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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 2020)
2 Wednesday, July 22, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O A spectacular sight… N Facing a challenging school year — together By Jay Wilkins Sisters School Board Chair Local photographer Kris Kristovich caught a fine image of Comet NEOWISE from Dee Wright Observatory last week. Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer9s name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is 10 a.m. Monday. To the Editor: Before you publish a slew of letters in sup- port of anonymous federal troops in unmarked vehicles taking prisoner people on the streets of Portland, you might point out the hypoc- risy 4 the whole Malhuer occupation of fed- eral lands in Burns by the Bundy-led group, including destruction of federal property, which was supported by the Proud Boy types who have not uttered a peep about sending federal troops into Portland to take people off the streets in order to protect federal property. John Mapes s s s To the Editor: I love The Nugget and appreciate your paper each time it comes out. I want to send a special <thank you= to Scout Arnone for her article about her stu- dent gently handling and releasing what he believed to be a black widow. (<Scouting the Northwest: Fear not the false black widow,= The Nugget, June 8, page 29). I teach my own sons to respect, and be kind to, the spiders in our house. My boys have learned to share their space with spiders and to recognize their inherent value. Scout9s story was beautiful to me and her student wise beyond his years. Her article made my day. Cheers! Owyhee Weikel-Magden s s s To the Editor: One way to re-open schools with social distancing: In 1946, my father came back from World War II, USS Salt Lake City (CA25). He was born and raised in Iowa. He was stationed in the Navy on the west coast along with hun- dreds of thousands of Midwesterners. At the end of the war he and 100,000 plus other See LETTERS on page 12 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Monday Sunday Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Mostly Sunny 89/53 81/48 84/48 85/52 90/56 93/58 This is going to be a challenging school year in an unprecedented environ- ment. Each school is creat- ing a <Ready Schools, Safe Learners= plan that will deliver on the social, emo- tional and educational needs of our students while also honoring the needs of all the members of our educational community. These plans can mini- mize and mitigate risk, but there is no risk-free option. As with any undertaking in the district, our success relies on the support of the whole community. A robust plan is important, but the plan9s ultimate success will be determined by how much the community embraces the plan and how well we work together. I am proud to serve on our school board. However, I submit this letter only as a member of our commu- nity and as a parent. It is a request of the community to come together 4 as you have in the past 4 and help the district rise to the chal- lenge ahead. First, please engage in the planning process. Second, assume positive intent. Every member of our community wants the best for our students. Someone9s health needs, limits, con- cerns, fears, or reactions may be different from yours. Try to remember they9re trying to do what they think is best even when you dis- agree with their actions. Third, be curious. If you don9t know what you9d like to know, seek answers from the source. In a perfect world, the district would communicate everything to everyone in a timely fashion with 100 percent clarity and 0 percent ambiguity. This goal is seldom met. Asking questions of the source helps spread truth. Fourth, tolerate with a smile. Safety processes and protocols will be inconve- nient, unpleasant, and some may feel unnecessary. Let9s debate the efficacy of such protocols in the after-action- review while setting a proud example of compliance in the meantime. Even small individual sacrifices can have large positive impacts on our community. Finally, stay connected. My unofficial polling of parents across the state leads me to believe our teachers responded very admirably to the unplanned shift to distance learning. They strived to keep a deep personal connection with each student 4 the foun- dation for any real learning 4 through the computer screen. Even in the best-case plans for the coming year, there will be some safety requirements that interfere with the normal connec- tions that build our fabric. We9ll have to identify those gaps and work to close them. I believe each building will create the best possible plan they can in light of the circumstances. Sisters is by no means alone in fac- ing this challenge; however, Sisters will find success if we embrace these plans and work together. Each of Sisters schools is crafting a 8Ready Schools, Safe Learners9 plan to submit to Oregon Department of Education on August 15. SHARE YOUR INPUT... The Nugget Newspaper, LLC Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Email: editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Easterling Creative Director: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partner: Vicki Curlett Classifieds & Circulation: Lisa May Owner: J. Louis Mullen The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $55; six months (or less), $30. First-class postage: one year, $95; six months, $65. Published Weekly. ©2020 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is pro- hibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper9s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. Via the district9s surveys: " bit.ly/2020surveySHS " bit.ly/2020surveySMS " bit.ly/2020surveySES At the Wednesday, July 29 Superintendent9s Coffee: bit.ly/Superintendent07-29 By email: curtiss.scholl@ssd6.org By phone: 541-549-8521 Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.