By Anne Scheck                                                                      The mysterious way that members of a flock of Canada geese died at Baskett Slough in Polk County can hardly be called good news. However, because trace levels of a rodent poison were found in one batch of the birds, the suspected cause of death can be considered unrelated to any water source there. That’s reassuring – the preserve is home to waterfowl and many other animals that depend on the nearly 2,500-acre wetland.

And it isn’t only wildlife that benefits from such wetlands – wetlands help maintain groundwater across the entire county, and ultimately, provide a drinking-water supply for cities like Independence, according to state water experts.

Though Baskett Slough continues to be protected as a vast
and healthy “wet prairie,” as it is sometimes called, the future isn’t so clear for wetlands inside city limits, which often go relatively unnoticed until they are eyed for new construction (See sidebar Where the Wetlands Are). A new federal rule revises the definition of “Waters of the United States,” by reducing the extent to which these areas are protected under federal regulations. Meanwhile, bills keep coming back to the Oregon state legislature that would make it easier for land with wetlands to be developed – a proposed answer for the state’s housing shortage.

Predicting the potential impact on Independence is difficult. Unlike its neighbors of Monmouth and Salem, it has no wetland inventory – although one is likely to be conducted at some point in the future, said City Manager Tom Pessemier.

Historically, the area that’s now Independence once resembled a marsh, noted Kristen Larson, executive director of the Luckiamute Watershed Council in Independence. “Swampbusting” was rampant by early settlers, who drained and
leveled many of the wetlands for agriculture, logging and settlement, according to city records.

But these wetlands – “sponges” on the landscape – not only provide valuable habitat to a wide variety of microbial, plant and animal species, they play an important role in capturing, filtering and storing water, Ms. Larson explained. 
 
Within the Willamette Valley, approximately 57% of wetlands have been lost, and the valley continues to lose wetlands, said Bill Ryan, deputy director of Oregon’s Department of State Lands. A state-conducted study, which showed years of significant loss, was completed in 2010. But more recent trends aren't well documented, he pointed out. "I am looking forward to updating it," said Mr. Ryan, adding that a new analysis is likely to be underway soon.

Wetlands “recharge" groundwater through a gravitational cycle in which water seeps underground from the surface, replenishing the water table, Mr. Ryan said. They also store water following rainfall and are critical in reducing the effects of seasonal flooding. This is particularly important in floodplain areas like much of the Willamette Valley, he stressed.
          
In late June, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a statement on the “serious and potentially damaging implications” of the federal roll-back on water oversight, which the Oregon DEQ labeled “a direct assault” on the Clean Water Act. The agency has vowed to fight the changes. And, at the Oregon statehouse, the coronavirus pandemic seems to have sidelined legislative proposals that would loosen restrictions for building on property where wetlands lie. 

The Oregon Wetlands Conservancy, in a recent advisory, singled out the central Willamette Valley as an area that may be substantially affected by removing a requirement for a federal permit to dredge and fill some wetlands. So far, the Oregon DEQ has declined to provide further comment, but the Oregon Department of State Lands issued its own position following the DEQ’s, which states that Oregon law still applies --  but warns that the change reduces federal protections. In fact, this is seen as a welcome and long overdue move by some farmers in Polk County, who felt shackled by the rules.  One property owner put it this way: “The change is a watershed moment in more ways than one.” 

The case of 17 sick and dead geese at Baskett Slough gained national attention in April. The area, at highways 99 and 22, is well known worldwide by the scientific community as part of the Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The case has lingering questions, but only about the pathologic findings.  

“The first batch of birds sampled had no detectable levels of zinc phosphide and the second batch had trace levels, which doesn’t confirm this as a cause of mortality but makes it suspicious,” explained Capt. Timothy Fox of the Oregon State Police, who helped investigate the case.

Zinc phosphide, which is deadly to rodents, often is applied on fields to control damaging vole populations, a common agricultural pest in the Willamette Valley that has “no real predation pressure” to keep its numbers down, according to wildlife ecologist Jennifer Gervais PhD, courtesy assistant professor at Oregon State University. 

Geese are extremely sensitive to the compound, too, she said. “The same amount of zinc phosphide that will kill a vole can kill a goose – they, too, are grazers,” she added. “They’re perfectly willing to pick up and eat the bait pellets.”
         
Although potentially dangerous to animals, once the zinc phosphide enters water, it reacts readily and breaks down completely with time, leaving “no environmental contaminants of real concern,” said David Priebe, pesticide product regulation specialist for the Oregon Department of Agricultural.

FINDING WHERE THE WETLANDS ARE
There is a very specific way to identify and measure wetland. It involves two steps: determination and delineation. The former process is used to find the tax lots or land parcels where wetlands occur; the latter involves precisely mapping them.
          
Wetland delineation, and the process to obtain permits to fill in or otherwise impact wetlands, can be costly – and it can create conflicts between developers and environmentally-minded citizens.

This struggle has led some to accuse the state of "regulatory over-reach" in a time of housing shortages, observed Bill Ryan, deputy director of the Oregon Department of State Lands.

In fact, in most cases – though not all – there is a way to compensate for the loss of wetlands that stand in the way of proposed development, noted Paul Adamus PhD, the scientist credited with inventing many of the tools used in Oregon wetland analysis.
   
It’s a land swap and it works like this: a developer purchases credits from what’s called a “wetland mitigation bank,” usually a farm field at another location. There,  the farmer stops growing crops and the field is restored to nature.

“For this to be allowed, the developer and the farmer must follow rules and a process prescribed by Oregon and the US Army Corps of Engineers,” added Dr. Adamus, chief executive officer of Corvallis-based Adamus Resource Assessment Inc.   -- AS

NO WORRIES ON H2O SODIUM
In the latest drinking water report, the City of Independence listed sodium levels between 20-25 mg/L. The recommended level is 20 mg/L. Questions arose about the findings, specifically “What does the discrepancy mean?” Not a lot of difference, it turns out. It’s only a guidance value, and includes “a margin of additional precaution,” according to Joel Cary, chair of the Oregon Water Utility Council.  
      
Municipal water providers in Oregon provide “sodium data” as required by the Oregon Health Authority in order to inform individuals who may have, for medical reasons, dietary restriction related to sodium intake, he explained. Often, this can be an additional concern for households which choose to install sodium-based water softening device, which can further contribute sodium after treatment, Mr. Cary added. 
      
If they feel it’s needed, they can talk to their health provider. “That’s the very reason why we distribute water quality information to our customers and provide data upon request – to be transparent and accurate so consumers are informed about their choices,” he stated.  -- AS

The CIVICS LESSON:  
                        A Non-Negotiable $43 Tax Penalty

Nothing is certain, the saying goes, but death and taxes. However, when it comes to citizenship, taxes seem to be more certain than mortality.  Barry-Lee Coyne, a Polk County resident, thought he’d fulfilled his civic duty by paying the remainder of taxes he owed shortly after he fell ill. He was placed under quarantine, and testing revealed he had pneumonia – not COVID-19. He knew he was making a late payment, but he requested that the penalty be waived. He was advised this could be done by the Polk County Board of Commissioners. At a meeting of the commissioners, he asked that they vote to abolish the $43 fee he was told had been added to the original tax bill. He submitted a letter from his physician. 
          
All three commissioners said they sympathized with his situation. But, despite what Mr. Coyne had been told, they were powerless to intervene. It turns out an Oregon statute doesn’t give county commissioners the authority to provide tax-penalty relief. Mr. Coyne said he sought the exemption because every penny counts for him. “I didn’t want Mr. Coyne to be coin-less,” he joked, adding that he accepted the outcome with no hard feelings. “I guess this wasn’t their decision to make,” he said of the commissioners. “And I’m glad I could be here, anyway, because being able to do that shows I’m fully recovered.”  -- AS

INDY HOP: A Light Pole That Needs a New Home      
Does Independence have its own version of Don Quixote? In this case, it isn’t a windmill but a streetlight pole that’s being fought. An Independence resident wants the one by his house moved. It seemed to surprise some city councilors recently when Jim Wixson showed up at a council meeting to ask if the city could move the streetlight situated near his driveway.

The tall, wind-withstanding pole is at the base of where he drives in and out, which "impedes access," he said. City staff said they would take his stated plight into account. Mr. Wixson said he regarded his chances for the relocation as a long shot.  "But I have not given up," he said.   -- AS

In COVID Crisis, Homeless Get Heroes

He’s a navy veteran who loves to take long walks. However, mobility has been a challenge recently for E. Rene Delgado, who often spends his time under the leafy boughs of a tall tree by the Willamette River. The limp in his leg comes from a broken shin, he explained, but his feeling of comfort comes from this special spot.

“I think this is where God wants me to be,” said Delgado, gesturing to the branches above him casting shade. Delgado, who’s called “Red” around town, is known as the unofficial spokesman for the homeless of Independence. Red has been homeless for a dozen years.

Figures for the homeless population in Independence, and across Polk County, are only estimates -- but the numbers keep growing. A day-long “point-in-time” study released last year shows a combined count of about 1,500 for Polk and Marion counties, a 20% increase over the previous annual tally. And the rise is expected to be even more dramatic this year, as measures to control COVID-19 continue to inflict a heavy toll on the economy.

“People haven’t returned to shopping (at) the locally-owned stores that were required to close during the lockdown and, when they do, they aren’t buying at the level they were before,” noted Lyle Mordhorst, who serves on the Polk County Board of Commissioners. “These businesses are the engine that make our communities run,” he pointed out.

As a result of this significant downturn, a different demographic is likely to face the need for assistance -- one that’s new to the county’s safety net, said Brent DeMoe, director of family and community outreach for Polk County. "They’re people who may not have experienced this situation before, and don't know how to access it," he said.

However, a new program that’s long been in the planning stages finally is launching -- and it’s one designed to put substantially more funding into efforts at solving homelessness. It’s the Mid-Willamette Valley Homeless Alliance (MWVHA), formed as a "Continuum of Care" organization with a strategic plan for Polk and Marion counties. The consolidation makes sense, according to DeMoe. Previously, Polk County was part of a 28-county group. "Now there's a groundwork for a two-county region," he said. 

The aim is more federal dollars, particularly from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development – funding that potentially can be sought more effectively by the MWVHA. Will this help people like Red? When asked that question, Delgado shook his head.  “I just don’t know,” he said. “Who does?”

In fact, nobody does – not yet.  But the newest appointee to MWVHA board, Independence City Councilor Shannon Corr, is determined to see homelessness addressed directly and effectively. She formally agreed to take on the role at a recent city council meeting in Independence. “It was a difficult decision because I have a lot on my plate with a full-time state job and council duties,” she said. However, “if I can help, even in a small way, I think it's worth taking the extra time to do so,” she said.

As a result of the coronavirus, a large segment of an already at-risk population may be unable to stay in their housing, once the moratorium on rental evictions expires in late September, explained Jimmy Jones, executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, a private non-profit that administers government contracts to reduce homelessness. ARCHES, which is part of the agency, is the largest housing assistance program in the region; It currently is receiving 200 calls a day from COVID-affected residents of Marion and Polk counties, to try to keep people in their homes, he said.

Homelessness has become a real possibility for people under financial strain who were able to make rent payments before, he stressed. Many people were living paycheck-to-paycheck, and costs of housing were taking far more than the recommended one-third of their earnings. When COVID-19 hit, "a lot of people were just left behind," Jones said.  Unlike the Great Recession, this isn't directly affecting people with homes that have lost value or those with high mortgages that became nearly impossible to maintain – it is impacting people who already are barely making ends meet, he said.

Unemployment benefits have been hard to get for many who’ve found themselves out of a job, as businesses from bars to beauty salons shut their doors, Jones added. The crisis "laid bare" the striking differences between professions for those who could work from home and conduct meetings on zoom, and those who had to "keep showing up" for jobs that were considered essential but relatively low-paying, in stores like Walmart.

Jones estimated that homelessness will tick up 5%-10% over the months before a vaccine is widely available. "There are going to be long memories of this crisis for the working poor," he predicted.
 
In the meantime, County Commissioner Mordhorst, who is serving on the executive board of the MWVHA, said he believes Polk County has the expertise and structure to help handle the effects of the pandemic in the immediate future. The efforts of Brent DeMoe have been "pro-active and amazing," he said, citing “Gale's Lodge” in Dallas as an example of veteran housing that went from a mere concept to a full-blown reality in less than two years.

At the “Academy Building” in Dallas, near the city’s downtown, there are a team of people -- led by DeMoe -- who offer an array of free or low-cost resources, from providing emergency mental-health services to helping address unexpected financial setbacks. Even so, much more need lies ahead and “this can’t be over soon enough,” Mordhorst stated. As for Red, he’s been the recipient of community-based help over the years, he said, and it has made “all the difference.” --AS

Annual Economic Analysis
By Anne Scheck
 
 
By the time the budget committee for Independence had convened for the final time in May, the economic shift from the COVID-19 pandemic had intensified – and so had some of the questions by city councilors. What is the debt? What happens if the financial squeeze tightens? Should financial reports be more frequent and include more detail? 
          
The financial forecast from the state economic office was alarming, indicating a sudden recession had led to “the largest downward revision to the quarterly forecast that our office has ever had to make,” one likely to affect all major revenue sources.

Councilor Jennifer Ranstrom-Smith was the first to address it. “Given today’s news and the long-term outlook on the state,” she posited, “are we looking at what we could cut?”
 
The lion’s share of the city’s planned spending is for infrastructure, noted City Manager Tom Pessemier. The current situation means “we are going to operate it very carefully,” he said.
 
At a time when the state’s economic indicators are heading down, the majority of the city councilors called for the city’s financial transparency to go up. Regardless of whether information is “good, bad or indifferent,” it’s important to make it available to the public, said Ms. Ranstrom-Smith. There’s a need “to let the citizens know where we’re at,” added Councilor Tom Takacs – a view echoed by Councilor Marilyn Morton.
 
And, unlike typical city budget meetings, the city debt recently became a subject of discussion – it hadn’t been listed in the budget packet given to councilors. But Councilor Shannon Corr observed that the level of debt seemed “excessive” for a city the size of Independence. It’s listed as about $43 million in “total direct and   overlapping debt” in the city audit. 
          
“Does the city have a debt policy?” asked Councilor Corr. “Yes,” said Gloria Butsch, the city finance director.  “But these financial policies do need to be reviewed with council,” she said. In addition, quarterly reports with more detail will be presented, said City Manager Pessemier. If there’s a need for more updates, they’ll be given, he added.
 
The fiscal concern exhibited by the city councilors appeared to be unprecedented, at least in terms of recent history. The newest members of the council – Councilors Corr and Ranstrom-Smith – have initiated several finance-oriented discussions. The critical-eyed look by municipal leaders is one that increasingly is needed for what appears the worst financial situation for cities since the Great Recession, according to experts.

“When this crisis is over, the metrics of a government's performance will be measured in the minimization of human suffering, the timeliness of services provided and the confidence government inspired in its citizens through clear communication,” according to a recent editorial in Governing Magazine by Michael Imber, a managing director for the municipal consulting firm Conway MacKenzie.

“Strong leaders will take the time to assess their government unit's performance, to learn from the mistakes and to benefit from improvised solutions that could become new policy,” he stated.
 
In April, American City & County included a similar advisory. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, municipalities facing fiscal
stress “need to engage in careful evaluations of their ability to reduce costs and increase revenues,” according to David Kupetz, a partner in Sulmeyer Kupetz, a Los Angeles firm specializing in financial restructuring.

“They should thoughtfully consider reductions in force, services, infrastructure spending, employee benefits, pension obligations, outsourcing and other means of cost cutting,” he wrote.
  
In Oregon, Tim Duy, who directs the Oregon Economic Forum, isn’t issuing such dire edicts. But he expressed deep caution in a recent talk for Salem’s Strategic Economic Development Corporation (SEDCOR).

Dr. Duy, a professor of economics at the University of Oregon, said he thinks the downturn will reverse after a vaccine or effective treatment for coronavirus becomes available, possibly a year-long process.

Meanwhile, social-distancing will be needed, continuing to affect businesses in the same way it already is: less restaurant patronage, more online ordering, reduced travel. The economy suffered “demand shock,” caused by the deliberate closure of businesses. And “it’s hard to see a rapid return,” he said. (see ‘poverty’ sidebar)
          
Will life under the current situation mean the establishment of new habits? Internet shopping
instead of use of retail stores? Video meetings instead of traveling to conference centers? New trends may emerge, he acknowledged.   
            
One of those is loss to the hospitality industry, he suggested. If so, Independence may be hard hit. The city allocated about $5 million for redevelopment of riverfront parcels, with The Independence Hotel as the planned centerpiece. Despite cautionary language from the economist who was consulted on the project, the city’s economic development director, Shawn Irvine – among other city officials – predicted millions of dollars would be generated annually by the hotel. It opened in late summer, missing much of the tourist season last year. This year, the 4th of July is scaled down to reduce crowds.

