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Polk County News Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 25, 2015 3A Active-shooter drill tests local agencies By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — At 10:21 a.m., Tuesday the first calls for help came in. A shooter is at Central High School. Shots were being fired in the women’s restroom and main hall of the school. Police cars from all local agencies converged on the school within minutes, offi- cers leaping from their cars, armed with rifles. They scrambled, looking for an open door to the school. Inside is panic. Teachers are trying to keep students safe and out of the path of the shooter. Students and staff hide and barricade them- selves. But some were too close and had to play dead to escape with their lives. This was just a drill. But the urgency, the simu- lated panic and injuries, the unpredictable behavior of students, and communica- tion breakdowns with emer- gency responders were all re- alistic — and will teach emer- gency crews what to do if the real thing were to happen. Independence Police Chief Bob Mason, part of the JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer Medics pretend to treat critically injured students during a drill at Central High School on Tuesday. command group on the scene, said officers and paramedics arrived only knowing what had been dis- patched to them. It stayed that way throughout the ex- ercise. About 45 minutes into the drill, he said it was going well. “The shooter had been brought out and the injured are being brought out,” he said. “Most of that is going well.” On the radios behind him, someone calls in that they have found a group of stu- dents in a barricaded room and they are trying to get them out. “We haven’t done a sec- ondary sweep yet,” he said. “I’m guessing in the second- ary sweep they will find some who hid really well. The kids get into this.” Ethan Davis and Taylor Buccello were two student volunteers who participat- ed. They were caught in the main hall and told by a JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer First responders wait for the all-clear and police escort to enter Central High School and help any wounded during an active-shooter drill on Tuesday. teacher to hide under the benches. Neither thought that was a good idea be- cause they were in the open and near the shooter, but obeyed anyway. “We had to play dead in- stead of actually being able to hide,” Bucello said. Their friend had a gash on her leg and Buccello had to use her jacket as a tourni- quet. They waited for police to escort them to safety, hav- ing to carry their friend to paramedics for treatment. Buccello said if that had been a real scenario, they believe they would have been shot. “I would have ended up dead if I did what I did,” Davis said. He probably wouldn’t have listened to the teacher. “I would have followed whatever my gut instinct told me to do,” he said. “I probably would have been all the way to Salem by now.” But that was all part of the process. What did they learn from the drill? “To take care of the in- jured and go over my (first aid) more often,” Davis said. Falls City high school Dallas seeks new maple trees removed owner for building By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer FALLS CITY — Two maple trees that adorned the en- trance of Falls City High School for at least a century were taken down earlier this month after they were de- termined to be a safety haz- ard. A year ago, the district had them evaluated by an ar- borist with R&R Tree Service. The resulting report gave a three word recommenda- tion: “Remove and replace.” The sad, but necessary job was completed in stages this month, first with the trees being cut and then with the stumps ground down. “Both the trees were rot- ten inside,” said Superinten- dent Jack Thompson. He said one of the trees had only about eight inches of living tree around the out- side, the rest of the core was Saturday Nov. 28th 11am to 8pm Education rotten. Strangely, that tree had another one growing in- side of it. “Everybody in town was understanding,” Thompson said, especially after people could see the rot inside the trees. “Still, it was a sad day.” The work was done not a minute too soon. Recent wind storms may have proven too much for the poor, bedraggled trees. “When we had that big wind storm, we were all say- ing how glad we were that the trees were down because we could have had some pretty good sized branches breaking off in the wind,” Thompson said. He said conversations are ongoing about what should replace the trees, but noth- ing has been decided yet. On Nov. 17, the Falls City School Board turned its at- tention to buildings, specifi- cally the proposed gym at Fa l l s C i t y E l e m e n t a r y School. The board voted to hire an architect, AC + Co Architec- ture, to help the district with cost estimates and plans. Thompson said, thus far, he and the board haven’t heard any objection to the idea of building a gym, but have heard plenty of ques- tions. “People have been saying ‘We like the idea, but what is it going to cost and what will it look like?’” Thompson said. He said the architect will help answer those ques- tions. First 25 Customers get a FREE Growler! Drawings for Free Shirts & Glasses! Discounts on Growler Fills! 63 Taps of the finest wine, beer and ciders around. We focus on locally made products, but feature selections from across the US and around the world. Family Friendly Lunch & Dinner 957 Main St., Dallas • 503-420-4277 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 11AM TO 8PM By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The city of Dallas is looking for a new owner for the long-vacant former Carnegie Library building in downtown Dal- las. The city issued a “request for proposals” for purchase and redevelopment of the building located at 187 SW Court St. Proposals are due by Dec. 3. Built in about 1911, the building has three levels and a total of 4,838 square- feet. The city of Dallas is the current owner. “Originally, the building was constructed as a public library based on a grant the city received from the Carnegie Foundation,” the proposal read. “The build- ing served as the Dallas Public Library until 1990. Since that time, it has served as the Polk County Historical Museum and of- fices for local parks and recreation program servic- es.” City officials have said even if an acceptable pro- p o s a l i s n’t s u b m i t t e d t h r o u g h t h i s p r o c e s s, maybe the city will find good ideas for what to do with the old vacant build- ing. A committee designated to evaluate proposals is es- timated to have its find- ings finished by mid-Janu- ary. Have an idea? For more information about what is required to submit a pur- chase and redevelopment proposal, go to www.ci.dal- las.or.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AI D=390. Downtown Dallas Merchants Holiday Turkey Winners! Three additional turkeys were donated to the Dallas Food Bank. The turkeys were purchased through Dallas Safeway and the winners should pick them up there by November 25th. A-Team Locksmith ...................................................Billie Rowe Brixius Jewelers .......................................................Laura Rice Capitol Auto West Valley Chevrolet....Melvin & Patricia Flippo Country Insurance .............................................Lynette Stowell Courtyard Coffee House..........................................John Allred Court Street Hair ...................................................Mark Sinclair Dallas Alteration Center ...........................Catherine Camareng Dallas Antique Mall ................................................Tyler Walker Dallas City Cleaners ................................Libby Hamler-Dupras Dallas City Vapors Vapors ...............................Mikayla Mosher Dallas Yoga & Balance Studio...................................Sue Zdun Domino's Pizza .......................................................Joline Davis First American Title..........................................Irma Hernandez Four Season's Styling Center...............................Doris Jeffers Grandma's Attic Sewing Emporium................Anona Hamilton Harvest CrossFit.....................................................Matt Mosley Heartstrings Florist & Artisans...........................Connie Morris Home Comfort ...................................................Juanita Howard House of Floors ....................................................Donna Faxon Jake's Garage ..................................................Mary Ann Moore Just Stuff ............................................................Pam Lawrence Old Mill Feed & Garden ....................................Katrina Gunther Polk Co. Itemizer-Observer Newspaper .......Joetta Chrissakis Pressed Coffee & Wine Bar ...............................Harley Skaggs Shear Perfection .................................................Marydel Kersh Some Things .........................................................Ashley Slaon The Dallas Forty.....................................................Jeff Woosley The Decorated Wall .................................................JoAnn Beal The Fox Theater ......................................................Lupe Torres Tim's Automotive Specialties ..................................Don Culler West Valley Taphouse........................................Don Rodenfels World Gym..........................................................Woody Tiernan