By Anne Scheck

This is the story of two foster children --- one adopted by us, one we knew for only a short time. I thought about them both every day this month. Sparkling blue pinwheels were everywhere, a reminder. Now, on the last day of April, I want to say thank you to the people who help children.
 
When we brought home a tiny little girl with night terrors and the seeming inability to cry – communication was either by screaming or stone-cold shutdowns tighter than a clam shell – I grew to recognize the underlying grit on display. We were determined to become her parents.
 
 It seemed like forever for the adoption to go through, but when it did, in a wood-paneled courtroom, all I felt was relief. The judge and lawyers, meanwhile, looked more jubilant than the family they’d just congratulated. Photos that day show both a surprisingly somber child, with one parent wearing the expression of a tired traveler from a long, hard-fought journey. Which was me, of course.
 
My daughter had a difficult childhood, but every hard step was followed by a leap. In the place where we lived then, I had great help – from the state. Most of it came from a seasoned social worker named Mary, who viewed me, at first, with a bit of skepticism, I think; We couldn’t have been more different. She was getting ready for retirement, and always wore high heels and dressy skirts. She spoke in a voice in the dulcet tones of a radio broadcaster.
 
 I was revved up early in my career, always clad in sweatshirts and old deck shoes -- and I can be heard three rooms away. During this month, I think of Mary so much. Even after all these years, I miss her.
 
I wish she was still here. I always wanted to tell her how great things turned out. And that, years ago, when our daughter was tested for the gifted program in a highly competitive elementary school, she made it in – and when I accidentally received more documentation about why she did than seemed to be legally permitted, I read something that I think was just like Mary would have written. It characterized our home life as “chaotic but stable.” I was pronounced “a strong personality” with this overarching belief in the golden rule that bordered on unrealistic.
 
Mary told me, during one of our last visits, she considered me an initially hard-to-fathom combination of tough and soft. I like to think that is just what it took to raise a child like ours. Now I look at our daughter, and I wish Mary were alive to see that even though this little girl and I aren’t genetically related, she got that same mix – only a whole lot better alchemy. She’s tough only when the time is right, and soft for everyone.
 
Perhaps it is no surprise that after our daughter grew up, went off to college, and established her own life, I would want to repay the same system that helped me.
 
This time, it was different. I was in Oregon. It only took one foster child for me to quit – there were late or missing appointments with state providers, who probably were over-worked but sometimes never told me so. There was, at times,  such bafflingly incomplete assistance that I hired my own child therapist and paid out-of-pocket to get the help I felt we needed. The bright spots were from CASA and caring people who would slip me special atta-gals, one of whom told me “the system is broken.” I mean, it was said just like that.
 
When I lost that foster child, who was packed off to a higher level of care, I seethed for days about bureaucratic treatment. I still feel a deep, angry, sad knot in my chest when my thoughts go that far back. I believe the pain would still be there had it not been for a great twist of fate.
 
Shortly thereafter, I was recruited to work for Oregon’s foster care ombudsman as a volunteer. And if you want to find a buried treasure with a trove of gold, I’d suggest you start there, where everyone’s heart is made of that shiny 24-carat metal.
 
So, as April comes to an end, I think of them. Some of the best people I have known in the world, working day-after-day to advocate, to uphold, to mediate. They were platinum people who navigated a field full of brush fires daily, extinguishing them with methodical expertise.
 
So, on this last day of April 2023, I am buying Mother’s Day Cards for some of those who remain so committed. I will cross out the part with maternal messages and write in “hero” instead. Because there is no greater benefit to people across the State of Oregon than those who make such differences, and I cannot help but feel grateful to them. Thank you, too, Mary, for being there more than three  decades ago. Thank you, CASA, and thank you, most of all, to my daughter. There is no finer woman. Anne Scheck, April 30, 2023

By Anne Scheck
​
When does a difference of opinion between the county and the city become a dispute? Almost never, or so it seems from recent events. After a traffic evaluation by engineer Todd Whitaker, the public works director for Polk County, was pronounced partly wrong by Fred Evander, planning manager for Independence, Whitaker appeared to regard it only as a signal that the two may need to talk more.
 
"I am hopeful this can be resolved," Whitaker said, when asked about an Independence Planning Commission meeting this past spring, where some of his findings about the potential traffic impact from a planned development in the southwest section of the city were downplayed by Evander.

Whitaker, who oversees county roadways, had raised concerns about the number of drivers who might want to go south from a proposed intersection at Talmadge Road – predicting many would be likely to take it straight to Stapleton Road, once the subdivision is built.

“Part of what Mr. Whitaker said was not correct,” Evander told the commissioners. After looking over the trip data, Evander said he was confident some motorists would head north on Talmadge to Monmouth Street, linking to the highway from there.
 
The only planning commissioner to weigh in during the meeting was Rebecca Jay, who observed that “people are going to figure out pretty quick that they don’t have to go through downtown” in order to go south.
 
Whitaker said he continues to consider the future traffic pattern “a matter of concern.” But rather than issuing a challenge over it, he helped with Independence’s recent transportation system plan (TSP), as a member of the TSP’s technical advisory committee.
 
If it sounds like Whitaker is taking a soft-pedal approach to matters of county jurisdiction, it seems that he’s right in line with other county officials.

​The responsibility for the oversight, reconditioning and upkeep of roads and streets can sometimes be difficult to discern – county thoroughfares sometimes run right into city streets, noted Polk County Commissioner Lyle Mordhorst, who also serves as the county's transportation liaison to the Oregon Department of Transportation.
 
For example, Hanna Road, north of Independence, is mostly in the county. However, a small part of it, a length of about two blocks, is within an offshoot of Independence. "So, when the county repaved Hanna Road, that small portion was also paved," Mordhorst said. Such situations are not unique to Polk County, he added.
 
In its city charter, Independence defines itself as the territory surrounded by its boundaries. However, the Independence Bridge is an iconic example of the questions that can swirl over jurisdiction. Since Independence extended its urban growth boundary, and annexed land around the bridge, inquiries have arisen about cost-sharing in repairs anticipated for the bridge.
 
“We are currently in discussion with Independence about assuming a portion of the maintenance costs,” said Whitaker. 
Polk County’s roadway extends to the center of the Independence Bridge, joining Marion County's half at the middle.  Although Marion County is the lead agency for managing the maintenance of the bridge, Polk County pays some of that expense under an existing agreement with Marion County.
  
“We’ve reached out to the city, in the hope that we can have a team effort on this,” said Mordhorst.
 
Independence’s previous TSP – also referenced in the current one – states that “as city limits expand to encompass county road segments, ownership of these road segments is transferred to the city, so the roads may be maintained to urban standards.” The city will simultaneously annex land and the county roads “found within, or bordering, the newly annexed land,” according to the TSP.

However, Independence Mayor John McArdle said he was unaware of “any agreement for the city to own, operate, manage, fund” the bridge – a conclusion also reached by the city’s director of public works, Gerald Fisher.

“At this time, I have not seen any records indicating that the city has jurisdiction or any maintenance responsibility for the bridge, the intersection, or Corvallis Road,” Fisher said. “All of my mapping says that is under county control,” Fisher added.

​In fact, the history of the Independence Bridge is a testament to team effort – and it bears witness to an early tragedy, as well.
 
Nearly 75 years ago, a joint endeavor to replace the nearly century-old ferry crossing was undertaken; Money for the bridge was raised through local fundraising, from state allocations, and by Marion and Polk counties, which both contributed 25% of the cost, according to accounts of the time. By the holiday season of 1950, the bridge was ready for a festive ribbon cutting.
 
In a special tribute to the bridge’s opening, an article five years ago in the Statesman-Journal looked into the archives of that day, and the report on the death that occurred. The son of Independence founder Henry Hill, Verd Hill, died from a sudden heart attack during that December ceremony, “slumped over in his chair on the dedication platform just two minutes before he was scheduled to speak.”
 
Recently, a jurisdiction issue unfolded on a smaller scale within the city, when resident Gary Brown inquired about the long-term parking of a large recreational vehicle along the north end of Stryker Road. When the Independence Police Department (IPD) got the call from Brown, the officer sent him to the Polk County Sheriff's Office instead, presuming that the stretch of street was within the county.
 
However, upon investigation, it turned out that the large vehicle was within the city’s jurisdiction, confirmed Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton. Towing it could have cost two-to-three thousand dollars, he said. But it wasn't just the potential cost that made his office reluctant to become more involved, he pointed out.
 
The IPD and the Sheriff's Office have a good relationship, he explained. "When something is outside our area, I don't want to encroach on another (agency's) area of responsibility," Garton said.
 
These "areas of responsibilities," which are sometimes referred to as jurisdictions, can be confusing to the public, and understandably so, he added. For example, if an incident in Independence demonstrates a need for mental health intervention, it becomes a matter for the sheriff's office. The "mobile crisis team" – a deputy and a clinician – is dispatched by the county. "There's a lot of complexity to this," Garton said.
 
In fact, the site that sparked the parking complaint isn’t actually in the city limits, but the road right-of-way belongs to the city, said Independence Police Chief Robert Mason. “I know this is confusing and has been confusing to the agencies trying to respond to the many complaints.”

The situation concluded in what some neighbors called “a happy ending.” Stryker Road now has a series of no-parking signs where the recreational vehicle once parked, thanks to the Independence Police Department – and to “Citizen Brown,” as he was dubbed by friends for his repeated follow-up on the issue over several weeks.
  
Asked if the outcome might be as favorable for the Independence Bridge, Polk County Commissioner Mordhorst said he’s hopeful that an amicable agreement between the county and city can be reached.
 
And, because Independence recently lost its city manager and the police chief is temporarily in that role, Mordhorst said he believes that pressing the issue isn't as important as giving the city time to adjust to recent changes. He wants "to build rapport" with Independence, Mordhorst stressed. "I think we have the time to do that," he added.
 
Working in tandem on the Independence urban growth boundary – including annexation and jurisdictional matters – apparently is just what the Polk County Board of Commissioners and the City of Independence had in mind 28 years ago, when the two agencies entered into an intergovernmental agreement pledging to have a “cooperative process” in which jurisdictional issues were reviewed. When disagreements occurred, both the commission and the city council promised to meet “to discuss a resolution of the matter.”
 
The 1993 document, which was signed before Mayor McArdle or Commissioner Mordhorst were elected, is included in a comprehensive plan for Independence that was adopted 20 years ago – partially to plan for future needs, including ones of jurisdiction. 

By Anne Scheck

It started at the Starduster Café, the cozy diner on Airport Road where planes can be seen taking off and landing on the adjacent airfield. What was flying around one morning this past week at a corner table was a conversation about grammar violation.
 
That’s right. It was a discussion of an infraction involving the alleged misplacement of a hyphen, the little dash known for connecting words. The proof was right there on the roadway nearby, on two bright green adopt-a-street signs. The signs had the same wording but a different number of hyphens.
 
Over cups of hot coffee and steaming tea, the question arose: Who first spotted this “hyphen mismatch” on the two signs? No one knew for sure, but word was out that one of the two identical signs was missing a hyphen.

At a time of continuing pandemic and monetary inflation, it might seem like errors in grammar on signs around the city are a comparatively small issue. However, this is Independence, a place where civic regard is so strong that even the rain is a source of pride, inspiring a poem about the loveliness of endless winter drizzle here in the mid-Willamette Valley by a Polk County nature writer as well as a recent city-sponsored art contest by elementary school students, who competed recently to illustrate the importance of stormwater drainage.
 
One local pilot explained that punctuation indeed is a vital matter. “Let’s eat grandma” is very different from “let’s eat, grandma,” he said. One comma “can make all the difference,” he stressed, though he declined to be identified for weighing in on whether a tiny hyphen could be considered significant on a sign. 

So, it seemed appropriate to determine if other such grammar lapses on signage could be found on city streets, in a town where some people seem to take grammar usage seriously. 
There are several examples, from Main Street to Monmouth Street. In fact, the list of these transgressions can be seen by any grammar advocate who has the time to drive randomly around during a busy holiday season just to look at whatever signs are in sight. 

​Incomplete sentences seem fairly frequent. 
For years, the stately fire station of Polk County Fire District No. 1 has had a sign with hand-posted movable letters. This often results in messages with only a few words and, in windy weather, some letters seem prone to blowing off. News of pancake feeds and other events also get soiled in downpours. 
This prompted the fire district to seek approval for a better, more modern and stable sign, which is anxiously awaited by personnel there, according to Fire Chief Ben Stange. However, the current hitches in the supply chain have meant delays in its assembly.
  
“The good news is the parts they've been waiting on are in the US,” he said. The bad news is “at last check, they were in a shipping container in Long Beach,” he added. “So, unfortunately, we're still looking at a couple months,” he explained.  

pelling errors may be easily seen. 
When wreaths went up for sale in Independence -- advertised with pointing arrows on hand-written signs -- no one seemed to have trouble reading them, despite the fact that the name for the circular door decorations had been written incorrectly on one along Monmouth Street. 

“Well, you can tell what they mean,” said one of those who passed by. However, the homeowner of the house where the sign was placed didn’t seem to see it the same way. “The sign in my yard drives me nuts,” she stated, noting that she has removed it but “it gets put back.” 

​Miscommunication can be a challenge. 
In Pioneer Park, a sign that labels a dog-waste station could be mistaken for a disposal unit for canine marijuana. Called “DogiPot,” it has been a “head-scratcher” for certain dog walkers.

Actually, that’s the name of a well-known brand of industrial dog supplies, including “earth-ready” bags for collecting defecation. However, the lettering, and lack of explanation, is apparently seen as amusing by a few who use the park. The company has a website that helpfully describes all of its products, which are related solely to canine clean-up. 

Out-of-date announcements can linger.
A sign in a parking space at Central High School, which seems to be celebrating a return to in-person school, hopefully proclaims graduation in 2020 – but the date is no mistake. The painted sign on the pavement actually is a leftover from a pre-covid fundraiser in which seniors bought designated parking spaces, according to Emily Mentzer, communication coordinator for Central School District 13J.                       

​“It wasn't done last year because students were, for the most part, not on campus,” she reported. And it wasn't done this year because fall has been so busy getting back into school, she added.

Did the senior graduate? That couldn’t be verified but there’s a good chance of it. More than 80% got their diploma that year. 

Unknown acronyms can crop up.
On Main Street, the Elks Club weekend dinner – with a posted marquis sign that announced a “YUM” bowl this past week – turned out to be referencing an actual name, rather than initials for a special dinnertime fare.

The bowl is not called “yummy” because, although it is, it actually imitates a dish made by the Yumm Café. “We did our own version,” explained Beverly Bunch, a volunteer and Elks Club member, when asked why there was no additional “m” at the end.
 
The Elks YUM bowl creation has beans, rice, cilantro, tomato, black olives and other ingredients, she said. It also includes the kind of sauce used by the Yumm Café, “which you can buy,” she advised.

Down the block from where the YUM bowls were being prepared on Friday, Paul Sieber, who had a large dental practice for many years, pondered the importance of grammar when asked about it as he was finishing lunch at the Ovenbird Bakery.

“Grammar tells you a lot about the person who is speaking,” he said. Many of his patients revealed their background in the way they talked, he recalled. “I don’t mean this in a way that is for the better, or for the worse,” he said.
 
