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Polk County News 6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 17, 2016 Two sentenced to Awards: Lines made every place better 100 months in prison And the winners are … Former Western Oregon students to spend time in prison for sex crimes By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Two men were sentenced to 100 months in the Department of Corrections with 20 years of post- prison su- pervision at Polk County Circuit Court this afternoon. B o t h Savoy men were f o u n d guilty of Me a s u r e 11 sex crimes after a two-day b e n c h trial by J u d g e Weekly Norman R. Hill. Robert Godeaux Savoy III, 23, was sentenced to 8 years, 4 months in the De- partment of Corrections for first-degree rape. He will serve 75 months concur- rently for lesser sex charges. Christopher James Weekly, 23, also was sentenced to 8 years, 4 months in the De- partment of Corrections for first-degree sodomy. He will also serve 75 months concur- rently for lesser sex charges. The incident took place in 2014 and involved one vic- tim. The woman did not ap- pear at the sentencing, but did send a statement with Chief Deputy District Attor- ney Jayme Kimberly saying: “I’ve already spent too much of my time with you both. I’ve wasted enough time feeling scared. Now it’s your turn to think about what you did that night.” Fa m i l y m e m b e r s o f Savoy emotionally pleaded with the judge to show mercy on Robert Savoy prior to sentencing. Robert Savoy’s father Eric Savoy said, “My son is very strong. He’s a young man who would never do this. My son is an honorable man.” Neither Savoy nor Weekly added anything to the record before being issued their respective sentences. Attorneys representing both men asked for a new trial on the grounds that the evidence was insuffi- cient to justify a verdict, and that the verdict was against the law. Hill said he believed the vic- tim’s version of what occurred and he denied a new trial. Because first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy fall under Measure 11, Hill said he was compelled to issue mandatory sentenc- ing of 100 months in the Department of Corrections and 20 years of post-prison supervision. Both Savoy and Weekly will have to reg- ister as sex offenders. “There is no good here,” he said. “It’s a sad thing all the way around.” Attorneys representing Savoy and Weekly intend to file appeals to the sentence and the trial. Continued from 1A This year, the cere- mony’s theme is “In Celebration of Courage,” taking note of those “courageous and generous people that live in our com- munity.” The awards pres- entation will follow dinner and a social hour, which begins at 6 p.m. at Col. James Nesmith Readiness Center in Dallas. The awards in- clude: Outstanding Organization, Small Business, New Busi- ness, Ag Business, Business of the Year, President’s Award, Lifetime Achieve- ment, Good Samari- tans, Excellence in Arts, Junior First Citi- zen and First Citizen. Fa i r c h i l d , w h o nominated Lines for Lifetime Achieve- ment, said he is glad to see Dallas recog- nizing the mark Lines left on his city. “For a life cut short, he had done a lot of things,” Fairchild said. “A n d i n e v e r y place, he made it bet- ter.” Outstanding Organization — Dallas Fire Department Chaplains Small Business — El Pique New Business — West Valley Taphouse Ag Business — Daryll's Nursery Business — Oregon State Credit Union President's Award — Dallas Eco- nomic Development Commission Lifetime Achievement — Ron Lines Good Samaritan's — Jim Ro- driguez & Colby Hamilton Excellence in Arts — John Beck Junior First Citizen — Jeremey Santee-Malloy (works at Citizens Bank) First Citizen — Bob Brannigan HONORING COURAGE What: 59th annual Community Award Banquet. When: Friday, 6 p.m. Where: Oregon National Guard’s Nesmith Readiness Center, 12835 Westview Drive, Dallas. Tickets: Tickets are $40 per per- son or $45 at the door. Tickets are available at the chamber’s oice, 168 SW Court St. (open Wednes- day and Thursday) and Dallas City Hall, 187 SE Court St. Theme: In Celebration of Courage. For more information: http://www.dallasoregon.org. District responds to union vote Central’s board of directors, superintendent counter teachers’ complaints By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — The Central School Board has heard the complaints from the Central Education Asso- ciation regarding Central High School Principal Greg Mitchell, Superintendent Buzz Brazeau said. “The board has respond- ed and we’re trying to follow through with that process,” he said. “It’s a personnel issue.” The association has pub- lished a blog online written by CEA president and CHS English teacher Ben Gorman, in collaboration with other teachers, alleging a number of problems with Mitchell’s leadership at Central. Among those complaints are that Central High stu- dents were not offered suffi- Did the Stork visit you in 2015? cient opportunities to grad- uate. The graduation rate at CHS has gone from 66 per- cent when Mitchell started in 2013 to 84 percent this year. Gorman and CEA vice- president Laura said they are