Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 21, 2015 15A
Produce: Giveaway is every Friday
Continued from page 1A
“(For) a couple dinners a
week we get the vegetables
here,” she said. “It helps out
a lot. Everything just seems
to go up.”
The Doyle family is just
one example of many in the
community. Flynn said 90
families had stopped by Fri-
day’s giveaway little more
than halfway through its
two-hour window. The
numbers range from 70 to
120 families in a typical
week, representing about
350 to 450 people.
Creekmore said that was
what Varney and Kester had
hoped for the program. She
said Varney had to step
away due to health con-
cerns. Kester, a longtime
volunteer in Dallas and
Falls City, died suddenly in
July. But their vision contin-
ues through the work of or-
ganizers such at Creekmore
and Flynn who have taken
the reins in their absence.
“Really we owe every-
thing to Angie Varney and
Wayne Kester,” Creekmore
said.
The success of the pro-
gram has caught the atten-
tion of Marion-Polk Food
Share. Creekmore said the
organization is studying the
successes in Falls City look-
ing for ways to help families
in similar rural communi-
ties where access to fresh
produce is limited.
She said a component
she believes is key to suc-
cess is having organizers
and volunteers with a con-
nection to the community
and who can create a wel-
coming environment.
That hasn’t been a prob-
lem in Falls City, where the
weekly giveaway has be-
come something of a social
event. Creekmore said she’s
seen people stop to talk
with friends or make new
ones after receiving their
food.
The group has until February to make a recommendation
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
People go through the line at the weekly giveaway.
Need help?
• The Friday produce
giveaway is held at
Mountain Gospel Fellow-
ship Church, 303 N. Main
St., Falls City.
• For more informa-
tion: 503-787-8037.
That wasn’t an expected
outcome, but important
nonetheless.
“It’s huge,” Creekmore
said. “That’s how you make
it successful.”
Resident Myron Yancey
agreed, saying that is one of
the reasons he likes to make
the weekly trip to Mountain
Gospel. He takes what veg-
etables and fruit he will use,
but sees others who have
more of a need for the pro-
gram — both nutritionally
and socially.
“There are some people
out here who really depend
on it,” Yancey said. “I see it
as a benefit to the commu-
nity, probably in more than
one way.”
Flynn said the program
will continue to expand. It’s
now seeking a grant through
the Salem Hospital Founda-
tion to hold cooking classes
teaching people how to pre-
pare the produce they re-
ceive at the giveaway.
“A lot of the time, we have
people asking us, what’s
this and what do you do
with it?” Flynn said.
He said they’ve put to-
gether a cookbook with
recipes using some of the
more unusual items such as
rutabagas and some vari-
eties of squash, but they
want to take it a step fur-
ther.
“It’s not enough. Giving
somebody a recipe is great,
if they know how to cook,”
Flynn said. “If they still
don’t know what to do with
a rutabaga or bok choy, they
won’t do anything with it.”
He said they sent a pre-
liminary description of
what the cooking classes
would provide and are wait-
ing to find out if they are in-
vited to submit a full appli-
cation. If the program is
asked to apply, it would find
out if it was awarded the
grant around the first of the
year.
Creekmore said even if
the giveaway doesn’t receive
the grant, it will keep look-
ing for ways to help. The
rapid growth of the pro-
gram — and the response of
volunteers willing to lend a
hand — is proof the give-
away is desperately needed,
she said.
“It’s amazing,” Creek-
more said. “It’s blown our
minds.”
State report cards released
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SALEM — The Oregon
Department of Education
released report cards on
schools and districts
statewide last week.
This year the annual re-
port will be missing an
overall ranking for schools
due to switching to new
Smarter Balanced state as-
sessments last spring.
Overall rankings will be
brought back next year
after the second year of
testing provides year-to-
year comparison scores
Fifth-year task force looking
for options to keep programs
and data.
The multiple-page re-
ports provide plenty of in-
formation about student
demographics, test scores,
academic programs, en-
rollment levels, class size,
per pupil spending, and
graduation rates. A mes-
sage from the superinten-
dent is included with each
report.
As a method of compari-
son, this year’s report cards
show how schools and dis-
tricts performed on state
assessments alongside
those of similar size and
demographics.
“Student learning is
about so much more than a
single test score, and these
report cards help to paint a
more complete picture
about the work our schools
are doing to support stu-
dent success,” said state
Deputy Superintendent
Salam Noor.
For more information or
to access school and dis-
trict report cards online:
http://www.ode.state.or.us
/data/reportcard/reports.
Solution on Page 5A
IMAGINE Our Communities
without our LOCAL NEWSPAPER!
