The Current
3 UP, 3 DOWN Continued from page 10
valuation of the district is estimated to decrease by 2.44 percent in 2013. CV School Board Member Tom Dingus moved over from the vice president to the president’s seat following the rotation of the annual board positions for 2013. Board Member Amy Mason was selected to replace Dingus and serve as vice president. Board Member Debra Long moved out of the president’s chair, but not for the lack of leadership opportunity in the new year. Long was recently installed as the new president of the board of the directors of the Washington State School Directors’ Association.
East Valley School District Compiled by Jim Ryan
East Valley School District voters will consider a $65 million school bond on Feb. 12 that will make improvements to aging schools across the district. See the full version of this entry on the artistic map on pages 8-9. The first semester at East Valley High School wraps up with final exams on Jan. 24 and 25. After a break for the winter holidays, the Meals on Wheels program that meets at Otis Orchards Elementary School will resume at 11:40 a.m. Jan. 3. For more information, call 924-6976. Otis Orchards Elementary was named for the third time as a School of Distinction, and Continuous Curriculum School also received the honor. The
january 2013 • 35
news/business awards are based on improvement on standardized tests over the preceding five years. Those selected were in the top 5 percent of improvement across the state. This year East Valley School District employees donated a combined total of $8575, which is $2000 more than last year. Just a few of the charities that will benefit from these donations are: Valley Meals on Wheels, Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, Spokane Alliance and Family Services of Spokane. The East Valley School District received a holiday season boost when staff and students from Carrington College donated a great deal of food for the district’s food bank. Carrington staff brought with them boxes of dry goods to benefit students and their families over the holidays. Darsi Bankey oversees the project during the school year for the district, and Lisa Heidi, a staff member at Carrington College, is also an East Valley community member who initiated the contact with the district.
Freeman School District Compiled by Jim Ryan
The deadline for the Reflections Art Program, a national cultural arts competition, is coming. This year’s theme is, “The Magic of a Moment.” The purpose of the program is to provide an opportunity for students to use creative talents to express themselves through original artwork. The deadline is Jan. 7. For more information, email Freeman PTSA Reflections Program Chair Kathleen Rokus at krokus.31@gmail.com. Freeman High School Principal Intern Brad Van Dyne is currently leading a staff book study on “Brain Rules” by John
Medina. The focus: “What are we doing to help our students grow?” Students are returning from the holiday break on Jan. 2. Stephen Hayter received a $20,000 grant to purchase biology equipment for his high school agriculture classes. Technology Director Todd Reed reported to the school board that a grant is bringing internet to rural schools and libraries. A company will build a tower on the old transportation building for internet access that is faster and costs less than what the district currently has. He will be working on a district technology plan this year. Transportation Supervisor Char Trejbal reported to the school district board of directors that staff is applying for a federal bus replacement grant. Last year, Freeman buses traveled a total of 196,784 miles.
West Valley School District Compiled by Jim Ryan
West Valley City School students in Matthew Phillipy’s science class are conducting a lab that investigates a building’s orientation and configuration in regards to solar gain, day lighting and heating and cooling. The lab will help students understand the challenges engineers face in designing a building. West Valley School District has announced that the West Valley School Board has been honored as a 2012 “Board of Distinction” by the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA), in recognition of responsible school governance as defined by the Washing-
CARUSO’S
Then, around 2002, another friend of mine, Del Stratton, was hired to convert the premises from its Wolffy’s trappings into Scotty’s Bar and Grill. I watched this transformation fairly close since I was in the business at the time, and Scotty was often at my business. He told me it cost $250,000 to give the place its third setting in 37 years. Though Scott Reckord left that business not long after he and Patty opened it and went on to start up Sullivan Scoreboard with his new partner Deanna, Scotty’s made it for approximately nine years before following Wolffy’s tracks. I don’t know who the Caruso people
Millwood ECEAP teacher Jill Kennedy applied for a First Book National Grant and was awarded $500 worth of free books for children in all early education programs at Millwood. Each classroom got to choose books for each child, and the children took the books home for winter break. West Valley Outdoor Learning Center Director Jami Ostby Marsh was instrumental in the work done by the 60-member Community Engagement Task Force comprised of students, staff, parents, community members and agency representatives. Their goal of collaborating with our community around environmental sustainability aligned with the work of the Outdoor Learning Center. Approximately 250 people attended the Thanksgiving Feast hosted by Spokane Valley High School. Many of the vegetables served were planted, grown, maintained, harvested and prepared by students in the food production class taught by Scott Carver. Eric Jurasin’s leadership students were responsible for decorations and the entire set up. This is an annual school-wide event meant to engage parents, community and build multi-agency relationships. they wash those hands and sit down for a good lunch.
Continued from page 26
into a Wolffy’s. His construction company gave the building its second major remodel, updating it to an older burger selling era, the one just before the one it had originally been built for. Through the ’90s Wolffy’s sold old-fashioned burgers and shakes the way they did in the ’50s.
ton School Board Standards. WSSDA’s Boards of Distinction awards program honors school boards that demonstrate effective use of the Washington School Board Standards. The standards, developed and adopted by WSSDA in 2009, promote researched-based governance practices that lead to high levels of student and district performance. Students are returning from the holiday break on Jan. 2.
The building that today is home to Caruso’s originally began as an A&W in 1965. It has also been home to a Wolffy’s and, most recently, Scotty’s Bar and Grill. Current photo by Josh Johnson
hired last year to complete this most recent do-over, but I know enough to know that they did a good job and that it cost a fair to middlin’ amount. It reminds me of another location in the Valley that my Dad and his partner also put in the foundation for back in the ’60s. Having stewarded their profits wisely through the years, by 1968 they were able to buy the old Torrey’s Lockers property at the corner of Sprague and Moffit and build a building for Mr. Steak. For 20 years, that national franchise stayed and paid the rent, but then they left and were followed by a suc-
cession of forgotten ventures. By the time Mike Robb and his family tied up their Iron Horse there, the place had earned the reputation as a loser. That was about 12 years ago, and the Horse is at full gallop. So it seems to me that Caruso’s is telling a similar story. I know they have found a worthy building that has a rich history serving the hungry Valley well, built and rebuilt through the years by hard-working guys like my Dad and Terry and Del who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty and then go into places like A&W and Wolffy’s and Caruso’s where
Craig Swanson and his wife, Elaine, operate a blog and newsletter called Spokane Valley Scoop. A graduate of University High School, Craig is a lifetime resident of Spokane Valley. The Spokane Valley Scoop can be read online at spokanevalleyscoop.wordpress.com.