being "well connected at the governance level," an apparent reference to her rapport with state education leaders.▪

By Lance Masterson

For Trammart News Service, June 13, 2025

A long career in education ends this month for the soon-to-be retired Brett Baldwin.

This marks Baldwin’s 30th year at Central High School. Hats he’s worn there include that of special education teacher, vice principal and athletic director (AD).

This marks Baldwin’s sixth year as AD.

“I thought I had one when I started this gig,” he said when asked about his favorite sport. “But seeing our kids play, there’s no bad events. I love watching our kids compete. That’s what I’ll miss the most.”

As AD, Baldwin set up for games, managed facilities, mentored coaches and supported athletes across all sports. It’s the behind-the-scenes grind few people witness.

“You’re part-time janitor, part-time maintenance worker, part-time administrator,” Baldwin said. “You’re flipping breakers, organizing concessions, schlepping team meals occasionally. And then, of course, you’re there late. Every event, start to finish.”

Not that Baldwin is complaining.

“It can be a drag managing and setting up for an event. But the actual event itself, just sitting back and watching it, is pretty special. I’m a fan of all of it,” he said. “It’s those relationships with the kids in the hallway, high-fiving them the next day after a great game. That’s magic.”

Baldwin has witnessed firsthand the continued evolution of the high school athlete. Today, he said, they are “bigger, faster, stronger.” Due in large part to greater skill development and more time spent in the weight room.

“You see it in every sport. Basketball kids can all shoot now. Volleyball players are hitting harder than ever. Track records keep falling,” he said. “Our weight room has become a huge piece of that.”

This evolution is also noticeable in girls.

“They’re right there, step for step,” he said. “The competition level of girls' sports, the dedication, the talent level, it’s incredible.”

Baldwin predicted bright futures for the Panthers teams given how strong the freshmen and sophomore classes are.

“These younger athletes are growing up, and playoff runs are on the horizon,” he said.

Baldwin’s first teaching position was in Burns. There, he taught special education and coached junior high football. It was here that a generational talent in Kellen Clemens was aging into competitive football.

Clemens would later quarterback at the University of Oregon, and then the New York Jets, St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers over a 12-year pro career. Baldwin moved west before ever getting the chance to coach the future star.

“Burns is a small town and I got to know Kellen and his family. I joked with them that I probably would have ruined his career by making him a tight end,” Baldwin said with a laugh. “Luckily, I left before that happened.”

Baldwin, a 1983 Central High graduate, returned to his alma mater in 1995 as a special education teacher. It was a position for which he was well suited.

“My dad always had me volunteering for the Special Olympics, and other events, when I was a kid,” Baldwin said, “and I just fell in love with it.”

Vic Baldwin, his father, was director of Teaching Research at Western Oregon University for 20 years. He also chaired the Helen Keller Advisory Board, and was a recognized expert in deaf-blind education.

In addition, Vic and wife Ernestine were very involved in Central High athletics. In 1981, they were founding members of the Panther Club, and Vic served as its first president. The club, still active today, raises funds that support the school’s athletic program.

Golf will get more attention now that Baldwin has more time. He dreams of playing Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and maybe Pebble Beach, where he once toured the loop and walked in the steps of greatness. Baldwin will also play the Central Oregon courses more often, given that Redmond will soon be home.

The torch has been passed. Brandis Piper was recently named as Central’s new vice principal - athletic director. Piper comes from McKay High School, where he taught and coached multiple sports for 13 years.

Piper once coached against the Panthers. It’s an experience he remembers fondly.

“I was blown away at the hospitality and kindness exuded from the community,” he said in a press release. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to be part of the community.” ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, June 6, 2025

Soon Central High School graduate Aaron Hayes will leave the place he knows so well for a leafy suburb of Chicago, home of one of America’s greatest universities, Northwestern. He leaves behind more than a loving family – he departs having created a legacy at the young age of 16. He started a chess camp, and among all the accolades Hayes has earned, here is one not related at all to academic performance.

He is the inaugural honoree of Trammart’s Golden Scholar Award, which was given to recognize his efforts to bring youth together in a sport that requires nothing more than the quest to learn it, and one that can be done almost anywhere in the world. It is not done on an electronic device and needs no bat, ball, net or goalposts. It can be undertaken by both old and young and can pair people from all walks of life.

Trammart News is proud to present a story written last year, which appeared on the website IndyNewsOnline.com, and then was picked up by the Oregonian. Congratulations, Aaron.  

Under tree-shaded picnic tables covered with checkerboard battlegrounds, dozens of opponents face off to capture a king – all because a student at Central High School is spreading his love of chess with a program free for all comers this summer. 

Meet Aaron Hayes, a teen with a dream to put the game into the hands of anyone who wants to play this time-honored board sport and who founded a thriving nonprofit this past spring with that goal, aptly named “Chess in the Park” – https://sites.google.com/view/michessinthepark/home 

Now scores of portable chess sets are rolled out at noon every Saturday, onto wooden tabletops in Monmouth’s Main Street Park for participants ranging from young children to gray-haired adults. 

“I love it that so many are here,” Hayes said, surveying the crowd this past Saturday, where several tables were filled with mostly youthful competitors. “But I want even more,” said Hayes, who identifies as Hispanic and wants to draw more from the Latinx community. 

He’s been a chess player since he was an elementary student in the Central School District, where chess is offered at all the early grades through “Chess for Success,” a Portland-based 501(c)3 organization that serves 11 counties and 25 school districts in Oregon, Southwest Washington and Hawaii.

By the time Hayes got to middle school, at Talmadge, he was a seasoned player. There he met Talmadge teacher Tristan Moore, who teaches social studies, and is an avid chess player, too. 

In bygone days, Moore was able to offer chess as an elective class. Now he hosts and helps organize local tournaments, including the springtime “Chess for Success” competition, which technically is supposed to include only Polk and Yamhill counties but recently began hosting Marion and other counties in a combined tournament.

Together, Hayes and Moore are working to popularize the game. Moore, who helped supervise the chess matches underway last Saturday, cited numerous benefits: It can be played almost anywhere, it teaches critical-thinking skills, it gives a sense of belonging to students seeking a peer group, and time-plus-experience translates into winning strategies. 