Some ways of communicating give clues as to underlying heritage, he pointed out. He cited what is sometimes referred to as “Pennsylvania Dutch,” which he called a charming but sometimes different way of speaking. “Throw the cow over the fence some hay,” is one such common example, he said.

One of the participants in the conversation that kicked off the topic at the Starduster Café, Amy Jackson, also was asked how important she thought grammar skills can be.

After all, when a sign selling Christmas wreaths is misspelled, people who see the sign still know what is being sold; When someone utters a sentence with the wrong verb tense, it isn’t likely to be misunderstood. True, she agreed.

“But if you use good grammar, there are times when, maybe, it might help you,” Jackson said, noting that correct use of grammar may be evident, even impressive, in situations ranging from a pre-employment interview to on-the-job interactions.
​ 
Language is “communication and communication is so important,” she observed. Jackson has a reputation for good communication – for using impeccable grammar among friends in her north Independence neighborhood.  However, she’s also known for not imposing her grammar standards on others. But right there in her kitchen, and sometimes even on her tabletop, is a large ceramic cup with the words “I’m silently correcting your grammar.” ​

By Anne Scheck

A recent report on the unavailability of yellow paint is causing red flags to fly.

When Independence Police Chief Robert Mason, who’s scheduled to become the interim city manager in a few days, was asked at a recent city council meeting why there aren’t more yellow no-parking zones, he had the answer – in dollars and cents. Funds for it don’t seem to be in the budget, he explained. Soon it became evident that some residents had tuned in to the live-streamed meeting, viewed that comment, and considered his statement nothing short of eye-opening.
​ 
“I’d love to go out there and do their job for them,” said Julie Baker, apparently frustrated that a solution involving the application of paint has been put off. However, if she took matters into her own hands near her house with a can of semi-gloss yellow and a paintbrush, “I’d get slapped with a graffiti or destruction of property charge,” she said.

A follow-up inquiry to the police chief was answered with the same candor he exhibited at the city council meeting. “I was told they don’t have a budget to paint all curbs that I would like to have painted,” Mason said.

However, even if the city did have the buckets of money for the buckets of paint, the Independence Police Department doesn’t do any of the painting, he pointed out. “Curb painting is done by contractors as directed by the public works department,” he explained.
 
Is this how the need for such color-coding on curbs slipped through the proverbial cracks? For nearly a year, the city’s public works department has been functioning without a director. City Manager Tom Pessemier took on that additional role when it was vacated last winter. When Pessemier announced his imminent departure less than a month ago, the new public works director, Gerald Fisher, had been on the job only a few weeks.
 
Unsurprisingly, Fisher didn’t know at that time about the need for more mustard-colored curbs. “I’ve been recently made aware of concerns around parking, signage and curb painting requests and will review each of them as they are received,” Fisher said, when contacted. Curb painting has to be conducted during the dry weather season, so any outdoor painting projects – from street striping to street edging – won’t be undertaken until at least spring, he said.
 
 “There will be time for me to review our past practices for pavement striping and curb painting,” Fisher noted, adding that this will allow consideration of what changes, if any, are needed based on funding availability, standards related to the application and use of roadway signage and striping, as well as determining the “engineering priority for safety reasons.”

The sooner the better, according to some residents. From streets downtown to those in the city’s subdivisions, where and how yellow curbs are placed has been a source of confusion for some residents. At Northgate and Hyacinth, for example, a corner has long been identified by neighbors as in sore need of the yellow paint, to stop cars from parking there and obscuring the ability to see around the curve. And the intersection of C and Main streets by Riverview Park has been called an accident waiting to happen – the absence of yellow paint allegedly means too many cars parked by that corner make it hard to see oncoming traffic on Main Street when making a turn.
 
The police chief seemed sympathetic to the criticisms. “I, when representing the traffic safety commission, have requested that yellow curbs be painted in areas where parking is a concern and enforcement is requested,” he said. “I feel it is much fairer to enforce parking restrictions when a yellow curb indicates parking is not allowed rather than measuring and enforcing from the written code.” After all, many people are “unaware of parking restrictions without visible indications like signs or yellow paint,” he observed.

When easy-to-understand curb color is missing, parking problems can follow, agitating residents – as in the case of the Hyacinth-Northgate curve, in the Northgate neighborhood off of Gun Club Road. When cars park along the curve, they interfere with the line of sight by drivers navigating that part of the street, according to two of the people who live nearby.
 
The issue, which also arose at the city’s recent traffic safety commission meeting – along with the perceived need for more street markings – was the subject of a liaison report by City Councilor Dawn Hedrick-Roden, who serves as council’s representative to that commission. “We are going to research getting those paints back on curbs,” Hedrick-Roden told fellow city councilors. “I think it was a great meeting,” she said.
 
Painting curbs yellow to show where parking isn’t allowed turns out to be far more complicated than simply spraying on the durable color. Nearly 75 years ago, “The Police Journal,” an international magazine for law enforcement that’s still being published today, weighed in with commentary on streets that included the obvious fact that many of them in towns and cities aren’t very well planned, due to being old pathways now paved, as “survivors of food and cart tracks.”

For anyone who doubts that this form of street preservation has occurred in Independence, the metal girds around curbs in some downtown locations, including the corner by the library, provide proof; The hard bands are remnants of a bygone era when they were installed to protect against the damage of carriage wheels.
 
That isn’t the only historic legacy: the section of downtown where some current drivers worry about nosing out into traffic on Main Street is owned and operated by the state not the city, as part of Highway 51. Nor is everyone more anxious to see more yellow on the corners there.

“I’ve been here for years with quite a view on that corner,” said Bonnie Andrews, owner of Melting Pot Candy, with a storefront window that faces the part of Main Street that has been a topic of some concern. “And I can tell you that I have never seen anything happen. Nothing,” she said. Her worry is that more yellow areas “will mean we will lose more parking, and we actually probably need more of it,” she said.

That’s a concern also expressed by Pete Ferren, who lives in one of the apartments at Independence Landing. Recently, Ferren addressed the city council, advising them that, although Osprey Lane seems too narrow for parking on both sides of the street when there is two-way traffic, it’s nonetheless necessary. Many of his neighbors have two cars, he noted.
​ 
Osprey Lane provides spaces for the overflow and “I recommend that you consider leaving parking on both sides of the street and that you consider one-way traffic” there instead, he said. With anticipated growth, the parking crunch is only going to increase, he stressed.
 
The way to address the problem may not lie only in decisions on where to put yellow paint. Study after study has shown that parking challenges can be solved, at least partly, by charging parking fees. However, the complications won’t end there, according to one of the most highly published experts on the matter, Donald Shoup, a distinguished professor of urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
     
Mixing free parking with paid parking can lead to a phenomenon known as cruising, in which motorists creep along streets looking for the no-cost alternative, often circling back to continue the quest – a situation that can mean a special type of traffic clog. 

​“The obvious waste of time and fuel is even more appalling when we consider the low speed and fuel efficiency of cruising cars,” Shoup wrote recently in Access Magazine, which covers research by the University of California Transportation Center. He and his graduate students at UCLA have found that traffic congestion isn’t always caused by the volume of drivers on their way to a destination but, rather, by those who have arrived at the place they intended to go – and are on a slow hunt to find a parking place.

By Anne Scheck

​At the same city council meeting where two downtown property owners received the city’s first achievement award for historic preservation, a homeowner testified that Independence was preventing her from restoring her turn-of-the-century house the same way they did.

A lot line on her property had escaped notice for years, a boundary that means the city owns part of her yard, including a sliver of the home’s front porch. This is making it impossible for her to move forward with plans for similar refurbishment, said Catherine Underwood-Bush.

“In a city that claims they want to preserve historic properties this, in effect, does condemn the property,” she told the city councilors in public testimony during the meeting. So far, the city has declined to sell or return that portion back to her, she added. “Why would I continue to put any time, effort or money into restoring a home that I have no equity in, at this point?” she asked.

Before Underwood-Bush spoke, the city councilors were advised by Mayor John McArdle – citing legal advice -- to listen to her comments but not to respond to them. Underwood-Bush confirmed that she’d hired an attorney. “The reason a lawyer got involved was because, after a year of no responses, that was my only option to get this moving forward,” she told the councilors.

​Sitting nearby as Underwood-Bush recounted her property-line plight were Jeff Myers and Tyler Kolb, recipients of the first ever “Cairns-Weaver Award” for excellence in historic preservation. After the meeting, the two held their plaques while photos were taken. They both said they were proud and honored; Underwood-Bush, however, said she was deeply disappointed.
 
If this seems like an unusual instance of contrasting viewpoints about decisions in the city’s oldest residential area, it isn’t. In fact, the occurrence at the recent city council meeting is far from the only one in which perspectives differ substantially on issues within the historic district.

From debates about the appearance and size of store signs to calls for protecting the brick archways on downtown buildings, a band of impassioned, volunteer appointees have worked largely behind the scenes on such situations, to keep several blocks at the downtown core looking like a chapter from its architectural past. They form a board known as the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC).

They’re the ones who made the selection for the Cairns-Weaver award; They’re the ones who came up with the idea and approved the concept; They’re the ones who first heard Underwood-Bush plead her case.

They have weighed in on everything from the library “reader board” – a box-like structure that flashes messages, which was pronounced an atrocity by one member – to the apartments at Independence Landing, which were similarly disparaged by another.

“There is zero warmth to them. Zero character,” said HPC member Jennifer Flores, when asked to recount her assessment of the riverfront apartment complex. In contrast, “look at the arches over any window or even some doors downtown,” she said. “They have personality.”

“The architectural accoutrements on our historic buildings downtown are what give our town its charm and historic vibe,” she added.

Underwood-Bush first took her problem to the HPC, to inform commissioners that it’s affecting her ability not just to refinance her home, but to meet the vision so often expressed by city officials: Home restoration. The property line is set along the outer area of her front porch -- a porch that has been reconstructed to look like it did when the 1880-era home was moved near Pioneer Park in 1923.
 
A swath of the land had been vacated to the home years ago, but it was reclaimed by the city after payment of property taxes on it had lapsed – it fell through the cracks after Underwood-Bush became divorced. She was stunned to learn that ownership had changed. “The city didn’t even know they had it until I told them,” Underwood-Bush stated at the council meeting.

The home contains symbols of a bygone time, from an oval bathtub with clawed feet to the original parlor chandelier, with its light-catching teardrops. However, there’s a lot more work needed on the house, according to Underwood-Bush, who gave a brief tour of the home recently. Between her dining area and the kitchen, for example, a century-old wood floor meets up with decades-old linoleum.

​When City Manager Pessemier viewed the property -- after multiple requests and months of waiting, Underwood-Bush asserted -- the conversation "did not go well," she said.

She was informed that nothing further would happen, she said. However, noting that the city manager is resigning from his job, she isn't sure of the final outcome. (Asked about the matter involving Underwood-Bush, Pessemier declined comment.)

Since 1989, the city’s historic district has been on the National Register of Historic Places. Having a well-defined historic area brings benefits ranging from placing emphasis on design quality to creating a source of civic pride, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Part of the HPC’s prescribed role includes hearings on construction and alterations within the district. The commission was formed to “identify, recognize, and preserve significant properties that showcase the community’s history,” according to the city’s description. The HPC also is charged with encouraging “the rehabilitation and ongoing upkeep of historic resources” as well as strengthening public support for historic preservation efforts.

 Sometimes that requires giving an instructive talk, observed Curtis Tidmore, a longtime HPC member who also serves on the board of The Heritage Museum Society, a non-profit organization that helps support the city’s museum.

“I've had several people, in the time I have lived here, knock on my door wanting to sell new siding and vinyl windows,” Tidmore observed.
 
“When I told them I wasn't allowed to do that kind of work (on the home), they quickly corrected me saying that I could,” he recalled. “Well, needless to say, each one of them got a short lesson on what you have to get approval from -- the HPC,” he said.

​However, local government control of a historic district has its drawbacks, said Ken Larson, who lives in one of the city’s most well-known historic homes, the “Henry Hill House.” Its name reflects the town’s founding family, and he takes pride in the buttercup yellow house with its pillared porch. However, he worries about it, too.

"If this would pass out of our family, it would go into this commercial zone," he explained, gesturing to the surrounding area. "That would mean that the bottom floor would have to be commercial," he said.

Independence initially came about in 1845, when Elvin Thorp arrived and claimed land. Eventually that land claim was named after the starting place of many of those early pioneers, Independence MO. Then, in 1847, Henry Hill staked out more land, expanding the young community.

​A few decades later, the new city formulated its first set of ordinances, which demonstrated commitment to housing -- the offense of “disorderly” homes was second only to acts of bad behavior. On large sheafs of paper penned in hand-written ink, these laws of yesteryear remain part of the record at the Independence Civic Center, and they include some nuisance rules similar to current ones, such as a warning against roosters being kept in town, which was alleged to make egg-laying hens “cross and peevish.”

By Anne Scheck

The city is heading back to the future with new development – if lingering parking issues downtown don’t keep history from repeating itself. 

Two projects by Aaron Young, a developer in town, got the green light in separate decisions this past week. One approval was for a new 4,500-square-foot building on a parcel of Independence Landing known as Lot #7. The other go-ahead was for resuming construction on the 15-year-old skeletal relic at Second and Monmouth streets, invariably referred to by locals as “Stonehenge.” 

Meanwhile, Young’s first development, Osprey Point, is being built on land sold to him by the city four years ago. The mixed-use, multi-story complex, on C Street across from the Independence Hotel, also is part of Independence Landing, the name designated years ago when the city bought 18 acres along the Willamette River and put more than $3 million into building streets and utilities, to make it “shovel-ready.”  The half nearest the river was sold to Gresham-based Tokola Properties for $162,000, with some mandatory municipal fees also paid by the city, according to early escrow documents. 

Young’s “New Elks Lodge Project,” as it is sometimes called, got a yes vote last Monday night by the Independence Planning Commission. However, parking became a source of discussion, a fairly frequent occurrence at recent city meetings. 
            
“I don’t understand where people are going to park,” said Planning Commissioner Rebecca Jay, while looking over Young’s application. Young, who attended the meeting, agreed that “parking can be a major problem in a small town.” However, city planner Fred Evander, the presiding staff member, said the number of parking places was in line with the city code. 
   

​“Then I don’t think the city showed much foresight here,” Jay said. In response, Planning Commissioner Kate Schwarzler reiterated Evander’s statement that “this meets the code.” 
            
At the previous meeting, Schwarzler had voiced concerns about parking spaces downtown, when a church group unveiled plans to meet for Sunday service in a building that’s slated to be office space during the week. 

​Asked why she seemed worried over parking-space use on Sunday mornings but seemingly less troubled by parking availability near Independence Landing, Schwarzler explained that “my concern from the previous month centered around a key aspect of that application, which is that it was a conditional use application.” 
         
“For the application we reviewed Monday, we reviewed it against the criteria in the code, and noted the applicant met the parking criteria,” she said.

Jay said that the parking along Osprey Lane, which might be an option for those using the new Elks Lodge, sometimes has hard-to-navigate sidewalks because driveways to Tokola’s rental units sometimes are being used by large cars, such as sports utility vehicles, which “hang over onto the sidewalk.” 
               
