By Anne Scheck
After COVID-19 surfaced early this year, altering daily life in one fell swoop of pandemic-fighting effort, many in town wondered if normal conditions would ever return. But ordinary events actually never ceased – they rolled along as reliably as currents on the Willamette River.
Independence Police continued their traffic stops. Independence residents took their concerns to public meetings. Independence streets got repaired. Independence osprey mates Olga and Ollie, a source of community concern when their nest was moved, became the same home-abiding pair after the relocation.
But even familiar routines have a way of drumming up drama. So, a review of 2020 inevitably includes some ups, downs and changes during everyday occurrences in the riverside city that residents call “Indy.”
EMBATTLED PROPERTY OWNER FINALLY PREVAILS.
Three years ago, it looked like Matthew Lind was going to lose his property, a former one-pump gas station downtown that was transformed into a barbecue-serving pub. Foreclosure loomed – by the City of Independence. In a desperate request, Lind publicly pleaded for more chances to meet his financial obligation. During one memorable city council meeting, he was ordered to be escorted away from the podium by the mayor, still beseeching the council as he was led off.
Lind was told his time was up in more ways than one. David Clyne, the city manager at the time, said the deed should be surrendered. However, after more negotiation, Lind came up with new funds, the city got its money, and the debt was paid. Now during the pandemic ban on indoor dining, The Tap Station at 87 S. Main Street – with its spacious outdoor dining – is a popular spot.
However, “surviving,” is the way manager Cameron Dibble puts it. Andwhat about Lind? He is thriving as an attorney at OlsenDaines in Salem. “I have been fortunate to refocus my career back into practicing law,” he said.
Still, he’s worried about the place he once begged the city council to be able to keep. Seasonality makes Independence “a great summer run,” but more difficult in the winter months, he said. And “the Covid pandemic has been disastrous for small business, especially hospitality,” he added.
A PETITION DRIVE FAILS TO HALT HORN BLOWS.
Ahmed Ahmed, a downtown area resident, was awakened nightly by the loud blast of a train horn. So were many of his neighbors, who signed a petition saying so, which he wrote to try to stop the piercing sounds from occurring in the early-morning hours.
Ahmed testified before the city council that some three-dozen people felt the same way he did about the intrusive noise, and he had the signatures to prove it. Unfortunately, people’s sleep is no match for federal regulations. Despite taking the matter all the way to Polk County Commissioner Lyle Mordhorst, the county’s transportation liaison to the state, extreme sympathy was all that Mordhorst could provide.
“Federal guidelines are in place for a reason and this was created for the public’s safety,” Mordhorst said, adding that “these very strict nationwide requirements” are there to provide ample warning so that tragedy doesn’t occur.
In the meantime, after hearing of the plight of Ahmed, former resident Gail Boyle wanted to issue a note of reassurance to all who hate the horn. Putting it in the context of coronavirus, she explained why she misses the sound of the train. “It meant things are normal, working as they should be, and there’s a routine,” she said. Even in the middle of the night? Yes, said Boyle. “All good.”
A STREETLIGHT STAYS DESPITE STRONG OBJECTION.
When Jim Wixson took his case against a streetlight pole in his yard to the Independence City Council, he was sure he could get it moved. The pole sits in front of Wixson’s home, and it’s gotten bashed by a delivery vehicle, he said. However, the city determined that the pole is by a driveway created to sit next to the one that was already there – and the original driveway was built as part of the residence.
Neither the city nor Pacific Power is prepared to pay the thousands of dollars to relocate the light pole, but Wixson plans to keep up the battle anyway, taking his complaint again to the city council. “I plan to do so until I can get a vote from the city council or the reason for deciding why they refuse to vote,” he said.
He may have gotten that reason already. When asked to respond to Wixson’s assertion that he would fight on for the pole removal and new placement, City Manager Tom Pessemier stated that “since there is no policy issue here it would be inappropriate for Council to take action.”
TREE-LINED WAY REPLACES MISSING SIDEWALK.
No one is sure why a former developer who owned what is known as the “old city hall,” a cement block building of onetime city offices at Second and Monmouth streets, tore up the sidewalks around it. However, signs of the destruction have lingered there for years, becoming the butt of jokes about the “rocky road” to needed repair.
Then Salem-based GoMacGo LLC, a development firm, bought the property about a year ago. Soon a new sidewalk was rising from the rubble.
The project was recently completed, with streetlights that look like turn-of-the-century lamps and trees placed at earthen wells along the sidewalk. “Our streetscape is finally here,” said Ryan Booth, whose brewery business, Parallel 45, is housed at the site.
Incentives of $300,000, which were promised by the city to the former developer who demolished the sidewalks,
now are expected to go to GoMacGo LLC, Booth affirmed.
