Tm P oru
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P age A 5
O ksi rver • J une 12, 1996
An Education: Of The People,
By The People And For The People
by P rof .
Seniors Swing to
Summer Music
T he V a n c o u v e r Park?, and
R ecreation D epartm ent will host
a variety o f sp ecial dances for
seniors age 50 and over a I.uepke
C e n te r, 1009 E. M cL o u g h lin
Blvd D ances include:
* “ In the H eat o f the A fte r­
n o o n ,” the first, third and so m e­
tim es fifth Sunday o f the m onth
from 1:30 to 4 :3 0 p in. w ith the
band, R isto k ats. On the second
and fourth Sunday m usic w ill be
by M u sicA ires. R efresh m en ts
are av ailab le. C ost is $2 at the
door.
* S w in g in ' s u m m e r fun
ev
B i
rt
While you are enjoying all that
“good summer reading" I prescribed,
please keep in mind that there are
several generations of readers (and
doers) poised to succeed us. Surely,
by this time, there are none of us
naive enough to believe that some
benevolent system exterior to our­
selves will adequately prepare them
for that future.
If you believe that I have deliber­
ately excluded tax-payer-supported
public school systems, you are quite
right. And if you believe that my
experience-based position is that
stand-alone social agencies operat­
ing without our constant vigilance
and input will also tail in that mis­
sion, then, again, you are quite right.
And if. further, you believe that it
will be individuals, not
bureaucracies, who will provide
the necessary energies and initia­
tives to take us successfully into the
next millennium, then you have surely
hit my hole card. Last month 1 de­
scribed here a computer-m athem at­
ics demonstration I performed for
the “Saturday Academy" class con­
ducted by Mr. Michael Grice lor the
d a n c e s a re e v e r y M o n d a y ,
W ednesday and T hu rsd ay from
1 0 :3 0 a.m . to noon. SN A P lunch
w ill be av a ila b le . C o st is $1 to
d ance and an ad d itio n a l d o lla r
for lunch
* T hem e d an ces are the last
Friday o f every m onth. D inner
will be serv ed at 6 p.m . D ancing
is from 7 to 10 p.m . R istokats
w ill p ro v id e m usic. R e fre sh ­
m ents are a v ailab le during in ­
term issio n . R eserv atio n s can be
m ade and tic k e ts w ill be on sale
on w eek b efo re the ev e n t at
I.uepke C en ter.
City nabs grant for
tree inventory
Vancouver trees and bushes will
soon be “logged" into a computer
program to assist the city in plan­
ning future developments. TheCity
of Vancouver received a $3,000
grant from the W ashington State
Department of Natural Resources
to buy CITYgreen, a software pro­
gram
w hich
e v a lu a te s
a
community’s ecosystem. The grant
will pay for a intern to prepare an
inventory of eity trees and vegeta­
tion. The data will be used to create
visual models for planning purposes
in future developments.
CITYgreen software can ana­
lyze tree canopy, vegetation cover
and impervious surfaces and how
these relate to issues such as
stormwater, erosion control, energy
conservation and urban wildlife.
Mt K im
The program will be used as a tool
to plan ways to control groundwater
problems and air pollution.
"We hope to use this software to
make better planning decisions
within the city and to become a
model community for CITYgreen
in the Northwest,” says Elizabeth
W alker, the city 's urban forester.
C lark C ounty w ill be a p a rt­
ner in the p ro ject. T he country
will supply m aps and assist with
photo tran sfer. O th er partn ers
in c lu d e la n d o w n e r s , g a rd e n
c lu b s, n eig h b o rh o o d a s s o c ia ­
tio n s, b u s in e s s a s s o c ia tio n s ,
school d istric ts and governm ent
ag en cies.
W ork on the p ro ject is e x ­
pected to begin this m onth and
be c o m p leted by June, 1997.
Portland Public Schools. The pre­
sentation was well-received by class
and staff, but there is a particular
relevance to my foregoing com m en­
tary.
This “forward-looking” learning
model was almost an exact reprise ot
the national-award winning program
1 performed for The Dalles, Oregon
junior high in 1966 — Thirty years
ago this November. Many of us would
like to believe that, finally, the school
system is permitting inventive and
aggressive instructors to seek out the
innovators and resources needed to
deliver a quality education product
for the 21st century of technology at
hand.
Be that as it may, there apparently
area number of folks (and industries)
who are not going to stand around in
hopeful anticipation.- Not w hile the
media are competing to see who can
deliver the worst news about the edu
cational future of the city and state:
from funding and teaching positions
to dropout rates. Shortly after my
"Saturday Academy" presentation. 1
addressed a Beaverton group from
the cyberspace industry (many fel­
low members of the Association ol
Oregon Industry).
While many of the personnel and
engineering types that made up my
audience were equally divided over
which political party was respon­
sible for the hits’ taken by a major
college education program under the
new budget (Perkins Loan Program
wascul 35 percent, while Pell Grants,
College Work Study and the Stafford
Loan Program remained virtually
untouched). It was interesting that
several hard-core, "boot strap” con­
servatives had to be reminded that
the founders of their companies were
educated by the federal government
under the G.l. Bill.
There were several other heated,
red-faced’ exchanges (I use the term
advisedly); there were serious in­
quiries as to whether some media
reports on academic excellence were
real or simply hypes to gain funding.
These people were admonished by
their associates that a more hands-on
relationship with the schools would
answer their questions. But I remem­
ber in particular the distress of
severale people over a news article
quoting a teacher's union that no
students were to be touched or hugged
at any age.
