A4
V IEWPOINT
Hood River News,
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
O ur readers write
JOE PETSHOW
Publisher/President,
Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
CHELSEA MARR
General Manager
JODY THOMPSON
Advertising Manager
DICK NAFSINGER
Publisher, Emeritus (1933-2011)
TOM LANCTOT
Past President,
Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
Editor
TONY METHVIN
Columbia Gorge Press Manager
DAVID MARVIN
Production Manager
Subscription $42 per year in Hood River trade area. $68 outside trade area.
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
ASSOCIATION
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OREGON NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
recycled paper.
Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County
Published Every Wednesday & Saturday by Hood River News,
P.O. Box 390, Hood River, Oregon 97031 • (541) 386-1234 • FAX 386-6796
Member of the Associated Press
SleevesUp
A new way to support the vital
need for blood donations
Plenty of people let their hair down or let a seam out
as they celebrated over the holidays.
Now, on behalf of the American Red Cross, we can
roll our sleeves up.
The next bloodmobile visit to Hood River will be Jan.
28 (details on page B2).
January is a challenging time for blood donations, be-
tween the effects of inclement weather and cold and flu
season. This comes along with National Blood Donor
Month, celebrated in January since 1970, to raise aware-
ness of the need for blood during the winter and
throughout the year, while honoring those who roll up a
sleeve to help patients in need.
Donors of all blood types are needed, especially those
with O negative, A negative and B negative. Type O neg-
ative is the universal blood type and can be transfused
to patients with any blood type. Types A and B negative
can be transfused to Rh positive or negative patients.
To learn more, or to schedule a donation, download
the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit red-
crossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
Speaking of sleeves, American Red Cross supporters
have a new way to help save lives through blood and
platelet donation with “SleevesUp” virtual blood drives.
The drive lets those who feel passionate about blood do-
nation create a virtual blood drive and encourage col-
leagues, friends and family members to give blood or
platelets, or make a financial donation to support their
campaign. SleevesUp campaigns allow people to honor
someone’s life, celebrate a special occasion or simply
bring others together to help save lives — any time of
the year — regardless of location.
Learn more at redcrossblood.org.
A SleevesUp virtual blood drive can be created online
at redcrossblood.org/SleevesUp in just a few minutes.
Once a campaign is created, others can pledge their sup-
port immediately by making an appointment to donate
blood or platelets at a blood drive or donation center
convenient for them. Those who are not eligible to give
blood, do not have a Red Cross blood donation opportu-
nity near them or simply want to do more can also sup-
port a SleevesUp campaign by making a financial dona-
tion to the Red Cross Blood Services.
Late in making a resolution? Already broken one
made in December? Resolving to roll up your sleeves to
help Red Cross in 2015 is a healthy response to a com-
mon experience.
Why kill hawks?
I’m 11 years old and live on
Fairview Drive. This morning my
mom found an injured Red-Tailed
Hawk in our yard. We brought it in-
side and discovered it had been shot
in the chest. And then this lovely big
bird died. It’s sad to think that some-
one feels the need to kill such a mag-
nificent creature. How much longer
will it take before people respect the
animals living around them?
Teddy Parkinson
Hood River
Stop name-
calling
Another example of the cloudy
thinking so prevalent in America is
exemplified by “The Bray of Pigs” in
the Dec. 27 Hood River News.
This “cartoon” seems to indicate
any continuing belief Cuba holds
anti-American ideals, should not be
discussed or publicized.
We must stop the name calling and
listen to rational arguments on each
side of important issues.
Robert Manning
Mosier
(Editor’s note: This is a corrected
version of a letter published Dec. 31.)
Not impressed
So, Obama says that Sony should
have consulted him before caving to
the terrorists? What was Obama
going to tell them? “Don’t worry, we
got your back?” Like he
had Ambassador Steven’s back in
Benghazi? I’m sure Ambassador
Stevens and the brave men defending
him would agree that Obama “having
your back” is less than useless. Sony
did what they felt they needed to do
after your President has made Ameri-
ca a third rate power. Go back to your
golfing and vacations, Obama. The
world is not impressed.
Cliff Mansfield
Odell
What is
government?
“The regulation, restraint, supervi-
sion, or control which is exercised
upon the individual members of an
organized rural society by those in-
vested with the supreme political au-
thority, for the good and welfare of the
body politic.” — Black’s Law Dictio-
nary. This legal concept of the public
trust was embodied in the Magna
Carta and The Public Trust Doctrine,
defined as “an affirmation of the duty
of the state to protect the people’s
common heritage,” became part of
American Common Law in 1892 and
has since been upheld in numerous
court cases. In the early days of our
country, this same construct (now ig-
nored) was included in the charters of
incorporation as companies seeking
the protection of the “corporate veil”
were required to conduct business in
the public interest. Clearly, therefore,
under the law, our elected government
officials are the trustees of the Public
Trust, and have been successfully
sued in court for failure to protect the
public interest.
