A2
Hood River News, Saturday, February 14, 2015
S EBASTIAN
garten (which HRCSD has
done for years). That will
mean an estimated statewide
increase of 25,000 students,
and possibly as many as
28,000, up from an initial esti-
mate of 17,000 more, mean-
ing districts will each re-
ceive less funding. “We’re
sharing a pie that’s of fixed
size,” Goldman said. “As the
input goes up, you get less
per student.”
And the result for HRCSD
will be “about a million dol-
lars, as of right now,” Gold-
man told the board.
In Salem, Goldman will
meet with Sen. Richard De-
vlin, chair of the Senate
Ways and Means committee.
“The $7.5 billion is what
we need to tread water. We’ve
been treading water for a re-
ally long time,” he said, call-
ing the past decade of school
funding “paltry.” He cited
Oregon’s 49th place among
the 50 states in overall school
spending, and 50th place in
the amount of instructional
time provided.
“And we’re all getting less
and less of the pie,” he said.
“This is a continuing trend.
It’s discouraging to say the
least. It seems certain that
this will be a tough spring
for us,” he said. The district’s
first budget committee meet-
ing will be April 6.
Rep. Johnson pointed out
the irony that, as a state, Ore-
gon collegiate athletic teams
compete at the national level
yet the state ranks 47th in
post-secondary funding. He
called on the Legislature to
do more to correct this irony,
and to give students the sup-
port they need to succeed.
The “Restore the Cuts”
Rally was sponsored by Ore-
gon Community College As-
sociation, Oregon Student
Association, Oregon’s public
universities, SEIU, Ameri-
can Association of Universi-
ty Professors, and American
Federation of Teachers.
S CHOOLS
Continued from Page A1
Continued from Page A1
Sam Fults; he’s also a peer
tutor for the school’s new
AVID (Advancement Via In-
dividual Determination) pro-
gram, designed to help stu-
dents get into college.
It’s his favorite class. To be
an AVID tutor, students must
first be nominated by coun-
selors and go through train-
ing.
“I interact with kids a year
younger than me and they
seem to have fun with me
when I tutor them,” Barajas
said. “I feel good helping
them, see them improve.”
AVID teacher Haley
Harkema said Barajas is
“super dedicated. It’s fun to
watch him in tutorials. He
takes it very seriously. The
students love him.”
A student athlete, Barajas
plans to major in nutritional
sciences in college.
It’s what inspired his EA
project, where he looked at
athletic training as a career.
He shadowed HRVHS trainer
Chris Rogers and worked a
hypothetical case study on
an “unhappy triad” injury —
or, in laymen’s terms, a tear
to the meniscus, MCL and
ACL ligaments.
“I enjoyed going in there
and learning something new
every day,” he said. “Chris
made it fun for me.”
He also spent an afternoon
at Gorge Spine, learning how
physical therapists treat
knee injuries.
Now that his project is
complete (although he would
love to job shadow a dietician
at Providence), he’s on to an-
other — that of assistant
coach of the school’s Special
Olympics team.
“I’m the strongest guy in
school, and Mr. (Hector)
Or tiz, the ELD teacher,
talked to me, would I like to
come down and help him be
assistant coach,” he said. “It
was a for sure yes.
“I’ve learned how to inter-
act with kids who are spe-
cial, to be around people I
haven’t talked to in my high
school career … It’s kind of
cool being assistant coach
and saying, ‘they’re my ath-
letes.’”
Though Barajas is a three
sport athlete, track and field
is his favorite. “I love track
and field. Sometimes people
school spending over the
2015-17 biennium.
Goldman said he will be in
Salem Feb. 19 to lobby for in-
creasing the education bud-
get to $7.5 billion, which
Goldman said is the bare
minimum needed by schools
statewide. “We are barely
treading water as it is,” he
said.
Meanwhile, the one school
board member absent
Wednesday was making the
case at the capitol for in-
creasing post-secondary
spending. Mark Johnson, the
State House District 52 repre-
sentative in Salem, said
Thursday. “The high cost of
textbooks is pricing students
out of a college education.