Apropos to the participation'
comments leading oil this article,
one CEO at this human resources
conference brought pholcopiesofthe
May, 24 article by William Rasp­
berry. black, syndicated columnist
for the W ashington Post; "Public
Schools Need To Regain Their Pub­
lic” (.."what, is wrong is the disen­
gagement between the schools and
the peo p le” ). R aspberry indicts
blacks as much as whites.
Some very good things dev eloped
out of this meeting. My description
of the "Saturday Academy " presen­
tation has brought firm engagements
for fall and winter demonstrations at
outlying schools. My mention of an
Australian educator who will be vis­
iting me this summer led Io an offer
of a host home, now confirmed. I met
this administrator in 1976 when he
w as in America looking at American
Indian programs - he was develop­
ing ed u catio n al curriculum for
A ustralia's so-called "aborigines”
(blacks). We are going to discuss
some of my new techniques for the
leaching of math and computers.
Cont. next week.
he earnings on this K c o u n l The 5 6 5 » annual pemenlage yield IAPY) is
t,tilers only Key Advantage Money M ir k r l Checking Accounl required Io
P enotal Pepo'U A ttuunl Fees und Phslostim hnwhure lo r other charges thal may apply io your act,
IQUh through lu ly 11. I d * and may lie sub)ecl to change alter this nine A ll pa, kage plans availal
liable w ith other special CD oilers Substantial penalty (or early wllhdrawa
Is image A m inim um , combined balance ol »10.000 must be maintained Key Advantage rales are
EQUAL HOUSING
LENDER
Member FD K
Committee to Explore
Options for Elected
Representation
The Citizens Advisory Commit­
tee on Representation held it's sec­
ond of four public meetings at
Riverview E lem entary School,
12601 SE River Ridge Dr. Tues­
day, June 11. Appointed by Van-
couverCity Council, the committee
will evaluate the city’s current elec­
tion process and determine whether
to recommend amending the City
Charter and change Vancouver’s
current at-large system to a district
system for electing representatives.
The current C ity C h arter m an­
dates an at-larg e ele c tio n sy s­
tem . Every tw o y ears all V an ­
co uver v oters nom in ate c a n d i­
dates in the S ep tem b er prim ary
and in N o v em b er e le c t three
m em bers for city co u n cil and a
m ayor. The council m em bers are
elected to fo u r-y ear term s and
the m ayor to a tw o -y ear term .
U nder a d istric t system , the city
w ould set b o u n d aries and can-
d id a te s w ould re p re se n t d is ­
tricts w ithin those bou n d aries.
At the first public meeting on
May 22, an overview of possible
options for representation and sys­
tems in other Washington cities
was presented. The committee will
explore these options in more de­
tail at the June 11 meeting.
T he pub lic m eetings are run
as w o rk in g se ssio n s for the
co m m ittee, w ith tim e set aside
fo r p u b lic c o m m e n t. O th e r
m eetings will take place T u e s­
day, June 25, at Ben F ranklin
E le m e n ta r y S c h o o l, 5 2 0 6
F ran k lin and T uesday, July 2,
in C ity Hall co uncil cham bers.
M eetings begin at 7 p.m . C iti­
zen p articip ation is encouraged.
The C o m m ittee on R e p re se n ta ­
tion fu n ctio n s as an advisory
b o d y o n ly . R e c o m m e n d e d
c h a n g e s w ill be d e e id e d by
V an co u v er v oters.
If you have a craving lor richly satisfying
banking, it’s time to indulge in Key
Advantage.
Key Certificates of
C Z e W t/A P Y
15 Month Certificate
Deposit? And dig into
layer upon layer of no-charge services like
• No-fee, interest-bearing checking
•R educed consum er loan rates
• Investment and retirement planning
•an d m uch m ore. To join Key Advantage
call 1-8OO-KEY2Y0U’ (1-800-539-2968)
24 hours a day or
KEY ADVANTAGE
Park, west of McLoughlin Boule­
vard in Portland.
Experienced motorcycle riders
will find two motorcycle safety
classes Thursday, June 13, from 6
to 9 p.m. and Saturday, June 15,
from 8 a.m. to noon at Bagley Cen­
ter, 4 1 (X) Plomondon. This class is
designed for riders who want to
enhance their skills. Must provide
own motorcycle and a certificate of
insurance.
stop by your nearest
KeyBank. You’ll see we’ve made banking a
piece of, well, you get the picture
ry ry f v H * y
t-y * ♦ r r f * * * J
International Oriented
People Sought
ITie City ’s International Affairs
Commission is seeking a person
interested in international relations.
1 his nine-member board serves
in an advisory capacity to City
Council on matters relating to in­
ternational activities and events.
The I AC acts as aclearinghouse for
information to raise citizen aware­
ness about international activities
in the community and to expand
educational benefits by encourag­
ing citizen participation
Members are appointed to serve
____..
this sweet rate on our
City hosts great
outdoor adventurers
For those who love outdoor
sports, the Vancouver Parks and
Recreation Department offers these
outdoor recreation courses.
A canoe class will meet Satur­
day, June 15, from 9 a.m. to noon at
Ridgfield Marina. 5 N. Mill St.,
Ridgefield.
Fans of fishing can advance their
flycasting skills and strategics in a
class June 8, from 10 a.m. to noon at
the flycasting pond in Westmoreland
Partake of
r-> £•» f
three-year terms. Maximum num­
ber of terms allowed is two. Ap­
pointments will be made by the
Mayor and City Council. City resi­
dency is not a requirement.
Interested applicants should
contact Marie Day, in the M ayor’s
O ffice,at696 -8211 or(FA X )696-
8049, for an application. C om ­
pleted applications must be sub­
mitted to Vancouver City Hall,
P.O. Box 1995, Vancouver, WA
98668-1995, by Monday, July 15,
1996.
1 » »-T
O tt
Key. For a new America?
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