THE SPOKESMAN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2022 P3
Redmond Proficiency Academy students perform at Carnegie Hall
From a pess release
Redmond Proficiency Acad-
emy (RPA) students sopho-
mores Samantha Maragas and
Juniper Maurer recently per-
formed with the Honors Treble
Choir Ensemble for the 2022
High School Honors Perfor-
mance Series at Carnegie Hall
in New York City.
The Honors Treble Choir is
an all-girl choir with about 90
students. Participation in one
of the five honors ensembles
is limited to the highest-rated
high school performers from
across the world.
Maragas and Maurer audi-
tioned for the series and were
accepted after a review by the
selection board, according to a
press release
“Samantha and Juniper are
both very focused and pas-
sionate about singing,” said
Jonathan Moore, RPA’s music
director. “I really enjoy work-
ing with them in Vocal Ensem-
ble and look forward to seeing
where their talents take them.”
Maragas and Maurer were
in New York City for five
days, where they learned from
world-renowned conductors,
worked with other finalists and
– of course – got a taste of the
Big Apple.
“The New York experience
was truly incredible, the view
of the city and the views of the
Statue of Liberty were beauti-
ful,” Maurer said. “My favorite
part was definitely Carnegie
Hall, where the acoustics are
incredible and made me feel
like we were in an angel choir.
I loved the experience and
wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
The RPA students per-
formed with students from
47 states, Australia, Bermuda,
China, Guam and South Korea
for their special choral perfor-
mance at Carnegie Hall.
“We got to work with Dr.
Lynne Gackle, the director of
choral activities at Baylor Uni-
versity, who pushed us through
our music and helped our
choir sound the best it possibly
could,” Maragas said. “We were
inspired through the music
and the incredible speeches Dr.
Gackle gave during rehearsal.
She told us we could change
the world with music. It was
definitely the best experience
of my life.”
Submitted photo
Redmond Proficiency Academy sophomores Samantha Maragas and
Juniper Maurer recently performed with the Honors Treble Choir En-
semble at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
FLASHBACK
This week in history: Oregon needs 800 teachers yearly
The Spokesman
100 Years Ago
Feb. 16, 1922 — Operations
of Shima come to a halt
Immediate and complete
withdrawal of the Burtt-Shima
interests from Central Oregon
was announced in Redmond
yesterday by George Burtt, San
Francisco potato broker, and
associate of George Shima, so-
called Japanese “potato king“
of California.
Termination of all opera-
tions here was decided upon
by Shima because of renewed
anti-Japanese agitation headed
by the five Central Oregon
posts of the American Legion,
Burtt explained.
The entire Burtt-Shima
holding, comprising 17,000
acres of irrigation and dry
lands in the Deschutes, Jeffer-
son and Crook counties is, as
a result, placed on the market,
Burtt said.
Burtt and Shima had previ-
ously planned upon seeding
between 1,500 and 2,000 acres
of potatoes this spring.
75 Years Ago
Feb. 20, 1947 — Oregon
needs 800 teachers yearly,
only gets 200, Putman points
out
“Oregon needs approxi-
mately 800 newly train teach-
ers each year and now he’s
getting about 200,” pointed
out Rex Putman, state superin-
tendent of schools, who was in
Redmond Monday visiting his
many friends.
In discussing the shortage of
competent teachers now facing
this state and all other parts of
America, Putman declared that
the problem is a basic one, that
of making the teaching profes-
sion more attractive to ambi-
tious young people from a cold-
dollar-and-cent standpoint.
“This states backlog of
teachers has been showing a
steady loss, one that can’t be
remedied in a few months,”
the state superintendent said.
However, as a bright spot he
sees a slight gain in the number
now studying for the profes-
sion, together with an increase
in salary making the outlook
for a teacher’s future better fi-
nancially.
Putman stressed that sta-
tistics show education pays in
dollars and cents, but the ma-
jority of persons in the higher
income brackets are those with
the most education. A coun-
try’s progress and prosperity
may be measured by its educa-
tion level.
Thirty percent of Oregon‘s
teachers now are working un-
der emergency certificates.
Some of these are very close to
qualification for regular teach-
ing certificates, he said, and are
well trained and doing splen-
did jobs. However, the state has
between 200 and 300 teachers
who have had less than three
months study above high
school graduation.
Oregon ranks high and its
level of education. Putman
mentioned, being third in the
nation in several surveys and
always among the top four
states.
