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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 2016)
Polk County Education 14A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 30, 2016 No new surface for Dallas track By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer EMILy MENTzEr/Itemizer-Observer The cast of “White Christmas” rehearses the title track — and finale — of the musical on Central High’s stage. Dreamin’ of a White Christmas Central High theater puts on holiday classic with all the trimmings By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer I NDEPENDENCE — Christmas will rain from the sky at Central High School’s performance of “White Christmas,” opening on Thursday at 7 p.m. “There are Christmas lights everywhere,” said Wendy Boyack. The musical has been a challenge for both Boyack and Jeff Witt, co-directors, for several reasons. First and foremost: 327 costumes, 17 scenes with costume changes, 10 flying objects, a snow machine, and a large crew and cast. “I’ve borrowed costumes from all over the place,” Witt said. “I even found some of the Army uniforms in Texas at a surplus store.” All the effort is worth bringing the Christmas spirit to Central’s stage in the form White Christmas What: Central High School presents, “White Christmas.” When: Thursday through Saturday, 7 p.m.; Dec. 7 through 10, 7 p.m. Dec. 10 includes a matinee at 2 p.m. Where: Central High School Auditorium, 1530 Monmouth St., Independence. Admission: General, $8; students with ID, $5; Saturday dinner theater, $20. Students on Dec. 7, $3. Of note: Co-director Jeff Witt said tickets are selling quick- ly for this show. Get tickets online at centralperforming arts.org. Online ticket sales end four hours before the show begins. Tickets will be available at the door. On Saturday, dinner will be served, so the price of admis- sion is $20, and includes a reserved seat. of a beloved and iconic holi- day musical. For Conner Layton, who plays the lead character Bob, the play has been one of the most fun. “But it’s the most challeng- ing,” he said. “It’s a lot of songs, and a lot more danc- ing than I usually do.” Layton, a Central senior, has participated in CHS the- ater for seven years, but has yet to have such a large role until now. “One of the reasons it’s so challenging is because it’s a movie that everyone loves,” he said. “I spent a lot more time rehearsing than I usually do.” Layton read the script while he traveled over the summer. He played the soundtrack on repeat — even while he slept. “That helped me learn the songs faster,” he said. Witt wasn’t worried about the music. “Conner was made to sing ‘White Christmas,’” Witt said. “He’s a natural at it. He’s a crooner.” The production fits the en- tire cast well, Witt said, some- thing he consistently takes into consideration when choosing plays for the sea- son. Dylan Lewis, who plays Gen. Waverly, said he has al- ways liked this show. Lewis said his favorite song in the show — if he had to choose just one — is “We’ll follow the old man,” because it has a lot of “cool guy parts in that song.” While Lewis doesn’t have a lot of songs, he does have fun yelling at people a lot, he said. “He’s kind of heated, but has a soft heart,” Lewis said of his character. DALLAS — The Dallas High School track appears to be holding up better than some surfaces and worse than oth- ers according to results of “force reduction” tests on other tracks in Oregon. That determination prompted the Dallas School Dis- trict’s Citizen’s Oversight Committee to recommend hold- ing off on resurfacing the track — for now. Force reduction tests the hardness of a surface, with the higher the number, the softer the surface. Tests on 51 sites on DHS’s 12-year-old track surface produced results varying from 35 at the softest and 26 at the hardest. More recent patches measured at 42 to 38. The only surface standards that exist for facilities are used for international competitions, with International Association of Athletics Federations recommending those facilities range from 35 to 50. Gary Logsdon, the vice president of sales for Beynon Sports, tested two tracks in Scio, tracks at North Salem and South Salem, and at Eastern Oregon University. “We asked him to do some other tracks so we could have a comparison baseline,” said Kevin Montague, Dal- las’ facilities manager. Scio has a 10-year-old and a two-year-old track. The older surface tested between 35 and 33, while the new track ranged 37 to 35. North Salem tested between 37 and 29, while South Salem came in at 35 to 31. EOU’s track tested at 28 to 21. Logsdon noted the university has wanted to replace the track surface, but doesn’t have the money. “If you look at those numbers, we are right where we should be,” Montague said “We are way better than East- ern Oregon University’s track, so we are going to take this information to the COC and have them look at it.” The COC, which helps prioritize projects to be paid with facilities bond proceeds, met on Nov. 21. “They recommended continued monitoring to watch for delamination and/or deterioration, which, according to the consultant, will show up first in lane one with cup- ping and loose rubber pellets, neither of which we have at this time,” Montague said. SCHOOL NOTES Dallas lead results now online DALLAS — Full results of Dallas School District’s lead testing is available on the district website. The district received the last of the results on Nov. 10 and posted them on Nov. 15. Facilities Director Kevin Montague said the those faucets that tested at or higher than the EPA-recommended action level of 20 parts per billion have been shut off or had signs placed on them saying the fixtures are for hand washing only. Most faucets were found to be under the recommended limit after the second tests. Those that were not will remain off, Montague said. The district’s Citizen’s Oversight Committee is considering how the next steps for the fixtures that are over the limit. For more information or to see the results: http://www.dal- las.k12.or.us/lead-information-in-dallas-school-d.