Thank the businesses who advertise
in the Itemizer-Observer.
without them...
AAAAAH!
I n t e r e s t e d i n
a d v e r t i s i n g ?
C a l l 5 0 3 - 6 2 3 - 2 3 7 3
DALLAS — A task force
formed to examine and im-
prove so-called fifth-year
programs is working toward
a recommendation in hopes
of keeping them as an op-
tion for students.
There’s still plenty of time
before the group has to offer
its recommendation in Feb-
ruary. But Dallas High
School Assistant Principal
Brian Green fears some in
the Oregon legislature have
already made up their minds
against the programs.
“I can speak for Dallas in
that it would be devastating
if the fifth-year programs
were to go away,” Green said.
Fifth-year programs allow
students to defer receiving a
standard high school diplo-
ma to pursue an advanced
diploma and attend classes
at a community college. Be-
cause they are still consid-
ered high school students,
the state school fund pays
for expenses. Dallas’ pro-
gram, Extended Campus, is
the largest in Polk County,
but Central and Falls City
also have programs.
In the last legislative ses-
sion, a bill aiming to phase
out the programs died in
committee, but another bill
created the task force to offer
Got News?
The Itemizer-Observer is
always looking for unique
story ideas in the areas of
general news, education,
features, personality pro-
iles, sports and business
from throughout Polk
County.
Share your idea by call-
ing us at 503-623-2373;
drop a note to us at P.O.
Box 108, Dallas, OR 97338;
or send an email to
ionews@polkio.com.
Education
solutions about concerns for
financing and equity.
Green is on the commit-
tee and said there are legiti-
mate concerns about fi-
nancing — and ways to ad-
dress those problems, such
as tapping into federal
grants and limiting them
only to students who truly
have financial need.
He also sees issues with
one of the options for re-
placing fifth-year programs,
the Oregon Promise. That
program offers free commu-
nity college to students, but
one of the requirements is
students have to earn at
least a 2.5 GPA.
“One of the concerns I
have about the minimum
GPA is that we have certain
students who are not very
successful their freshman
and sophomore years,” Green
said. “They are able to turn it
around and do really well but
because of their freshmen
year, how they started their
high school, they don’t hit
that 2.5 GPA. It would exclude
a fair amount of students
who have proven successful
at the college level.”
Based on this year’s en-
rollment, 24 of the 69 stu-
dents participating in Ex-
tended Campus couldn’t be
part of Oregon Promise.
“I’m absolutely confident
that the majority of those
students will be very suc-
cessful, if not all,” Green said.
Another part of Extended
Campus that has proved
helpful to students is its
counseling assistance. That’s
one of the reasons 80 per-
cent of enrollees continue to
their second year in college.
Oregon Promise does not
offer that, Green said.
“I think that is the biggest
part that is left out,” he said.
Green said so far, the task
force’s meetings have been
productive, but he hopes
that work isn’t for nothing.
“If they have their minds
made up that they are going
to do away with these pro-
grams, I’m not so sure how
much our input is going to
be taken into considera-
tion,” he said. “I’m hopeful
that they are going to look
into our recommendation
and be thoughtful when de-
ciding whether or not to do
away with fifth-year pro-
grams.”
West Valley Housing Authority will hold their
Work Session Meeting on Wednesday, October
28, 2015 beginning at 11:30 a.m. at 204 SW Wal-
nut in Dallas, Oregon. The Regular Meeting will
be held on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at
12:30 p.m. at 204 SW Walnut in Dallas, Oregon.
An Executive Session pursuant to ORS 192.660
will be held immediately following the Regular
Meeting.
Agenda for the meeting is posted on the Housing
Authority website at www.wvpha.org. The location
for the meeting is handicapped accessible. Please
advise the West Valley Housing Authority if you
need any special accommodations to attend the
meeting. For information, please call 503-623-
8387, TDD 1-800-735-2900.
Planning a
Holiday Bazaar?
We can help!
The Itemizer-Observer will be publishing a
comprehensive list of all the holiday bazaars and
art & crafts sales in Polk County on Wednesday,
October 28th. This feature will be designed
for our readers to keep throughout the holiday
season. We will publish the information for
your event at no charge.
If you wish to have your bazaar published
any other time during the holiday season you
must purchase an advertisement. Deadline to
submit your event information is Friday,
October 16th. So hurry and get your bazaar
information to our office today!
Event organizers who
want more exposure than
will be provided in the
October 28th issue are
encouraged to
call one of our
advertising
representatives
at 503-623-2373.
Contact: Dawn Ohren
503-623-2373
or e-mail:
dohren@polkio.com
Itemizer-Observer
147 SE Court St., Dallas