Polk County News
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 1, 2016
Dallas city council to look at other ways to fund aquatic center
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — At this point,
the Dallas City Council
hasn’t voted on plans to
close the Dallas Aquatic
Center.
It did approve a motion at
its May 16 meeting to ex-
plore other funding meth-
ods to pay for expenses at
the aquatic center.
The motion, which reads
that the city will “pursue
other revenue streams for
the aquatic center, primary
funding, for the purpose of
removing it from the general
fund. This motion implies
that within the fiscal year,
this council will strategize
and submit a plan for fund-
ing the aquatic center sepa-
rate from the general fund.”
Councilor Micky Garus
made the motion, which
passed on a 5-4 vote, with
Garus, and councilors Bill
Hahn, Jackie Lawson, and
LaVonne Wilson voting in
f a v o r. C o u n c i l o r s J i m
Fairchild, Kevin Marshall,
Murray Stewart and Ken
Woods voted against it.
Mayor Brian Dalton cast the
deciding “yes” vote to pass
the motion.
Councilor Kelly Gabliks
was excused from the meet-
ing.
Concern among citizens
about closing the aquatic
center likely stemmed from
a budget committee meet-
ing on May 2, when Garus
asked a question about
transferring the budget for
the aquatic center to other
needs, such as streets, police
and fire.
He said the city should
think about making those
areas a higher priority than
the center.
Others at the meeting en-
couraged him to bring that
issue before the council be-
cause making that decision
in a budget meeting would
essentially close the center.
Garus did not make a mo-
tion to change that line item
on May 2, instead bringing
the issue to the May 16
council meeting.
In the current budget, ex-
penses at the center are
about $826,000 with rev-
enues at $465,000. The
$340,000 difference is paid
out of the city’s general fund.
“When it’s all said and
done, the center generally
averages between 55 and 60
percent coverage, which for
an aquatic center is pretty
typical with other (publically
operated) aquatic centers
around the state,” said City
Manager Ron Foggin.
He said in conversations
with councilors, he hasn’t
found support for the idea
of closing the center.
“Most of the councilors
that I’ve talked have com-
mitted that we’re not closing
the aquatic center. They
committed to keeping it
open,” he said. “They recog-
nize the importance of the
center to this community
and the livability aspect is
extremely important to the
council.”
Seuss stories come to life in musical at Perrydale
Show weaves the tale of Horton the Elephant, the Whos of Whoville, the mischievous Cat in the Hat
By Jolene Guzman
Showtime!
The Itemizer-Observer
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
JoJo, center, played by Brayden Syphers, tries to hide after one of his “thinks” gets him
in trouble in Perrydale’s production of “Seussical the Musical.”
PERRYDALE — JoJo may
be the smallest Who, but his
imagination is boundless.
His “thinks” as his day-
dreams are called in Perry-
dale’s production of “Seussi-
cal the Musical,” transport
him to other worlds.
And that gets him into a
lot of trouble, thanks to that
mischievous Cat in the Hat
and his cohorts, Thing I and
Thing 2.
“Have you been thinking
again?” JoJo’s parents ask,
looking at yet another mess
he’s made while lost in his
thoughts.
Those could be about
swimming with fish, or wit-
nessing the antics of a mys-
terious cat wearing a top
hat.
“Think something nor-
mal!” they say.
JoJo doesn’t and that turns
out to be a good thing for
Whoville.
So is Horton, the gentle
and caring elephant, who
hears Whoville’s cries for
help.
Like JoJo, he is pressured
to think he didn’t “hear a
Who” and forget about an-
swering those pleas.
“Not many people under-
stand who he really is, but
he’s still a kind and caring
person,” said Dylan Mil-
burn, who plays Horton.
Horton sees what looks
like a speck of dust floating
What: “Seussical the
Musical.”
Where: Perrydale
School in the old gym,
7445 Perrydale Road,
Amity.
When: Thursday and
Friday, shows start at 7
p.m.
Admission: Free. VIP
tickets are sold for $20 for
Friday’s show only.
For more informa-
tion: 503-623-2040.
in the air — and oddly hears
it, too. Whoville is contained
within that tiny floating ob-
ject and desperately needs a
hero.
He decides to believe his
ears and safely catches it in a
clover. That clover looks like
multi-colored cotton candy,
but this is Seuss, after all.
Now he must protect his
find against those who don’t
hear what he hears.
“He does not see them,
but he knows they are
there,” Dylan said. “Not
many people believe him.”
As he says throughout,
though, “a person is a per-
son, no matter how small.”
“Seussical the Musical” is
based on the collective work
of Dr. Seuss.
“Horton hears a Who is re-
ally the main one, but they
throw in a lot of different
books from Dr. Seuss,” said
Misty Matthews, Perrydale’s
drama and music teacher
and director of the produc-
tion.
She cast about 45 stu-
dents in the musical, includ-
ing parts for elementary stu-
dents.
The set, done in Seussical
fashion, is an artistic splash
of bright colors, setting the
whimsical mood for the mu-
sical.
“It’s fun to get the little
kids involved,” Matthews
said. “It’s a fun show.”
How could it not, with the
Cat in the Hat as one of the
main characters?
Timothy Fairchild plays
the prank-pulling feline and
says he up to his typical
tricks.
“I am the devil’s advo-
cate,” Fairchild said. “I’m on
Jojo’s side, but I’m also the
marshal in the “People vs.
Horton the Elephant.” I’m
the one who is kind of at-
tacking him.”
For JoJo, the Cat encour-
ages him not to obey his
parents and continue his
“thinks.”
“I’m trying to get him to
think outside of the box and
not really worry about what
other people think about his
‘thinks,’ and how they can
d o a m a z i n g t h i n g s ,”
Fairchild said.
Brayden Syphers, who
plays little JoJo, believes that
is the lesson of his charac-
ter’s story.
“Having a good imagina-
tion, that is what the play is
about,” he said.
The Itemizer-Observer
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