PAGE A6, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 15, 2019
Opinion
No vaccine waivers
Proposed legislation in the current
session at the state capitol in Salem
would repeal personal vaccine ex-
emptions. The proposed bill, which
has not been fi nalized, would elimi-
nate all non-medical ex-
emptions for vaccines the
state requires for children
attending schools.
We support any such
legislation, especially in
view of the measles out-
break in Clark County,
Washington (Vancouver).
Personal freedoms in
the United States go only so far. When
private actions threaten others in soci-
ety—ie., exposing children to diseas-
es—the safety of the many should take
precedence over the few.
There are still too many people
who subscribe to the theory that vac-
cines cause autism in children. Scie-
nitists have repeatedly reported that is
not true, yet a percentage of parents
continue to hold onto that view.
Expressing one’s opinion is en-
shrined in the American Constitution.
It is understood that the primary job
of government at all levels is to keep
the people safe and secure. Assuring
that diseases such as mea-
sles is eradicated is part of
that society compact.
We can hope that the
measles outbreak is lim-
ited to Clark County, but
there is no guarantee of
that.
Measles is an airborne
disease which spreads eas-
ily through the coughs and sneezes of
infected people. The virus can also live
for up to two hours outside the body;
an unvaccinated person could contract
the measles just by being in the space
where an infected person had been up
to 120 minutes beforehand.
Those who choose to send their
children to school without required
vaccinations are putting that entire
school at risk, all for a disease that has
our
opinion
mostly been defeated. Every parent
should rightly be concerned about
the health of their child. Yet, no fami-
ly lives in a vacuum, what they do can
affect many other households. With a
disease as dangerous and as contageous
as measles, parents should consid-
er how adversely their unvaccinated
children can affect others.
Protecting society from a commu-
nicable disease should not be diffi cult.
The science is thorough and settled.
Some schools will not allow students
to attend unless they are vaccinated,
which is as it should be. One parent’s
anti-vaccine views should not endan-
ger others.
If the proposed legislation is not
introduced this session, it should be
brought up every year until parents are
confi dent that their government and
schools are protecting them.
—LAZ
Radical white wing
By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS
President Donald Trump’s State of
the Union address was a partisan home
run.
It was a solid speech that showed
Trump reaching across the aisle by
proposing policies such as paid family
leave that should be wildly
popular with Democrats.
But it also showed his
playful side. In his third
address to a joint session
of Congress, Trump was
downright jovial; when he
disagreed, he wasn’t per-
sonal.
Which left Democrats looking like
the obstinate and petulant party.
Start with the suffragette white
worn by female Democratic House
members. Former Democratic San
Francisco supervisor Angela Alioto
wrote on Facebook, that “if you have
to dress alike,” pick red “for power and
fearlessness.” As it was, “they looked
like a group of nurses.”
It is telling that four female Demo-
cratic senators eying the White House
—Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren,
Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gilli-
brand—chose more fl attering colors.
When Trump touted the good
news on unemployment for people
with disabilities, C-SPAN turned its
lens on House members. I saw more
ladies in white scratching their heads
than clapping. Ditto for when Trump
talked about doubling the child tax
credit.
The left rightly can deride Trump
for being obstinate and petulant. Tues-
day night, Trump was in good humor
and Democrats came across
like Trump on an angry
morning Twitter tear.
Many have criticized
Trump for constantly play-
ing to his base and not
reaching out to the middle.
In his State of the Union
address, however, Trump
talked about wanting legal immigrants
to come into the country “in the larg-
est numbers ever, but they have to
come in legally.”
At a meeting with regional re-
porters Wednesday, Trump confi rmed
it was a new policy because he said
the country needs workers in “facto-
ries and plants and companies that are
coming back in.”
Don’t hold your breath waiting for
the Democratic leadership to push for
more legal immigration, however, just
as they did not seize on Trump’s offer
to extend legal status to some undoc-
umented immigrants in exchange for
funding for his border wall.
A cynic would say Democrats prefer
to keep “Dreamers”—undocumented
other
voices
immigrants brought into the United
States as children—on the hook so
they can use the issue at the ballot.
President Barack Obama didn’t get it
done when Democrats controlled the
House and Senate.
Trump also found a clever way to
show how extreme Democrats have
become.
He brought up his administration’s
recognition of Juan Guaido as inter-
im president of Venezuela—a depar-
ture from Trump’s “America First”
focus and a coup for human rights.
This time, most Democrats’ applause
seemed genuine, not perfunctory.