“The department does receive complaints about parking,” affirmed Independence Police Chief Robert Mason, who previously had requested some potentially mitigating “language changes” on parking. However, the city council chose not to adopt it. 
              
As for Osprey Lane, the original prohibition against parking on both sides of that street has been dropped and now it’s allowed, he explained. 

​Several parking-construction surveys put the minimum cost of a paved parking space at a small city hub – meaning a parking space on a lot, not in a garage or a parking structure – at $5,000 to $10,000. For a city like Independence, with a debt now at more than $43 million, parking could become a precious commodity – as it is for many cities, according to the National Parking Association. 
              
Last year, parking reform was the subject of an in-depth presentation by the Oregon chapter of the American Planning Association, which described parking spaces in downtown areas of Oregon as consuming significant land use. Proposed solutions ranged from conducting parking audits to learn who’s actually using the spaces to “unbundling” parking spots from tenant units, so that they can be rented separately in rental housing by tenants who have parking needs. 

​Citing “barriers and concerns” regarding parking, Allison Platt, core area project manager for the City of Bend, advised that this is a topic that “you don’t want to just leave as the elephant in the room.” It’s difficult to grapple with the issue, but it won’t go away, she said.
            
Plans for parking at Independence’s Station 203 are likely to be firmed up in the near future, possibly during a site review. Now, however, the half-constructed building finally seems set to undergo transformation.
 
​Curtis Tidmore, who chaired the HPC meeting last week, declined to express his opinion on the proposal before the meeting had officially begun, even when pressed to share his view on how it felt to finally receive plans for rebuilding the massive structure. “Well, let me put it this way,” he said prior to calling the meeting to order. “I’m certainly glad to be at a point where we’re able to hold a hearing on this.” 

By Anne Scheck

​The departure of City Manager Tom Pessemier at the end of this month, after three years on the job, is sad for many who know him in this riverside town, but truly surprising to only a few. 

Pessemier joined the city with the kind of stellar credentials – degrees in both engineering and economics – that, at the time, led to predictions by some that Independence would be only a steppingstone in his career.

What seems to be astonishing about the resignation of Pessemier, a former interim city manager of Sherwood, is that he’s not leaving for another position. He’s leaving to start a new chapter of his life, in another part of the country. He and his family are moving to Tennessee, where his two oldest children are in college. 

Pessemier is regarded by some city officials as a lucky hire for the city – he arrived with an excellent background that would have made him a good catch almost anywhere. And he proved it over the course of his time as city manager, according to Mayor John McArdle.

“I have really valued working with Tom during his three years as city manager," McArdle said. "He has embraced both the spirit and vision of Independence,” he stated. “He and the city staff have worked well together in supporting the city’s longterm goals and were especially creative in problem-solving during the pandemic.”

In fact, Pessemier was seen as doing such an outstanding job that last winter the Independence City Council voted to double his previous annual salary raise of five percent to 10% – a hike he declined almost immediately and which subsequently was whittled down.
 
 There were reports that Pessemier was seeking better “work-life” balance. “Without doing this as a professional move, it’s certainly likely to be for personal reasons,” one observer commented.
 
In a brief interview shortly after his announcement Friday, Pessemier appeared to confirm that opinion. Pulling up stakes to move from his current home outside Portland to the south’s gateway state represents the opportunity for a lifestyle change, he said. “I may take a year or two off,” he said.
 
Home prices have appreciated highly in Oregon’s suburban cities, while property in other parts of the country haven’t escalated nearly as much, so it is a good time to sell a house, Pessemier affirmed. And, following a difficult period of coronavirus measures, he considers the city “in good shape,” he said. “This has just been a great staff to work with,” Pessemier added.

“I am saddened by his departure,” said Independence City Councilor Kathy Martin-Willis. “I understand the difficulties in balancing work and family life, particularly with a position as demanding as city manager,” she said, adding that it was a privilege to work with Pessemier. “He will be sorely missed,” she said.

As Pessemier begins the countdown weeks toward his exit, some who know him pointed out the challenges and successes that made his tenure so noteworthy during such a relatively short time with the city.
 
He clarified the city’s financial picture. With a debt load that now exceeds $43 million and an average residential tax increase this year that reached three percent, Pessemier helped ensure that city finances were expressed more clearly on documents at city council meetings; Packets of information to the council members included easier-to-read text with sub-heads in memos, such as a “statement” of the problem at hand, a proposed solution and its “fiscal impact.” Pessemier also emphasized the need to explore more grant awards to reduce reliance on tax revenue.

He increased attention to infrastructure demands. The need for enhancing water facilities was frequently mentioned by Pessemier and, at a recent meeting, representatives from Westech Engineering helped explain how and why the system needed improvement, including the addition of a new well near the city’s boat ramp. Additionally, the F Street Bridge, which had languished for years as a crossing point in sore need of upgrades, finally is getting them.

He created learning opportunities for those in public office. When one city councilor failed to disclose a property rented to a developer seeking a city deal, public questions arose. Pessemier seemed responsive: A training session on best practices for elected officials was convened. More recently, he has invited city department managers periodically to city council meetings, to describe their duties, in an apparent effort to increase understanding of city operations.

He was positive, but clear-eyed.  Whether it was his ability to precisely define a problem, perhaps as the result of his engineering background, or the dollar-and-cents perspective from his economics training, Pessemier never expressed himself with the same prose sometimes used by certain city staff – descriptions that, at times, seemed confusing, such as calling events “community connectors.” Pessemier appeared to prefer a more dry, fact-based approach. For example, when one staffer seemed headed into a long, glowing narration, Pessemier cut him off, explaining that the meeting needed to move on.

He skillfully juggled hard aspects of the pandemic. The city functioned well in perhaps its most challenging period of many decades. Zoom sessions commenced almost immediately. Much of the staff was quickly deployed remotely. New hours were posted clearly at the Independence Civic Center. City work and public meetings continued. Meanwhile, a transportation system plan, considered long overdue when Pessemier signed on as city manager, rolled to completion of the final draft.

​“Tom has done an admirable job during the pandemic – a challenge I wish on no one,” said Councilor Shannon Corr. His ability to address and implement the ever-changing mandates and guidance “is nothing short of commendable,” she said. “He has steered our community valiantly throughout,” Corr stressed.
 
Corr noted that Pessemier joined the city about the same time she was sworn in as a city councilor. Since then, he’s shared his previous city management experiences with her “and I believe that’s helped me be a more effective councilor,” she said.

“I’ve been most appreciative of his willingness to discuss with me issues we’ve disagreed on over the years,” Corr noted. “We still disagree on some things, but I’ve certainly learned a lot from those conversations.”
 
A city manager’s role, which ranges from managing finances and personnel to overseeing the delivery of services such as safe drinking water, is considered to be one of the hardest in terms of stressors, according to the Alliance for Innovation, which tracks trends in local government.

​Also, there are increasing group-related divisions in city government, making local governance more political even in places that have nonpartisan elected offices, according to research from the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University’s Center for Effective Lawmaking, which analyzed records of 132 city and county councils. Pessemier had to maneuver around this growing divide in Independence, where even the city councilors seemed sometimes to reflect party lines. Pessemier proved an able navigator, with several bona fide hits – though there was one obvious miss along the way, as well.
 

Hit: Sidewalk Fix. When Pessemier arrived at the city, broken concrete was all that remained of sidewalks around what was once the Independence City Hall and is now the home of Parallel 45 Brewing. A previous developer had torn out the sidewalks, leaving piles of rubble. The project to restore them took place when a new developer was found and given the same deal as the prior one: a quarter million dollars to get the sidewalks fixed. Soon the walkways were covered in fresh cement, with small trees placed in wells. The area is now what one young adult in town has dubbed “beautified awesomely.”

​Miss: The Museum. For years, the Independence Heritage Museum was in a historic church at 3rd and B streets, but stairs made it inaccessible for any with mobility issues. When a building at the corner of 2nd and C streets became available, the city decided to relocate the museum there. Pessemier earned kudos for stating the purchase would be financed by the sale of two city-owned lots. When the lots were found to be restricted from resale, Pessemier then announced the city would borrow the money. The lack of public deliberation on the loan, and the nearly one million dollars it took to get the new site ready, remains a source of some public discord, even though the church was sold for more than a third of the new building’s cost. 
 
Hit: “Two-Job Tom.” When the former public works director left nearly a year ago, a search for his successor began. During those many months, Pessemier stepped into a dual role, serving as both the city manager and the public works director – with no uptick in pay. He’d had experience in public works earlier in his career, so he took on the extra burden and the city continued to attack infrastructure needs, from plugging up potholes on city streets to laying a pipe system to send recycled water to farmland north of town. Recently a new public works director, Gerald Fisher, joined the city. Pessemier finally hung up his public works hat.

Hit: Fessing up. In the neighborhood known as “Sunset Meadows,” a linear park – a swath of land between two streets that stretches behind houses for a block – was the focus of several neighborhood meetings with a green-space consultant. Neighbors voted on their preference for park development: a paved nature path with play areas that included a small climbing boulder. The pavement was laid, but not much else. Residents expressed frustration with the lack of progress. During one city council meeting, Pessemier announced that the grass and path probably would remain that way for the foreseeable future, without the hoped-for additions. Several neighbors privately saluted his honesty.
 



​Mixed: Communication. Ask city councilors or members of the press about Pessemier’s turnaround time to emails and phone calls, and he gets positive reviews for fast replies. The same is not true for some members of the public, including several individuals who were initially impressed by Pessemier but then frustrated by unanswered phone calls or emails. “It’s been very disappointing,” said one. In contrast, Fire Chief Ben Strange, of Polk County Fire District No. 1 in Independence, called Pessemier highly responsive and “easy to work with.”

Members of the Independence City Council also have been effusive in their praise of Pessemier. “I have really enjoyed working with Tom and I know he is going to be greatly missed,” said Councilor Sarah Jobe. “Tom has been such a huge blessing to Independence. His hard work and professionalism as the Independence city manager will be a tough act to follow. I am very sad to see him go,” Jobe said.

“I greatly appreciate all he has done for the city of Independence and I wish him a bright future,” said Independence City Councilor Tom Takacs.

Polk County Commissioner Lyle Mordhorst echoed that sentiment, but also sounded a hopeful note about the next few years, as well. "I wish Tom the best in whatever his new adventure may be,” Mordhorst said, but added, “and I am looking forward to creating another collaborative relationship with his successor." 

By Anne Scheck

As a surge of covid continues, five people who fought the first wave of the coronavirus with hard work and helping hands look back on the year behind them, and share their plans for staying the course in the immediate future. 
 
CATHY TEAL, co-owner, Brew Coffee & Tap House
Cathy Teal has been in the workforce since she was in middle school -- but she’s never worked harder than she did this past year, going without pay for months and rarely taking even a day off. She owns "Brew Coffee and Tap House" with her husband Mitch.

The unique corner restaurant, which some have likened to the televised bar "Cheers" in the 1980s sitcom of the same name, is a gathering spot for visitors to downtown from morning till night. And, when the pandemic hit, Teal and her husband were determined to keep it that way.
 
"Mitch and I worked seven days a week, but that wasn't the worst part," Teal recalled of the past year at the Main Street location across from Riverview Park. "It was keeping up with the (covid-related) changes, which happened so fast." 

"Brew & Tap," as it often is called by those in town, pivoted to outdoor seating on its patio, with tenting and a fire pit, when indoor dining was replaced by takeout only. "Customers were so loyal, and that helped, but there were still a lot of sleepless nights," Teal said.
 
Her son, Collin, worked tirelessly behind the counter in Independence while she kept the books and helped at "Brew Coffee and Tap House West," a similar but larger place in West Salem.
 
“Brew & Tap” also helps provide business for other downtown spots; the nearby "Naughty Noodle," for example, supplies many of the lunches and dinners served there, such as a popular signature dish, "Main Street Mac-and-Cheese."  

Teal has worked since she was a 12-year-old growing up in South Salem -- in a range of jobs from babysitting to berry-picking. So, hard work has been a way of life for her. Even so, exhaustion in the pandemic has been a constant battle, and it wasn't just the physical toll, Teal explained.

When the coronavirus lockdown hit, Teal said she began applying "for every grant I could find," including some from Independence and Polk County. "I can tell you we learned even more about handling expenses," said Teal who, like her husband, has a business degree from Western Oregon University. 

Teal met Mitch as a teenager – his cousin was her best friend, so their paths crossed frequently. Since becoming a couple, they’ve always been a team, raising three children together and sharing all aspects of their business. They have been entrepreneurs almost all their married life, she noted. 

The City of Independence has been a help during this difficult time, Teal pointed out, by providing promotional opportunities, such as the widely used "scratch-off" coupons from CARES Act funds. The city-backed program enabled merchants to hand out scratch-off cards with hidden dollar values that could be redeemed by the customers at any local business, which were then reimbursed by the city. 

At the cozy corner establishment, "we want to maintain the experience for people," she said, adding that no matter how concerning the situation becomes, the couple want to provide an upbeat atmosphere. Service isn't just about pouring "a coffee or a beer," she stressed. "Really, they could get that anywhere," she said. Instead, she and Mitch have always strived to make their place a destination. "We like knowing our customers, we like having that relationship," Teal said.

ANDREW PHILLIPS, funeral director, Farnstrom Mortuary
Andrew Phillips has experienced the pandemic differently than most who live in Independence. As manager and funeral director of Farnstrom Mortuary, part of his job always has been to help families say goodbye to loved ones. But the pandemic made it far more difficult, he said. “I can't fix the pain, that’s not something we’re able to do," Phillips said. "But I can show I care." However, even that became harder in covid, he said.
​
Staying apart due to social distancing and wearing face coverings seemed to keep people from what they often needed most -- human touch. "So much is conveyed through facial expression," he said, explaining that with a mask on, "even a smile is lost." 

In a small town like Independence, there's often a sense of shared community, which has been a help to him in assisting grieving families, he stressed. However, during the pandemic, he saw people deeply affected by the preventive measures of separation. “We all were supposed to be so focused on not catching the disease," he said. The impact of that "weighed on my heart," Phillips added.

He began working in a funeral home in Salem years ago, eventually serving as an apprentice to a funeral director there. He was drawn to the profession by the potential for providing comfort to others at a time of loss. Phillips, whose parents are now deceased, spent a big part of his childhood in Mexico, where his parents worked. As a result, he's fluent in Spanish and he relishes the diversity of Independence.
​
However, during the past year, he saw clashes among different groups he hadn't seen before. "This all got so politicized," he said. One underlying reason may have been due to the combination of loneliness, confusion and fear. "We are more than just our respiratory systems," he said. "We really need to look at psychological health, too," he stressed.

Before the pandemic, he often hosted a "movie night" for friends at his house, but he had to shut it down. Then his own life became extremely constricted. "For me it was 'go to work, go home,' with an occasional quick trip to the store," he recalled. The way he connected with others, by way of computer screen, wasn't a good substitute, he said. "In fact, I came to absolutely despise Zoom," he added.

Other approaches seemed to help him ease the situation: forming "pods," which allowed for safe engagement in activities, like Mexican dinners. Outdoor recreation was another outlet; Phillips is an avid rock climber. Additionally, he helps oversee the local "Next Door" network, which kept him in touch with people in the area, but "had its challenges, too," he said, adding that there was occasional friction that required some diplomatic skill.

