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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2015)
A2 Hood River News, Saturday, February 7, 2015 Sen. Thomsen, Rep. Johnson share thoughts on Leg. Session Education a focus for both legislators By BEN MITCHELL News staff writer The 2015 Oregon Regular Legislative Session began on Monday in Salem and Hood River Republican legislators Sen. Chuck Thomsen and Rep. Mark Johnson are gearing up to promote their bills while also facing a Democratic ma- jority in both the House and the Senate. The News talked with both le gislators to get their thoughts on the upcoming ses- sion, what they’re looking for- ward to, and challenges they expect to encounter. Unsurprisingly, both Sen. Thomsen and Rep. Johnson mentioned education as one of their focal points for this year’s session, as it has been in past sessions. Improving literacy for elementary-age school children, in particular, was a goal for both legislators, with Sen. Thomsen remark- ing that Oregon’s graduation rates were “terrible” and that graduation rates are shown to increase if kids are on track with their reading bench- marks by third grade. Rep. Johnson noted that Oregon has the lowest gradua- tion rate in the U.S. and “while there are many factors (that) contribute to this statistic, there is little doubt that rais- ing third grade literacy can have a dramatic impact on im- proving our ranking.” He added he would be working on “multiple proposals” to im- prove literacy, with the goal of having 95 percent of third- graders hitting benchmark within the next five or six years. Rep. Johnson also said he would be looking for eco- nomic development funds to help with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education programs as well as career and technical education (CTE) programs in the Gorge. Sen. Thomsen expected there would be a “battle” over education funding as Gov. John Kitzhaber’s budget called for more money to be earmarked directly for early childhood education as op- posed to depositing it in the state’s school fund, where the money can be diverted to a va- riety of other education pro- grams. Thomsen said he “like(s) the governor’s ideas on early childhood educa- tion,” but noted that other ed- ucational programs needed to be funded appropriately as well. “My opinion is the percent- age of the state budget that goes to the education budget from preschool to college level has been underfunded from what it was 10 years ago,” he said. Sen. Thomsen advocated for more money in general for education funding, but ac- knowledged that would likely require cuts in “human ser- vices” programs such as un- employment and childcare. Rep. Johnson felt that Gov. Kitzhaber “is more generous to higher ed than K-12” and that “we’ve kind of allowed for trickle-down funding for education.” Both legislators are also looking at promoting automo- tive bills during the session. Sen. Thomsen said he had planned to introduce a bill that would reduce the amount of emissions testing required for cars, which he said should be every 10 years instead of four years. “This program has been in the works for years and years and years and they’ve never really changed it,” he ex- plained. “Our cars are a lot more efficient these days — why are we making people come in with these new cars? “I’m doing this for con- sumer folks in my district that I think are getting charged for something that they do not need to be doing anymore,” Sen. Thomsen added. Rep. Johnson said he was planning on introducing a bill that would create a new li- cense plate that would be em- blazoned with a picture of Mt. Hood and was looking for local businesses to support it. “Creating this license plate not only highlights the mag- nificent beauty of the moun- tain, but also the endless tourism opportunities for na- tive Oregonians and visitors alike,” he said. “My bill would utilize the dollars from pur- chased license plates to sup- port bicycle and pedestrian tourism in the Mt. Hood re- gion.” As for challenges, Rep. Johnson said he would be “watching carefully for legis- lation that can interfere with the right to farm for our ag in- dustry in the valley.” He said he was “especially concerned about legislation dealing with spray buffers and how that might impact our local farm- ers.” Rep. Johnson added that Re- publican bills that did not S TATE S TREET R ESTROOMS A Crestline Construction crew works on the city of Hood River’s public restrooms at Third and State, the last major piece of the State Street Urban Renewal project that started in Septem- ber 2013. The steel supports and roof were added last week. Targeted completion date is Feb. 22. The finished product will be a pair of restrooms and gathering space with public art and bike racks. The only existing downtown public restroom, and the only one in the city outside of the parks, is a non-ADA unisex toilet located in the basement of City Hall at Second and Cascade, accessible from in front of the police station. Valentine’s Day is Saturday, February 14th ❤ ❤ 1 $ 17 99 doz rose e s n Join us for: •Seafood Specials Bouquets & •Wine Specials Large variety of •Flowers Specials potted plants 541-386-1119 • We Deliver 1867 12th St • Hood River Valentine’s Day Buffet served Saturday Feb. 14 5-9 pm F ea t u r i n g: Prime Rib, Smoked Salmon Alfredo, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Seasonal Vegetables, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, Desserts and much more. $ 17.95 4100 Westcliff Drive Hood River Pamper your Skin Care Services by Licensed Aesthetician Liana Stegall Expires 2-14-15 El Puerto de Angeles III Authentic Jalisco Cuisine Valentine Special February 13, 14 & 15 Carne Asada 10 $ 00 Served with rice, beans, guacamole & tortillas Served all day Open 10 a.m.-11 p.m. 1306 12th St. •Hood River • 541-308-0005 FOOD SPECIALS 1. Carne Asada - $12.00 2. Carnitas - $11.00 3. Shrimp Fajitas - $12.50 4. Chile Relleno Ranchero - $7.75 5. Chicken & Beef Fajitas - $12.50 All dishes come with nopales, white rice and corn or flour tortillas. Ask about our Valentine Drink Special: Thank You For Celebrating Valentine’s Day With Us! 1210 13 TH STREET ON THE HEIGHTS 541-387-3300 541-386-3101 $10 OFF according to Sen. Thomsen. “Now the votes in the Sen- ate are 18 to 12 and the ma- jority party can pass any- thing they want in the Sen- ate,” he said. “They would like to have Republicans vote on things with them, but (Democrats) don’t have to do it.” Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea For all your Valentine’s shopping & dining needs ❤ have bi-partisan support would likely prove difficult to gain traction on as “we (Re- publicans) can’t pass any- thing the (Democratic) major- ity doesn’t want.” In the Senate, a Democra- tic supermajority will also likely make things difficult for Republican legislators, Sweetheart this Valentines Day with a Luxurious ReFresh Facial! Gift Certificates make the Perfect Gift for Your Loved One! 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