Then Trump condemned “the bru-
tality of the Maduro regime, whose so-
cialist policies have turned that nation
from being the wealthiest in South
America into a state of abject pover-
ty and despair.” Bernie Sanders, the
Democratic-caucusing senator from
Vermont, sat stone-faced.
When Trump later added, “Tonight
we renew our resolve that America
will never be a socialist country,” Sen-
ate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
wisely stood up and applauded. House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi stayed seated,
smiled slightly and clapped dutifully --
like it was a chore to be on the record
opposing socialism.
(Creators Syndicate)
Days in school more important than ever
There appeared an interest-arous-
ing juxtaposition on the front page
of the Feb. 8 issue of the Keizertimes.
The headline read, “Keizer has a read-
ing problem” while, on
the same front page, there
appeared the photo of
a child joyfully tossing
snow “after waking up to
discover she had the day
off school.”
This presents a dilem-
ma but one that’s shared
widely throughout our
state and country: we value a formal
education and we don’t value a formal
education. As an aside, however, when
there’s no formal education available,
as is true in many of the world’s na-
tions, a formal education is valued al-
most as much as food and water.
Then, too, there’s a related attitude
that’s not uncommon in America: That
going to school is neither
enjoyed nor value. It is
something about which
some children scream as
though in agony but have
to do. However, snow
melts and child labor
laws prevent them from
holding a job. But what
happens to our youth as
drop-outs too often mean trouble and
rap sheets.
But let’s make something clear and
clean. Not wanting to go to school for
most American children is not the fault
gene
mcintyre
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Salem, Oregon
of teachers. Yes, of course, some teach-
ers are less than outstanding at their
profession; however, most of them are
professional, they like kids, and want to
do a good job of helping their students
learn at whatever age level and subject
matter they’re assigned to teach.
My fi rst home was not a debat-
ing society about school or going to
it. However, we weren’t beaten into
submission and appreciated a snow
day without school. Actually, early in
my youth, attending school became a
positive. I liked it in the lower grades
because of other kid contacts, meeting
girls in the higher grades, while I soon
realized by school that I could pres-
ent myself on the world stage as more
than just another dumb kid...especially
when I looked for a job requiring the
3Rs and coherent English.
My life evolved into much more
than kindergarten through high school
graduation, as I learned along the way
to appreciate learning and knowing
things. I chose a career that took me
to a four-year college and gradu-
ate school but always recognized also
that there are great opportunities in
the trades, certifi cation programs and
other education and training programs
through community colleges and
technical training centers. Neverthe-
less, the basic fact is that to move from
childhood onto a career, a person must
start with attention to and fi nd interest
in school from day one.
Interest in school is often inspired
by a teacher, but there’s no denying
that parent power prevails. So, parents
of pre-school and school age chil-
dren must recognize that what they
say about going to school and getting
a formal education is going to have a
dramatic effect on how their children
view it. If all that children hear are
complaints, where teachers and a for-
mal education are denigrated, then it’s
with high predictability the child will
adopt the parental view and behave
accordingly.
Most deserving of attention, if
school is cast in negative terms, par-
ents should not be surprised when
their child takes no interest in attend-
ing. What is tragic is that those chil-
dren and youth lose out on acquiring
the skills and abilities fundamental to
a successful personal life and enjoyable
work.
(Gene H. McIntyre shares his opin-
ion frequently in the Keizertimes.)
School board approves
boundary changes
By HERB SWETT
of the Keizertimes
Boundary adjustment proposals
for school attendance areas
received Salem-Keizer School
Board approval Tuesday.
With equity as the goal,
Superintendent Christy Perry
had charged the task force with
focusing on adequate room for
required programs and anticipated
growth, ensuring access to
equitable opportunities, ensuring
safety to and from school,
providing continuity in school
assignments, allowing involvement
of affected community members
and considering impact to
established neighborhoods.
The changes will have relatively
little effect on the McNary High
School attendance area. They
involve the McKay High School
area with the most and drew
negative testimony from a long
succession of speakers from the
audience. They will take effect in
the 2019-20 school year and apply
to only incoming kindergartners
through third-graders, sixth-
graders and freshmen.
Transportation
will
be
provided for all students, whether
in the revised boundaries or not.
Students in special programs will
remain in those programs.
The speakers from the audience
urged that the board either vote
the proposals down or table
them. Busing students, especially
minority students, to areas that
historically have white students
from the more affl uent families
was the main concern. Some
audience members said many
minority students new to the
areas of West Salem and Sprague
high schools would be harassed
by white students. Others said
more money from the district’s
new bond issue should go to the
poorer schools.
Oregon
School
Boards
Association Director Jim Green
said the main issue was that the
demographics of the district
have shifted so that the resources
for the schools were defi cient.
