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Wednesday February 26, 2025 | Volume 150, Issue 9

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Senator Merkley hosts standing room only town hall in Dallas

Dallas Theatre presents Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’

By DAVID HAYES I-O Editor

It was standing room only at the Colonel Nesmith Readiness Center in Dallas as more than 500 community members attended Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkely’s town hall on Feb. 23. In the wake of meteoric changes being implemented by President Trump and the Elon Musk led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the crowd sought validation from their state leader in Washington D.C. that all was not right. “We are in a moment we have not seen in the history of the United States,” Merkley said at one point. This was Merkley’s 13th town hall this year and the 589th overall in his time in the U.S. Senate since 2009. Before addressing the overflow crowd, he sat down with the Itemizer-Observer to boast about the projects he’s brought to Oregon communities. Merkley has secured funding through the Community Initiated Projects to 475 total projects, three to Polk County. These include two payments to Independence, one of $880,000 for its water main replacement project and $500,000 for a bridge extension project. Another $500,000 went to the Grand Ronde Tribe for a resident and recreation center. More projects are in the pipeline, Merkley said.

By DAVID HAYES IO Editor

PHOTOS BY DAVID HAYES

More than 500 community members attend Senator Jeff Merkley’s town hall at the Colonel Nesmith Readiness Center in Dallas on Feb. 23. “I love the idea that communities identify a top priority. Then I fight to get them funded,” he said. “Because I’m on the Appropriations Committee and the only member of the Oregon delegation that’s on a spending committee, while our fellow members weigh in and advocate, I’m kind of in the front row for securing them.” He said for Polk County there are projects for fiscal year 2025 that have not been secured yet because See MERKLEY PAGE A3

Chalk up another title for CHS cheer squad By LANCE MASTERSON For The Itemizer-Observer

Don’t look now, but Central High is home to a sports dynasty. The school’s cheer squad just captured the OSAA 5A/6A Game Day State Championship for the second time in three years. What’s more, the Panthers competed against 24 other teams, making this reportedly the largest field of competitors in OSAA cheer history. No team, regardless of division, did better. “We got the highest score all day, across all of 1A (through) 6A,” coach Megan Smith said. In fact, Central won its division by some four points, which is a sizable margin for the sport. Not that the team’s performance was flawless. And that’s okay. “The way cheer routines are, we’re very synchronized. So if somebody does make a mistake, it’s seen. Like, you can see it,” cheerleader Olivine Tonnsen said. “But at the end of the day, as long as you don’t let that mistake bleed into other parts of the routine … your teammates understand that you’re human.” They also understand that winning isn’t everything. “I felt really good,” cheerleader Julia Ericsson said after finishing their routine. “I knew no matter what, we were going to be proud of our routine, and that was all that mattered to me. But I also knew we gave a really, really strong performance.”

PHOTOS BY TRUMAN SWARTZFAGER

The Central High School cheer squad celebrates winning the OSAA 5A/6A Game Day State Championship for the second time in three years. Past accolades include finishing third at state in 2024, first in 2023 and first at the USA Spirit Nationals competition in 2022. Last year’s third-place finish, which fell short of the team’s goal, provided a spark in 2025. “I really wanted to do it for our seniors (in 2024), just because they were a really good group,” Ericsson said. “I knew that if we really focused, we could win.” The 2022 and 2023 title banners hang on the walls of Panther Pit, alongside tributes to other great athletes and teams from the school’s past. The 2025 banner is on its way. A look at numbers suggest more banners could be coming, as the Panthers might be even better in the immediate future. They lose only Kyra Mancini, Ericsson and Tonnsen to graduation.

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Ericsson and Mancini share the distinction of being on both state title teams. “I definitely didn’t expect to win anything going into high school cheer. It really wasn’t in the cards for me in eighth grade,” Ericsson said. “But I decided to join on a whim, and I made the team, and I fell in love. So winning is definitely surreal.” Cheer squads perform their routine before a panel of judges and a crowd of family and friends. Routines cannot exceed three minutes or penalties are assessed. Squads get one chance, and one chance only, to get their performance right. Teams watch each other perform. “I would say every team,” Ericsson said of perceived threats. “Just because it’s mostly out of our control what we get scored.”

Tonnsen joined cheer her freshman year, then pursued other interests her sophomore and junior years. She returned to cheer her senior year. “I came back because I really missed it,” Tonnsen said. “Just the friendships you make in cheer, the bonds you make. They’re lifelong. It’s a bond that I’ve never experienced anywhere else.” Tonnsen is no stranger to forming strong bonds, as she pursued theater while in absentia. “Obviously, the bond is very strong (in theater),” she said. “But in cheer, it takes it to another level. Because we all do these stunts. And so you have to put your lives in someone else’s hands, especially if See CHEER PAGE A3

Director Hannah Fawcett doesn’t know why Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” doesn’t get more love within the general theater community. “This is a play that in the theater community that gets done all of the time. This is my sixth production, and I’m only 28,” Fawcett said. “It gets taught in English classes. I’m not sure why it’s not particularly popular. It is a delightful show. And the setting is incredibly bucolic.” Dallas High School’s Theater is taking on Shakespeare’s classic tale of mistaken identity, love and self discovery. Grace Kinzie, a junior homeschooled student who has been involved with Dallas theater program since her freshman year plays the lead role of Rosalind. A demanding role, as actresses traditionally are saddled with nearly 700 lines of dialog. For the DHS production of “As You Like It,” Kinzie’s lines have been scaled back to 173, still the most in the cast. Theatre department head Blaire Cromwell said that’s because “modern audiences like their Shakespeare to be shorter. So, the script’s been edited down for time.” But the meat of the tale remains in the presentation. “It’s about an ex-princess whose mother has fled the Forest of Arden because the evil brother has pushed her out. Uncle wants to do the same to her,” Kinzie explained. “In order to protect her friend Celia, she pretends to be a boy. But she also has a mad, mad crush on this boy Orlando.” And, naturally, when he comes to the forest, doesn’t realize it’s Rosalind dressed as a boy. “The whole play is shenanigans about love and all sorts of things,” Kinzie said. “It’s full of life, so witty and fun. You can tell that Shakespeare had so much joy and he put it into this. It’s wonderful and a breath of fresh air.” Fawcett said while most productions have challenges of their own getting to the stage, Dallas’s “As you Like It” had more than its fair share. “The production took place during cold and flu season, so the cast had an inordinate amount of sicknesses,” Fawcett said. “We’ve done a great job with understudies going on and with stage management filling in. We didn’t have a full company for almost a month in.” With so many actors in and out due to illness, it’s all hands on deck, regardless of experience. For example, this was junior Duncan Ravis’ first production with Dallas theater. But he plays several background roles, including deers and butterflies. He even lent a hand with set production. “I think it’s been a really great experience. Making, acting, learning. Putting the emotions I need to in my body so I can change my body language and facial expressions was really neat to learn,” Ravis said. “I think this production is really awesome. It includes so much stuff, a variety of themes, combat, dancing. It gives a full view of what we can do as a theater company.” So, because Shakespeare is not as popular a draw with general audiences, See THEATER, page 3

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