We’ve seen study after study
on how to reduce the costs of
textbooks by creating open-
source opportunities,” ac-
cording to a statement from
his office. “It’s time to put
the studies aside and take
some action. I will be work-
ing hard this session to find
innovative ways to reduce
these kinds of costs for stu-
dents, which will help them
stretch their limited funds
and ultimately support their
post-secondary success.”
Johnson spoke to more
than 500 Oregon students on
the steps of the Capitol
building as various higher
education associations and
advocates called for in-
creased investment in post-
secondary education. As the
longest serving member on
the House Higher Education
Committee,Johnson outlined
specific areas legislators will
focus on this session to re-
duce costs for students.
The $7.235 billion, accord-
ing to Goldman, includes
funding statewide for all dis-
tricts to offer full-day kinder-
Photo by Trisha Walker
PEER TUTOR SEBASTIAN BARAJAS leads a small group, including sophomores Gio Dominguez and
Ramon Evangelista-Vargas, during AVID, a new program designed to help students start thinking
about — and be ready for — college. It’s a favorite class. “I love to help people,” he said. Barajas is
one of five peer tutors nominated by guidance counselors.
say I’m cocky when I say
this, but I always say, ‘I didn’t
seek it; it found me,’” he said.
In the seventh g rade,
Wy’east track coach Steve
Wrye came to his house one
afternoon “and told me to
sign these papers,” he said.
“The next thing I knew, I was
on the track team.”
Wrye had seen his talent
in cross country and thought
he would make a good shot
putter. But the first thing
Barajas grabbed was the dis-
cus.
“I fell in love with it the
first time I touched it,” he
said. “It feels good, it feels
natural each time I step into
the throwing pit and let it go.
I’m confident in what I’m
doing — I’ve trained my body
so long, it just knows what to
do.”
He used to practice by
throwing the large rocks
around his house. “I’d grab
them and throw them for
fun. When it got too light, I’d
move onto a heavier rock,”
he said.
In the offseason, that in-
volved throwing by the light
of a car or just working on
technique. His persistence
paid off when he took first
place in discus at the state
tournament.
“I honestly didn’t know
what to do,” he said. “All I
knew was I was there to do
what I loved to do, which is
throw discuss.”
His competition was taller,
stronger seniors. And he
won. On his first throw, with
a score of 156.9 feet.
His sophomore year was a
rocky one. He wanted to go
undefeated, but lost in two of
his first meets. “I guess you
have to learn to lose some-
times,” he said. “When you
lose sometimes, you come
back stronger — and that’s
exactly what happened.”
Rocky start or not, he won
state with a throw of 155 feet.
With an injured elbow.
“When I was competing,
all that went through my
mind is, ‘here I am again
doing what I love to do — just
throw and don’t think about
it.’ The next thing I knew, I
was standing on the podium
in first place,” he said.
It’s his work ethic that sets
him apart from his peers,
whether that’s on the field or
in the classroom.
“Sebastian is one of those
kids that come along once in
a coaching career,” said Don-
nie Herneisen, track and
field head coach. “He has a
fair amount of physical tal-
ent, but where his work ethic
is what really makes him
standout. I’ve never met a
kid as disciplined, motivat-
ed, and respectful as Sebast-
ian. He’s the kind of kid who
shakes his coach’s hand
every day after practice and
thanks the coach for working
with him. Well, he’s not just
that ‘kind of kid’ — he actu-
ally does that.”
AP U.S. History teacher
Dave Case describes Barajas
as “a grinder. He comes in for
extra help and he’s shown ex-
ceptional academic progress
this year. I think that’s how
Sebastian approaches life —
he understands delayed grat-
ification, and he’s willing to
work to get results.
“One image that comes to
mind when I think about Se-
bastian comes from this
summer,” added Case. “I
came in to the school for a
few hours in early August …
It was hot, over 100 degrees.
The only car in the lot other
than mine was Sebastian’s
dad’s truck. I looked out on
the field and there was Se-
bastian, throwing the discus,
and his dad, helping him
gather them up so he could
throw some more … That’s
what makes Sebastian better
than the other throwers in
the state — he’s out there
working when no one else
is.”
Barajas is the son of Santi-
ago Barajas and Carolina
Flores, of Dee; he has two
younger siblings, brother
Omar, 14, a freshman at
HRVHS, and sister Jacque-
line, 9, a third grader at Park-
dale Elementary.
