100 years ago

Jan. 19, 1922 — Happenings in Society

…Miss Rosalind Worthington of the Redmond national Bank left Sunday for Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. She will spend a vacation of two weeks.

…The Rev. C. Wardlaw, who was badly crippled Nov. 19 when a football player was tackled out of bounds while he was watching the game from the sidelines, is improving steadily and is able to walk about his home this week without the aid of crutches.

… Percy Mead, former Redmond boy, is now playing on the Vaudeville stage, according to word received here by his brother, Raymond Mead. Mead is associated with two other performers in an act entitled, “Brook, Lake and Rivers in ‘15 Minutes in the Stream of Joy.’”

75 Years Ago

Jan. 23, 1947 — Dimes to Line Redmond Street

Redmond will line both sides of Sixth Street with dimes Saturday morning, when girls vie with boys to determine which side can collect the most money for the “March of Dimes,” an annual infantile paralysis fund drive.

The Camp Fire Girls and Blue Birds, headed by Mrs. George Gladwell, will place a tape along one side of Sixth street curbing. Boy Scouts and Cubs, in charge of Scoutmaster George Taylor, will take the opposite side of the street. The youngsters will collect dimes from business houses and passersby, putting the money on the tape. The first group to get the tape covered with dimes will be declared winner.

Starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday the boys and girls will work for several hours, says Postmaster Arthur H. Tifft, Redmond chairman for the March of Dimes. Last year the youngsters collected $340 in four hours.

In addition to Saturday’s Contest, the infantile paralysis drive will be held in the schools, with Mrs. Nelly Nooe in charge. Banks are being placed in each grade schoolroom and in the study hall, library and office at the high school.

Collection jars also will be placed in various business houses of the town until the close of the drive on January 31. Half of the funds collected go to the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, founded by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the other half remains to be used locally for victims of polio, giving them all needed assistance and special treatment.

50 Years Ago

Jan. 19, 1972 — COIG gives jobs to Deschutes

The Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, meeting Monday evening at Redmond City Hall, gave seven out of eight top priorities for hiring additional personnel through the Emergency Employment Act to government units within Deschutes County.

After it was noted that following the 6 ½-month federal funding period, local taxes should be used for the salaries, representatives from Jefferson County reluctantly agreed to eighth place for a maintenance person for their school district and Cook County representative suggested donating that area’s priorities to the Redmond Fire Department. Redmond city manager Ed English made no commitment to retain the position beyond federal funding.

Of the approximate $25,000 available from jobs not filled immediately with the onset of the program last fall, first priority will go to hiring a teacher aid for Bend schools, followed by a Sister’s night patrolman, a Redmond school night watchman, a public works man for a special road district, a draftsman for Deschutes County, a clerk-stenographer of bend and a day fireman for Redmond.

COIG accepted the first half of a $10,000 planning grant from Ray Hinds of the state executive department to undertake a study of existing transportation systems, future needs and possible resources of financial assistance. COIG went on record as favoring a study of transportation instead of housing.

25 Years Ago

Jan. 22, 1997 — More students dropping out of RHS

Despite a small decline in the statewide high school dropout rate last year, Redmond’s rate rose by more than 13 percent. Redmond’s 1995-96 drop-out rate ended up to 9.3 percent from a 1994-95 rate of 8.2 percent, according to figures released this week by the Oregon Department of Education.

In Oregon, the latest figures show a small decrease in dropout numbers, from 7.4 to 7.2 percent between 1994 and 1996. That translates into a four-year rate of 26.6 percent for the class of 1996.

State Schools Superintendent Norma Paulus expressed pleasure over the direction of the dropout rate but said, “A school system must question itself when more than 25 percent of its students don’t complete the process.”

Oregon students who dropped out last year cited irrelevant coursework as the No. 1 reason for leaving.

However, Redmond High School Principal Dan Purple said Redmond dropouts traditionally cite jobs as the most common reason for leaving school.

Purple said two factors may have contributed to Redmond’s increase: the jump in the number of students using drugs and alcohol and a strong economy.

“When the economy is strong, students have what they perceive as an attractive reason — wages of $6 or $7 an hour — to quit school,” Purple said. “Unfortunately, they’re thinking short term and not long run.”

Redmond is addressing its dropout rate in a number of ways, Purple said.

This year’s switch to a trimester rather than semester system at the high school helps struggling students by giving them less classes to keep track of.

In addition, a program pairing upperclassmen with incoming freshmen has helped improve academic success, Purple said.

And because Redmond administrators believe that high school dropouts are a K-12 problem rather than strictly a high school problem, the district has made a commitment to keep the teacher-to-student ratio low in the elementary level. However, funding cuts could threaten that commitment.

The district also has set up an alternative school at the middle-school level.

And it is trying to raise the accountability level for students, starting with attendance.

“Attendance is the No. 1 indicator of academic success,” Purple said. “We’re trying hard not to give kids permission to fail.”