Polk County Education
16A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 25, 2016
The long road home
Eola Hills Charter School still working on permanent home following fire
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
AMITY — Eola Hills Char-
ter School has high hopes of
starting the 2016-17 school
year in a permanent loca-
tion.
By then, it would be al-
most three years since its
school on Bethel Road in
Polk County burnt down.
The next year, it found a
space to move to on the
Ballston Community Hall
property off Community
Hall Road in Ballston.
The site had plenty of
room and is within the
boundaries of Eola Hills Char-
ter School’s sponsor, Amity
School District. In August
2014, the county approved a
land use variance with condi-
tions to move the school onto
the site.
The school, which serves
students in grades one-12,
still hasn’t gotten final ap-
proval for its plan. Al Chris-
tensen, the school’s board
chairman, is hopeful the
finish line is in sight.
—
At first, finding a perma-
nent site looked like it
would happen quickly.
In the months after the
fire in October 2013, the
school moved into five mod-
ular buildings on Willamette
Education Service District’s
property in McMinnville.
The ESD offered the class-
rooms to the school for a $1
apiece if the school could
move them.
The Ballston community
was supportive, and the
school had insurance pay-
ments from the fire to cover
the cost of moving and
preparing the site.
“The plan began to come
together,” Christensen said.
After those developments,
progress slowed while the
school developed plans to
meet all the conditions out-
lined in the variance.
Since August 2014, the
SCHOOL NOTES
Chemeketa CC receives stem grant
SALEM — Chemeketa Community College has been awarded a
$152,236 grant from the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating
Council (HECC) to increase the number of women and under-rep-
resented students of color earning a degree or certificate in a stem
(science, technology, engineering and math) field.
The grant will pay for advising and mentoring, strategic tutor-
ing, career planning and tracking of student progress for students
who are female or students of color enrolling in a computer sci-
ence, engineering or high-tech manufacturing program.
Currently only 9 percent of those enrolled in those programs
are women and 22 percent are minorities. Full-time enrollment at
Chemeketa in fall of 2015 was 53.8 percent are female and 34.6
percent are ethnic or racial minorities.
The grant will also pay for a two-day stem event to recruit new
students. Participants will build a functioning robot, create a 3-D
print and explore how to develop smartphone applications.
DSD honors Distinguished Educator
DALLAS — Susan Jones, educational assistant at Whitworth Ele-
mentary School, was named April’s Distinguished Educator.
She was presented the award on Friday.
Kathy Slack, a parent of a child who Jones
helped, nominated her for the honor.
Whenever I've asked for help, she is there
without question,” Slack said. “She is very car-
ing, compassionate, understanding, helpful, an
all-around amazing person.”
Other students who have worked with Jones
agreed, saying: “She is a sensitive caring
teacher,” and “she is one of the nicest in this
school.”
Jones
The Distinguished Educator Program recog-
nizes “excellence in teaching and learning” in
Dallas School District schools.
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
John Hamilton, Eola Hills Charter School’s language arts teacher, leads middle-school
students through a lesson. Classrooms are the size of large cubicles at the school.
school has had a “restrictive
covenant” established to
bind the property’s two tax
lots; easement adjustments
approved; the septic system
expanded; made a plan to
widen the main access road;
parking, driveways and
modular unit placements
configured and reconfig-
ured; and a fire suppression
system installed.
That was just to have
plans approved, not to actu-
ally hire contractors to
move the school to the site
and do other improvements
to be ready for school in
September.
In February, the school
submitted its third series of
plans, and Christensen
stepped in.
Christensen said he would
go to one department only to
be sent to another as he
waded through the compli-
cated and sometimes frus-
trating process.
“I’ve never done any of
this stuff,” he said.
Meanwhile, the school
has had to find temporary
locations to hold school.
Last year, that was Amity
Christian Church. The cur-
rent school year is in a for-
mer winery site in down-
town Amity.
Christensen said the
board considered closing
the school last summer. It
held an informational meet-
ing for parents and the reac-
tion was immediate.
“The parents came out in
such strong numbers and
said, ‘We will do whatever
you need us to do to keep
the school alive and please
don’t close it,’” Christensen
recalled. “We revived our
enthusiasm.”
Polk County Commission-
er Mike Ainsworth said he
understands the school’s
concerns, but also that the
plans need to be done cor-
rectly.
“It just takes time and this
is something that is com-
pletely different,” he said.
Nicole Wollenweber, the
school’s director, said she is
eager to have a permanent
location.
“I just want them to say
‘go,’ so I can do what I need
to do,” she said.
She said the former Mia
Sonatina Winery in Amity is
the fourth location the
school has had to use in the
last three school years, in-
cluding the church they
used in the weeks after the
fire.
Wollenweber said she un-
derstands the county has a
process to abide by.
See SCHOOL, Page 7A
Panters raise $20,000 for Cystic Fibrosis
INDEPENDENCE — The Mr. and Ms. Central Pageant contest-
ants, along with ASBEC students, presented a $20,000 check to the
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation this weekend.
The CHS students were there to support the “Running4Rylee”
team at the “Great Strides” event in Corvallis.
The $20,000 donated was raised from this year’s Mr. and Ms.
Central Pageant.
ACADEMIC HONORS
Costa earns two awards at academy
FRONT ROYAL, Va. — Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Lucas Costa, of
Monmouth, a junior at Randolph-Macon Academy received the
Annual Daedalian Award on March 24, 2016.
This award, sponsored by Flight No. 4 Virginia Order of
Daedalians, is presented to a junior who demonstrates patriotism,
love of country and service to the nation.
Costa also has been named to the third quarter president's list
for the 2015-2016 school year.
To be named to the President's List, students must earn a grade
point average of 4.0 or above for the quarter.
Costa is the son of Cinthia Costa Jones, of Monmouth and
Alexandre D T Costa, of Curitiba, Brazil.
Local students makes dean’s list
BEND — Cody Manzi, of Monmouth, and Cody Johnson, of In-
dependence, were named to the winter term dean’s list at Central
Oregon Community College.
The list is based on enrollment in 12 or more credits.