Controlled by the state
The state-controlled media is becoming famous for suspending reality when covering the White House news. Do you ever wonder who is actually in charge? Wait! Don’t look over there! Pay no attention to that man behind the Oval Office curtain. It’s not what you think. Just because the state controlled media gets airborne when he says jump, doesn’t mean we should jumpstart our brain, then jump to conclusions.
Do you ever wonder what the state-controlled media quarterback says when they huddle? Probably “Foil FOX.”
Bill Davis
Hood River
Listen and learn
I look forward to attending the forum this week sponsored by Gorge Ecumenical Ministries (GEM), “Stories of Love, Faith, and Struggle” which will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (corner of Eugene and 11th) on Thursday, March 20, from 6:30-8 p.m.
As a person of faith, I am aware that the question of marriage for gay and lesbian people in our state is a sensitive one in many of our churches. For this reason, I am grateful that GEM will provide us with an opportunity to listen to the stories of our neighbors in a safe and respectful environment.
Though I sometimes find it difficult to hear stories that challenge me or cause me to feel uncomfortable, I know that I am often changed by such encounters. I believe that listening deeply to the stories of others is another way of showing love for my neighbors.
I hope that other people of faith will join me this Thursday — not to be told what to do, think or believe, but to listen deeply and respectfully to our neighbors.
Ruth Tsu
Hood River
Recycle and help others
Save yourself time. Help keep recyclable beverage containers from going into the landfills by bringing them to the south side of Rosauers Supermarket parking lot on April 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Hood River Leos Club and the Robotics Team at Horizon Christian School are joining hands to recycle all the beverage cans and bottles you can bring.
Once a month, every first Saturday, the Leos Club performs this worthwhile community service. The group gets paid by the providers of the beverage containers and they in turn donate most of the money to organizations throughout Hood River County.
I hope to see a good turnout. Thank you, Leos.
Tom Yates
Hood River
Check for dyslexia
In the article about Hood River County School District’s student absenteeism and its impact on reading performance, one study finds kindergartners who missed 10 percent or more of school are likely to be behind at least one grade level in reading by third grade. While we don’t doubt the finding, we wonder if poor reading is really a consequence of missing school. Or is high absenteeism a result of being a poor reader?
Twenty percent of HRCSD first graders miss more than 10 percent of school. If Hood River follows the national average, the same proportion, approximately 20 percent of its student body, is dyslexic. People with dyslexia have an inherited neurological difference in the brain that causes an unexpected difficulty with reading, writing and spelling, given their level of intelligence.
Since HRCSD does not recognize dyslexia, teachers are not trained to identify it, understand it, or adapt their instruction. This leaves dyslexic kids frustrated and confused in the classroom.
In early grades, when the focus is on reading, writing and spelling, wouldn’t it stand to reason that the kids who are having trouble, simply because they process language differently, are the ones who don’t want to be there?
We are moms of children with dyslexia, and we know firsthand about the desire to be absent. We know about resistance, the stomachaches, headaches, the tears, and the strong feelings of not liking school.
Perhaps the way to improve student attendance is to address the absence of teaching methods that allow these kids to learn. The solutions are there: Implement multisensory, phonics-based reading instruction derived from the Orton-Gillingham method. Provide teacher training on dyslexia. Screen for dyslexia in K-3 to identify children early on, and spare them and their families worry and anxiety.
Out of frustration, we and other parents have formed the Columbia Gorge chapter of Decoding Dyslexia-Oregon. Its statewide mission is to raise awareness, empower families and improve resources in schools for children with dyslexia.
We plan to work with Hood River County schools to help them meet the needs of dyslexic students — and hopefully lower the absentee numbers along the way.
Donna Schumacher
Karen Holt
Katie Schmidt
Megan Filiault
Susan DeBonis
Susan Witt
Hood River
Locals have seen change
Mike Gundlach asks the question in his letter, “Locals only” (March 12), “How many of us locals complain about ‘outsiders’ yet want the local economies to keep growing?”
It sounds to me that Mike’s question stems from a pretentious position that no one has informed him he has taken, for the locals I know hadn’t worried about the local economy until outsiders started to manipulate it.
Since “outsiders” have continued moving here, rent has tripled; drive time for getting out for suitable hunting and fishing has drastically increased; and mobility, especially in Hood River, has become strained.
Locals didn’t complain about the economy until you and your “outsiders” changed it. Outsiders changed the economy and they did it as soon as they arrived by getting involved in local politics. They complained about “ugly locals,” logging, and just about everything else that had to do with rural living with the exception of property prices and the cost of living; those two things helped them to become rich at locals’ expense. How convenient for them.
Klickitat county officials even began printing rural information pamphlets to help negate the constant complaining by newcomers of the smells and noises associated with farm animals and rural living. That’s one other example of complaining by outsiders.
Mike also said that, “defining and dividing ourselves as ‘outsiders’ or ‘locals’ does not serve to build a stronger community; only a more divisive one.” I believe, from what I’ve witnessed, that outsiders have only sought to change our economy and way of life to one of tourism and the like. They never really accepted us and our culture, only forced us to accept them and theirs.
Define anything any way you like, but if you’re a local, you’ll never worry about other locals complaining about outsiders. Making fun is our favorite pastime.
Kevin Herman
White Salmon, Wash.
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