OFF PAGE ONE Obama to police: U.S. safer because of your efforts Page 10A East Oregonian &HI&AGO AP — Defending police of¿ cers who have come under scrutiny like never before, President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the men and women who risk their lives to provide security are wrongly “scape- goated” for failing to deal with broader problems that lead people to commit crimes. 8nemployment, poor education, inadequate drug treatment and lax gun laws are not the responsibility of police of¿ cers, Obama said in remarks to the International Association of &hief of Police, which held its annual meeting in the president’s &hicago hometown. He blamed the news media’s tendency “to focus on the sensational” for helping to drive a wedge between police of¿ cers and a public they take an oath to protect and serve. He called for rebuilding the trust that once existed between them. Obama delivered his speech amid a roiling national debate about of¿ cers’ treat- ment of potential criminal suspects following the deaths of unarmed black men in New York, Missouri and elsewhere by police. “Too often, law enforce- ment gets scapegoated for the broader failures of our society and criminal justice system,” the president said. “I know that you do your jobs with distinction no matter the challenges you face. That’s part of wearing a badge.” “But we can’t expect you to contain and control prob- lems that the rest of us aren’t willing to face or do anything about,” he said. Obama also sought to avoid making the debate about police against communities. “I reject any narrative that seeks to divide police and the communities that they serve — I reject the story line that says, when it comes to public safety, there’s an ‘us’ and ‘them,”’ Obama said. He said it’s a “narrative that too often gets served up to us by news stations seeking ratings, or tweets seeking retweets, or political candidates seeking some attention.” CTUIR: &andidates’ opinions differed on legalizing marijuana Continued from 1A tional training program, just to name a few,” he wrote. Quaempts wrote that he would like to see the board steer the reservation toward becoming more self-reliant and less dependent on outside sources of funding like federal grants, as well as diversify the tribes’ economic development ventures outside gaming and agriculture. Ellen Taylor, one of the 10 chal- lengers vying for one of the at-large seats, desires more economic diver- sity, too. Taylor is a 16-year veteran of the Wildhorse &asino and 5esort and currently works in the marketing department for &lub Wild. Taylor said she would like to see the retail area expand to include an outlet mall with shopping destinations and restaurants like Olive Garden and Red Lobster. 6he also wants the tribes to increase its educational focus on vocational opportunities for tribal youth. While many of the candidates seeking of¿ ce have previously been on the board or have campaigned before, Taylor said this is her ¿ rst and only political campaign. The varying views and opinions of the other candidates ensures that which- ever nine candidates voters choose will have much to debate. The Confederated Umatilla Journal, the tribes’ monthly newspaper, sent out a questionnaire to all the candidates and asked them about the issues. One hot-button topic was marijuana, which was legalized in Oregon under Measure 91. While many candidates were quick to point out that the measure doesn’t apply to tribal land, views were split about whether legalizing marijuana was something that should be explored further or remain banned under federal prohibition. Opinions also differed on the subject of leasing space to a big-box store that sold alcohol and gasoline. While some candidates saw it as a potential economic boon to the reser- vation, others thought it could be an unnecessary competitor to the Arrow- head Travel Plaza. Voting will take place at the Nixyaawii Governance &enter on the 8matilla Indian Reservation between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Nov. 7. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. TESTS: The most tests were required in 8th and 10th grade Continued from 1A devoted to preparation ahead of testing required by the federal government, states or local districts. It also did not include regular day-to-day classroom quizzes and tests in reading, math, science, foreign languages, and more. In connection with the study’s release 6aturday, President Barack Obama called for capping standard- ized testing at 2 percent of classroom time. Even while acknowledging that the government shares some responsibility for an over-emphasis on testing, the president said federal of¿ cials would work with states, schools and teachers to “make sure that we’re not obsessing about testing.” The Obama administra- tion still supports annual standardized tests as a necessary assessment tool, and both House and 6enate versions of an update to No &hild Left Behind law would continue annual testing. But, the rewrite legislation would let states decide how to use test results to determine what to do with struggling schools. Differ- ences between the two bills still need to be worked out. “Learning is about so much more than just ¿ lling in the right bubble,” Obama said in a video released on )acebook. “6o we’re going to work with states, school districts, teachers, and parents to make sure that we’re not obsessing about