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.