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OCTOBER 15, 2019
Student Spotlights
Summer LaBonte
Tara Thorsgard
Grade: Fourth grade at Willamina
Elementary.
Reason: She has a good attitude at
school and at K-5. She is helpful and very
focused on academics.
What teachers say: Summer’s teach-
er Tim Overholser said, “Summer is an
incredibly hard worker and truly cares
about others. She has a servant’s heart
and a bright future.”
“Summer is such a fun, loving, help-
ful and empathetic girl. Being her K-5
teacher since she was young and watching
her grow into this beautiful, strong, and
independent girl makes my heart happy,”
K-5 teacher Kyla Evenson stated.
Activities: CTGR Youth Education K-5
Summer LaBonte
Program, swimming, roller skating, jump-
ing on big trampolines and playing on her electronics. Playing volleyball,
basketball and track.
Favorite subject in school: She loves math, especially her multiplica-
tion facts and the fives. She likes to read as long as it’s not a chapter book.
Plans when she grows up: Summer would like to be a head chef at a
delicious restaurant.
Summer’s favorites: She loves to cook. She especially loves to cook
apple pie. It is her grandpa’s favorite. She loves to go fishing, spend time
with her grandpa Myron, eat out at restaurants, go shopping and go to fun
places. She also absolutely loves riding on grandpa’s dirt bike.
Culture: She loves learning about her Tribe, the Chinuk Wawa language
and going to the plankhouse. She especially loves the powwows, dancing
and making ribbon skirts.
Animals: She has a dog named Uncle Jr. LaBonte and a cat named
Snoopy. She also loves iguanas and chinchillas.
Change: If Summer could change one thing in the world she would want
to let everyone make good choices and be happy.
Youth Education wants to welcome back
Tara Thorsgard as she heads into her senior
year at Willamina High School.
She has had a wonderful start to her
school year and has jumped right into her
academics and college preparation.
Tara has been a great addition to the
Guided Study classroom at the high school.
“You can tell Tara is a diligent, dedicated
student who is always using her time in
class with a smile on her face,” says Lead
High School Tutor Kaylee Oakes.
Tara has spent her high school career
involved in various activities like Future
Farmers of America, showing at fairs, danc-
ing in powwows and ceremonies, playing
Tara Thorsgard
guitar and bass in a band, and much more.
After high school, she plans to attend
Chemeketa Community College for a year or two and then transfer to
Oregon State University.
If Tara was to give academic advice to her peers, she would tell them
to “not procrastinate and it is better to try something than to not do it at
all.” A Henry David Thoreau quote that Tara uses for inspiration is, “We
are born to succeed, not to fail.” – By Lead High School Tutor/Guided
Study Teacher Kaylee Oakes
Domestic violence is not
a Native American tradition.
Summer Townsend
The student chosen for middle school Stu-
dent Spotlight is Summer Townsend because
of her academic excellence and efforts in the
classroom.
When she’s older, Summer wants to attend
Harvard and become a lawyer. When asked
about what helps her in school, she says,
“Focusing and not talking to people. I’m
really trying to get my grades up so I can
play sports.”
Summer’s advice to anybody struggling in
school is “don’t talk to your friends. Try to
focus as much as possible and if you don’t
understand the class, ask questions so you
can understand the class.” – By Youth
Education 6-12 Tutor/Adviser Vincent
Chargualaf
Summer Townsend
Drop box installed
The Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department, 9655 Grand Ronde Road,
now has a medication drop box located in the front lobby.
Lobby hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The drop box is for any prescribed or over-the-counter medication. If the
containers are too large to fit in the drop box, please repackage them in a
zip-lock plastic bag. Tribal Police employees cannot handle the medications
so the person dropping them off must repackage them.
Needles and liquids are not allowed in the drop box.
Tribal Police suggest mixing liquid medications with cat litter or coffee
grounds and then throwing them away with the household trash.
For more information, call 503-879-1821.
Does your partner ever…
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Call you names or criticize you?
Isolate you from family or friends?
Threaten to hurt you or your children?
Push, slap, kick or strangle you?
Refuse to give you money for food,
gas or medicine?
Get free, confidential help by calling
1-844-7NATIVE (762-8483),
Respect yourself. Protect yourself.
available every day from
5 a.m. to 8 p.m. PT.
Get yourself tested.
Callers reaching out after hours may connect
with the National Domestic Violence Hotline
by selecting option 1.
Polk County Public Health services:
Trust. Speak. Heal. Together. | strongheartshelpline.org
Reproductive Health Clinic
Other Services:
• Personalized birth control options
based on your needs
• STD screening, testing
and treatment
• Immunizations
• Home visiting program
for children
• HIV Case management
• Annual exams
• Pap and breast exams
Distribution of this document is funded by an Indian Health Service grant
for the Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative awarded to the Northwest
Portland Area Indian Health Board’s Response Circles project.
• Pregnancy planning and testing
182 SW Academy St., Suite 302
Dallas, OR 97338
Details at: www.co.polk.or.us • Call for appointment: 503-623-8175
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