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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2015)
Polk County News 16A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 21, 2015 SCHOOL NOTES CSD schools tests safer crosswalks INDEPENDENCE — Central School District’s Transportation Department is working with the Oregon Department of Trans- portation and the Oregon Department of Education on a “Safe Routes to School” pilot project. This program is to promote safe walking and biking routes for students to get to and from school. Additional signage in- forms motorists that it is the law to stop for all pedestrians, not just school children, at all crosswalks. In Oregon, any intersection, unless otherwise marked, is con- sidered a crosswalk — not just the ones that are marked with crosswalk lines. This new signage will be located on Monmouth Avenue at in- tersections with Fourth, Fifth and mid-block at Central High School and Heley and Main streets. The signs will be displayed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. each school day. For more information: Patti Green, 503-606-2309. Peace Corps will be at WOU Tuesday JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer For Falls City Elementary School students, the covered area on the playground serves as gym for physical education classes. The Falls City School Board would like to change that and is weighing support for a bond to build gym. New gym for Falls City Elementary? District may decide to place a bond on the ballot for a new school facility By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer FALLS CITY — Try hold- ing a physical education class in a room with an 8- foot ceiling — or having to load kids onto a bus for PE classes off site. That is the case at Falls City Elementary School. Now district officials have proposed a solution: build- ing a gym at the school. It would take a bond measure to pay for it, but Super intendent Jack Thompson said after intro- ducing the idea to citizens last week, the response has been encouraging. “It was really positive,” Thompson said. “People be- lieve there is a need.” Thompson said students in kindergarten through fourth-grade use the play- ground, the covered play area and “multiple purpose room,” with an 8-foot high Learn more What: Falls City Ele- mentary School gym bond informational meeting. When: Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. Where: Falls City Com- munity Center, 320 N. Main St., Falls City. For more informa- tion: 503-787-3521. ceiling for physical educa- tion. Students in grades fifth through eighth are bused down to the high school gym for P.E. class. Also, the district may be able to take advantage of Senate Bill 447, a law passed in the last legislative session that would double the amount collected through a bond, if it were to pass. “That would maximize our dollars,” Thompson said. “We wanted to make sure that was in place.” Thompson said at the ini- tial meeting that members of the public suggested a full- size gym suitable for hosting high school games, possibly with a kitchen facility. The extra space also could house FACES after-school program classes and allow the district to host jam- boree-like sporting events with multiple venues. “It opens up opportuni- ties that way,” Thompson said. The new building also could meet another need. With an enrollment in- crease of 20 students so far this year, Thompson said the kitchen at the elementary school, where all the meals served in the district are pre- pared, could soon be too small. He said the Falls City School Board is looking for input at this point and hasn’t settled on a design or amount the district would seek in a bond. The board will hold another informa- tional meeting in November to sort out some of those de- tails and will find an archi- tect to draw plans and pro- vide a cost estimate. While the gym will be at the elementary school prop- erty, the exact location has not been identified. Thompson said the most logical place in his opinion is the property the district owns just east of the school. “That way the kids would- n’t have to cross the street like they do now to get to the playground,” Thompson said. “Right now it (the prop- erty) has a few trees growing on it and that is it.” He added while still very much in the planning stages, Thompson believes building a gym is feasible. “After looking at the costs, it’s definitely doable,” he said. MONMOUTH — A Peace Corps information session is sched- uled for Tuesday 4 p.m. in the Columbia Room at Western Ore- gon University’s Werner University Center. In addition, the Peace Corps will have an information table set up the same day at the Werner University Center’s east en- trance,from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Peace Corps recruiter Scot Roskelley says volunteer assign- ments are 27 months in length and are entirely paid for. A full list of volunteer openings is posted on the federal agency’s website at www.peacecorps.gov. Ninety percent of volunteers have degrees, but the Peace Corps also accepts volunteers without degrees who have work experience that aligns with some of the openings. For more in- formation: Scot Roskelley, 503-290-4024. Students needed for blood drives PORTLAND — Hosting a blood drive this winter could help save lives and earn high school and college students a $2,500 scholarship. Students can register to host a drive through the “Leaders Save Lives” program between now and Nov. 15. Drives would be held between Dec. 15 and Jan. 15, 2016. The Leaders Save Lives program encourages high school and college students to host blood drives to help maintain the blood supply around holidays. Six scholarship are available to host a blood drive collecting 25 blood donations or more. For more information and to register to host a Leaders Save Lives blood drive: redcrossblood.org/leaderssavelives. DSD Supt. hosts coffee meetings DALLAS — Have a question, suggestion or concern you would like Dallas School District’s Superintendent Michelle Johnstone to hear? You have three opportunities starting this week to share those thoughts with Johnstone in person during “cofee chat- like” meetings in the community. The irst will be at Dallas Retirement Village Thursday at 9:30 a.m., 377 NW Jasper St., and Friday at McDonald’s, 227 E. Ellen- dale Ave. at 8 a.m. The last will be Nov. 3 at Pressed Cofee & Wine, 778 Main St. at 7:30 a.m. For more information: 503-623-5594. Call us. The Itemizer Observer can help you expand your market share, and make your business more profitable. Call Heidi, Rachel or Karen at 503-623-2373. ADVERTISING THAT WORKS.
