River City Briefs C i ty o f

I nde pende nce

Volume 16, Issue 5 Nov. 2017

MAYOR John McArdle

COUNCIL Kenneth Day

Michael Hicks Diana Lindskog

Kathy Martin-Willis Marilyn Morton

Tom Takacs

CITY MANAGER David Clyne

CITY HALL Phone: 503-838-1212

Fax: 503-606-3282

Website: www.ci.independence.or.us

Facebook: www.facebook.com/

IndependenceOregon

POLICE Phone: 503-838-1214

Fax: 503-838-5548

PUBLIC WORKS Phone: 503-838-4781

Fax: 503-838-2599

LIBRARY Phone: 503-838-1811 Fax: 503-838-4486

MUSEUM Phone: 503-838-4989

UPCOMING EVENTS Nov 2nd, 6-8 pm: Dia de

Muertos, Independence Library.

Nov 10th: Military Exhibit Grand Re-Opening, Herit-age Museum

Nov 10th: City Hall closed to observe Veteran’s Day holiday.

Nov 23rd & 24th: City Hall closed to observe Thanks-giving holiday.

Dec 1st, 6:00 pm: 50th Annual Holiday Tree Light-ing, WOU

Dec 2nd, 1:00 –3:00 pm: Santa Train, Cinema

Dec 2nd, 5:00 pm: Parade of Lights, Downtown

LEAVES, LEAVES, LEAVES!

Garbage/Recycling/Yard Debris Carts

Please remember to put your carts out the night before pick up day—and also to bring them back in within 24 hours.

Your carts must be stored on your property—not in the streets, sidewalks or beauty strips. Thank you!

We are blessed to have so many beautiful trees in our city—which also means we get a lot of falling leaves.

Please remember to use your yard debris container from Brandt’s as much as possi-ble to dispose of leaves. The carts can ac-cept grass clippings, twigs and other organ-ic materials that cannot be swept into the street. Please check with them at 503-838-0464 for more information about this ser-vice.

If you have more leaves than can be recy-cled, they can be placed in the street for pick up, by observing the following:

1. Place leaves in the street on the desig-nated weeks only: November 13th, Novem-ber 27th, December 11th, December 18th & January 8th. 2. No twigs, branches or grass—leaves on-ly! 3. Leave a 1-ft. strip between the curb and leaf piles, so that rainwater will be able to flow to the storm sewers. 4. If you park in the street, leave at least 5’ between your car and the leaves so the street sweeper can safely get to the leaves.

The Independence Po-lice Department is par-ticipating in a food drive sponsored by INDY Commons for the Ella Curran Food Bank. They are challenging teams to collect non-perishable food items to stock the food banks shelves before the holidays. The team with the most pounds of food will win an awesome Golden Can trophy!!! This year we have been challenged by the Monmouth Police Department. To all you Independence residents – help us defeat the Monmouth Police Department in this chal-lenge! You can bring your donations to the Independence Civic Center and drop them in the barrel in the Police Department lobby.

GO TEAM INDY PD!!

Museum Exhibit Grand Re-Opening The Heritage Museum has begun a 3-month ef-fort to update our military exhibit in time for a grand re-opening event on Veterans Day, Novem-ber 10th.

A long standing and admired fixture of the muse-um, the military exhibit features artifacts repre-senting military operations starting as early as the Civil War and continuing through the modern era. Recent suggestions from visiting veterans got museum volunteers thinking it’s time to clarify the exhibit’s objectives and renovate the space to better serve our patrons.

With leadership and support provided primarily by volunteers, we hope to achieve the following ob-jectives:

· More clearly illustrate to patrons the impact of military operations on our local area · Pay tribute to our community members’ military service · Increase museum visibility in the community, and · Demonstrate the museum’s ability to enhance and update our collection

We urge veterans and residents alike to save the date for the Military Exhibit’s “Grand Re-Opening” on November 10th, 5-7 pm at the Heritage Muse-um, 112 S. 3rd Street, Independence.

It’s Time to “Fall Back”

It’s time to go back to Pacific Standard Time!

Remember to set your clocks back one hour be-fore you go to bed on November 4th—the time

officially changes at 2:00 A.M. on November 5th.

Enjoy your extra hour!

FOOD DRIVE CHALLENGE

Public Meeting Schedule Date(s) Time Place

City Council Nov 14

Nov 28

6:30 PM 6:30 PM

Civic Center—Chambers Civic Center—Chambers

Planning Commission Nov 20 7:00 PM Civic Center—Chambers

Historic Preservation Commission Nov 15 4:00 PM Civic Center—Chambers

Museum Board Nov 8 4:30 PM Heritage Museum

Library Board Nov 27 4:00 PM Independence Library

Parks & Rec Committee Nov 16 6:00 PM Ash Creek Meeting Room

Traffic Safety Commission Dec 20 6:00 PM Ash Creek Meeting Room

Independence Days Commission Nov 9 7:00 PM Civic Center—Event Center

MINET Board of Directors Nov 30 7:30 AM Henry Hill Center, 750 S. 5th

Want to Recycle? Brandt's Sanitary Service offers 2 ways to recycle: 1. at their 24-hour recycling center, lo-cated at 158 Pacific Avenue South; or 2. curbside recycling. For more infor-mation, call Brandt’s at: 503-838-0464.

