The INDEPENDENT, September 7, 2011
Page 13
Banks BBQ offered fun and food
Banks PTO seeks help with math books
by Debi Wagner
Banks Elementary School
children need your help! The
math textbooks that are being
used are severely out of date.
Currently, math books range
from 9-13 years old. Why is
that a problem? Most textbooks
are updated every five years to
keep up with teaching and test-
ing standards.
The 66th annual Banks BBQ
has come and gone for 2011,
running from Friday, August 19
through Sunday, August 21.
This annual event was, as usu-
al, well attended and enjoyed
by all. The weekend was a suc-
cess due to the efforts of hun-
dreds of volunteers who start
planning in January for the up-
coming year.
New this year at the Lions
Club concession stand were
elephant ears, corn dogs and
French fries. Approximately
152 breakfasts were served to-
taling over 300 pancakes.
Choosing to stay anonymous,
one satisfied customer said
“they were delicious. I had
eight pancakes.” The famous
BBQ sandwiches went on sale
at noon and there was a long
line formed in anticipation. The
BBQ sauce is a secret recipe
handed down for four genera-
tions. No one went away hun-
gry or disappointed, as could
be seen by all of the smiling
happy faces.
For the second year in a
row, Drew Carney from KGW
News Channel 8, filmed a short
video of the combine demoli-
tion. Drew donned a helmet
and took control of the Ramina-
tor, a huge combine, but he
surrendered within moments.
Several ribbons were given
out for the parade floats. Jim
Addington, a park ranger from
Stub Stewart State Park, was
exploding with pride, “This was
our third year of trying and we
finally got a Blue ribbon.” May
Trussell, from Jim Dandy Farm
Market, has their Blue ribbon
proudly on display behind the
counter, but will gladly show it if
asked. Congratulations to all
and see you next year.
In the most recent state test-
ing, only 74.61% of BES stu-
dents received passing scores
on the math tests. This is due,
in part, to the implementation of
new state math standards, and
an increase in scores to meet
these standards. It is exacer-
bated by the fact that the old
math books do not align with
the new standards to such a
degree that many elementary
teachers don’t even use the
outdated and obsolete text-
books.
The state of Oregon has
made drastic cuts to the state
education budget. This has af-
fected every school district,
See PTO on page 14
Banks School Board says no to bond
by Debi Wagner
At their August 8 meeting,
after lengthy consideration the
Banks School Board decided
that the bond issue will be put
to rest for the time being. Tak-
ing into account the shaky cur-
rent economic situation and the
fact that property taxes come
out in November, it was a
unanimous decision to not
present the much-needed
school bond levy, at this time.
Making it clear that they are
not abandoning the plan for a
future bond vote, the Board is-
sued this statement:
“The Banks School Board
has decided to postpone indef-
initely putting a construction
bond on the November ballot.
See School on page 14
S TRASSEL ’ S A UTO R EPAIR
& H YDRAULIC H OSES
2-4-6 S PIRAL W IRE
S UCTION H OSES
A DAPTORS - 3/16” TO 2”
A MERICAN & M ETRIC F ITTINGS
B ULK O IL P RODUCTS
276 S UNSET , B ANKS
503-324-9808
Left and above; two of the entries from the parade at this
year’s Banks BBQ. Photos by Debi Wagner.
WINTER’S COMING
GOT WOOD?
MS 250
Chain Saw
RELIABLE
w/18” bar
$
299 95
Main Street Pizza
680 S. Main
Oak Village Shopping Center
Banks, Oregon
503-324-5858
Receive $2 off
any large Pizza.
$ 2 Off
00
Expires 9-30-11. Coupons cannot be sold or duplicated.
Main Street Pizza
680 S. Main
Oak Village Shopping Center
Banks, Oregon
503-324-5858
Receive $1 off
any medium Pizza.
$1 Off
00
Expires 9-30-11. Coupons cannot be sold or duplicated.
MS 290
Chain Saw
DEPENDABLE
MS 250 Chain Saw
A high power-to-weight ratio makes this
one of the best homeowner chain saws
on the market.
Starting at
$
379 95
MS 290 Chain Saw
Our most popular model. Designed for
rugged farm use.
PRECISION OUTD OOR
POWER EQUIPMENT
Banks Hardware
503-324-5221 • 150 N. Main St., Banks
• Mon - Fri 8am to 6pm
• Saturday 8am to 5pm
• Sunday 10am to 4pm