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