Letters to the Editor for April 15

Testimony / statement opportunities are from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Get there early to sign up. There is another event the following week at PSU in Portland. HRCSD alone is facing an $896K budget cut due to the current budget proposal. Most districts in the state are facing massive cuts.

Don’t believe the propaganda coming out of Salem. Come to a school board meeting and you can see what reality is. Come to this Road Show event and state your opinion in person to the Committee. Hold the Governor accountable: # K12 Be a Hero. A car pool / caravan of parents and students will be leaving the southwest corner of the Walmart parking lot at 5 p.m. Thursday, headed to MHCC.

Rich Truax

Hood River

Priorities

Our schools are faced with an $896,000 budget cut and all that Mark Johnson can come up with is a license plate? That is what’s called an ineffective representative.

Jim Greenleaf

Hood River

PE as a CORE subject

On April 8, physical education teachers in the Hood River County School District should have celebrated. The US Senate announced bipartisan legislation that aims to classify physical education as a core subject in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), otherwise known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

This is significant because it would allow federal Title funds to be spent to support physical education.

Unfortunately, April 8 was a dark day for physical education in HRCSD. Superintendent Goldman estimated an $896,000 reduction in funding as we plan next year’s budget. This is not Goldman’s fault as he has advocated tirelessly for more funding than the $7.235 billion approved. In a letter to staff, potential cuts could include elimination of K-5 physical education and reductions to 6-12 physical education. This would be short-sighted and awful for kids.

The benefits of daily, quality physical education (QPE) are numerous in improving academic and behavioral outcomes. Emerging brain research is summarized in the books SPARK by John Ratey and Brain Rules by John Medina; they both demonstrate the impact QPE has on the whole student.

We now know that QPE sets up students to be more successful in the classroom by boosting cognitive function. This is especially true with literacy, one of the district’s priorities.

Knowing this, Oregon passed House Bill 3141 in 2007 giving school districts 10 years to increase PE instructional time. Starting in 2017-18, state law will mandate students K-5 receive 150 minutes and 6-8 receive 225 minutes of PE per week. To prepare, Oregon school districts are required to report their average weekly PE minutes every year. While still below the mandated amount, HRCSD isn’t even on par with state averages:

State Average (minutes/week): 3rd grade, 71 minutes; 7th grade 163 minutes

Hood River County (minutes/week): 3rd grade, 33 minutes; Wy’east Middle, 150 minutes; Hood River Middle, 78 minutes

HRCSD is far behind the rest of Oregon in recognizing and prioritizing the value quality physical education has on improving outcomes for students. If Excellence, Every Student, Every Day is what we aspire to, eliminating physical education is not the way to do it.

Adam Howell, PE teacher

Hood River

Attend workshop

On April 25, fathers and grandfathers have an opportunity to attend the “Pathways to Responsible Fatherhood,” 9-5 p.m. at Hood River Middle School. I attended part of this workshop in The Dalles the last two years and it was excellent. It had good speakers with a sense of humor, lots of interesting topics, and the fathers I saw were enjoying being at the workshop. Some fathers told me that the workshop gave helpful information, a time to focus on the very important role they have in their child’s life, and an opportunity to talk to other fathers. This is likely a onetime opportunity!

The time is NOW to be the best dad you can be! You can learn more ways to be an effective parent, including the use of praise in promoting positive behaviors, logical and natural consequences, your discipline style, the power of a father, teaching and modeling your values through your behavior, and “Love and Logic” parenting. The most important thing you can do is to spend time with your child in play letting them lead, eat together as a family, tell your child you are proud of them, limit screen time, give plenty of hugs and kisses, listen carefully, acknowledge their feelings, and help them see their “greatness” as a person. Besides covering parenting, the workshop will cover how to have a healthy relationship and good communication with your child’s mother. Register online at www.northwestmarriage.org or call 360-260-1100. The workshop is free and provides lunch, child care, and a $40 gift card for Walmart to fathers who are attending the workshop for the first time. Mothers can attend the workshop if they go with a dad. The workshop is in English and Spanish.

Nancy Johanson Paul

The Next Door Parenting

Education Program

Hood River

Not the solution

In response to the article on April 11, 2015, about Dr. Johannes Loschnigg’s presentation about the climate (“Look beyond ‘easy solutions’ on climate”), I comment:

Dr. Loschnigg’s argument “was that national conversations about climate change have been murky and misguided, more focused on the confusion over the scientific veracity of global warming than on actions U.S. citizens can take to best reduce their carbon footprint.” If “veracity” (truthfulness) is not valued, how can intelligent and useful solutions to the supposed problem be accomplished?

Studies have actually shown that carbon dioxide has minimal effect on the climate. On the other hand, the various effects of the sun have very good correlation with climate control.

So it makes no sense to push for a solution that is no solution, but in fact is an economically destructive process.

Don Rose, MD

Hood River

Walden kudos

Kudos to Greg Walden for taking a stand and working to balance the budget! We need more like him in Washington, D.C. to help clean up the federal government’s fiscal mess.

The national debt is over $18 trillion and growing every day. And President Obama has proposed a budget that increases spending and taxes, but never balances. Enough is enough! The federal government must cut spending and balance the budget.

Fortunately, Greg Walden and other Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a balanced budget. This common-sense plan gets spending under control, doesn’t raise taxes, and puts America on a path to paying down the debt. We’ll never get the economy going again if we don’t put our fiscal house in order. I’m glad that Walden is doing the right thing and looking out for us.

John Brennan

Hood River

Election time again

It’s that time again. Lies, meaningless promises, double talk, political rhetoric, name calling, finger pointing, more lies, empty speeches, senseless debates, inane interviews, commercials, endorsements, buying votes, personal attacks, more lies and money. It’s time to elect our president.

Jerry Giarraputo

Hood River

For Wilhelm

It is vital for our children that we place important decisions about their future in capable hands. Those hands must advocate for the children and their families. That is why I wholehearted endorse Kris Wilhelm for Position 1, Westside Hood River and Cascade Locks, Hood River County School Board. I have known Kris for 20-plus years (as a student, athlete, friend, wife and mother) and have found her to be hard working, thoughtful and thorough. She possesses character and integrity. Kris will do the work of fact finding prior to important decisions. She stands for kids, parents, teachers and sound financial decisions. Your vote for Kris Wilhelm is a vote for a positive voice on the Hood River County School Board.

Cynthia L Phelps

Parkdale

Be well-informed

With the 2016 election looming on the horizon, our new president will be elected by either a majority of well-informed voters or a majority of low information voters. It depends on which category is largest. I believe the well informed voters will take the time to drink from the Fountain of Facts, while the lower information voters will merely gargle.

Bill Davis

Hood River