Sunset Meadows Park gets name nominations and a lot more from Parks and Rec Board
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, Nov. 24, 2023
The Independence Parks and Recreation Board is proving itself to be a squeaky wheel for residents. This small band of volunteers, which this past year has had several city-imposed meeting cancellations, continues to ask questions aimed at keeping some issues – from the municipal pool to park landscaping – at the forefront.
Last Thursday, the members, who all are volunteers, voted to recommend names for a park that so far has been known as “Sunset Meadows.” To the surprise of no one on the board, the top choice in a citizen survey for an official name was “Sunset Meadows,” with 23 votes.
However, board members put their own stamp on the name, by adding its Spanish translation as part of the recommendation: “Prados al Atardecer.” The other two potential name suggestions, which got far fewer votes, were Kalapuya Meadows and Camino de Inspiracion, or Park of Inspiration. All three names will go to the city council, which will select the name and make it official.
If that seems like a fairly routine matter, an analysis of the board’s action of the past year by Trammart News shows the members pushed for progress in areas ranging from a decision on the shuttered municipal pool, which City Manager Kenna West and City Public Works Director Gerald Fisher say requires inclusion in a new parks master plan in order to be reinstated. The pool was closed after being found in disrepair this past summer.
Pressed at the last meeting about when demolition of the pool house will take place – it was scheduled for this fall – Fisher explained that he has 22 “active” public works projects in the pipeline so the pool house tear-down will likely be put over till early 2024. “I am trying to juggle flaming chainsaws,” he said.
Also at the recent meeting, Board Member Maria Blanco reminded Fisher the board needs to approve minutes, to keep the archive up-to-date – they were missing from the agenda packet. Board Chair Jonathan Jay inquired how soon the long-awaited vegetation at Sunset Meadows Park will be planted – a gathering of local dignitaries was held more than a year ago to celebrate the installation of trees, but so far only the ceremonial dedication tree has been planted. When Fisher responded that it could be next fall, Jay observed: “It’s a little disappointing it will be another calendar year.”
Outside the meeting, member Jasper Smith was told the board was called “the mouse that roars” by one resident buoyed by the way the committee apparently is striving to keep the city on track with movement toward promised projects. Smith said the phrase was likely directed at Erin McIntosh, who has been an advocate for the municipal pool. “I think we are mice, I will say that,” Smith said. ▪
Tougher election navigations may lie ahead for new County Clerk Kim Williams
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, Nov. 24, 2023
When Kim Williams became Polk County Clerk after nearly two decades of serving under Valerie Unger in that office, she knew she not only had big shoes to fill but a political landscape that threatens to make the professional path far more difficult.
At a Salem City Club meeting in mid-November, Williams reflected on her time in the office under Unger, and the changes she witnessed as a result of a growing political climate in which the voting process increasingly was questioned.
“The biggest threat to our office is misinformation,” Williams told members of the Salem City Club at their most recent meeting. It was her first time speaking to a group in an official capacity since she took office in October.
Williams has been serving in the Polk County Clerk’s Office since 2004 and considered former Polk County Clerk Val Unger, who preceded her, to be among the finest ever to occupy the office. “She was an amazing boss,” Williams said.
But in recent years, social media in the county -- online chat rooms, internet postings -- began suggesting election-related conspiracies, apparently in response to the state’s motor-voter registration. The seven-year-old law enables those who obtain or renew driver licenses to automatically be registered to vote. Prior to the law’s passage, an extra step was required. One effect of the motor-voter law was that, just by completing that task at the Department of Motor Vehicles, users were registered as “non-affiliated” unless they filled out a card designating a political party. As the number of non-affiliates swelled, some in the county became critical of the process.
By the time the last election rolled around, Unger ‘s position was becoming a far more frequent recipient of disparaging comments. So, following that election, she chose to retire, even though she hadn’t yet reached her 60th birthday. As the target of unfounded mistrust. “she just couldn’t take it anymore,” Williams said.
It was unprecedented for the Polk County Clerk’s Office – one of the smallest offices in the state – to receive such public attention, including far more public record requests, Williams noted. However, providing answers to all inquiries adds positive visibility to her office, she said, adding that she already is trying to promote transparency by inviting people to call or come in with questions.
Polk County Commissioner Craig Pope, who has served on the Polk County Board of Commissioners longer than either of his colleagues, said he has known Williams for years. “I have complete confidence in Kim Williams, and she was trained by the best,” Pope said. ▪
A Christmas story for the ages: soldier’s unexpected return to Independence more than a century ago
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, Nov. 24, 2023
In the fall of 1918 the parents of a World War I soldier from Independence who was listed as missing in action were preparing for the saddest holiday season of their lives. On Christmas eve, they instead got a great and surprising gift – their son walked through the door.
Armine Oliver Young had been seriously injured in a battle in France, and his family was notified that his whereabouts were unknown. Finally, in October, they received a letter from him that he was in a field hospital, recovering from a bullet wound to his arm. Shortly before the clock tolled for Christmas, Young strode into his house, giving his mother and father the city’s biggest shock of the season, which landed him on the front page of the Polk County Newspaper, The Enterprise, as well as other newspapers across the county.
The story of Armine O. Young is chronicled not only in the yellowed pages of an old newspaper, but among a set of display panels at the Independence Heritage Museum. Though not currently out for public view, the true tale of the soldier’s unexpected return was unearthed by Independence Heritage Museum Curator Amy Christensen.
“I came across a small newspaper clipping with Young's story,” Christensen explained. “I found it to be a lovely expression of the sorrows, as well as the unique rejoicement involved in being a military family,” she said, noting that her own family is one of those, as well.
The story is a poignant example of a slice of life in Independence more than a century ago. “We aim to connect visitors to history through our local personal stories,” she said. Among some visitors to the museum when this exhibit was displayed years ago, the World War I story of Young and his return home became known as “the soldier’s Christmas story.” ▪
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