Putman, who came here
from Salem Sunday, went to
Prineville Monday night to be
principal speaker at a banquet
of the junior chamber of com-
merce. He is well known all
over Central Oregon, having
been superintendent of schools
here a number of years ago.
Submitted Photo
RHS honors choir members participating in upcoming Central Oregon Choral Arts Festival are, seated from
the left, Dee York, Linda Nyhart, Kelly Love and Cindy Green, standing Ken Shaw, Jan Cooke, Jon Hallstrom
and Harold Childers.
50 Years Ago
Feb. 16, 1972 — Maurice
Skones coming for choral arts
festival
Maurice Skones, director
of the renowned Choir of the
West at Pacific Lutheran Uni-
versity in Tacoma, will arrive
in Redmond Monday evening
as guest artist for the Central
Oregon Choral Arts Festival,
which will begin with individ-
ual choir renditions at 7 p.m.
Monday at the Redmond High
School auditorium. Observers
will be welcome.
The action will move to
Central Oregon Community
Colleges Pence Hall Tuesday
afternoon, when the honor
choir will rehearse at 2 p.m.,
with Skones conducting. That
choir is composed of top sing-
ers from Prineville, Bend,
Madras, Lakeview, Burns and
Redmond. From Redmond
will be soprano Dee York and
Linda Nyhart; altos Cindy
Green and Kelly Love; ten-
ors Jon Hallstrom and Harold
Childers, and bases Jan Cooke
and Ken Shaw.
In early evening, COCC
choral director David Evans,
who is serving as festival chair-
man, will lead a rehearsal of
the massed choirs, composed
of groups from all the partici-
pating high schools, including
the RHS concert choir.
At 8 p.m. Tuesday, a pub-
lic concert in the Bend High
School auditorium will feature
the individual choral groups,
the massed choir singing
“From Sea to Shining Sea,”
paraphrased by Maurice C.
Whitney, and the honor choir.
Honor choir selections will
be “the glorification,” by F.M.
Christiansen; Domine Fili Uni-
genite from “Gloria,” by Viv-
aldi; “Ain’ A That Good News,”
arranged by William Dawson,
and “Bouree,” by J.S. Bach.
Following a clinic for Bend
and Redmond high school
choral groups Wednesday
morning and for the COCC
choir that afternoon, Skones
will depart for Tacoma.
25 Years Ago
Feb. 19, 1997 — One fee
proposed for city, district
parks
A single system develop-
ment fee would fund city parks
and those operated by the Cen-
tral Oregon Parks and Recre-
ation District under a proposal
before parks and city officials.
Consolidation of separate
development fees for city parks
and the park district is just one
of several changes put forth by
a special panel, the Stakehold-
ers Group, convened to study
ways to bring greater efficiency
to park operations and elimi-
nate duplication of recreation
services in and around Red-
mond.
In the proposal before the
boards overseeing city parks
in the park and recreation
district, the city would be
in charge of developing and
maintaining all parks inside
and outside of Redmond’s ur-
ban growth boundary, within
the park district.
To do that, the city would
form a maintenance partner-
ship with the park district and
the Redmond School District.
The idea is to eliminate dupli-
cation of duties that all three
entities pay for.
The funding structure also
would be simplified. Two sys-
tem development charges
(SDCs) are charged for new
development, one for the city
parks and one for the park dis-
trict.
The city charges $625 for
each new residential and com-
mercial development, while
the park district charges $192
for residential development
within city limits and $335 for
each outside of city limits.
In the Stakeholders’ pro-
posal, a new SDC supporting
all area parks would replace
the existing fees. Officials hope
that will meet the approval of
developers, who have com-
plained about the two fees.
“The builders and develop-
ers always thought that was
double taxation,” said Caroline
Harding, general manager of
the park and recreation dis-
trict. “If we can resolve that
once and for all, that will solve
all of our problems.”
Some shuffling of youth
and recreation programs also
would occur under the pro-
posal. The park district would
continue to operate the Cas-
cade Swim Center and offer
special programs for senior
citizens, sports and recreation
programs for adults, and youth
soccer and basketball.
The Redmond Boys and
Girls Club would pick up
other youth recreation and
guidance programs as well
as sports leagues that are not
duplicated. The club also
may handle youth soccer and
hoops later.
Recreation for tots up to five
years old would be provided by
community groups.