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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 12, 2017)
PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 12, 2017 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM Vote for Harder To the Editor: I would like to share my encouragement in sup- porting a strong candidate for Salem-Keizer School Board. This is a very close race between great people, all who de- serve our respect for their willingness to serve. I have researched each of the candidates while keeping in mind this is a nonpartisan race; my opin- ion is based on their credentials and responses to what I believe our local needs are and for this reason I believe the best candidate is Dr. Kathleen Harder. Though Salem-Keizer Schools have separate issues in each area of our neighborhoods, I am most ex- perienced and involved right here in our Keizer schools. In Keizer, we face many issues: overcrowding, gradu- ation rates, budget cuts, neighbor- hood parking, vital school programs have been cut that give our kids the necessary tools and skills to fulfi ll their potential after graduation and becoming productive members of our society which means our Career Technical Education (CTE) pro- grams are vital to our kid’s success. The closest to my heart however is the amount of homeless students in our local Keizer schools. I know Kathleen will fi ght for these issues, our issues! She is passionate, compas- sionate and willing to fi ght the fi ght for what is right. This is the kind of human we need on our school board. I know the programs and initiatives she has been working towards and she believes in collaboration and uti- lizing our local resources above all. I also believe she will be a good steward of our school budget keep- ing the needs of our kids at the fore- front. I am proud to recommend this quality candidate to you my neigh- bors not only do I recommend her as your local community leader who truly understands the issues of our local schools but as a neighbor and mother who has raised her kids en- tirely through Keizer school system and knows fi rsthand the struggles our schools, neighborhoods, teachers and kids face daily. Our choice to- day will be the determination of our success tomorrow for all of our kids so please take the time to vote, I’m voting Kathleen Harder. Your vote matters. Amy Ryan Keizer is for both sides of that fence and each side of any fence can be constructed by either party, it is not an “immature” move it’s just common sense. The point that the City Council misses or can not wrap their heads around (Mayor Clark’s words) is that this was not a problem two years ago in this neighborhood, so this extra high school parking is nothing more then a convenience for student park- ing and is “not a necessity” since the population of the school is the same as it was before the word got out to the students of the “free parking.” Plus it’s a huge safety issue as a drop off point and a huge waste of police resources, too. Charles Anderson Keizer lsttsrs McNary student’s convenience To the Editor: Regarding Newberg Drive stu- dent parking: There have been many incidences of cars parked in front of driveways, sometimes it’s even two times in the same day. In addition there is trash on the streets, trash on my roof, trash in yards, loud noises from cars, ste- reos and kids yelling, speeding cars, vandalism and even sex. I have seen students openly carry guns, shar- ing pipes for smoking and just plain over-crowding our streets here. This neighborhood should never be used as a high school parking lot. Just lock the gate to McArthur to stop it. The city says they can not lock the gate but they can put up another gate fence on our side of the school prop- erty line. They could post a sign on the gate that says something like: “By Order of the City of Keizer this will no longer be an access point to the school grounds.” Before doing that they could inform the school of this plan and if they know the city will actually block it then I bet McNary principal Erik Jespersen will comply with the ruling of the city. A fence Herrera-Lopez for Salem-Keizer schools To the Editor: About a year ago, while doing vol- unteer work with Catholic Commu- nity Services in its effort to reopen the Cat Cavazos Center, I had the pleasure of meeting Levi Herrera- Lopez. More recently, I was pleased to learn Levi is running for the Zone 5 position on the Salem-Keizer School Board. Levi’s commitment to pub- lic education is unparalleled. More- over, Levi’s a graduate of the district’s school system, and for 15 years Levi has lived in Zone 5 (which sets him apart from some candidates who, oddly enough, have lived only a few days in the zone they hope to repre- sent). If you live in the Salem-Keizer School District, I urge you to vote for Levi Herrera-Lopez for school board. Jesse Barton Salem Riddell-Norstrom for Keizer Fire Board To the