“It can really boost confidence,” Moore pointed out. He said he gets his own boost seeing chess-insignia stickers on student water bottles and backpacks, signaling youthful support of the game  – and of each other. Moore also works closely with the Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation. 

Chess can bring together individuals who don’t speak the same language. They convert immediately to shared communication: chess speak. 

But perhaps one of the most important aspects of chess is the notation notebooks that Moore tries to insist on, for young players. It gets them into the habit of writing and making a record of their moves – enabling them to see their mistakes in a review of the game, as well as their tactical triumphs. 

These young players can compare their notation notebooks with online tools that can help them spot different winning lines and “up” their game, Moore said. There are also opportunities to match wits with artificial intelligence – computers can be instantly accessed as internet opponents. 

Moore is president of the board for “Chess in the Park”; school board member Susan Graham is the treasurer; and Hayes’ parents, Brandon and Olivia, serve as board members. Hayes was named “executive director,” a title bestowed by the group because anyone under age 18 cannot hold a board member position on a nonprofit, “but we wanted to recognize him as the originator of the organization and value his input in decision-making,” Moore explained. 

Hayes credits two local attorneys, board member Graham and Abby Fitts, with helping him get started  the 501(c)3  that he hopes will mean substantial growth in the year ahead. Commonly described as remarkable, Hayes sees himself only as “motivated.” 

Bringing chess to others who might not otherwise have the opportunity doesn’t seem like hard work for someone who loves the game as much as he does, Hayes said. “It is more like sharing a really great experience,” he said. ▪

By Lance Masterson

For Trammart News Service, June 6, 2025

Eden Olsen never tires of the miracle that is farming.

“It’s incredible to watch a tiny seed grow into a cabbage over weeks, and to be able to feed others with food that I’ve grown,” Olsen said. “That’s truly rewarding.”

Olsen owns and operates Lucky Crow Farm and is a vendor at The Original Independence Farmers Market. She also serves the Polk Soil and Water Conservation District (Polk SWCD) as a board member. Her constituency is largely landowners.

“What we provide is resources, both educational and financial. Resources to be able to do conservation projects on their properties. We also do a lot of education in the community on what conservation is,” she said. "So really just pounding in the idea of conservation, and what it means to bring back some of our native plants and species.”

Olsen is three years into her first term on the board and plans to run for reelection. Her calling is to represent the little guys and gals.

“The perspective that I bring … is one of a small sustainable vegetable producer. I’m representing that subsection of growers,” Olsen said. “My understanding of vegetable production is what I bring to the table, and that of a small business owner, and a landowner.”

Polk SWCD, based in Dallas, works closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and other agencies to promote sustainable land management practices in the area. Overseen are such projects as oak woodland restoration, riparian zone rehabilitation, mitigating the impacts of invasive species, and fostering community outreach. One dollar at a time, in some cases.

“Our annual sale helps get native plants into the hands of people who are going to put them in the ground. That’s our favorite way for planting as many plants as possible,” Olsen said. “We’ll just get them to people who are actually going to plant them.”

Funding is threatened if budget cuts at the federal level are as severe as forecasts predict. Though nothing is certain at this time.

“A lot of the work that we do is to help distribute the funds (from the NRCS) to landowners for projects on conservation. That funding is all up in the air and could really affect the amount of work that we do,” she said. We’re playing a waiting game at this point.”

Olsen expressed optimism about the future of farming in Polk County, though young people aren’t as interested in tilling the soil as previous generations were. Attracting young farmers is a priority. Olsen is there for those who need assistance.

“Training new farmers is a mission of mine,” as is the importance of passing along skills and knowledge, she said.

There’s more to sustainable farming than raising crops, however. There’s also the bottom line to consider.

“Learning to manage finances and debt was a late but crucial lesson I learned,” Olsen said “Farming requires smart investments in infrastructure in order to be sustainable…. It’s also about whether I can take care of myself, pay my employees fairly and create a new positive experience for those around me.”

Olsen studied sustainable agriculture at Scripps College in Southern California. She then managed farmers markets in the Bay Area before being bit by the envy bug.

“I decided I was jealous of the farmers that I was working with, and so I hired on as a farmhand,” she explained. “My friend raised cattle in the Capay Valley (near Sacramento), and so I farmed, ranched there for a while.”

After working a farm in Washington, she returned to Polk County and an 85-acre family spread, of which three acres are now dedicated to intensive vegetable production.

Olsen and crew grow a variety of crops using sustainable methods. This year, she’s experimenting with dry-farmed melons that require less water.

Sustainable agriculture, especially at the small farm level, is cost intensive. A truth reflected in the price tag. Olsen does what she can to ensure her vegetables are affordable to all consumers.

“Not everyone can afford to pay for quality, sustainable food,” she acknowledged. “That’s why I work to provide 50 percent discounts to customers with SNAP benefits at farmers markets and through (Community Supported Agriculture) programs.”

After five years at her south Monmouth farm, Olsen’s definition of sustainability has broadened. It’s not just about horticulture anymore. It’s about being able to answer some pretty important questions in the affirmative.

“What I’ve learned is, to have an operation that is sustainable, goes beyond making sure the soil is healthy, or that the native species are hanging around,” she said. “Am I making enough money to be able to keep doing this? Am I paying my employees enough so that they can continue to come back and work for me? Am I contributing on boards and other ways in my community?”

One lesson Olsen has learned is that practicing sustainability doesn’t necessarily guarantee perfection. There's always something new to know.

“I think sustainability is much more than what we generally think of, and that’s so hard to create,” she said. ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, June 6, 2025

Past financial decisions, local manufacturing closures and city operational costs all mean that Independence needs to seek new industry – and much of the land zoned for that purpose surrounds the Independence State Airport and airpark. 

With the closing of Marquis Spa on Stryker Road, as well as the departure of Forest River a block away, there is a need to “get those filled,” according to City Manager Kenna West, who issued the observation during a budget session last month. 

