Many thank yous
If I may, I would like to take a moment of your time to thank some of the wonderful people in our community who so graciously donate money and services to my school, Dry Hollow Elementary School, in The Dalles. Each year, the Dry Hollow fifth graders do an egg drop experiment that requires a lift to be used for the experiment, and each year Ace Hardware and the Sawyers generously donate a lift for our use at no cost. They have done so for many years.
As you know, the start of this school year has been extremely hot. I was dreading coming into a classroom with no air conditioning. To the happiness and glee of all the teachers at Dry Hollow, the Loyd family, who has no children in our school, donated 40 brand new stand up rotating fans for classroom use. Those fans have helped make things a lot more tolerable for this old man and his 26 students.
In addition to all of that, we have received several donations of school supplies from former students, as well as Gateway Church here in The Dalles. Gateway has done so many wonderful things to support the teachers and students here at Dry Hollow, from suppling class materials to furnishing snacks for every one of our staff members at Dry Hollow.
I just want everyone to know how appreciative I am for all the wonderful behind the scenes people that help our school and make this community a nice place to live.
Thanks for blessing us.
Courtney Kiser,
Fifth grade teacher
Dry Hollow Elementary School
Remove RFK Jr.
We’ve lost the CDC director Susan Monarez for refusing to fire agency leaders and to not back RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel if they restricted access to proven vaccines. Kennedy tried to obtain her resignation, but she refused. Her lawyers cited that “when she refused to rubber stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted” (“CDC Director Susan Monarez fired by Trump administration after refusing to resign, citing ‘reckless directives,’” NBC News, Aug. 27). Trump, in support of RFK Jr., fired Monarez on Aug. 27. Four more CDC officials resigned in protest of her firing. We’ve lost institutional knowledge and expertise. The results are devastating as we lose the ability to competently manage infectious disease outbreaks resulting in poor public health outreach, weakened global health partnerships, and a parent’s ability to secure vaccines for their children.
We lose when Congress sits on their hands and allows this to happen. In Klickitat County, our representative is Dan Newhouse. In Oregon, Cliff Bentz. I urge you to call them and demand that RFK Jr. be removed as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
April George
White Salmon
The big question: Real costs
This summer, Gorge-area Republican representatives in Congress, Bentz in OR-02 and Newhouse in WA-04, both gave praise for the passage of HR 1, which they voted for (otherwise known as Big Beautiful Bill). Rep. Bentz had a large piece in the Columbia Gorge News recently (Aug. 27) giving his explanation of why we should appreciate it.
The big question remains unanswered for both: How many people in your districts contacted you asking to be cut off from Medicaid and health insurance that they are relying on? How many people asked to have their SNAP/Food Stamps stopped, which they need to feed their children or seniors to have decent nutrition?
Thousands of citizens in these two districts know the answer: Zero.
We know they will be losing these essential services due to these Republican votes to give more tax breaks to the well-to-do and billionaires, who are not in these districts. In essence, Republican representatives vote to make sure wealthy people get their tax breaks by depriving low-income and working individuals and families and seniors the health care and food they need to have a decent life.
Here is a trusted source in Oregon to learn the real financial costs: The Department of Administrative Services, which published a paper on Aug. 11, “Estimated Impacts of HR 1”. They state in one section: “Due to changes made by HR 1 on resources states can draw down from Medicaid ... OHA (Oregon Health Authority) projects that Oregon will see a loss of $12 billion from the federal government over the next 10 years.” As they conclude: “Due to changes in eligibility and funding for services, there will be a significant decline in plan members served under the OH Plan’.
It’s true for Washington residents, too, under Apple Health.
These are your constituents, Reps. Bentz and Newhouse, that you have disregarded in your votes for wealthy tax breaks that add $3.4 trillion to the federal deficit (from CBO).
All your justifications ignore the real human costs.
Steven Woolpert
White Salmon
Commented