A6 The BulleTin • Wednesday, March 10, 2021
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Heidi Wright
Gerry O’Brien
Richard Coe
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Page Editor
WHAT OTHER EDITORS SAY
Teachers must
share urgency to
reopen schools
THE OREGONIAN EDITORIAL BOARD
G
ov. Kate Brown’s order directing Oregon’s public schools
to reopen to all grades by April 19 goes a long way to
removing roadblocks keeping so many students at home.
The order, issued Friday, instructs
her health and education directors
to review school-reopening require-
ments and revise them in order to
“facilitate the return” to classrooms.
Loosening rigid restrictions about
space requirements, student group
size and other factors — while still
following federal guidance — will
help schools solve what has become
an impossible logistical puzzle.
It’s a huge step forward that em-
braces the science behind the safety
of reopening schools, bolsters
Brown’s decision to prioritize edu-
cators for vaccines and shows her
sincerity in wanting to relieve the
burdens Oregon’s youngest have had
to bear.
But for some districts, including
Oregon’s largest, a final piece re-
mains: an agreement between the
district and teachers that spells out
working conditions for reopening.
While Brown’s executive order
clearly sends a message to those at
the bargaining table to find compro-
mise, teachers in some districts have
delayed efforts to reopen or drawn
out negotiations. With time running
short, teachers, districts and families
must wholeheartedly shoulder that
goal of reopening schools this year,
accept the pragmatic over the per-
fect, and commit to working through
the inevitable mistakes and changes
along the way.
Certainly, districts must deliver on
a safe plan for reopening, including
investing in ventilation improve-
ments and technological infrastruc-
ture. They must also map out school
days and student groups to minimize
potential COVID-19 exposure while
offering instruction to students face-
to-face and online.
Union demands excessive
But some requests by teachers
go beyond what’s reasonable or
within a school’s control. For exam-
ple, Portland Association of Teach-
ers’ proposal calls for holding off
on in-person instruction until the
tri-county region achieves a less
than 3% positive test rate over three
weeks and can trace 95% of contacts
of a COVID-positive case within 24
hours — a tougher standard than
even the guidance that the union fre-
quently cites.
It is also seeking hospitals’ assur-
ances that they have sufficient per-
sonal protective equipment.
But even on instruction matters,
the union isn’t reflecting the urgency
that many families feel. Union rep-
resentatives boycotted a negotia-
tion session to protest the district’s
now-scuttled plan to have educa-
tors simultaneously broadcast their
in-person class to students tuning in
from home. Now, the union is seek-
ing flexibility for individual schools
in making instructional and schedul-
ing decisions, a move that would be
hopelessly impractical.
Such big asks aren’t uncommon in
bargaining, but they do slow down
progress. Elizabeth Thiel, president
of the Portland Association of Teach-
ers, said the union is focused on
the district’s planned start date, but
teachers want a plan that protects
community safety and doesn’t de-
grade instruction for those who opt
to remain in distance learning.
She added that the district’s pre-
liminary instructional plans don’t
adequately focus on meeting stu-
dents’ socializing needs, and that it
must have strategies in place to deal
with students’ mental health needs.
Shape what’s possible
She’s right to push the district on
thinking creatively about how to
meet instructional needs in a way
that promotes socialization. And ide-
ally, schools would have a phalanx of
counselors and mental-health sup-
ports before students come back.
But we’re in an emergency. We
need our schools, teachers and com-
munity to act pragmatically to offer
sufficient safety, access to instruction
and emphasize getting kids in build-
ings as soon as possible.
Reopening schools isn’t just about
stemming the significant academic
losses and absenteeism that we’re
seeing. It’s also about what we’re not
seeing — the profound toll on stu-
dents that’s been hidden from view
by distance learning. Only now, as
some schools reopen, is that suffer-
ing becoming apparent.
Consider Coquille School Dis-
trict, which has had all grades back
for some in-person instruction since
January. Superintendent Tim Swee-
ney asked school counselors last
month what they’re seeing.
Extreme harm happening
The results were bracing: More
than two dozen students shared that
they were suffering from abuse —
physical, sexual, emotional and ver-
bal. Thirteen students had become
homeless. Three were in counseling
after talking about or threatening
suicide. Others said their parents
were struggling themselves and
couldn’t help them. Some won’t eat
out of fear of taking off their masks.
Coquille’s counselors are stretched
so thin, that he’s hiring another. “We
are in crisis across multiple grade
levels and for a variety of reasons,” he
said. This is the harm in keeping our
schools closed.
Reopening will be a bumpy,
flawed, exasperating process, just like
last year’s switch to online learning.