concerned about the Class of 2016, of which 33 percent has passed Smarter Balanced tests. The remain- ing students need to show their proficiency in the ma- terial through work samples through senior skills classes. Waight said there were just two senior skills classes available, with 20 students enrolled in each. Super intendent Buzz Brazeau said that every stu- dent who needed to provide work samples for graduation had taken the class in fall or winter term, or was sched- uled to take the class in spring. G o r ma n , Wai g h t n o r Brazeau could explain why work samples weren’t done in the class where the sub- ject was taught — language arts or math. As for the master schedul- ing, Brazeau said when he was a building principal, there often were changes to the schedule two or even three weeks into the new school year. He also noted that the union’s grievance — a spe- cific complaint about the contract not being fol- lowed — was filed while Mitchell was having open- heart surgery in 2014. The union’s proposed remedies — or what the union asked for in exchange for the contract not being followed — were granted: p rov i d i n g a s u b s t i t u t e teacher so that teachers could better prepare for teaching a class they didn’t know they would have to teach or paying them for extra time spent preparing. Another allegation in the blog is that Mitchell dis- banded the building’s site council, something state law stipulates buildings have. The law also notes that dis- tricts have the right to build councils in a way that would best suit each district. In Central School District, buildings have a leadership team, and haven’t had a site council as defined by the law in years, Brazeau said. “That’s a 20-year-old law,” Brazeau said. “We’ve always struggled with site councils.” Instead, the district uses the leadership team model, which includes teachers and some members of the classi- fied staff to work on curricu- lum and try to improve the overall operation of schools, Brazeau said. School em- ployees on the leadership team receive a stipend for the extra work. Mitchell has had about eight hostile work environ- ment claims filed against him, but they were thor- oughly investigated and did not rise to that level, said Rich McFarland, assistant superintendent and human resources director. Waight said the union’s decision to take its com- plaints public was based on how teachers perceive Mitchell’s actions to affect students. “We don’t take that light- ly,” Gorman said. “This is an instance where (the board) needs to step up to the plate and show they are willing to do what’s best for students. A big part of our concern is, if it stalls, it will be too late to find another principal or we’ll lose teachers. They need to be assured — apply more pressure.” Gorman and Waight said the union wants Mitchell out of the high school. A re- placement must be willing to collaborate, communi- cate and have respect for teachers, Gorman said. Fifth: Program helps kids graduate Continued from Page 14A “Let’s put it in its own fund and fund it that way,” he said during a hearing on the bill this month. “That is Aria Nicole Peters • Dec. 26, 2015 All babies will be entered into a drawing for FREE PRIZES from area merchants! BABIES OF 2015 Showcase your little one with his or her photo, birthdate and names of proud parents. Only babies born in 2015 are candidates for BABIES OF 2015. All baby photos submitted will appear in a special full color section of the Itemizer- Observer on Feb. 24, 2016. Please mail or drop off the following form, a photo and $25.00 to our office by Feb.19th prior to 2:00 p.m. (The photo may be picked Mom! Dad! up after publication). If you have any Grandparents! questions, please call Dawn at Bring in 503-623-2373. a photo! (CLIP THIS FORM) _____________________________________________________________ Baby’s Full Name _____________________________________________________________ Birthdate _____________________________________________________________ Birth Place _____________________________________________________________ Parent’s Names _____________________________________________________________ Phone Number _____________________________________________________________ Address Remember to bring in a photo! Cost is only $25.00 DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 19 PUBLISH: FEBRUARY 24 Itemizer-Observer 147 SE Court St. • Dallas • 503-623-2373 the straight forward and honest way to do it.” Sen. Sara Gelser, a strong proponent of the bill, said she doesn’t believe use of state school fund is inappro- priate — as opponents have charged — for the group of students who would be served through the new “Post-graduate Scholar” pro- gram. Gelser, Green and others who testified in favor of the legislation say the opportu- nity to attend community college is an incentive to graduate. “I would argue that is al- ways appropriate to use state school fund for the purpose of increasing a high school graduation rate,” she said in the hearing on the bill. “What we are creating is a carrot to keep kids in school districts, to graduate from high school that otherwise would leave.”