Also, this year’s audit included a “doubtful account” – a name for likely uncollectable debt – of about $6 million from MINET, the city’s municipal broadband. When Don Patten, the general manager of MINET, and City Manager Pessemier were asked about it, Mr. Patten suggested they issue a joint statement since the information came from the city audit. 
 When Mr. Pessemier apparently didn’t respond, Mr. Patten declined to comment, due to the fact that the finding was by a city-contracted auditor and he wasn’t apprised of her reasoning or interpretation. 

The COVID-19 Effect on Poverty

Poverty rates in Oregon had been trending downward from the high of 17.5% in 2011 to around 12%.  This pandemic is seen as almost certainly pushing more people into poverty.It will lead to considerable economic constriction for the next year, and there’s a good chance the state may not fully recover a healthy economy until the mid-2020s, according to expert predictions.
          
A moratorium banning evictions is expected to expire by mid-summer. As tenants in Polk County face eviction, the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency – a private non-profit that administers government contracts that battle homelessness – is trying to help them stay in their rental units. It won't be easy. The rental market in the area was tight before COVID-19.  At times it was "functionally zero, though it had been improving some the past year," said Jimmy Jones, executive director of the agency. 

The agency’s ARCHES project helps with housing placement in Marion and Polk counties, particularly in "Class C" housing units, the lowest-cost tier. But, with so much job loss, many people aren't going to be able to afford even that, he said.

With about $2 million in aid for COVID relief, ARCHES will need to grow and add staff to meet the need in the community, he said.

Staff is working hard to make sure money is distributed in a way that helps the most families stay housed. "We want to work with landlords, set up payment plans" and do whatever it takes, he said. "If someone can't pay, we want them to be able to catch up," he said. 

"We think we can help about 600 households," he added.  

Don Duncan, Educational Superhero

The Monmouth Independence Community Foundation (MICF) has its 20th anniversary this year – the non-profit organization benefits the entire Independence-Monmouth area. It was founded by Don Duncan and Scott McArthur.  In the words of the current president of the MICF board, Vernon Wells, “It took great wisdom and vision on their part to create a foundation that is structured to be self-funded through earnings on investments.” Only the earnings on investments are used for programs, guaranteeing a perpetual revenue source for schools. Mr. Duncan was a driving force behind a concept that took time, commitment and remarkable fund-raising. He agreed earlier this year to be interviewed about his years as a local benefactor, and the fund he helped to start. 


More than two decades ago, Don Duncan, a former professor of education at Western Oregon University, decided the community where he’d lived since the early 1960s deserved its own non-profit, independent, community-oriented foundation. His friend, Scott McArthur, an attorney who has written several books about the Willamette Valley, thought so, too. This is how the Monmouth-Independence Community Foundation (MICF) was established – and since that time it has helped scores of local students obtain higher-education scholarships and assisted all the schools here by providing extra money to Central School District 13J. 

Now the Monmouth-Independence Community Foundation is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the same way it has every year since its inception – by awarding funds this spring to high school graduates on their way to more education.  
            
With his wife, Verna, who was a teacher at Henry Hill Elementary School in the district, the Duncans started a special enrichment program that would help teachers with those “extras” that are so important – from transportation costs for field trips to special art supplies.

The way in which two married teachers – who once lived in a trailer to make ends meet – became among the largest educational donors in the area is a story that Mr. Duncan is reluctant to tell.
 
“I really don’t see anything different about me,” he said. However, many other people disagree.

“Don was an absolute dynamo working behind the scenes to assure our local school district was always improving,” said MICF Board President Vernon Wells, the former police chief of the Independence Police Department and 2020 Citizen of the Year for the area. “I attribute the success of at least two school district bond measures to the work Don did behind the scenes,” Mr. Wells said. A man with “a good heart, who has been a highly involved citizen for years” is the way Mr. Duncan is described by Steve Moser, former chair of the school board for Central School District 13J.

Mr. Duncan was asked to look back on his role as a founder of MICF and as a tireless advocate for education during a pre-COVID-19 interview this winter – an interview that included his daughters Laurie Hanson, of Monmouth, and Nancy Duncan, of Portland. Their mother, Verna, died two years ago, after nearly 65 years of marriage to their dad.

Both daughters, who are 1970-era graduates of Central High School, grew up knowing that helping others was a large part of everyday life.

“I watched my dad help neighbors shovel snow, saw him get hugged by struggling students he’d helped and always find a way to give time and money to what he considered good causes,” said Ms. Hanson. Her sister observed that it wasn’t always with “money they really had.” That didn't matter, “it always seemed that they found a way to give it,” said Ms. Duncan. Both feel it instilled them with the same sense of a need to contribute, or “give back” as Mr. Duncan puts it. 
The reason for his generosity, he said, doesn’t really belong to him – it’s an “entity” to be passed along, and his own parents did just that, he explained. “I come from a long line of educators,” he said.  His mother and father both believed passionately in education, and beyond that, they advocated it for everyone. The need for money was seen as a barrier that could be removed as an obstacle, he said. 
            
After he and Verna graduated from Central Washington State, the Duncans eventually located in Monmouth in the 1960s, when Mr. Duncan landed a job as a faculty member at Western Oregon University (WOU). At the time, WOU was known as the Oregon College of Education. Mr. Duncan, a special education professor, also was interested in how young children learn – his daughter Nancy went to kindergarten on the WOU campus, in a special class that was aided by college students. Not long after that, he was approached by colleagues in education, including his dean, to put some ideas together on how children in this age group might receive some instruction through the relatively new media of television.
 
“Nobody was doing this for preschool education,” he said. “We had to enter dreamland to figure it out.”
 His first act was to call a young man named Fred Rogers, who was hosting a show for this age group in Pittsburgh. The result was a carefully created teaching template that was passed around academically, eventually landing with the founding team of “Sesame Street.” Mr. Duncan said he doesn’t want any credit for that, however. “This was contributory, that’s all," he said. In fact, that’s the way he summed up everything he’s done. “Just a contribution,” he stated.
This downplaying of his enormous benefit the community is typical of Mr. Duncan, according to Mr. Wells. “He has done a lot to make other people and our local society great – yet he seeks no recognition for his work,” said Mr. Wells, adding that Mr. Duncan illustrates the message imparted in an ancient Greek proverb: “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.”   -- AS

Jennifer Flores, an active volunteer in the community and an employee at Central High School, was deeply saddened when she learned that high school graduation would be so different this year. Like so many parents in Central School District 13J, for years she had looked forward to a traditional cap-and-gown ceremony for her child. In this editorial, she explains why the changes this year are so disappointing for her, her daughter Drew and her entire family.

A Graduation Day of Dashed Expectations

This is a kid who overcame some tough challenges. 
          
On the day she was born, we didn't know if she'd ever reach this milestone. Drew is our youngest child, and she pushed her way into the world a full seven weeks before her due date. At more than seven pounds, she wasn’t a tiny preemie, but she had problems with basic reflexes, like breathing and swallowing. She had to stay in the hospital for weeks after I went home. 
          
There are no adequate words to describe just how painful it was for me to make a trip home while my fragile newborn was in the NICU.  Eventually, she came home with us and we went on with life with our three kids. 
          
But the health problems were far from over for Drew, who was eventually diagnosed with epilepsy and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It was debilitating for us all. Before she even finished elementary school, she underwent an intensive outpatient program at UCLA that specialized in the treatment of childhood OCD. And when I say "intensive" I mean it: five days a week, five hours a day, for five months. She missed half of her fourth-grade year. And, while she was undergoing all this treatment at UCLA, we were figuring out the medicine that she’d need to stop her epileptic seizures. 
          
We're all tremendously proud of Drew.
          
Our entire family from California and Nevada had planned to come to the actual graduation ceremony to be here for her. And, as an employee of Central High School (CHS), I would have been able to hand this child her diploma. To be the person to hand this young lady her diploma, after watching her battle all that she's battled in her heretofore short life, meant more to me than I can describe.
          
Now the high school graduates will be allowed only two guests.
          
Groups of seven kids, in alphabetical order, will be met on the football field by the superintendent, the principal and a school board member. They will be handed the sleeve for their diploma, be given the opportunity to have a photo taken, and then – alone – be allowed to walk the halls of Central High School one last time as a student. There is no opportunity for them to say a final a good-bye to teachers; There is no opportunity for us to hug or “high-five” the graduates as they take the field for the ceremony. 
          
Devastating is the best word I can come up with.
          
When we all left the building on March 13, no one knew we wouldn't be back this year. And now here we are. 
          
Nothing can describe the sense of loss. I hope it goes away with time. I was asked how I could compare this to something that happened at the same time in my life. Obviously, there was no pandemic then. However, I was in LA when HIV arose, but I was only 18 years old when the first case was announced in Los Angeles. So, I was teenager – not paying attention to the global goings-on. Maybe this will just become a blip in her past for Drew, too.
           
Today the world in general puts more pressure on young people than ever before. Who knows how this pandemic will affect the economy in the long term? College costs are one example. The first year I went to a community college, in 1989, I paid seven dollars per credit. So, one three-credit class cost $21. Today, a single credit costs $105, so that same three-credit class now costs $315. That's one class. And now what will happen? Will tuition increase to make up for the shutdown?
           
Over the past weeks, Drew has been teaching herself to bake. So far, we've had made-from-scratch chocolate chip cookies, Disney-inspired treats, like the tarts from "Brave," and so much more. Dealing with the quarantine, she has been an inspiration. Just yesterday she was crowned CHS’s 2020 “Virtual” Prom Queen, as the kids lost out on their prom as well. 

The CIVICS LESSON:  A November Election That’s Local

As the 2020 general election nears in early November, it isn’t just national offices that are up for election. The positions for Independence mayor, as well as three councilor positions, will appear on the ballot.
          
The filing period for interested candidates begins this June 3 and ends on August 25, 2020. To qualify, candidates need to be a registered voter of the City of Independence and a resident of Independence who’s resided continuously in the city during the year preceding the election.
          
All council positions are volunteer and unpaid. For more information, contact City Recorder Karin Johnson, who serves as the elections officer for the City of Independence. She can be reached at (503)837-1172 or by email at [email protected]

INDY HOP:  An Overhead Helpmate for Lost Souls         
                                                  
Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! ... No, it's a super-seeker!
          
That sounds like an appropriate term for a new county drone – and it's one not aimed at finding crime. It's for locating lost hikers and hunters; it’s a bigger, more sensitive version of the typical unmanned sky-high vision tool.
          
The drone was purchased recently by Polk County law enforcement with a grant. It's able to fly in rain, peruse thick timberland and even "see" into the darkest nights, thanks to thermal imaging, noted Sheriff Mark Garton.
          
"We can clear a lot more land a lot quicker," he said, explaining that on-foot forest searches can be relatively slow for trying to find those who lose their way in the woods. However, it's a sophisticated piece of machinery that requires a pilot's license, he pointed out.
          
The drone will be made available to any police department in the county who needs it, he added.  -- AS

By Anne Scheck

The bank called with bad news the morning that Mitch Teal, owner-operator of Brew Coffee & Tap House, sat down for an interview to talk about his business. Federal funds had run dry before his application could be processed – and he'd been one of the first to file. He'll keep trying, he said. Mr. Teal's advice for other downtown merchants who missed out on the government revenue: Keep in mind "what helped us businesses in the first place," facing the ups and downs with an entrepreneurial spirit. 

The first round of federal funds for small businesses – which was pronounced a near-failure by leading industry publications – drew criticism by some of the same people who helped support the plan. The U.S. Committee on Financial Services said it didn’t meet the needs of “the public nor the policy makers” in conveying timely information.  
In the wake of these setbacks, the City of Independence stepped in, approving a new $200,000 loan program, to be rolled out as stay-at-home orders gradually are lifted. “This is a fairly significant amount of money for a city the size of Independence,” said City Manager Tom Pessemier, shortly before the Independence City Council endorsed the plan.
          
The program will be done in partnership with the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments; The agency will approve and process the loans after applications are taken by city staff. The $200,00 sum allocated for the loan fund likely will be split evenly – in $100,000 increments – for this fiscal year and the next one, with the aim to begin dispensing the funds during Oregon's "reopening" phases.  Local restaurants and merchants are reeling in a sudden struggle. “The swiftness of how this came about, and how it changed the way we do business has been very challenging,” said Kate Schwarzler, president of the Independence Downtown Association and the owner of Indy Commons, a shared workspace for business owners that many consider the heart of downtown. 

 Ms. Schwarzler is seen as central to the community, and not simply because of the location of her business, according to Mr. Teal, but because she has worked tirelessly on behalf of Main Street during the COVID-19 crisis, providing support and advice.

 “No one has worked harder for others,” said Mr. Teal of Ms. Schwarzler, who has an MBA and is “willing to take a lot of time” to share her expertise.
 
 “We are actively trying to pass on the most up-to-date and relevant information about the availability of funding opportunities that could help our local businesses,” Ms. Schwarzler explained.
   
Mr. Teal’s doors at Brew Coffee and Tap House have been open seven days a week, all day long, for carry-out coffee, food and beer. Even so, he credits a sympathetic landlord for easing up on the rent and his son, Collin, for "working 60 hours a week" to keep the business going. With empty sidewalks along Main Street, Mr. Teal believes "we'll all need summer" for survival – and pushing a re-opening past mid-May would be a harsh blow. Older patrons of Mr. Teal’s corner establishment have likened it to the fictional tavern of “Cheers,” a 1980s television series with a catchy theme song that described it as a place where “everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came.” 

That’s pretty much how Lauran Martinez said she feels about "Brew-n-Tap," calling it by the commonly-used shorter name. Since COVID-19’s shelter-in-place order, “I come here about every day,” she said, adding that it’s nice “just to have some place to go.” On a sunny day in April, she and Kenny Fisher, a college student, picked up their order and exited to enjoy Riverview Park.

Food orders are being filled by the Naughty Noodle down the street through Mr. Teal and his wife, Cathy, co-owner of the business. Lunch favorites by Naughty Noodle like stromboli go out through Brew Coffee & Tap House; So does beer from Parallel 45 Brewing, which is a production facility in the old city hall, a few blocks away. 

Some other businesses have transitioned to selling “to-go” orders, some are staying active on social media, while others are taking this time to close in order to renovate and do projects that are more difficult to accomplish while customers are coming and going, noted Ms. Schwarzler.
          
Even when the COVID-19 crisis is over, it won't be back to normal, or at least not the same normal, Mr. Teal predicted.
 
"People are going to get used to home delivery," Mr. Teal said. Where once customers ordered pizza to arrive at their doorstep, from now on meals from restaurants will be brought there, too. Additionally, "this will get even more people to go online" for ordering, Mr. Teal said. 

Soon, restaurants and bars like Brew Coffee and Tap House are expected to be able to have limited seating, not just take-out options. But that will happen only after a 14-day period of so-called “low-COVID.” 

And waiting for a government bailout isn’t helpful in maintaining a customer base, advised Marilyn Scott, Portland-based district director for SCORE, a national volunteer advisory network of business mentors. Ms. Scott made a trip to Independence last year, to visit the city – and stopped in at Indy Commons.

Finding innovative ways to preserve business is a good approach, even if the pay-off seems small or non-existent. For example, she ordered a dietary supplement online from a local vendor, presuming she'd see it show up in a package mailed to her. Instead, "I was there gardening, and looked up, and it was one of the people from the business, delivering it right to me," she said. The result: A new and loyal customer. 

Hard-working business owners may want to pour everything into staying afloat, a laudable goal, she said. "But this thing is separating people from each other, and we are social creatures – even introverts are," she explained. Her hope is that all small businesses who need the aid get it. But she believes, until then, an important strategy is to "stay connected." Ms. Scott noted that FaceTime, Zoom and similar technology are essential tools right now. So, it's entirely possible that this period will mean a change "where we will have far more people working remotely" and going to an office only one or two days a week.

The use of technology to link remotely is here to stay, Mr. Teal agreed. "I think we are in the middle of a tidal wave of change," he said.
 
However, even if more people opt to work out of their homes in the future, they'll need a place to stop in, meet up and congregate. "People already are thanking us for being here," he said, adding that those who come in to pick up orders seem to appreciate the change of scenery and brief interaction. "I think people always will need time together, and I mean face-to-face," Mr. Teal said.

 The CIVICS LESSON:  County Commissioners Weigh in On COVID
                                      Response Control Plan

Polk County will likely partner with neighboring counties to build a phased plan that addresses the mid-valley as a region. Can they really do that? They’d need acceptance from the governor’s office – but they seem hopeful that their county may be seen as part of a distinct region.

