Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 1, 2015 17A
Polk County Schools/Education
A good time and a good cause Approach:
Saturday’s Mr. and Ms. Central Pageant will benefit fellow youths
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Prepare
for laughs, tears and a general
good time at the annual Mr. and
Ms. Central pageant Saturday at
7 p.m. at Central High School’s
auditorium.
“It’s a great night,” said con-
testant Taylor Ashton. “You’re
going to have a ton of laughs. It’s
very comedic.”
Ashton, one of five female
contestants for Ms. Central, said
there were some tears when she
wrote her personal letter, which
will be read during the formal
wear part of the pageant.
The pageant is a fundraiser
for two purposes: $1,000 will go
to help fellow Central student
Courtney Rhodes.
“She had some sort of bacte-
ria and lost several of her fingers
and several of her toes,” said Jeff
Witt, CHS leadership adviser. “It
affected her speaking capacity.”
The money will purchase an
iPad and mount for her wheel-
chair, along with software to help
Rhodes communicate, Witt said.
Ten students — five boys and
five girls, all seniors at Central
High — were picked and voted
on by staff to compete in the
year-long fundraising campaign.
The group got to decide what
the pageant would benefit, Ash-
ton said. In addition to Rhodes’
new communication tools, Mr.
and Ms. Central will donate event
proceeds to Duffels for Dignity, a
Polk County Department of
Human Services program that
provides duffel bags to foster chil-
dren who are moved from home
to home at the last minute.
Witt said he hopes the event
DENISE ROBINSON/ for the Itemizer-Observer
Daniella Diaz, Taylor Ashton, Paula Tamayo (left to right, back row), Ryanne Huffman and Mandi
Desmarteau (front row) will compete for Ms. Central High School on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Come See the Show
What: Mr. and Ms. Central, with the theme of “America.”
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Central High School, 1530 Monmouth St., Independence.
Admission: $10. Tickets are available at the CHS front desk, from
contestants or at the door.
Of note: Contestants compete in four categories: talent, person-
ality-wear — which includes an act with a “mini-me” version of
themselves — athletics wear and formal wear. Each student is
judged based on performances and on fundraising totals.
Mr. Central Contestants: Kaj Bansen, Lucas Castanon, Max
Lydum, Riley Olsen and Branson Wallace.
Ms. Central Contestants: Taylor Ashton, Mandi Desmarteau,
Daniella Diaz, Ryanne Huffman and Paula Tamayo.
can provide “hundreds upon
hundreds” of duffel bags for the
program.
Faith Lutheran Church
200 Monmouth - Independence Hwy
The Church on the “S-Curves”
Monmouth • 503-838-3459
Pastor Dallas C.R. Dubke
www.FaithLutheranMonmouth.org
Tenebrae:
Easter:
7:15 pm
Service of Darkness
7:30 am - Sunrise Eucharist
9 -10 am - Easter Breakfast
10:30 am - Festival Eucharist
Good Friday
Prayer Vigil:
The fundraising goal for Mr.
and Ms. Central is $15,000. Ash-
ton said she isn’t sure she’s raised
her $1,500 share of that total, but
she has held some successful
fundraisers, including a See’s
Candy sale during the holidays.
However, Ashton said per-
haps the most successful efforts
were by Riley Olsen, with his toi-
let fundraiser.
“You may have seen it,” she
said. “He got a toilet from Mr.
Witt and painted it red, black
and white. It costs $30 to remove
it; $40 to remove it and decide
where it goes next; or $50 to re-
move it, decide where it goes
next, and make sure it doesn’t
come back — toilet insurance.”
Students are a third of the way
to their goal, having raised
$5,000 so far, Witt said.
Meeting set
for April 13
Continued from Page 18A
Being a public charter school, DCS still
would be accountable to Common Core
state standards and accompanying Smarter
Balanced Assessments, but Sparks said that
will not influence learning plans.
“The idea (with Common Core) is to get
these kids on an even playing field, but the
idea with personalized learning is we do that
over a scope of time and we achieve those
standards over a scope of time,” Sparks said.
She said teachers — or educational guides
— will not be evaluated based on test scores.
The tests will simply measure how the school
is performing on standards. Sparks said if re-
sults reveal the school is deficient in any
areas, it will be addressed.
DCS is in the process of hiring licensed
teachers to serve as educational guides and
finding a location in Dallas to offer its morn-
ing and enrichment sessions. Sparks said the
school and the district will address offering
kindergarten later this month.
She credits the district with supporting the
board’s vision — and helping make it a reality.
“These people have been absolutely open,
totally willing to sit down with us knowing
that we don’t have a strong background in
school administration,” Sparks said. “They’ve
taken it on and created something that is ac-
tually going to work.”
An informational session is scheduled for
April 13 at 7 p.m. Those interested in attend-
ing are asked to email info@dallascommuni-
tyschool.org to RSVP. For more information:
www.dallascommunityschool.org.
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Polk County Itemizer-Observer
Dallas First Christian Church
1079 SE Jefferson St.
April 2 6:00 pm Maundy Thursday
potluck and worship. Includes a
Tenebrae service where we will
walk with Jesus through the
events of His last day on earth.
April 3 7:00 am to 7:00 pm
Prayer Vigil. Can be done at
home or at the church.
April 5 Easter Sunday
8:30 am Live Wire
Contemporary Service
9:30 am continental breakfast
10:30 am Easter Sunday worship
8am - 7 pm and
8pm - Midnight
Please Join Us!
HAVE YOU SEEN THE RESURRECTION?
Pancake Breakfast 9-10 AM
Easter Service 10:30 AM
Easter Egg hunt for toddlers-4th grade
FAITH EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH
2290 East Ellendale Ave Dallas, OR
503-623-8034 • faithfreechurch.org
Join Us! Sunday, April 5
Worship Gatherings at 9 & 10:45 am
Worshiping God by Making Disciples
598 E. Ellendale Ave., Dallas
503-623-4961
www.graceindallas.org
Facebook.com/graceindallas