Letters to the Editor 12/18/2024

Thankful for school system

To the Editor:

Something to be thankful for: The public school system.

I could go into the history of my personal benefits, my children’s benefits, and my grandchildren’s benefits from this system, but I won’t. Instead, an overview of my direct experience of 63 years participating in this system. 

The teachers: Overall they are great! Like any aspect of the world, there will be some you love and some you don’t. But this I know: Teachers are dedicated, caring, intelligent people who do their very best to achieve excellence in their profession. They spend an inordinate amount of time designing and integrating lessons for their students. Many times, this includes raising extra money in their spare time to make sure students have supplies to enhance the learning experience (such as books, art supplies, etc.).  

Teachers are involved in continuous professional education for quality improvement of their teaching skills. This benefits the teachers’ expertise, thereby improving the quality of education for the students. Secondarily, this benefits their colleagues as the standard of expertise and professionalism continuously improves and that standard of practice becomes the expectation for everyone involved in the public school system.  

Whether we like it or not, the world in which we live is continuously changing. Teachers rise to this challenge in the process of continuous quality improvement while adhering to standards of practice.  

The student is a whole person, bringing with them all the challenges in their lives to school. Teachers know this. That is why schools strive to create an environment that supports students, parents, and families. After all, the family is the biggest influence on a child. Teachers know this. That is why they include families in the process. I suggest that if you have questions regarding these statements, just ask to be a volunteer at a school and/or speak with the staff to see if you may observe the process. 

I for one am so thankful that I have had the experience of participating in my children’s education. Not only for the educational part, but also I got to know their friends, the parents, and the staff. This makes for strong schools, strong communities, and strong students. This contributes to a society that has knowledge of critical thinking, communication skills, and an expectation that all citizens have value. Most of all it elevates caring, safety, and the knowledge that one is valued. And with all those skills our children will be caring, confident individuals. With these attributes in their “toolbox,” they will be able to be true to themselves and speak that truth to power. 

Vikki Hickmann

Window on homelessness

To the Editor:

I belong to a Facebook group for senior women. This group revolves around recreational camping. The number of senior women that are doing “RV life” or “Van Life” is mostly due to the fact that their Social Security is woefully insufficient for them to be able to remain in their houses, or they have suffered a medical set back that has caused them to lose everything.

This is a travesty! Women who have worked all of their lives at jobs, raised families, have often been the sole breadwinners in their homes, now are a growing population of the unhoused, masquerading as “Happy Campers.”

These are not women who are mentally ill or have addiction problems. Just regular old grandmas trying to put a good face on an unthinkable situation. They are trying to do it with grace and working hard to find joy as part of a growing population caught in this situation. This is so wrong on all levels. I will probably be joining them in the next three years.

In preparation for this possibility, I have already purchased a small travel trailer. I camp in it for fun now, but it gives me peace of mind knowing that if things go bad, I will at least have some form of roof over my head. So if your grandma/older mom invests in an RV, keep an eye on her. Make sure she knows you love her.

Michelle Poutre

Pray for our nation

I read Bruce Campbell’s December 11 column about the presidential election.

The people have spoken in a sweeping win for America, and the principles of our Constitution. Our nation is a Republic, and we intend to keep it!

Amongst other things, we the people are tired of high inflation, wide open borders, lawfare, and a weak foreign policy that led to our enemies flexing their muscles. We were lied to repeatedly that everything was OK.

There are some like Bruce that call our President-elect a fascist. In what way? Interesting that Mr. Trump is a friend of Israel and the Jewish people. Also, note the Israeli flags at some of his rallies. That is not being a fascist!

God has given this nation a reprieve. We must be in prayer every day for our nation and our leaders.

Richard Gray

Seek out a conversation

To the Editor:

I always enjoy reading the opinion letters in The Nugget as it lets me know what some of my fellow citizens think about current events. After reading Bruce Campbell’s guest editorial in last week’s Nugget, I realized that some people are fearful that the world as we know it is coming to an end. This despite the fact that Trump spent four years as President, and failed to replace our Republic with a fascist dictatorship as predicted. Maybe he will get that done this time around, or maybe that is merely hyperbole served up by the scare mongers on MSNBC and CNN?

Mr. Campbell also claims that Kamala Harris did “an excellent job” in her campaign, which is an opinion that is devoid of facts. She avoided the press, gave nonsensical answers to the few questions she did take, and picked a deeply flawed VP candidate that leaned even more left than she did. After spending over a billion dollars to buy the election, a majority of Americans still chose the candidate with felony convictions. How anyone can come to the conclusion that she ran an excellent campaign is beyond me. Most Democrat pundits are calling her a terrible choice that handed the election to Trump.

Mr. Campbell goes on to accuse a majority of American voters of being “ignorant” or “racist” which is not going to win anyone over to his point of view. I would suggest that he (and anyone else who harbors his views) should try inviting someone with a Trump hat out for coffee and have a conversation. You might learn something about your neighbors that doesn’t fit your preconceived stereotypes.