He called the bond “politically
doable.” Board Chair Kathy Goss
said that McKay surpassed its
capacity because of the amount
of buildable land in its attendance
McNary
students
honored
Five McNary High School
students
were
honored
Tuesday in the Spotlight on
Schools portion of the Salem-
Keizer School Board meeting.
The career and technical
education students honored
were: Madison Alt in business
administration,
Nathan
Frazier in graphic design, Kate
Bomar in media productions,
James Redding in auto tech
and Brady Jackson in culinary
fundamentals.
Those are the fi ve CTE
programs at McNary. Each
month, Salem-Keizer Public
Schools and the Inspire
Foundation recognize CTE
students for demonstrating
professional skills. Each student
that was honored receives a
certifi cate of recognition and
a $50 gift card.
area compared to the land in the
other areas.
The vote to approve was 5-2,
with directors Sheronne Blasi and
Jesse Lippold voting no. Both said
the board could do better than
approve the task force proposal.
In other business, the board
rejected a request from the
city of Salem for property tax
exemptions for multiple-unit
housing. The program, which the
Salem City Council enacted in
1976, allows local governments to
establish tax exemptions for up to
10 years to stimulate construction.
Green served notice of a possible
reconsideration.
By a split vote, the board
approved an amendment to the
Howard Street Charter School
agreement, which will raise the
student limit from 180 to 200.
Green, who voted against it, said
he had “grave concerns about
their fi nancial ability to meet this.”
Keizer United gets
second half of grant
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Keizer United, a networking
and collaboration group for local
non-profi ts, received the second half
of a $2,000 grant with the unani-
mous approval of the Keizer City
Council Monday, Feb. 4.
In 2018, Keizer United and sup-
porters requested the grant be in-
cluded in the city’s budget. The
council granted tentative approval
on the condition that the money be
dispersed in stages with Keizer Unit-
ed reporting back to the council on
how the money was used.
Of particular concern from some
on the council was that the group
used portions of its city funding
to supply meals to attendees of the
monthly meetings.
Keizer United President Mere-
dith Mooney promised to fi nd other
sources of the meals – which is the
primary draw to bring people to the
table for collaboration – when the
council approved the fi rst $1,000 in
August 2018.
At Monday’s meeting, Mooney
reported that all the lunches have
come through donations since Au-
gust.
“We’ve also been able to bring
many more people to the table.
We’ve got three schools, at least 18
non-profi ts, all the Keizer neighbor-
hood associations, the city, the fi re
district and six churches. The repre-
sentation around the table is grow-
ing,” Mooney said.
The $1,000 grant was used to
support the Keizer Klosets, which
dispense clothing and other needed
items at local schools, and the instal-
lation of solar panels at the Peggy and
Jerry Moore Community Garden
on Rickman Road. Both projects
received $500 grants from Keizer
United.
Still, Councilor Kim Freeman
pressed Mooney to produce tangible
reports on what is happening as a re-
sult of Keizer United meetings.
The group’s current mission is to
bring together local organizations to
fi nd ways to collaborate. That sounds
a bit squishy, but it can yield real
results. At a meeting last year, Elise
Bauman, president of Salem Har-
vest, talked with the Keizer United
members about her mission and the
conversation resulted in a group from
Simonka Place assisting on a har-
vest that produced an infl ux of fresh
produce at Simonka Place and even
more for the community at large.
obituaries
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or send an email to: editor@keizertimes.com
Carl Edward Beach
Jan. 4, 1930 – Feb. 11, 2019
Former Keizer City Councilor
Carl Beach passed away on Monday,
Feb. 11, 2019.
Beach was born to Conrad and
Grace Harmon Beach on Jan. 4,
1930, in Salem. He attended North
Salem High School and Oregon
State University.
He married his wife of 70 years,
Mary Beach, on Aug. 20, 1949. The
couple had two daughters, Laurie
and Kathy.
Beach’s careers included time
at Commercial Bank and Ryerson
Hardwood Floors. In addition to
serving on the Keizer City Council,
Beach served on the Salem Electric
board of directors and was a member
of Church of the Nazarene. He will
be remembered as a devoted Chris-
tian, husband, father and grandfather.
He is survived by his wife, Mary,
sister Lela Jackson, daughters Kathy
Fish and Laurie
Beach,
grandsons
Shane Beach and
Derek Beach of
Keizer, granddaugh-
ters Heidi Swear-
ingen of Albany
and Julie Cornett
C. Beach
of Tennessee, and
great-grandchildren
Karmyn, Ethan, Greyson and Canon.
CityView Funeral Home and
Cemetery assisted the family with
services and interment.