4A ❚ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2018 ❚ APPEAL TRIBUNE Life in the Valley Catch Lex Runciman at Silverton Poetry Festival Steve Slemenda Special to Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Lex Runciman is one of six poets fea- tured in “Durable Goods: Appreciations of Oregon Poets” (Mountains & Rivers Press, 2017) by fellow poet Erik Muller. Last month, Runciman joined Muller and three of the other featured poets at the Salem Book Bin. Runciman, Paulann Petersen, Barbara Drake and Clem Starck shared and discussed their work in a rich exchange with the audience and each other. The group has done several programs together, and Runciman will participate in another such conversation on Feb. 24 as part of the Silverton Poetry Festival. During the Salem program, I asked them to comment on the value of their experience on the road. Runciman’s one-word response: “Gratitude.” Gratitude strikes me as a central val- ue in Runciman’s life. It’s certainly a strong presence in his volume of select- ed and new poems, “Salt Moon: Poems 1981-2016” (Salmon Poetry, 2017). This book has given me a wonderful intro- duction to his work spanning four dec- ades. In it are poems of great range, depth and beauty. They make a tapestry inter- woven with memories, dreams, obser- vations and meditations from an inquir- ing life. Each poem echoes the theme of intrinsic beauty and wonder in all things — the exquisite, the tragic and the mundane, the light and the dark. The scope is broad. A young boy releases a mud-covered salamander back into a lake: “It fell back / and once in the water / how it fell — clear, / slow, in its own heaven.” Waking from a nightmare of his child’s death, a father looks in on his sleeping daughters and finds them as they are — their regular hushed respira- tions. Overhead, rain falls like pebbles. Face and face, name and another name. The poet contemplates beach agates: “They are the origin and dream of glass. / Whatever they say is impersonal: / Whatever it is is beautiful.” A bystander has dived into a lake and rescued a baby in a runaway stroller that had plunged from a wharf: “This is the purest thing / you can remember doing, and anyone / would have — this bright gift // a privilege you’d wish on no one.” The poet, who was an adopted child, re- flects on all he does not know of his bio- logical father and mother: “you have not known his shoes or watches or ties / his gait or religion or lack of it / nor his sisters nor his brothers / and Lex Runciman of your mother you SPECIAL TO THE lack all the same.” STATESMAN Often in life, the JOURNAL darkness seems im- penetrable. Yet we trudge, as we must, toward some light of understanding. In a poem titled with a quotation from Psalm 30, “Joy Cometh in the Morning,” Runciman expresses the difficulty of persisting toward light: “No touch en- dures. The doctor is unsure. / Memory says love is unreturned. / The words you have rehearsed / vanish from your mouth. Sleep teases. Gesture is not enough. /I don’t know how we can go on.” “The artist’s function,” said the great modern American poet Wallace Ste- vens, “is to make his imagination . . . be- If you go What: Silverton Poetry Festival Pre- sents “Talking Poets/Durable Goods: An Evening of Poetry and Conversation” with Erik Muller, Lex Runciman, Barbara Drake and Paulann Petersen. When: 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 Where: White Steeple Gallery, 314 Jer- sey St., Silverton Cost: Free come the light in the minds of others. His role, in short, is to help people to live their lives.” In the light of Runciman’s poems, we are shown the way: through the open embrace of experience; in the convic- tion of joy in the morning; in the beauty and solace to be found in love, in nature, in each other. For that, Runciman has my gratitude. This article by Steve Slemenda is one of a monthly series by members of the Mid-Valley Poetry Society on books by Oregon poets. Contact him at stsles@gmail.com. Bill could help alleviate packed classrooms Natalie Pate Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK A bill coming before the Oregon Leg- islature, which convenes Monday, could finally assuage teachers of crammed classrooms. House Bill 4113 changes only five words to existing collective bargaining laws, but would make class size a man- datory subject. This means districts would be re- quired to discuss class size along with things like salaries and benefits when making budget decisions. "(Class size) tends to exacerbate any other issue we have in the education system," said John Larson, president of the Oregon Education Association. "The way things work right now, ei- ther side could say, 'No, we don’t want to talk about that,'" he said. "The more times we don’t have that conversation, the worst (the) problem becomes." Oregon has some of the largest class- es nationwide, with an average of 25 students per class. In 2014-15, there were more than 450 math classes in the state with more than 36 students per class, plus more than 70 science classes with more than 46 stu- dents, according to Oregon Department of Education's 2016 Class Size Report. Additionally, more than 20 percent of kindergarten classes had more than 26 students. Studies show large class sizes can negatively affect absenteeism, stan- dardized test scores, graduation rates and teacher retention. Large class sizes are particularly damaging in lower grades, where teach- ers are building students' understand- ing of core subjects, such as reading, Numbers Continued from Page 2A Transportation. Help on the way Even with the small decline, Oregon's state parks have still continued to see rapid growth. That's not expected to change in coming years. The good news, Havel said, is that the state park budget included money for 21 additional park rangers who will start in 2018. Parks officials also got permission to offer discounted rates at some less-vis- ited parks, while in the future slightly increasing rates at more crowded parks. The goal is to entice more people to camp at such places as Humbug Moun- tain State Park (42,000 camper nights), as opposed to Fort Stevens (257,000 camper nights). "Maybe somebody who’s having problems getting a night at Fort Stevens would consider Humbug if they got a writing and math. This is in addition to developing social and emotional skills, including how to follow instructions, how to share and how to sit still. "At some point, you are so overloaded you just hope everyone has a place to sit," Larson said, referring the chal- lenges teachers face. "And students just don’t learn when there are so many stu- dents in a room." The bill was presented to lawmakers last session, but died after its public hearing in front of the House Education Committee. Sponsors are trying it again in the short session, this time with the House Committee on Business and Labor. "We get that there’s a finite amount of dollars for every school," Larson said. "But we believe educators should have some say in how they use those dollars." Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, a chief sponsor on the bill, told the Statesman Journal class size is his top priority this session. But he doesn't have a strong idea yet whether the bill will pass. "It is unacceptable when there are more students than desks," he said. "I want (families and educators) in there complaining about class size. "It should be the highest priority of the district. Everything else should come second," he said. "And then, if they say, great, now we don’t have enough money, I’m happy to fight for more mon- ey." Clem said this is one option the state can take, but it isn't the only one. "It doesn’t get them more money, but it does put them in the middle of the conversation," he said. Opponents of the bill, including the Oregon School Boards Association, ar- gue ramifications from the bill could cost districts millions of dollars they would otherwise use to hire new staff, train existing employees and create and expand programs that benefit students. "Is it important to talk about? Yes," said Jim Green, executive director of the school boards association. "At the bar- gaining table, though? No." Green who also serves as a member of the Salem-Keizer School Board, is wa- ry of any bill that makes something mandatory. "Class size is important, but forcing (it) could cause a strike," he said. But Green doesn't deny Oregon has a class size problem. The more kids, the more expectations, the more issues, he said. "Classroom management is an is- sue." Green presented an outcome in which a certain number would be set for the maximum number of students that could be in one class. Any additional students would require the district to pay the teacher additional money. Districts, he said, would have to cut support staff, programs and the number of instructional days in an already short school year. In addition to budget constraints, night of camping for free," OPRD parks director Lisa Sumption said in an April interview with the Statesman Journal. "We’re trying to move some of our crowds across the system, and this is one way of doing that. We have a lot of parks with capacity that few people vis- it." Oregon Coast state parks visitation Day use 2017: 29,562,745 2016: 28,603,243 2015: 27,528,098 2014: 24,969,651 2013: 24,035,716 2012: 23,314,225 2011: 21,426,973 2010: 22,428,747 2009: 23,497,013 2008: 21,684,258 2007: 23,474,768 2006: 22,953,890 2005: 21,925,604 2004: 23,248,905 2003: 21,090,250 2002: 20,927,888 Oregon state parks camping nights 2017: 2,788,358 2016: 2,741,578 2015: 2,590,942 2014: 2,491,805 2013: 2,411,954 2012: 2,319,078 2011: 2,307,741 2010: 2,410,817 2009: 2,515,652 2008: 2,327,464 2007: 2,362,409 2006: 2,305,651 2005: 2,318,074 2004: 2,381,379 2003: 2,383,534 2002: 2,380,911 Crater Lake National Park visits 2017: 711,749 2016: 756,344 2015: 614,712 2014: 535,508 2013: 523,027 2012: 447,251 2011: 423,551 2010: 448,319 2009: 446,516 Lewis and Clark National Historic Park visits 2017: 293,356 2016: 281,576 2015: 270,410 Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, speaks at the Capitol in Salem in 2015. He said his top priority in the 2018 short session is a bill meant to reduce class sizes. DANIELLE PETERSON/STATESMAN JOURNAL Green said districts often don't have the facilities or bodies to accommodate the changes either, which is a much larger financial undertaking. Green is worried the complex issue, which would impact Oregon's 197 dis- tricts, won't have the time it needs to be discussed in a short session. "If it's required to bargain, (the dis- trict) is not able to offer programs we of- fer to all other schools," he said. "(There is) population growth in certain parts of the city — you need that flexibility." This would lead, he suspects, to ex- tensive mediation processes and strikes. "It doesn't actually do better for teachers," he said. Larson countered, saying that's very extreme. "I don’t think we have any lo- cals who go into bargain thinking they want to go on strike. "Strikes are really awful things," he said. "(They're) a last-ditch effort." Larson said the bill allows each dis- trict to address class size as they see fit. He emphasized smaller districts may not have an issue with class size, com- paring the idea to Measure 98 funds for career technical education or dropout prevention efforts where individual dis- tricts can allocate money for their spe- cific needs. "The bill doesn’t set a threshold," Lar- son said. "It lets each district have a meaningful conversation about what a good class size would be. "We may not come to any solution," he said. "But at least we have the con- versation and at least it’s out there." Contact Natalie Pate at npate@StatesmanJournal.com, 503- 399-6745, or follow her on Twitter @Nataliempate or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/nataliepatejour- nalist. 2014: 244,921 2013: 217,022 2012: 201,704 2011: 191,867 2010: 218,553 2009: 225,846 John Day Fossil Beds National Monument visits 2017: 214,557 2016: 210,110 2015: 196,277 2014: 183,420 2013: 156,285 2012: 148,152 2011: 148,002 2010: 135,151 2009: 130,925 Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve visits 2017: 72,212 2016: 80,613 2015: 72,709 2014: 69,405 2013: 72,717 2012: 78,164 2011: 76,194 2010: 86,335 2009: 88,496