DALLAS — Santa’s elves have a little help, thanks to about 20 DallasRetirement Village residents who decided making toys for children is their mission.DRV residents Jim Baltimore and LeRoy Rempel, two frequent users ofthe DRV’s Hobby Center wood shop, helped give the project its start inDece…

DALLAS – A logger suffered serious injuries after being struck by a boulder and falling between 600 and 700 feet down a ravine near a remote logging site in Polk County.

The Oregon Department of Human Services Thursday disclosed that millions of agency emails had been breached in January, potentially exposing the personal medical information of hundreds of thousands.

SALEM – If you were at Willamette Town Center on Lancaster Drive in Salem from March 9-17, you may have noticed five structures made of curious building material.

FALLS CITY — Funding supporting Falls City Direct Connect, a free bus that provides rides from Falls City to Dallas and Monmouth and back, is in danger after a grant for operations was rejected.

DALLAS — Last year, Dallas Downtown Association events attracted 1,000 people to the city’s core.

INDEPENDENCE — Indy Commons will celebrate two years in business on April 1.

DALLAS — Is learning through failure better than learning through

Oregon State Police are investigating a fatal two-vehicle crash that occurred on March 16 at the intersection of Highway 99 and Airlie Road.

A legislative proposal that would ban nonmedical exemptions for required vaccinations passed out of committee on a party line vote Thursday, the committee’s seven Democrats voting in favor.

DALLAS — The Dallas City Council approved requesting proposals for a study about the feasibility and cost of forming an independent fire district including the city and three other fire agencies.

The secret identities of some of our local super heroes were revealed March 8 at the Monmouth-Independence Chamber of Commerce’s 54th annual community awards banquet.

DALLAS — An Oregon School Boards Association review of the two charter schools the Dallas School District sponsors shows advancement in some areas and room for improvement in others.

INDEPENDENCE — Eric Dale Hedrick, 47, of Independence, was arrested on Feb. 13 for first-degree theft, six counts of second-degree theft, 10 counts of aggravated identity theft, five counts of identity theft, first-degree forgery, and 64 counts of second-degree forgery.

POLK COUNTY — Jodi Whiting still loves the job she got by “happenstance” about 15 years ago.

RICKREALL — Falls City Fire Department Engine No. 123 arrived for duty a little after 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the Polk County Museum.

INDEPENDENCE — Not all calls Polk Fire District No. 1 responds to are emergencies. Though, to Barbara Tuohy, calling the department was the only answer she could think of a few weeks ago when she had a problem.

DALLAS — Valerie Patoine, Polk County’s newly appointed assessor, has spent much of the last year preparing for her new role.

DALLAS — When former Polk County Assessor Doug Schmidt began working as a property appraiser in the office almost 29 years ago, changes to properties had to measured and calculated by hand.

DALLAS — The Murphy’s Grill sign was taken down Monday, as the now-closed restaurant is in the process of transforming into the new office of Dallas-based OpenRoad Transportation.

MONMOUTH/INDEPENDENCE — Indy Commons hosted an informational meeting on Thursday for the newly formed Youth MIC.

POLK COUNTY — Last week, Matt Smucker, Polk County Warming Centers coordinator, posted a note on Facebook that the warming centers were in need of grab-and-go and shelf-stable foods.

DALLAS — The Dallas City Council officially approved the residency of George and Dawn, a pair of mallard ducks, within the city limits.

DALLAS — Dallas Fire & EMS awarded Ken Waller Officer of the Year and Zach Leigh Firefighter of the Year at its annual Sweethearts Awards Banquet at Pressed Coffee Roasters Café in Dallas on Feb. 9.

City joins eight other states in rural innovation initiative

SALEM - Oregon on Thursday enacted the nation’s farthest-reaching law limiting rent increases and restricting no-fault evictions, providing immediate protection to roughly 1 million renters across the state.

SALEM — The Oregon House of Representatives took a moment of silence on Feb. 18 to honor the service of late Dallas resident Evelyn May Woods.

INDEPENDENCE — Central High School’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof” has been a long time in the making.Vocal music and drama director Jeff Witt has been waiting about 20 years to put on the show.

DALLAS — The Dallas community put on its best to honor its best Friday night at the Majestic Event Center.