POLICE ADOPT SOCIAL-DISTANCING PRACTICES.
‘Tis the season for giving and, at the Independence Police Department (IPD), that means tickets – and zero tolerance for drunk driving. From December 16 through January 1, IPD officers waged a high-visibility campaign to identify motorists suspected of driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII), according to Sgt. Lyle Gilbert of the IPD.
However, in an era in which social distancing has become the new normal, officers are maintaining it when feasible,
Gilbert said. And they’re wearing masks when interacting with the public, he noted. However, a suspected DUII requires being close to the person being tested.
As a result, the state has deemed the social-distancing rules don’t apply “to emergency situations or other situations
where the safety of law enforcement officers or others involved make contact within six feet necessary,” Gilbert said.
“Not only do we need to be close to the subject we are testing in order to appropriately administer the test, but we also need to be close enough that we can prevent a fall should they lose their balance,” he said. “In short, we are doing everything we can to keep our officers and the public safe within reason.”
WIDOW OLGA LOSES OLLIE BUT NOT LOCAL HOPE.
Apparently, the mystery hasn’t been solved over the disappearance of Ollie, the male osprey who never returned from a fishing expedition while Olga tended to their nest. Olga screamed from it for hours, mournful cries that were caught on camera, thanks to the city’s “Osprey Cam.“ Soon, Olga stopped caring for the eggs and eventually, she flew away.
It was hard to tell last summer who was more heartbroken, the mother bird or the Independence residents who’d watched her on the video feed. Ollie likely died from any of several possible causes, such as a collision with an electrical wire or a moving vehicle.
Now an ornithologist from Western Oregon University (WOU) has weighed in, with reasons for optimism that ospreys once again will take up residency above Riverview Park.
“It is likely that the surviving osprey will return next spring with a new mate,” explained Jeff Snyder, assistant professor of biology and ecology at WOU. This is probable, though “not a certainty,” he added. “However, even if they don't return, then a different mated pair could nest there,” Snyder said.
LOOKING AHEAD: MINET, ROUNDABOUTS ON MAIN?
So far MINET seems to be on track to allow a reduction in the amount of subsidy paid this year by Independence, according to Gloria Butsch, the city’s finance director. Don Patten, MINET’s general manager, confirmed he’s in general agreement with that assessment.
Ms. Butsch explained that “we cannot comment on the total amount for this year since MINET will not know the amount required until April or May.” So, time will tell in 2021. By that time, the city’s new Transportation System Plan (TSP) may be nearing final approval, according to representatives of the Oregon Department of Transportation. At a virtual open house on the TSP, held on the city’s YouTube channel, 14 people tuned in to see the presentation and air their views in the chat room.
Roundabouts suggested for different points on Main Street didn’t receive the anticipated opposition, perhaps because the city already has one that has been used without much incident. The recording of the open house has had 80 views, and more public participation is expected.
After COVID-19 surfaced early this year, altering daily life in one fell swoop of pandemic-fighting effort, many in town wondered if normal conditions would ever return. But ordinary events actually never ceased – they rolled along as reliably as currents on the Willamette River.
Independence Police continued their traffic stops. Independence residents took their concerns to public meetings. Independence streets got repaired. Independence osprey mates Olga and Ollie, a source of community concern when their nest was moved, became the same home-abiding pair after the relocation.
But even familiar routines have a way of drumming up drama. So, a review of 2020 inevitably includes some ups, downs and changes during everyday occurrences in the riverside city that residents call “Indy.”
EMBATTLED PROPERTY OWNER FINALLY PREVAILS.
Three years ago, it looked like Matthew Lind was going to lose his property, a former one-pump gas station downtown that was transformed into a barbecue-serving pub. Foreclosure loomed – by the City of Independence. In a desperate request, Lind publicly pleaded for more chances to meet his financial obligation. During one memorable city council meeting, he was ordered to be escorted away from the podium by the mayor, still beseeching the council as he was led off.
Lind was told his time was up in more ways than one. David Clyne, the city manager at the time, said the deed should be surrendered. However, after more negotiation, Lind came up with new funds, the city got its money, and the debt was paid. Now during the pandemic ban on indoor dining, The Tap Station at 87 S. Main Street – with its spacious outdoor dining – is a popular spot.
However, “surviving,” is the way manager Cameron Dibble puts it. Andwhat about Lind? He is thriving as an attorney at OlsenDaines in Salem. “I have been fortunate to refocus my career back into practicing law,” he said.
Still, he’s worried about the place he once begged the city council to be able to keep. Seasonality makes Independence “a great summer run,” but more difficult in the winter months, he said. And “the Covid pandemic has been disastrous for small business, especially hospitality,” he added.
A PETITION DRIVE FAILS TO HALT HORN BLOWS.
