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In My Opinion
nor and every legislator in Salem is
both blessed and burdened w ith a
significant, even sacred, stewardship:
n Thursday, M arch 25,1999,
To m ake laws and establish good
th e H o u se le ad e rsh ip re
public policy that will im prove the
m oved m e as C hairm an o f
quality o f life for all Oregonians. No
the E ducation F unding C om m ittee
facet o f that stewardship is m ore criti­
in this L egislative S ession because
cal than the education o f our children.
I, along w ith nine o f the tw elve m em ­
In the words ofD r. Boyd Applegarth,
bers o f the com m ittee, w ould not
a
former Oregon Superintendent o f
“ rubber stam p” a bud g et num ber o f
the
Year and one o f the members o f the
ed ucation that w e b eliev ed w as in­
Council
who developed The Oregon
sufficient for the children o f Oregon.
Quality Education Model: “ If w e do
That, m y friends, is politics. I d o n ’t
not place the education o f our children
like it. I consider this action an abuse
first, it will, in the end, make little difi'er-
o f pow er, a d ishonor to the public
ence
w hat w e have done ins’ead.”
com m ittee process, and an affront to
The E ducation Funding C om m it­
the integrity o f the Senators and
tee, consistent with this principle, is
R epresentatives w ho labored d ili­
prepared to vote out an education
gently on this co m m ittee to com e to
funding bill o f $4.96 billion for K - 12
a th o ughtful and responsible co n ­
education. This will keep m ost o f our
clu sio n on the issue o f the K.-12
schools w hole and enable m any to
ed u catio n budget.
begin to achieve the high standards
B ut there is no tim e to w orry
established by the O regon E duca­
ab o u t the politics. In the end, petty
tion A ct for the 21“ Century. This
p o litics pales in the face o f w orthy
am ount is possible, w ith m inim al im­
p rinciples. W hat is m ost im portant
pact to other state program s and w ith­
now is that those p rin cip les are held
out new taxes.
h arm less and u n ch an g ed by this
O ther mem bers o f the H ouse are
action. It is to those precious p rin ­
also com m itted to this num ber, and
ciples - not the p o litics - I w ish to
some, such as Representative Vic
address my com m ents.
Backlund, have already dem onstrated
There is first and foremost, the
their willingness to take majorpolitical
principle o f stewardship. The gover-
R e f u s e ntative L ynn R. L undquist
O
Portland and V ancouver.
S u bsc r ibe to
C ite
P o r tla n d
(O b se r u e r
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The Portland Observer • PO Box 3137 • Portland,OR 97208
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T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver
Celebrate Earth Day 1999
Join The Procession
B e a s ta r- o r a fish o r a tre e -in
P o rtla n d ’s firs t P ro c e s s io n o f th e
S pecies on S aturday, A pril 24. T his
fun an d s lig h tly w a c k y c e le b ra ­
tio n o f th e n a tu ra l w o rld w ill sta rt
at 1 pm fro m th e N o rth P ark blocks
an d m ak e its jo lly w ay to P io n e e r
C o u rth o u se S quare fo r a m illennial
e v e n t at 2 pm .
N ow u n til A pril 24, local artists,
d ancers an d m usicians are holding
free w o rkshops to cre ate the giant
pup p ets, m ask s, costu m es, h an d ­
m ade in stru m e n ts, rh y th m s and
d ances n eed ed for the P rocession.
E v ery o n e, reg a rd le ss o f age, b ac k ­
g round o r b eliefs, is en co u rag ed to
help c re ate this E arth D ay M arti
G ras celebration.
T he P rocession w orkshops take
place at a C om m unity A rt Studio at
a form er N a tu re ’s Fresh N orthw est
store at 5909 SW C orbett. W ork­
shop artists and m usicians are using
scavenged, donated an d recycled
m aterials to m ake the drum s, head­
dresses, anim al m asks, and other
props. T he P rocession ru les are no
w ritten w ords, no live p ets, and no
m otorized vehicles. O therw ise, the
lim it is y o u r im agination!
T o p a r tic ip a te in th e w o rk ­
sh o p s, c a ll 4 5 2 -4 4 8 3 , e x t. 1. P ro ­
c e s s io n re g is tra tio n s ite s in c lu d e
P o w e ll’s T ra v e l B o o k s to re at P io ­
n e e r S q u a re an d N a tu r e ’s N o rth ­
w e st sto re s . P ro c e ssio n r e g is tra ­
tio n fee is tw o c a n s o f fo o d fo r the
O re g o n F o o d B a n k .
