The independent., June 16, 2005, Page 2, Image 2

Tho
INDEPENDENT
T iu
ÛL' bKAF-f Dor>œ 5
For
Mb
*•«
Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by
The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064.
Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410. Publisher Clark McGaugh,
clark@the-independent.net • Managing Editor Rebecca Mc­
Gaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net • Editor Noni Ander­
sen, noni@the-independent.net
Veterans are being used
to cut benefits for others
Veterans are being treated dishonorably by the peo­
ple who should be making sure that their needs are be­
ing met. The federal budget is cutting so much out of
veterans services that veterans offices on the local lev­
el can’t provide adequate service. On top of that, vet­
erans’ medical costs will increase.
You don’t believe it?
President Bush's budget would more than double
the co-payment charged to many veterans for pre­
scription drugs and would require some to pay a new
fee of $250 a year for the privilege of using govern­
ment health care.
A September 2004 report by the Government Ac­
countability Office found that officials at six of seven
Veterans Affairs medical facilities surveyed said they
“may not be able to meet” increased demand for treat­
ment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Veterans are crying foul over President Bush's budg­
et proposals to cut spending on their health care.
Mr. Bush knows this is no time to cut veterans' ben­
efits. By proposing changes that are politically unac­
ceptable, he’s using veterans as a bargaining chip: If
Congress refuses to make the veterans' cuts the pres­
ident has proposed, they will be pressured to make
even deeper cuts in programs for people who don't
have the veterans' ability to fight back.
In other words, the president is pitting veterans
against the 660,000 women, infants and children
whose food assistance is on the chopping block;
against the 120,000 preschoolers who will be cut from
Head Start; against the 370,000 families and disabled
and elderly individuals who will lose rental assistance;
against communities that will lose support for clean air
and drinking water; and so on.
The size of the proposed spending cuts are a direct
result of the president’s refusal to ask for tax-cut roll­
backs - that is, to ask wealthy investors, who have had
lavish, deficit-bloating tax cuts over the past four years,
to contribute toward deficit reduction.
In fact, his budget proposes even more tax breaks,
specifically for people with six-figure incomes or more
and overflowing investment portfolios.
These trade-offs are unacceptable - for veterans
and for America.
Letters
seniors were gone is like the
school canceling a class for the
day because some kids are
sick. You still do it. The article
To the Editor:
also mentioned how the pri­
In the June 2nd edition of
mary target audience wasn’t
The Independent, I read in the
there. But if I remember right,
Opinion section about how the
there were over 200 high
editor thinks opportunities to
school students, and eighth
educate are overlooked. The
graders who watched. Weren’t
editor stated that the School
we all the target audience?
Administration failed to plan
Later in the article, it also
ahead in setting the SKID pres­
talked about “misplaced priori­
entation to the high school on
ties,” and how “replacing an ex­
Senior Skip Day. The editor
perienced music teacher with a
also wrote that nearly every­
rookie whose salary was lower
body, except the school board,
also caused students to lose
knew well in advance.
out on valuable educational ex­
As a high school junior, I
periences such as Music in
would like to say that nobody
May, and Honor Band.” Well,
knew about Senior Skip Day
I’m here to say as a proud band
until three days before. It’s a
member for the past seven
question of planning. Which
years, we did not lose out on
takes longer, planning a melo­
any of these things. First of all,
drama that includes a life-flight,
Mr. Isted, whom I really liked
paramedics, police officers,
and respected, resigned. The
and students, or some seniors
school district replaced him
saying, “We should have Se­
with the most qualified appli­
nior Skip Day on Friday.”? The
cant for the vacant position, Mr.
school administration doesn’t
Shannon. Over the past two
even sponsor Senior Skip Day.
years even though numbers in
Saying
that
the
school
band have been low, I have en­
should’ve rescheduled some­
joyed having Mr. Shannon as
thing that probably took weeks
our band teacher. Over the past
to oraanize. iust because some
Student defends work
of school district
I
two years, we have sent people
to honor band. This year we
sent seven, and if not for con­
flicts, another four would have
gone, including myself. The
honor band itself was a presti­
gious event, with the top band
conductors in the northwest
teaching the students a lot. Mr.
Shannon told us about every
honor band, and about Music In
May, but it was the students,
not him, who were not interest­
ed in going. This was his last
year as a teacher in Vernonia,
and I am sad to see him go. I
would personally like to thank
him for the past two years of
band.
The last thing I would like to
comment on is the last section
of the article, in which it talks
about other “educational ways
to engage curious young
minds." The editor asks why
kids aren’t intrigued by ex­
tracurricular activities that in­
clude geography, sciences,
drama, or the Constitution.
Well, my mother, the music and
drama teacher at Washington
Grade School has put on plays
involving an average of 40 Ju-
Please see page 3