COUPLE PLANS FOR
DALLAS BOWLING READY
RETIREMENT Page 7A TO STRIKE
Volume 141, Issue 5
www.Polkio.com
Page 10A
75¢
February 3, 2016
IN
YOUR
TOWN
G RADUATION G AINS
DALLAS
The Dallas City Coun-
cil considers a street
bond and utility fee to
help with upkeep and
repair for the city’s
roads.
»Page 2A
FALLS CITY
A Kickstarter cam-
paign is underway to
help inish the sequel to
“Manos: The Hands of
Fate.”
»Page 5A
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer file
Perrydale teacher and administrator Dan Dugan speaks to the school’s Class of 2015 in June. Perrydale was one of three school districts that saw
significant increases in on-time grad rates for the 2014-15 school year. Perrydale had a 100 percent rate, and Dallas and Central numbers improved.
State’s annual report mistakingly lists Central’s four-year rates as significantly lower
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — Dallas,
Perrydale and Central made
big gains in their on-time
graduation rates for the
2014-15 school year, though
Central’s may not read that
way on the state report.
The four-year graduation
rate tracks the number of stu-
dents who enrolled in ninth
grade in 2011-12 and earned
diplomas within four years.
Perrydale notched a per-
fect 100 percent graduation
rate, up from 87 percent in
2013-14.
Dallas improved to 82
percent from 66 percent in
the previous year, according
to a report from the Oregon
Department of Education
released Thursday.
Central’s officially report-
ed rate fell just slightly to 72
percent from 73 percent, but
that excludes 26 kids who
were part of the district’s
fifth-year program.
Those students complet-
ed all work needed to earn a
regular diploma and should
84%*
86%*
83%
88%
82%
84%
82%
86%
50%
58%
50%
60%
100%
100%
87%
87%
* A reporting mistake has Central’s rates at 72 percent and 74 percent
for its four-year grad and completer rates on ODE’s report.
have been included in the
four-year rate, said Superin-
tendent Buzz Brazeau. Stu-
dents in the fifth-year pro-
gram are awarded an “ad-
vanced diploma” after fin-
Source: Oregon Dept. of Education
and Central School District
ishing a year of classes at
Chemeketa Community
College.
Brazeau said in the state’s
report only two students
were listed in the “diploma
earned but not awarded”
category when it should
have included 28.
He said the mistake was
caught too late to change
before the data was released,
but it will be reported accu-
rately in next year’s report.
If those students had
been included, Central’s rate
would have been 84 percent.
“It would make it signifi-
cantly different, but it did
not get reported or catego-
rized correctly so we are
stuck with the number they
show,” Brazeau said.
In recent years, Dallas has
put its focus on helping stu-
dents meet “essential skills”
requirements in math and
language arts, said Dallas
High School Principal Steve
Spencer.
Essential skills are
achievement benchmarks in
the subjects of reading, writ-
ing and math that students
must meet in order to grad-
uate.
See GRAD, Page 15A
Fatal crash on Washington Street Friday
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — A young girl
was killed Friday night in
Dallas in a collision between
a car and pedestrian.
Officers responded to a
report that a person had
been hit by a car near the in-
tersection of Washington
and Shelton streets at about
6 p.m. Friday.
Dallas Police Lt. Jerry Mott
said the girl was crossing
Washington Street from
north to south at the un-
marked crosswalk at Shelton
and was about two-thirds
across when an eastbound
sedan struck her.
The girl, Arianna Mattson,
12, was taken to the hospital
but did not survive her in-
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
juries, according to police.
Dallas Police did not re-
lease the girl’s name due to
her young age or the driver’s
name. A death notice was
submitted to the Itemizer-
Observer (see Obituaries,
Page 6A). LaCreole Middle
School included her name
with her family’s permission
in a post on its Facebook
page about counseling avail-
able for students on Monday.
Mattson was a sixth-grad-
er at LaCreole.
Mott said there was no in-
dication speed or impair-
ment from drugs or alcohol.
He added the driver was not
distracted, sleepy or having
medical issues that could
have contributed to the
crash.
Visibility on the dark and
wed
Grab your yarn and
knitting needles or
crochet hook and
start “Yarning for
Others” at St.
Thomas Church.
3-5 p.m. Free.
Rain
Hi: 47
Lo: 42
rainy night could have been
a significant factor in the ac-
cident Mott said. He said the
street light on the south side
of the road was working, but
the light on the north side
was out at the time of the ac-
cident.
“I believe the driver just
didn’t see her.” Mott said.
“There’s nothing to suggest
the driver has done anything
criminal.”
As the crash resulted in a
fatality, the Polk County Dis-
trict Attorney’s Office will
make final decisions on the
investigation.
A celebration of life for
Mattson will be at 1 p.m.
Saturday at Sundial Mobile
Home Park Community
Center, 2300 Lancaster Drive
SE, Salem.
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
A memorial has been set up for Arianna Mattson on
Washington Street in Dallas where the accident occurred.
INDEPENDENCE
Monmouth-Indepen-
dence Networks Board
of Directors approved
an 11 percent increase
in cable rates.
»Page 2A
MONMOUTH
Western Oregon oi-
cials and teachers are at
an impasse at negotia-
tions over salaries.
»Page 16A
SPORTS
Central swimmer
AnneMarie Hasbrook
has become the Pan-
thers’ quiet leader.
»Page 10A
POLK COUNTY
Central and Dallas
high schools will co-
host the Oregon Thes-
pians Southern Region-
al Acting Competition
on Saturday at CHS.
»Page 15A
Dallas woman
dies in accident
Itemizer-Observer staf report
DALLAS — A Dallas
woman died Friday fol-
lowing an accident in
which she accidently set
her clothing on ire while
trying to warm herself
next to her ireplace.
Dallas Fire & EMS re-
sponded to the call in the
300 block of Southeast
Mill Street, which came in
at 4:21 p.m. Thursday.
Crews took her to Dallas
High School’s football
ield, where they were met
by Life Flight air ambu-
lance. The woman was
lown to the burn center
at Emanuel Hospital in
Portland.
She died of her injuries
on Friday.
Dallas Fire & EMS did
not release more informa-
tion about victim, includ-
ing her name, by press
time.
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
Enjoy coloring with
other adults at Mon-
mouth Public Li-
brary. Supplies are
provided for this re-
laxing pastime.
5:30 p.m. Free.
Guthrie Park Com-
munity Center on
Kings Valley High-
way will be alive
with music at its
acoustic jam session.
7-10 p.m. Free.
Head down to the
Rickreall Grange Hall
for its monthly lea
market and enjoy
breakfast or lunch,
and baked goods.
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.
“KP and the Kings,” a
quartet from Polk
County, will perform
gospel music a cap-
pella at Grace Bap-
tist Church.
11 a.m. Free.
Meet more people
who share your gar-
dening passion at
the new Dallas Gar-
den Club at Evan-
gelical Bible Church.
7 p.m. Free.
Showers
Hi: 51
Lo: 39
Rain
Hi: 53
Lo: 40
Cloudy
Hi: 50
Lo: 37
Cloudy
Hi: 60
Lo: 40
Sunny
Hi: 59
Lo: 41
tue
Eat pancakes and
get ready for Lent
with Shrove Tues-
day at St. Thomas
Episcopal Church.
All are welcome.
5-6:30 p.m. Free.
Partly Sunny
Hi: 62
Lo: 43