Community, education, Gales Creek

Gales Creek School PTO scrambling to replace discarded holiday supplies

The Gales Creek School. Photo: Chas Hundley

GALES CREEK – While attempting to take an inventory of Halloween decorations used by the Gales Creek School PTO — an organization distinct from the current Oak Grove Academy housed at the Gales Creek School — volunteer Deb Sims discovered the items were gone. 

They’d been thrown out after school staff noticed rodent droppings in several areas throughout the school, according to David Warner, Communications & Engagement Director for Forest Grove School District. 

“As a result they needed to take action to remain compliant with state pest control regulations,” Warner said in an email to the Gales Creek Journal.

With less than two weeks to go until the annual Gales Creek Halloween Party on Saturday, Oct. 26, a free community event for children and families in the community, volunteers with the PTO are scrambling to find replacement items and to raise funds to purchase new supplies. 

According to volunteers with the PTO, staff at Oak Grove Academy are pitching in to cover the cost of some items, and during the Gales Creek Chamber of Commerce meeting (disclosure: this journalist serves as president on the Gales Creek Chamber board) on Tuesday, October 15, the group unanimously voted to donate $100 to the PTO.

But prizes, games, decorations, and more are needed, as are cash donations to purchase craft supplies and snacks. 

Items and donations can be dropped off at the Gales Creek Library, housed inside the Gales Creek School every Thursday from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

For more information on what is still needed, or to arrange a donation, contact Deb Sims at [email protected] or by phone at 503-953-3977.

The Annual Gales Creek Halloween Party will be held at the Gales Creek School on Saturday, October 26 from 6 to 9 p.m., with games, mini pumpkin decorating, crafts, and a showing of Monsters, Inc. at 7:45 p.m. Volunteers to help set up are asked to arrive at 11 a.m. that Saturday, and the organization could use help from those willing to supervise a booth, bring treats, and clean up after the event.

The Gales Creek School is located at 9125 NW Sargent Rd, Gales Creek, OR 97117.

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Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.

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