Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2015)
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2015 College supports art I have been pondering Rhonda Grudenic’s letter published in The Daily Asto- rian on May 1 regarding the importance of art as part of a school’s curriculum (“Art changes lives”). At first I appreciated the writer’s supporting that importance. However, I am compelled to write on behalf of my dedi- cated colleagues at Clatsop Community College who do put a high priority on art. I work as the dean of Transfer Education at the college, including the arts, and am also the college’s institutional research- er. While true that in the spring of 2012, the college reduced the size of its full- time faculty by 67 percent (40 to 27), and one of the two full-time art instructors retired, section offerings in the Art Department went from an annual average in 2011-2012 of 21 classes per term to 18 classes per term in the following year. In the current year, the college offered an average of 19 classes per term. In addition, the college and its dedicated art faculty continue to support a world class teaching gallery, fea- turing five exhibitions per year, including the interna- tionally known Au Naturel and a cultural art exchange from New Zealand. The college’s level of support for these activities has not declined since the financial challenges of 2012. What has changed is student enrollment. In the 2012 academic year, there were an average of 129 en- rollments in art classes per term. In the current academ- ic year, the average enroll- ments per term is 101. This decline is not significantly different from the college’s total enrollment decline over the same period. These facts suggest that Grudenic may be aiming her barbs at the wrong tar- get. The strained condition of the arts in the college, and in Oregon’s schools generally, can be directly linked to the state’s retreat from support of one its core responsibilities, public edu- cation. Years of a state govern- ment that has difficulty saying no to interest groups have spread the state’s re- sources so thinly that Or- egon recently was ranked second to the lowest (49th) among the 50 states (recent- ly improved to 46th). K-12 education has been similar- ly squeezed to the detriment of the visual and performing arts, the lack of which may arguably contribute to the challenges of teaching basic skills, as Grudenic points out. Please realize that your community college, while struggling with limited re- sources, is not responding to the detriment of art offer- ings. And I can assure you that our art faculty remains committed to providing a quality experience for stu- dents seeking one. I am writing this on my own time and not as a rep- resentative of the college. The opinions expressed are my own and do not neces- sarily represent those of the college. THOMAS GILL Astoria Vote Jan Horning I n the upcoming election on Tuesday, May 19, there is a very important contest: For Position 5 on the Astoria School Board. In May 2013, the ma- jority of the current board voted down a proposed school-based health cen- ter at Astoria High School that would have provided lab services, screenings, preventative health, prima- ry care, mental health ser- vices, educational material and counseling. It is important to remem- ber that there are young people in our area who have an especially hard time get- ting access to services due to homelessness, abusive home situations and other factors. They are the ones who desperately need the extra help that our commu- nity can provide. FRIDAY EXCHANGE Special cruise guests visit Astoria O n May 5, Norwegian Jewel cruise ship passengers Victor and Tedra from Germany, who belong to Lions Clubs International, came to Astoria spe- ci¿cally to exchange their local Lions Club Àag with Astoria’s local Lions Inter- national Club. They stepped off the bus in downtown Astoria and immediately met my husband, Cruise Host Lenard Hansen, who happens to belong to the Astoria Lions Club. He took the couple to the local Lions Club meeting/lunch, which just happened to take place at the same time. There, Victor and Tedra were intro- duced to the Astoria club, and the Astoria Lions received the German Lions Club Àag, and the visiting Lions couple re- ceived Astoria Lions Club mementos in exchange. Present at the Lions Club lunch were the Scandinavia Court members who also met and talked with the visiting German club members. After the meeting Lions Club member Norm Davis, also a Cruise Host, took the couple sightseeing around Astoria before taking them back to their cruise ship later that afternoon. The German couple expressed repeatedly that this visit to Astoria “made their whole trip,” and stated that they would de¿nitely be visiting Astoria again. It is not unusual at all to experience this I support Jan Horning for Position 5 on the school board. She is a special ed- ucation teaching assistant, taught at Cannon Beach Pre- school and worked at Astoria Middle School for 11 years. She served on the Olney School District Board, the PTA, Boy Scouts and other community organizations. Her platform includes improving the graduation rate, promoting science, en- gineering and mathematics education and resuming di- alogue on a health center. If you feel strongly that the needs of Astoria’s chil- dren come first, vote for Jan Horning. ELIZABETH MENETREY Astoria Choose Talamantez J oe Talamantez is cur- rently serving Warren- ton students as a member of the school board, and he is also active with community youth as a baseball and wres- tling coach. He is dedicat- ed to supporting excellence in classroom learning and teaching, as well as bring- ing respect and cooperation to the table as a board mem- ber. He has the qualities and integrity which make him the best choice to represent parents and the communi- ty on the Warrenton School Board. Joe Talamantez de- serves your vote. CHRISTINE BRIDGENS Warrenton Warren right for job I have known Dennis War- ren for decades, having worked with him at War- renton High School for 15 of those years. He not only was a