The coronavirus offered hard lessons, but not all of them were bad ones, Phillips pointed out. He saw neighbors in town relying on each other for "grocery runs," checking in with each other to see if all was well and trying to reach out to each other when emotional strains seemed to become burdensome.

​MARGARET WILSON, longtime community volunteer
Neighbors considered Margaret Wilson the lovable ballast of her block, the kind of person who could be counted on do a favor for anyone within a huge radius of her own street, where her yard brightened the neighborhood with bountiful flowers. From spring through fall, she gave away many of those carefully cultivated blossoms, from daffodils to chrysanthemums. 

Today, some of those vibrant flowers are still blooming, but now Wilson herself is gone. Amid the pandemic, Wilson and her husband, Kelly, sold their house and returned to Wilson's home state of Ohio. 

For more than 15 years, Wilson was the kind of community member that anyone might predict would never leave: A faithful member of St. Patrick's Church, a loyal customer of the farmers' markets every Saturday, and such a frequent customer at Brew & Tap that the patio seating nearest the entrance was often referred to as "Margaret's table" by friends.

When the first wave of covid hit and "personal protective equipment" proved hard to find, Wilson went to work making masks -- her sewing machine whirred night and day as she fashioned face coverings out of fabric in different colors and patterns. The finished products were dropped off on porches and hung on doorknobs, for use by people she knew all over town.

Asked why she was moving away after so many years, Wilson said the recent period proved to be one in which she increasingly longed for family members. She told her husband, "I can't do this anymore," Wilson recalled one morning shortly before she started the cross-country drive to the buckeye state.

During the coronavirus crisis, screen time with her extended family was no longer enough, and neither were periodic visits to the upper Midwest, where her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and brothers and sisters almost all live. "I kept thinking 'What if something happens to me? What is something happens to them?' " she said. "The distance is just too many miles." 

Friends found it hard to see her go. Nearly every time Wilson was seen on Main Street, honks, waves and shout-outs could be heard, and they seemed to intensify as her date of departure grew nearer. Now she is living in the suburban countryside, in a new town, with new neighbors. 
​
"I know it will be different," she said. "But it seemed the right time and, even though saying goodbye is hard, there was just so much waiting for me." 

LEE RADTKE, patriarch of Gilgamesh Brewing 
Lee Radtke, who spent months with his son Matt constructing the interior of the family's new restaurant. “Gilgamesh-The River” on South Main, was ready to open, right on target -- St. Patrick's Day last year.       However, that very date suddenly became the first day of a state-wide lockdown for the emerging coronavirus pandemic. What do three sons and a dad do when opening day means a shutdown? "It was tough, it was miserable," Radtke recalled. "But we have learned to be pretty good about pulling a rabbit out of a hat."

The family sprang into action behind closed doors. 

The large outdoor dining court, which can accommodate about 150, was covered in a mesh tenting that offered protection from rain but allowed air flow; the patio was fitted with natural gas heaters to help keep customers warm during cold snaps. Now the restaurant is capable of seating nearly 300 people from rooftop to interior.

Radtke, who built his own home outside Salem from specially-harvested trees on his land 47 years ago, is accustomed to challenge. Originally, his profession was furniture construction, and he became part of the faculty at Chemeketa College for several years in the late 1990s after helping to build -- then serving as an instructor in -- a trade program where incarcerated men could learn woodworking skills. 
                   
Married for nearly five decades to his wife Eileen, he credits her for understanding, early on, that their son Mike's interest in beer-brewing should be regarded as a skill rather than a cause for alarm. "She came home one day -- he was about 18 at the time -- and caught him making beer," he explained. Instead of calling a halt to the hobby, "she just kept an eye on it," he added.  
​        
Eventually, with permission from the county, a small brewery was installed in the carpentry shop on the family's property, allowing his son to perfect techniques that resulted in what is now highly-regarded craft beer. 

Since 2009, he and his sons -- Matt, Nick and Mike -- have worked to build the Gilgamesh brand, opening three restaurants and a free-standing brewery.  In Salem, “The Campus” was the first, with the brewery; The second, in West Salem, is called “The Woods.” The third location is "The River " in Independence.

Very few of the steps toward business success came easily, so overcoming setbacks became routine, Radtke said, resulting in "a fairly optimistic family." All three of his sons departed for college, and all three started careers before finishing – then joined the family business.

Mike, the brewer, provides for the production of the signature lager and ale, among others; Matt handles facility operations; Nick, who has a Portland-based profession, is a jack-of-all-trades, filling in whenever and wherever needed, Radtke said.

The family decided very early on not to use their surname of Radtke in a title for their business. It seemed like a self-aggrandizing choice compared with an actual brand name, Radtke said.
​
Gilgamesh, who was the subject of a classic epic still taught in some high schools, involves a heroic character believed to be based on the king of ancient Sumeria, where beer-brewing got its very first start. Radtke said everyone liked the idea of using this historical figure, whose reign coincided with the invention of the kind of beer-making that, with modifications in technology, is still in use today. 

TRISHA BUCK, administrator, Women of Independence-Monmouth 
Trisha Buck is the administrator of a special Facebook group that has helped women of all ages and interests stay connected during covid, “Women of Independence-Monmouth” (WIM). Buck organizes and monitors the online group of 1,500 members, which has had events ranging from riverside meetups to patio dinner parties. Buck’s personal favorite is the WIM Book Club, which grew so fast after it was formed that it recently was divided into two groups. 

After 18 months of pandemic measures, Buck summed up what WIM has been to participants: a steady and reliable source of help during a difficult and unprecedented time. “It’s a place of conversation and a format for sharing useful information,” she explained. 

For the period in which measures were implemented against the spread of the coronavirus, including social distancing, WIM has been a place for exchanging information and ideas.  However, WIM’s value lies in receiving a continual stream of online questions, where users offer answers, often in the form of recommendations, according to Buck. Members have helped each other with offers of food, gift cards, clothes, shelter, rides, babysitting, yard work, cleaning and other assistance, she noted.

WIM was begun in 2018 by a newcomer to Independence named Megan, who was having trouble meeting people, even in her own neighborhood, Buck recalled. “It occurred to her that she could take matters into her own hands and start a ‘women only’ Facebook group to meet women in town,” Buck explained. 

When she moved out of the area, “she passed it on to me because I organized many of the events,” Buck said. “We had also talked extensively on how to really help everyone get the most out of WIM, so she knew that I wouldn’t turn the group into something she wouldn’t want it to be,” Buck added.  

The founder’s intent was that WIM should be a place where “women can feel safe and be accepted,” and that’s Buck’s vision, too, she said.

WIM has three basic rules: Be kind; Respond with kindness; And no sales of any kind. “As with any community, especially any online community, there are moments of discourse,” she noted. However, “for the most part ‘Wimmers’ are very good at keeping in mind that we are neighbors and that we live in this community together.” 

The group is managed in a way that allows members to “self-regulate,” Buck observed. This doesn’t mean that everyone agrees all the time, she stressed. However, WIM functions without name-calling and minus the challenging conversations that can result in “the typical Facebook hostility,” she said.
​
How does Buck see WIM’s future? As a brighter version of the one now, Buck said, adding that her goals include even more gatherings. “I would like to get back to WIM being a place for coordinating events and having a good time, welcoming women into the group,” she said. When the pandemic finally subsides, she would like to see others create events, too, as the group returns to more in-person socializing, she said.  

​​​Natascha Adams is the newly named director of the Heritage Museum in Independence. She's a longtime volunteer in the community and a member of the Independence Planning Commission. She has a masters degree in museum studies, and was chosen from a field of three  qualified candidates. Adams lives in Independence and is the mother of a young daughter; The two of them worked together this year on the successful re-launch of a traditional Independence Days event, "Duck Derby." --AS

By Anne Scheck

It’s got a nearly $71 million price tag and it’s got a 20-year timeline. It’s the city’s new transportation system plan (TSP) and, although a “cost constrained” version slashes the initial amount to just over $18 million, the road to new and improved routes in town already is proving to be a bumpy ride.
           
At issue is how to redirect farm and freight vehicles, which currently rumble through downtown. And perhaps the most ambitious step in the plan, as well as the single most 

​expensive piece of it so far – construction of a new east-west thoroughfare in the south part of the city – is likely to face a funding struggle. Though $4 million of the estimated $9 million cost was submitted by U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader as part of the federal transportation reauthorization-infrastructure bill that’s pending in Congress, the committee didn’t include that project’s funding in the final house bill.

The plan, referred to in city documents by the acronym “TSP,” is designed to increase cross-town mobility, to accommodate an anticipated rise in both population and traffic. It was recently approved by the Independence City Council on a 5-1 vote – and several councilors stressed it should be considered tentative, subject to revision as it moves forward. In fact, the TSP has been modified several times since Portland-based Kittelson & Associates, the city’s engineering consultant, came aboard months ago to formulate it. The overall aim: better traffic control as the city experiences far more growth. 
         
Numerous online open houses, discussions by the Independence Planning Commission, as well as the city council, and a spirited debate led by City Councilor Dawn Hedrick-Roden all were part of the process. A few of the milestones seem significant, as the city reaches toward the future, by changing or adding streets.
 
A new east-west thoroughfare is needed, but substantial hurdles lie ahead. Known as the “Southern Arterial,” this high-capacity street would extend Mountain Fir Avenue east to Corvallis Road and west to the city limits. However, to do so would require travel across railroad tracks and wetlands – both are regarded as stumbling blocks by regional traffic experts. Even the city’s mayor, John McArdle, predicted this challenge would be a “fight” during a discussion of the TSP the first time it came before the city council. 
 
Financing doesn’t appear to be easily assured for the new thoroughfare, either. Fifteen years ago, when the city began tackling a TSP, which was published in 2007, the two major thoroughfares in town – Main Street and Monmouth Street -- were actually part of Oregon State Highway 51. They still are.
         
So, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has been counted on to supply a large share of the money for upgrades to these streets, and that will continue to be done under the new TSP, according to ODOT. That isn’t the case for the planned expansion of Mountain Fir to Talmadge on the west and to Corvallis Road on the east – the avenue isn’t slated to be an extension of the state highway system.

​Though some of the cost could be borne by private development, builders often prefer “shovel-ready” property – Oregon law requires special permits from the Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) in order to undertake construction on wetlands. In fact, DSL cautions that some land-use consultants may have “excessive negative attitudes” toward the agency on this basis, according to DSL’s online guide to hiring experts in wetland assessment. The Oregon Wetland Program Plan, for the period 2017-2021, has a “no net loss of wetland goal” in effect.

The push-back on wetland rules isn’t new. At a special work-group meeting on wetland issues a few years ago, Dallas City Manager Brian Latta, who at the time was the city administrator for Harrisburg, explained that the lack of substantial land development in that city wasn’t directly due to developers – it was the result of wetlands. “I started to ask them: what’s the challenge with the wetlands?” he said in testimony to the work group. “It’s process. They get confused. It’s challenging. It’s costly. So, they leave our town and go somewhere else,” he explained.
​
Independence will “coordinate with the City of Monmouth on the final alignment west of the city limits” for the Mountain Fir Avenue extension, according to the TSP.
 
An alternate route may help keep farm and freight traffic off Main Street, but it runs by several Central District 13J schools.  The current TSP, when compared with the one done in 2007 that it replaces, appears to put more emphasis on two city streets for moving agricultural and freight-bearing traffic: Hoffman Road and 16th Street.
         
The city plans to put in improvements that would help passage of heavy traffic entering town, and perhaps signage, to encourage larger vehicles to turn on Hoffman Road from Highway 51. The changes range from a possible traffic light at Polk & Main streets to “traffic calming measures” along Hoffman and Gun Club roads, where electronic signs might advise the speed being traveled or warn of possible congestion, said Matt Bell, the planner from Kittelson & Associates who presented the TSP. 
         
The freight-and-farm equipment route suggested in the TSP as “preferred” drew criticism from Independence City Councilor Hedrick-Roden. In the plan, these streets were designated as a “preferred” roadway for these vehicles, starting with the turn at Highway 51 onto Polk Street, which then becomes Hoffman Road, and continuing on to 16th Street and along Talmadge Road. After city councilors agreed to change the term from “preferred” to “alternate,” Hedrick-Roden remained opposed to the TSP, then voted against it.  
         
Her concern appeared to center on the safety of farm vehicles. Parts of Talmadge and 16th Street have “no shoulder,” she said. “You get one tire off the road and you end up in the ditch,” she stressed.        

​Councilor Kathy Martin-Willis pointed out that taking that route won’t be mandatory. Whether to follow the alternate route or proceed through downtown, drivers are free to make their own decisions, she said. 

“We have to work with what we have,” observed Councilor Tom Takacs, who noted that the city is limited in terms of north-south connections. Councilor Shannon Corr asked about the flexibility of TSPs in general, and whether they ordinarily undergo change over time.  
         
​“Based on reviews of your past TSP and two or three TSPs going back, that’s pretty common,” Bell said.
         
Later, when City Planner Fred Evander was asked about the “alternate” route – on one end, 16th Street passes by both Central High School and Talmadge Middle School and, on the other, by Ash Creek Elementary – he reiterated that there are very few feasible ways for large vehicles to transect the town, aside from Main Street.

Sign at end of Mountain Fir Avenue indicating it will be continued in the future

Will families in Independence be worried if farm-and-freight trucks use 16th Street? That remains to be seen – findings from a look into a similar situation proved inconclusive. Parental views of children’s transportation to school, including by walking, didn’t seem to be affected in neighborhoods that commonly had freight trucks rolling by, according to research published six years ago in the Journal of Transportation Management. “We have continued to work on this -- still much work to be done,” said the study’s lead author, Stephanie Ivey PhD, the associate dean for research at the Herff College of Engineering at the University of Memphis in Tennessee.

Proposals to allow for more travel on E Street and Monmouth Street may help with growing traffic, but the effect is hard to predict. There are plans to split Monmouth Street into two lanes as it heads eastward toward the intersection with Main, so that a right-hand turn and a left-hand turn can be executed at the same stop.              

E Street, which is seen as an alternative to Monmouth Street in the TSP, has a pedestrian bridge now planned where, in the initial stages, a connection was proposed across Ash Creek, prompting worry among some residents that cars would be crossing there. Now it’s clear that it will be a bridge for bicyclists and walkers instead. “I am very enthusiastic about this,” said Zach Kronser, who lives nearby. “I really like to walk and bike.” 

They live on a thriving farm on the outskirts of town, but you might consider Joe and Abby Fitts remarkable for other reasons. The pair juggles demanding professional lives, too – he’s an accountant, she’s a lawyer – and they make it look as routine as Oregon rain.

Or maybe you’d see them as exceptional in another way – both forged successful military careers in early adulthood. It’s also likely you’d regard them as special for the family they’ve built with their three children.
          
As striking as these accomplishments seem, what may be most distinctive about this couple is their model of farming, which provides an example of how ties to multigenerational land are being sustained and maintained. If current agricultural business trends are a reliable guide, it could prove a wave of the future, and perhaps one way of helping to preserve family farms.

Joe Fitts returned to Independence more than a decade ago, to the very place where he’d grown up. However, his full-time farming ended only a few years later, when he became a certified public accountant. Along with his wife Abby, an attorney, the two now seem representative of today's emerging farm family.

