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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2015)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Wednesday, June 17, 2015 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN Publisher JENNINE PERKINSON Advertising Director DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW Celebrate VXPPHUVDIHO\ $OWKRXJKWKH¿UVWGD\RIVXPPHU isn’t technically until June 21, last week’s triple-digit temperatures made it clear the season arrived early. Summer is many things — freedom from the classroom, more time for vacation and long evenings of good light that set people to recreating and working outdoors. That all sounds pretty great. But as we’ve learned already, some of our favorite summer activities can also be dangerous and even deadly. Some of this should go without saying, but annual reminders to be conscious and considerate of those dangers is necessary. Here are a few tips about how to get through this summer suntanned but safe: ƒKnow your limits while swimming, especially in unsupervised locations. We’ve had a disastrous start to the swimming season across Oregon, with multiple losses of life. Tragedy has already struck locally, too, claiming the life of an Irrigon teen who drowned earlier this month in the Columbia. Especially when you are swimming in unsupervised rivers and lakes, take stock of the condition and depth of the bottom, the visibility of the water, obstructions that could make swimming and diving dangerous, cold temperatures that can have debilitating effect on muscles and the possibility of inclement weather. When going for a dip in a river or stream or into the 3DFL¿FRII2UHJRQ¶VEHDXWLIXOFRDVW remember that moving water is a powerful thing. If you can’t easily maintain footing in the current or waves, you had better be an expert swimmer able to recover from wherever the water wants to take you. If you’re in doubt about anything above, play it safe and wear a life jacket. If you’re boating or rafting or ND\DNLQJKDYLQJDÀRWDWLRQGHYLFH is a state law that must be followed. ƒBe smart atop a bike — pedal or motor — and be considerate behind a steering wheel. Eastern Oregon’s country roads can be a haven for cyclists, both for those who like to power themselves and those who like to have an engine do the work for them. But these roads were designed for a narrow range of uses, and cars often dominate the landscape. That might not be the best travel plan for our planet or our health, but it’s what we’re working with now. We don’t want to discourage cyclists, but want to remind them to take every precaution. Make sure \RXUELNHLVRXW¿WWHGZLWKEOLQNLQJ OLJKWVDQGUHÀHFWRUV.QRZ\RXU route. Wear a helmet and never lose focus on your surroundings. And remember, this is working country. Log trucks rumble down our Forest Service roads, combines rumble over our gravel, tractors occasionally take to the highway to cover ground. Be ready for it. And if you’re one of those cars zooming by, slow down and give space to bicyclists. We like to say that every rider you see on the roadway is one less car to be stuck behind at the next stoplight. Encourage more biking by making them feel safe. ƒ1HYHUOHDYHDFKLOGRUDSHWLQ a hot car. People of a certain age can all remember their mother or father leaving them in the car while they ran errands. It was a simpler time when errands were faster and cars had manual windows. Now, leaving a living thing inside a vehicle can be a fatal decision, and sometimes a criminal one. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, hundreds of pets die each year due to being left inside a hot car. In just 20 minutes the temperature inside a vehicle on a 90 degree day rises to a brutal 119 degrees. In 40 minutes, the thermometer rises to a possibly fatal 128 degrees. That’s no place for a pet or — heaven forbid — a child. $IHZKLJKSUR¿OHFDVHVKDYH educated the American public on what a terrible mistake it can be to leave a child in a vehicle. Take this as another reminder not to make it. ƒ+DYHDSODQIRU\RXUFKLOG If your child is of an age where they need adult supervision, summer can be a challenge. Those wonderful teachers who took on the workload during the school year are now out basking on beaches and trying to reconnect with their sanity. But don’t panic, because you’ve got options. Year-round day care facilities have openings in most cities in Eastern Oregon, but in addition there are a multitude of seasonal options. There is a 4-H camp in Heppner, a multitude of fun choices in Hermiston and Pendleton, out-of- town getaways, outdoor camps, church camps, sports camps, music camps, science camps, overnight and day camps. (If you’re still on the lookout for a good summer camp, though some deadlines have passed, we recommend typing “2015 summer camp preview + EO Parent” into your Internet search bar, for a boatload of information.) The city of Pendleton, for instance runs an exceedingly affordable summer adventure camp at Pioneer Park. Call Parks and Recreation directly at 276-8100 for more info on that. Obviously, things can go wrong any time of the year. But summer is a good time to be aware of your surroundings, of rising temperatures and the risks we take to entertain ourselves. Stay safe this summer, and enjoy it. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. OTHER VIEWS How to grade a teacher T his is the second column Such an emphasis isn’t just good I’ve written about Deborah politics. It’s also an important way to Loewenberg Ball, the dean of help make schools better. “Very few the University of Michigan’s School teachers can’t improve,” Ball told of Education. Ball believes the me recently. And most teachers want training that teachers get while they to improve — but have no means of are in school needs to be drastically getting useful feedback. The council’s improved. Last year, I wrote about idea was that the evaluations could her effort to develop a professional be used not just to rid the system Joe training curriculum that would allow Nocera of incompetent teachers — though beginning teachers to be far better it would certainly do that — but Comment grounded in their craft than they are also to give all the other teachers now. critical feedback. It also envisions Recently, I learned about another effort transforming professional development, which she has led, which I also think deserves wider is now mostly a wasteland, into a mechanism attention. It tackles one of the most divisive to put that feedback into practice. WRSLFVLQ.HGXFDWLRQKRZWRHYDOXDWH There are two fundamental pieces to the teachers so that the best can be rewarded and 0LFKLJDQFRXQFLO¶VSODQ7KH¿UVWSLHFHLV WKHZRUVW¿UHG teacher observation. In most schools, it’s the In New York — a state where the issue principal who observes the teacher, often has been especially contentious — Gov. haphazardly, and rates him or her based on Andrew Cuomo earlier personal biases, which may this year pushed through or may not be sound. Ball legislation that calls for and her colleagues would student test scores to count instead rely on observers for as much as 50 percent who have been trained in of a teacher’s evaluation, up using certain tools that from the current 20 percent. have been proved effective. The teachers’ unions were These observations would incensed, believing that test be the basis for the teacher’s scores are a simplistic and feedback — feedback meant unfair means of assessing to encourage and help, teachers. So were many rather than threaten. parents, who joined a The second piece is boycott movement that what the council calls resulted in an estimated 165,000 students evaluating “student growth.” Here the point opting out of this year’s standardized tests. would be not to measure student achievement A teacher evaluation system “is only good in absolute terms — Does Johnny read at a if the teachers respect it and trust it,” says fourth-grade level? — but rather to measure Vicki Phillips, a director of education for the whether Johnny had made a year’s worth of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Teachers improvement from the level he was reading are convinced that evaluation systems that at when he was in the third grade. This would overly rely on test scores are punitive, which be a more accurate representation of the the political rhetoric often underscores. For difference the teacher made, and would take instance, Cuomo’s stated reason for changing into account the wide range of learning levels the state’s teacher evaluation was that some teachers often have to contend with. 96 percent of teachers got top grades under Some of this growth evaluation would the old process. He scoffed at those results as undoubtedly be done through tests. But not “baloney.” That’s hardly going to get teachers all of it, or even most of it. “You have to look to buy into your new evaluation system. at objectives for students for the year and see Which brings me back to Michigan. In if they made progress,” says Ball. There are 2011, the state Legislature there changed the ways to do that that don’t require standardized WHQXUHODZPDNLQJLWHDVLHUWR¿UHLQFRPSHWHQW testing. teachers. But it also set up the Michigan I wish I could tell you that this story has Council for Educator Effectiveness, which a happy ending, but it doesn’t. Legislation ZDVFKDUJHGZLWKFRPLQJXSZLWKLWV¿UVWHYHU that embodied the work of the council failed statewide evaluation system. Ball was named to