But we cannot put it off until fall.
Oregon’s students should not have to
wait any longer.
Central Oregon crossroads
Are we moving fast enough to protect our waterways?
BY SCOTT CHRISTIANSEN
GUEST COLUMN
Editor’s note: The following is part of
an ongoing, twice a month series of col-
umns regarding climate change and its
Subsurface drip irrigation
ramifications for Central Oregon.
ater management conflicts
More efficient methods exist for in-
are not hard to find. Glob-
tensification of hay production using
ally, agriculture
subsurface drip irrigation.
consumes most of the fresh
Netafim, one of the most
water (65-90%, depending
advanced irrigation compa-
on country). This past year in
nies in the world, developed
Oregon, fish and farms were
a subsurface drip tape that
both in trouble. Heavy reli-
is buried 8-12 inches deep
ance on irrigation during the
in the soil to deliver precise
2020 drought dried up Wick-
amounts of water and fertil-
Christiansen
iup Reservoir.
izer to alfalfa that can raise
Bend was established as
production by 25-40%. It is
an agricultural community. Histori-
used successfully in California where
cally, the U.S. government encouraged the system has shown it can pay for it-
farmers to settle the West using incen- self in three years.
tives, such as interest-free infrastruc-
The links
ture loan repayments for irrigation
Golf courses have been criticized
districts and repayment relief in years
when farmers were under stress. With for their perceived negative impact on
the environment. Water use for golf
signs of trouble ahead, we are chang-
courses generates significantly greater
ing course in several ways, but are we
economic activity compared
doing so fast enough?
to alternative water uses like
Trends depict agricultural
residential lawns and even
water use in the Western U.S.
field crops; however, many
According to the USDA’s
courses built in the 1970s,
Economic Research Service,
’80s and ’90s now have aging,
inefficient flood irrigation
out-of-date irrigation, drain-
has been decreasing and
age, tees, bunkers and greens
pressurized sprinkler irriga-
that need retrofitting or re-
tion has been increasing over
placement. Golf course designers will
the past 40 years; however, neither
method is the best technology for use probably not turn to AstroTurf because
in Central Oregon because of seepage plastic divots can’t be replanted and
the turf radiates heat in the summer —
and evaporation from volcanic soils
but you might anticipate a downsizing
that are highly porous and have low
from 18- to 12-hole courses.
water retention capacity.
The Journal of Golf Course
Better irrigation methods
Management wrote a technical re-
port about water-use efficiency for
Farmers and ranchers can now in-
vest in more efficient irrigation equip- golf courses. Water use on an av-
erage-sized course (103 irrigated
ment. For example, Low-Elevation
acres) in the northwestern U.S. was
Sprinkler Application (LESA) irriga-
97,885,761 gallons per year. During
tion systems improve irrigation ap-
the irrigation season in Central
plication efficiency to as high as 97%
Oregon, usually from April 15 to Sept.
by reducing water losses due to wind
30 (168 days), this amount of water is
drift and evaporation from the top of
equivalent to about 582,653 gallons
the plant canopy.
per course per day. Within a 30-mile
By delivering water close to the
radius of Bend, there are at least 20
ground, water is better targeted to
golf courses and others being planned
plants so less water and energy for
that collectively consume millions of
pumping are needed to meet crop
gallons of water per day.
water requirements. Irrigation equip-
ment manufacturers and distributors
Water savings at home
have developed retrofit kits to con-
vert existing pivots or wheel lines into
Domestic water conservation can
LESA reconfigurations.
also save large volumes of water. The
W
Historically, the U.S. government
encouraged farmers to settle the
West using incentives. … With
signs of trouble ahead, we are
changing course in several ways,
but are we doing so fast enough?
Environmental Protection Agency
lists several things that you can do to
save water.
For example, if an average-sized
lawn in the U.S. is watered for 20 min-
utes every day for seven days, it is like
running the shower constantly for
four days or taking more than 800
showers. A household with an auto-
matic landscape irrigation system that
is not properly maintained and oper-
ated can waste up to 25,000 gallons of
water annually.
Nonrevenue water (NRW)
Formerly termed “unaccounted
for water,” NRW is water that has
been produced and is “lost” before
it reaches the customer. In a study
on the state of U.S. urban water use,
data from over 160 drinking water
or wastewater utilities in U.S. cities
were collected to determine water de-
mands. Almost 15% of water treated
across the United States never reaches
the consumer because of physical loss
or theft. This is considered a good
level compared to many other parts
of the world. Fortunately, the data for
Bend in its Water Management and
Conservation Plan show a NRW per-
centage of 3.8% averaged over 2008-
2015.
