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Polk County Education Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 13, 2016 5A Paving a parking lot Middle school and high school softball to share field in 2017 Central may still seek bond By Lukas Eggen By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer The Itemizer-Observer PERRYDALE — Perrydale High School Athletics Direc- tor Dan Dugan knows first- hand just how crowded the parking lot can get. “There were times I was in a neon vest directing traf- fic during football games,” Dugan said. “That was a pain in the butt.” Dugan won’t have to bust out the neon vest anytime soon, as work is underway on a new parking lot. “It really comes down to, we were having people double and triple park in our parking lot and park on the highway in unsafe ways,” Superintendent Eric Milburn said. “We had to come up with a way to ac- commodate the public for events we’re having at our school.” A new gravel lot was laid over the middle school soft- ball field adding 100 new spots, Milburn said. The current lot located behind the gymnasium was paved on Monday. The project is expected to be fully com- pleted on July 20. “Once the paving is com- pleted, we’ll paint stripes and have it ready to go,” Milburn said. The new gravel did come with a drawback — the elimination of the mid- dle school softball field, but the school district has a plan in place to ensure the sport remains available to students. Canceling middle school softball would have put the school in violation of Title IX. “If we did have to cancel softball, we’d have to cancel baseball as well,” Dugan said. “We were trying to be proactive and called the OSAA and the Department of Education. We asked what do we need to do for this and created a plan going forward.” The middle school and INDEPENDENCE — Cen- tral School District did not get the OK for a $4 million state grant that the district would have received pend- ing a voter-approved bond in November. The district is “next on the list,” said Superintendent Buzz Brazeau at Monday’s school board meeting. The money is awarded by the state based on need, and also on a lottery system. Central’s need puts it high on the priority list, but be- cause other districts who failed to pass bonds in May have decided to try again in November, it limits the com- mitment from the state on who gets the money. The Central School Board may still put a bond on the November ballot to pay for gymnasiums, additions to Independence Elementary School and cafeterias, but without the promise of a $4 million grant. However, Brazeau said with Great Britain voting to exit the European Union last month, bond rates have dropped 45 points from where they were. “There is some extra fund- ing that is available,” he said. “We are getting those num- bers now from our bond consultant.” Brazeau said the bond ex- ploration committee will meet on July 25 and bring a new rec- ommendation to the board. SCHOOL NOTES Chemeketa CC switches hours LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Workers lay down smooth pavement at the Perrydale parking lot behind the gym- nasium on Monday afternoon. A new parking lot will add 100 spaces. high school teams will share the high school field during the 2017 season. “We’ll have a smaller out- field and won’t be your typi- cal quarter circle like we’ve seen in a lot of different ballparks,” Dugan said. “High school and middle school rarely play on the same day, so there’s mini- mal overlap there.” The school district will monitor a stretch of land lo- cated just beyond the new gravel lot that could be a new home for middle school softball, Milburn said. “We have to see how well that field area is going to drain and how usable it is going to be,” Milburn said. “We have to wait a season to be able to see the water ac- cumulation and make a de- termination.” With the new parking lots on schedule, the Perrydale parking lot will be ready to host whatever events the school puts on — allowing Dugan to retire the neon vest for a while. “We’re going to have a lot more capacity for events,” Dugan said. “I never thought I’d be so happy about a parking lot before.” SALEM/DALLAS — Chemeketa Community College will switch to summer hours effective Friday. The college will be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Most college services will be closed Fridays, weekends and holidays. The change will include Chemeketa’s Polk Center in Dallas. Summer hours will not affect the following locations or pro- grams: Brooks Training Center, Criminal Justice Instruction Pro- gram (Brooks), Emergency Services Instruction Programs (Brooks), Building 48 including MaPS Credit Union and Blue Moon Café, CCRLS Administrative Office Chemeketa’s Capital Projects, Facili- ties and Information Technology departments, Chemeketa Center for Business and Industry (CCBI), Corrections Education, Eola/Northwest Wine Studies Center, International Student Pro- grams, Public Safety officers, SOAR Program, TRiO Upward Bound Summer Academy, and Workforce Partners at Woodburn Center. The college will resume Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. office hours Aug. 29. Eola Hills Charter School seeks help LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer The new parking area will be completed on July 20, Perrydale Superintendent Eric Milburn said. POLK COUNTY — Eola Hills Charter School is looking for con- tractors to help complete projects so the school can open this September. Without completed projects, the school cannot open. Among the projects needed include an excavator to widen the road, put in ditches and driveways and bury water tanks, a modu- lar home moving company to reposition five modular unites and tie them down, a contractor to build ADA compliant decking and ramps and a plumber to connect plumbing to the main building. The charter school recently gained approval for a permanent site, but because of the delay, other contractors committed to other jobs. If a company or individual is willing to complete one of the tasks and/or help fund one of the projects, contact Nicole Wollen- weber, director at Eola Hills, at 503-437-9138. For more information: nwollen@gmail.com. V xÄxuÜtàx MIKAELA BRUER MISS OREGON TEEN USA 2016 Polk County’s _______ Wine Guide JULY 17 1 PM - 4 PM PRESSED COFFEE & WINE BAR Polk County’s very own wine, brewery and distillery guide ...coming soon! Interested in hearing more? Contact the Itemizer-Observer 503-623-2373 www.polkio.com 147 SE Court St. Dallas, OR Join us on this Sunday, July 17, from 1pm-4pm to celebrate our own Miss Oregon Teen USA, Mikaela Bruer, as she prepares to represent our community and our state at the Miss Teen USA Pageant! Mikelea is a real home town hero, involved in FFA, 4H, our Polk County Fair and many other community organizations. Enjoy complimentary refreshments, music and the remarkable story of this amazing young ladyon her way to put our community on the national stage. Open House, all ages welcome, Pressed Coffee and Wine Bar, 788 Main St., Dallas. Questions? Call 503-507-5240
