PIO35 by C.M.I.

Sports Girls Basketball, Pickleball Courts

Monmouth Monmouth/Indy Chamber Awards See A8

See B1

Wednesday March 5, 2025 | Volume 150, Issue 10

Indy faces $776,000 budget shortfall

www.polkio.com

$2.00

State Champ

By DAVID HAYES I-O Editor

The city of Independence is facing a $776,000 shortfall to its general fund this year and leaders face tough decisions making cuts or generating additional revenue to continue to pay for its police, parks, library, museum and administration. The bad news was delivered during a budget work session Feb. 25. City finance director Rob Moody told the city councilors they will have to make hard decisions to balance their $7.5 million budget that begins July 1. “If we don’t do anything, the general fund will be in a deficit position in about three years,” Moody said. City Manager Kenna West said staff are examining the city’s financial situation. She explained that they have already performed all the cost-saving measures that could be done in operations through staff consolidation and other means, such as outsourcing various services like landscaping. Two factors compounded the city’s budget situation. West pledged after her arrival to no longer loan out portions of the budget, such as sewer and water, to pay for other shortfalls. And, the residents of Independence voted down a levy in November that would have paid for library and museum operations. Staff presented several options moving forward to close the shortfall gap. They estimated closing the library would save about $550,000 per year, and another $120,000 per year could be saved by closing the Independence Heritage Museum. However, newly elected Mayor Kate Schwarzler said closing the library is not an option. “One hundred percent we have to make cuts,” Schwarzler said, adding reducing hours at the library during the last go-around or cutbacks still haven’t balanced out the budget. “You look at what Salem’s going through, and nobody is faced with great decisions right now.” One possible solution included combining the museum assets within the library, then selling the museum building. Staff valued the sale around $800,000, that would also generate a savings of $85,000 a year in mortgage payments. Other solutions staff explored was selling park properties, including Boise Park, an undeveloped half-block between Polk and Ash streets, the Independence Sports Park, and the defunct pool property, which operated between 5th and I streets before its closure. West cautioned that these would be one time monies and not a longterm fix. Staff also floated the idea to generate more revenue with implementing fees for the library, See INDY PAGE A3

Aaron Felton

County district attorney: Our office is healthy By DAVID HAYES I-O Editor

PHOTO BY SMY PHOTOGRAPHY

Dallas High School freshman Carson Langford gets his arm raised after winning the 190-pound state title at the OSAA wrestling state championships at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland March 1. Results will be posted online later this week.

Dallas Library to host first-ever Comic Con By DAVID HAYES I-O Editor

The staff at the Dallas Public Library had an idea for a new event. Host some of Oregon’s most popular comic artists, writers and creators, sprinkle in two of the biggest costumed cosplay groups in the state, create space for local vendors to offer up their collectibles, and invite fans to attend, dressed as their own favorite comic character. Then spread out the event over three locations and call it a convention. Thus was born the first ever Dallas Library Comic-Con. The free event is from 4-8 p.m. March 14. With some of the biggest Comic Cons attracting thousands, usually over three-day weekends, librarian Mark GreenhalghJohnson has no idea what to expect for a first-ever event of its kind in a location off the usual beaten path of the comic book fan. “That is always the two worries when you put something on - what if no one comes, and then what if everyone comes,” Mark GreenhalghJohnson said. “We’re kind of scared it could be bigger than we think. But we have to go out on a limb and try it.” Greenhalgh-Johnson said staff researched smaller comic cons and found some libraries out east that hosted similar, but smaller events. “We started planning it and we got carried away. But we made it into what we think is pretty good,” Greenhalgh-Johnson said. “We didn’t want to have a (lame) comic con. We

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

A4 A4 A4 B2 B2 B6 B4 A6

wanted to make this one something people would really like.” To aid in their planning, Greenhalgh-Johnson said they recruited the owners of three new businesses in Dallas specializing in selling collectibles, including Everything Blaine Likes, Mythic Finds and Kujo’s Kollectibles. For good measure, Galaxy One offered additional advice with video games. “They all knew people. They gave us contacts and it sort of grew,” Greenhalgh-Johnson said. Blaine Gorze, co-owner of Everything Blaine Likes (with his wife Justine), started his career selling collectibles at smaller conventions, specifically the air hanger in Tillamook, before branching out recently to open

their own brick and mortar store in Dallas. “I would say for somebody who’s never done this before and is doing it for the first time, they’re doing great,” Gorze said. “We gave them a lot of pointers. When we started out, we did toy shows, then smaller comic cons. We hit certain people up. I kid you not, everyone we recommended they reached out to. They took any sort of criticism and advice and ran with it.” Luckily for the staff, the Dallas Library has already hosted all except one of the talent targeted to attend their Comic Con. Portland resident Jason W. Christman is a licensed Lucas Film Star War artist who builds androids. See LIBRARY, page A3

Rather than give the Polk County Commissioners a deep dive into recent crime statistics, District Attorney Aaron Felton chose instead to give an update on the overall health of his department during his regular update. “In trying to put together what matters for folks to hear, I think about lots of statistics I could give you, sort of overwhelming statistics that from my impression any number of those statistics could generate a deep dive that could go on and on and on,” Felton told the commissioners Feb. 25. To get to what they mean, Felton chose to zero in on three questions that address the values the commissioners and residents of Polk County have. - Am I safer? - Are my tax dollars being spent wisely? - Is the DA’s office currently set up to handle the big issues or a crisis when they come? The biggest and most positive contributing factor to each of the above questions is Felton’s staff is at full strength with eight attorneys, including seven deputy district attorneys. He said that is a positive thing. “We have been that way in the past couple of years. I would say we are the healthiest we have been in terms of being staffed and being able to do the work we are charged with doing,” Felton said. “When we are fully staffed, we are able to meet the mission we are required to do.” He said they were in constant catch up mode when they were not fully staffed and have had DDA vacancies. Because they have not been in catch up mode for some time, they have been able to catch up on their back log of personal crimes and sexual offenses. In addition, they caught up on death reports, i.e., when law enforcement investigates a non-criminal death scene. This has See ATTORNEY, page A3

Send us a news tip at www.online.com | Your message could be the first thing our readers see!

Weather W

48 37