testing.” To drive the point home, Obama and Education 6ecre- tary Arne Duncan scheduled an Oval Of¿ ce meeting Monday with teachers and school of¿ cials working to reduce testing time. “How much constitutes too much time is really dif¿ cult to answer,” said Michael &asserly, the coun- cil’s executive director. He said the study found plenty of redundancy in required testing — supporting concerns from teachers and other critics about the tests consuming too much teaching and learning time. )or example, &asserly said that researchers found some states and school districts were mandating not only end-of-year tests, but end-of-course tests in the same subjects, in the same grade. The council reviewed testing for more than 7 million students in about three dozen states during the 2014-2015 school year. And a “testing action plan” released by the Education Department said too many schools have unnecessary testing. Aiming to close achieve- ment gaps and assess learning, the No &hild Left Behind Act signed by President George W. Bush in 2002 mandated annual testing in reading and math for students in grades three through eight and again in high school. 6tates and local school districts decide which standardized assessments to use to gauge student learning and progress in those two subjects and others. This past spring saw the rollout of new tests based on the &ommon &ore college- ready academic standards in reading and math. About 12 million students in 29 states and the District of &olumbia took the tests developed by two groups — the 6marter Balanced Assessment &onsortium and the Part- nership for Assessment of 5eadiness for &ollege and &areers PA5&&. Other ¿ ndings in the McKay Creek Estates presents: SAFETY council’s report: • The most tests were required in 8th and 10th grade; the fewest were in pre-K, kindergarten and 1st grade. • )our in 10 districts report having to wait between two months and four months before getting state test results. The lack of timely results means teachers begin a new school year not knowing where a student needs to improve. Wednesday, October 28, 2015 MARIJUANA: Next meeting Nov. 9 Continued from 1A saying he felt the council had a responsibility to send a clear message one way or another. Manuel Gutierrez abstained from the discus- sion and vote, saying as a board member of the Good 6hepherd &ommunity Health )oundation he didn’t want people to confuse the nonpro¿ t foundation with Good 6hepherd Medical &enter and think he had a conÀ ict of interest. Before voting the council held a public hearing and got two comments, one from a citizen in favor of a ban and the other in favor of allowing commercial grows and dispensaries in the city. Anton Wanous said even though the west side of the state had embraced legal- ized marijuana, the voters in Hermiston made it clear last year they didn’t want it in their community. “I realize it’s legal now but I think the city should still do what it can to keep it out of the city,” he said. Ken May said he disagreed with making people who had been legally prescribed medical marijuana by their doctor travel to La Grande or The Dalles to buy it. “What I see is the city’s lack of faith in medical professionals in the community and a hindrance to their providing prescrip- tive medical care,” he said. May also suggested that the tax money generated from commercial marijuana activity could be used to support the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event &enter. After the 5-2 vote on a ¿ nal reading of the ordi- nance, the ¿ nal reading and adoption was postponed until the council’s next meeting on Nov. 9. CLASSROOMS: Hermiston district already uses 24 modulars Continued from 1A with bathrooms would cost $189,200, which would drain the fund the district set aside for modulars. The three rental units without bathrooms for the high school would cost about $50,000 each the ¿ rst year, 6mith said, as well as $20,000 each for all additional years they are needed. He said these modulars would have to be paid for from the general fund, and they could be placed in the current high school parking lot between the school and the baseball ¿ eld. He said the possible rental unit at 6unset would be of similar cost. 6mith said the district has exhausted its “one-time stop gaps,” such as converting a computer lab into a class- room at 6unset and moving certain personnel of¿ ces from the schools into a new district of¿ ce. The district already uses 2 modulars, 6mith said, and few other options exist without capital funding — such as that from a bond effort being considered for May 2017. Based on current growth rates and a Portland 6tate 8niversity population study, the district will need 56 to 80 modulars to accommodate an additional 800 to 1,200 students by 2023 unless permanent capacity is added. “It’s a desperate situa- tion at the high school,” he said, adding enrollment has already exceeded the 1,600 students it was designed for with even larger classes in the middle and elementary schools that will eventually end up at the high school. 6uperintendent )red Maiocco said renting modular classrooms from the general fund would negatively impact the district but that other options — such as having two shifts of students at one school — were not tenable. “You can’t turn the kids away,” he said. Here to help, even before the smoke clears . 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