In Oregon, most individual land ownership is associated with family farming, but without farmers like the Fitts family, that picture will gradually change. Eventually, more ownership by corporations and investors is likely, according to a recent investigation by ​Megan Horst, associate professor of urban studies and planning at Portland State University (PSU).

Though corporate take-overs have grabbed news coverage and are attributed to the decline of family farming, the story is more complicated than that. Often, family farms remain in the agricultural pipeline by being leased by other, much larger operations, sometimes neighboring landowners. This is what also has occurred with the Fitts farm.

In the next five years, nearly a fifth of all family farms are predicted to lose their main “operators” for age-related reasons. In fact, 17% of those who currently head family farms plan to retire by 2025, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Economic Research Services.

And, across Oregon, sole operators of farmland no longer dominate. Less than 45% of family farms now have one operator, compared with about half that now have two, and another seven percent include a third, according to Oregon State University’s (OSU’s) most recent report from the Center for Small Farms and Community Food Systems.

Five years ago, PSU and OSU teamed up with Rogue Farm Corps to take an in-depth look at Oregon family farming, and the researchers concluded by sounding a note of alarm that nearly two-thirds of Oregon’s agricultural land will pass to new owners over the next two decades.  “How that land changes hands, who acquires it, and what they do with the land will impact Oregon for generations,” the authors warned.

Ensuring a healthy future for Polk County’s agricultural land is a top priority for the county’s board of commissioners.

When asked how they would rank the importance of family farms, all three – Craig Pope, Mike Ainsworth and Lyle Mordhorst – said they consider local agriculture a significant economic force and an integral part of the county’s identity.
 
There’s been a “steady shift” of production to much larger operations, said economist James MacDonald, visiting research professor at the University of Maryland in College Park, who has written extensively on family farm operations.

"We grapple with this," said Fitts, who is the oldest of four brothers. Leasing land seemed a suitable option, he said.
​ 
“That, of course, is quite common,” concurred MacDonald, noting land-leasing is a solution for many farm families. Asked whether outside income from off-farm work is becoming the norm, too, MacDonald stated: “I don’t know of any evidence of a growing trend of people continuing to farm the family’s land while pursuing primary off-farm occupations, although I’m sure it happens.”

The indication that outside income-earning is on the upswing comes mostly from work-related studies, not farm surveys. By 2016, about half of all farm families were shown to be insured through outside employment, according to the 
Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, an organization that tracks agrarian statistics nationwide.

A more recent study, reported in the journal Rural Policies and Employment in 2019, documented that most small farmers now earn some of their income off the farm, while doing double-duty growing crops, livestock, or both. The exception: Older farmers, who clock far fewer hours in outside jobs, according to the USDA.

There are other growing approaches for delivering revenue to family farms: Paid hunting tours on farmland, admission fees for farm-sited fishing and boating spots, wine-tasting venues and overnight farm stays with recreational offerings like hayrides. These grew by 51% between 2012 and 2017, according to the latest Oregon Farm and Land Use Report.

But, despite a way of life that's undergone a sea change since his youth, Fitts considers the family farm an excellent way to raise children. "The biggest thing that farming taught me as a young person was, if you don't do something you need to do, it just won't get done." An alum of Central High School, Fitts joined the military after graduation in 1994. He thinks it's his early farming experience that created the path to a well-balanced life. Like the armed services, a farm teaches "you about accountability, about reliability," he said.

It's a lesson that's being passed on to his three children. The romantic notion of farming – getting close exposure to nature, getting exercise that confers a sense of accomplishment, too – is all true, he said. But perhaps that really isn't the most important aspect, he pointed out. His children have learned "there are lives in the barn that depend on them," he said. "Not only that, but with animals, there are tangible results that you can see from their good care."

All three of his children seem to have avoided some of the "temptations" of today's youth, such as spending excessive time on computer screens for video games or for social interaction, he said.

Fitts recalled that, when his son was in middle school, he went through an intense "X-box phase" that eventually he seemed to naturally outgrow. Farm-related activities, such as participation in 4H, led to an early maturity and "it was no longer his go-to recreation," Fitts recalled.

Fitts is far from the only advocate for a life that’s rich in the kind of rewards that cannot always be measured in a profit margin. 

On display and at auction at this past summer’s Polk County Fair were livestock and poultry that largely were raised by youth in the area. Despite the chilling effect of the pandemic at other fair events, such as exhibiting and vending, animal entries and 4H and FFA participation was as robust as any in past years, noted Tina Andersen, the county’s fair manager. 

Even as the drought runs on, local farmers roll into Independence every Saturday, cheerfully calling out to each other as they set up their produce stands. At the Original Independence Farmers Market, in  the Umpqua Bank parking lot, members of Polk County farm families toil for at least five hours in tents under a typically hot sun, selling vegetables, fruits, flowers and honey.

It’s hard work to be a vendor there, observed Marti Sohn, whose property, T.D.M. Acres in West Salem, includes fruit trees and herbs. But, for small farmers, the open-air marketplace is the best means of directly connecting with the community, she said. “The social part is so important,” Sohn stressed.

The visibility of this farmer-to-buyer selling is essential, too, said Carol Park, whose logo of Black Cloud Farm LLC – a trio of dark clouds floating at the center of a captain’s wheel – is now a well-known symbol of the farm, which is located west of Independence.

The farmers’ market also imparts a sense of helping fulfill nature’s cycle, said Eden Olsen of Lucky Crow Farm, east of Highway 99 in Monmouth. It’s exhilarating “being able to see the crop start, then grow, then end up in someone’s hands right here,” she said.

Over the past 18 months, as the pandemic persisted, the number of farms selling directly to consumers actually increased, noted Audrey Comerford, agritourism coordinator for the small farms program at OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences. 
​ 
Some farms that hadn’t done so before started offering community-supported agricultural (CSA) shares; Others added extra CSA shares to their existing ones, she said. Many farms reported that their sales at farmers’ markets were on track or better than in ​previous years, even as covid raged on.

“That is not to say this was the case across the board but, overall, our area did see this trend,” Comerford said.

Why the surge? Local customers “knew could get their locally grown and produced products at the markets in a safe and reliable way, even when the grocery stores had a hard time keeping items in stock,” she said.

Not everyone wants to sell what they’ve grown – some want to feed their family with fresh produce, straight from the field or garden. And they also want to can it, pickle it, freeze it or preserve it for use all year long. One of them is Christina Cheek.

Cheek lives on land next to other family members, just off Highway 51
near Independence. Her harvest may not be as large as theirs, but it comes loaded with memories and filled with history. From the trees in the orchard where she and her husband walk in the shade to the gathering of blueberries that their children eat while picking, the place is far more than the ground where a gang of voles currently has dug worrisome holes.
​
It’s a wonderfully different kind of home “where you can feed your family from what you grow where you live,”
she said.

 Special section    The Independent                   
 
Judge Monte Campbell Looks Back on Time at the Bench:
A Passion for Jury Trials, A Love of Parenthood, A Boyhood He Never Left Behind
 
         By Anne Scheck


To anyone familiar with the background of Monte Campbell, who has served as a judge in the Polk County Circuit Court for more than a decade, the term “self-made” might spring to mind. Campbell grew up in circumstances that many would consider hardscrabble, as part of a working-class family in Southeastern Oregon. His first new shoes, a pair of squeaky-clean sneakers, remain a vibrant childhood memory. They were such an extravagant purchase for his parents that “it seemed like all the money in the world had just been spent on me.”

And that, Campbell explained, is precisely why the description of “self-made” doesn’t fit him at all. It wasn’t just his own efforts that propelled him through college and law school – it was those boyhood experiences, which taught him important lessons money can’t buy. Those early challenges enabled him to develop a solid work ethic, fostered an unshakable value system and instilled an internal compass that has served him very well, he said. And, according to others in the Polk County Courthouse, it has served the people of Polk County very well, too.

It’s a huge benefit for Polk County to have a judge like Campbell on the bench, whose roots give him keen insight on rural issues, said Craig Pope, chair of the Polk County Board of Commissioners. Additionally, “he’s always very straightforward,” Pope noted. “He is a straight shooter all the time,” agreed Polk County District Attorney Aaron Felton, who got to know Campbell when they both were young lawyers, often serving on opposite sides of a case.

“What has always struck me is how humble he is,” added Polk County Commissioner Lyle Mordhorst, who observed that, as an elected judge, Campbell has a record of accomplishment matched by relatively few in his profession.

As Campbell faces the months ahead, where some virtual proceedings may continue to replace in-person court, he looked back on that career – a career that took several surprising turns, beginning with farming, then onto a brief stint as a firefighter and, finally, as a law school graduate.

Growing up in rural Oregon, Campbell loved the outdoors. "As a kid, we had to figure out a lot of things for ourselves," said Campbell. He also learned a lot from sports, he recalled. Playing basketball taught him to take the shot when there was a good opportunity to do so, to pass the ball when the basket seemed just too far off, and when to quit. These proved great decision-making skills for life, he said.

His father, who initially worked as a lineman to support the family, eventually became a pastor and the family moved to Burns. Though he was deeply influenced by his father's commitment to religion, it was Campbell's grandparents -- migrant farm workers in the Klamath basin, who picked crops ranging from potatoes to peaches -- that Campbell credits with a lifelong affection for agricultural land. So, Campbell set out to be a farmer.

Like many members of his high school class, Campbell felt drawn to that way of life. In his early 20s, he rented nearly 120 acres – along with assisting his family on their much larger farm – in the hopes of becoming a success at it. After only a few years, he concluded it was a gamble he couldn't afford to continue, a profession that appeared unlikely to ever earn enough profit. It was only then that Campbell decided to seek higher education.

As he pursued college – first at Clackamas Community College and then at Oregon State University – he witnessed many of his former farm colleagues come to the same conclusion, abandoning their desire to farm, trying instead to find other ways to make a living. 

It was this experience – putting so much time, money and hard work into harvests followed by low compensation – that ignited his interest in the law. He entered law school "with this idea of helping farmers when I got out," he said of his years at the Willamette College of Law. "That didn't really happen," he acknowledged. However, though he doesn't consider himself a "crusader," he remains passionate about property rights, he said. 

He also is committed to what he considers a vital piece of American bedrock, the jury trial. He regards this as a direct way for citizens to participate in democracy, to exercise their constitutional right to become part of an important decision-making body. “How often does your government ask your advice and then follow it? In jury trials, we do this all the time. Our citizens make a difference in jury trials,” Campbell said.
​
Jury trials are considered so important to democracy that they are part of state constitutions, as well as the U.S. Constitution. Organizations across the political spectrum, ranging from the Cato Institute to the American Civil Liberties Union, fight to protect them. “The wisdom of our sages and the blood of our heroes has been devoted to the attainment of trial by jury; It should be the creed of our political faith,” according to Thomas Jefferson, who wrote those words more than two centuries ago.

The “virtual” court, where hearings are conducted on screens or other electronic devices, is a concern to Campbell, who believes valuable information often is exchanged – sometimes unknowingly – between individuals gathered in the same room.          

“Body language is different and more factual than spoken word,” he explained.  “For example, how many times have you asked someone to do something, and they agreed but their body language registered a negative response?” he asked. This can be perceived through personal contact, “but we miss this on the phone, in texts or over the computer,” he said.

These unconscious expressions and gestures often surface more clearly in a face-to-face setting, he said.  When questioned as to whether the criminal court system should go the "technological route," Campbell said that "there are just some things you can't do on a telephone, or over the computer."
​
A recent example: a phone conference in which all of the parties, including the attorney and his male client, appeared to have difficulty communicating. The man, allegedly in arrears on child-support payments, seemed unsure at times whether he was answering the judge or his own lawyer. Campbell had to identify himself in a way that probably never would have occurred in a courtroom, where it's obvious who’s at the bench wearing the judicial robe.

In Independence, Campbell became known – and highly regarded – for his stolid and sensitive demeanor throughout a painful trial that was widely followed by the community, resulting in the conviction of an Independence childcare operator's son for sex abuse. In the words of one Polk County resident familiar with the trial, "he was the best judge for the worst case ever.”

When lawyers come to Campbell to learn how to become better in the courtroom, he’s able to advise them based on feedback from jurors, who often identify what has been most valuable to them.
​
How does Campbell obtain that information from jury participants? At the end of every jury trial he asks two questions: The first is, “What can we do to make this a better experience for our jurors?” The second one is, “Is there any advice you would like to share with the lawyers?”

This follow-up process began after one particularly complicated case, in which some jurors told Campbell they felt they could offer commentary that might be helpful in the future. Since they had no place to write their observations, Campbell immediately set about changing that. “By the end of that month every jury room had a white board,” he recalled.

“Most of the time the jury is very satisfied with the process. However, there are several improvements we have incorporated because of the advice we got from jurors,” he said. “If you look on the walls in the jury room, you will see white eraser boards,” he added.

Campbell prefers to refrain from sharing very much of his own personal philosophy, which he considers a private matter. However, his views on parenthood are an obvious exception. He was married about 10 years before becoming a dad to his daughter and son, which he considers “the best decision I ever made,” even though he was a first-time father at 40 years old.

Early on in life, Campbell decided that shows of anger were pointless unless “you really need to show anger to actually make a point,” he said.

That’s a conclusion medical researchers reached more than 30 years ago, when a link between angry outbursts and heart-attack rates was established. In work led by Redford Williams Jr MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral Sciences at Duke University, scientists showed that irate reactions over annoyances and irritations take a toll on the health of the person experiencing them, and not just the recipients of that anger. On the other hand, when anger is expressed and channeled into motivating important change, it can be beneficial, according to the studies.

Being a parent imparts a special kind of wisdom, Campbell stressed. Some parents may struggle with the growing autonomy in their children, but he wasn't one of them. “We allowed our children to make many of their own decisions, including which high school they wished to attend, even when those choices weren't the same ones I would have made,” he said. “They gained insight and maturity, and learned it was ​just another fork in the road of life,” he continued.  

"You can guide their decision-making, but at a certain point, children need to make their own decisions. If they are not allowed to make decisions on their own, they will be challenged as young adults without the skills they need,” he added.
          
In fact, Campbell has come to regard those proverbial forks in the road simply as options, not tracks that lead to a positive or negative result.
"I believe there are no right or wrong answers at many of these crossroads, they just lead you to different places." he said.

He considers his own young adulthood as just such an example. He took a fairly long path to his current job. "Yet, here I am, from farmer, to firefighter, to lawyer, to judge," he said. The back wall of his courtroom seems to underscore that observation. There, photographic portraits of past county circuit judges are on display, showing him as a recent member of a very small group, in a gallery that goes back to 1845. 
 
(Editor’s Note: This is the second in a planned series on individuals at the center of Polk County’s Justice and Court System.)

By Anne Scheck
​
​This month, 200 students who spent their senior year at Central High School, in a pandemic that kept them out of classrooms, now are graduates of the class of 2021. Families that last summer lost their Independence Day celebrations are planning, once again, for Fourth of
July fireworks. 
          
And, as June literally heats up with periodic temperature surges, a different kind of increase seems to be occurring, too – a rise in civic activity. In the past few weeks, citizen involvement has helped the city tackle a tough traffic snarl at Independence Elementary School, reverse course on a parking ordinance scheduled for adoption, gain support for building better sports fields and helped to document the decline of a troublesome rodent along Ash Creek. 
 