Editor: I write to support Ms. Riddell- Norstrom’s candidacy for the Keizer Fire Board. As a native Keizerite with long family ties to our fi re depart- ment she has the fi re department’s and city’s best interests in mind, not any personal ego or ambition. Ms. Riddell-Norstrom also brings a PhD level patient care perspective to the board. Having known her for over 20 years, I know she is professional, dedicated and diligent, she will not only show up for board meetings but will go the extra mile to make sure Keizer Fire is run effi ciently and ef- fectively and to the benefi t of Keiz- er’s residents. Heather Van Meter Keizer Best school board candidates To the Editor: Your vote for the best Salem Keiz- er school board candidates is impor- tant. There are three candidates that really stand out as very qualifi ed and committed to working on behalf of our public school students: Kathleen Harder, Sheronne Blasi, and Levi Herrera- Lopez. We can vote for all of them since each is running from a different zone. They are dedicated to improving our school system and in- suring all students have the resources to succeed. Please join me in electing Kath- leen Harder, Sheronne Blasi, and Levi Herera-Lopez to the school board. Anita Owen Salem Keizertimes Whsatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chsmawa Road N. • Ksizsr, Orsgon 97303 phons: 503.390.1051 • wsb: www.ksizsrtimss.com • smail: kt@ksizsrtimss.com SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGING EDITOR Eric A. Howald sditor@ksizsrtimss.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dsrsk Wilsy nsws@ksizsrtimss.com Ons ysar: $25 in Marion County, $33 outsids Marion County, $45 outsids Orsgon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY ADVERTISING Publication No: USPS 679-430 Paula Mosslsy advsrtising@ksizsrtimss.com POSTMASTER Ssnd addrsss changss to: PRODUCTION MANAGER Andrsw Jackson Ksizsrtimss Circulation graphics@ksizsrtimss.com 142 Chsmawa Road N. LEGAL NOTICES Ksizsr, OR 97303 lsgals@ksizsrtimss.com EDITOR & PUBLISHER Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com BUSINESS MANAGER Lauris Paintsr billing@ksizsrtimss.com Psriodical postags paid at Salsm, Orsgon RECEPTION Lori Bsyslsr facsbook.com/ksizsrtimss twittsr.com/ksizsrtimss Will Trumpcare be Obamacare 2.0? By DEBRA SAUNDERS Comedian Jimmy Kimmel went to the heart of the debate on pre- existing conditions during a mono- logue last week. He talked about the birth of his son Billy, who was born with a heart condition that required surgery within days of his birth. Billy Kimmel is doing fi ne now, but the situation was traumatic for Kimmel and his wife, Molly. At least, Kimmel noted, they didn’t have to worry about whether their child would be treated. “Before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease like my son was, there was a good chance you would never be able to get health in- surance because you had a pre-exist- ing condition,” Kimmel said. Kimmel was referring to Obam- acare’s most important benefi t—the requirement that health care plans of- fer coverage to people with pre-ex- isting medical conditions at the same rates healthy people pay. No longer would working people with chronic illnesses, or their families, be priced out of the quality health care. President Donald Trump agreed with Kimmel when he was a candi- date. Then Trump said he would re- peal and replace the Affordable Care Act, but retain the mandate for cov- ering pre-existing conditions. The fi rst version of his American Health Care Act refl ected that promise—and it never made it to a vote. The version passed by House Re- publicans Thursday is different. Un- der the new version, states will be able to apply for waivers from the Obamacare pre-existing conditions mandates. To qualify, states would have to set up pools for high-risk in- dividuals. Or as Trump told CBS News’ John Dickerson Sunday, “We’ve set up a pool for the pre-existing conditions so that the premiums can be allowed to fall.” There’s one little prob- lem with this so-called remedy. It’s a gimmick that throws the hot po- tato where there are few if any hands are eager to claim it. How many governors want to incur the wrath of their voters by announcing that they want to get rid of a benefi t that Kimmel and Trump himself in 2016 framed as American as apple pie? Asked how many states were likely to apply for pre-existing conditions waivers, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy answered, “It could be a lot. It could be none.” White House Deputy Press Secre- tary Sarah Sanders referred a reporter to the Department of Health and Human Services, which would not respond on the record. Be it noted, governors and state lawmakers are not clamoring for the opportunity to do what House Republicans would not do themselves. Forget governors. “There isn’t a single insurance executive I know of who wants to get rid of pre-x,” said health-care