Dallas
Sports
Dallas wins top thespian awards at state See A3
Rebuilding love of the game is first goal in girls’ tennis See B1
Wednesday April 17, 2024 | Volume 148, Issue 16
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Monmouth approves another garbage rate increase Brandt experienced unexpected business expenditures By DAVID HAYES Itemizer-Observer
The Monmouth City Council unanimously approved a second garbage collection rate increase in as many years at their April 2 meeting. Brandt’s Sanitary Service requested a 7.9 percent increase to all rates for all its city customers to be effective May 1. This comes on the heels of a 7.8 percent increase the city council approved last year. Owner Josh Brandt explained regional costs to his operations necessitated requesting an adjustment this year. “The largest cost is our disposal fee increased 9% last year and another 13% this year, that includes yard debris, cardboard recycling and garbage,” Brandt said. In addition to landfill fees increasing $2 extra a ton for six-straight years, Brandt said his maintenance costs also went up just last week when Dave Mobile Repair out of Rickreall increased their labor charge from $130 an hour to $145 an hour.
See MONMOUTH, page A2
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
The crew of America’s Best Restaurants films Chef Alyssa prepare a baked potato pizza at Yeasty Beasty in Monmouth.
America’s Best Restaurant features Yeasty Beasty pizza By DAVID HAYES Itemizer-Observer
There’s something special about Yeasty Beasty and the word is spreading. Since Jason Waggoner took over as owner of the Monmouth pizzeria in 2021, he’s refined the menu to take their sourdough pizzas in unexpected directions. Soon word spread beyond the locals in the know to
pizzaphiles up and down the West Coast. Their reputation grew exponentially after ThatOregonLife.com ranked Yeasty Beasty in its top five ultimate pizza bucket list. “I didn’t know about that one until people started coming in from Seattle, Vancouver, Southern Oregon, California,” Waggoner said. “People come up and say, ‘Yeah, Yeah. We
saw you on this top five list and we just had to come check out the pizza.’” Another list had Sizzle Pie as best of 2023, but added if you can’t make it there, go to Yeasty Beasty. Then, Waggoner was hit up on Facebook by America’s Favorite Restaurants with a feature opportunity he almost ignored.
“I wasn’t convinced at first. I read that and thought, this is a scam. I’m not going to do this,” he said. Then the show’s producers called. “They started talking and I realized this is real. Not some random person. They said ‘We’re coming through Oregon. Do you want to be location we hit?’” Waggoner recalled See YEASTY, page A2
County Commissioner candidates share top concerns, plans Itemizer-Observer Staff Report
The Polk County Association of Realtors held a question-and-answer session April 11 between the candidates for the Commissioner Seat 1 Race between incumbent Lyle Mordhorst and challenger, and current Monmouth City Council member Roxanne Beltz. The event, held at the Polk County Fairgrounds, was sponsored by the Dallas and Monmouth-Independence Chambers of Commerce. Each candidate was given three minutes to answer a prepared question (five minutes for one, three-part question). Their responses here are edited down for length. For the entire debate, go to the Dallas Area Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ dallasoregonchamber.
PHOTOS BY DAVID HAYES
Polk County Commissioner Seat 1 candidates Roxanne Beltz (left) and incumbent Lyle Mordhorst chat with attendees after a Q&A session April 11 at the Polk County Fairgrounds. What are your thoughts on the movement to repeal Measure 5 and 50? Would you support this kind of repeal why or why not?
Mordhorst – I will not support the repeal of 5 and 50 until I see something that’s going to be put in place that we can all support as the public.
If they repeal it, we’re giving our future to the capital we see in Salem and right now I don’t trust 40 years of leadership of tax and spend. It is
not who we want to give an open See PLANS, page A8
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