Independence on Facebook You can keep up-to-date with what’s going on in the city and get timely announcements about city-related events and activities. Find us at:

http://www.facebook.com/IndependenceOregon

Closures: Nov 10 & 11 for Veteran’s Day. Nov 23 & 24 for Thanksgiving. For Youth: Family Story Time: Wednesdays at 10:30am. An hour of stories, songs, finger-plays, crafts and more. This pro-gram is open to children of all ages, but is designed to meet the developmental needs of children ages 3-5. Chess Club: Thursdays at 4:30pm (except 11/23). Chil-dren in first grade and up are invited to join Nancy Albrit-ton for a chance to use and improve their chess skills. No experience is required and children at all levels are welcome. Tech Tuesdays: Tuesdays at 4:30pm: November 7th: 3D Printing & Pens November 21: Bots Family Movie: Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature. Tuesday, November 14th at 7pm. Lego Mania: Monday, November 20th at 3pm. Gingerbread Houses: Tue, November 28th at 7pm

For Adults and Older Teens: Scrabble with Betty: Wednesday, Nov. 1st at 1pm. Love games? Join Betty and other friends for a fun game of Scrabble. We’ll provide the boards and a dic-tionary or two! Mystery Book Club: Thursday, November 9th at 6pm. This month’s selection is The Age of Treachery by Gavin Scott. Copies are available for checkout at the library. Holiday Cards with Kay Bates. Saturday, November 18th from 10 to noon. Book Bingo for Adults. Saturday, November 18th at 3pm. Join us for a lively game of book themed bingo with books and other fun prizes. For the Entire Family: Día de los Muertos: Thursday, November 2nd Sponsored by the City of Independence, the IM Commu-nity, the Independence Public Library and the Ash Creek Arts Center. Program will be held at the Independence Public Library. For more information contact Erubiel V. at 503-837-1166. What is Dia de Muertos? Come and learn with us! 3 - 5pm Hands-on workshop 5 - 6pm Main presentation 6 - 7pm Share a story of your loved one ¿Qué es Día de Muertos? ¡Ven y aprende con nosotros! 3 - 5pm Taller interactivo 5 - 6pm La presentación 6 - 7pm Comparte una historia de tu ser querido Ash Creek Arts Center will be doing face painting and oil pastel/watercolor project (skeletons, etc.) from 5-7pm.

THIS MONTH AT THE INDEPENDENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Ash Creek Arts Center

Nov. 11th, 2:00-4:00 pm: 3-D Greeting Cards with Mary Harden. Add materials to a blank stock card to create a personal and three-dimensional gift for someone. Second Saturday Family Art Classes are designed for children and parents. Classes held on the 2nd Saturday of each month at the Arts Center, 311 Monmouth Street, Inde-pendence. Registration not required; cost—FREE.

MONMOUTH AND INDEPENDENCE: HOME OF

WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY

345 Monmouth Ave. N.Monmouth, OR 97361 503-838-8000 • wou.edu

LIVING IN A COLLEGE TOWNCatch a live performance

• Student recitals• Guest artist and faculty artist concert series• Smith Fine Arts Series: professional artists from around the globe• Annual Spring Dance Concert• Musicals and plays throughout the year

Go to a game• Nine NCAA Division II Sports Teams (get your tickets and check schedules at wouwolves.com)• Eight club sports

Enjoy on-campus services• Peter Courtney Health & Wellness Center features an aquatic center

and rock climbing wall that are open to the public• Child Development Center offers daycare• MINet channel 717 airs lectures, sports and more

Learn (and have fun at the same time!)• Social Science Symposiums• Community Lecture Series• The Emeritus Society for lifelong learners• Special events: Hawaiian Luau, International Night,

Memorial Day Dinner, Pow Wow and more

Find out what’s going on at WOU:

calendar.wou.edu Explore the campus:

wou.edu/map

Show your WOU pride by visiting the bookstore inside the Werner University Center to get your gear: T-shirts, mugs, flags, frames, license plate holders and much more!

TOGETHER WE SUCCEED

UNIVERSITY SNAPSHOTEstablished: 1856

Nickname: Wolves

Enrollment: 5,500+

Conference: NCAA Division II, Great Northwest Athletic Conference

Colors: Red and white

Mascot: “Wolfie”

50th Annual Holiday Tree LightingDec. 1, 2017 • 6 p.m.

wou.edu/htlWestern Oregon University will be hosting the 50th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. The activities kick off at 6 p.m. with a holiday parade, which leaves from the Monmouth Library.

At 7 p.m., attendees can enjoy a local school choir concert, take pictures with Santa, join in a decorating contest and other events acrosss campus, and be sure to enter the Holiday Cookie Bake-off. wou.edu/htl