SANTA IS COMING TO TOWN BOSCHMA, MILLER
HOLIDAY EVENTS GET ATTITUDE
Page 7A
Volume 141, Issue 48
Page 11A
www.Polkio.com
November 30, 2016
$1.00
Crash
claims
life of
Falls City
woman
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DALLAS
Dallas High to per-
form “Aristocats” for
one night only.
»Page 2A
itemizer-Observer staff report
MONMOUTH — A Falls
City woman was killed,
and a Dallas woman suf-
fered serious injuries in a
two-car crash on Highway
99W near Monmouth on
Saturday night.
At about 6 p.m., Oregon
State Police troopers and
emergency personnel re-
sponded to the report of
the accident near milepost
70 on the highway, the in-
tersection with Suver
Road, said an OSP press
release.
Preliminary investiga-
tion revealed a 2002 Ford
F250 was traveling west-
bound on Suver Road
when it attempted to cross
the highway and was T-
boned by a southbound
2010 Honda. After the
crash, both vehicles came
to rest on the roadway.
The driver of the
Honda, Cecilia L. Nicosia,
23, was taken by air ambu-
lance to Good Samaritan
Medical Center in Corval-
lis for treatment of serious
injuries.
The passenger in the
Ford, Sara L. Brown, 24,
was pronounced deceased
at the scene. The driver of
the Ford, Matthew L. Serry,
25, Brown’s husband, was
not injured. The couple
lived in Falls City. Prelimi-
nary investigation indi-
cates neither were wearing
their safety belts, police
said.
Highway 99W was
closed for about six hours
while the crash was inves-
tigated. A detour was put
in place.
OSP was assisted by the
Polk County Sheriff's Of-
fice, Polk County Fire No. 1
and the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation.
The investigation is on-
going. More information
will be released when it is
available, police said.
FALLS CiTy
City awaits word on
grant for sewer system
project.
»Page 10A
iNDEPENDENCE
EMILy MENTzER/Itemizer-Observer
Top: McKenzie Devault and Parker Peterson. Bottom row: Garett vinson, Becca Boyce, Bryar Eames, Shana Lavier
and Maggie Hanson. Lavier has been part of Dallas High’s Developmental Learning Center for nine years.
A TEACHER’S HEART
Western Oregon’s
men’s basketball team
splits games.
By Lukas Eggen
POLK COUNTy
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — When Shana
Lavier entered the world of
education, she was sure of
two things.
“I wanted to teach any-
thing but math,” Lavier
said with a chuckle. “And I
wanted to teach older kids.
The little ones, they scare
me.”
L a v i e r, a l i f e s k i l l s
teacher, joined Dallas High
School 17 years ago, begin-
ning with the Educational
Resource Room program.
For the last nine years, she
has been part of the school’s
Developmental Learning
Center — a program where
individualized instructional
programs and techniques
are used to address moder-
ate to severe learning and
physical disabilities, or spe-
cial social/behavioral cultur-
al and language needs of the
students — and helping
guide the school’s peer tu-
toring program.
“Getting to know the kids
and the staff in this room,
Student homeless
population remains
steady.
»Page 10A
SHANA LAVIER/Itemizer-Observer
Becca Boyce, left, celebrated senior Ashlee Lichten-
berger’s last home soccer game earlier this school year.
when the opening was avail-
able and nobody else want-
ed it, I knew they were miss-
ing out on an amazing pro-
gram,” Lavier said.
—
Heather Peffley, whose
son Jacob is a junior and has
Down syndrome, has seen
firsthand what kind of differ-
ence Lavier makes.
Jacob had a difficult
time during junior high,
Need help?
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — Traci Weston is
feeling a little overwhelmed — but
for a good reason.
The busier she is, the more fami-
lies she is helping as the Polk County
coordinator for Toys for Tots and the
Monmouth-Independence Christ-
mas Project.
“Donations are coming in and
(toy) boxes are going out,” Weston
said last week “It’s an exciting time.”
Weston compiled applications for
Toys for Tots last week, but estimat-
ed in recent years, the organization
has provided gifts to 2,200 children
from infants to 18 in Polk County.
Each community has toy drives,
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
SPOrTS
»Page 11A
By Jolene Guzman
7
»Page 14A
Dallas’ Lavier shares gift of equality with her students
Peffley said.
Once he arrived at DHS,
things were different.
“It was a phenomenal
change,” Peffley said. “He
went from not wanting to
go to school to dreading
Christmas break. He
d o e s n’t w a n t t o c o m e
home. The weekends are
too long to be away from
his friends and his peers.
His speech is improved.