Though the fate of the Forest River property remains to be seen, Marquis Spa – a 60,000 square-foot industrial complex on nearly four acres across from the south part of the airpark – is up for sale, according to LoopNet, an industrial realty. 

A food-processing facility is a “natural target,” said Shawn Irvine, assistant city manager and director of economic development for the city. “Food processing is a big deal around here, with all the agriculture,” he said. Though the city water system could be a limiting factor, there “is plenty of opportunity out there” within limits, he said.

Outside the budget meeting, several of those affiliated with the city said the idea of a data-server farm had been floated as one possibility for land west of the airport, which is zoned for an Industrial Park. 

Several inquiries about the possibility of a server center on that site were made by Trammart News to the city’s communications director, Emmanuel Goicochea. All the attempts  went unanswered.

Two years ago, an article by Data Center Knowledge, which follows and covers data center development, asked this question: “Are Data Centers Taking Over Oregon’s Industrial Land?” The answer was yes, at least in some places, such as Hillsboro. 

Several years ago, the same airport-adjacent land was considered for industrial growth, but the public works director at the time, Kie Cottam, indicated the wetland there was a probable barrier; A city executive at the time also suggested a data center would need a relatively large amount of water to operate.

The necessity for new industry was raised as the city’s budget committee grappled with a way to replenish a $776,000 shortfall this year; the contingency fund, sometimes referred to as the “emergency reserve” for the city, had plummeted to zero, according to Independence Finance Director Rob Moody.

Moody attributed the plunge to financial projections made nearly a decade ago, when redevelopment projects along the riverfront forecast much bigger returns of revenue. This simply “didn’t play out” as expected, he said. 

So, this year, about $840,000 – money that had been set-aside for economic use – was recommended for transfer to the contingency fund by the city budget committee. However, $60,000 was held back for purposes of “active recruitment” of new industry. 

This past week, the Independence Planning Commission held their monthly meeting with leaders of the airpark, including Ron Singh, president of the Independence Airpark Homeowners Association. The IAHA represents the bulk of the nearly 200-home development. 

Singh opened the meeting, which later included a tour of the airport and airpark, with a presentation that showcased the contributions of the aviation community there. It has youth-oriented programs, from a glider club that provides a full curriculum of lessons to the highly regarded Teen Aviation Weekend, where multiple aspects of flight are covered for adolescents who want to learn about planes and how they work. 

The airpark is populated by a relatively large number of pilots, many with scientific or engineering backgrounds, Singh noted. There are a few "mad scientists" in residence, Singh said, an apparent reference to the many who have built their own aircraft.  

The Independence airport community also has an “emergency response team,” where members volunteer to provide aviation support for rescue efforts, he pointed out. 

Outside Independence, the community is considered an “asset” by some experts in municipal planning. At a meeting of the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) several years ago, a group of attendees was asked by Trammart News to weigh in on Independence – the airport topped the list as a “fixed asset,” according to the urban planners. Like the Willamette River, which provides picturesque scenery and recreational possibilities, the airport confers high potential in economic value, they explained. 

It is also a profitable small airport. At the same time as Oregon’s APA meeting where the pronouncement was made, the money from aviation-related fees and other revenue at the Independence State Airport showed a $50,000 profit beyond $78,000 in operational costs, according to an analysis by the Alliance for Aviation Across America, a non-profit coalition comprised largely of more than 5,000 small airports and airport-related businesses.

Twenty years ago, a brief history of the airport was published by the late Andy Andersen, a resident of the airpark who walked the taxiways daily as his morning-exercise routine and was known to collect airport anecdotes during those forays. Andersen identified the Independence city manager in the mid-1990s, Stephanie Johnson, as the organizer of the first official meeting held to demonstrate city support for the airport. 

Since that time there have been periodic meetings between city staff and airpark residents – most recently by Wayne Nutsch, co-owner of Nutsch Aviation at the airport. He met with Mayor Kate Schwarzler late this spring. Nutsch said he would like to see expansion of some services. On the list: a heliport and an automated weather observations system (AWOS), among other features.   The  heliport would establish a rendezvous point in the event of a disaster where victims could be transported for medical reasons, Nutsch said. The  AWOS weather station would be a safety benefit for all.  

If a movement takes place to increase industry near the airport any time soon, it will come at a time when the town has suffered losses. Over the past two years, these have ranged from back-to-back reductions in library hours – soon to be open only four days a week – to a half dozen storefront vacancies over the same period. 

A trolley map from two years ago shows Jubilee, Brarlin Café, Witches Vine, Urban 53, Lava River Forestry and Maganda Glassworks – and now all of those are gone from downtown, although Maganda Glassworks moved to a larger space elsewhere in the city. 

“There’s a lot of shuttering businesses,” stated City Councilor Dawn Roden during the May 7 budget meeting. 

Small-town Main Street businesses were deeply affected by online competition, according to a 10-year survey completed this year by saveyourtown.com, an online news site co-founded by a former city administrator and sponsored by partners that include the Association of Washington Cities. This is also reflected in a US Census Bureau report of e-commerce sales showing an increase to 16% in 2024 from 7% of total retail sales in 2015. 

The ”high-level answer” to the economic downswing would be attracting new industry, Irvine recently told city budget committee members. However, he said there aren’t yet definitive plans. “I don’t have a lot of specific details at this point,” he said. ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, May 30, 2025

A synthetic compound called PFBS – part of a group of chemicals known as PFAS – has been detected in samples taken from Independence wellfields and is listed in the city’s 2024 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.

PFBS is one of the “forever chemicals” in the PFAS family that has been used in the development of heat-resistant products, such as fire-fighting foam. Because of suspected health effects, PFAS are no longer being used in many products. Last year, for example, the FDA announced PFAS would cease being utilized as a grease-proofing agent in food-packaging products. 

Levels in Independence water samples are very low – the average levels of this contaminant were listed as 3.3 and 3.15 parts per thousand, far under the 2000 PPT health-advisory limits of the Environmental Protection Agency, as stated in the city report. The report also notes that PFBS content doesn’t yet have a drinking-water standard for assessment – that may be one reason monitoring has been considered an important step.