Carey Tosello

Give the new kids a chance

To the Editor:

The first amendment ensures freedom of speech. I guess that’s what you could call the “Disappointed in presidential election” editorial in the December 11 Nugget written by Bruce Campbell (not Carpenter). The left had Wall Street, celebrities, universities, foundations, a billion dollars in 100 days, and more. Everything except the people. How did they miss half of the Latino vote, and one quarter of the black vote shifting out from under their control? The emperor’s clothes wore a bit thin. Perhaps DEI, open borders, world chaos, hyperinflation, and many other forces initiated by leftist policies “woke” up the electorate.

The “clown car” cabinet? Interesting term. The bar, as set by the Obama and Biden administrations, is low. My favorite is James Clapper, who has admitted lying to Congress, retains his security clearance, and after Obama, pivoted to CNN where he promoted the infamous dossier lies, and signed onto the “51 intelligence authorities” analysis that deemed Hunter’s laptop a “Russian information operation,” thus securing the 2020 election. You can’t make this stuff up!

Give the new kids a chance. It really can’t get much worse. Remember the “weaponizing the justice system” is what the left does. Why do you think everyone with even a tangential connection to the administration wants a pardon before Joe gets his afternoon nap?

Mark Tyler

Forest plan will increase logging

To the Editor:

The Forest Service is proposing to amend the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP). The NWFP was created to protect old-growth forests and wildlife.

The new plan proposals would weaken the protection of public forests.

The NWFP was implemented in response to excessive logging ravaging many acres of public patrimony with massive clearcuts that turned public forests into industrial tree farms.

By the 1980s, it was obvious that old-growth forests and other natural [areas] would soon be exterminated, along with the numerous species that depended on them, like the spotted owl.

In 1994, in response to public outrage over the carnage, the Clinton Administration implemented the NWFP to slow the destruction of our national forest heritage.

The 1994 NWFP prioritized ecosystem recovery and required protections for mature (80+ years old) and old-growth forests.

These changes have turned some of our public forest lands into carbon sinks, reducing GHG emissions and contributing to climate warming. The NWFP also protected many forested watersheds, which are the spring wells of many municipalities. Forest protection has slowed the extinction of numerous species that depend on these old-growth forests.

The Forest Service’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) has four alternatives. Its preferred action, Alt B, would be a disaster for our forests.

Logging under Alternatives B could exceed one billion board feet annually, doubling 2023 logging levels and tripling the most recent 10-year average.

It raises the age class of “mature” or late successional stage forests from 80 to 120 years, effectively opening up 824,000 acres to logging. Post-fire logging of large old snags—the most essential biological legacy from wildfires—would be subject to logging.

In matric stands of 200-year-old “old-growth” forests, logging to preclude fire would be permitted, even though such logging has been shown to increase wildfire spread.

It advocates logging up to a third of dry, east-side Oregon forests for “forest health” and fire hazard reduction — both questionable logging outcomes. Without going into the weeds, logging often opens forests to greater wind penetration and drying, which have been shown to increase fire spread, not reduce it.

Furthermore, the FS has broad discretion in determining what is defined as a “dry forest,” meaning it could log other forest types.

The plan calls for logging up to 964,000 acres of dry forest landscape in the next 15 years, an area about four times the size of Mount Rainier National Park!

The preferred alternative of the NWFP revision will be a disaster for public forests.

While the status quo has numerous problems, the proposed alternatives are more problematic. Interested citizens can write the FS and ask them to choose Alt-A, which maintains the current NWFP regulations. Send copies of your comments to Senator Merkley and Senator Wyden.

George Wuerthner

Alternative to expansion

To the Editor:

I did attend the Open House regarding the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) on December 9, arriving in plenty of time to peruse the five options and look at maps. Every option was for expansion. Did anyone consider not growing? If not, why not, considering the water issues, sewer issues, wildlife issues, traffic issues, and other aspects of the human environment. 

I thought the mayor, extolling the virtues of Sisters, would offer an alternative by suggesting we pursue Sisters as an Area of Critical State Concern, as had occurred for the Metolius. That was not even mentioned. 

We did experience a very professional presentation, covering the period from 2019 to the present. Despite an offer that questions would be forthcoming, there was time for only three. 

We were then to break up into facilitated small groups and, as you might expect, in an elementary school cafeteria, there was not enough seating, let alone adult seating. I was part of the group that left, realizing, despite obvious interest by the size of the group, an acknowledgement that we were not having an open dialogue. 

197.628 which deals with this process, lists economic development, needed housing, transportation, public facilities and services, and urbanization. The last word should interest us for that is the direction Sisters is moving towards. In addition, the land-use program should manage the effects of climate change.

The Metolius Area of Critical State Concern was official on April 2, 2009, pursuant to ORS 197.405 (4). The Legislature also approved that the management plan must limit development of a small-scale recreation community. Individual items such as water, how clusters of homes, and ingress and egress to those homes, etc. were to be managed by the approved plan. 

I for one would recommend more discussion about the UGB and that it be held in an adult-sized venue. 

Phyllis Lewis