He’s hilarious, and totally
gets jokes now. He has de-
veloped so much being in
this program. I never worry
about him going to school.
I know he’s completely pro-
tected, and he has friends
and students there to stand
up for him, and it’s because
of the way she runs the
classroom.”
Lavier’s approach is sim-
ple.
“She’s a fun-loving person
and knows how to work with
kids and get them to per-
form at higher levels,” 2014
graduate Ryan Spencer said.
“She treats her students like
you would anyone else.”
See LAviEr, Page 5A
‘Toys’ fills gaps, provides gifts for kids
THE NEXT
Central High brings a
holiday classic to life.
What: Monmouth-Indepen-
dence Christmas Project applica-
tion days.
Where: Independence
Women’s Clubhouse, 340 S. Third
St., Independence.
When: 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays
and Wednesdays through Dec. 7.
Of note: Photo ID for proof of
address is required.
For more information: 503-
339-4955.
and the communities share to make
sure all needs are met. Toys for Tots
Foundation will fill in the gaps if any
requests haven’t been filled.
“I love the foundation,” Weston
said. “They have helped fill the gaps.
We’ve lost so many donors. Times
are tough.”
Toys for Tots has donation bins in
all Polk County communities, so
those wanting to make a toy dona-
tion don’t have to go far to help a
family in need. Weston noted that
Walmart has Toys for Tots giving
trees, which have tags with chil-
dren’s requests.
“Those are kids’ wishes,” Weston
said. “Those are for kids all over the
community.”
Weston said the organization has
a “top five” list of needed gifts.
Soccer balls top the list.
“We can’t get enough of them,”
Weston said.
Legos are another popular gift
that appeals to both boys and girls.
For children 12 years or older, a fre-
quent request is bath and body sets.
Weston said some families the pro-
gram serves struggle to provide
teens with their own toiletries.
“This time of year, they sell these
beautiful sets,” she said. “They are
popular gifts for the kids over 12,
and one that is very needed.”
Superhero toys are next on the
list. Weston recommends characters
from the latest superhero movie.
The final of the top five, skate-
boards, can be donated or, better
yet, people can make a financial
contribution.
“I can buy them for $10.50 (each)
through a wholesaler,” she said.
See TOyS, Page 5A
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
Helping Hands
Emergency Food
Bank distributes
food boxes to the
needy each
Wednesday.
10 a.m.-noon. Free.
James2 Community
Kitchen serves
meals to all who are
hungry at United
Methodist Church in
Dallas.
4:30-6 p.m. Free.
Central High School
presents “White
Christmas,” sure to
get all in the holiday
spirit, at the audito-
rium.
7 p.m. $5-$8.
Don’t miss the one-
time performance of
“The Aristocats
Kids,” by the Dallas
High School theater
department.
2 and 7 p.m. $4.
Today is the Boy
Scouts’ annual
Scouting for Food,
where they will col-
lect canned goods
donations.
9 a.m.-3 p.m. Free.
Cloudy
Hi: 50
Lo: 38
Cloudy
Hi: 49
Lo: 39
Rain
Hi: 48
Lo: 44
Cloudy
Hi: 51
Lo: 44
Rain
Hi: 49
Lo: 36
House fire
leaves family
displaced
itemizer-Observer staff report
RICKREALL — A family
of nine is displaced follow-
ing a Tuesday morning
house fire near Rock-n-
Rogers at Farrol’s in Rick-
reall.
Firefighters responded
to a call about smoke
coming from a manufac-
tured home behind the
restaurant at 9:13 a.m. and
were on scene by 9:22
a.m., said Dallas Fire &
EMS spokeswoman April
Welsh.
The occupants of the
home, three adults and six
children, were not home
when the fire started and
no people were injured in
the blaze.
Firefighters rescued
two rabbits from the
home. Of the occupants’
two cats, one ran away
and the other died in the
fire.
The initial investigation
concluded the source of
the fire could have been a
pot left on the stove unat-
tended, Welsh said. Fur-
ther investigation in the
cause is ongoing.
“We are working with
the Red Cross to come up
with housing for the fami-
ly,” Welsh said.
Nineteen firefighters
from Dallas, Southwest
Polk and Falls City fire de-
partments responded to
the fire, which was
knocked down by 9:50
a.m. The Polk County
Sheriff’s Office assisted on
the scene.
mon
Indy Heritage Mu-
seum will host a
40th anniversary
party at the civic
center with music,
cake and snacks.
7 p.m. Free.
Showers
Hi: 41
Lo: 31
tue
Show off your skills
by taking part in
World Trick Shot
day, originally cre-
ated by the Harlem
Globetrotters.
Mostly cloudy
Hi: 40
Lo: 29