Asked about how PFBS in water should be explained to residents, the city’s communications director, Emmanuel Goicochea, didn’t respond to several inquiries from Trammart News. 

PFAS and related chemicals continue to be under investigation because of multiple health effects associated with exposure to them – findings that have been identified and are supported by various scientific studies, according to the National Institutes of Health. 

PFBS was found in Independence water samples taken from both wellfields relied upon by the city, “Polk Street” wells and the “South” wellfield. The city utilizes water from those two sources, according to an online explanation of the water system at the city’s website. 

Three years ago, Independence was one of only five water systems found with PFAS when 140 drinking water systems were tested in a special project by the Oregon Health Authority. 

Previously, City Manager Kenna West had indicated she considered PFAS in Independence water a non-issue. 

The EPA is examining these “forever chemicals,” as they are often called, to determine toxicity over time – including by well-water use. An 83-page EPA review of PFBS effects on animals and humans was published in 2021, concluding that more research is needed. 

Under the new U.S presidency, changes for the agency have been undertaken, although the new EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin, pledged this month that improvements in water assessment are on the way. The EPA is seeking ways to clarify water-quality standards for these chemicals, according to a news release issued by the agency about three weeks ago.

As  part of the state's Toxics Reduction Program, the Oregon Department of  Environmental Quality announced plans several years ago to work with the Oregon Health Authority toward better understanding about the implications of PFAS for Oregon. However, the DEQ web page dedicated to updates currently notes that it is  awaiting current work and recent decisions from the EPA. ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, May 30, 2025    

This year, Talmadge Middle School saw an almost 20 percent decrease in disciplinary incidents related to poor attention in class from engaging in outside distractions. That’s because the school decided to put strict limits on cell phones to create “spaces of focus” when instruction was taking place, according to teachers and administrators there.

The school may be doing more than clearing the way to better academic performance. From the executive director at The Gate Community Youth Center, across from Central High School, to the director of mental health & social-emotional learning at the Salem-Keizer School District, across the bridge, those who work with youth and teens say mental health benefits are one of the added advantages of reducing cell-phone use. 

For students, cell phones don't seem to be used predominantly as a source of connection, at least in many cases. Instead, phones seem to be a way for teens to disengage and turn to a familiar place where they can be entertained by short videos, check or send texts or tune in to a favorite game site, said Ben Bobeda, executive director of The Gate, where many teens congregate for extracurricular programs. 

"When you see this happening in a social setting where participation is just as available with others as the phone, it's worrisome," said Bobeda.  In fact, data last year from the Pew Research Center shows very heavy use of TikTok and Instagram by adolescents, with about 50% reporting their use of cell phones during free time is nearly constant. 

In a program last year at the Salem City Club, “Mental Health Needs of Oregon Youth,” Chris Moore, who directs the program for social and emotional learning at Salem-Keizer schools, pointed out that there are phone apps that give immediate feedback on questions ranging from relationship advice to chatty check-ins with the user – features that seem to humanize chatbots, transforming them into instant companions. 

A year ago, the Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching and Learning called for addressing “ethical concerns” about such uses, while noting there also is high educational potential for tools that use artificial intelligence. 

This week, in the last few days of national Mental Health Awareness Month, Education Week weighed in with the pronouncement that competing “for the attention of tweens and teens” is not only complicated by cell-phone use but is having adverse effects “beyond school buildings.” These include the impact of online bullying to increasing rates of anxiety and related mental health challenges, according to Elizabeth Heubeck, the article’s author.  

The article examines examples from some of the schools that have implemented bans – and nearly half of the U.S. states have legislation that compels that action. 

At Talmadge Middle School this year, “we've implemented limits on cell phone use during the school day – excluding lunchtime – and we’ve already seen encouraging results,” observed teacher Holly Boyles.

By setting clear boundaries, such as requiring phones to be off and stored during class time, a learning environment was created in which there were more “meaningful face-to-face interactions,” she said. “We've also noticed that students are more likely to engage with one another during breaks and lunch, helping build social skills and a stronger sense of community,” Boyles added. 

Bobeda agrees. He sees students from the high school who are building personal bonds at The Gate by becoming immersed in restoring an engine or playing foosball – fostering connections in a way that cell phones can't.

What is so special about a game of tabletop soccer or a car engine tune-up? Bobeda has that right, too. Special tasks or interest-oriented undertakings by students create a strong sense of belonging, according to early results from Oregon's Student Educational Equity Development Survey (SEED).

Begun statewide in 2023-24, SEED aids the Oregon Department of Education gather data about the educational experiences from students statewide, in grades 3-11. Scoring high among students are programs that seem the opposite of cell phones – hands-on activities, heavy on conversation and back-and-forth talk about instruction and goals, like those ranging from career and technical education to high school theater groups. 

It’s been eight days since Gov. Tina Kotek reportedly said she was mulling an executive order to ban cell phones from learning periods in schools and nearly eight months since the Oregon Department of Education recommended that school districts find an “acceptable use policy” that would keep cell phones out of the hands of students during class. House Bill 2251, which died this month in the Oregon Legislature, would have directed schools to do that – and to implement policies for consequences if students violated the new rule. 

The Talmadge plan has shown that “clarity and consistency have been key to the majority of our student body meeting expectations with phones,” according to a statement from the administration there. 

Sixth-grade Talmadge teacher Karina Newbeck noted that “not once have I had to ask a student to put away their phone this year.” 

How can other schools achieve this surprisingly low level of pushback? “Making the policy clear at registration for incoming sixth graders, and having all staff enforce it has made a huge difference in teaching,” Newbeck stated. “I know the older kids struggle a little bit more, but in my world it has decreased significantly.” 

Bobeda doesn't see this just as a "teen problem" however. Parents, siblings and other family members also may be heavily involved in technology, too. So, the message that some youths get is that this is a typical way to spend time. "We all do that, but I think doing it to the extent that you're losing time that could be spent in personal encounters" is causing a shift in socialization, he said. 

