Page 4A
East Oregonian
Friday, June 8, 2018
CHRISTOPHER RUSH
Publisher
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
Founded October 16, 1875
Tip of the hat,
kick in the pants
A tip of the hat to Pendleton
kindergarten literacy rates, which
have shown solid improvement after the
district and taxpayers made a significant
investment in its early learning center.
Former superintendent Jon Peterson
and the school board worked tirelessly
to get the district’s federal funding
resources focused at the Pendleton Early
Learning Center when it opened in 2015.
Two teachers and six assistants now
work under the center’s Title I program.
There are drawbacks to making that
immense investment at such a young
age. In this age of slim budgets and
exploding PERS costs, there is little
intervention in the district for children
who need it later in their academic
careers. We wish there were ways to
support and afford that, too.
But the early learning center approach
is working. This spring, 93 percent of
Pendleton students found themselves
in the top tier of a test that assessed the
building blocks of early literacy. That’s
an excellent sign.
The all-in approach on getting
kindergarten students all on the same
page — to walk into their elementary
school on the first day on equal footing,
no matter their parents’ income level or
the amount of time they have to read to
their young children — is a smart idea.
Here’s hoping it pays off 12 years down
the road, and for many decades after
that.
A tip of the hat to the beginning of
the Greater Hermiston Community
Foundation, which has recently been
created to support a wide variety of
important causes in the city.
Pendleton has long perfected this
idea with its own community foundation
trust, which is preparing next month
to celebrate its 90th anniversary and
its legacy of more than $4 million in
donations to local nonprofits.
Hermiston has the opportunity to
begin its own legacy of community
charitable giving through a vehicle
that both major corporate donors and
small individuals can take pride in.
A foundation trust is an excellent
opportunity to increase that community
involvement, so that everyone feels their
little contribution makes a difference.
Choosing trustworthy, empathetic
and fiscally responsible board members
is critical for the new foundation to
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pre kindergarten teacher Sarah Leonard writes down words starting with the letter
“s” while teaching her class at the Pendleton Early Learning Center.
succeed, and we know the talent pool is
deep in Hermiston.
These sunny days have us in a
hat tipping mood. So we complete
our trifecta with a tip to a group
of Hermiston-based nurses who
are bringing the national “Start by
Believing” campaign to Umatilla
County.
They are first presenting the message
to groups inside Good Shepherd
Hospital in Hermiston, and they will
later speak with community groups,
law enforcement agencies and other
organizations.
Their message is clear: Start
by believing. Instead of blaming a
sexual assault victim or reacting with
disbelief or embarassment, the program
encourages people to respond with
acceptance or at least an open mind.
That belief and support goes a long
way. Some studies show that 63 percent
of sexual assault crimes go unreported,
and in some communities that number
may be as high as 90 percent.
That’s unacceptable. Before we can
start to get our minds around the size of
the sexual assault issue, we must help
victims feel like they can and should
come forward with the truth. If they
cannot, predators and abusers will
continue to go unpunished.
OTHER VIEWS
When Democrats act like Trump
S
OTHER VIEWS
Disappointing to see vaccine
progress recede
The Baker City Herald
O
regon’s progress on vaccinating
younger children against preventable
diseases such as measles and
whooping cough was short-lived.
Disappointingly so.
In 2015, the first year the state required
parents to at least pretend to be interested
in learning about vaccines before they
claimed a nonmedical exemption for their
children by watching a 10-minute video,
the rate of such exemptions among kids of
kindergarten age dropped by 7 percent to
5.8 percent.
That was still well above the 1 percent
figure in 2000, but at least the trend was
positive.
Unlike vaccines themselves, however,
the beneficial effect of the new law didn’t
persist.
In 2016 the rate of nonmedical
exemptions for kindergartners rose to
6.2 percent, and it went up again, to 6.5
percent, in 2017. This year, the state
announced recently, the rate has surpassed
the rate before the law took effect, rising to
7.5 percent.
To be clear, we’re dealing here with
children who have no medical reason,
such as a compromised immune system, to
avoid vaccines. Their parents are choosing
to ignore the advice of doctors, who,
almost without exception, recommend
children who have no medical issues
receive the full slate of vaccinations.
The logic is impeccable — the evidence
proving vaccines are safe and effective,
with exceedingly rare exceptions, is
overwhelming.
The situation is somewhat better,
generally speaking, in Baker schools.
The percentage of students who have had
all recommended vaccines ranges from
97 percent at Baker High School to 77
percent at Keating. South Baker’s rate is
96 percent, Haines is at 94 percent, and
Brooklyn and Baker Middle School both
93 percent.
Still, the kindergarten trend is
worrisome. As we’ve written before, we
urge the Oregon Legislature to do what it
failed to do a few years ago, and pass a law
ending the vaccine exemption for students
based on reasons other than medical
necessity.
CONTACT YOUR PRESIDENT
U.S. PRESIDENT
Donald Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
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hock! Horror! President
coming to the negotiating table has
Donald Trump is actually doing
a lot do with President Trump’s very
something right.
firm stand.”
Sadly, Democrats in Congress are
Poppycock. North Korean leaders
responding in a quite Trumpian way:
have been eager for decades to meet
They seem more concerned with
with an American president; it’s just
undermining him than supporting
that no previous president agreed
a peace process with North Korea.
for fear of legitimizing the regime.
They are on the same side as National Nicholas It’s actually Trump who has made
Security Adviser John Bolton, quietly
Kristof stunning compromises — holding
subverting attempts to pursue peace.
a get-acquainted summit with Kim
Comment
While international security is
without any prospect of near-term
complicated, here’s a rule of thumb:
denuclearization.
When you find yourself on the same side as
The real hero here is South Korea’s
Bolton, go back and re-examine your position. president, Moon Jae-in, who shrewdly used
Sure, we all wish that Trump treated Justin the Olympics to kick-start the peace process.
Trudeau or Angela Merkel with the respect
Trump and Kim won’t get a Nobel Peace
Prize, but if the peace process survives, Moon
that he now shows Kim Jong Un. Yes, it
will be a worthy recipient.
seems that Trump has been played by Kim.
For decades, especially after Bill Clinton’s
Yet another way of putting it is that Trump
1994 “Agreed Framework” with North Korea,
is finally investing in the kind of diplomatic
it was conservative Republicans who were the
engagement that he used to denounce, and
spoilers on nuclear deals with North Korea
that we should all applaud.
and Iran alike.
Trump’s newfound pragmatism is
This Republican petulance was bad for
infinitely preferable to the threat of nuclear
America. Bolton helped kill the Agreed
war that used to hang over all of us, so it’s
Framework, so that North Korea hugely
mystifying to see Democrats carping about
expanded its weapons program. Similar
any possible North Korea deal.
petulance led Trump and Bolton to try to
“Any deal that explicitly or implicitly
destroy the Iran nuclear deal this spring; as a
gives North Korea sanctions relief for
anything other than the verifiable performance result, Iran this week announced that it was
increasing its uranium enrichment capacity.
of its obligations to dismantle its nuclear
Boy, that went well.
and missile arsenal is a bad deal,” seven
Now a similar partisan petulance seems
Democratic senators, including Chuck
to be turning some Democrats into spoilers.
Schumer, warned in a letter to Trump.
Trump’s engagement with North Korea has
The letter also insisted on “anywhere,
been chaotic and should have begun with
anytime” inspections of suspected North
Korean nuclear sites, as well as those linked to working-level talks, but it’s still better for
its chemical and biological warfare programs. leaders to exchange handshakes than missiles.
Granted, there’s plenty of reason to be
It’s almost unimaginable that North Korea
nervous about Trump’s deal-making with
will allow such intrusive inspections — any
North Korea. How will Trump manage Kim
country would resist having an enemy poke
when he can’t even manage a summit with the
around its military bases, underground bomb
Philadelphia Eagles?
shelters and border fortifications. So these
Still, even if North Korea won’t hand over
Democrats are essentially saying that no
nuclear weapons in the next few years, I can
plausible deal will pass muster.
imagine it committing in coming months to
“The Democrats have gone overboard
a sustained moratorium on nuclear tests and
in the conditions they listed in the letter,”
long-range missile tests, on production of
said Joel Wit, a North Korea watcher at the
plutonium and uranium fuel, on transfer of
Stimson Center in Washington. “If they’re
nuclear technology to other countries, such
serious, it’s a prescription for failure because
as Syria. North Korea might also destroy
no one could achieve the conditions. It’s
maybe payback for everything they were dealt an ICBM or two and accept inspectors at its
nuclear sites in Yongbyon. Trump and Kim
in the Iran deal.”
might agree to exchange liaison offices and to
“It’s like role reversal,” Wit added. “For
declare peace on the Korean Peninsula.
years Democrats criticized Republicans for
North Korea might well cheat, and these
not wanting to engage North Korea. Now that
Republicans want to engage North Korea, the are half-steps, not rapid denuclearization. But
half-steps toward peace are better than full
Democrats are preparing to criticize them.”
strides toward war.
I appreciate that it’s galling for Democrats
■
to see Trump present himself as a great
Nicholas Kristof grew up on a sheep
strategist who has forced North Korea to
and cherry farm in Yamhill. He has been a
knuckle under. White House aide Larry
Kudlow boasted on Fox News: “North Korea New York Times columnist since 2001.
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