B EST HEARING
Mortgage Advice
5¢
N
Need
eed some Mortgage Advice?
ce?
Call Jef
Jeff
eff
f
ff
Home Purchases • Refinances
Re finances • Equit
Equity
t y Line
Lines
ines
Jeff Sacre
Sr. Mort
Mortgage
gage Sp
Specialist
e cialist
NMLS-140302, MLO-140302
Office
( 541
5 41 ) 436.2662
806.1556 Cell
DŽƌƚŐĂŐĞ ĚǀŝĐĞ ĚŽĞƐ ŶŽƚ ĐŽƐƚ ϱ ĐĞŶƚƐ ĂŶĚ ƚŚŝƐ ŝŵĂŐĞ ŝƐ ƵƐĞĚ ĨŽƌ ĂĚǀĞƌƟƐĞŵĞŶƚ
Ěǀ ĞƌƟƐ ĞŵĞŶ ƚ ƉƵƌƉŽƐĞƐ ŽŶůLJ͘DŽƌƚŐĂŐĞ
ŽŶůLJ ͘DŽƌƚŐ ĂŐ Ğ ĂĚǀŝĐĞ ŝƐ ĨƌĞĞ
Ĩƌ ĞĞ ƚ ƚŽ Ž Ăůů ŝŶ
ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚĞĚ
ƚ Ğƌ ĞƐ ƚ ĞĚ ďŽƌƌŽǁĞƌƐ͘
ďŽƌƌ Ž ǁ Ğƌ Ɛ͘ dŚŝƐ
dŚ ŝƐ ŝƐ ŶŽƚ
Ă ĐŽŵŵŝƩŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ůĞŶĚ͘ /ŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶ ĚĞĞŵĞĚ ƌĞůŝĂďůĞ ďƵƚ ƐƵďũĞĐƚ
ĐŚĂŶŐĞ Ğ ǁŝƚŚŽƵƚ ŶŽƟĐĞ͘ Ăůů Ĩ ĨŽƌ
ĚĞƚĂŝůƐ͘ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ
ED>^ͲϯϮϰϬ͕
ĞĐƚ ƚ ƚŽ Ž ĐŚĂŶŐ
Žƌ ĚĞ
ƚ ĂŝůƐ͘ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ >ŽĂŶ >ŝĐĞŶƐĞ ED>^
ͲϯϮϰϬ͕ >ͲϯϮϰϬ
FREE
AIDS ON THE MARKET
Hearing
Consultation
FREE TRIAL AND SERVICE FOR ALL BRANDS & MODELS OF HEARING AIDS.
Audéo V
Small package. Big performance.
Phonak Audéo Q delivers great sound qual-
ity and performance where it matters most,
in the most difficult listening situations. It is
designed for ultimate discretion and wearing
comfort.
Virto Q
Virtually Invisible. We are proud to
present our range of custom made products,
Phonak Virto Q. With the perfect balance
between performance and cosmetic appeal,
these products range from small to invisible,
suiting your individual lifestyle and hearing
needs.
Bolero Q
Proven Performance. Phonak Bolero Q
offers a host of unique features designed to
enrich the listening experience in your day-
to-day life. These state of the art behind-the-
ear hearing aids suit your individual lifestyle
and hearing needs.
K n o w y o u r o p t i o n s .
• Do you know if you’re at risk for a hearing loss?
• Do you know the symptoms of hearing loss?
• Do you know who to trust with your hearing care?
• Do you want to know more about advances in hearing
aid technology?
• Do you know that Hear’s the Answer offers economical
pricing with payment plans.
Fr o m y o u r v e r y f ir s t s cr ee ni n g th r o u gh a l i f e t i m e o f a f t e r c a r e, K e i t h w i l l b e t h e r e t o g i v e
y ou s u p po r t , ad v i c e a n d c o u n s e l i n g t h at ’ s f o c u s e d o n y o u r h e a r i n g n e e d s .
608 E. Second St., The Dalles
541-298-5558
Mon -Thur 9-5p.m.
Friday 9-3 p.m.
Keith Howe, M.A.
Clinical Psychology
Hearing Aid
Specialist
OR Hearing Society
www.hearstheanswer.com