Ahmed Ahmed, a downtown area resident, was awakened nightly by the loud blast of a train horn. So were many of his neighbors, who signed a petition saying so, which he wrote to try to stop the piercing sounds from occurring in the early-morning hours.
Ahmed testified before the city council that some three-dozen people felt the same way he did about the intrusive noise, and he had the signatures to prove it. Unfortunately, people’s sleep is no match for federal regulations. Despite taking the matter all the way to Polk County Commissioner Lyle Mordhorst, the county’s transportation liaison to the state, extreme sympathy was all that Mordhorst could provide.
“Federal guidelines are in place for a reason and this was created for the public’s safety,” Mordhorst said, adding that “these very strict nationwide requirements” are there to provide ample warning so that tragedy doesn’t occur.
In the meantime, after hearing of the plight of Ahmed, former resident Gail Boyle wanted to issue a note of reassurance to all who hate the horn. Putting it in the context of coronavirus, she explained why she misses the sound of the train. “It meant things are normal, working as they should be, and there’s a routine,” she said. Even in the middle of the night? Yes, said Boyle. “All good.”
A STREETLIGHT STAYS DESPITE STRONG OBJECTION.
When Jim Wixson took his case against a streetlight pole in his yard to the Independence City Council, he was sure he could get it moved. The pole sits in front of Wixson’s home, and it’s gotten bashed by a delivery vehicle, he said. However, the city determined that the pole is by a driveway created to sit next to the one that was already there – and the original driveway was built as part of the residence.
Neither the city nor Pacific Power is prepared to pay the thousands of dollars to relocate the light pole, but Wixson plans to keep up the battle anyway, taking his complaint again to the city council. “I plan to do so until I can get a vote from the city council or the reason for deciding why they refuse to vote,” he said.
He may have gotten that reason already. When asked to respond to Wixson’s assertion that he would fight on for the pole removal and new placement, City Manager Tom Pessemier stated that “since there is no policy issue here it would be inappropriate for Council to take action.”
TREE-LINED WAY REPLACES MISSING SIDEWALK.
No one is sure why a former developer who owned what is known as the “old city hall,” a cement block building of onetime city offices at Second and Monmouth streets, tore up the sidewalks around it. However, signs of the destruction have lingered there for years, becoming the butt of jokes about the “rocky road” to needed repair.
Then Salem-based GoMacGo LLC, a development firm, bought the property about a year ago. Soon a new sidewalk was rising from the rubble.
The project was recently completed, with streetlights that look like turn-of-the-century lamps and trees placed at earthen wells along the sidewalk. “Our streetscape is finally here,” said Ryan Booth, whose brewery business, Parallel 45, is housed at the site.
Incentives of $300,000, which were promised by the city to the former developer who demolished the sidewalks,
now are expected to go to GoMacGo LLC, Booth affirmed.
POLICE ADOPT SOCIAL-DISTANCING PRACTICES.
‘Tis the season for giving and, at the Independence Police Department (IPD), that means tickets – and zero tolerance for drunk driving. From December 16 through January 1, IPD officers waged a high-visibility campaign to identify motorists suspected of driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII), according to Sgt. Lyle Gilbert of the IPD.
However, in an era in which social distancing has become the new normal, officers are maintaining it when feasible,
Gilbert said. And they’re wearing masks when interacting with the public, he noted. However, a suspected DUII requires being close to the person being tested.
As a result, the state has deemed the social-distancing rules don’t apply “to emergency situations or other situations
where the safety of law enforcement officers or others involved make contact within six feet necessary,” Gilbert said.
“Not only do we need to be close to the subject we are testing in order to appropriately administer the test, but we also need to be close enough that we can prevent a fall should they lose their balance,” he said. “In short, we are doing everything we can to keep our officers and the public safe within reason.”
WIDOW OLGA LOSES OLLIE BUT NOT LOCAL HOPE.
Apparently, the mystery hasn’t been solved over the disappearance of Ollie, the male osprey who never returned from a fishing expedition while Olga tended to their nest. Olga screamed from it for hours, mournful cries that were caught on camera, thanks to the city’s “Osprey Cam.“ Soon, Olga stopped caring for the eggs and eventually, she flew away.
It was hard to tell last summer who was more heartbroken, the mother bird or the Independence residents who’d watched her on the video feed. Ollie likely died from any of several possible causes, such as a collision with an electrical wire or a moving vehicle.
Now an ornithologist from Western Oregon University (WOU) has weighed in, with reasons for optimism that ospreys once again will take up residency above Riverview Park.
“It is likely that the surviving osprey will return next spring with a new mate,” explained Jeff Snyder, assistant professor of biology and ecology at WOU. This is probable, though “not a certainty,” he added. “However, even if they don't return, then a different mated pair could nest there,” Snyder said.