Studies back up that observation, demonstrating a loss of social skills that apparently directly relates to cell phone use. Mentors have helped students gain new traction – 85% of young people who have a mentor cite it as a key relationship in helping them with school and education, according to data from The Gate.

There is no substitute for person-to-person contact, said Derek Conn, the mentor coordinator at the Gate. “These connections cannot be made any other way,” he said. ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, May 30, 2025

A recent count of the homeless population in Independence shows numbers ticked up this year – but the pathway to securing housing for people who need it looks a whole lot harder, the possible result of a growing federal and state bureaucracy.

That was the message this week in three separate presentations at the Polk County Board of Commissioners meetings. Though the combined homeless population, plus those most “at-risk” for it, is 45 in Independence, that’s likely because more targeted ways were undertaken for identifying these individuals this year, according to Ryan Pollard, the county liaison for homeless prevention.  In 2023, the Independence count was 34.

In a presentation to the commissioners Tuesday (photo), Pollard, who works out of the Polk County Family and Community Outreach Department, explained the point-in-time count, or PIT count as it is known, used strategies to seek out under-the-radar persons this time – those living in cars and RVs, who may be far less visible than those inhabiting tents and encampments. 

County Commissioner Lyle Mordhorst said these numbers – 369 county-wide – reflect a large section of homeless people who differ from those seen in other cities. “These are families that just can’t make the rent,” he said.  One bad turn of luck means they face losing where they live, he pointed out during “The State of the County” address, which was held Wednesday night. 

As an example, he cited an elderly couple living on $2,700 monthly in Social Security, and who can barely afford the $1,400 in rent they pay along with utilities and other expenses. “When one of those spouses dies, part of that Social Security payment is now gone, and what comes next is a loss of the ability to pay for housing,” he said. 

New federal rulemaking threatens to extend the time needed for placing such individuals quickly into shelter or providing the means to keep them housed – and state bureaucracy also can slow it down, too, said Jessica Blakely director of development and strategy for the Salem Housing Authority. 

In a separate presentation to the commissioners, she asked for their support with legislators, due to her worry over compliance-related regulations and policies that will consume much more time. A state "pass through" for federal money, for instance, has the potential to increase the bureaucratic burden, she said.

Commission Chair Craig Pope pointed out that government fraud in such programs is a common public concern, but he observed that this has created more regulatory demand. Blakely said her agency has been vigilant about detecting fraud, but the process involved in proving it often is cumbersome and costly. One outside investigator was paid $12,000 and, even then, such cases go through a lot of legal steps, she pointed out. 

The difficulty in VA referrals is due to the Portland-based office, not the local Veteran Services Office, said Christian Edelblute, executive director of West Valley Housing Authority, during his presentation to the commissioners. Like Blakely, he is uncertain what new regulations and rules updates will be imposed in the coming year.  

Following her presentation, Blakely said she felt supported by the Polk County Commissioners – that the three were “in her corner.” 

In Polk County, the PIT reflects that an overwhelming majority – 80% and more – of the homeless or at-risk population has a connection to the county. In Dallas, the PIT count found 96 such individuals and it was 75 in Monmouth. ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, May 23, 2025

The way city life unfolds in Independence over the next fiscal year may be more impacted by the town’s budget than any time in recent history. City Hall is expected be closed on Fridays, except for the police department. The library will be open only four days a week. The museum building will go up for sale.  (Poster photo from recent city budget town hall meeting.)

Trammart News composed an editorial analysis of what happened in the past several weeks, as the city budget committee – made up equally of citizens and city councilors – pored over ways to save money during this financially precarious period, when a shortfall of $776,000 loomed over proceedings.

There were surprises: a sudden fund transfer to shore up the entire use of the contingency fund for the shortfall; the cancellation of all money typically set aside for the next Fourth of July, the 2026 festivities; the news that tax revenue from urban renewal projects is falling far short of expectations. 

The Trammart News budget analysis is presented in two parts: The likely effect on resident services and the likely effect on the downtown district – from the perspective of “The Good, The Bad and the Not-Very-Pretty (NVP). “

RESIDENT SERVICES

The Good. In a move initially forwarded by Heritage Museum Curator Amy Christensen and Library Director Patrick Bodily, the museum and the library will combine, with some exhibits being displayed at the library and others at other city spaces, such as the Independence Civic Center. 

Recently, at an event at Central High School, a pop-up was staged along with the film “The Oregon Story: Agricultural Workers.”

This kind of activity is the wave of the future for outreach by museums, according to “MuseumNext,” a conference series that explores museum trends across the country. And combining a city library with the local museum maximizes community services for small towns, according to the Urban Libraries Council, a think tank of American public library systems. 

The Bad. There is no apparent explanation for how money would be saved by having a four-day work week at City Hall. Though some cities have instituted this plan, those that have seem to have followed two paths: longer hours for city employees or trimming salaries for the weekly furlough day. Repeated inquiries about how the cost savings would be achieved went unanswered by the city communications director, Emmanuel Goicochea. He hasn’t responded to media requests by Trammart News for more than a year. 

Goicochea’s elimination from the staff was one of many ideas put forward by City Councilor Dawn Roden, in her suggestions for budget trimming. After the meeting, she explained that “this may be a time when we don’t have a communications manager and we leave the department heads to do that job again.” 

Unnecessary spending should be avoided, according to Roden. However, there should be more for the police department, which requires a funding adjustment. “We have to look at everything in order to make sure that basic safety and infrastructure needs are met first,” she said.

The property sale of the museum may take some time to accomplish. And the planned sale of a city park? That may come with complications, according to an article on municipal property sales in the Yale Law and Policy Review, which was published in 2024. Both city park and city-owned building sales are allowed under ORS 221.725 of Oregon law, but there are legal hoops that could require rezoning – and the city already has three unsold lots ready for development as part of the property it acquired years ago for Independence Landing, by the Willamette River. 

The commercial real estate market has been slowing down, so any sale could take time, according to a 2025 market forecast by the National Association of Realtors. 

Income in the state is lower than previously predicted and so is population growth, which is expected to rise only a half-percent annually, according to the Oregon Economic and Revenue forecast issued this month by the Department of Administrative Services. 