pass the Michigan Legislature in the last chairwoman of the council. Two years later, it session. More recently, the chairman of a came back with its recommendations. related Senate committee, Phil Pavlov, has 7KH¿UVWWKLQJ,QRWLFHGDERXWWKHFRXQFLO¶V essentially tossed the council’s work aside in recommendations is that they completely favor of “local control.” avoid the divisive political language that has That is Michigan’s loss. But perhaps other alienated teachers. Instead of casting teacher states and school districts can look at the work evaluation as primarily being about getting of the Michigan council and learn from it. In rid of bad teachers, they instead recast it to which case, it could still be America’s gain. put the emphasis on teacher improvement. An Ŷ evaluation system that stresses improvement Joe Nocera is an Op-Ed columnist for instead of punishment has a much better The New York Times. He joined The Opinion chance of being embraced by teachers. Pages in April 2011. How do we evaluate teachers so the best can be rewarded and the worst fired? LETTERS POLICY The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. OTHER VIEWS County looks to add employees that bring in new revenue T he headline in the human services and outside East Oregonian of the general fund. Those noting Umatilla positions are proposed in County has budgeted for the budget should special 17 new positions is, at face funding materialize. They value, a bit misleading. KDYHQRWEHHQ¿OOHGDQG Unfortunately, in an age ZLOOQRWEH¿OOHGXQOHVV of knee-jerk reactions that funding becomes to government growth, George available. There is also it becomes necessary to Murdock provision for added staff in VXEPLWVRPHFODUL¿FDWLRQV the development disabilities Comment Umatilla County has budget with state funding been engaged in several supporting that move. initiatives that are not related to There are also several new the general fund. Among those positions in public health. In are efforts to return oversight of those cases there are two driving both the developmental disabilities forces — an expansion of school- program and oversight of mental based health programs, which are health to the county. That’s because supported primarily by outside the county wants to assure its entities, and an expansion of citizens are receiving quality maternal child health programs. In services. actuality, through new approaches Many of the new positions — a and management, the cost to the third or more to be exact — are in general fund for 2015-2016 has been reduced by $165,000. There are four new positions being added in the general fund. Three of those four are in the public safety budget. In this case, the new positions are primarily a result of contracting with both the cities of Athena and Weston for patrol services. And, again, the added positions are accompanied by payments from the entities receiving the services. Plus, as we have noted publicly, we also have a need to augment court security. In the case of the district DWWRUQH\¶VRI¿FHVHYHUDOSRVLWLRQV have been added. A part of those positions should be covered by funds from local entities who have called upon the county to provide services previously provided by those local entities. But in addition, by doubling the patrol force in the FRXQW\WKHUHLVDVLJQL¿FDQWLPSDFW RQWKHSURVHFXWLQJDWWRUQH\¶VRI¿FH in terms of additional arrests — sort of a cause and effect idea. Finally, there is a half time employee added to the county LQWKHODQGXVHSODQQLQJRI¿FH which is a good news/bad news thing. Umatilla County is now at or about 80,000 residents and continuing to lead Eastern Oregon in economic growth. Prosperity often breeds dramatic demands on the system. The department most impacted by growth is land use planning. Frankly, we hope that demand continues. Umatilla County remains committed to the idea of operating HI¿FLHQWO\DQGHIIHFWLYHO\2XU primary focus is on limiting personnel growth in the general fund unless it is accompanied by a new revenue stream. As we have noted, the actual net increase to the general fund in the new budget is one FTE. But we also believe we have a commitment to the residents RIWKLVFRXQW\DQGZKHQZH¿QG opportunities to expand programs and services without adding additional tax burdens, we are willing to do so. We are proud of the fact we set aside funds in case the PERS decision went south (which it did) and we will continue to explore other avenues of enhancing county services through both thoughtful and innovative approaches. Every department in the county has been encouraged to think creatively about how we can make a positive and profound difference. Ŷ George Murdock is chair of the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners.