Polk County
Voices
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 10, 2017 4a
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Group seeks to
better understand
Indifference or
ignorance?
Last November, I wrote
you in response to concerns
raised by the 2016 cam-
paign and election.
Partial text: “We are start-
ing a movement, with the
goal of having a diverse
group of people, willing to
try to do something about
one or more of the issues. I
included my email address.”
In response, in mid-Janu-
ary, 17 people gathered in
Dallas for the first Polk
County Principled Action
Committee (PCPAC) meet-
ing. We agreed on a state-
ment of purpose and a set
of guiding principles.
Our initial discussions
dealt with the split society
we live in.
One possible causal fac-
tor being the inability of so
many members of our soci-
ety to communicate, talk
and listen to one another.
To develop a better un-
derstanding of the barriers,
we began an effort to edu-
cate ourselves about issues
at the local, state and feder-
al level, and share what we
learned in an open dialogue
with the hope of bridging
the communication gap.
So far we have met five
times.
We think we are making
progress and discovered we
are not alone in this en-
deavor.
There are other like-
minded citizens at work.
We hope to link up with
them to build a larger base.
We want to let you know
that we are open to anyone
willing to join us in this ef-
fort: the task of bridging the
divide we believe is keeping
our society from creating a
better tomorrow.
The general feeling of the
group is this: As a result of
the work we have done so
far, we already are much
better informed than we
were last November. There
is a lot to learn.
Our next meeting is Sat-
urday at 2 p.m., at Western
Oregon University. If you
are interested in this project
contact me at murf92279
@gmail.com.
Trump, his henchmen,
Republicans and industrial
leaders are gleefully gutting
those environmental regula-
tions that would have
slowed the destruction of
our planet. The result of this
slashing will be to our detri-
ment.
Only people who slept
through fourth-grade sci-
ence do not accept that our
planet is imperiled by cli-
mate change.
The strange question
here is, do these people
who happily destroy our fu-
ture not have any children,
grandchildren or heirs of
any kind? If they do they
must really, really not care
what type of planet these
heirs must live on.
It is clear that the people
noted at the beginning of
this note have sold their up-
coming generation's future
for money now.
What kind of person
would facilitate the proba-
ble destruction of the planet
and his/her family’s future
for more money? Does
greed have that solid a grip
on their miserable soul?
Of course, the same ques-
tions apply to these people’s
supporters. They blindly ac-
cept the pabulum they are
spooned and parrot the
same drivel.
Yet their heirs will suffer
even more than those of the
rich because they will be far
less able to mitigate the de-
struction of their world.
Do they not care or are
they just massively ignorant?
Bob Murphy
Dallas
Council puts
funding at risk
This is in regards to Mr.
Pippins letter to the editor
on April 26.
Mr. Pippin brought up a
good point but asked the
wrong question which is
this: Why did the Mon-
mouth City Council meet
and approve an inclusivity
resolution when ORS
181.580 was already in exis-
tence.
I believe that the answer
to this question would be to
make Monmouth an Sanc-
tuary City where “illegal”
immigrants can hide from
and be protected by the law.
So let’s take a step back
for a moment.
All individuals who are
here illegally are guilty of
breaking the law regardless
if they are outstanding citi-
zens and obey other aspects
of the law.
By coming to this country
illegally you are bringing in
individuals who are crimi-
nals, individuals who are
sick with disease such as TB
and leprosy, you bring over-
crowding to schools and
burden our state with pay-
ing for welfare and other
services.
These individuals may
not have a Social Security
Number or another tax-
payer ID number and may
not pay taxes or Social Se-
curity.
By declaring Monmouth
as a sanctuary city you are
risking federal funding that
your local fire department,
police department and
schools ask for to provide
their community with
books, equipment or appa-
ratus that is needed.
As citizens of Monmouth,
are you willing to put those
federal funds at risk for in-
dividuals who are breaking
the law by being here ille-
gally?
David Chrisensen
Independence
CHS theater staff
run great program
I’ve had the privilege of
having three high-schoolers
participate in Central High
School’s Performing Arts
program.
It has been such a memo-
rable experience for each of
them.
I just want to publicly
thank the staff and adminis-
tration for supporting such
a wonderful program at
Central High School.
Thank you Jeff Witt for
the countless hours on and
off the job.
Thank you Wendy Boyack
and Linda Kunze for sharing
your talents, passion and
countless hours working on
all the little details.
Thank you to the volun-
teers that build sets, sew,
design, paint, and are be-
hind the scenes.
Central’s Performing Arts
is blessed to have you all.
I am looking forward to
seeing the 2016-17 school
year’s final production: “Al-
addin Jr.” May 10 through
13 and May 17 through 20.
The 20th will be bitter-
sweet, watching our seniors
take their final bows (my
son among them).
For community members
that haven’t taken the time
to see one of Central’s
shows, please consider tak-
ing the time to support
these students and this pro-
gram.
Michelle Lewis
Independence
Tribal CASA needs
children advocates
I work at the Confederat-
ed Tribes of Grand Ronde as
the Tribal Court Programs
Coordinator.
We provide programs that
assist families going
through the Tribe's child
welfare process.
One of the programs is
the Court Appointed Special
Advocate (CASA) Program.
CASAs are assigned one
to two abused or neglected
Tribal youth to work as an
advocate for them in court
and foster a positive rela-
tionship with the tribe.
CASAs have a national
record of helping kids leave
the dependency system ear-
lier and assist in placing
them with a permanent
home.
You do not need to be a
tribal member to give back
in this capacity, but you
must be committed to
learning more about differ-
ent ways you can advocate
for a tribal child’s best inter-
est.
We have many kids who
could use someone like you
on their side.
Please contact me
(annie.schmidt@grandrond
e.org) if you have any ques-
tions or would like to re-
ceive further information.
Annie Schmidt
Grand Ronde
SUPERINTENDENT’S CORNER
We have many celebrations
to share from Dallas School Dis-
trict.
This summer we will have
construction projects at Lyle,
Oakdale, and Whitworth ele-
mentary schools because of
your generosity through bond
dollars.
We just received notice that
we will be awarded an addition-
al $700,000 for seismic up-
grades to Whitworth, bringing
the total seismic grant amount
to $2.2 million. Let the con-
struction begin.
As we look to refine our safety
plans, we conducted two evacu-
ation and reunification drills at
Lyle last fall and recently for
Dallas High School.
Students and staff did an out-
standing job, and we want to
thank parents and community
for feedback and support.
We do have a couple areas of
concern to share and would ask
for your support. Our Career
and Technical Education plan
(CTE) is coming together and
we are increasing learning op-
portunities for our high school
students.
Our graduation rate for stu-
dents in CTE programming is
93 percent.
Thank you voters for approv-
ing Measure 98, our proposed
plan is based on $800 per stu-
dent, which was voter ap-
proved.
We are concerned as we hear
about reduced funding
amounts from the state.
Please contact legislators and
ask them to fully fund Measure 98.
Our district general fund
budget will be decreased due to
the proposed state funding of
education. As we work to en-
sure dollars are spent based on
our district priorities, we are
faced with budget reductions.
Oregon has an excellent
model of how schools should
look and be funded, which also
supports community expecta-
tions through the Quality Edu-
cation Model (QEM).
Rather than moving forward
toward QEM, our district, along
with others across the state, are
moving backward.
Please contact legislators and
let them know that $7.8 billion
isn’t enough in the state school
fund and to please get us to $8.4
billion to expand programs for
our kids.
— Michelle Johnstone,
Superintendent
Fred Brown
Dallas
Dallas library
builds community
I had the good fortune to
attend a program at the
Dallas Public Library last
week under the auspices of
Oregon Humanities.
The subject was “The
Space Between Us,” a con-
versation on immigrants
and refugees in Oregon, led
by Manuel Padilla, a gradu-
ate of Dallas Public Schools.
I wish all of Dallas
could/would attend this
program.
Manuel skillfully used the
experiences of the group
(about 40 people) to help us
all understand the plight of
immigrants and refugees,
and to see that we have
more in common than we
have things which divide us.
It was a thought-provoking
evening, spent with friends
and strangers.
I hope it might be the be-
ginning of a broader com-
munity conversation on is-
sues which seem to have
become more divisive since
the recent elections.
Thank you to the Dallas
library for bringing this in-
teresting and timely pro-
gram to our community.
Dale Derouin
Dallas
SW Polk bond will
help volunteers
I am a resident in SW
Polk Rural Fire District and
am in favor of the proposed
fire bond.
Our volunteers each ded-
icate hundreds of hours per
year in service to us, sacri-
ficing their time, energy,
and talents to keep us safe.
The bond will provide our
volunteer firefighters with
the equipment, apparatus,
and facilities they need to
keep them safe and serve us
most efficiently.
The monthly cost of the
bond will be less than many
people spend on coffee.
Let us keep our firefight-
ers safe and help them im-
prove how they serve us by
voting yes on 27-125.
Jake Rosenbalm
Rickreall
Vote Hunt for
Dallas school board
I am voting for Dave
Hunt for the Dallas school
board.
Dave has a strong com-
mitment of service to the
community, having recently
retired as a career firefighter.
Dave understands the is-
sues faced by the school
board and will work to re-
solve these issues in a car-
ing, thoughtful manner.
Dave has always been in-
volved in school activities,
from coaching his children’s
teams, chaperoning Senior
Night, to raising funds for
school activities.
Dave will bring compas-
sion and caring to this posi-
tion, and work with school
administrators, teachers,
students and the communi-
ty to ensure students re-
ceive the best education
possible.
Kelly Gabliks
Dallas
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Vol. 142, No. 19
(USPS) - 437-380)
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