​Letter Sets School Traffic Control Plan in Motion. After a partial reopening of school, Natascha Adams began walking her daughter to Independence Elementary School – and they both learned a hard lesson along the route. 
         
​The tangle of traffic made even the crosswalks daunting at times. On a couple of occasions, the one at Monmouth and 4th Street even seemed life-threatening to the crossing guard there, she recounted at a recent city council meeting. 

​As a fairly longtime city planning commissioner, Adams knew just who to contact: Independence Police Chief Robert Mason. So, she wrote him a letter. 
          
​It turned out that Adams correctly identified a concerning problem, which was confirmed not only by police but also by the city manager and city planner, who also visited the site. But what to do? 
       
“It was really a mess,” Chief Mason told the city councilors. Causing the clog at the school was a pandemic measure that meant that only a single child exited at a time, to go to an awaiting vehicle. So, the line of cars inched forward, one at a time, for pick-ups.

The solution was to prohibit street parking on one side, all the way from 4th Street to A Street – a temporary fix that freed up one lane, Mason said. “We hopefully can find some better solutions before the next school year starts,” he said, noting that the administration of Central School District 13J is supportive of doing so, too.

“It’s unrealistic to think a police officer could be there every day,” Adams observed.

Better signage is one step, and an “enhanced crossing device” at Monmouth and 4th Street is another possibility, said City Manager Tom Pessemier. The more that’s done to relieve the traffic situation on 4thStreet, “the better for everyone,” he said. 

​City Councilor Shannon Corr, who previously lived near the school, said it’s a safety issue for everyone involved, but particularly for children. The transport of children to and from the school is in a “very small, very tight area,” she said. Many of the cars are sports-utility vehicles (SUVs), and “elementary school kids are short and​you can’t see them” due to the numerous SUVs, she added. 
​
“I think there is definitely more that we can do there,” Pessemier agreed. Adams thanked the city for its efforts. “One voice can make a difference,” she concluded.

Nursing Student Helps Turn the Tide on Trailer Parking. When Erika Torres answered a knock on her door from City Councilor Sarah Jobe, telling her she might be about to lose the right to park her camper on the street, Torres decided to register her objection and let her fingers do the talking.
 
As it turns out, she was the only one to write Jobe an email of protest, despite the fact that several others had been contacted about similar recreational vehicles (RVs) parked by
their houses. 
          
Some were reluctant to come forward about the issue, Jobe recalled. But Torres dashed off a message that Jobe sent to the city councilors. It was referenced during a recent city council meeting when the parking ordinance came up, which sought to keep large vehicles like RVs and trucks with trailers from being parked for relatively long periods on city streets.
          
​“This ordinance would mean I would have to move my trailer, although it is not causing a disturbance to traffic or pedestrians,” Torres wrote in her correspondence, noting that the city isn’t a homeowner’s association. “Where are we supposed to put out boats and trailers if there are no spaces available?” 

Asked why she didn’t feel the same hesitancy that others had expressed about stepping forward, Torres said that she had. “But I grew up knowing that if you wanted something done, you ought to be the one to try to help do it,” she said.
  
As a nursing student at Oregon Health and Science University who graduated this past spring, Torres observed that she’d done a lot of composition writing in her classes – it no longer intimidates her.  After the city council denied passage of the new ordinance, with only one dissenting vote, Torres said she felt good about her effort. However, she understands why some residents might be reluctant to do the same, she said. 

In her email, she suggested that “choosing to speak in opposition” might bring the kind of attention that could mean being cited under the ordinance, if it had been approved. The issue prompted a fairly far-ranging examination by councilors, a multi-faceted discussion that wasn’t limited to the contents of Torres’ email. Eventually city staff was directed to review the issue, possibly to bring it back with safety-oriented revisions clarifying how parking for oversized vehicles can be enforced routinely and equitably.

​Public Support Kicks Up for Tournament-Ready Fields. A flood of emails that call for building better sports fields on land by the Independence boat ramp poured into the city, following a push by Independence City Councilor Dawn Hedrick-Roden, who has made the project a personal priority since taking office in January. 
          
At city council meetings and during budget sessions, Hedrick-Roden repeatedly has promoted the idea of improving the property to make it tournament-worthy. Responses from residents range from a college administrator at Western Oregon University who believes this would generate revenue for the downtown to a self-described senior citizen who says he wants to be able to attend baseball games nearby. The 19 different missives all seem centered on one goal: Getting the city to move ahead on the idea. 

With the budget already structured for the fiscal year, which begins this month, the most Hedrick-Roden has been guaranteed is a feasibility study. However, as the emails received so far indicate, there are plenty of residents who think the concept will bring money to merchants, visitors to Independence and healthy competition to community youth.

Noting that the city is allocating $3.7 million for trail construction, Hedrick-Roden has been advocating that more money be directed to an upgrade plan for the sports fields. 
​    
City Manager Tom Pessemier said progress will be made in the future. “There is no foot-dragging here,” he said during one recent budget session. “We are going to move forward.” 





​

Beating Back the Population of Creek-Loving Rodents. 
​The numbers of nutria are down in Independence, and the reason remains elusive. However, thanks to a determined group of cross-town volunteers who monitor and trap them, evidence of this reduced rodent population
is well documented.
         
Nutria counts have plummeted from at least a dozen a month in trapping hotspots – areas near downtown and by the city’s lagoons – to one or two a month.  Why aren’t the brown rat-like creatures being seen or trapped nearly as much? “It’s a mystery to me,” said David Gibbons, the volunteer who oversees the riparian area along the Ash Creek trail in Inspiration Garden, which is cared for by the Polk County Master Gardeners.

Recently, Gibbons has been tracking the damage done by nutria along the creek banks. He’s trying to repair the burrowing with rocks and dirt, and to replace the vegetation that disappeared due to the animals’ voracious appetites.
 
“I used to see several at one time,” he said. But not anymore. They were few and far between this spring, he observed. Told he’d been credited with helping create an environment where nutria might be outnumbered by other animals competing for habitat, he said the highly adaptive aquatic rodents aren’t so easily defeated. Instead, it’s likely because of the hard work of the Ash Creek Water Control District (ACWCD), he said. 

​However, Ed Matteo, the ACWCD board member who runs the trap check-out program, said he thinks a lot of the thanks should go to individuals all over town who report sightings and check out traps from him for capture. From E Street to the Independence airpark, he can depend on the citizens to find these orange-toothed invaders, he said.
 
Nutria, which are prolific breeders and tunnel under creek banks, are known to destabilize land around waterways.
​ 
Though native to South America, they were brought onto American soil in the 1800s, when they seemed like a good live import for fur retailers, according to historic accounts. However, when demand collapsed for coats made with their fur – Greta Garbo was said to have worn one – investors could no longer afford to keep them. These mammals then flourished on their own in the Pacific Northwest.  
​
The reason for the apparently lower population this year is speculative, but some science publications attribute it to the combination of the drastic cold snaps this winter coupled with a current drought in the mid-Willamette Valley. 

​As for the good results in Independence, it’s certainly not unexpected when a group of people have knowledgeable coaching, frequent friendly contact and are committed to conservation, said Kent Smirl, “wildlife watch” coordinator for Southern California, who recently was a co-author on a study that looked at how volunteers and experts successfully partner in environmental programs. 

Independence City Councilor Dawn Hedrick-Roden Is Earning a Reputation for Action  
 
By Anne Scheck

 
For Dawn Hedrick-Roden, who won her seat on the Independence City Council in the last election by only two ballots, the razor-thin margin wasn’t simply a slim victory. To her, it meant she hadn’t made a strong enough impression on voters. 
           
No one can say that now. 

In the nearly seven months since she was sworn into office, Hedrick-Roden single-handedly stepped forward to restore the city’s Fourth of July parade, successfully fought to lower a new weight limit on the Independence Bridge that was preventing some farm trucks from crossing it and voted “no” on the city’s budget for the new fiscal year – the first time that’s happened in decades, perhaps longer. 
           
The reinstated parade, and Hedrick-Roden’s dogged coordination efforts that went into that project, thrust her into the public eye; Now her intense focus on city finances is putting her in a different kind of limelight. 

Although a majority of city councilors seemed to consider this year's city budget more easily understandable -- with greater clarity than ever before – ​Hedrick-Roden expressed concern about it, before turning thumbs down on its adoption. She believes the city’s record of borrowing, which ranges from bonds to bank loans, ought to reflect a listing of distinct debt categories, with a precise total – so that average residents can comprehend it, perhaps like they do their own personal household expenses.

By casting the only dissenting vote on the budget, Hedrick-Roden appears to be inviting titles like “maverick” and “loner.” She’s aware that some of her critical comments can seem negative and irksome. But, as a US Navy Veteran, "I can take an eye-roll. I've been through a lot worse."

She has asserted that some city spending decisions aren’t representative of public preferences – a view challenged by Independence City Councilor Shannon Corr, who pointed out that there are continual outreach efforts by the city to get opinions from residents, including holding open houses and conducting online surveys. “I feel confident that the city did absolutely everything they could to get as much and as varied public input as they could,” Corr said. 

In some ways, Hedrick-Roden’s participation on the council is an echo from the recent past. A few years ago, Ken Day, a retired business executive, resigned from the city council after only about a year of service, citing his view that a majority of councilors at the time didn’t seem to be digging in and actively engaging in the process. However, Day acknowledged that a city council position involves a huge amount of voluntary, unpaid work that requires long hours of reading, as well as attending meeting after meeting. 

Since Day’s exit, three other councilors – Corr, Sarah Jobe and Hedrick-Roden – have joined the council. 

Like Day, Hedrick-Roden has been an advocate for measuring outcomes in quantifiable ways to evaluate the city investment of staff time and money. Like Day, she frequently has mentioned the value of transparency. 

Like Day, she seems to have the ability to form a strong minority opinion. Recently, Hedrick-Roden also was the only dissenting vote on a resolution that creates a separate category for grant money in the budget. With CARES Act money coming in during the pandemic and revenue from the American Rescue Plan on the way, “it would be nice to be a participant in how these monies are spent,” she said. 

But, in general, grants are restricted in terms of how they are allocated, explained Gloria Butsch, the city’s finance director. “We developed the new Grants Fund to make it easier for staff to monitor and report out regarding the receipt and use of grants,” Butsch said, when later asked about it. Previously, most of the grants were reported in operating funds, such as the general fund, she said.    

However, there’s some indication that Hedrick-Roden’s grant-fund questioning may be well-timed. For years, the city has sought to establish Independence as an “Agricultural Technology Hub” by hosting meet-ups, guest speakers and other events aimed at farmers and growers, at a downtown location, Indy Commons. Now that local effort has been dropped in favor of a regional one.    

“Agriculture typically happens outside city limits, and it became increasingly difficult for a city staffer to justify spending so much time on projects that were not always located within the community,” explained Shawn Irvine, in a letter of support for a grant submitted by the Salem-based Strategic Economic Development Corporation (SEDCOR), which took on the “Ag Tech Hub.”  

​Last fall, SEDCOR was awarded a federal grant of $469,150 to build the hub, a monetary award widely covered in media reports. However, largely missing from these news accounts was the stipulation that SEDCOR needed to provide matching funds in an amount that exceeded the grant award, a sum of $512,250. Since Independence was listed as a partner, Tom Pessemier, Independence’s city manager, was asked about the city’s role in meeting the matching-fund pledge. Pessemier referred the question to SEDCOR. 

SEDCOR’s president, Erik Andersson, failed to respond to multiple inquiries about the city’s obligation to the grant match. A request was filed to answer this question through the federal Freedom of Information Act, which eventually revealed that Independence is a contributor, of $50,000, as well as a provider of certain personnel support.
​            
“This money comes from a grant from the state to support this effort when the city was leading the project,” Pessemier explained, when asked about the mandatory cash contribution. The city has been approved by the state for “passing through these monies to SEDCOR to continue the effort,” he added. 
              
In terms of providing personnel, “currently, the city spends almost no staff effort to support the initiative except for an advisory committee that our economic development director participates in and some assistance from time to time with minor items,” Pessemier said. 

Following the flow of funds in the city budget can be daunting, noted Hedrick-Roden. “Well, there we are, with a hundred pages of budget," she said, recalling her time with the document.      

Long before she joined the council, Hedrick-Roden, a lifelong Independence resident and a busy mother of four, worked to make Pioneer Park, at 7th and C streets, a neighborhood playground.

And recently, when local farmers registered alarm that the new weight limits on the Independence Bridge were disallowing their trucks from legal passage, Hedrick-Roden – along with City Manager Tom Pessemier – wrote letters to the Oregon Department of Transportation seeking a change, which they got. “The good news is that once they recognized the trouble with the farm equipment – and I know Councilor Roden played a role in helping communicate with them – they took a second look at it,” Pessemier said during his recent city manager’s report to the council.  

Some of the farms were clearly in Marion County, and outside the city's purview, but Hedrick-Roden said her personal concern didn't stop at the city limits. "We cannot make it difficult to farm," she said, referring to the fact that many of those who live beyond the city boundary seem to be part of the community, too, regularly visiting Independence to shop and dine. 

​Hedrick-Roden may be best known for pulling off this year’s Fourth of July parade after the traditional sponsor, Rotary Club of Monmouth-Independence, determined there was insufficient time to do so after the covid restrictions were finally eased. She got a sponsor, the Oregon Paralyzed Veterans of America, and she got enough volunteer help to make it a crowd-pleaser, all within three weeks’ time.

“It was a great parade and I loved it,” said Cindy Wilson, a newcomer to town who is staying with family members during her search to buy a home in Independence. Told the parade was a last-minute effort, Wilson said she didn’t know – or care. “It was just so good to see, to get out after all this, and watch a parade going by,” she said. 

​​More than a century ago, residents of Independence joined the campaign for paved highways with the rallying cry “Get Oregon Out of the Mud.” Now it may be time to ask whether there’s enough of that sticky stuff still around. 

Where once rain-soaked dirt turned roads mushy, now concrete streets make run-off common instead – with rain becoming a major source of pollution, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
          
In Independence, the transformation of land into streets is continuing, as the Brandy Meadows subdivision grows in the southwest part of the city. However, it’s a grassy lot in an older neighborhood near downtown that’s brought the challenge of  stormwater management to the forefront. Beneath the manhole cover at 940 S. 7th Street lies an example of how difficult drainage can be when new construction needs to tie into the existing stormwater system.

And now, with new homes being built on vacant lots in neighborhoods ranging from the historic district to the airpark, the issue of stormwater runoff is becoming an increasing point of discussion. This past spring, the city unveiled its capital-improvement priorities for the future at a public meeting, and stormwater quality control was among them.

As the city officially pushes past a population of 10,000 – and the latest census projection shows it has, by a margin of hundreds – it is going to be subjected to a lot more rules and regulations, explained Ken Perkins, public works supervisor for the city.
​
A new master plan is needed, partly because “there are some environmental issues that you really need to be looking at,” agreed City Manager Tom Pessemier, during Perkins’ presentation.

Residents also seem more in tune with the issue now, too, Perkins said. “When we started charging a stormwater fee, we literally got calls at least once a week saying ‘Hey, I want a catch basin out in front of my house because I am now paying this fee.’ ”
 
Cleaning ditches, planting vegetation and creating swales have been one result, Perkins added.

