The Gales Creek School. Photo: Chas Hundley
A Halloween tradition of gathering for games, snacks, and camaraderie in Gales Creek will shift to a different format due to the coronavirus, the Gales Creek Parent Teacher Organization announced in a social media post on the Gales Creek Community Page on Facebook.
While the usual gathering in the gym of the Gales Creek School will not take place due to COVID-19 restrictions, Deb Sims, who, along with Corrie Bates and Lorraine Wrazen-Heinauer heads the organization that has been running the annual Gales Creek Halloween Party for many years, said that instead, families in Gales Creek and school alumni can bring their children or grandchildren on Halloween (Saturday, October 31) to the Gales Creek School to pick up a treat bag and a mini pumpkin to decorate from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
“Costumes optional, but we’d love to see everyone dressed up,” Sims said.
It’s the second year in a row that the annual festivities have seen a major disruption, with plans for the 2019 party thrown into disarray after staff with the Forest Grove School District threw out a number of items — including Halloween decorations — owned by the PTO without informing the organization due to rodent droppings found throughout the school.
“They’d been thrown out after school staff noticed rodent droppings in several areas throughout the school,” said David Warner at the time, who serves as 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 in 2019.
The Gales Creek School, which houses part of the multi-facility Oak Grove Academy, is located at 9125 NW Sargent Road in Gales Creek.
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.
