Education notes: Rogers to induct alumni into Walk of Fame

On Oct. 14, Rogers High School will honor its Walk of Fame inductees and alumni. The homecoming assembly will be held in the Carl Ellingsen Athletic Center at 10:30 a.m.

Rogers Walk of Fame 2010 inductees and alumni include:

Dennis Hagen, graduate of the class of 1955. Hagen received a bachelor’s degree from Whitworth University, a master’s in music education from Indiana University, a master’s of divinity from Western Evangelical Seminary, and a Ph.D. in music education from Indiana University. He has been a music teacher and professor, a teacher of English in China, and vice president of a university in Kenya.

Melodie Ann (Walch) Miner, class of 1972. She is a graduate of Spokane Falls Community College and Eastern Washington University, attended Rogers in the 1970s. She received her teaching certificate from EWU and recently retired after 31 years as a first-grade teacher at Lake Spokane Elementary in the Nine Mile School District. Miner was considered the epitome of what all teachers should be; caring, compassionate and with a heart for all young people whether they were in her class or not.

Frank Rider, class of 1955. He received his bachelor’s degree with honors from Washington State University and as an ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate he received a commission in the Army. While in the Army, Rider received a master’s degree in business administration. Rider’s specialty in the Army included nuclear weapons operations and ballistic calculations for field artillery cannons, rockets and missiles. Honors Rider received include the Airborne Badge, two Air Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Meritorious Service Medals, the Department of Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Bronze Star. He retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel. Rider became a federal Civil Service executive in the Department of Energy, where he served as the chairman of the Nuclear Explosive Safety Committee.

William Simer, class of 1974. Simer was a student at Washington State University. He later transferred to Eastern Washington University where he became a teaching assistant to one of his accounting professors. He became president of the EWU chapter of the accounting fraternity. After graduation, Simer joined Coopers & Lybrand and was awarded the inaugural Peter Bozanich Scholarship by the business school of the university.

Students at St. Patrick Catholic School, 2706 E. Queen Ave., will sport their running shoes from 10:15 a.m. to noon on Friday for the 32nd annual “Run-a-Thon.”

The students will run for fun, while raising funds for their school, doing laps around the school parking lot. St. Patrick students have been collecting pledges for the event.

The event will kick off with a spaghetti dinner for families and sponsors tonight at 6 p.m. in the school cafeteria.

For more information, call (509) 638-2527.

Food drive for Second Harvest

Lewis and Clark High School students and their families will do their part to tackle hunger at the football game against Ferris on Oct. 22 at Joe Albi Stadium.

LC students are asking attendees of the game to donate $1 to Second Harvest Food Bank. For every $1 donated, Second Harvest can purchase four meals for needy families.

For those who cannot make it to the game, DECA students from LC will be collecting funds, beginning Friday, through Oct. 25 to help Second Harvest.

Meeting to discuss Ferris plans

Spokane Public Schools invites the community to Ferris High School on Wednesday night, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., to view and share comments about the Ferris modernization project.

Groundbreaking for the three-year project is scheduled for late spring.

Representatives from NAC|Architecture and staff from Spokane Public Schools will be available to answer questions.

Rotary collecting books for students

The Deer Park Rotary Club is currently collecting children’s books for students in kindergarten through second grade for its Literacy Project, now in its fourth year.

The project has grown from collecting and donating books to kindergartners and first-graders in the Deer Park and Riverside School districts in its first year. In the second year the project included second-graders and expanded to the Mary Walker School District. And, in the last two years the Valley and Loon Lake school districts have been added to the project.

A press release from the Rotary Club states that the program is made possible by a matching grant from the Rotary District 5080. They have received the grant the last three years which has helped fund the project. Books are ordered from Scholastic Inc.

Application deadline is Saturday for students interested in the Kiwanis Clubs of Spokane County Key Leader conference, to be held at the Chewelah Peak Learning Center Oct. 15 through 17.

Students will work in large- and small-group activities. The camp is staffed with trained adult volunteers, along with a trained facilitator.

Cost for the Key Leader conference is $200. Scholarships will be awarded to pay for camp expenses, although students and parents are asked to pay 30 percent of the cost.

To apply, interested persons must be high school students ages 14 to 18. Submit address, telephone number, age, gender, year in school, the school you attend, and a brief statement on why you would like to receive the scholarship and attend the leadership training by e-mail to Dean Crandell at d_crandell6@msn.com or Gary Jespersen at garyjespersen@yahoo.com.