PIO1916 by C.M.I.

Sports

County

Independence Ghost Walk photos

Dallas dominate the Raiders 51-12 See B1

See A8

Wednesday October 16, 2024 | Volume 148, Issue 42

www.polkio.com

$2.00

Trump not in Oregon’s voters guide Presidential candidate will still be on the ballot By JULIA SHUMWAY Oregon Capital Chronicle

The Dallas Pawn Shop gets a sudden influx of customers Oct. 11 at it’s location at 1385 E Ellendale Ave.

PHOTO BY DAVID HAYES

Dallas lands its first licensed pawn shop By DAVID HAYES Itemizer-Observer

One could say owning and operating a pawn shop runs in Joel Burton’s veins. After all, his father and two uncles ran successful operations before he followed in their footsteps. However, Burton, now 58, needed to sell his last shop in Salem when

he was sidelined by a health scare. Then, after getting a clean bill of health after two years of sitting at home, “e-baying,” Burton said discovered the bug to own another pawn shop had never left his system. So, rather than return to Salem with its already crowded marketplace of pawn shops, Burton looked for a community that lacked one of its

own. He focused his search on the region from Independence to Falls City before settling on a perfect location in Dallas. Thus he opened his fourth location, Dallas Pawn Shop, and the city’s first officially licensed operation. After two months of remodeling, installing new counters and showcases and another month to get

a pawn shop license and Federal Firearm License, Burton is ready to celebrate with the community. He invites everyone to learn more about the shop during a three-day grand opening Oct. 17-19. “I’ve been doing this with my wife, Michelle, for 25 years. To us, See SHOP, page A6

County eyes levy for Polk County fair fairgrounds maintenance continues to deliver despite challenges the buildings that will not be moved or demolished. On Oct. 8, during a presentaWith grand plans to expand its fairgrounds to attract more and larger tion by Fair Board Chairman Tim exhibitors, county leaders are focus- Ray and fairgrounds manager Tina ing on what can be accomplished in Anderson, County Administrator Greg Hansen gave the commissionthe short term. ers a preliminary timeline and posThe county’s master plan for the sible levy amounts to pursue should fairground’s expansion envisions they wish to get a measure to voters expanding the grounds out into the by May, 2025. unused, 10 acres behind the fair“This isn’t my first rodeo on levgrounds that is used only for overies. If we plan on doing a levy for flow parking. The barns and other the fair, here’s the time table you’re buildings would all be demolished probably looking at,” Hansen said. and replaced with larger configurations. Additionally, the current arena “You’re never going to be able to do would be moved and reoriented with a future expansion with a levy. You just can’t do it. Well, you could, but 3,500 covered seats. it’s going to be really expensive.” The fair’s board of directors disHowever, he warned if the Fair carded the idea of creating a permanent taxing district to pay for a por- Board and the commissioner were to tion of the expansion plans citing an pursue a levy at this time, they faced stiff competition already expected on unwillingness to cede control over the voters’ ballot. the facility to another entity. The city of Dallas plans to ask Rather, the expansion has been voters in May for a new police broken into two phases. A bond to pay for the expansion and a levy to pay for maintenance and upkeep of By DAVID HAYES Itemizer-Observer

See LEVY, page A10

By DAVID HAYES Itemizer-Observer

Two months on after the Polk County Fair came and went, the county commissioners received an after-action report Oct. 8 from Fair Board Chairman Tim Ray and fairgrounds manager Tina Anderson. However, commissioner Jeremy Gordon didn’t need their numbers-crunching report when his own son provided key feedback the week of the fair. “My son and I visited the fair four times, it would have been every day, all day, if he was in charge,” Gordon shared. “State fairs, bigger fairs, are just jam packed with carnival stuff. It’s just a money drain for families. This is so accessible, scaled so nicely. I just really appreciate all the work and all the detail that goes into it.” Ray confirmed that judging by admission revenues, up 15 percent

over last year, the fairgrounds were indeed busy just about all the time with satisfied visitors. “It had a wonderful buzz to it this year as you walked around the grounds. The family area was a HUGE hit,” Ray said. “There was always people out there. We got lots of positive comments about the mini golf, about the virtual reality, about the jumpy houses. There was just a lot of things for the youngers to do.” Ray said one of the fair’s biggest draws each year, the Youth Livestock Auction, continued to draw in impressive participation and results. While total number of animals auctioned off was down just two from last year at 210, Ray said the auction’s overall revenue was up by 10.5 percent, bringing in a total of $612,108. “Support for youth in this county continues to be incredible. When I See FAIR, page A10

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump once again declined to submit a statement to Oregon’s state-issued voters’ pamphlet, skipping an opportunity to make his case to the state’s 3 million voters. Candidates aren’t required to submit voters’ pamphlet statements, and Trump will still appear on all Oregon ballots. But most candidates participate in the pamphlet, which is mailed to all Oregon households and is a cheap – presidential candidates pay the top fee of $3,500 – way to share a campaign’s message with all voters. The state-issued voters’ pamphlet, which will be mailed to voters by mid-October, will feature four presidential candidates: Democrat Kamala Harris, Libertarian Chase Oliver, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who withdrew from contention in several swing states but will still appear on the Oregon ballot as the We The People party’s nominee. Trump, Progressive nominee Cornel West and Constitution Party nominee Randall Terry will appear on the ballot but did not submit statements. See VOTE, page A6

PHOTO FROM SECRETARY OF STATE ONLINE

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump won’t be in the state-issued voters’ pamphlet.

Hand Deliver your ballot to local drop box or clerk’s office

by November 5th

SUPPORT CANDIDATES... Donald Trump, President Mike Erickson, US CD 6 Will Lathrop, Attorney General Dennis Linthicum, Secretary of State Brian Boquist, State Treasurer

Kevin Chambers, Rep. HD 20 Lucetta Elmer, Rep. HD 24 Anna Scharf, Rep. HD 23 Bruce Starr, Sen. SD 12 Mark Garton, Sheriff

VOTE “NO” MEASURES 117 Ranked Choice Voting ........Oregon Assoc. of County Clerks oppose 117 118 Largest Tax increase in Oregon’s history .......Even Governor Tina Kotek opposes 118

119 Infringement of speech for cannabis business owners

www.polkcounty.gop

paid for by Polk County Republican Central Committee #338

IN THIS ISSUE Voices Corrections Obituaries Puzzle Solutions Social Public Records Classifieds Puzzles

A4 A4 A6 B2 B2 B6 B8 B9

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