Open space by Polk Street and Hoffman Road that was donated years ago by Boise Cascade is being proposed as a site for sale – but it was deemed ineligible for development only a few years ago due to deed restrictions. Ironically, at that time, it was removed for sale consideration by former City Manager Tom Pessemier, who told Trammart News that the money from the land sale would have been used to buy the museum building – the same museum building now being sold.  

NVP. The municipal pool, which was closed down soon after City Manager Kenna West’s arrival, appears permanently gone. The park land where it sits on 5th and I streets is being considered for part of a city sale. Though a community center was suggested for the site, a presentation for that possibility by the YMCA director and the Independence economic development director was received with skepticism by the Polk County Board of Commissioners several months ago, in part because it failed to definitively make the pool a priority. An inquiry this week by Trammart News on the project with a county official indicates there has been no movement since then and the project is now regarded as out of reach.  

Erin McIntosh, a resident who has been a tireless advocate of the municipal pool and who testified publicly to that effect at the budget committee, said she will continue to champion the outdoor pool project “as we navigate the existing budget realities.”  McIntosh, a member of the city parks board, observed that the pool is “alive and well in the parks master plan process.” She expects an open house to be held in mid-June and urged attendance.  

DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

The Good. Cancellation of all funding for the 2026 Fourth of July Fireworks and downtown venue by the budget committee caused merchants and some residents to spring into action, connecting with one another informally almost as soon as the announcement was made. The result is a vigorous response to an ad hoc committee formed by the city council in the wake of public reaction. The parade, which is done by the city’s Rotary Club, won’t be affected – but a scaled-down version of “Independence Days” by some who want to participate on the committee already is being strongly recommended. 

The Bad. Outreach about the loss of funding for the Fourth of July fireworks was considered near non-existent by many of those whose downtown businesses count on the extra tourism. Mitch Teal, co-owner of Brew Coffee & Taphouse, testified to the budget committee a smaller version of it is feasible – but the coffers stayed empty. 

City Manager Kenna West read a list of cities that depend on non-profit groups to hold Fourth of July events. However, in neighboring Salem the holiday celebration is financed through the taxation on lodging – and that tax revenue in Independence is now being used other ways.  

NVP. At times, the discussions took a turn that involved the downtown and Main Street – with questionable results. When money from the economic development fund was re-allocated, the mayor, Kate Schwarzler, said she wanted to “sound the alarm bells” that some buildings were showing signs of possibly needed funds. As one example, she cited “the building that I am in.” 

Schwarzler was asked by City Councilor Roden if she was going to declare a conflict-of-interest for doing so, apparently while a financial discussion was underway. Schwarzler said “no.”

Though a committee member interjected that it wasn’t the business but the building to which the mayor referred, Schwarzler may have crossed an ethical line. “Okay, she doesn’t gain from the real estate ownership,” said one observer of the meeting. “But she does gain from her business having a pleasing appearance.” 

Under state rules, a conflict of interest arises when an official action by the public official could or would result in a financial benefit or detriment to the public official – and the dividing line makes no such distinction between property and the business it houses.  

At a later time, Councilor Marilyn Morton said she hoped it would be suggested that the Ovenbird Bakery get a façade grant because the awning is “sustained by bird poop.” 

Asked to respond to this assertion, the building’s owner, Susan Graham, responded: "The vast majority of the debris on the awning is from the type of tree that is planted directly in front of the building.” Trammart News visited the site and concluded that the tree is leaching onto the awning, and the tree itself appears to be city owned.▪

By Lance Masterson

For Trammart News Service, May 23, 2025

Follow the birds.

That’s what Marici Reid (photo) did when piloting her glider high above Northern California.

“It was a 4-hour glider flight … by Mount Shasta. Just flew all over the valley,” Reid said. “We were in the middle of nowhere and the lift was dying. We had to pick a place to land, so we followed a golden eagle for probably an hour and a half, to get to the (local) airport. It really was a cool flight.”

There’s a practical reason for hanging with birds.

“You fly with birds because they kind of don’t mind you being there,” Reid said. “We also chase birds because they know where the lift is. They don’t want to work. They’re lazy. So if you see birds, that’s lift.”

Golden eagles, however, are an exception. They can be downright antisocial when it comes to sharing their airspace.

“Golden eagles are one of the touchiest birds. But they’ll fly with you for a bit. They’re doing a lot of little head checks while you’re flying with them. And then they’ll tip their wings and it’s like, okay, I’m out of here,” she explained. “Then you have to figure out where they went so you can chase them.”

Gliding isn’t just for nature lovers and birdwatchers. It’s also for purists.

“You just feel everything in a glider because of the design of the wing. So you can feel the little bumps. There’s lift. It’s very moment to moment, and it’s very quiet,” she said. “We don’t wear headsets. You don’t need them. We just talk.”

Flying gliders is best suited for those with no particular place to go.

Flight plans are not filed because they’re not needed. Most trips begin and end at the same airport.

“Generally, you’re not going anywhere. You’re just enjoying the flight. Though people have flown cross country in a glider, that's a series of trips, not one long trip,” she said. “In an airplane, you’re, like, in a straight line. It’s very goal oriented.” 

Reid is your go-to source when comparing gliders to planes. She knows a little something about long trips, too. That’s because her day job is piloting 747s for Kalitta Airlines. Company owner Connie Kalitta is a nationally known former drag racer.

Before Reid gained her commercial airlines pilot’s license, she spent 10 years driving a bus for the Central School District. The decision to leave her students and co-workers was not an easy one.

“I was a bus driver, and I loved it,” she said. “I never wanted to leave.”

But she did leave, she said, due to the poor working relationship between the district office and its employees. This was in 2019.

Conditions at the bus barn were “just unpleasant. So I thought, I have other skills. I can do something else. I’ve been flying since I was 16,” she said. “It’s not like I was a bus driver and then, all of a sudden, I wanted to (fly), and then I just did it. That’s not how it went down.”

Reid continued to drive buses while pursuing her pilot’s license.