dedicated teacher and coach, he welcomed the re- sponsibility of leadership for his union, serving on the negotiation team. After retirement, he served on the local school board, and during that time his service convinced me he truly had a heart for not only the students of Warren- ton, but of the whole com- munity. He was the founder of People Energizing Or- egon Promoting Literacy and Education (PEOPLE), a college scholarship for stu- dents. One of the prerequi- sites was that the successful candidate would be respon- sible for giving back volun- teer time to the community. This creative rationale convinced me he would be an excellent candidate to again serve our community as a school board member. You can be sure he will earnestly research a project or problem prior to make a decision. He brings the kind of indepen- dent voice we need on our school board. He has my vote. BARBARA BALENSIFER Warrenton Still amazed M y car keys, complete with two remotes and house keys, were lost for four days, and I was the only one in my home who could drive. 5A duct a “tour with the design- er” at the garden around 11:30 a.m. on this very special day. Please feel free to share the following link about the out- ing with the North Coast com- munity: http://bit.ly/1R66Heg SUENN HO Portland No pot shops O Photo by Leonard Hansen From left, German Lions Club members, cruise ship passengers Tedra and Victor, who were visiting Astoria for the day, are pictured with Astoria Lions Club President Nancy Lockett. type of event as a volunteer cruise host with visiting cruise ship passengers. Many of us have similar-type stories of such events that take place, and our visitors share with us over and over how much a visit to Astoria has meant to them. It’s very humbling and satisfying to play a part in helping to make a cruise I was out at Alderbrook walk- ing our three dogs when I got a phone call from the Astoria Library. They told me that my keys had been found and were at the Sheriff’s Of¿ce, but that I should stop by to get the phone number of the man who had found them. I did so, and was given the name of John Beale, and my car keys, a bit worse for wear. John said that he had found them three blocks from our home on the street near his apartment. He took them to the sheriff, where Andrea Kennet saw my library card, and called the library to get a name. John Beale could have seen my keys and left them or tossed them. He took them to the Sheriff’s Of¿ce where they could have thrown them in the lost and found. Library staff could have done noth- ing. But I have my keys and remotes, and I am supremely appreciative of good peo- ple who go the extra mile ship passenger’s “dream come true” while they visit Astoria. We receive thousands of sincere thank yous from our guests, and I want to share this experience with our awesome community, who help make our visitors’ time in Astoria so special. CINDY HANSEN Warrenton for someone they don’t even know. I still have no idea how they got there. Thank you, good people. JAN MITCHELL Astoria Nothing good about pot W hat is good about mar- ijuana? In my opinion, really nothing. But I have to say those folks who are living next door to a friendly neigh- bor who is growing the stuff and smoking it, will now be able to get away from the sec- ond-hand smoke by going to their local smoke-free park. Crazy, is it not? Second-hand smoke is hurting many peo- ple, especially children. This additional contributor of can- cer is now going to triple in strength, and the nonsmokers will have to suffer even more. Great world we live in. On top of that, check your future utility bills. For grow- ing marijuana, there will be an increase in water and electric that is sure to be shared by all of us. The environmental downsides are obvious. I am not a doctor, and know little about how many medicines work. But I know what drugs can do to a person. I served in law enforcement for 30 years. I have seen the results of what can happen when a per- son starts out small in mari- juana, and goes on to heroin and/or other illicit drugs. It is not pretty. Family, friends, so- ciety all suffer. MEL JASMIN Warrenton Visit garden designer A s the designer of the Gar- den Of Surging Waves and the Concept Master Plan for the Heritage Square, I am very glad that this urban gar- den has been well liked by the community in the past year. Time Àies and this coming May 17 will be the garden’s ¿rst anniversary. The Sierra Club has invited me to con- pen letter to Seaside City Council: To me, there is no good reason to allow marijuana dispensaries in the downtown core of Seaside. Broadway should be off lim- its, since there are many other locations that could be used without making it so visible to family visitors to Seaside. This is a tourist town, and we have no medical clinics in the downtown corridor. As far as I am concerned there does not need to be one here at all, but that has already been decided for some un- known reason. Pot — really, why do we need to ¿nd anoth- er reason to make people stu- pid? Granted, there is lots of money involved, so that must be the reason. Money talks. Being under the inÀuence does make you out of your mind. It may dull the pain, but many of these folks do not take it for the pain, but to just dull their mind. There may be med- ical reasons to take it, but even more just do it to get high. So we let the medical shops open, and then the recreational shops follow shortly. There are studies at colleges about all the harm pot is doing to the grades of the students. They cannot concentrate or retain anything in their pot-¿lled minds. Colo- rado businesses are complain- ing about their employees not doing their jobs, or even show- ing up for work, due to the ex- cess pot use. I realize there is nothing I can say or do about this, but being a downtown business owner, I feel I should at least be listened to. Please don’t hurt our reputation by allowing pot shops in the downtown. We are already looked down upon for stuff that has happened in our past. Don’t let pot shops in the downtown add to that reputa- tion. M. DIEBOLT Seaside