LOOKING AHEAD: MINET, ROUNDABOUTS ON MAIN?
So far MINET seems to be on track to allow a reduction in the amount of subsidy paid this year by Independence, according to Gloria Butsch, the city’s finance director. Don Patten, MINET’s general manager, confirmed he’s in general agreement with that assessment.
Ms. Butsch explained that “we cannot comment on the total amount for this year since MINET will not know the amount required until April or May.” So, time will tell in 2021. By that time, the city’s new Transportation System Plan (TSP) may be nearing final approval, according to representatives of the Oregon Department of Transportation. At a virtual open house on the TSP, held on the city’s YouTube channel, 14 people tuned in to see the presentation and air their views in the chat room.
Roundabouts suggested for different points on Main Street didn’t receive the anticipated opposition, perhaps because the city already has one that has been used without much incident. The recording of the open house has had 80 views, and more public participation is expected.
Polk County Courthouse (Photo credit: Polk County) CIVICS LESSON: ‘Twas a Season of Battling News Releases
The 2020 holiday season will be one to remember – in fact it may go down in the annals of Oregon politics. After Thanksgiving, restaurants and bars were shut down again, prohibiting indoor dining, to deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases. Then came the counter-reaction: A call from the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce (OSCC) for immediate business reopening. Locally, the Polk County Board of Commissioners added their support – endorsing the move by the OSCC, which not only advocated reopening of businesses but called upon the governor and legislature for a relief program of $75 million to help restaurants and hospitality businesses recover.
Jumping aboard the movement, Independence downtown developer Bodie Bemrose issued a letter of similar advocacy to his tenants and to other businesses, asking that Gov. Kate Brown and “those who force us to stay closed” be held accountable for their actions. Just before New Year’s Day, the governor announced that any business in defiance of the orders could face serious consequences, including fines or closures. Subsequently, Rep. David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford) sent out a public statement, demanding that the governor and democrats in the legislature prioritize COVID-19 vaccination distribution; He claimed that less than a third of the available doses have been administered. The news release with Rep Smith’s statement was published at the beginning of the first week in January. Right after Rep. Smith’s news release, another one came from Gov. Kate Brown, stating that “we must vaccinate Oregonians as quickly as possible” and calling upon the Oregon Health Authority to hit some new benchmarks.
The 2020 holiday season will be one to remember – in fact it may go down in the annals of Oregon politics. After Thanksgiving, restaurants and bars were shut down again, prohibiting indoor dining, to deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases. Then came the counter-reaction: A call from the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce (OSCC) for immediate business reopening. Locally, the Polk County Board of Commissioners added their support – endorsing the move by the OSCC, which not only advocated reopening of businesses but called upon the governor and legislature for a relief program of $75 million to help restaurants and hospitality businesses recover.
Jumping aboard the movement, Independence downtown developer Bodie Bemrose issued a letter of similar advocacy to his tenants and to other businesses, asking that Gov. Kate Brown and “those who force us to stay closed” be held accountable for their actions. Just before New Year’s Day, the governor announced that any business in defiance of the orders could face serious consequences, including fines or closures. Subsequently, Rep. David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford) sent out a public statement, demanding that the governor and democrats in the legislature prioritize COVID-19 vaccination distribution; He claimed that less than a third of the available doses have been administered. The news release with Rep Smith’s statement was published at the beginning of the first week in January. Right after Rep. Smith’s news release, another one came from Gov. Kate Brown, stating that “we must vaccinate Oregonians as quickly as possible” and calling upon the Oregon Health Authority to hit some new benchmarks.
Sign outside firehouse INDY HOP: It’s a Sign of the (Past, Perhaps Archaic) Times
For anyone who’s found the antiquated sign at the fire station quaint and charming, this may be disappointing news. It looks like Polk County Fire District No. 1 may get a monument sign with messages that are easily readable from the road – unlike the current one, which occasionally has had words obscured by … well, who knows whether those smeared letters have been caused by rain, mud or bird droppings. The Planning Commission seemed ready to approve a new sign early this month, but apparently the permit calls for a special code change. So drivers who’ll miss it can still view the old sign in front of the fire station in Independence, at least for a few months.
For anyone who’s found the antiquated sign at the fire station quaint and charming, this may be disappointing news. It looks like Polk County Fire District No. 1 may get a monument sign with messages that are easily readable from the road – unlike the current one, which occasionally has had words obscured by … well, who knows whether those smeared letters have been caused by rain, mud or bird droppings. The Planning Commission seemed ready to approve a new sign early this month, but apparently the permit calls for a special code change. So drivers who’ll miss it can still view the old sign in front of the fire station in Independence, at least for a few months.
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