However, significant relaxing of stay-at-home orders isn't likely to happen any time soon, said Craig Pope, a member of the Polk County Board of Commissioners. A long-term change may include taking precautions while allowing some business to re-open. "What will we be doing differently?" he said. Social-distancing placement at every other table in restaurants, sitting several seats apart in movie theaters, staggering customers for essential shopping all may be part of the plan, he suggested. 

Commissioner Lyle Mordhorst added that “now that we know who are the most susceptible – the elderly and people with challenged immune systems – we (can) ask that they help by limiting their exposure and use personal protection as we open up our business community.”
 
“The last thing we want is to lose our loved ones to this virus,” he said. 
Even if Oregon were allowed to "re-open," it would take at least 18 months for life to return as it once was – and even then, hugs and handshakes might be gone for good and hand sanitizer may be common everywhere, said Commission Chair Mike Ainsworth. --AS

INDY HOP: Don’t Beam Me Up, Scotty!  ZOOM Me In         

The first ZOOM meeting of the Independence City Council went off without a hitch, but in the weeks leading up to it many other cities had been ZOOM-bombed with "inappropriate visuals," as it's now termed. Screen-invading Z-bombs of council meetings elsewhere ranged from protesters shouting anarchist slogans to naked adults showing ... a lack of inhibition. Jason Kistler, the city's IT manager, had confirmed that there was almost no chance this would happen in the city's ZOOM meeting. And, sure enough, there were no such cyberattacks. However, a dog's hearty bark, some household noises and a few cell-phone buzzes could be heard – the side effect of zooming to the meeting from home-sweet-home.  --AS                                                  

May 2020 supplement to The Independent.  
 
Danny Jaffer, President of the Luckiamute Domestic Water Cooperative, is a life-long resident of Polk County, and a retired Naval Aviator.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State University and a Juris Doctor of Law from the University of Oregon, earning a special certificate in Ocean and Coastal Law.  He has been involved in water quality issues since high school, and is a volunteer and contributor to the Luckiamute Watershed Council.

Danny is currently running for Polk County Commissioner, Position 1, a non-partisan position which will appear on all ballots for the May primary. --AS
 
 
WATER
 
By Danny Jaffer
 
Without water, cool, clean, life giving water, you don’t have much.  It is a resource truly more valuable than gold.  You can live a long time without a lot of things, yet only about three to seven days without water.  Yet, as precious as the resource is, as we see from the Aral Sea disaster (more on that later), and from countless other smaller man-made errors, we don’t treat it as such.

As a rural Polk County resident, I have seen the pressures on our Willamette Valley water supply.  I have been a member of the Luckiamute Domestic Water Cooperative (LDWC) for over 20 years, and I have now served as a Board Member and President for the past nine years.  It has been an eye-opening experience.  I have had the opportunity to observe in a way that I never would have, and may have taken for granted, how important and vital this resource and service is to everything that we do.  Without the Water Cooperative, many rural Polk County residents would be on their own, drilling for water for domestic use, drinking “flavorful” water, and putting up with orangish underwear coming out of their washing machines. Or worse, they would be incurring the cost of trucking water.

The LDWC is in the not-for-profit business of providing clean, clear, potable water to around 3000 Polk County residents, living in the un-incorporated areas of the county between the Willamette River and Falls City, from just south of Monmouth, Independence and Dallas, down to the Benton County line.  It’s an area of around 270 square miles, in which the Cooperative has run over 170 miles of pipe.  It is one of the largest water cooperatives in the state.  While primarily for domestic home use, members also use it to water small numbers of livestock and water gardens.  These are all approved uses by the state Department of Water Resources.

Note: Water systems are considered “necessary” under FEMA guidelines regarding the current COVID-19 crisis.  LDWC has taken steps to ensure the safety of the water, the safety of our employees, and the safety of our members during this difficult time. 
  
The members of the Cooperative are thankful to have the service, and for the most part understand the process of providing “quality on tap.”  But, unlike any other utility, if the water stops flowing, people are immediately affected.  People will patiently wait a few days if the electrical power goes out, but if the water stops flowing, due to a pump failure, or a break in a mainline, we hear about it in the office almost immediately.  And we should of course, as all members are owners of the endeavor.  However, patience is pretty short if you can’t flush your toilet.

As a proud cooperative board member, I help oversee a 50-year legacy of LDWC serving the residents of the south Polk County area, and it is in my charge to ensure that the LDWC is in business for the next 50 years.  To that end, we are striving to modernize our system, with new storage capacity, a new sanitary treatment facility, and new pumping facilities, that will increase capacity, reduce loss, and lower power requirements.  It is the right time to do it as our system is aging, in order to make the most efficient use of our water allotment, for lowering costs in the future, while at the same time taking advantage of low interest rates and providing construction jobs for local contractors.  It is our own little green initiative.  It will cost real money, and we are fortunate to have the backing of Business Oregon in order to secure our loan, but ultimately the cost is borne by the members of the Cooperative only, and not a tax-supported government entity.  We are very proud of that.   But, even with increased storage and better pumping facilities, we cannot alone protect the quality of the water.  That takes a conscious effort on everyone’s part.

LDWC draws most of its water from wells located in the American Bottom aquifer, in the Wigrich area south of Independence.  We are not the only user.  Water is also drawn out of American Bottom by the cities of Monmouth and Independence, as well as individual domestic wells in the area serving farm houses, and many agricultural irrigation users.  Without going into detail about its structure, I will say that it is a very fine aquifer, but as you might guess, there are a lot of pressures on the aquifer, from water table drawdown, to non-point source pollution, which we do our best to monitor.

The Willamette Valley is so very fertile because of the water falling on it, and flowing through it, both on the surface, and underground.  It is what brought the first human inhabitants of this continent to this area, and it was the magnet that drew tens of thousands of people across the country to settle here, farm the land, and build a society at the water’s edge.  It was a rapid growth, creating a booming economy by the start of the 20th century.  The three-F’s: farming, fishing and forestry, were the drivers, but other businesses, many of them created to support the three-F’s, soon were working full tilt with them.  None of this would have been possible without the water, and particularly the Willamette River, providing power, transport and irrigation.

It is a phenomenal achievement, but the gain is not without consequence.  There once was a time in the not too distant past when the sanitation adage was: “The solution to pollution is dilution.”  Or, in other words, “if you’ve got a big enough water source, no one will worry about what you dump in it.”  I think that everyone now understands that this is pure folly.  The truth is that over the past century and a half we have abused and ignored the health of our valley’s water.  The most famous quote in reference to this was by the late great Gov. Tom McCall who referred to our great river as a “festering cesspool” in his famous 1961 documentary, “Pollution in Paradise.”   During this time, fish were rarely seen in the river.  While we have made great strides in cleaning up the visible pollution since the 1970’s, there is still a great deal unseen that quietly makes its way to our waterways and aquifers from non-point sources, like city storm drains, agricultural and forest run-off, home septic systems and even recreation.  Of course, this is not an intentional defilement, but it is dangerous to our water system just the same.   Our valley, with over 200 different crops being grown, producing 70% of the nation’s grass seed, 95% of the nation’s hazelnuts, and accounting for 70% of the Oregon’s wine production, as well as being home to 70% of the state’s population, must have a clean, safe water supplies to maintain the civilization that we have created here in the “Eden at the end of the Oregon Trail.”

My association with the LDWC, and with the Luckiamute Watershed Council (shout out!) to which I have been a volunteer and contributor (LWC is not related to LDWC, but hard at work protecting and enhancing the watershed from which LDWC draws the resource), has convinced me that we can, and should do a better job of protecting the resource.  It is too important not to.

So, what can we do?  In honor of the recent 50th anniversary Earth Day, I offer this: With non-point source pollution, limit the application of herbicides and pesticides to that which is truly necessary, whether it is a home garden or flower bed, or a 50-acre hazelnut orchard, or a 1000-acre tree farm.  Many studies have shown that the greatest abuse is by homeowners on their lawns and flowers (“I’ll go just a little bit more to make sure that it works”).  And while farmers and foresters have reduced the use of truly damaging chemicals, as the recent troubles with Roundup has shown, even moving from third generation to fourth and fifth generation chemical treatments is not without consequence. There is a cost-benefit analysis to this, of course, but often costs can be lowered without decreasing benefit by the same amount.  County Extension Agents are a great resource for information on this.

Dispose of hazardous waste appropriately.  Whether it is for household or outdoor use.  Any container that has, or has had, toxic substances in it will eventually break down, and when it does, whatever remains will travel into the soil, and eventually into the water cycle.  For those of us in the rural areas, always remember that the water that percolates through the ground you are standing on will eventually be in your faucet.  Your waste disposal company or your public works department can give you information on proper disposal.

Do your best to keep your vehicles in proper running order.  If you have an oil or coolant leak, try to get it fixed.  At a minimum, keep a drip pan under your car in the driveway, and clean it regularly, and use proper disposal procedures.  Talk with your mechanic to see if there are easy (hopefully non-expensive) fixes to the problem.

Help protect and restore riparian habitat, wetlands and meandering waterways.  These are incredible buffers that provide natural filtration and help slow the travel of water, thereby limiting the rapid introduction of toxins into our surface and subsurface waterways.  An added benefit is that it also reduces the scouring of the streambeds, which provides spawning grounds for fish.  This in turn provides habitat for those organisms which provide indicators of the overall health of the water cycle.   The Luckiamute Watershed Council has volumes of information on this, and, their volunteer outings to do this restoration work is both fun and rewarding.

There are a multitude of other things that you can do to help protect our water quality, both large and small.  Check out the state or federal EPA homepages, or the Earth Day website. Know that any task you undertake to help the quality of the water, helps you as well.
 
Finally, don’t waste it!  Water truly is precious.
  
As a member of the U.S. military, I have been to many places throughout the world, from Southern Europe, to the Mid-East, to India, to Southeast Asia as well as Pacific islands, and one thing that I have observed is that nearly every other place gets more use out of a gallon of water than we do here.  Perhaps at one time we did better, as I recall my grandmother talking about those times when water used for washing and bathing was then applied to the garden.  I am not suggesting that we plug our drains and then pump the water on the flowerbeds, but maybe moving your car onto the lawn when you wash it would be a good way to get a secondary use out of that water.  And, I’m sure that most of you know by now to turn off the faucet while you have your toothbrush in your mouth. Conserve it as much as possible.  And, fix your leaks, your faucets and toilets.  The water cooperative has at times seen a household’s water usage jump from under 5000 gallons of water in a month, to over 50,000 gallons the next (that is a lot of water), just from a malfunctioning toilet.  That is not just a waste of good water, it’s also costly.

I think that most people understand how water is the life blood of the place we live.  Without water, civilizations, societies, do not exist.  Every major city in the world is constructed on, around, or near the water, providing for life, transportation, and commerce.  Those civilizations that lost their access to water, either through natural or man-made occurrences, have ceased to be viable on the world stage.  Some collapses were unavoidable, such as those brought on by the gradual drying of the Sahara region after a tilt in the Earth’s axis caused a slight change in our planet’s orbit, which changed the amount of sunlight hitting the Earth.  It is very hard to continue a vibrant civilization in the desert.  Some collapses are tremendously avoidable, such as the mid-20th century rechanneling of the rivers that fed the Aral Sea in what was then the Soviet Union (now Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan), causing what was at the time the world’s fourth largest lake, at over 26,000 square miles and supporting a large fishing industry and communities involved in trade, to shrink to fewer than 5,000 square miles, with salinity and pollution levels that killed most of the fish, and left communities tens to hundreds of miles from the sea’s edge, effectively creating ghost towns within a short few years.  It is considered to be the largest man-made environmental disaster, ever. 
 
We must do now what we can to prevent the preventable. Water is a finite resource.  All the water that is on the earth, is all the water we have.  You can break it down into its base elements, and reconstruct it, but short of going through the expensive process of finding hydrogen and oxygen in outer space, and somehow getting it home, you cannot add to the supply.  We need to treat it well, and protect it, even as we use it.

 By Anne Scheck

Three weeks after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Polk County, Independence Planning Commissioners abandoned their usual meeting room at the Civic Center and came together instead on a big screen mounted in the lobby area. All were at home. Technology connected them, but it wasn’t entirely successful, at least not initially. Static and echoing could be heard as Commission Chair Corby Chappell tried to convene the session.                                             
          
“Maybe I should be sending smoke signals,” quipped Mr. Chappell, who has chaired the Independence Planning Commission for nearly two decades. Eventually, some of the snags were worked out and the commissioners appeared on the display monitor, one with a cat that seemed intent in being on camera.

However, the most unusual part of procedure appeared to be the way the meeting ended. Instead of a simple gavel-banging adjournment, Mr. Chappell issued a message to the people in the place he’s long called home.

“Best wishes to you all,” he said, telling members of the community that they were in everyone’s thoughts. “Stay home, stay safe and we’ll all get through this.”

As the first month of stay-at-home confinement unfolds in Independence, the population seems to be conforming to standards that were unthinkable as 2020 rolled in.

“For something that moved so fast, everyone seems to be trying to adapt,” Mr. Chappell said after the meeting. “Everyone is banding together to flatten the curve.”

“I think we are all showing excellent common sense and solidarity,” agreed Marilyn Morton, longtime city councilor, when asked her impression of how the town is faring. “I was out grocery shopping yesterday and the six-feet social distancing rule was being well observed,” she stated. Another shopper said the same thing. “I was in Roth's produce and I guess I got too close to some lady – I didn't think I was – but she backed up so fast it was hilarious,” said the customer, who explained that she quickly apologized.

As spring arrives without the freedom to enjoy it in the same way as past years, Independence seems to be showing the same signs that a hundred years ago preserved this small town in another pandemic. In fact, the 1918 Spanish flu appeared to bring the young city together: The local grocery store pledged fair prices for fresh food and the city council kept the town’s services going, according to local newspapers of the era. Even so, the Spanish flu was labeled a “long and dismal curse” on the front page of the Independence Enterprise.

In recent televised interviews about his book on the Spanish Flu, “The Great Influenza” author John Barry said positive community attributes seemed to help places keep a solid identity – observing precautions, preventing panic, maintaining connections and focusing on the future.
          
Experts say people play an important role in epidemics, whether they realize it or not, amid headline-making health leaders. Jonas Salk built the polio vaccine, but it was families across America who kept the contagion in check with good hygiene practices, demonstrating that “men and women could play a part as important as the laboratory scientist or private physician,” according to one in-depth look at that pandemic.

“We simply have to endure, to keep putting one foot before the other, sometimes blindly, making ourselves eat, go to bed, get up and shuffle through another day,” advised one Independence resident in a high-risk group, who asked not to be named.

The one-day-at-a-time method is his best way to get through a difficult phase, he said. Norma Soffa, a nurse practitioner who lives in Independence, said she thinks that’s a good recommendation. Staying active, establishing a routine, feeling a sense of gratitude and “enjoying a quiet cup of tea” – it all helps, she added.

Stress can aggravate health, and “a boring situation makes people more attentive to symptoms than an interesting one,” according to the text “Health Psychology,” written by psychologist Shelley Taylor PhD, distinguished professor emeritus at UCLA. And one possible complication of the coronavirus crisis is that some people who experience symptoms of other conditions, such as springtime allergy reactions, can mistake them for evidence of COVID-19, according to one county official.
          
As Dr. Taylor observed in her book, “any experience that causes a person to direct attention inward increases the likelihood that a symptom will be perceived.” Her research on “tend-and-befriend” behavior has shown benefits from this kind of neighborly response to a threat.
           
Many in Independence are showing a tend-and-befriend approach to quarantine. Some have provided grocery pick-ups for elderly friends; Home-made hospital masks have been under near-continual production on sewing machines. In fact, there is a famous Pacific Northwest precedent for this. History records show that Lewis & Clark’s men created 338 pairs of moccasin-like shoes, among other items, during the rainy tedium of over-wintering in Astoria.

The “Corps of Discovery” made it through “spells of heavy cold, influenza, boils and indigestion” at Fort Clatsop, and one coping strategy they used is the same one news reports have shown Italians doing from their balconies – they sang.

It’s a good distraction, said Billy Whisenant of American Legion Post 33 in Independence. During his service in Vietnam, he remembers his response to an onslaught of rapidly incoming fire; He settled into a shallow hole and began singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” with a fellow Marine.

“I thought about the current chaos and panic, and people who are not used to that, which, if you believe sources is pretty much everybody in this country,” he recalled recently. “I can't speak for anyone but myself, but my thoughts are ‘hunker down, dig in as deep as you want to,’” he said, and “if you have a good friend sing a few rounds of ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat.’”
          
