Big Names in LaFond, Eddy, Huskey and Chance - They will be missed at TD schools

Debbie LaFond, center, sits next to Joni Tenneson on the left and Hailey (Tenneson) Elliot on the right. LaFond in the span of 17 years started work with kindergarten teacher Joni Tenneson who is now retired. She then went on to work with her daughter Hailey at Dry Hollow Elementary. LaFond is headed to Barcelona, Spain this fall after giving local youth 25 years of hugs.

Kids just finished their final day of the school year at The Dalles Elementaries today, Friday, June 11th.

It was an especially hard goodbye for four of North Wasco County School District’s finest.

Dry Hollow’s Kindergarten Assistant Debbie LaFond and Second-Grade Teacher Julie Eddy; Colonel Wright’s Yvonne Ingebo Huskey and Steven Chance are officially retired.

Their peers have, no doubt, recognized their decades of commitment with cakes and photos, hugs and gifts.

To show up for decades and provide the structure, support, encouragement and inspiration to the youth of our community, our hats are off.

North Wasco County School District Officials also noted their accomplishments at their May board meeting.

Debbie LaFond - Kindergarten Assistant at Dry Hollow

Dry Hollow Principal Ajay Rundell

Dry Hollow Principal Ajay Rundell said the school “will not be the same place without LaFond and Julie Eddy.

He thanked LaFond for her years of service and hit some of the high points that teachers pointed out for him.

He said LaFond was “a champion of organization who could whip up a spreadsheet and organize an entire day’s classwork at untold speed and could collate and bind our giant Christmas book that takes days to make and takes pounds of glitter all in one afternoon.

I know those are the things students, Kindergarteners here treasure those for years and years.” 

LaFond was also touted by students as the “best kickball pitcher,” and Rundell said she“loved spur-of-the-moment projects, especially when paint was involved.

“Above all else, Debbie has enhanced the lives of every learner that enters the classroom - from greeting them every morning with a kind smile to teaching them to read and write,” Rundell said. “Every child had no doubt they were important.  All knew they were cared for, safe and loved… She created thousands of positive memories that will stay in their hearts forever.” 

Julie Eddy - Second Grade Teacher at Dry Hollow

Rundell said Eddy taught for decades and had the ability to work with students needing extra help. “She has always chosen to teach the students that struggle most and provide structure and stability,” Rundell said. “Time and time again teachers tell me how much structure she has provided in her classroom and how good it was for kids who struggle.

Eddy advocated for student programs, raised animals with students, taught sign language and yoga and weeded and watered the school garden on her own time.

She found new ways to teach. “I know when I walked past her classroom after recess her students were practicing mindfulness, her students look so relaxed,” Rundell said.

Eddy’s daughter who also taught, said she was always amazed at her mother’s classroom management- it was stern, but students always felt loved - a comment she heard from Julie’s students when they grew to high-school age.

Yvonne Ingebo Huskey - Third-Grade Teacher at Col. Wright

Col. Wright Principal Carol Dowsett said Huskey moved to 3rd grade this year. It was incredible to watch her teach math, grammar and English and noted her citizenship program taught grit and responsibility

Yvonne Ingebo Huskey

Huskey was formerly a heavy equipment operator and is also known for her Husky Hills Happiness Raspberry Jam.

Huskey took every student at Col. Wright the gym this year to create an art project - a series of hearts that hangs on the walls of the gym now.

She worked with the 4-H Gardening Club, painted doors and generally worked to make the school look and feel better. “She’s a real encourager to staff,” and constantly involved herself to improve the school.

Steve Chance - Fifth-Grade Teacher at Col. Wright.

Col. Wright Principal Carol Dowsett

Dowsett said Chance had taught 22 of his 23 years in the same room at Col. Wright and also had a 23-year career at Rosauers before becoming a teacher.

She said students always looked forward to his incredible water wars, and he had done some overnights at school as well as getting his students involved in the Gorge Ecology Institutes’ Secrets program.

Dowsett said Chance has taught in Belize over the years during his vacation time and has involved family and friends in the endeavor. She said she hoped to join him eventually.