F or p ro c ra stin a to rs, last-m in u te
reg istra tio n , face p ain tin g , m ask
m a k in g a n d d ru m c o n s tru c tio n
starts at 1 1 am th e d a y o f the Pro-
cession, S atu rd ay , A pril 24, at the
N orth Park blocks.
A sim ilar event in Olympia, W ash­
ington is now that city’s largest civic
event, draw ing som e 2,000 partici­
pants and over 16,000 observers.
So far several hundred people
and dozens o f organizations, includ­
ing Earth and Spirit Council, the City
o f P ortland B ureau o f E nvironm en­
tal Services, A udubon S ociety o f
Portland, Portland Parks and R ecre­
ation, N atu re’s N orthw est, Pioneer
C ourthouse S quare, U.S. Bank, Tri-
M et,Colum biaRiverInter-TribalFish
Com m ission, C enter for D esign o f an
A ging Society, N ational C ollege o f
N a tu r o p a th ic
M e d ic in e an d
Starbucks h av e already com e for­
w ard to help p ut on the Procession
o f the species.
In a re la te d e v e n t, the cre atu res
an d o th e r E arth elem e n ts created
f o r th e P r o c e s s i o n w ill b e
“b le sse d ” at a m u ltic u ltu ra l, in te r­
faith ce rem o n y on A p ril 22 (E arth
D ay) at 7 pm at T rin ity E p isco p al
C a th e d ra l, N W 19* a n d E v erett in
P ortlan d . D u rin g th is 7* an n u al
E arth D ay cerem ony, d ifferen t reli­
g io u s an d c u ltu ral tra d itio n s com e
to g e th e r to ex p re ss in p ra y e r, song
and d an ce w h at th e ir faith teach es
ab o u t hu m an re sp o n sib ility to the
earth. E lias A m id o n , co -a u th o r o f
E arth P ray ers an d a le ad e r o f the
S ufi trad itio n , w ill g iv e a sp iritu a l
call to actio n . T h e ren o w n ed O r­
eg o n C h ild re n ’s C h o ir w ill also be
featured. F o r m o re d e ta ils o n b oth
ev e n ts, v isit th e E arth an d S p irit
w ebsite: w w w .e a rth a n d sp irit.o rg
o rca ll(5 0 3 )4 5 2 -4 4 8 3 .
risks on b eh alf o f the children. In ad­
dition, I look to the reasoned and
principled leadership o f Senate Presi­
dent Brady A dam s who, along with
the governor, has exam ined The O r­
egon Quality Education Model, and is
willing to listen to other Senate educa­
tion advocates such as Senator Tom
H artung and Senator Randy Miller. I
ask O regonians to support these indi­
viduals in their efforts.
Secondly, there is the principle o f
democracy itself. The government o f
this state, right down to the marble on
the Capitol steps, belongs to the people.
You are the process. And one very
significant way in which you partici­
pate in that process is through testi­
mony in committee hearings. The Edu­
cation Funding Com mittee heard hon­
est and intelligent testimony for nearly
thirty hours on the matter o f the educa­
tion budget. A nd yet this Committee
was ordered to ignore your testimony
in favor o f a funding decision deter­
mined by House leadership and ratified
behind closed doors in a private cau­
cusmeeting. Do not allow this. Let your
voices be heard. Remember, it is your
government, your process.
Finally, there is the principle o f
integrity. I consider m yself a “team
player”, som eone who is w illing to
Stand For Children Day
1 o _ fu
t* sm u stm
.
»Ix.
« m m it-
ized. E ach
ak
eaco
robably a great m any o f you
m ent now to w ork in our com m unity
reading this colum n already
to put the needs o f children first.
know about Stand For Children
Day. In 1996, the Childrens Defense Stand ForChildren Day 1999events
will raise awareness about the urgent
Fund sponsored the first Stand For
need for a holistic national plan to get
Children Day, w hich drew m ore than
every child ready to leam and succeed.
250,000people to the Lincoln Memorial
We are calling for the expansion o f the
in W ashington, D.C. for the largest
21 st Century School Fund, new fund­
demonstration in com m itm ent to chil­
ing for after-school program s and
dren in the history o f the United States.
school construction, and significant
Stand For Children grew out this dem ­
new investments in the Child Care De­
onstration into a separate nonprofit,
velopment Block Grant (CCDBG). In
nonpartisan national membership or­
local communities, events will make
ganization focused on providing a
direct improvements in the lives through
powerful citizen voice to give all chil­
renovation and construction o f play­
dren the opportunity to grow up
a
P
healthy, educated and safe.