Mr. Chappell, the Independence Planning Commission chair, said he believes looking toward the future is one way to deal with the present. As a longtime fisherman, he looks forward to autumn, when he can take his drift boat to the Siletz River and throw a line into the water. And he uses memories of those trips – of he and his son fishing there, of his grand-daughter building “rock castles” on the bank – to help him remember that time does pass, and there is more life ahead. So, for now, he is watching fishing videos as he and his wife both do just as Mr. Whisenant recommended: hunker down.
        
That’s also the suggestion of one of the country’s leading health authorities. In a recent YouTube video, epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, whose book “The Deadliest Enemy” is about pandemics, said this coronavirus crisis is unlike a “blizzard,” in which a short time period elapses and the snow recedes.
          
Instead it’s similar to a long winter of biting cold, where venturing out for too long can lead to problems. So what’s the best way to fight the sense of isolation that can occur? “Just start taking care of each other,” he said. “You can do a lot just by taking care of each other.”
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The CIVICS LESSON:  COVID-19, Black Swan + Butterfly

The rise of a virus causing an infection that travels internationally could be said to combine two often-used phrases that, when quoted, can be misunderstood: the “butterfly effect” and a “black swan” event. Both are used in political history classes to illustrate how even the most sound governments can be impacted by unexpected occurrences that, in reality, were predictable. Though the “butterfly effect” often is loosely defined as a phenomenon that the beating wings of an insect on one side of the globe may eventually result in a hurricane on the other side of the world, it really means that small causes can lead to large effects – and weather is used as the primary example. 

A “black swan” is a term that, centuries ago, was used as proof that something couldn’t occur: There were only white swans in Europe, so calling anything a “black swan” labeled it foolish and impossible. Then explorers discovered black swans in Australia, and the meaning changed. Now it refers to the appearance of an act that’s likely but unexpected. It meets these criteria: It is outside the realm of consideration but completely explainable after the fact, and it has an extreme impact.
          
In his landmark book on the subject, titled “The Black Swan,” Nassim Taleb PhD uses World War I as an example. The century-long period of relative peace before that war led many people to think that a world war wouldn’t occur again. Yet, in hindsight, history proved a reliable guide in forecasting it. Several books in past years, including “The Hot Zone” about Africa’s breakout Ebola virus and “The Coming Plague,” which also documents the potential of widespread disease, warned about the possibility of a pandemic.  --AS

The INDY HOP:  Willamette River Deserves a Stamp!     
                         
A series of stamps (see photo) to celebrate great rivers, including several in the Pacific Northwest, has no portrait of the Willamette. Why not? No one queried at a local post office seems able to explain it. For anyone who doubts the Willamette deserves the same recognition as others that roll through the United States, there is a deceased writer, Samuel Sampson, who wrote down some very compelling reasons in his poem "The Beautiful Willamette," which compliments the waterway in all kinds of ways, including its gentle sound of "softly calling to the sea." -- AS

April 2020 TRANSPORTATION supplement to The Independent.  
 
Lyle Mordhorst was appointed to the Polk County Board of Commissioners in early 2019. He is seeking election to the board in May. He’s Involved in the county’s effort to address county traffic-safety issues with the Oregon Department of Transportation. He wrote the following editorial about several spots affecting travel here, including the Highways 22 & 51 interchange and the roundabout slated for Clow Corner Road.  
 
By Commissioner Lyle Mordhorst, Polk County Board of Commissioners
 
As our communities and county continue to grow, so too, does the demand of increased traffic on our transportation system. I am grateful for the men and women that came before me, who developed the transportation system that we rely on today. Their foresight and sheer determination to get things done paved the way for the economic growth of our region. Take the creation of the Hwy 22 corridor, which single-handedly provided Polk County merchants the ability to export products thanks to the accessibility it provides to the I-5 corridor. 
 
Following in the footsteps of these predecessors, I am determined to make every effort to improve the safety and efficiency of the local transportation system. This includes working closely with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) on projects on State Highways, which are not in Polk County’s jurisdiction, but encompass some of Polk County’s busiest, most dangerous intersections and thoroughfares. 
 
Clow Corner Road at the intersection with Hwy 99W is at the top of this list. Here, ODOT already has plans in place to install an Offset Roundabout beginning in 2021. We may not all agree on the design, but we can agree that between a choice of a roundabout, or doing nothing, in order to prevent any more lives being lost at this intersection, we support building a roundabout. Statistically speaking, roundabouts effectively alleviate serious head-on or rear-end accidents compared to a conventional lighted intersection. I was, like most of you, skeptical of a roundabout design at first.
 
In Oregon they are a relatively new concept, and with anything new, most of us react to change with hesitation or resistance. “Will our farm equipment fit through it?” “How will it handle oversized freight loads?” “Is it equipped to handle college football game day traffic?” These are all valid questions that I can assure you have been asked and addressed in the roundabout design. 
 
Next is the Hwy 22 corridor & Hwy 51 interchange. This stretch of highway has seen the highest growth in Polk County in usage, with over 36,000 vehicles passing through daily and growing at a rate of 3 percent per year (per ODOT). Last year we took the first step in creating a safer commute along this corridor by eliminating the left turn off of Doaks Ferry onto Hwy 22. 
 
The Hwy 51 intersection itself is entering the first phase of improvement, the design phase. All aspects of traffic control improvements will be considered, from overpasses to frontage roads, in order to find the safest and most efficient design possible. ODOT and Polk County are partnering on this project so we will be updating you as it progresses. 
 
Further west is the Hwy 22 and Perrydale Road intersection, which experienced one of the largest increases of severe accidents in the state in 2019. We participated in a community meeting in December with local concerned citizens and parents to discuss options to reduce accidents at this location. From that meeting, a task force was created that includes members from Polk County Fire District, Perrydale School, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County Public Works, The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, community members, ODOT and me, as your Polk County Commissioner. 
 
So far the group has had productive discussions about establishing a Safety Corridor through this area until intersection safety improvements can be completed. We’re currently working through the process of meeting the requirements to qualify for the safety corridor which should be in place by the end of summer. There will also be Traffic-Activated Warning System lights placed at Perrydale Road intersection this spring, similar to the lighted signs that were installed on Hwy 99 prior to Clow Corner Road to alert drivers that a car may be entering the highway at the intersection ahead. 
 
We are also exploring the possibility of realigning Perrydale Road to Smithfield Road, which would eliminate the northern connection of the
                                                                           
Perrydale Road interchange. The intersection of Hwy 22 and Kings Valley Hwy/Smithfield Road is located less than one mile from the Perrydale Road and Hwy 22 intersection, and is scheduled for improvements starting in 2021. Polk County estimates that by incorporating the Perrydale Road realignment into the Smithfield Road intersection improvement project, it would accelerate safety improvements at the Perrydale Road intersection, while saving over $6 million by eliminating the need for future improvements to the Perrydale Road intersection. The south half of the Perrydale intersection would also be upgraded by squaring the roadway entrance onto Highway 22 for better visibility and access. 
 
Last but not least is the intersection of Hwy 99W and Bethel Road, or as the locals refer to it, the McCoylight. The first phase of this intersection improvement will be completed this fall with a new box culvert, which is being installed in preparation for a future project that will include improving visibility and adding turn lanes. 
 
Polk County was recently recognized by the Oregon Association of County Engineers and Surveyors for having the highest rated roads in the state of Oregon. Our Public Works Department staff are dedicated to maintaining that status and ensuring that the 500 miles of roads, 122 bridges, and over 200 pieces of equipment and vehicles within our care are designed, built, maintained and repaired to support the high-quality transportation system Polk County residents and businesses expect and deserve. 
 
As the Polk County population continues to grow, we’ll continue to prioritize projects that have the largest preservation benefit, while providing improved safety & needed infrastructure that will be effective for years to come. 
 
RECENT TRANSPORTATION NEWS IN BRIEF

by Anne Scheck
 
Central High School Students Weigh in on Local Parking and Streetscape Issues. At a special Independence City Council meeting held at Central High School (CHS) in early March, CHS students identified the need for improved sidewalks and crosswalks in the city, so that walking and bicycling would be easier for youth. One called for a lighted crosswalk on Gun Club Road; Another noted the rainy, dark winter weather decreases visibility so flashing lights are becoming more necessary at crossings that have gotten busier with time, such as those at Hoffman and Stryker roads.
                                                                    
 Parking was also seen as a problem – it seems more limited now, according to CHS students. City Councilors took note of the issue, with Councilor Marilyn Morton later observing that these comments showed the high school students had a sense of community that extended all the way to the town’s traffic-serving infrastructure.
 
Finalists Mulled for Feasibility Study of Independence-Monmouth Trolley. Two consulting firms are vying for a city contract to investigate how a trolley would operate between Monmouth and Independence, according to Shawn Irvine, the city’s economic development director. No decision has been made, but $300,000 was awarded to the City of Independence by the state, with the assistance of Rep Paul Evans, so that the evaluation can move forward. Mr. Irvine confirmed that consideration for the contract award was underway at a meeting at Indy Commons a few weeks ago. 
 
Independence Transportation System Plan Kicks Off.
A long-range plan will soon be underway to meet the future needs for car, bike and pedestrian travel for the City of Independence, according to City Planner Fred Evander, who announced the plan at a city council meeting earlier this year. Community input will be sought, and the project will include some of the elements of the previous plan, which was published in 2007. There will be “numerous opportunities” for residents to register their opinion during the process, Mr. Evander said.
 
Cherriots Suspends Service in Wake of COVID-19. 
All local and regional service by Cherriots vans and buses has ceased except for medical trips “in the interest of public health and safety,” according to General Manager Allan Pollock, who announced the stoppage in a recent news release. The paratransit service, Cherriots LIFT, will provide “life-sustaining trips only, including appointments for medical care and dialysis treatment,” according to the announcement. The action was taken after seven staff members self-reported confirmation of coronavirus. During the suspension, all facilities will undergo deep cleaning and executives of the transit service will continue to meet to formulate a plan for restoring public transportation to Marion and Polk counties, the news release stated.

 By Anne Scheck

An old house near the Independence Civic Center that the owners considered a derelict home recently collided with the aim of the Independence code for historic preservation. And, if anything represents the snags for implementing history-protecting measures on privately-owned property, the address at 478 South Main Street seems to be it.
           
Despite an inspection by a licensed contractor showing the place allegedly was uninhabitable and a cost estimate that would require thousands of dollars just for restoring windows and doors, Joan and Darrol Collins learned their demolition plans didn’t meet city requirements.
          
It seemed they needed to prove the 18th Century house couldn’t be salvaged. At a hearing this past month before the Historic Planning Commission (HPC), Mr. Collins was told he’d likely have to hold off for 180 days. Then he learned that, after that six-month period elapsed, there was nothing the city could do to prevent the tear-down. The code lacked the capacity to stop it.

Several HPC commissioners asked for clarification – questions that addressed the rights of the property owners. Was it true that HPC commissioners could vote to halt the process for months, only to have no way to enforce the decision at the end of that time? Yes, said Fred Evander, city planner. Later he explained: “It should be noted that, while there is nothing that would not prevent them (the Collins) from demolishing the home, they would have to do certain things – like notice the home for sale – before the home is demolished.”

However, a longtime resident of the area, Brad Harris, who was present at the hearing, advised HPC commissioners that he’d agreed to buy the home, where he wants to put a mixed-use building. At that point, the HPC Commission meeting took what could be characterized as a procedural U-turn. The Collins’s were advised they could withdraw their application for demolition and allow Mr. Harris to proceed with escrow. A short time afterward, Mr. Harris confirmed the sale is pending, and he is “looking forward to building a relationship” with city staff and HPC commissioners. However, in terms of having a historic-district home, “it has been one thing after another,” Ms. Collins said in a follow-up interview.
          
Several years ago, the couple battled the city over a mandate to put in a sidewalk with special lamp-poles, the kind that would match the old-time look preferred for the downtown historic area.
          
“This would have cost us so much money,” she said. A later request by the Collins’s to cut down a dying Maple tree was met with challenge, as well. “This was supposedly historic, too,” she said. The couple hired an arborist to show the tree was dead. “Then a big branch fell on somebody’s truck, so they (the city) finally agreed,” she added.
         
City historic preservation can pretty much be summed by the experience of the Collins family: a lot of it is about trees,
streets and signage.

As Independence strives to bring its code into consistency with the intent for the historic district, the path seems to be about as rough as some aging sidewalks on those early-alphabet streets near downtown. For example, one HPC commissioner considers the “reader board” of the public library – which illuminates activities there – a mistake.
          
“I don't feel the electronic reader board was an attractive or appropriate choice for the historic district. Was it in violation of any HPC code? No. It was simply a disappointment,” stated Curtis Tidmore, HPC commissioner. To prevent the clash of modern signs with antique ones, some on the HPC believe more sign regulation is needed within the district.
          
Several merchants on Main Street don’t agree; They have privately objected to new sign requirements they’ve been told are pending. And some in the downtown area openly wonder about the decision-making process of the city with regard to signs, based on the small, blue “way-finding” signs that have been erected on street corners. Jokes about them include the need for a pair of binoculars to read the relatively small lettering. Those narrow sky-blue signs went through “a lengthy internal review process to align with city branding and functionality,” explained Shawn Irvine, Independence economic development director. When the signs were installed, the city did receive some feedback that they were difficult to read, he acknowledged – but these comments came from people driving cars. The signs are solely for pedestrian use, Mr. Irvine pointed out. A few months ago, one of the US government’s historic sign experts, Michael Auer, was contacted by this publication about the city’s quest for a more uniform sign code, which was pronounced “unclear” for the historic district by a city document. Mr. Auer, who now is retired from the National Park Service, referred to a publication that contains his criteria.
          
It seems pretty straightforward: Identify signs that have been associated with a historic place, product or figure in town, and then use them as a guide. He does point to old artisan materials, like leaded glass, as one desirable aspect. But this is a way to declare an existing sign a “historic” placard – not the means to address what to use for making a new sign or how it should look.
          
The city’s recent historic-tree census also has raised some questions. Some citizens have suggested that trees shouldn't be the domain of historic preservation, and HPC commissioner Jennifer Flores agreed.
          
“In no way should a ‘historic tree’ supersede the value, stability and safety of a historic structure,” according to Ms. Flores, who pointed out trees have “life spans” and can become unsafe with time, not more historic.
          
“I’ve found many communities struggle with policies that lie at the intersection of urban planning and historic preservation,” noted Meredith Johnson, the author of a dissertation on historic preservation published last year by the University of Pennsylvania. And failing to properly negotiate historic districts may result in losing historic “assets,” she said.

In an apparently pre-emptive move, Philadelphia residents in one neighborhood, Queen Village, took a unique approach – they created their own “conservation district,” giving them more “preservation input.” The project was carried out by the residents, Ms. Johnson said. Queen Village now oozes urban charm.

In another example, Beaufort in South Carolina scrapped its traditional zoning regulations and switched to form-based codes, which can range from public-space standards, such as sidewalks to street trees – and clearly defines the necessary features for a given area.

“Now this would be a difficult switch for most towns,” she said. But zoning codes that include urban-form provisions may help promote appropriate development in a historic district, said Ms. Johnson, who has founded her own firm, Johnson Planning and Preservation LLC.
           
Independence's downtown area is seen as rooted in history. However, there is some residue from the past that is troubling, too. Mayor John McArdle was asked at the "State of the Cities" address this past month by resident Pat Lohser what could be done about lack of sidewalks on some streets. She lives on one without sidewalks on either side.
          
"I’m sure we’ll be discussing (this) in our goal-setting sessions," the mayor said, but he added the funding source isn’t yet apparent.

The CIVICS LESSON:  ENDORSING EDUCATION   
                                     Proclamation by Commissioners

A few weeks ago, the Polk County Board of Commissioners voted to recognize “School Choice Week.” Asked afterward what such a commendation actually means, Commission Chair Mike Ainsworth said board members sometimes want to show their support in a public way for a worthy topic.
          
In this case, it was for education of all children, whether enrolled in traditional public schools, in private academies, by online learning or home-schooling – and for students with different learning styles and special needs. From trade schools to technical training to higher education that leads to advanced degrees, education is enriching, Mr. Ainsworth stressed. (Two editorials address related topics in this issue of The Independent, see insert) 

 The INDY HOP:   CANINE COURT OF COUNTY
                  Dog Board Determines Dog Justice
It's a dog's life. But oversight, intervention and justice sometimes have to be served when canine behavior goes awry. Loud over-barking in neighborhoods, run-aways that scare other creatures and lack of licenses, collars and leashes.
           These are just a few of the offenses that can necessitate the actions of the Polk County Dog Board, a five-member panel of volunteers who
take on the task of hearing dog-related misdeeds. Owners – or should they be called pet guardians? – are responsible for their animal's high-jinx.
"Every dog deserves their day in court," said Greg Hansen, county administrator. So should accused dogs put on a solemn face and wear a tie to the courthouse? "The dogs don't go," Mr. Hansen explained. It's the owners – or rather, pet guardians. Furry, four-pawed violators have no individual accountability in judgments doled out by the Dog Board.

