Lowell/Jasper/Fall Creek, News Briefs

Lowell superintendent reveals that he’s fighting a personal battle while contending with COVID-19 pandemic   

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By DEAN REA/Correspondent/The Herald — While Lowell schools battled COVID-19, Supt. Johnie Matthews found himself engaged in a personal battle with cancer.

“I am feeling well,” he told school board members Monday night during a report session on how the district has fared during a year in which the COVID-19 pandemic emptied classrooms.

lowell school superintendent Johnie Matthews
Johnie Matthews

Matthews, who has been superintendent since July 2018, explained that he learned of the diagnosis late in the school year.

“Once they get everything regulated, it will be manageable,” he said. “I’ll be in fighting condition in no time. We hope within the next month.”

Matthews praised the staff for helping keep the district “running smoothly,” but noted that he continues to be involved in all aspects of decision-making for the district.

Meanwhile, he reviewed how the district has “made the best lemonade we could” during a year in which students were involved in virtual learning but are once again on campus.

Meanwhile, enrollment increased at Mountain View Academy and Bridge Charter Academy this year, representatives reported from the Lowell district schools.

The academy, which is concluding its seventh year instructing kindergarteners through eighth-graders, has an enrollment of 154 students, 66 percent of whom are out-of-district residents, Director Laurie Caldwell reported.

The home-based charter school with campuses in Lowell and Bend has experienced a “huge growth” and now has 427 students enrolled in the local school, administrator Ben Silebi reported.

Commencement exercises for three dozen seniors at the football field are planned to start at 7 p.m. June 18, high school Principal Scott Yakovich reported.

Board members were left licking their lips after elementary principal Jessica Edgerton reported that she had a stop to make after the meeting to buy 100 sandwiches for her students.

“What for?” she was asked.

“Tuesday is ice cream day,” she replied.

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