Polk County Education
14A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 3, 2017
WOU opens campus
for eclipse rentals
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
JOLEnE GuzMan/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas High school teacher Tony Olliff, standing right, stays with his class during Thursday’s school evacuation drill.
Dallas students evacuate
Parents find unannounced drill useful, not without headaches
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
D A L L A S — St u d e n t s
streamed from the doors of
Dallas High School in order-
ly fashion as school staff
members dressed in bright-
colored vests guided them
down Miller Avenue to Valley
Life Center.
It was quite the sight on a
Thursday afternoon: 900 or
so students walking the mile
down the street to the
church in a full evacuation
drill.
This wasn’t a fire drill with
a long walk, but practice for
an actual emergency, with
parents converging on the
site to pick up their children.
District Superintendent
Michelle Johnstone said very
few schools in the area have
conducted a drill on the
same scale as Thursday’s.
“We want to prepare and
hope we never have to use
it,” said DHS Principal Steve
JOLEnE GuzMan/Itemizer-Observer
Students walk out of DHS at the beginning of the drill.
Spencer. “We wanted to test
the system.”
That system includes the
process of making sure all
students get from one place
to the other and are ac-
counted for once they are
there.
Also, the school tested its
process of contacting par-
ents to pick up their kids.
While the school sent par-
ents messages throughout
the year that the drill would
be happening, parents were
not informed of when.
Students weren’t aware, ei-
ther, until lunch time Thurs-
day when the word got out.
Spencer said the idea was
to make it as close to an
emergency scenario as pos-
sible.
The drill began with a 5-
minute lock out, followed by
a 5-minute lock down, and
then students were instruct-
ed to leave the building and
head to the church. Once
there, they filed into the
sanctuary or other rooms in
the church with their teach-
ers to wait for their parents
to arrive.
Parents were told where
to go and to bring photo ID
with them. Without that,
their child would not be re-
leased.
The process of checking
in parents and retrieving
students through staff mem-
bers designated as “runners”
appeared to work smoothly,
but getting parents to the
right place to check in wasn’t
as organized.
See DRILL, Page 13A
MONMOUTH — West-
ern Oregon University is
open for eclipse viewers.
The college is renting
dorms, apartments and
camping spots — both for
tents and recreational vehi-
cles — for the weekend of
the Great American
Eclipse, Aug. 19 and 20.
Costs vary, depending
on accommodations, and
apartments are selling fast,
said Erin McDonough, ex-
ecutive director of strategic
communications and mar-
keting.
WOU is charging enough
to cover its costs, and won’t
see much — or any — ad-
ditional revenue from rent-
ing space, McDonough
said.
“We have staffing that
has to be on site, cleaning,
keeping the lights on,” she
said. “We’re not making
money.”
When renting dorm
rooms, expect a college ex-
perience — down to bring-
ing or renting your own
linens.
Some rooms come with
private bathrooms, but
many will share. Campers
will have access to the
team showers in the New
Physical Education Build-
ing and porta-potties, Mc-
Donough said.
The Werner University
Center will be open for
food, but no meal plans
will be offered, McDo-
nough said.
“It’s the community
partnership,” she said. “We
thought that we would en-
courage people to take ad-
vantage of what’s in town.”
A few activities will be
available on campus, such
as a possible football
scrimmage, but mostly
WOU will be a place to stay.
“We’re encouraging peo-
ple to go to the Independ-
ence events and to Mon-
mouth Sunday night for
their concert,” McDonough
said.
Bus routes are being
planned to connect West-
ern Oregon to downtown
Independence Friday
through Monday morning
during the Indy Goes Dark
festival.
For more information
about renting camping or a
room at WOU: wou.edu
/eclipse/lodging or call
503-838-8658.
For more on Indy Goes
Dark: IndependenceGoes-
Dark.com.
SCHOOL NOTES
CEA names teachers of the year
MOnMOuTH/InDEPEnDEnCE — The Central Education as-
sociation Secondary Teacher of the Year for 2017 is natalie
nieubuurt.
natalie nieubuurt teaches history at Talmadge Middle
School.
“natalie has a great rapport with students as her personality
reflects someone who is kind, reasonable, and fair,” a colleague
wrote about nieubuurt.
The CEa Elementary Teacher of the Year for 2017 is Pam
Young.
Pam Young teaches third grade at ash Creek Elementary
School.
Her colleagues describe her as “an exemplary role model for
all teachers” and have noted her compassion as she meets the
needs of all her students. as a consequence, her students be-
come willing learners who function well in their school com-
munity.