Board: No to guns and growth hormone

The Sisters School Board did not discuss guns and butter at its last meeting. But it came close; it discussed — separately — guns and milk.

Guns came up when the board adopted without much comment an updated policy dealing with weapons in the schools. The policy basically prohibits students from having guns or other “deadly” or “dangerous” weapons on school district property or at school activities.

In connection with that, Superintendent Ted Thonstad gave the board a letter from Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, asking school boards around the state to support her bills that would give those boards authority to ban all guns from schools.

Today, board-imposed gun bans do not extend to holders of licenses to carry concealed handguns.

“There are nearly 100,000 people licensed in the state of Oregon to carry concealed handguns,” Burdick’s letter said.

“Aside from a gun safety class with a handgun safety component, there is no requirement that concealed handgun license holders have anywhere near the training to safely fire a weapon in a crowded classroom…

“I share the opinion expressed by many that guns simply do not belong in schools except when carried by trained law enforcement officers.”

The superintendent said he thought the bills (Senate Bill 335 and Senate Bill 956) are a good idea. Board members indicated that they agreed, and without taking a formal vote authorized him to send Burdick’s office a letter of support.

Milk entered the deliberations via board member Eric Dolson, who pointed out that the Tillamook County Creamery Association’s member farmers voted 2 to 1 last month to retain the association’s ban on the use of an artificial growth hormone for cows.

The ban was adopted a year ago, but since then the Monsanto Co., which makes the hormone in question (brand name Posilac), had put strong pressure on the group to reverse itself.

The company argued that dairy owners who use Posilac can increase milk production and profits.

Although the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Posilac in 1993, a number of critics have argued against it on grounds that a potential link between insulin-like Growth Factor 1 or IGF1 and breast and prostate cancer has not been disproven.

Dolson told his fellow board members that “in my family, we say, ‘Why take a chance?’”

His main point was that he was “very pleased to learn” that Redmond-based Eberhard’s Dairy, which supplies the milk for Sisters schools, has a policy prohibiting the use of Posilac for the cows from which they get their milk.

“I want to compliment Eberhard’s,” Dolson said.