Rep. Mike Nearman (Republican) has served in the state legislature since 2015.   He was raised in Oregon and lives in Independence, in an area between the city and West Salem.  He has been active in local politics for more than a decade but he has defined himself as "mostly, just another citizen." He holds degrees from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Western Oregon University in Monmouth. He wrote the following editorial at the request of Trammart News & Publishing which produces The Independent. His bill has the support of many local families. --AS

IN AN ERA where public schools are failing to deliver results to many students, it's more important than ever to support students who are educated outside the traditional public school educational system.  Students learn in different ways and find different ways to succeed and many of those paths lead to private schools, charter schools or homeschooling.  In this spirit, I was proud to sponsor HB 4059 which would require state licensing boards to regard a homeschool high school diploma as the same as any other high school diploma.
 
Currently, homeschool graduates who wish to be professionally licensed by the state – for instance, a license to practice cosmetology or become a barber -- need a high school diploma or GED. It's a shame to hold back the aspirations of these young people. 

Quite frequently, homeschooled students perform better than their public school counterparts.  This is a small, but essential bill.
 
Sadly, I had a conversation with State Representative Margaret Doherty (D-Tigard) who is the Chair of the House Committee on Education, where House Bill 4059 was assigned.  She informed me that the bill will not receive a hearing, so it will not pass this session.  I will be happy to bring it back in a future session, where I hope it gets the treatment it deserves.

Deb Patterson (Democrat) is running for Oregon State Senator in District 10. She has been a long-term advocate of healthcare for all and, most recently, wrote about the vulnerability of homelessness, in the Statesman Journal. She supports
improving affordable college and vocational education opportunities. She is the mother of two young adults, one with special needs, and is a former healthcare administrator and ordained Congregational clergy.  Ms. Patterson, a member of the Oregon Disabilities Commission, wrote this editorial to coincide with the March  issue of The Independent, in recognition of  “Developmental Disabilities  Awareness Month." --AS

How does one find a job?  Some are lucky enough to find work in their family’s business.  Some find work through a friend or through another networking contact.  Some jobs require a college education, others require vocational training, and most require a driver’s license.  
 
Do you remember the days when job openings were posted in the “help wanted” section of a print newspaper?  Now most jobs are listed online on many different platforms. 
 
Do you remember when most jobs were full-time?   Now many people piece together a living, or supplement their income, through work in the “gig economy.”   
 
For some people, namely, those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), networking and accessing information about job openings and how to apply is particularly difficult.  Participating in the “gig economy” is not really feasible. 
 
In Oregon a lawsuit called Lane v. Brown was settled in 2015, which dismantled the system of “sheltered workshops” where people with IDD were employed at sub-minimum wages (an average of $3.72 per hour in 2013).  Now the state is required to help people find integrated, competitively paid employment whenever possible.
 
Finding such work is easier said than done, though, even though the unemployment rate is low.  In January 2020, Oregon had a 3.6% unemployment rate, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, but among people with a cognitive disability, only about 30% of the adult population was employed.  This is a dramatic difference from the 75% of the adult population without a disability who were employed.  (There also remains a large pay discrepancy: the average wage for a person without a disability is $44,400, with any disability - $30,800, and with a cognitive disability - $22,200.)  
 
What can be done?  As the mother of a young adult daughter experiencing IDD who now is happily employed after two years of searching, and who has seen the life-changing aspects of this opportunity, I would urge the community to help meet the need for competitive, integrated employment for others with IDD.  
 
Some employers in the region have already made some real strides.  TJ Maxx has done a wonderful job of including folks with developmental disabilities all across the state. Salem Health and the State of Oregon also employs a number of folks with IDD, as do several other area employers.    
 
How are they able to do this?

Workers with IDD succeed in this work through the assistance of job developers, who help to find tasks that they can do, and who identify potential employers.  Job coaches help folks to practice the needed skills on the job (a type of on-the-job training) to succeed.  
 
Most people with IDD want to work, as work is an important component of meaning.  This March, during Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Awareness month, I would urge employers to consider hiring a worker with IDD, many of whom will become loyal, dedicated employees.  Partnerships for Community Living in Monmouth can provide more information, as can area Vocational Rehabilitation offices.

by Anne Scheck

There seems to be no record in existence for a public meeting in Independence like the one created last month by resident Chad Ludwig, who showed up to share his opinion even though there was no chance it would make any difference at all on outcome.

He attended the Independence Planning Commission after its members took an action he believes will impact his neighborhood for decades to come. He wanted a final word, even after their apparently iron- clad decision had been made. “I expect better from you all,” he told the commissioners.   
(Photo: Sunset Meadows’ greenbelt park -- view from Chestnut Street).
    
“We went to the public hearing on December 10th of the city council and I am disappointed in all of you,” he said. “It is apparent that this commission (sent) a ‘do-pass’ recommendation to the council without sharing the concern made by the members in the community.”

Mr. Ludwig was referring to the crowd of neighbors who had showed up weeks before to air concerns about an unbuilt part of a subdivision in the southwestern part of the city, Brandy Meadows. He and several neighbors in Sunset Meadows had contended – at two hearings held before the commission in September – future phases of Brandy Meadows didn’t allow for the “connectivity” to trails and park space in the city’s originally adopted plan for the area. Brandy Meadows contains 67 lots with plans for 81 housing units, including 47 single-family homes, 11 duplexes, eight townhouses and one fourplex. 
          
Mr. Ludwig, who is deaf, testified through an interpreter; His message – that he and fellow citizens had been ignored – came through loud and clear.

In acknowledging Mr. Ludwig’s criticism, Planning Commissioner Natascha Cronin explained that “when something leaves us and goes to the city council, we no longer have a say.” The commission has to follow the rules and regulations set forth by the city, she explained. About a week after Mr. Ludwig’s appearance at the planning commission, the City Council formally voted against the appeal on Brandy Meadows.

The appeal had been filed by Sunset Meadows resident Richard Clark MD, who, after its denial, said he did not intend to take his case to Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals. Several residents who attended the same meeting expressed the hope there will be better communication with the city as subdivision development continues.
          
The council vote wasn’t a unanimous one. One city councilor, Jennifer Ranstrom-Smith, voted against denying the appeal (see profile included on Councilor Ranstrom-Smith). Councilor Shannon Corr, who initially voted to deny the appeal, later realized that she mistakenly cast the wrong vote. (She was unable to change it.)
           
The differing views of councilors on this issue may reflect varying perspectives on what was presented as fact. At the heart of this appeal were city documents that appeared open to interpretation, 
even by those reviewing the same map of the city’s “comprehensive plan.”
          
In general terms, the appeal asserted that one part of that comprehensive plan, the Southwest Independence Concept Plan, spelled out a trails system that wasn’t being upheld by Brandy Meadows. City staff rejected that claim, saying the Brandy Meadows proposal was consistent with it. How could a trail system and open space cause such conflicting views?
         
Land-use experts asked about this didn’t seem surprised – such matters can become a source of litigation against city government.             
          
The Oregon legislature passed a law in 1973 stating that every city had to have a “comprehensive plan” – a statute that also made the plan a guide to land-use planning in every city. Shortly after that legislation passed, a Milwaukie OR woman, Jeanett Baker, took issue with her town, which she felt had its own comprehensive plan in making a land-use decision. Milwaukie planners had issued a variance, a way of deviating from the plan, and Ms. Baker decided to fight it.
          
The case went all the way to the Oregon Supreme Court. The justices, who were asked to interpret the city’s comprehensive plan, ruled that the city had strayed too far from it in this instance. The ruling also stated that a city’s comprehensive plan should be the “instrument” that controls municipal land use.
           
The comprehensive plan in Independence has had some additions since its creation years ago, first by the
city’s Southwest Independence Concept Plan in 2012 and then, in 2015, by the Independence Parks and Open Space Master Plan. One challenge to the city staff has been that aspects of the Southwest Independence Concept Plan seemed to have some ambiguity. “It could be written clearer,” said City Planner Fred Evander.
         
But inexact wording on the comprehensive plan was answered in the Independence Development Code, with more specific language, Mr. Evander explained. In fact, the developer of Brandy Meadows, Harvey Cummings, submitted his application by following that. “This application meets all the requirements set forth in the city code,” he told the councilors.
           
The planning commission is a volunteer board, and in 2019, they had a particularly challenging year.  At the same meeting in which Mr. Ludwig addressed the planning commission with his complaint about them, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Home Builders Association (HBA) did the same thing – for a very different reason. Code updates are restrictive and could drive up construction costs, said Mike Erdmann, HBA’s CEO. 
           
Under Oregon law, a city’s development code must match the intent of the comprehensive plan – and this requirement appeared to be the basis of an argument made by Dr. Clark’s attorney, Wes Hill, in his presentation to the council. For example, some trails have street crossings not shown on the first map, which caused one resident of Sunset Meadows to publicly label the linear green-belt park near her a place of “no connectivity.” Another criticism by neighbors: a proposed storm-water area is planned to double as a recreational spot in summer.  
         
In his own presentation to the council, Dr. Clark said the single-trail system in the Brandy Meadows proposal doesn’t serve
the public as well as a network of looping trails would (see included essay “A Walk in Independence” by Dr. Clark). However, his time at the podium was cut short so that his talk didn’t take more time than that of Mr. Cummings.
         
After the vote, Dr. Clark said he is now committed to become involved with yet another piece to be added to the comprehensive plan, the transportation system plan – a 13-year-old document that even city staff have admitted is sorely in need of updating.

“I think Mr. Clark and I are wanting the same things with regard to making sure we have good pedestrian connectivity in the area, and I also believe that is exactly what the city wants, too,” said Mr. Cummings the Brandy Meadows developer. He noted that he had served on the advisory committee for the Southwest Independence Concept Plan.

“I believe the city planning codes facilitate this and I’m sure any discrepancies will get addressed in the new transportation system plan,” he said.
(Photo: sign at current western terminus of Chestnut Street. Property beyond this point is slated for Brandy Meadows.)

The CIVICS LESSON: Can Service Fairs Offer Preventive Help for Risk of Homelessness?
This past January, Polk County held an event that some local government officials, including the Polk County Board of Commissioners, are referring to as an intervention aimed at "homeless prevention." Scores of tents and tables were set up for a special kind of "fair" in Dallas OR, offering services ranging from health screenings to pet care. The effort provided people who cannot afford to see a veterinarian or a medical care provider, among other health professionals, the opportunity to do so. For those living at the economic margin – "only two paychecks away from being homeless," as one of the volunteers put it – being able to get a haircut, a blood-pressure reading, a dental check-up and a pet grooming for free can mean significant cost containment for families. Last year, at its annual meeting, the American Medical Association formally endorsed this kind of collaborative move by communities. One sticking point: It should be on-going and provide follow-up when necessary. A once-a-year service fair meets a need, but one big part of homeless prevention has been shown to be lasting outreach.   (Photo:  Tents at a free event providing services just prior to closure.)

 The INDY HOP:  When Dirt Flies From Compost Piles

When the Independence-based Luckiamute Watershed Council offered a worm-bin composting class this past month, one possible side effect was missing from the presentation: flying dirt specks. Tiny insects called "springtails" can look like microscopic pieces of the compost pile zooming out of it. As a result, these bean-like bugs have been an object of study. Apparently, for people unaware of this phenomenon, it can look like the compost pile has taken on a life of its own. "I have just never seen this," said Independence resident Kathy Stewart, a master gardener. She has a worm bin and has experienced many insects, particularly centipede encounters. But no springtails. However, they're a fairly common inhabitant of compost piles in the Pacific Northwest, according to research by Oregon State. (Photo: worm-bin compost system being set up.)

DOWNTOWN DISPATCH
 JENNIFER RANSTROM-SMITH PROFILE OF A CITY COUNCILOR

Councilor Jennifer Ranstrom-Smith, the newest and youngest member of the Independence City Council, knows how to say no – and she does so fairly often, compared with some of her fellow councilors. It has earned her a nickname "Downtown Jen" – and a following among some community members who've noticed she isn't afraid to go against the majority. 

As a single mom with a teenage daughter, Ms. Ranstrom-Smith thinks, at times, she brings a different perspective to the council. She's seen as a "dollar watcher" by some members of the public, who have identified her as more independent-minded than other longer-serving members of the council. For one thing, she asks more questions, and her questions seem oriented squarely toward public interest. (Photo: Independence resident Neal Schaub talks to Councilor Ranstrom-Smith at the Ovenbird.)

Another councilor, for example, has repeatedly said she likes Independence just as it is; Councilor Ranstrom-Smith, conversely, worries that it is spending too much money without the necessary and careful examination.

A longtime resident of Independence, Ms. Ranstrom-Smith relocated as a child from tiny Emmett, Idaho.

"I remember moving into a rainy town where I knew absolutely nobody," she said. That changed quickly. Soon, she was part of a neighborhood where children played in vacant lots nearby, watched seasonal changes in the hops fields on the outskirts of the city, and walked frequently to the city hub of Main Street.

"I see the value of having downtown shops, and I am a huge advocate of downtown," she said, adding that parks are another priority. "I know how important it is to have places for kids to play." 

"I want to make things better, to go to the next step," she said, adding that an ongoing concern is the relatively high water-and-sewer bill, which is partly allocated for repayment of debt. 

Perhaps because of her long and deep connection to the community, Ms. Ranstrom-Smith frequently has brought up topics not heard in previous years. One is an alleged "disconnect" between the city's planning commission and the city council. The planning commission, which often is the first to hear concerns by citizens and developers, acts as reviewer for code changes and development plans.
 
Ms. Ranstrom-Smith supported the recent appeal on Brandy Meadows by voting against rejecting it. Then she asked if the city staff could come up with "better tools" so planning commissioners could have a better means of reflecting citizen input.
 
"If I’m not serving the citizens of Independence, then what am I doing on city council?" she asked. Councilor Shannon Corr said she admires her colleague, Councilor Ranstrom-Smith. They share similar values. They soon learned they were both advocates of affordable housing in new residential construction.  And both consider their seats on the council an important public commitment, one that includes careful perusal of information before meetings. 

"We both like to poke and prod," Councilor Corr said.

Councilor Ranstrom-Smith credits Val Hoyle, commissioner of Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries, as an important role model. After completing an associate of arts in legal studies, she began working for the former legislator, a former House Democrat majority leader. Working with Val Hoyle, she got a close view of solid leadership skills and political action.

"I felt like I learned to see what the future could be," she said. It made her think about being on the Independence City Council. She clinched that appointment when a seat was vacated, becoming its youngest member.
 
Ms. Ranstrom-Smith also was the lone vote against allocating $650,000 to purchase a downtown building for the Heritage Museum, which currently is located in an old church a few blocks away. She wasn't satisfied that need was established.
"Do we know who is using the museum now? What the attendance is?" she asked. It's not that she opposes it, she explained – but she wants to separate what is necessary and what is not, in terms of taxpayer expenditures, she said. 
Craig Pope, a member of the Polk County Board of Commissioners, said he hasn't met City Councilor Ranstrom-Smith, but he believes anyone in a government office who is fiscally conservative deserves praise.

                                      A Walk In Independence   
                                                   by Richard Clark MD
  Today, as the City of Independence puts the finishing touches on its 20-year vision for the future – at a time when the town is about to grow substantially in size as well as population – there is an opportunity to increase neighborhood connections, as well as improve physical and emotional health here in a completely natural way. 
         
The 270-acre Southwest Independence Urban Growth Boundary will add approximately 2,700 new residences.  If you use the statistically reliable estimate of 2.52 per residence, that means the population of Independence will increase by about 6,804 people for a town with a current population of 9,530. That represents a great opportunity, as well as a great responsibility.

The acres being added by annexation provide a way for the Independence Park and Open Space Plan – carefully formulated a few years ago – to become a reality. A well-developed trail network would help meet the plan’s stated goals of promoting livability and encouraging physical health.
           
Having a linked-trail system, with loops of different lengths and multiple access points, is an excellent way to address the need for active recreation, and to offer access to some of our natural habitat, such as the riparian areas of Ash Creek. These “linear parks” of trails and paths would be utilized by community members who are drawn to a variety of path uses, ranging from children to the elderly.  Such a network encourages people to walk, to enjoy the outside, and to see and meet others of the community. In fact, the advantage of connecting youth with the outdoors was a key finding of the 2008-2012 Oregon Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. 
           
There is a growing body of research showing that exposure to natural space in urban areas – particularly around housing developments – helps build a sense of “community belonging,” as well as having a favorable impact on mental health. Conversely, one example of the unmet need for access to outdoor physical activity can be seen in the growing obesity rate. Thirty years ago, the prevalence of obesity was 11%. Three years ago, it had reached 29%. Here in Polk County it is 36%.
           
Local parks and recreational areas are the gateway to healthy, prosperous and connected communities – these areas also help us take on some of our nation’s toughest health challenges, such as obesity. In Independence, a more developed network of trails also would help showcase some of the beauty spots, like Inspiration Garden, and all the fantastic work of the Polk County Master Gardeners, who have created a gem in the city for all to enjoy.
         
Addressing what has become known as “nature deficit disorder,” agencies and parks providers across the state are integrating nature into the recreation program offerings. They are creating recreation opportunities in natural areas
where they can be incorporated without adversely impacting habitat and natural resources. Why not follow their lead? 
          
With so much acreage scheduled to be added inside our city’s expanded urban-growth boundary, Independence is uniquely positioned to make significant contributions to local quality of life, by providing more trails and additional open space, by connecting children to nature, by instituting conservation practices that could make Independence an ideal example – a model and a benefit for generations to come.  (Additional research and editing by Anne Scheck.)

Land at Brandy Meadows at sunset.

By Anne Scheck

If you’d been at the last Independence City Council meeting of 2019, you might have wondered why the final minutes looked a bit like a college lecture. From the podium, City Manager Tom Pessemier instructed city councilors on the general points of an Urban Renewal Agency, which is what the city councilors become when the occasion calls for it.

And, that night, the occasion called for it. So, after the council closed their meeting and reopened it as the Urban Renewal Agency, Mr. Pessemier noted that the councilors were putting on one of “the multiple hats that you wear,” namely the one for urban renewal, which aims to fight blight. 

“I do want to make sure you understand this is a different legal entity we are talking about – not the same legal entity as a city council,” he said. “The goals and objectives of the Urban Renewal Agency are significantly different from what you’d normally see on a day-to-day basis,” he explained.

Mr. Pessemier went on to say that the Urban Renewal Agency, which was founded in 2001, oversees a special district within the city – and the tax base for the urban renewal area was frozen when it was formed. The tax dollars that exceed the frozen base of 2001 go straight to the city for paying back debt in the urban renewal area, which encompasses the downtown area and the riverfront, along with some other sections.

So far that tax difference has yielded about $450,000 a year for the urban renewal area, according to previous figures.                        
However, the debt inside the district has been growing – and by law, it cannot go past a debt ceiling of about $17.9 million. In fact, the debt threatened to do just that a few years ago, so some of it was placed into the general fund by a special amendment. 

When do substantial pay-offs to this urban renewal debt begin? Probably in the next few years – around 2022 – as the development of riverfront apartments and townhomes are completed, Mr. Pessemier said.

If all this sounds confusing, you can imagine what the last year may have been like for a new city manager, two first-year city councilors, a youthful city planner and a whole batch of recent appointees to city commissions and committees. As January rolls in, a look back over the challenges of the last 12 months seems appropriate.
 
Hope for Independence Station gets a drubbing, but now anticipation soars again. When Chuck Sides, one of the investors in Independence Station and a buyer of the former Independence City Hall, made the acquisition, spirits were high. He has been associated with Keizer Station, now considered a showcase development.

But as months rolled by, and Independence Station remained “Stonehenge” to many residents, it seemed likely to remain the skeletal fixture it has been for the past 13 years. Then two entrepreneurs, Patrick Carney and Kelly McDonald, decided they wanted to purchase both buildings – and, just before the New Year, their firm Gomacgo LLC did so, along with three other buildings on Monmouth Street.

The plan is to work with the city for the “transfer of development credits” previously approved for the old city hall, the pair’s top priority – it has a brewery. A city rebate of $300,000, which was pledged to the former developer for the site, is said to be in the works, as well as other incentives.

“We hope to begin in the next few months,” said Mr. McDonald. And what about Independence Station? Within two years, “we hope to be able to move forward on that,” he said. The first order of business for Independence Station will be to “analyze and research” the structure, then use it for a new building, if possible, he said. 
 
Water system upgrades got underway, with DEQ’s blessing and $10 million price tag. Sewer-sanitation improvements were approved by the city council this past year, with loans and allocations to refurbish pipelines, pumping stations and discharge water on a farm field just north of the city limit.

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) had cited the city after wastewater from city lagoons was discharged into the Willamette River beyond what was allowable by state permits – a result of the lagoons going past their storage ability. To be able to use the farm field, the city needs to acquire land easements and lay the infrastructure past the last airpark street along Stryker Road, Corsair Drive. The cost for the recycling venture and other improvements is expected to reach $10 million in 2020, but it forestalls the need for a new treatment plant. 

So far, the upgrades haven’t changed the monthly residential water bill, which averages about $105 for many homeowners, and includes about $6.50 that goes to pay debt on the Independence Civic Center and about $10 that goes to help pay debt on MINET, the city’s municipal
telecom company.
 
City annexes 70 acres, more growth expected in southwest area of the city. A large swath of land will become mixed-use housing and join Monmouth and Independence more closely south of Monmouth Street. The annexation will substantially increase the size of the city, and traffic concerns were cited as a point of contention by residents from neighboring streets.

In late December, the City of Independence announced it had secured funding for a long-sought traffic analysis – the previous one, conducted in 2007, was considered out of date. Called a “Traffic System Plan,” the document will forecast patterns and draw conclusions about how car travel around the city can be better managed in the future, with growth in population now expected to push well past the current 10,000 population.

Traffic along the “S Curve” where the outer limits of the two cities meet is expected to become much busier with the building of a new Roth’s Fresh Markets, the possible inclusion of a high-end coffee shop, a potential Taco Bell and a large agriculturally-oriented hardware store. In addition, the former Roth’s location is said to be a prospective site for a discount retail outlet, though that remains unconfirmed.
 
Independence Hotel opens, will likely link to city’s event rooms this year. The hotel, which was slated to open last spring, then tentatively rescheduled to open in July, had its official ribbon-cutting in September. Depending on the booking period, rooms typically run from $149 to just above $270, with a “bed tax” of roughly 10%. Special discounts currently make $99 room rates available.

Mark Keller, who runs the hotel, conducted the final feasibility study five years ago; He found evidence that the recommended number of rooms could be bumped up from 50 to 75. That means group bookings are a possibility, making conference space desirable – and the city seems on the cusp of turning over the Independence Civic Center’s basement floor, known as “The Event Center,” to the hotel for conference rooms under contracted use.

A “request for proposal” was posted by the city; the Independence Hotel responded. Terms of the anticipated deal haven’t been fully disclosed, but the contract is expected to come before the Independence City Council in early 2020.

The City of Independence is borrowing $650,000 this year to buy a new downtown location for the Heritage Museum – will it suffer from what has been called “the festival toll”? In 2018, the results of a study by the City of Philadelphia documented a plummet in museum attendance before, during and after outdoor events in the city’s downtown corridor. The reason seemed to be that museum attendees and outdoor event-goers comprise two different groups. Those who like visiting museums are put off by the pedestrian and car traffic at festivals; Visitors who want music, sunshine and food carts tend to stay out of museums. The study prompted news coverage outside of Pennsylvania. In fact, a sociologist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst wrote a cautionary forecast, "Why Cities Should Stop Building Museums and Focus on Festivals." There seems to be no evidence, however, that museum usage permanently declines due to crowd-drawing festivals. In fact, the effect reported so far suggests that it is temporary. 

Season's greetings took on a whole new sound in December, thanks to doorbells around town. Right along with decorative lights, some residents changed their little finger-activated door-side device to play Christmas carols. In some of the newer homes past 7th street, the ding-dong bell never even existed – instead, music ranging from orchestra symphonies to a chart-topping pop tunes chime out. It's all part of a trend, if you believe online information about the rise in varieties of "front door signaling." Not only can a resident purchase a different kind of doorbell – how about a bell-toned belt-out of "Yellow Rose of Texas"? – but the new systems can alternate between songs. At one house in Independence, the national anthem plays. Asked why this would be the case, a local homeowner explains: "Because it's patriotic, that's why!" So there you have it, in consumer logic.

This past December, as 2020 crept toward us all, something rather special happened to me. For those of you who know me, it wasn’t my 43rd wedding anniversary … though, yes, that’s certainly a close milestone now that the holiday season has passed. It was this: I got caught up in my very first online, social media, real-time semi-rant. For someone who still doesn’t understand all the functions on my cell phone, this was quite an event for me. There I was, holding forth, words flying, over a Facebook posting. The college student who’d helped tutor me on Facebook three years ago, so I’d know how to use it, should feel proud.  But it was a pretty mild joust. It started when a community leader posted a New York Times article, “My So-Karen Life” from a recent Rites of Passage column in that newspaper. I’m for free speech! 
 
But I didn’t like the article. I considered it incomprehensible. However, the writer – an especially talented one – apparently is far younger than I am and I have (excuse my boomerism here) some age-conferring wisdom. The author made a case for putting people in categories, like the one now called “Karen.” To Gen X and others, “Karen” supposedly is a good way to classify a certain type of woman. Apparently, a “Karen” grows up attractive and accepted, with trend-setting clothes at every level, performs well in college and achieves a comfortable, middle-class existence and a sense of entitlement throughout life – a life where her deck has been stacked for success. But, alas, these Karens condescend to just about anyone who lacks their attainment. This got me thinking about Nanette*, the former goddess of my high school, who seemed like queen of the Karens. So I popped off online about how wrong we can be to pigeonhole anyone. I pointed out I’m old and I know, darn it. Because of Nanette.
 
I know not just because of Nanette but also because, by now, I’ve known a few women a whole lot like her. In fact, I’d never have known Nanette to be anything but a classic Karen except that she did two things which, more or less, affected my polar-opposite life from hers as a teen. She was unfailingly kind to me and she was nuts about a boy who was a complete “Poindexter,” the name young females gave to awkward guys who were smart but charmless.
 
Chased by the star athletes and imitated by the cheerleaders, Nanette chose to date someone considered one of the biggest Poindexters in our adolescent orbit. Also, she got a job in the kitchen of a local hospital where I worked as a teenager, along with a few others from our school. Nanette showed such leadership skill that she was put in charge of us. And for reasons I never understood, I seemed to be one of her favorites. She was so naturally beautiful that a relatively high percentage of the male medical staff noticed her – often waiting till she took her place as a cafeteria server before they grabbed their trays to make their way down the line.
 
Her Poindexter boyfriend got into an engineering college near Boston, which seemed as far away as the planet Mars to me. But Nanette wanted to go to that city, too. And, since she had this classic “Karen” background, her parents could afford it. Nanette looked at colleges in Boston, and she settled on one: a small women’s college in the heart of the city. I remember girls at my high school who made a little fun of her for following a guy to Boston that none of them even would have dated. And going to an all-woman college? How fun could that be? 
 
Raven-haired Nanette, with a smile as radiant as a movie star’s, who looked like she should be on a New York fashion runway, flew off to Boston, graduated from college, and married the Poindexter. We lost touch, of course. I was told she became what’s now being described as a “Karen,” raising a family somewhere in the Midwest or on the Eastern Seaboard or in Idaho. 
 
When I took my own daughter hither-and-yon years ago to look at university campuses,
some of those trips were torturous for us both. One snooty college in Pennsylvania made me sorry I ever dragged my daughter away from our hotel in Philadelphia; A highly regarded college in another part of the country was so homogenous it made my daughter think of an academic island, where she simply couldn’t see herself. I was about to give up when I thought of Nanette, and, on what must have seemed a whim to my family, we flew off to Boston to visit the college Nanette had chosen, so long ago. We saw MIT from a boat on the Charles River, and I thought it must be where Poindexter went. He and Nanette were so far ahead of the traditional curve.  
 
And I thought back to how Nanette looked during passing periods in the halls of my old high school, as if she belonged to a rare and elite group, those who win the genetic lottery in so many ways. But if she felt superior, as the New York Times writer suggests these so-called Karen-types do, it only looked that way with Nanette. She made quite unexpected decisions.  
 
My daughter graduated several years ago from Nanette’s alma mater. It wasn’t until I erupted on the internet recently about how wrong-headed stereotyping can be – arguing against the column about the Karens – that I thought of Nanette again and decided to find her. I was going to write to her by email to tell her, “you may not remember me, but I remember you and your choices, and my daughter ended up going to same college you did, all those years ago.” 
 
But, as it turns out, I never got to write the email. It was easy to find out about Nanette. She’d kept the name I knew her by. She died several years ago, never reaching the late middle age that proved such a prosperous period in my life; Never knowing, as I do, the comfort of finally making it to the dubious label of senior citizen without becoming a so-called Karen. 
 
From her obituary, it sounds like she had cancer. Who knows what other curve balls life threw at her? And that’s the problem with calling privileged people a name like “Karen” – you never know what’s beyond the perfect smile and fashion sense. Sometimes it’s a self-actualizing young woman who looks like a prom princess but values her nerdy boyfriend, and who isn’t afraid to share that with a food-service co-worker 10 rungs below her on the high-school hierarchy. What a discovery for two girls on the same wavelength, neither one a Karen.  
 
*Nanette is a derivative of her actual name

2019: Incidents & Events
For a town that’s been called off-the-beaten path by a city staffer, isn’t ranked as one of Oregon’s must-see sites on national lists, and has a crime rate so low that loose roosters make news, a whole lot happened in 2019 in Independence. And some of it was pretty significant. 
 
In the spring, rains flooded the Willamette River – and, in turn, the city’s Riverfront Park. The scene of floating port-a-potties and underwater playground equipment drew many residents, who snapped photos and predicted new notoriety for Independence, as dogs paddled through water by the amphitheater. However, the headlines went to Corvallis, where the river “crested.” 
 
Summer started off in a blaze – with a fire at the former Henry Hill Elementary School, which now houses Central School District 13J offices. When a modular building between those offices and the rooms of the Oregon Child Development Coalition burst into flames, Polk County Fire District No. 1 answered the call and put out the
 
fire within about six minutes. The area was occupied by Central Youth Sports, which was burned beyond use.  There were no injuries and the building was insured, which meant restoration could get going. 
 
About a month later, an airplane swooped down along the sparkling Willamette River, right by the city’s Riverview Park. The plane cut a power line, leading firefighters and others rushing to the site, so park-goers could be evacuated. There was speculation the plane originated from the nearby Independence State Airport. This proved untrue. The pilot was an out-of-towner.
 
Independence American Legion Post 33 installed a moving ritual, honoring deceased veterans, month by month, in a ceremony on the third Saturday of the month at the Heritage Museum.
 
"WIM," a Facebook group for women in Independence and Monmouth – established by an Indy newcomer – celebrated its first anniversary with a big, bright bash at Valkyrie downtown, bringing together a cross-cities group that leaders from the two towns had been unable to muster in past years. 
 
The Ella Curran Food Bank had a record-breaker of a year, and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables made their way to the center as local farmers brought in shares of their crops and donors did the same from garden harvests. 
 
Transportation changes were announced, too. A plan for a trolley to run between Monmouth and Independence got some new traction, as Rep Paul Evans clinched state funding for a feasibility study. This made some residents break out in the chant “all aboard” when news reached a downtown corner bar and coffee shop, the Brew & Tap. 
     
Meanwhile, the Luckiamute Watershed Council (LWC) chugged along with new programs served up at the aforementioned establishment and other venues downtown. The same group from LWC that battles for healthy wetlands, fights knotweed and documents the goings-on at our local waterway, Ash Creek, also hosted expert talks to help people in Independence learn about watershed habitat. (Also, how to press cider from apples, another essential fall activity.) 
 
As Autumn rolled in, the Ash Creek Arts Center stepped up with “Second Saturday” sessions for families with young artists, making creative use – in more ways than one – of the old library. Also, “STREAM Lab Maker Space,” a center run by the Community Services Consortium, offered activities that ranged from screen-printing to soda-bottle rockets at the Henry Hill building. 
 
As winter threatened, ghosts got more popular last year. The traditional discovery tour for them – The Annual Ghost Walk – drew about 2,000 people, breaking all previous attendance counts.
 
And Winter Fest, which followed the crowd-pleasing Santa Train, was an unprecedented success – drawing huge numbers of families, even as Jack Frost snapped in.
 
What else happened? Quite a bit and too much to briefly list. But one big change isn’t so obvious: The Independence Police Department added a motorcycle-driving police officer, who is not easy to spot. He can lurk on side streets without being seen and when he is sighted by passing motorists, it’s often because he’s by a car window, writing a ticket. 

This summary doesn't cover city services except those that touch upon public safety and includes non-profit organizations that serve the public.

 By Anne Scheck

Seven years ago, Mount Fir Park in central Independence looked like the setting of a monster movie. Weeds, logs and brambles had turned the city property into what some visitors called “Day of the Triffids,” a 1950s horror film in which plants attacked people. The thick blackberry bushes there, near Ash Creek, sometimes entangled Central High students doing fish counts for a school project.   

The “triffids” was a vivid way of referring to out-of-control plants that made the land look nearly impossible to transform, agreed Oregon State University (OSU) Extension horticulturist Neil Bell.
          
So, when a few members of the OSU Extension Service Polk County Master Gardeners (PCMG) began asking about putting a garden on what was then considered a derelict site, it did seem like science fiction.
          
“I was a little surprised they were interested,” recalled Shawn Irvine, Independence’s economic development director. But two members of the OSU PCMG – Bill Leedy and Darrell Ward – were sure a “demonstration garden” could be
done there.
               
Since the master gardeners of PCMG were part of an established and committed volunteer program, OSU’s Mr. Bell was solidly on board. The City of Independence said yes, in the hope that the property could be improved through all this combined “knowledge and expertise,” according to Mr. Irvine.       
          
That’s how a seven-acre arboretum now known as Inspiration Garden was created on F Street, between 7th and 9th. And it seems to be living up to its awe-alluding name.
           
“I am honestly not sure how to properly convey how much this project has exceeded our expectations,” Mr. Irvine said. It’s become “one of the true gems of the community,” he added.
          
Today, these acres in the middle of town are home to a dozen gardens and several other special habitats.  And no matter what time of year “there is always something to see,” as the Statesman Journal put it. 

The botanical park now includes a rare and fragile Chinese tree that’s flourishing in one of the only places in the United States where it has taken healthy root; It’s home to an American colonial rose descended from the same variety grown by President George Washington; It grows ancient medicinal plants used by Native Americans to treat pain; It has a “winter garden” with plants at their loveliest when temperatures drop. For example, this December the evergreen shrub Camellia sasanqua is bursting in pink buds – flowers to follow. (See photo at left.)
        
And soon, in an honor bestowed on only 30 cities, the Inspiration Garden will welcome a "Hiroshima Ginkgo Tree" – a symbol of peace, grown from seeds of a Ginkgo tree that survived the atomic blast in World War II on that city.

The PCMG and the City of Independence competed with scores of other communities for the Ginkgo; It will be the inaugural plant for a new plot, a “peace garden,” with a peace pole from the Monmouth-Independence Rotary Club posted alongside it. The seeds come from Japan’s Green Legacy Hiroshima, and represent survival and reconciliation. The effort was led by Darrell Ward, current chair of the garden.
           
Perhaps it’s no wonder that some neighbors familiar with the garden call it the city’s most successful urban renewal project to date. It was once largely covered in Scotch broom – a species that’s among the most fertile on earth, producing thousands upon thousands of seeds from a single small plant. As one gardener put it, it was like "turning back a tidal wave."
        
"And once the weeds were cleared, the problem wasn't over," said Mr. Bell, the OSU horticulturalist who helped oversee the project. The hard-packed soil had been painstakingly roto-tilled and reconditioned with organic material. Even for the crew of master gardeners, "this was a whole different kind of undertaking," he said.

It appeared to be "the land that time was forgetting," said Bill Leedy, who along with Mr. Ward is credited as “pioneering” the Inspiration Garden, including battling Scotch broom and other noxious plants while astride a small tractor for hours on end to clear the brush.   

And just like Mr. Leedy and Mr. Ward proposed, the result was an actual "demonstration garden," which showcases different varieties of plants and serves as an educational learning experience for anyone touring through its sections. 
          
Certain aspects make it a stand-out among others in the state: It’s believed to be the largest “Master Gardener Demonstration Garden” in Oregon and it also is likely the most diverse, with areas that range from the children’s garden – including a tiny library in a birdhouse bookshelf – to the bee-and-butterfly oasis to the Asian garden, where tiny rocks are raked to make designs next to a water feature. (See “Green Bee” insert for more.)

And it’s year-round, with some plants most verdant in December and January. Witch hazel, which provides the world’s most widely used botanical, needs a brisk jolt of cold weather to start its showy, spidery blossoms.  Wintersweet produces a sweet-and-spicy scent in chilly air that can reach up to 50 feet away – its glossy yellow flowers often appear in late January. This makes the winter garden a pretty place during the sunshine of Oregon’s “February tease.”

The actual clearing of the unwanted growth started in the fall of 2012, and the first planting was in 2013. Donations of materials and money across the community paved the way.    

The city built the concrete walkway and local Boy Scouts helped put a gravel path by Ash Creek. Wood bark paths wind through every garden.
          
Upkeep is a continual effort by the OSU PCMG.  Almost all of the work is done by members, observed Lois Martin, a longtime volunteer who tends the rose garden – and does so without the aid of any chemical treatment.

This past fall, standing by the seashell-pink and salmon-orange colors of the roses, she pointed to a smudge near one petal. "You may see some mildew and blackspot," she said, though to the untrained eye, roses such as "Old China Pink" and “Coral Cove" seemed to explode in flawless color.               
          
The volunteers typically pay $100 and take 60 hours of classes. To be a certified “Master Gardener,” 60 hours of actually working on the chapter projects is also required, including several hours in the Inspiration Garden. 
The collective effort it takes to keep the garden vibrantly growing is a social one, too, Ms. Martin said. "On Friday mornings many of us are out here," she noted. At mid-morning, the group gathers in the central building, to take a break and talk.

The latest topic of discussion is a big new sign on Monmouth Street, pointing the way to the very place where they all volunteer. 

Wetland identification and mitigation is essential in Oregon’s expansion, according to the state. But just how is it enforced? By the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), which recently  imposed a fine of $33,000 on a Salem building company for allegedly polluting watershed in Monmouth, Independence’s neighboring city. (Photo at left) Marshes had been identified close to a construction site, but the run-off went to a ditch that drained into Ash Creek. This reduction in water quality caused changes that increased the turbidity and color, which could “block light from submerged vegetation, reduce photosynthesis and dissolved oxygen, decrease water clarity, and cause detrimental effects to aquatic organisms,” according to DEQ. --AS

"Never lick a stop sign in winter!” Does this sound like advice that would come from Independence Police Chief Robert Mason or Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton? Well, they imparted this recommendation as part of a recent visit with preschoolers at the Oregon Child Development Coalition in Independence – thanks to reading “Officer Buckle and Gloria,” a Caldecott-winning children’s book. It’s about a police officer and his canine sidekick, a German shepherd named Gloria. While Gloria the dog charms kids with funny background antics, Officer Buckle presumes his young audience is focusing intently on him – making his safety lesson a big success.  The two local law enforcement leaders are part of "Fight Crime: Invest in Kids," a group that's working to raise awareness of the role preschool can play in getting kids on a good pathway. “It was fun,” Chief Mason said, adding that the children were “full of energy and questions.” Sheriff Garton agreed. “It’s a great opportunity to bring focus on the need for pre-K, for both funding and for the 20,000 kids in Oregon who aren't able to be served by pre-K,” said Sheriff Garton. The book about Officer Buckle apparently was a hit, even though some of his tips seemed out of the realm of ordinary police work – like urging everyone to “always pull the toothpick out of your sandwich.”

Kay Beatty, the volunteer who provides oversight of the Inspiration Garden, can remember a time when the soil was so hard it felt as solid as cement. Donors stepped forward with mulch, and the organic matter made a difference that was "like magic," she said.
          
However, plant selection was just as important. For example, in the Rain Garden (photo at left), trees and bushes can continue to flourish in standing water, and, once it recedes, they continue to do so – even during relatively dry periods. But there’s no chance of over-watering in this sliver of a garden. It catches rainwater, contains it, filters it, and then it spreads into the surrounding soil. Purifying run-off, “quickly, neatly, naturally,” according to the US Department of Agriculture.

The Asian Garden is considered Mt. Fir Park’s "holy grail of horticulture” because here a relatively rare plant considered too delicate for a place of cool-breeze summers and harsh-rain winters seems to be thriving. This special plant – Emmenopterys henryi (photo at left), which goes by the nickname “Henry” – may put Independence high on the horticultural horizon.  

This Chinese tree is one of the few anywhere inthe United States, and it can take decades to bloom. One of less than a handful on the west coast, its counterpart in Sonoma CA, at Quarryhill Botanical Garden, did just that and a lot of plant enthusiasts are waiting to see if Henry at Inspiration Garden will do the same.

Near Henry is a purple companion, “Amy,” a hebe plant almost the opposite of the hard-to-cultivate Chinese tree. Amy is so adaptable that purple leaves adorn the plant almost all year long.

The Lower Garden is where Ash Creek meanders, and there are visitors who prefer the trail near the water. Once clogged with abandoned timber and choked by piling leaves, “the Master Gardeners have done a wonderful job and invested a lot of energy in clearing and removing invasive weeds from the riparian area of South Fork Ash Creek at Inspiration Garden,” noted Kristen Larson, executive director of the Luckiamute Watershed Council (LWC). “This helps release the native trees and shrubs present along the creek.”

However, the LWC “would love to see additional native trees and shrubs
planted on  the creek to create a continuous, connected, multi-level streamside forest so it provides as much shade as possible and maximum habitat benefit for wildlife,” she added. 

Where can you find a small child’s headboard that’s part of a flower bed? A little library that looks like it should be a birdhouse (photo to left)? The Children’s Garden, laid out to please little people in a space that’s whimsical and inviting.

And this time of year, the Rose Garden is truly hip. The Eglantine rose bush (photo to left) is budding with rose hips that were used for tea in the mid-1700s, a practice that continues to this day. It blooms big and sprawling, with an apple-blossom scent.

It is one of the two dozen rose bushes that make this part of the garden, when in bloom, smell like a light cloud of perfume. Bees like it too, making the plants look alive with vibration during periods when the pollinators visit there in droves. In fact, the Inspiration Garden is reported to be so mood-elevating it’s said to lighten the hearts of all who pass through.

Neil Bell is a horticulturalist with the Oregon State University Extension who oversees the Master Gardener program in Polk County and Marion County. Mr. Bell helped tackle nearly every challenge faced by the master gardeners during the building Inspiration Garden, according to several PCMG members. For more information: OSU Extension Service Polk County, 289 E. Ellendale, Suite 301, Dallas, OR. (503-623-8395)

To Coach Megan Smith, who took Central High’s cheerleading team all the way to a national title last winter, winning isn’t everything … or the only thing … or even the most important thing.                                

"I am not out to make great cheerleaders, I am out to make great people," she said.                    
If it sounds like Ms. Smith is defying the dictums by fabled football coaches like Vince Lombardi and Al Davis on the importance of winning, she most certainly is – and it turns out this approach led to a perfect performance and a stunning victory at the 2019 United Spirit Association National Competition in Anaheim CA.
                                                                            
There, the squad from Central High School (CHS) beat 17 other teams to take home the trophy in their division. And, just to qualify for the competition, they had to show acrobatic skill that sent some members flying through the air. They also had to possess the kind of precision exemplified by the New York Rockettes.                               

This year, the gravity-resistant, unison-attaining champs will try again. And as the holiday rush is underway, these athletes at CHS have been in full swing, too -- at the gym and on tumbling mats.                     

“When you raise that bar and challenge them, not only do they have to work harder, but their belief in themselves also rises,” explained Ms. Smith, a 2003 CHS graduate. “I don’t set bars they can’t achieve. They know it. They can feel that faith in them, it gives them confidence, and they try harder for me as a result.”                       

“My daughter has been so positively affected by this experience,” said Martha Zuck, who describes herself as a “grateful parent.” But it isn’t just coaching expertise that’s winning Ms. Smith the kind of community following that seems like gushy hero-worship. Ms. Zuck believes “character development” has been the biggest benefit Coach Smith has bestowed on the team.     Almost universally described as lovable when that’s not the thing she’s trying to be, Coach Smith said she strives to be “kind but firm.” That firmness includes a ban on social media use by team members during the 10 weeks of intensive training.

Participants are benched if they post or comment on Instagram, Twitter or any other platform. However, a warning is given instead if the policy-violator removes the post immediately in a fast effort to try to rectify the error -- and an apology is issued and the lapse is acknowledged.    

“I want to reward the honesty of admitting a mistake,” Coach Smith explained.            

“I love that social media policy. It cuts out all this drama,” said Ms. Zuck. Coach Smith also expects the girls to keep a journal. This self-written chronicle really encourages deep personal reflection, Ms. Zuck added. In fact, family members puzzled by teen behavior might want to follow some of the coach’s examples, according to several parents.   “They know I am their number one fan, but they also know I expect a lot from them,” said Coach Smith, a mother herself. “If we lower our expectations of kids, they know it. They feel it.”                                      

"She cares about students, but she expects them to do the right thing, even when it’s unpopular or uncomfortable,” observed Shane Cyphers, CHS counselor. Cheerleading has become so athletically challenging that it’s akin to any other sport, and perhaps even more physically demanding than many, he noted.                     

Being tossed skyward by teammates means trust and accuracy, he pointed out. In fact, Coach Smith’s favorite memory from the championship isn’t the moment she learned the team had won it. “It was the moment after our first performance. They nailed it. I was so proud. I didn’t know how the other teams did. And I didn’t care,” she said.

    By Anne Scheck

“Please be a good neighbor.” This simple request was made publicly at the last Independence City Council meeting. It came during a hearing for bringing 70 new acres into the city, by annexation. And, as Independence expands there with a proposed 100 more homes, the concept of neighborhood seems to be on many minds.  
         
The comment actually came from a Monmouth resident, Marilee Westfall, who expressed concern about the potential impact on traffic along her street, Madrona, from the project. Madrona now ends at a cow pasture – a field where new houses will go.  

But it’s not development itself that’s become a common topic. It’s the possible loss of what one Independence resident called “an old-fashioned, small-town feel.” After all, it’s the people here – not the elected officials, not the downtown shopping, not the Salem proximity – that are the top reason for livability on surveys about life in Independence.

“We can go for a walk and spend more time visiting neighbors along the way than actually walking,” said Margaret Cleveland, a 21-year resident and a member of the board of the Independence Airpark Homeowners Association. Trust among neighbors – even those who live several streets away – is a big benefit, she added. That’s a view shared by Jeremiah Ellison, a Minneapolis city councilor and the keynote speaker at a meeting in Eugene of city planners from across the state in late October. 

How important are neighborhoods? “On a scale of one to 10, they definitely are a 10,” he said.
He represents a ward with seven distinct neighborhoods in a city that lists 10 times as many. The two essential factors: solid infrastructure and a highly utilized park within walking distance – a hand-in-glove relationship that means residents can mix in a friendly way, he said.

The annexation will substantially increase the size of Independence. That fact apparently prompted the two newest members to the city council – Shannon Corr and Jennifer Ranstrom-Smith – to inquire about city outreach to Monmouth city government and local school administration. The city planner on the project, Fred Evander, and the city manager, Tom Pessemier, said they hadn’t made sure this information was imparted to current leadership at either Monmouth City Hall or the Central School District. 

“I definitely think in the future we can do a much better job of reaching out to them,” said Mr. Pessemier, adding that he was certain the Monmouth planning department “knows it’s out there.” 
           
If so, that may in part be due to one of the most visible residents of the downtown historic district, Jennifer Flores, a historic preservation commissioner. The annexation hearing was posted on a community Facebook page she oversees, called Independence & Monmouth News, Events and Conversation – a site of lively cross-town exchange.

But it is Green Acres that may be the most can-do neighborhood in Independence: It maintains its own streets – Luke, Daniel, Matthew and James – and buys water from the city for the entire property. Water and sewer bills are divided by the homeowners' association. Land under the manufactured homes was sold years ago, allowing individuals to purchase their own lots instead of renting the spaces. 

If a pipe bursts, it's the residents who scramble to fix the sprouting leak or spewing geyser. "We do take care of our own problems," said Stan Orton, a  homeowners’ board member. Everyone pitches in, sometimes with brooms and leaf blowers. "We don't qualify for the city street sweeper," he explained.

 ____________________________________________________________________
The name Green Acres, as seen on this neighborhood sign, was hotly debated several years ago. "There were jokes about the TV show," noted resident Sandra Orton. However, a lot fewer people now know the sitcom in which a New Yorker decides to chuck his Manhattan life to be a farmer in Hooterville. "Some people still know the theme song," Ms. Orton observed. But it sounds like a good fit for the neighborhood. It begins: "Green Acres is the place to be!"

A recent "Indy Hop" column took an amused look at the Independence tree census now underway, which seemed to be finding pine trees unworthy of much historic note. This eloquent response from city resident  J. David Thomas lists why these cone-bearing commoners in town deserve recognition. It has been shortened by editor and publisher Anne Scheck.
 
