Letters to the Editor 04/20/2011

To the Editor,

The current and future fiscal despair that our schools face is real and imminent. Does this mean that the Sisters community has to lose or degrade one of its best assets? Certainly not.

Will it be difficult and challenging to guide our school district through these times? Yes, tougher than ever before.

However, the good news is, we have some very dedicated community members who have stepped up to serve on our school board. The upcoming election gives us an opportunity to place another outstanding community member in the position to maintain the high expectations and standards we have set for our schools.

That candidate is Andrew Gorayeb.

I had the opportunity to meet Andrew right after he and his family became a part of our community. The first thing I noticed was Andrew's ability to communicate in a direct and concise manner and, he asked a lot of questions.

Four years later and after serving on several boards together including the Sisters School District Budget Committee, I have come to realize that all those questions come from a genuine concern to find out how and why things are done, what is the end goal, and what can we do to improve things for the mutual benefit of the community.

Whether it is at the city level, SPRD, school district, ASPIRE or fire department level, Andrew's commitment and passion are real (just ask any of his lacrosse players or ASPIRE mentees). Combine this with his experience, intimate working knowledge of both the operational and financial status of the school district and Andrew Gorayeb is clearly the right choice to help guide our school district forward as a new board member.

Hence, my unequivocal recommendation and vote for Andrew Gorayeb.

Darren Layne

s s s

To the Editor:

Allow me to offer a letter without the whine of a bitter complaint or the fever of a rant.

The other day it was remarked to me that Camp Sherman's Black Butte public school - poised close to the Metolius River and nestled among ponderosa pine-is "quaint."

Well it is that and a whole lot more. It is a success story. Several years ago after the death of its legendary and tireless leader, Toni Foster, the school, understandably, fell into a trough of some confusion and instability. This is no longer the case. Fortified by a sound budget and blessed with gifted teachers and a skilled staff devoted to the children and academic excellence, confusion and instability found themselves dismissed from class.

"Quaint" has a number of meanings, one of which is "unusual in character." Well then, Black Butte School may be quaint after all. I should note that I am a member of Black Butte's school board and confess to being biased, but I hope not blindly so. Still, "Go Black Butte!"

Erhard K. Dortmund

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To the Editor:

I received a phone call from New Jersey, 201-200-9999, telling me I have been awarded $7,000 from the government for my good credit, etc. and in order to get this directly deposited today into my account I can give them my banking or credit card information.

I started to laugh and they hung up.

I called the police and they said there was a woman in Bend just recently who did give her info and she reported her loss; I don't know how much.

Perhaps it's time to remind our good citizens of this type of fraud. Never never never give out any account information over the phone unless you call them and know for sure who you are talking to!

Cynthia Cowan