Summary
It appears that we are reaching the
tipping point where there is no lon-
ger enough water to go around for all
sectors. If the day has indeed arrived
when there is not enough water for
lawns, golf, hay and fish, we will need
to allocate, and price water based on
the highest public good. There are
many ways to improve our water use
if we choose to do so.
e e
Scott Christiansen is an international
agronomist with 35 years of experience. He
worked for USDA’s Agricultural Research
Service and the U.S. Agency for International
Development.
Many are starting to face the anxiety of leaving COVID-19 behind
BY LUCY MCBRIDE
Special To The Washington Post
I
nvitations are usually welcome.
This one makes me sweat. “Let’s
get social! Join us for an in-person
May soirée!” A group of my medical
colleagues, all vaccinated, are propos-
ing a gathering inside a Washington,
D.C., restaurant.
The mind races. What about masks?
Will there be hugs? Handshakes? Do
I remember how to make small talk?
What would I possibly wear?
I’m a primary care doctor. I’ve been
vaccinated against the coronavirus,
but I’m not immune to the complex
feelings that transitions invite. Like
my patients anticipating the shift to
post-pandemic life, my brain is buzz-
ing with anxiety and ambivalence, ra-
tional thoughts and irrational fears.
We have been yearning to be done
with enforced distancing, social isola-
tion and life in a more virtual reality.
Now that the moment has arrived —
as millions of Americans have been
vaccinated and millions more will
soon roll up their sleeves for it — the
prospect is oddly disconcerting.
My patients, too, have mixed feelings
about the “new normal.” Conditioned
to stay home and to distance from oth-
ers, they often express disbelief when I
assure them that, once vaccinated, they
can hug loved ones, dine indoors and
even gather, unmasked, with another
household of unvaccinated people.
Pre-COVID, my teenage kids
talked about FOMO, a Fear Of Miss-
ing Out. But upon reentry, many of us
will face something new: FONO, or a
Fear Of Normal.
Trauma has a way of doing that to
us. We’ve lost more than 500,000 lives
in this country alone. We’ve suffered
unprecedented economic, social and
emotional upheaval. And regardless
of our individual pandemic experi-
ence, each of us has faced some level
of loss, grief and despair.
The pandemic will end. With drop-
ping case rates and three incredible
vaccines robustly protecting us from
COVID-19, soon we’ll be able to re-
lax the restrictions of pandemic life.
Just this week, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention issued new
guidelines outlining the activities that
the fully vaccinated can safely resume.
Return to normal
But now that we’ve adjusted to pan-
demic life, it’s understandable to ex-
perience emotional whiplash even as
trauma recedes.
I see it in my office every day. From
specific worry about being infected
with the coronavirus to generalized
anxiety about resuming normal activi-
ties, pondering our future can generate
ambivalence and even outright fear.
There is no one-size-fits-all prescrip-
tion for this reaction. But my advice
to patients — and myself — is akin to
recommendations for anyone who has
experienced a major life disruption.
We start by naming and normal-
izing the trauma. Identifying it as
such allows us to unlock a set of tools
known to help people after life-alter-
ing events. Normalizing helps reduce
self-stigma and the stress of feeling
unwell.
Identifying emotional roadblocks
to normalcy is critical. For some, the
thought of socializing indoors or re-
laxing other COVID-19 rules gener-
ates anxiety.
To mitigate the expected anxiety,
we assemble a kit of coping tools. I
commonly recommend breathing
techniques, guided meditation, reg-
ular exercise, prioritizing sleep and
spending time in nature, all of which
tamp down stress hormones.
Using facts to talk back to anxious
thoughts is also essential for halting
endless loops of irrational worry.
Simply practicing normalcy will
help, too.
The science is clear. The vaccines
protect us from illness and help pre-
vent transmission, too. They will al-
low us to reconnect with loved ones
and to resume in-person school, work
and worship without fear.
Vaccination against COVID-19 is
crucial for our health and safety. So
are naming, normalizing and navigat-
ing fears about reentry. Just as before
COVID, risk will still be everywhere.
But navigating a new normal — and
the possibility for post-traumatic
growth — is achievable with patience,
self-awareness and humility.
With a mix of reticence and relief,
I click “RSVP YES!” to my colleagues’
party and take my first step toward
reentry. The next step? Buttoning my
pants.
e e
Lucy McBride is a practicing internist, health-
care educator, mental health advocate and
Bloomberg New Voices fellow. She writes
a biweekly newsletter with guidance on
COVID-19 at www.lucymcbride.com.