Take the current issues of public
health, safety, global warming, free
speech, and others facing the United
States and the world as examples.
Governments, including our own,
repeatedly act in favor of financial in-
terests with a purely selfish and vi-
sionless interest in blocking mea-
sures that would protect the public in-
terest in order to continue the extrac-
tion of the earth’s resources and en-
danger communities for their own
short-term gain. Hood River’s state-
ment against transportation of haz-
ardous materials through our city is a
step in the right direction, but we
must strongly support the legal strug-
gles being waged in communities
across the country. By the way, replac-
ing the “Trustees” at the voting booth
is viable, but is unlikely if we fail to
inform ourselves about the issues and
vote. Congratulations, Hood River
County, for your turn out in this last
election.
Russ Hurlbert
Parkdale
Sheath the knives
Your Jan. 3 editorial page cartoon is
highly inflammatory. To depict the
parting year 2014 with knives in his
back labeled “domestic violence,”
“ebola,” and “terrorists” and include
“Obamacare” among those horrors is
shocking and disrespectful of our
president and the Affordable Care
Act.
You may not like his policy, but it is
not even remotely accurate to equate
it with the other problems.
Susan Turner, HRVHS grad
Portland
Call for an edge
in playoff
The referees weren’t trying to give
Dallas the win when they reversed the
proper pass interference call Sunday.
No one can predict the effect of a call
on the final score. What they did do
was increase the probability of a de-
sired outcome. Gamblers don’t expect
to win every game bet, just most of
them. To accomplish this they need an
edge. NFL referees for years have
given them that edge.
CBS wanted a Green Bay/Dallas
matchup to ensure a large audience.
The cost of the broadcast remains the
same no matter how many people are
watching. The more people, the more
they charge advertisers and the more
they profit.
Jerry Giarraputo
Hood River
Windmaster Cell Tower
Nay
Yea
Hearing about the proposed plan
for a new cell tower over by Wind-
master Corner, I can’t help wonder-
ing about the feasibility of a plan
like that. My main reason for this
thought is that to my knowledge
there is a height restriction for
man-made objects around the air-
port. Even if that is not the case,
there are many other ways the
tower could pose a danger to pilots
even if it is lighted. Though other
plans have not worked out, there
are still places that would be far
better than the current proposed
plan.
Jonathan Harris
Hood River
I really hope the county approves
the proposed Verizon tower at Wind-
master Corner.
I live in the Dee/Upper Hood River
Valley and as everyone knows that
lives in the area the cell phone recep-
tion up here is very poor. I am a Veri-
zon customer and I am lucky to get
one bar at best on my phone.
I am sure there are those who do
not like this idea but this would be a
welcome site to our area.
Ron Dunn
Dee
■
(Letters may be sent to
hrnews@hoodrivernews.com, or
mailed to P.O. Box 390, Hood River,
OR 97031)
ANOTHER VOICE
A step forward for Oregon: Common Core State Standards
more relevant, set of skills for stu-
By Dan Goldman
dents. No longer are students only
magine for a moment what
expected to remember and recall dis-
our students would be learn-
crete facts, mathematical operations,
ing if the expectations for
or pieces of historical information.
them did not change with the
times. Oregon first adopted edu- Students must now apply new
cational standards in the early 1900s knowledge to real-world problems;
and since that time Oregonians have they must evaluate various pieces of
information and develop logical ar-
understood that our schools had to
guments for their findings; and they
continually evolve to ensure our
must create arguments and back
youth are prepared to compete and
them up with evidence. Similarly,
succeed in life after high school.
the instruction in our schools must
Thankfully, as the knowledge and
now prepare students to rea-
skills required for successful
son strategically, to experi-
participation in society and
ment and connect ideas, and
the world economy have
to think critically and cri-
shifted, so have Oregon’s tar-
tique information. These at-
gets for student learning.
tributes probably sound fa-
Fast forward to the pre-
miliar to folks in many (if
sent and we see that Oregon
not most) family-wage occu-
has joined 43 other states in
pations as the overarching
adopting the “Common Core
Dan Goldman aim of the Common Core is
State Standards.” Many
to develop the problem-solv-
would have you believe that
ing and analytical skills required in
the federal government developed
the professions of today and the ca-
these standards, but that is simply
reers of tomorrow.