So, this past fall, when Peter Seaders, president of the Corvallis-based engineering firm MSS Inc., presented his plans for a series of four duplexes on 7th Street, the stormwater complication didn’t seem to surprise the Independence planning commissioners. 

Connecting to current utility lines under the street appears to be a big hurdle – they’re just “not very deep,” Seaders said. “That’s sort of what we’re stuck with in terms of this site and the pipes where we can connect to,” he explained, adding that unless significant elevation is added to the lot, the possible answer lies in finding an alternative. 

For years, the area – which is less than an acre – collected pools of water that were eventually absorbed by the soil. The adjacent homes were fairly unaffected because the lot is lower by several inches than the backyards next to it. That elevation difference has existed since the day that Gary Strait, who lives in one of those houses, moved in more than 20 years ago. 

Strait attended the planning commission meeting to express his concerns about the excavation. He fears the root system of his backyard tree could be affected or damaged, which might force him to spend money on mitigation, he said. And he’s asked for a buffer – a fence or wall – to be considered for separating the new homes from the ones like his, with rear lots that will face the duplexes.

In response, the city sent him the list of conditions that Seaders’ firm will have to meet. "They (city staff) said they would keep us informed, and they did," Strait stressed.

One of the conditions for the development is that the lot have “a grade of at least two percent from the rear to the front of the lots, rear-yard drainage systems or another approved alternative to ensure the lots appropriately drain stormwater.”

The “alternative” appears to be where questions arise. At the planning commission, Seaders was told there might be some way to use an alternate system, if it reflected a “best-management practice” (BMP) technology for stormwater. However, no definitive list for this kind of BMP technology is available for cities in Oregon – at least not at the state level, according to the DEQ.

Instead, DEQ reviews proposed BMPs and technologies to ensure they are compliant with permit requirements when a construction or industrial project is subject to a stormwater permit under state rules, said Dylan Darling, the western region public affairs specialist for the DEQ.

But it appears the 7th street project doesn’t require the usual permit with the Oregon DEQ because “it will not disturb one or more acres of land.” The parcel is only about three-quarters of an acre.

As a result, “all of the stormwater requirements for this project are regulated by the City of Independence,” Darling explained. 

​If this sounds like even small cities are being asked to take on the cumbersome burden of staying up-to-date on the latest regulations about municipal water, along with having to learn all about the BMP technology that can address these new demands, that’s just what is occurring – and it seems to slow down innovation. 
​
Both utility managers and regulators regard the very same issues as key barriers: funding, time and level of personnel, according to a team of scientists led by Alida Cantor, an assistant professor of geography at Portland State University.
In a paper that she and her co-researchers wrote this year, “Regulators and Utility Managers Agree About Barriers and Opportunities for Innovation in the Municipal Wastewater Sector,” they observe that, despite the obvious differences between employees involved in regulatory oversight and the staff of publicly owned treatment works, decision-making is difficult due to the increasing complexity of these jobs.  

Now Independence public works will be asked to render a finding on the technology proposed by Seaders and MSS Inc. to meet the stormwater run-off requirements for the proposed duplexes.
 
“The system will meet and exceed the city's storm water treatment requirements and help maintain the water quality of the local and state waterways,” Seaders said, when asked about it. The system uses underground detention chambers and utilizes a proprietary treatment system, which removes contaminants ranging from sediment to heavy metals from runoff before it enters the public storm system, he explained.

When the manufacturer, Contech Engineered Solutions, was contacted, a company executive added that it also handles runoff entering the stormwater system that’s not a result of a rainstorm. Examples include snowmelt, as well as car washing and watering. “Our systems will protect downstream receiving waters by treating these types of flow, which often have a higher concentration of pollutants than runoff from rainfall,” said David Corr, senior director of corporate marketing for Contech.

In assessing rainwater or runoff, most people think about leaking oil and other fluids that create a sheen on puddles they can see, noted Torrey Lindbo, water resources science & policy manager for the City of Gresham. However, there are a whole host of other pollutants that come off cars that are far worse than oil, Lindbo added. 

For instance, brakes contain a mixture of heavy metals. Also, some pollutants that end up on surfaces actually come from the air – like mercury. “These atmospheric sources of pollution end up on any impervious surface – so a residential rooftop could have a similar amount to an equivalent area of highway pavement,” he said.

​Another option for street improvement is pervious or porous pavement, Lindbo said. In fact, according to one fairly recent study, in areas with 80% impervious surfaces, replacement of just 6% of them can make considerable differences in reducing surface run-off. 

State highways can produce far more run-off pollution due to increased traffic compared to other roads, said Adam Stonewall, a Portland-based hydrologist for the US Geological Survey. Stonewall and his colleagues applied a special statistical model to 25 distinct basins across the Willamette Valley. 

However, even if contaminants were reduced from highways, it wouldn’t be likely to have a dramatic effect on many of the towns and cities in the region; The total area of highways compared to other roadways is relatively small – city streets and other roadways far outnumber major thoroughfares, Stonewall said. 
​
Rain gardens are one way to slow the flow of stormwater, and to capture some of it for plants, said Cory Engel, water resources program coordinator at Oregon Department of Transportation. For Independence residents familiar with the "rain garden" at Mt. Fir Park, this might conjure up an image of a stony walkway with a large canopy of leafy vegetation – but that's not the kind of rain garden that helps contain and direct runoff in new developments.

​These rain gardens often look like unobtrusive "planter strips" along paved areas, and usually are only a few feet in width, Engel explained. However, they can function as a distinct ecological community, filtering water significantly in small green spaces. "This isn't rocket science," Engel said, but he noted that the impact on managing stormwater can be substantial. 

It isn’t yet known how Independence will choose to manage its stormwater in the future, but the grass-covered lot under review near the corner of Cedar Court and 7th Street may provide experience and insight for other projects that follow it.

Asked about the stormwater approach for the duplex units at the site, the city’s contracted engineer, Steve Ward, indicated that there are no answers so far. The drawings aren’t approved at this point, so the water-quality method has not been determined, Ward stated.

Special section of The Independent   

Guest Editorial                          

       By Vickie McCubbin

​If you haven’t visited the Independence Heritage Museum lately or have never been, you are in for a big treat when the doors open in the new location at 281 2nd Street in September. Moving an entire museum is a big job and Curator Amy Christensen and the City are geared up and moving! Since the museum first opened on July 4 of 1976, it has been the mission of the City to preserve the heritage, culture, and historic artifacts and stories of Independence and the surrounding area. Two obstacles to the sharing of that story have been accessibility and visibility. Tucked away on 3rd St. in the historic Baptist Church with its many stairs, the museum has not been able to meet its full potential in fulfilling its mission. The move to downtown Independence will change that. 
 
As Chair of the Independence Heritage Museum Advisory Board and volunteer
 
for five years, I would like to offer some insight into what the future of the museum holds and how the move and upgrade will benefit the community and its visitors.
 
The challenge of making the museum accessible has been on the radar of the city since the 1980s and part of the Independence 2020 Vision plan. The most recent strategic plan for the museum included the goal of moving to a new location. Because the building is an historic property, making structural changes to the building become problematic. Cost estimates for making the current location accessible and remedying other condition problems have also been cost prohibitive. When the building on 2nd street became available, the City carefully studied the building as a potential resolution to the current issues, taking into account upgrades, remodeling, and selling the church building. An eager buyer has purchased the building for the asking price of $350,000, defraying a large amount of the cost of the new building.  Additionally, the Heritage Museum Society, which has been working for years to raise money for upgrades, has donated $20,000 to help defray costs of the move. The Society will continue to fundraise and has plans for making more contributions.
 
The strategic plan for the museum also included goals for greater outreach by engaging more youth and young adults and reaching out to the Latinx community. The museum will soon be able to better connect with the numerous downtown events and can better extend its outreach to those communities. The annual Independence Birthday Party Celebration will be easier for people to attend since building clues will be nearby. The new location is within easy walking distance for visitors at the Independence Hotel. The gift shop will have space for local artisans to sell their products. Its boardroom can potentially be available to other community groups for gatherings and also be a welcoming space for classes hosted by the museum and be a quiet space for researchers.
 
The larger and more open location will allow the museum to host the speakers and presentations that have been housed in the Civic Center due to space limitations. Students and staff from Independence Elementary will also enjoy the open space. Instead of dividing the classes into small groups students, parents, and staff will be able to tour as a group and participate in interactive displays.
 
Expect to see changes in the displays at the new museum. Research shows that visitors who find stories in a museum enjoy their time spent much more. Jake Barton, designer and founder of the museum consulting firm Local Projects feel that if museums are boring “it’s because the museum has failed to capture humans’ deep-seated love of storytelling. It hasn’t made the exhibit, artwork, or artifact relatable.” Independence City Councilor Shannon Corr would agree, “When someone pulls an exhibit together and can share their inspiration and the road to getting there, it really brings it to life for me.” she said. Ms. Christensen feels, “the best museums are the ones that offer an exhibit with multiple styles of connection available.” She feels telling engaging stories of the area are important and her plans for the August opening will include an agricultural exhibit with tools that are labeled, informational panels, a video display, and more. There will be a focus on the Independence heydays as the Hop Capital of the World with displays and photos that will “pull the viewer into a story.”  The exhibit will time well with the annual Hop & Heritage Block Party in downtown Independence. The Independence Downtown Association, host of the block party, has had requests for more of an emphasis on the heritage and history of hops in the area and the museum will be able to accommodate that request.
 
The new Heritage Museum represents an opportunity for creating community involvement, education, partnership with downtown businesses, and a welcoming spot for all.  To read more about how museums benefit communities check out these helpful links:
 
https://www.colleendilen.com/2009/07/31/10-reasons-to-visit-a-museum/
 
http://museums-now.blogspot.com/2012/10/place-based-learning-in-museums.html
 
https://www.businessinsider.com/why-awesome-museums-are-still-boring-2015-11
                   __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Trammart News & Publishing wishes to thank Vickie McCubbin for her editorial on this important topic.
 
Written opinions are encouraged and welcome in The Independent. You can find us at the website below and follow us on Facebook. 

By Anne Scheck                                         


With only about a third of 2021 gone, Independence already has a
​milestone to celebrate – and a reason to mourn. The Heritage Museum is scheduled to move into its new location soon, a refurbished building downtown. However, Olga the Osprey has disappeared from her nest, just as her mate Ollie did last year. As this river city continues the countdown to summer, other news is on the way, too.
 
A new housing subdivision. A 67-lot subdivision in west Independence by Talmadge Road got the stamp of approval from city planning commissioners recently – but not before the lack of a park with a play area became a point of discussion about the new neighborhood.
           
Without such a designated park, “I just worry that we lose the opportunity to make it a good neighborhood that has places for kids to be,” said Planning Commissioner Rebecca Jay, before the vote. 

Seven acres of wetland will be left intact by the project – open space that was cited both by Fred Evander, city planner, and Gordon King, the developer, as preserving a large swath of the property. “We thought this really is an opportunity, one time, to get this much dedicated to a sort of centralized park area – or a master park – that I think is going to have a lot of potential,” said King, explaining that some of the wetland might be utilized as a playing field, for a sport like soccer.
Jay countered that “wetlands aren’t something that could be built on, anyway” due to laws protecting them. King answered that “even though we couldn’t have built on it, we certainly could have mitigated part of it.”
           
Under city code, a developer is required to donate slightly more than six percent of the land or to pay 13% of the land’s market value before being granted needed permits. In this case, the wetland was accepted by the city as the requisite land donation, Evander noted.     
          
A “pocket park” suggested by Jay wasn’t immediately ruled out as a future addition. However, Planning Commissioner Kate Schwarzler said adding parks boils down to a matter of “budget constraint.”  Though she expressed sympathy for the desire to have a park, city parks “are surprisingly expensive to put in,” she said.
           
And, despite the fact that the open space there is technically a wetland, it could still be a “great amenity for the neighborhood,” Schwarzler said.

The traffic plan also drew criticism – from Polk County Public Works’ director, Todd Whitaker. The traffic patterns, as presented to him, failed to take into account the probable southbound traffic on Talmadge Road, Whitaker asserted.

“I am concerned about impacts to the intersection of Stapleton/99W and Stapleton/Corvallis Road,” Whitaker wrote in a letter to the city staff.  Evander told commissioners he felt the concern raised by Whitaker had been adequately addressed in the traffic study.

The wastewater from the new development, which eventually will go to the South Fork of Ash Creek, will travel by storm drain to the other side of 13th Street, said Steve Ward, the city’s engineer. Before flowing into a drainage ditch and into the creek, it will first be treated at a water-quality site along the way, he said. 
          
When representatives of the Ash Creek Water Control District (ACWCD) were asked about this aspect of the project, Dan Farnworth, chair of ACWCD, responded that he hoped the developers and commissioners would take into account “flooding on Ash Creek, its repercussions and mitigations, particularly flood zones, swales, permeable surfaces, bank shaping and planting and other low-impact development.”

As the construction moves forward, some residents of Independence have expressed worry that they will lose what some regard as their city’s countryside along Talmadge Road.

However, Suzy Weston, whose property sits next to the new planned development, said she’s not going anywhere any time soon. Her ducks, chickens, cows and other farm animals, which can be seen wandering her acreage, will remain a sight for passengers in passing cars. “I want to stay here as long as I can,” she said.  

​Parking problems probed. As the Independence Landing apartments and townhomes at the riverfront fill up with occupants, the downtown parking squeeze threatens to create a challenge that cannot be ignored.
           
That was the general message earlier this year when Police Chief Robert Mason presented several proposed parking-code changes to the city council, prompting so many questions by councilors that the suggested revisions were postponed until this spring. Though currently there seems to be adequate public parking in some lots – the one at Riverview Park is hardly ever at capacity – the chief warned that’s likely to change in the near future.
          
That parking lot, along with the one behind the Elks Lodge on Main Street and the parking areas around the Independence Civic Center, may be impacted by new residents. “Looking forward, we are going to have parking issues in all three of those locations, we are certain, when all of the housing that’s going up down there is occupied,” he said. 
          
​City Councilor Dawn Hedrick-Roden agreed that one problem already is surfacing: sidewalk blockage by cars in driveways along Osprey Lane. She expressed uncertainty about how that situation could be rectified ​​– the driveways ​along that

street are comparatively short. “It seems interesting that we’d design an area where they couldn’t park in the driveway,” she said.

​However, Osprey Lane is “not unique,” Mason pointed out. The same situation can be seen across town, in neighborhoods old and new. “We’ve done a lot of what we call education, to try to get people not to block sidewalks,” he said. “It really is dangerous to be blocking the pedestrian paths, forcing people either out into the roadway to walk or obstructing their ability to see.”

​“I live in a new development and we already are having parking problems,” concurred Councilor Shannon Corr. There are multiple cars at many homes in her neighborhood, she said.

The downtown has several areas of public parking, including by the library, behind the old city hall and at the movie theater. However, the situation needs to be addressed, Mason said, adding that he planned to redouble efforts for public feedback on the matter. 
 
