10 Years Ago 1997 What will next years [1998] school day look like at the high school? The answer to that question may be as simple as adding two extra periods to the school day, according to a presentation by Arlington High School Principal Warren Hopkins at the last school board meeting. Hopkins said that conservative estimates put the high school population at almost 1,400 students next year, and that is if no one new moves into the district during the summer. This will be an increase of about 200 to a high school that was built to house 1,000 without the portable classrooms on campus. The increase has necessitated a look at some alternatives to the traditional six-period day. Increasing number of students also means a lack of facilities, especially science labs. One of the possible solutions suggested was adding more portables. This idea was strongly denounced by everyone on the school board as not being cost effective. Portables cost a minimum of $51,000 and how do you get rid of them when you dont need them anymore? said school board member Carolyn Erickson. Another option discussed was trying to recruit at least 200 students that would volunteer to begin their day two periods later then the majority of the students. The flip side of that option would be that those students would have to remain at school during a seventh and eighth period. So instead of attending school from periods one through six, as the school day runs now, those stipends would start with period three and go through a period eight. So would some teachers. In an informal survey, 371 out of 941 students surveyed would be interested in a late start. Twenty out of 48 teachers responded they would be interested in a late start to their day. A recent voice poll asked parents about the extended day format. A total of 242 responses were received with 85 (35 percent) saying they would be willing for their child to participate in the late start schedule. Sixty-four (27 percent) said they would be willing to provide transportation for their child. The number of parents willing for their child to participate jumped to 109 (45 percent) when the school district providing some sort of transportation was added to the proposal. Another proposal that Hopkins put forth was long block classes. Already implemented in a number of high schools throughout the state, long blocks consist of four periods lasting 1 1/2 hours each. Science and computer classes would benefit from the longer periods and the high school administration is working on a plan to run long block and traditional length period classes concurrently. The part that Hopkins got excited about was that combining the two schedules would give the students more choice and flexibility in creating their schedule each year. It would also give a student the ability to get one credit finished per semester. A student would also be able to do two years of a foreign language in one year if they so desired.

25 Years Ago 1982
The resignation of Arlington High School principle John Coxon was accepted by the Arlington School Board. Coxon has deiced to retire at the end of the 1981-1982 school year, concluding 30 years in the education profession. He spent the last 14 years as principle of the high school. This has been a very difficult decision for me to make because of the tremendous progress which has been made in building improvements and in academic and activity programs, Coxon stated in his letter of resignation sent to the board. This progress has been achieved only by a dedicated staff, outstanding students and supportive patrons of the school district. The future looks brighter with the development of exciting new programs, especially in the area of computer programming, he said in the letter. Before accepting the principals position at Arlington High School, Coxon was the principle of Kalama High School in Kalama for 10 years and was an instructor and principle in Klickitat for six years. Coxon plans to remain in the Arlington area after his retirement is effective July 1. At the school boards next meeting, school district superintendent Richard Post will make his recommendation on how to fill Coxons position. Post can either recommend the board advertise the position or can determine a suitable applicant is already employed within the school district. Coxons resignation was one of two submitted to the board Monday night. Fourth-grade teacher George Jensen is also planning to retire at the end of the school year. He has taught in the Arlington school districts for the past 14 years.

50 Years Ago 1957
Fifty-six turkey eaters correctly identified last weeks Mystery Farm as Lawtys Turkey ranch, near Edgecomb, with Mr. Rutherford Klein of R.5 being the winner of the prize drawing at Halls Electric. Mr. Klein is the sixteenth prizewinner in the contest so far. For the 19th year, Henry Lawty is watching the spring turkey hatch peck its way out of shells, to begin a life span that ends in cold storage some 25 to 30 pounds later. Some 20 years ago, Mr. Lawty had time to ponder the future, while waiting for a badly broken arm to heal. Having a small amount of capital, he decided to launch into a business of his own, and after considering several opportunities, he threw in his fortune with a local turkey rancher and, in the course of a year, served his apprenticeship in the turkey industry. Why turkeys? Well the poultry business has appealed since the days when his parents raised chickens and in the tradition of farm sons, he determined to raise something bigger and better. Today the Lawtys turkeys consume nearly $30,000 worth of feed per year, while the extra payroll at Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons is almost $4,000, and the Lawty ranch has become an Arlington institution. An annual event sponsored by the Lawtys is their Turkey Pickers Party, attended by all employees, past and present, and many friends. Roast turkey is supplied for the event by the ranch, while others bring potluck dishes, and have a party. This year the event was help at pioneer hall, with 52 attending. The business has not been without trials. Feed cost is the main bug-a-boo of the poultry business in this era. Lawty said. This year he is trying to raise some wheat to ease the feed expense. With the advent of miracle drugs, disease is no longer as big a poultry problem, as it once was. Lawty once lost 46 percent of a flock of 1700, due to a tactical error trying to raise turkeys where chickens had been raised. This was during his second year as a turkey farmer. On another occasion, an old female coyote got into a flock of mature birds killing 75. After that catastrophe, Lawty acquired a pair of hound-dogs. These fellows spent their evenings happily chasing coyotes, making lots of racket. Although the coyotes were broken of the turkey habit, none were actually caught by the dogs. Eventually the dogs fell victim to a car and poison. As the Lawty family increased, so did the size of their farmhouse, with a wing having been added here and there to accommodate five children Glen, 16; Malcolm, 14; Katy, 13; Christa 6, and Jonathan, 2. For a time, the children had a pet burro, but this mischievous animal became a barnyard pest, spending his leisure chasing the calves, chewing their ears and necks and generally bullying them around, so he eventually was sold. Lawty markets his own turkeys locally, through outlets as far north as Bellingham, south to Seattle and east of the mountains. He has fresh turkeys amiable six months of the year, and freezes and stores the balance in his own plant, and also in Glacier Cold Storage in Arlington. Frozen poultry is rapidly gaining acceptance, Lawty said. As yet, the public is reluctant to accept poultry preserved by other processes, such as the aeronizing treatment, in which a bird is immersed in a bacterial proofing fluid mixtures, which will preserve it for one or two weeks. This process is used by concerns now shipping to the coast from as far as Texas and Georgia. This year Mr. Lawty plans to raise some 6,000 birds. He reported that he is handicapped in that his birds are extra heavy, which is not conducive to mating. As a result he must resort to artificial insemination to a large degree, and his percentage of hatch is limited somewhat by this method. The average dressed out, oven-ready weight of his tom turkeys is about 25 pounds, with the record so far being 37 pounds. The hens will weigh from 13 15 pounds on the average.