false. The effort to develop the Com-
Although changing the standards,
mon Core was a state-led effort
and the corresponding state assess-
launched by the Council of Chief
ments, poses great challenges for
State School Officers (CCSSO) and
the National Governor’s Association our students and our educators, the
shift to this higher-level learning is
(NGA) toward a singular aim: to en-
ultimately good for our children and
sure students graduate high school
good for our collective future. I
prepared for college, career, and life
praise and support Oregon’s involve-
— regardless of where they live. In
ment in the creation of the Common
the context of Oregon’s history of
Core and the State Board of Educa-
evolving education standards, the
tion’s decision to adopt these new
adoption of the Common Core is
learning targets. The new standards
just the next step in Oregon’s centu-
ry-long effort to move student learn- establish high expectations for all
students in all content areas, and
ing forward, to prepare students for
the rigors of post-secondary scholar- challenge our schools to help each
and every student meet their full po-
ship, and to connect K-12 education
tential.
to the demands of the workplace.
Along with the higher standards,
So, how do the Common Core
Oregon has adopted a new assess-
State Standards differ from the pre-
vious standards? The Common Core ment system to measure our stu-
dents’ mastery of the Common Core
focuses on a more complex, and
I
Standards. With a wider range of
more demanding. Here in Hood
question types (not just multiple
River County, our teachers and ad-
choice or “fill in the bubble” testing) ministrators have been working
that require higher-level thinking
hard to align instruction and materi-
and more elaborate answers, the
als to meet this new level of rigor.
new state assessment should be an
We’ve recently invested in the adop-
improvement over prior measures.
tion of Common Core-aligned cur-
Our students will be exposed to the
ricula and in providing professional
new, more rigorous state assessment development for teachers to best uti-
for the first time this spring.
lize the new materials. We are rein-
Most people I talk to about this
vesting in early intervention sys-
new test are concerned that it will
tems to identify and intervene with
be too long, too
struggling students
hard, and discon-
as soon as possible
nected from the re-
to get them back on
ality of their child’s
track. And we’re
classroom experi-
committed to pro-
ence. As with any
viding our profes-
new endeavor, I ex-
sional teaching staff
pect the first time
time to collaborate
students take the as-
in teams to review
sessment it will be
their students’
bumpy and uncom-
progress toward the
fortable — and for
Common Core and
some the results
to adjust their
— DAN GOLDMAN
may be disturbing.
teaching to meet in-
As a parent, I’m
dividual student’s
ready and willing to
needs.
learn about my own children’s
I assure you, in the Hood River
progress towards being prepared for County Schools we are doing our
college and career — even for my
part to prepare our youth for these
third grader — because I know that
higher expectations. Along with
they will need my understanding,
raising the bar, however, our state
my advocacy and my support as a
must adequately invest in its future
parent to succeed in school and in
— our children. Oregon currently
life. As an educator, I want to know
has the 49th highest class sizes in
how our students perform, what we
the nation and is near the bottom
can do in our school system to im-
(46th) in terms of the percentage of
prove, and how to best align our re-
available state resources directed to
sources and our collective efforts to
K-12 education. In 1991, Oregon was
help each of our students realize
in the top 10 percent of states in
their greatest potential. As a parent
terms of education funding. Fast
and as your superintendent of
forward to the present and we are
schools, I am willing to be disturbed stuck near the bottom. As a result of
if it means I can help our children
our state’s disinvestment in public
succeed later on.
education, Oregon students receive
Without question, these new stan- nearly a full year less of instruction-
dards and assessments are much
al time across their K-12 experience
‘Raising the bar for
students and
teachers must be met
with similar resolve
from our legislators.’
compared to the national average!
And while Hood River County
schools have stellar graduation rates
compared to the rest of the state,
compared to the rest of the country,
the State of Oregon’s graduation
rates are near the bottom.
These statistics are just unaccept-
able and are incongruent with the
campaign promises of our elected
officials. Raising the bar for students
and teachers must be met with simi-
lar resolve from our legislators. I
agree with my superintendent col-
leagues in the Eugene area schools
who recently wrote in their area
newspaper, “If our students are to
compete in a global economy, and if
our community is to prosper, the
State of Oregon must focus on ini-
tiatives that add instructional time,
reduce class size, close achievement
gaps, invest in outstanding educa-
tors, support early literacy, and focus
on assessment where it matters
most — in the classroom.”
The increased expectations with-
in the Common Core State Stan-
dards challenge both our students
and our educators to reach for new
heights. Every single day in our
schools you can find evidence of stu-
dents engaging in the powerful
learning experiences called for in
the Common Core. Our Hood River
County educators will not retreat
from the challenges associated with
these higher standards and we em-
brace the opportunity to raise the
bar for our students. It’s time our
state leaders make good on their
campaign promises and provide us
the adequate resources to get the job
done right.
■
Dan Goldman is the superinten-
dent of the Hood River County School
District.