Learning center plans Fall Harvest Festival
The West Valley Outdoor Learning Center, 8706 E. Upriver Drive, will present a Fall Harvest Festival on Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The day will include pumpkin painting, crafts, harvest-themed games, a bounce house and information about the birds of prey that live in the center.
The cost to attend is a $5 suggested donation per person.
For more information, call the center at (509) 340-1025 or visit www.olc.wvsd.org.
Book swap
North Pines Middle School, 710 N. Pines Road, in the Central Valley School District will present a free community book swap Oct. 24 at 6 p.m.
Community members are invited to bring their books to swap, or to drop off book donations at the school office ahead of time.
The evening will include snacks, prizes, arts and crafts, a reading circle and more.
For more information, call Hillary Squires at (509) 228-5050.
Blood drive
The Central Valley High School leadership classes and Theatre Department have joined forces this year for a “Dracula blood drive” Monday from 7:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the school’s wrestling room, 821 S. Sullivan Road.
Donors who present their donor sticker or T-shirt at the box office during the school’s production of Bram Stoker’s classic tale, “Dracula,” will get $3 off the regular ticket price.
The count himself will be attendance at the blood drive, probably looking for his own blood donors.
For more information, call the school office at (509) 228-5100.
Kudos
• The National Honor Society at West Valley High School has received two awards from the Inland Northwest Blood Center.
The group had the highest number of donors – 223 donors in two drives – for schools with a population of 200 to 399 eligible donors for the 2010-’11 school year. It also received the “Director’s Award” for the highest number of units collected in any one drive, 93 units or pints.
The blood drive chairperson was Jaymee Vaughn, a freshman this year at Gonzaga University. This year’s committee includes Sammy Roderick, Andy Wickwire, Veronika Dederer and Kym Conger. Their adviser is Chris Flanagan.
The first blood drive this year will be held Oct. 28 at the school, 8301 E. Buckeye Ave.
For more information, call the school office at (509) 928-3676.
• Heidi Hyta, special education teacher at Arthur B. Ness Elementary School in the West Valley School District, has been named Teacher of the Week by the Washington State Employees Credit Union, the Seattle Mariners, and ESPN 710 Seattle Radio.
Hyta was nominated by her co-worker Lora Eschenbacher, and was chosen from more than 1,000 nominees.
She was presented the award and a check for $500 at a Mariners game on Sept. 18.