policy guru Robert Laszewski, using the lingo. So why did House Republicans go after a reform that even insurance ex- ecutives don’t want? A large chunk of the premium increases that hit the market with Obamacare are due to pre-existing othsr visws conditions. In 2014, the Affordable Care Act caused individual premiums to increase 40 percent, said Laszewski, with about 30 percent due to pre- existing conditions. Since then, premium increases have been in the double digits be- cause Obamacare policies are so un- appealing that healthy people aren’t buying, while sick people are cling- ing to their plans. In the industry, this is known as a death spiral. And it is the reason why insurers are running headlong from the individual market. Humana is pulling out of the mar- ket in 2018. After terminating plans in 11 states, Aetna just announced it will pull out of Virginia. The Trump White House is correct when it says that Obamacare is unsustainable. Or as Trump put it during the Rose Garden celebration of the House passing the bill, “It’s dead. It’s essentially dead. If we don’t pay lots of ransom money over to the insur- ance companies, it would die imme- diately.” Still, Trump seems poised to make the same mistake President Obama made before him—making huge promises on which he should have known his plan would not deliver. Obama promised, “No matter what you’ve heard, if you like your doctor or health care plan, you can keep it.” Trump says, “Yes, premiums will be coming down. Yes, deductibles will be coming down. But very im- portantly, it’s a great plan.” But if the key to cutting costs is a stunt—asking state politicians to do to their neighbors what D.C. Repub- licans will not do from afar—better not to hold your breath. (Crsators Syndicats) The example Australia sets By GENE H. McINTYRE Reported out of Australia is the way that nation proposes to conduct tests to determine whether immi- grants are granted citizenship. For openers, those interested must live there for at least four years before fi ling an application. Also, a person with such a desire must speak English fl uently and conform to “Australian values.” These conditions would be good for the United States. Among questions on the Aus- sie test are whether they believe in forced marriages for children, genital mutilation, striking a spouse and pro- hibiting girls from attending school. Some questions seem aimed at Mus- lim immigrants but there are many entering from other faiths as nearly 30 percent of Australia’s 6.9 million population is foreign-born. Here again, we in America don’t know what to expect next from immi- grants, legal or otherwise, when bor- ders here are too often disrespected and ignored. Speaking for his government, Australia’s Prime Minister Mal- colm Turnbull has said that Australia is “not defi ned by race or religion or culture.” To the contrary, Trumbull says, they’re defi ned by a commit- ment to common values, the rule of law, democracy, freedom, mutual re- spect, and equality for all. The citi- zenship process, he says, must deliver citizens who conform to what Aus- tralians have determined they stand for and believe in. I wish, big-time, we’d copy them. The citizenship test there, at one time, amounted to knowing the na- tion’s history and political system while it afforded applicants unlim- ited opportunity to pass it. Under the proposed new design, three tries and you’re out while a rap sheet with domestic violence on it means a trip to the “door” as do other unacceptable behaviors. Very appealing requirements. Having spent enough time in Australia to get a feel for the place, conclu- sions reached were that the Aussies have a better chance to establish and maintain a common values culture than most anywhere else. Maybe it’s because Australia is so far away from Europe and North America that the typical Aussie guy is a friendly “bloke” who’ll refer to you as his “mate” during the fi rst “pint” of beer and will seek your friendship rather than getting at your U.S. dol- lars. The genuine friendliness that was gusst column observed by this American was ex- perienced in a lengthy visit awhile back. My spouse and I were able to walk the streets of any of Aus- tralia’s bigger and medium-sized cities without fearing for our safe- ty. Hopefully, living conditions have not changed since our visit and that the proposed effort to keep the place livable is a general desire to pre- serve that nation’s way of life. With a population of about 24 million and surrounded by ocean, Australia has some advantages over the U.S. when it comes to immi- gration controls which those folks have maintained for the last 100 years. Unlike the U.S., having be- come a very seriously fractured country with churlish leadership and hourly incidences of murder and mayhem, Australia by comparison is a peace-loving nation with no NRA and strict gun controls. (Gsns H. McIntyrs livss in Ksizsr.)