Since 1996, every year on June 1 we
ask people across the country to Stand
ForChildren in their community. Cur­
rently there are more than 100 Stand For
Children chapters, w hich have com ­
pleted or are undertaking hundreds o f
initiatives for children. In 1997, our 700
Stand for Healthy Children events
helped win congressional passage o f a
bipartisan health bill that enables 5
million unisured children in America to
get health insurance. Last year, Stand
For Children D ay 1998 included more
than 1,200 events nationwide calling
attention to the importance o f quality,
affordable child care.
N ow planning for Stand For Chil­
dren Day 1999 is underway. Thisyear,
the theme will be “Ready to Learn.
Ready to Succeed.” W e expect several
hundred thousand parents, grandpar­
ents, teachers, child advocates, and
people who care about children to take
part in over 1,500 events on and around
June 1 in grassroots-based movement
to improve children’s education in and
out o f the classroom, la m asking you
to join us in calling for immediate action
to sol ve the education crisis in America,
which threatens to leave millions of
children unprepared for the demands
o f the 21“ century.
The “ Ready to Learn, Ready to
Succeed” platform m eans that, in ad­
dition to caring and supportive par­
ents, every child m ust have:
Health coverage.
C hildren w ho ca n ’t see the black­
board, ca n ’t hear the teacher, or are
distracted by pain c a n ’t learn to the
best o f their ability. S tand D ay
events w ill help children succeed by
signing children up for health insur­
ance the new C h ild re n ’s H ealth In­
surance Program (CH IP).
Substantial new investments for af­
fordable, quality childcare. Young chil­
dren need proper care and nurturing,
simulation, and early education to enter
school ready to read and succeed.
Safe, productive after-school ac­
tivities. Enriching after-school pro­
grams can help the nearly five million
young people who are hom e alone in
the afternoon each w eek to stay out o f
trouble and give them extra boost they
need to succeed in school and in life.
Schools that challenge all children.
W ith small classes, skilled teachers,
high standards, and involved parents,
every child can perform at high levels.
Necessary supporters and high ex ­
pectations, both in and out o f school,
can help all children succeed.
U ntil every child goes to school
ready to learn and ready to succeed.
A m erica’s promise will never be real-
rrrrxi
l « rl G hfUiL
grounds,
book iiriVI
drives, rallies, and
children’sresources fairs. W ew illalso
join people from all over the world in a
“Cyber-Stand For Children” on the
World W ide Web. W e hope to w el­
come more than 200,000 visitors to the
S tan d F o r C h ild re n W e b site -
www.stand.org - where they can leam
about how to help ensure that all chil­
dren are ready to leam in the classroom
and ready to succeed in life. Last year’s
C yber-S tand attracted m o re than
150,000 people, many o f whom sent
email to their members ofCongress.
I f you w ould like to leam m ore
about participating in or planning an
com prom ise w hen necessary and who
seeks to build consensus. But every
electedofficial must ultimately answer
not to his or her party, but to his own
soul. I can com prom ise the politics,
but not the principles. I have been in
classroom s all over the state, I have
exam ined the budget, I have studied
The Oregon Quality Education Model
and the need is undeniably clear: Our
children need $4.96 billion for their
schools. O n this, there can be no com ­
promise. Others agree. Yet, in the
House, in this session, we are not free
to vote our conscience with immunity.
To my colleagues in the Legislature, I
say, do not allow this. Let your voices
be heard. Because you respect the
process. Because, if w e allow each
other to be punished for supporting
our principles, w e have lost som e­
thing much more important than a
com mittee chairmanship.
The future o f O reg o n ’s educa­
tional system will be determ ined by
the actions o f the governor and the
L egislature over the next thirty to
sixty days. Itis a c le a r battle betw een
the pow er ofpolitics and the pow er o f
principles. I f politics w ins, the chil­
dren lose. A nd if the children lose, so
do w e all. Please, let us w ork together
to prevent such a crucial defeat.
event this year, p lease call 1-800-
663-4032 o r contact Stand For C h il­
d ren
v ia
e m a il
at
tellstan d @ stan d .o rg . Y ou w ill be
provided w ith technical support and
assistance, and a link to organizers
and th eir events nationw ide.
P lease jo in us this y ear as we
S tand For C hildren.
Marian Wnght Edelman is president
o f the Children’s Defense Fund and a
working committee memberoftheBlack
CommunityCnjNadLdLTfhildien(BCCC).
In 1998,CDFcelebrated25yearsofadvo-
cacy, service, and leadership to build a
mov ement to Leave No Child Behind.
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