“I studied in-between shifts. In between split-shifts. Weekends. After work,” she said. “Every time you get a new rating, you’re tested right? You have to do the books. You have to take the test. You go in an airplane with an examiner, and they’ll test you.”

Reid required certification for each of the seven levels she eventually mastered.

“Planes that I fly here tend to be the smallest of the small planes, the Piper Cubs. You know, 65 horsepower,” she said.

That all changed when she was hired as a commercial pilot by Skywest Airlines, her first job in her new field. Assignments occasionally took her cross country. Generally, though, she flew regional routes, with up to 78 passengers on board.

“It was usually Portland to Seattle, or Seattle to Spokane. I saw a lot of Seattle. I never need to see Seattle again,” she said with a laugh. “But from that jet to the 747, it’s a huge jump. I think that one was harder than from the little planes to the little jet.”

Reid no longer flies passengers. Instead, she flies cargo for Kalitta Charters. Some of her past deliveries were for the military.

“It’s been all equipment. I’ve taken a bunch of bombs … to Poland for Ukraine," she said of her military drops. "But lately I’m flying regular freight, like for DHL and UPS. ”

Reid was born in Japan and has flown internationally since she was young. The family made several trans-Pacific flights when moving to the states.

“When I was a little kid, before I can even remember, I was obsessed with airplanes,” she said. “I had these crayon drawings from when I was little that are jets. They’re kind of scrawly, But I’ve always loved airplanes.”

Her family eventually settled in Lake Tahoe, California. As a teen, she joined the Civil Air Patrol cadets program out of the nearby Truckee airport. She described the program as ROTC-light for kids.

“They had this wonderful squadron…. We did search and rescue, and a lot of practical hands-on stuff,” she said. “I had probably the best possible experience because they funded my solo in a glider.”

The squadron sent Reid to the national encampment in Missouri, which is where she learned to fly.

Marici and husband Robin have lived at the Independence airpark since 2009. Robin is a retired airplane mechanic and airline pilot. The couple’s two sons are also airplane mechanics.

Marici owns and operates the gas station that’s next to Robin’s hangar.

“We also have the Independence Glider Club out there,” she said. “I’m the instructor.” ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, May 23, 2025

If you live in Independence and are ever on any street but your own, you probably know a large and friendly dog that looks more like a cartoon character than a canine. In fact, he resembles the costume-wearing star of an old Disney movie, “The Shaggy Dog,” except that he’s covered in his own weatherproof coat of black hair.

He’s the real thing. And now he is battling a very real disease, cancer. 

Although considered something of a town mascot, few can actually  identify him except by description. He’s been likened to a baby buffalo, and it's easy to see why. And, like a prairie bison, he seems nonchalant in his surroundings. 

He's a member of the breed of Bouvier des Flandes and he’s called Baggins. Like his namesake hobbit in “Lord of the Rings,” he is curious and adventuresome. His owner, Bob, is seen daily leading Baggins all over town – or is it the other way around? They are the “Double-B” guys, making frequent stops at Ovenbird Bakery where both are cookie-loving customers. 

Baggins was identified with lymphoma after Bob noticed he was slowing down this past January, at about eight years of age. 

At Liberty Animal Hospital in Salem, a panel of tests showed Baggins had several blood components at less-than-normal levels. The treatment was chemotherapy, which worked better than expected, returning most of Baggin's blood tests mostly back to normal. 

How long will the cancer-fighting journey last? That remains unknown, but Baggins is still the howler who chimes in along with the train horn when it passes through town, still the dog who tugs on his leash after Bob takes a little bit too long in a conversation along Indy’s river walk. 

May is the National Pet Month, and the “Double-B” partners seemed like an ideal pick to show the difference both have made in each other’s lives. 

Bob and Baggins have grown older together, with a camaraderie that has meant lots of mutual exercise and shared enjoyment during TV-watching times. A Baggins favorite: “The Call of the Wild,” starring Harrison Ford. 

Bob got Baggins after a 40-year gap in canine ownership. As a youth, he and his brother had a "big hairy dog" that he loved. 

But, after college, Bob married and, during those child-rearing years, never had another dog. Then, at the age of 70, living alone, he decided he wanted a dog like the one he’d known in boyhood. 

It wasn't easy. Bouvier des Flandes dogs are gentle giants – easily adjusting well to home and hearth -- But they're uncommon. Their numbers are notoriously low. The population dwindled after World War II – to fewer than an estimated two dozen in North America. Today, only about 100 are registered domestically with the American Kennel Club. 

Aside from their relative rarity, there was another barrier: Bob, at 70 by that time, was seen as possibly too old for a dog like a Bouvier des Flandes. 

Undeterred, he adopted Baggins without hesitation. But then he wondered if the skeptical cluster of breeders he had contacted could be right. 

Baggins proved a happy camper, but he jumped and played like any puppy. By six months, he could topple furniture without even trying –  he seemed no match for a mere human. 

So, when Bob discovered a couple in Mt. Angel walking alongside a very docile Bouvier, he didn't hesitate to ask how they managed to achieve such obedience. The answer? A collar made of chain instead of cloth or leather, which apparently feels more natural to these dogs, who spent centuries pulling carts. 

 "It's something that seems to be instinctual," Bob said. 

Baggins is one of a kind in more ways than one. The breed is often associated with farms, due to their penchant for work. They originated in Belgium, where they proved adept at dairy-related tasks like managing groups of cows, pulling hay bales and guarding gates and pastures. 

However, Bouvier des Flandes are so even-tempered and so loyal, they can settle in almost anywhere as family overseer. For these qualities, they are a frequent choice for treating victims of PTSD – content to offer non-stop companionship. 

In his own back yard, Baggins has learned to pull weeds and serves as "fence sentinel." Though social and friendly with other dogs, Baggins feels a strong need to herd them. 

As Baggins battles cancer, it's likely that Bob's age actually offers some benefits – that flies in the face of the age-linked liability that once was suspected. 

Baggins requires nine medications per day, each delivered at special times. He also requires frequent, though shorter, walks through town. And trips to the vet take time, as well. "It seems like an advantage to be retired," Bob noted, prior to taking him on one of their many walks recently.  