Wildfires appear likely. A shift in climate – higher temperatures and lower moisture, compared with previous years – is creating conditions for possible wildfire outbreaks, which are anticipated earlier than ever. Additionally, the ice storm of this past winter increased the risk, too, according to Ben Stange, fire chief of Polk County Fire District No. 1. 
          
Piles of dead branches strewn across the landscape provide dry "ladder fuel," which can enable fire to spread quickly into trees and across fields, he said.
           
Evidence of felled trees can be found in Ash Creek. Downed trees from the ice storm this winter have caused "clogs" in the waterway, perhaps most visibly at the 16th Street bridge on Gun Club Road and at​Riverview Park. "It's a big jumble there," said Dan Farnworth, the chair of the Ash Creek Water Control District (ACWCD) at a meeting of the ACWCD board earlier this month.

For a potential forecast of wildfire incidence, Independence residents need look no further than their neighboring state to the south, Stange suggested. "California is a great indicator," he said. For instance, during a December three years ago, Stange was stunned to learn of a wildfire threat in California in the middle of winter. “This was the month that we sent wildfire crews to California, highlighting the fact that the west was no longer anticipating ‘fire season’ but transitioning to the reality that ‘fire season’ was essentially all year,” he said.
        
Now, in the mid-Willamette Valley, there are more frequent spring "burn bans," which prohibit using fire to destroy debris. These bans haven’t yet prohibited briquette-fueled barbecues or fires for warming and celebration purposes, Stange noted. However, this past April, such a ban was instituted – a seemingly unprecedented move in the Willamette Valley. "I have never heard of this before, as early as it happened," he said.

Even in cases in which raging wildfires are far from town, they can have an impact, he added. Utilities may be shut down and air quality can deteriorate to unsafe levels for any outdoor activity, just as it did last year during the Santiam fire. In fact, the day may come when utilities are periodically shut off and parts of Oregon during hot, dry times – shutting down power lines that can ignite branches and brush, he pointed out.    
          
​During both the ice storm and the wildfires near Salem last year, the
Independence Hotel proved a valuable resource for those displaced from homes and seeking shelter, Stange said. Recently, fire personnel utilized the apartments near the hotel for training purposes.

Preparation is key: The way a wildfire is fought has evolved into a fine-tuned process of determining defensibility, Stange explained. "We have extremely selective algorithms we have worked out," he said. Homes with metal roofs and lawns with less vegetation are more easily saved; Those with traditional roofing, with leaves in gutters and trees immediately next to the house are far less defensible, he said.

In a wind-fed fire, the crews are called upon to engage in such triage to preserve time and resources, he added. 
The days of putting homes next to leafy woods may experience significant code changes, he predicted. "I think insurance companies may drive this (trend)," he said. "They will be on the forefront of coding changes" that will
help fire-proof homes and neighborhoods, he said.
 
Leadership changes at MINET. During Don Patten’s recent announcement of his pending retirement as general manager of MINET, he identified two current administrators there as part of the succession team. He plans to step down by year’s end.
          
P.J. Armstrong, director of operations for the municipal fiberoptic company, is his choice to take over as general manager; John Cooper, the present finance director, already has been tapped to move up to chief financial officer.
          
They’re only the first of several title changes that will be taking place at MINET, Patten said. All employees who have been working as customer service representatives will transition into a new category: customer support specialists. The positions will be officially re-named this July. The action is being taken after a failed attempt by Patten to secure bonuses for MINET personnel earlier this year – the board of directors voted down the proposed special allocation.
        
Over the years, MINET has required annual subsidies by the cities that co-founded it; In the past, the company has been unable to fully pay the debt owed from the money borrowed to build it. However, this year, no such subsidy was needed. Asked if revenue assistance was likely to be requested in the future, Patten explained that predictions are difficult, “even in the best of times.”

With the battle against Covid-19 still underway, “we have yet to fully grasp every impact of a worldwide pandemic on our business results,” he stated. “But I feel confident in stating that, if there is a shortfall in our support of the cities’ debt relating to MINET in the fiscal year of 2021-22, it will be minimal.”

Another change is the addition of a woman, Monmouth City Manager Marty Wine, to the board, which has had only male members for many years. She will replace departing board member Steve Milligan, current county treasurer.
Patten, who joined the company at what has been reported as a financially troubled time in 2013, is leaving it in a far more stable condition, according to several board members.            

Asked about his assessment of the team he built during his time at the helm of MINET, Patten said he considers it nothing like a traditional top-to-bottom hierarchy. Instead, it has become a group of people in common step with equal footing, “each of us striving toward a shared success story,” he said.   

Ella Curran Food Bank is an Independence Asset that Keeps on Giving
 
         By Anne Scheck

Of all the ways to characterize the Ella Curran Food Bank – often called a lifeline by many residents – referring to it as a scientific model probably hasn’t ever happened. 

Yet in many ways this food bank, at a shopping strip north of downtown on Main Street, is very much a microcosm of the kind of non-profit food distribution that’s occurring nationwide. 

The Ella Curran Food Bank serves a broad economic spectrum, including a segment that hasn’t previously used a food bank; Overall demand is significantly higher than ever. And, just like food banks across the country, it’s become the city’s most visible sign of a safety net. 

Hundreds of food boxes have been delivered on Fridays in the parking lot at Independence Cinema; Cartloads of food are given away continually at the pantry, which has maintained a socially-distanced personal touch despite covid. 
       
“Nearly everyone knows someone who has used the food bank or they, themselves, have received food,” observed Patty Nevue, director of the Ella Curran Food Bank. From young families to multi-generational ones, from the ranks of the newly employed to long-time retirees, from homeless to middle class households, “the list and stories go on,” she said. 
          
​This week, as Polk County re-entered a high-risk category for coronavirus spread, echoes of the 2008 recession are being recognized. “I do think the state will experience, similar to the Great Recession, a greater prevalence of food ​

insecurity and similar long-term ramifications due to the current economic downturn from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Arielle Schoblom, who conducted research on food insecurity during the recession as a student at Oregon State University (OSU). She now works for an international firm that provides an array of consulting and
regulatory services.
          
​At the time of her study, the poor became even more impoverished, and households that had never lacked money for food suddenly couldn’t afford to buy groceries. 
​
The parallels don’t end there: without food banks, many would have had far worse outcomes. Schoblom’s findings show food insecurity rose more than 13% at the time of her study.
​ 
After the effects of the Great Recession abated, the food-insecurity rate declined to about 10%. However, in 2020, the numbers shot up again, this time to 25%, according to Mark Edwards, a sociology professor at ​OSU and director of the university’s Policy Analysis Laboratory.    

Loretta Pecchioni, another relative newcomer, recalled that her father helped run a food back in her home state of Kansas. “I do this because it makes me feel good,” she said. One recent challenge was trying to give away black tomatoes, which looked plump and ripe but oddly dark. In the end, trust in the food bank prevailed, and the tomatoes disappeared from the shelves.
       
​What is the impact of all this food-dispensing? It’s likely good for the local economy. A few years ago, a study on two of the largest food banks in the Pacific Northwest showed that -- among 730 families served there -- the savings for each household ​translated into about

$2,700 spending on other necessities, according to James McCafferty, who oversaw the study at Western Washington University’s Center of Economic and Business Research. 

A correlation between crime and hunger also has been noted in studies on food stamp programs, McCafferty observed.  However, it isn’t yet known whether the rise in crime is directly tied to food shortages or the way in which food insecurity may be linked to changes in criminal behavior.
 
“These are good questions but not ones that can be answered without the passing of more time,” said McCafferty, adding that “there are significant data lags.” 

Statistics from the Independence Police Department suggest the pandemic has had an effect on criminal activity, specifically “disorderly conduct.” It ticked up substantially in 2020 – the year of the pandemic – compared with the previous two years.
​ 
Communities are more resilient when they have more control of their food system, explained Megan Schneider, a member of Portland State University's adjunct faculty who farms not far from where she teaches her course in food sustainability. 

​A Fast Factual Look at the Ella Curran Food Bank
 
*A 501(c)3 non-profit serving the Independence & Monmouth community for over 40 years
 
*Completely volunteer staffed
 
*Home of bi-monthly MonIndy Green Bag project, with around 260 participants
 
*Coordinates Farmers for Families food box distribution
 
*Accepts local gardener excess produce donations
 
*Does Thanksgiving turkey giveaways
 
*Partners with local food stores Roth’s and Waremart
 
*Connected with the Marion Polk Food Share system

​Polk County District Attorney Aaron Felton Addressed Covid with Innovation,  Embraced Change 
 
​By Anne Scheck 
 
For a lawyer, the role of a district attorney doesn’t seem like much of a life  – at least not according to one long-standing analysis of the profession. Often, there’s no public recognition unless controversy creates the wrong kind. And even when a district attorney (DA) has a positive profile, there’s a recurring popularity contest at the ballot box, to clinch the number of votes needed to stay in office. 

However, perhaps the most frustrating factor comes from frequently having to limit prosecution to cases in which the evidence is solid and clear. “An act may be highly immoral or wrong, may in fact be a grievous sin, and yet not be a crime,” wrote a famous former DA, Arthur Train, nearly a century ago. 

In a series of articles that appeared in 1922 in the Sunday Oregonian, Train lamented that people are “unaware, or at any rate, unmindful” of the many duties a DA is required to juggle so that justice can be served. Train, who published his observations under the title “The Public Prosecutor,” eventually turned to writing legal thrillers. 

​Fortunately, Polk County’s DA, Aaron Felton, doesn’t see the job the same way, though some of the challenges cited by Train nearly a hundred years ago seem much the same today. 

“Being a prosecutor was, and continues to be, the most professionally satisfying time of my career," Felton said. 
The role is full of demands, subject to political pressure and requires exhaustive attention to detail – but it provides very meaningful work, and that has led to great job satisfaction, Felton said.

Felton, who has served as Polk County DA since 2013, was deputy district attorney in Polk County for six years and an assistant city attorney in Salem before becoming DA. He's also a former chair of the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision.

This past year has been a memorable one for him in different ways. He’s had to contend with large-scale disruptions in court processes due to the coronavirus measures; He was featured in a highly publicized documentary, called “The DA’s Dilemma”; He’s been on the receiving end of periodic grilling by the Polk County Board of Commissioners as a result of actions necessitated by Covid-19.
 
As a result of pandemic measures, there were fewer prosecutions in Polk County, keeping a lower population in the jail. On more than one occasion, the county commissioners expressed frustration over this approach, dubbing it a "cite and release" program.
 
This change took a toll on law enforcement, making acts like stealing far less consequential, explained County Commissioner Lyle Mordhorst. Arrests largely were limited to those who committed physical assaults, or "person-to-person" crimes, he explained. However, Mordhorst added that the DA has been "doing what he can in difficult times." 

Meanwhile, Felton was highlighted in a documentary that explored the scarcity of options in the justice system for meeting the needs of those with mental health issues. The film – which was produced by Independent Lens, the Public Broadcasting Service, in association with the Salem Reporter –  focuses on the 2018 death of Alexandria Tereshka, a Dallas woman who died after lying in a roadway while clutching a sheaf of her own court records, and who was reported to have grappled with mental health issues all of her adult life.
 
A few months before the documentary first aired, Measure 110, the Drug Treatment and Recovery Act, was approved by voters. It decriminalizes some drug possession and is expected to fund the establishment of addiction recovery facilities across the state.
               
The heightened visibility for Felton isn’t unprecedented. During his time as former chair of the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision, Felton oversaw the parole hearings of one of Oregon's most notorious criminals, Elizabeth Diane Downs, who attempted to murder her three children, causing the death of one and severely injuring the other two. Her case became the basis for the book "Small Sacrifices" by crime writer Ann Rule, who detailed the homicide and its aftermath. 

One of Felton's many mentors was former District Attorney John Fisher, who was known as an extremely skilled trial attorney before being elected to that office. Fisher, who retired in 2008, developed a reputation for forging plea bargains during his tenure as district attorney, which led to stinging criticism from some of those in county law enforcement. However, his compassion won him wide public admiration. Felton is known for the same empathic approach. 
                               
When Felton first sought the district attorney's office more than a decade ago, his campaign included a plan to provide crime-preventing outreach for at-risk youth. He was defeated at the time, but now that view seems foresighted – and one reason for the recent documentary.

Growing up in a family that had two generations of funeral directors, "it hit me that this was a kind of ministry," Felton said. He remembers seeing his grandfather being able to comfort people at their most grief-stricken and do so in a truly caring way. He provided a "great role model," Felton said.  
           
 Now, as the coronavirus restrictions ease, there is an emerging “new normal” at the Polk County courthouse – some measures that were put into place will remain, such as the technology that’s made court proceedings easier to attend for participants. Hearings and pre-trial conferences have been held virtually, Felton explained. 

Victims, witnesses, and accused individuals have been able to be part of the process remotely, by telephone or video-conference calls, he noted. Felton sees this as an improvement, especially for those with childcare challenges or transportation problems.

"Those are critical changes, and I believe they make it more equitable," Felton said. And, where once lawyers pulled carrying cases with wheels and loaded documents into court, almost everything is now stored digitally. From the first filing to the final decision, the process is mostly paperless, he said.
 
The advances have meant that he can sit at his desk and listen to courts in session, he pointed out. The system isn't just more convenient, it is cost saving, he said. 

In fact, the DA’s office is now fully digitized – a transition that substantially cut expenditures. However, with growth, the cost of licenses for software and maintenance agreements for the systems has risen, too, Felton acknowledged. But the digital platforms increase productivity, a benefit that can be hard to quantify, he observed. 

Felton looks back on his early years as a teaching process that prepared him for the job he now occupies. As a young prosecuting attorney, Felton tried cases in Polk County that didn't simply provide him with essential investigative experience, but also imparted a deeply personal view of the impact on victims of crime, including family members affected by the event.
                                                  
The family of a man who was killed on the way home from work is one such example. He died in a hit-and-run collision. As a result of social media, where the fatality was discussed in some detail, the other driver eventually was caught. But it was the behavior of the victim's family that has stuck with him all these years, Felton said. They were present at every pre-trial meeting and unfailingly respectful, said Felton, who is the father of two grown sons and a grandfather of five.  
          
The victim’s family never wavered in their focus on preparations for the trial, a show of strength that was unforgettable, Felton recalled. The memory of the dedication by law enforcement in solving the case remains vivid, as well, he said.  
                                  
When the accused man was sentenced to years in prison for the death, Felton observed that, for him, it was a time in which he felt a sense of fulfillment. The family got to witness the system impose accountability – a family still grieving but able to participate in the process with incredible dignity, he said.     
                             
He also recalls cases that involved interaction with children, where he tried to be gentle and supportive while eliciting information. "One little girl I remember, she gave me a drawing she'd made for me," he said. "I still have it.”    
                                            
Felton has had his share of disappointments in office – one of them, very recently. An innovative program, known as “mental health court,” became a victim of covid. The remote offering – didn't work nearly as well for it, and the number of committed participants plummeted.  
         
Currently, a new public health program is being set up in Polk County for those identified as having mental health needs, but participation is expected to be voluntary. In contrast, mental health court was seen as a diversion program – a specialty court that was part of the county's criminal justice system.  
   
“I am optimistic that the issue will be revisited again in the not-too-distant future, as the program had a very positive impact on the participants and the public safety system,” he said.

(This is the first in a planned series to look at Polk County’s Criminal Justice and Court System)