Tough Math

Front page

• School district’s recreation board sees funding requests soar.

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Try getting this math problem to work: make more than $3 million equal to $1.3 million.

That is the task assigned to Carbon County School District 1 Recreation Board members.

Monday night saw the second half of 36 presentations by organizations requesting grants that originally totaled $3.1 million. According to board Chairman Jon Brown, that figure has been adjusted to about $2.8 million, but the requests still don’t fit into this year’s estimated budget of $1.3 million.

“We’ll be saying no’s or partial no’s to a lot of people,” Brown said. “(The requests) are taking us by storm.”

Many of the largest grant requests are for new or relatively new projects, such as $300,000 for a new beef barn at the Carbon County Fairgrounds in Rawlins. The Little Snake River Valley Community Center project originally hoped to get $750,000 from the board, but has since adjusted its request to $300,000. Rochelle Ranch Golf Course managers came before the board with a request for just above $500,000.

“If you take away these new projects,” Brown said, “then these requests would line up with previous years.” The 2007 budget was about the same as this year, but requests totaled just below $2 million.

Though there is no hard-and-fast criteria for selecting the board’s beneficiaries, Brown did outline some areas members look at closely.

“We look at their bang for the buck,” he said. “How many people do they affect?”
Also, projects that are consistently funded by the board are considered sooner.

An organization’s ability to do fundraising on it’s own is also important. The recreation board tries to encourage the understanding, particularly among kids that benefit, that nothing comes for free.

Groups doing bake sales or picking up trash for money are more favorably considered by the board. Likewise, adult organizations that can find companies to match grant money often have better chances.

Brown said grant applications need to be well defined. With so many cuts to be made, the board members want to know how the money will be spent. Successful grants often depend on whether board members get direct answers to their questions and clearly understand the organization’s intentions.

On May 12, the recreation board makes its final deliberations and announces its 2008-09 beneficiaries.

School lunch is all about balance

Rawlins Daily Times, Jerret Raffety

Rawlins High School student Colton Eggleston looked at his selections from the school's cafeteria — mashed potatoes in hamburger gravy and two rolls — on Tuesday. Some cafeteria staff say the meals are healthy when students take advantage of all that's available, but some students say they want more options in cafeteria food.


By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Making school lunches is a balance between what the kids want and what the kids need.

“I’d rather them eat something rather than eat nothing,” said Donna Taylor, Carbon County School District 1 lunch program director, who tries to incorporate decades-old U.S. Department of Agriculture food guidelines into a tight food budget.

In her 20th year of creating lunches for students, Taylor tries hard to make lunches that are suitable for them. In terms of keeping the kids healthy, she thinks she’s successful. Particularly when the kids would rather go to Taco John’s or McDonald’s than hit the cafeteria.

“The kids are fast-food prone around here,” she said.

Thus, the idea of serving Domino’s pizza three times a week was born, something that has received matching praise and criticism from students. Some think its the only edible thing on the menu, while others nearly gag when they think about their Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with the pies.

“I don’t think pizza falls under the healthy category,” said freshman Shannon Neal. If she and Justin Burgess could leave campus for lunch, they would. But unlike many of their peers, they would head home or to the grocery store.

With more than 1,000 kids to serve daily, Taylor faces a roadblock that her staff in Baggs can avoid. Taylor has to decide what will hold over several hours of lunches and in transit to the Sinclair Elementary School. On the other hand, LeAnn Adams at the Little Snake River Valley School can provide fresh, home-cooked meals to her crowd of around 100.

On pizza days, which are few and far between for the kids in Baggs, Adams admits she spoils the children.

“It’s homemade,” she said. “I avoid putting butter in the pans, I stay away from whole cheese and use real tomatoes.” To meet USDA guidelines for protein, she sometimes adds meats.

While Taylor often relies on state-subsidized products like chicken nuggets, patties and hamburger — all of which meet state health guidelines and are selected from taste tests — Adams tries her best to avoid simply popping frozen burritos into the oven for a quick serve.
Instead, she works throughout the morning to produce ham fried rice or chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles.

“It’s a lot of work for even just a small school,” she said.

Fitting it all into the budget is hard work as well. When the accounts payable for the district lists a payment of more than $5,000 to Domino’s, questions appear. Taylor says she counteracts the 50 cents per pizza slice with fruits and vegetables that cost two cents per serving.