Why are Ponderosa Pines historic? The trees were part of the major trails for Native Americans – and they learned how to use the timber. They didn’t have a sawmill. There were no blacksmiths. They chipped away with stone hatchets on downed old-growth trees and then got boards by driving bone wedges with big rocks into tree trunks. From those they built long houses. Those big boards would be used in their winter camp along the valley foothills. The pine trees were important in other ways, too. Often, a large tree would fall across the creek, becoming a bridge of sorts. They used the pitch, too.  And ate the seeds – nuts from the cones.  
          
They reproduce -- if there is enough precipitation. Ponderosa Pines shed needles with a type of herbicide, and so very little grows under them.  No nettles.  No poison oak.  No grass or thistles.  
          
The needles that are shed keep out vegetative competition, becoming a solid ochre mat of dead needles. A nice place to sleep and eat.  
          
The Ponderosa Pine was not native here, except along the Willamette River. However, flood waters carried the cones and seeds all the way to the coast. Eventually, Ponderosa Pines were valuable in the fine paper trade.   
          
Douglas Fir grew here, too. However, the Native Americans had to burn it to keep it in check. The fir trees blocked out the sun to ground level plants.  Burning was a sanitary disposal activity. It renewed plants that were beneficial, and it also reduced the pathogens and the parasites. So now we have a lot of Doug Fir and it’s a protected species. 
          
The Ponderosa Pine is here because Native Americans husbanded it. Ponderosa Pine is here because humans needed it, liked it, and it served a purpose. Ponderosa Pines are relics. They become fire-resistant when they reach 50 or more years of age. The trees just have to get that old to help prevent fire spreading, which isn’t easy. That’s good reason to protect the few that are left.

Resident Harry Bladow looks over the information given to him during a recent meeting with Independence City Manager Tom Pessemier, who gave him some answers he was seeking on where the money for monthly water fees go. About 17%, or $17.80, of a typical water bill -- which runs about $105 on average -- is for repayment of debt. About $6.50 of that goes to pay debt on the Independence Civic Center, according to the most recent consultant report.

The debt payment doesn't include $10 to MINET, which is for a separate annual loan to subsidize the fiberoptic company. The rest of the bill largely goes for labor and operational costs, in addition to franchise fees. (See "Utility Funds Expenditures" in "key documents" on the Independence City website.)

An Independence resident, Dustin Ball, felt stymied by the city code when trying to design an accessory structure by his house to a height he considered reasonable. He was limited by his own home's single-story roof line.

Mr. Ball took his problem to the city, and after meeting with city planning, going to hearings by the planning commission to make his case, a code change sailed into the city council and passed last month. The amendment would allow accessory structures up to 15 feet tall for a single-story building, rather than basing the allowed height of an accessory structure on the height of the primary building. The new ordinance, which proceeded without any controversy, applies to every homeowner across the city.

For residents here, November is the official start of the season -- the rainy season. As skies open this year, there is a flurry of new findings about how hard the flying wet stuff is on animals. It turns out bats don't like rain because the downpours complicate their ability to soar in two ways: interfering with the internal echolocation they use to know where they're going and causing them to use twice as much muscle power to stay aloft. Certain birds have the same energy-depleting problem while flying in downward drizzle, and some ornithologists have theorized this may be linked to the avian funk that sets in, causing cessation of chirping in these periods. However, it is dogs that have caught the recent attention of animal science, probably because many humans have to deal with canine avoidance of rain. This makes walking some dogs a real challenge. Many online veterinary sites recommend special treats and rewards this time of year, so that even the most reluctant pooch won't mind going out and getting drenched. Sadly, it doesn't always work. Some doges seem to need more -- and now Seattle-based Amazon is offering the "umbrella-leash" for owners and their rain-hating companions. Just like it sounds, it is a leash with an umbrella attached. No word yet on the skills level needed for use.

It’s been three years since I founded the world’s smallest newspaper, almost by accident, in my small town in Oregon. And, as I roll toward that third anniversary, I keep thinking about the yellow roses. The first time I remember giving
them to someone was to Sandra Close. I don’t know if she
ever got them. 
 
She had won a MacArthur grant, also known as “a genius award,” for running Pacific News Service in San Francisco –
on what was described as a “shoestring” budget and, even more impressively, she had done so with monumental creativity. I couldn’t imagine a woman helming such an operation. So one blustery day – are there any other kind in the bay area? – I hiked over to the offices of the news service and dropped off a bouquet for her. It was my
first time depositing yellow roses, an act of fandom. I was in this wonderful city on a writing assignment from another publication, just beginning my career. 
 
But I was stumbling, the way someone does who is awkward and plain and unimpressive on so many levels – and yet in possession of enough iron will to have expectations bigger than reality seems ready to allow. So, the women who cleared a path by example, lightening my load on the road, got a lot of gratitude – and sometimes flowers. Oh, those women who showed me the way, females who seemed the furthest thing from the girls I’d grown up with in Kansas.  
 
I was not a pretty prairie lass. I had a mop of curly hair that I habitually and unsuccessfully tried to straighten in the humidity of a state that, at the time, had entrance signs saying “Home of Beautiful Women.” It listed two Miss America winners. And, when I got a haircut for my unruly tresses, I passed by a window in the salon that displayed the poster: “Appearance is your greatest asset.” 
 
There didn’t seem to be any room for recognition of character; Niceness went unrewarded most of the time because, in girls, it was a sacred norm. But there are huge benefits to having no great beauty. One of them is that no one ever tells you that being a bookworm is a waste of time. And, in my case, it led to seven years of college, three degrees and into the new niche of medical journalism. 
 
So now, here I am, an old lady if you believe those actuarial tables and the Social Security chart. I’ve got a tiny newspaper and two e-newsletters, telling a town about itself in a way I hope does all those great women, and more than a few men, the justice they deserve for the mentoring moments of my life. I had all but forgotten my early wish of starting my own news wire, and of my early flower-bearing stop in San Francisco. But after I moved to our little Oregon town, my husband of 40 years told
me retirement was turning me cranky and my neighbors told me the town was having the same effect on them. 
 
There was grumbling and griping but nobody seemed to know with precision what was going on at city hall. Pen and pad in hand, there I was all over again, this time trying to decipher acronyms like “SDC” and the whole alphabet soup that constitutes the language of city government. (SDCs are system development charges and they’re the fees that developers pay – or not! – for infrastructure costs, depending on the plans approved by the city). 
 
My days of wanting to send yellow roses weren’t over. It was a young woman – young in comparison to me, that is – who confirmed our town was deeply in debt. She was a member of the city auditing team. I’d followed her out into the corridor after a meeting in which I’d been afraid to label one of the city’s investments “likely unrecoverable debt,” even though I found a document calling it a doubtful account. She seemed visibly shaken as she handed me her business card, nodding when I proposed using the term. The city debt, which now tops $40 million for an estimated 10,000 people, had not been characterized that way in public. 
 
Then Oregon finally got what it had needed for so long: a public records advocate, Ginger McCall -- a magna cum laude college grad with an ivy league law degree. I became an immediate admirer. Dedicated to a fault, I watched from afar as she carved out this new position after having the unthinkable happen, the loss of her baby girl. Then I saw her up close, shortly after she resigned from her position after only about
18 months on the job. In her resignation letter, she said she was pressured by the governor’s staff to represent gubernatorial interests on public-record issues. Steel-backboned and integrity-driven, she decided to exit. But she leaves a legacy – and me as a devotee, still inspired by yellow-rose-deserving gals.  
 
I attended a meeting this fall where Ms. McCall, with poise and professionalism, was present as an advisory body to the state legislature approved a resolution that her position be made fully independent under state law. 
 
Later, I found her home address. It seemed to me to be too intrusive to drive over with a bunch of flowers, so I found some gold roses on an applique at a fabric store and attached them to the front of a glittery card. “You made such a difference,” I wrote. “And when you're as old as I am, you will look back and see this as a shining period, even if you don’t see it that way now. Thank you.” 
 
But I’m not through yet. There’s a city auditor who left her job a while ago, and soon I will be making a trip to her doorstep with a few long-stemmed, sun-colored roses. She deserves a thank-you, too. Life is long, with many flowers.  

By Anne Scheck

When Rich Clark MD, who lives on Maple Street, got a notice from the city about a future housing development next to his home called Brandy Meadows, he spotted something in the letter that several of his neighbors didn’t. Details about the new subdivision differed from the original description of the area, known as the Southwest Independence Concept Plan. A trail had disappeared and so had a park.

“It was a whole different thing,” he said.  Using statements from the document, which contrasted with the master plan for Brandy Meadows, Dr. Clark made a strong case for changes at a meeting of the Independence Planning Commission in mid- September.

But he didn’t do it alone. He had at least 25 other residents with him when he appeared at the hearing, on his mission to get a park and a guarantee of bicycle paths and a trail. And, as the commissioners heard testimony on the reasons why the Brandy Meadows plan needed modification, another change seemed to be taking place – transformation of residents from the city’s newest development, Sunset Meadows, into a close-knit group of neighbors.

“We have what it takes to be a neighborhood,” commented Kimberly Wells, who lives next door to Dr. Clark. She had knocked on doors with him to help tell others about the issue. “It seems like a lot of us had the same vision,” she said.

The “goal should be controlled growth with quality-of-life issues paramount in development decisions,” stated Carol Harriet, another Sunset Meadows resident who submitted her comments to the planning commission. She urged commissioners to remember small-town living is “why we love our community.” 
          
Conflictual points haven’t been worked out between the master plan for Brandy Meadows and the residents of Sunset Meadows. However, already one big hurdle has been passed: Harvey Cummings, the developer, said he wants a park – and he has no interest in paying the “fee-in-lieu” to the city.  
          
Under the Independence Development Code, any developer can opt to pay 13 percent of the market value of the land instead of dedicating about six percent of it for a park. But, like the Sunset Meadows residents, Mr. Cummings said he wants to protect the habitat and preserve some open space – nesting ospreys overlook the vibrant riparian community.

However, the agreement isn’t in writing, noted Dr. Clark. He plans to appeal the decision of the Independence Planning Commission, which approved the Brandy Meadows proposal. It still doesn’t comply with the Southwest Independence Concept Plan, which was incorporated into the city’s Master Comprehensive Plan, he pointed out.  “The developer has made promises regarding parks and trails, but the proposal doesn’t include these easements,” he said.

Brandy Meadows will be something of a first for the city: Designated “mixed,” it will include a new variety of homes, single-sited ones, townhomes that look like “row houses,” two-unit homes classified as duplexes and a fourplex. Mr. Cummings – who appeared to amicably concur with ideas advocated by the residents of Sunset Meadows – said he’s confident that buyers are looking for more-varied selection.

“Yes, there are those who still want the single-family home,” he said. “But Millennials? Some are likely to want those row houses,” he said.

Jeremy Grenz, of Multi/Tech Engineering, pointed out that “there also are baby boomers who want to downsize. They may like them, too.” The two called Brandy Meadows a place where there will be a “full range” of housing choices. In some ways, the effort mounted by Sunset Meadows, and the relationship between residents that resulted, seems to show a classic case of “village-building” as it’s described in some recent academic studies. 
          
Often, it’s a triggering factor that brings a neighborhood together and then the togetherness “sticks,” whether it’s a gathering in a basement as a tornado rages or planning an annual sidewalk festival up and down streets. “I hope it sticks here,” said Ms. Wells.

Public health experts have been looking into why such neighborly socializing seems so beneficial. Neighborhood perceptions – the belief that the surrounding community is a safe and sharing one – give people a sense of “well-being,” according to researchers at Stonybrook University in New York, who have been looking into the topic.

Two other neighborhoods in Independence seem to be showing a similar cohesive trend: The Historic Downtown Neighborhood District and the Independence Airpark.  (Sidebar below is on a former appeal)
                                 
A PAST APPEAL PARTLY WON
 
More than two years ago, an effort similar to the one being waged by Sunset Meadows was being undertaken by the Independence Airpark. In that case, a production facility for cannabis products near the neighborhood had raised concerns among residents -- zoning appeared so lax that even buffer zones weren’t part of the original plan. The president of the airpark homeowners’ association, resident Gary Van Horn, helped spearhead the effort to involve the neighborhood in a challenge to the zoning process.
     
Today, Mr. Van Horn looks back on the appeal as only partly successful. The permit process itself troubles him. He believes all industrial permits should be a “Type Two” hearing, which would give far wider notice than the “Type One,” which was the way the hearing was conducted.
           
“The airpark spent $20,000 on an attorney before the city council and staff would listen to us,” he asserted. (City staff have said they were following legal advice at every juncture). After numerous meetings and exchanges by attorneys on both sides, a final hearing granted some concessions sought by the airpark.

Several new measures were instituted, including carbon filters for reducing odor, and a series of sound measurements aimed at establishing a reasonable noise level.

But it was the buffer zones that seemed to illustrate the most dramatic reversal. Months after proclaiming they would not be feasible, both the planning commission and city council voted to require 250-foot buffers between residential areas and the new marijuana production site.

Disclosure: The editor and publisher of The Independent lives at the Independence Airpark. She did not participate in the hearing process except in a reporting capacity. 

Child care for parents who attend public meetings was seen as a problem in need of a solution by Ithaca NY. There, this past spring, the city’s Common Council passed a measure that now requires child care to be provided at these events. It’s a five-month pilot program that’s being watched across the country, according to news accounts.
          
The Common Council report on it indicates that the program was set up after at least two members on Ithaca’s city commissions said they had trouble making meetings due to babysitting needs. The child care providers are adolescents experienced in watching kids at a local community center. So far, the undertaking has had mixed results: the city commissioners who needed it apparently are benefiting, but the effort hasn’t consistently translated into more attendance at city hall meetings by families.

It is a well-known fact that Oregonians take trees for granted. But in Independence, that's simply not the case -- even pine trees in the southern part of town by the river are deemed historic. Why? It's not really known. In fact, even the way trees here are declared historic is something of a mystery. But perhaps not for long.

An intrepid intern from Chemeketa Community College, Cody Fox, is hot on the trail of an official city census of important trees. Asked what might make a tree important, City Planner Fred Evander said it is probably consistent with a "wow" factor. Asked what a "wow factor" is, Mr. Evander said it’s likely to be related to old age, associated with a historical or significant event or is obviously magnificent to see. This would include some mighty oaks, like the one pictured. It seems deserving of a "wow!" 

Meet Marilyn Morton, although chances are you already have. She has worn more hats than an old-time haberdasher and is a longtime city councilor in Independence. But it’s a little stroll down memory lane that occurs yearly in Independence for which she may go down in (ghoulish) history.

It’s the “Ghost Walk,” an October event in Independence that she started 18 years ago for what she thought might draw two dozen people, tops. That first year more than 300 showed up – and it has been growing ever since. “I’m actually kind of frightened about the growing number,” said the woman who has written an entire book about ghostly encounters and digs into paranormal occurrences whenever she hears of a new one.
The label “Community Paragon” was bestowed on Ms. Morton due to a place far from the town she’s captured in beyond-the-grave descriptions – at a meeting of urban planners in Portland. There, during a break from topics on tourism, a group was asked about what the best draw for a city like Independence might be.
 
River kayaking?
A great selection of taverns?
A charming downtown?
 
“You already have a great attraction there – the ghost walk,” said one of the planners, with nods from the others. They agreed it fits the bill in so many ways: involving the whole town, imparting the flavor and history of the place with intriguing information and, best of all, it costs nothing to participate.

“We are retelling stories that have existed for decades,” said Ms. Morton. She began collecting accounts after the “ghost walk” was considered as an add-on for the Hop Festival and merchants “kept telling me ‘you ought to hear what goes on in my building’ ” – allusions to things that really do go bump in the night.
           
One bright spirit is a little boy with a red ball who reportedly haunted the late Dan Weaver, an antiques dealer who lived upstairs from his shop on Main Street. The noise became annoying, interfering with Mr. Weaver’s sleep. Mr. Weaver asked the friendly little ghost to go downstairs at night, Ms. Morton recalled. But it had consequences.
“Apparently moving downstairs at night enabled him to leave the building,” she said. The result: he played with his red ball on the street.

At one post-ghost-walk clean-up, a public works employee running the street sweeper saw a red ball whiz by. “He turned that street sweeper around and he was done for the day,” Ms. Morton said.
          
This month, there will be a new "cool ghoul" feature at the Heritage Museum, displayed with the sign “M. Morton, Paranormal Investigator, Independence, Oregon.”  A mock 1940s detective office -- with goose-neck telephone and an old Royal typewriter – will be on the desk with specific cases of hauntings, along with files from Ms. Morton's book.
           
In fact, the museum itself is said to be haunted. So, on Oct. 12, a paranormal investigative team will  be at the Heritage Museum, to reveal results of an investigation there -- and to explain how such investigations are conducted.

Haunted Independence Oregon by Marilyn Morton