“Well, when this time of year he just wants to be outside most of the time,” Bob explained, as a few warning droplets of water sprinkled down from the sky. Baggins seems to be a true Oregonian, even enjoying walks in the rain. ▪

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, May 16, 2025

A 2025-26 budget that appeared to disappoint most – if not all – of the budget committee members who toiled over it was approved Wednesday, following a discussion that sometimes became intense. City Councilor Dawn Roden cast the lone dissenting vote. 

The budget document will be sent to the Independence City Council for adoption.

Under the budget, the library will be closed one more day a week, though that action won’t take place until the fall, allowing summer programs there to go forward.

The Heritage Museum building is going up for sale, with plans being laid to store displays and artifacts on the third floor of the Independence Civic Center – the museum and the library will consolidate into “community services.”

One city park, possibly more, will be sold, under the new budget. All funding was removed for the 2026 Fourth of July holiday, “Independence Days,” though the city council endorsed forming a public ad hoc committee to explore alternative ways to finance it.

Also under the proposed cost-trimming, the Independence Civic Center, except for the police department, would be closed on Fridays – a potential move that seems to have generated more controversy among the public than with the committee members. Some residents have asked Trammart News for a dollars-and-cents forecast of cost savings – as well as the number of employee work hours – under a four-day work week. “There is a lot of non-detail on that one,” observed one homeowner. 

The city budget committee began their meetings in the wake of an announcement of a $776,000 shortfall. And, at one point in the sessions, City Manager West told the committee: the city is "broke.” 

At a meeting in late April, West explained that the library’s one-day-a-week closure could help the community adjust to more cuts, should they be necessary down the line. “If we reduce a day, it prepares the community for where they may have to go – it’s less dramatic,” she said. Once the closure goes into effect the library will be open four days per week. The library previously had undergone a one-day reduction in service in the 24-25 budget year – going from six days a week to the current five service days per week.

Budget committee members seemed to struggle with their decision-making, seeking ways to make the cuts less impactful. 

But a motion for a small fee to be added to the utility bill failed. At times, both allegedly unconvinced residents and local media were criticized for their role in the circumstances – essentially the defeat of a levy last fall that would have provided funding for parks, the museum and the library. However, some attributed the failure of the levy to inadequate messaging. 

Twice during the meetings, Councilor Shannon Corr and Councilor Dawn Roden clashed. They disagreed on how to characterize last year’s budget, which was sent back to the city for possible revision after Mayor Kate Schwarzler, then a city councilor, recommended taking that action. Roden repeatedly cited the shortfall this year as evidence there should be more discussion. 

“I think that, as a community, we have to be careful that we do not rubber stamp what is in front of us. That is what we did last year,” Roden said. Corr responded: “I think it is irresponsible to say that we rubber-stamped it. We did not rubber stamp the budget.” 

The city’s budget committee this year met five times and included far-ranging discussion. In one amendment, which was recommended by Finance Director Rob Moody, money from the Economic Development Fund was moved to boost the city’s contingency fund and cover the current year’s three-quarter-million-dollar shortfall. The contingency fund, which had been depleted, is largely reserved for emergencies. 

Asked by Councilor Marilyn Morton if this constituted an interfund loan, West said it did not. 

One recommendation that surfaced won wide agreement: That the city establish a series of budget-review meetings, possibly with a citizen-councilor committee, during the coming year. The aim of that committee would be to help flesh out cost-saving options before the budget document arrives in spring to meet the June deadline.

City manager West said she and Mayor Schwarzler would discuss the possibility of the suggested periodic meetings, which would take place much sooner than usual budget-committee meetings. ▪

The city budget document passed by the budget committee is scheduled to go for final approval to the city council in June. It can be found here: https://www.ci.independence.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Independence-BUDGET-2025-2026_-Proposed_-Final.pdf

By Anne Scheck

Trammart News Service, May 16, 2025

Noting that City Planner Fred Evander failed to follow through on a promised letter guaranteeing homeowners a grace period against annexation of their properties along Corvallis Road, several residents who opposed the plan now seem resigned that it’s going forward. 

The city council voted Tuesday night, with Councilor Dawn Roden dissenting, to annex the roadway.

After the vote, resident Rick Hopkins (photo), a 34-year resident, described himself as “saddened” that the tentative agreement from Evander didn’t materialize. In his testimony, Hopkins, who lives along Corvallis Road in Polk County and outside the city limits, said: “I would like to have seen you do something that would have some teeth in the future.”

However, in a brief interview after he gave public testimony, he said he’s “optimistic” that now it appears all the city really wants in the next several years is a “rights-of-way” annexation for the road. 

Hopkins lives inside the urban growth boundary. Like some of his neighbors, he is worried that full property annexation into city limits will mean a hike in taxes to about $3,000 a year, plus a new set of city utility bills. 

Michelle Lewis, who lives on the other side of the road, said she was concerned about the same thing. 

During the previous city council meeting, Evander had agreed to issue a letter exempting current property owners from the possibility of annexation in the near future. However, there’s no risk that will happen – the procedural steps would slow the process and give homeowners plenty of time to learn about a move to do so, he explained. 

Evander also corrected himself on another point; He had referred to the roadway as a minor arterial in the city Transportation System Development Plan, but it is destined to be a major arterial. 

Lewis had sent correspondence to the city requesting that annexation be delayed for property owners for 10 years. Evander, Lewis and Hopkins all referred to ORS 222.750.5, which – under certain circumstances – can be used to delay annexation. 

In his testimony, Eric Hill, a fifth-generation landowner in Independence whose origins date back to the town’s founders, said his notice about the annexation hearing stated that Corvallis Road was being considered for annexation in order to eventually meet higher street standards – but newer information showed it was for putting in a water mainline. 

Public Works Director Gerald Fisher explained that both are reasons for the action. The water line is for the planned water-treatment plant, he explained. Without city ownership, “you have to jump through a whole bunch of paperwork hoops” to get federal grant funding, he said. 

If that explanation had been provided from the outset, “it would have been easier to get behind it,” Hill said. ▪