Her goal is to keep the daily cost of food less than $2 per meal. But, she said, that’s getting difficult when, for instance, the cost of flour has nearly tripled since the beginning of the school year.

Taylor brings the students into the equation alongside the state guidelines. Last year, middle school students visited the kitchen with self-created menus. Taylor reviewed her budget and health restrictions before asking them to read their menus. She then helped them decide which of their menus was feasible.

“It’s usually part of the health program,” Taylor said. “(The visit) led to the salad bar and lowering the number of times we serve pizza at the middle school.”


Opinions vary

Of a sampling of Rawlins High School students, the majority can think of better foods to eat than what they get in the cafeteria.

“I wish we had more options,” said freshman Allen Jennings. “I eat it because I’m hungry.”
Most of the students who stick around for lunch at the high school agreed. Some freshmen, like Zack Nelson, wished for meals that better resembled home cooking.

While the reactions were mixed on whether pizza three times a week was acceptable, few reacted to the other options offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Except freshman Sabrina Homewood, who thinks School Lunch Program Director Donna Taylor’s hamburgers are “pretty good.”

Still, there is criticism. Freshman Justin Burgess thought the state guidelines should be updated. Upperclassman Sukhi Kaur wants there to be more variety and quantity. “The freshmen eat it all,” she said. “There’s nothing left by the time we get there.”

Taylor said her meals are healthy when students take advantage of all the options. “Some do and some don’t,” she said. “It’s their choice.” On Tuesday, one student illustrated her point when he wandered out of the cafeteria with a tray stocked with mashed potatoes drenched in hamburger gravy and two rolls.

Students and staff celebrate Earth Day

Rawlins Daily Times, Jerret Raffety

Judy Hamel and Patty Pedersen picked up litter around Rawlins in honor of Earth Day on Tuesday.

• Middle-schoolers, teachers and CCHEC staff picked up trash in honor of Earth Day.

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Through the light haze that spread its blanket across the city Tuesday morning, passersby could see the faint dots of people carrying large black sacks and moving through the empty acreage between Rawlins Middle School and U.S. Highway 287.

On Earth Day, the staff at the Carbon County Higher Education Center teamed with Rawlins Middle School sixth-graders to clean a stretch of Rawlins littered with, well, litter.

Divided into small platoons of a larger litter army, the kids scattered themselves throughout the trash-entwined, prickly bushes. Their project extended east from the school’s campus, stretched across the south end of the ball fields to Murray Street, and stopped just west of the highway.

“These gloves are going to be red by the time we’re done!” said sixth-grader Ashlee Hicks, who was enjoying the event with friend Tabitha Smith. They were wearing turquoise surgical gloves that kept getting snagged on the unforgiving branches.

Adorned in jeans and sweatshirts to celebrate the day, the higher education staff chatted amongst themselves and with the kids. Exclamations about the amount of McDonald’s paper goods and plastic grocery bags drifted through the air.

“It’s amazing how much people litter,” one student said to no one in particular.

CCHEC Director Dave Throgmorton answered him. “Sometimes they don’t mean to, you know. Sometimes the wind gets it and carries...” His voice drifted away with the breeze.

Simone Franklin and Amanda Meis, both students at Rawlins Middle School, were enjoying the time away from class. “We don’t have to do work,” they said. Soon, they would eat lunch and then go to a few afternoon classes, including choir, art, physical education and Spanish.

Nearer to the school was Stephanie Brandner’s first-hour language arts class. Each student carried a sack and looked like mini Santa Clauses from afar.

“They’re just like little recycling trolls,” Brandner said.

Design recommendations on tap

Times staff report

Construction should be at the forefront of discussions on Thursday at the Carbon County District 1 School Board meeting.

The meeting is open to the public and should be held at 6 p.m. in the board room of the District 1 central administration office on Rodeo Street.

Brad Oberg, planning consultant for the new Rawlins elementary school complex, should give a presentation outlining his design recommendations. Through a series of meetings with representatives from each department, Oberg has developed a list of prioritized needs for the school.

Tying into the school’s planning, the School Board should hear a presentation from Rick Vancleeve, a representative from Pine Cove Consulting, about the possible contract between the technology consulting firm and the district.

At the meeting, board members should also:

• Appoint a selection committee to choose the district’s construction manager for the elementary school project.

• Vote on awarding a contract to replace one of Rawlins High School’s gym boilers.

• Hear a presentation from the Little Snake River Valley School representatives about final concerns with the four-day school week possibility.