Last modified: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 11:04 AM PDT Letters to the editor Obama supports abortion Editor, Mr. Obama supports the pro-choice position on abortion, which represents the following irresponsible choices: Parents who abort their baby chose to have unprotected sex, except in 1 percent of the cases in which rape was involved, chose not to pursue adoptions and chose to kill their unborn baby because of the inconvenience of having produced it. Rarely does giving birth endanger the mother’s life. Having and caring for a child requires sacrifices that will affect one’s lifestyle, but how can protecting your lifestyle be more important than protecting the life of your unborn baby? Tragically, most Americans seem to have forsaken a moral, God-centered foundation for an “ends-justifies-the-means” ideology to which Mr. Obama adheres. If innocent, unborn babies can be considered as an inconvenience to be liquidated by Mr. Obama, whom else might he consider to be an inconvenience to be liquidated? Disabled? Elderly? Jews? Our country is beyond voting it back on track. If we, as a nation, don’t repent and seek God’s intervention, then our demise is imminent. Arvell Bajema Fruitland School appearance matters to newcomers Editor, Since I live in Fruitland, I have been somewhat reluctant to “weigh in” on the school bond issue for Ontario. As the CEO of the hospital, however, I would like to share some thoughts on this issue.  As a hospital facility, we recruit many people to this area every year. In almost every instance, when the people we are recruiting have children, the condition of the schools in Ontario becomes an issue. I am not speaking about the education that is received at the schools; I’m talking about the physical appearance of the buildings. Most of the people we have recruited in the past several years have opted to live in communities other than Ontario because the schools there are newer, and it appears to them the commitment to education is therefore stronger. I realize I am talking about perceptions, but, as we all learned somewhere along the way, you only get one chance to make a first impression.  I am in favor of the facilities improvement plan the Ontario Schools Task Force has recommended and would encourage voters in Malheur County to support the bond initiative.  Mark F. Dalley Fruitland Re-elect Bill Sali for Congress Editor, Bill has done a great job representing all of Idaho in Congress. He has shown  he has the backbone to make the tough votes and do the right thing for the future of our children and our grandchildren. He has shown he will fight for Idaho values in Washington, D.C. Time and time again, he has proven he understands the vision of our Founding Fathers and knows how to articulate it while debating the issues of today. I started my service in Congress like Bill, representing Idaho’s First Congressional District. I know what it takes, and I am convinced Bill Sali will be one of America’s great leaders in the years ahead. His Republican peers elected him president of their 2006 freshman class. In his first term, he has distinguished himself as a principled legislator who will stand firm on what is right for Idaho and America. He has cast the tough votes needed to fight business as usual in Washington, D.C. Congressman Sali has done an outstanding job representing Idaho’s First Congressional District, and I hope you will join me in supporting him for re-election this November. Sen. Steve Symms (retired) Washington, D.C. Argus article lacked perspective Editor, While the reporting on 2007-08 AYP in the Aug. 6 issue of the Argus was factually accurate, one thing that was completely missing from the article was perspective. Whether or not you publish this letter in the Argus, I ask you to seriously consider its contents. First of all, the Argus reporter chose not to mention only 61 percent of Oregon schools met the AYP standard in 2007-08. A little closer examination will show most of those schools are small, and many of them do not have enough English language learners or special education students to constitute a subgroup. They may not experience widespread poverty or mobility. This alone ignores a large body of evidence that shows these are major challenges not just in Ontario, but all across the state and nation. Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to make excuses. I put 32 years into the educational system, working hard every day to make it better, but people need to get real about the notion every student can meet an arbitrary chosen standard by the year 2014. It’s a lofty goal but thoroughly demoralizing to districts who are working hard to improve their educational programs while getting nothing but a public flogging in return for not being able to make enough progress with every group on that timeline. Do you really think it’s fair to label Alameda as “failing” when one or two English language learners in one subject fail to meet the state standard? Well it’s not, and it totally invalidates (to the public) all the growth that has been made. If you don’t believe it, pull up the reports and look at the section that shows academic growth. You will find that Aiken, Cairo and May Roberts exceed (and with many groups by a large percentage) their growth targets in both reading and math. You will find  Alameda also showed impressive growth with the expectation of the target for English language learners in math. Pioneer did not meet all of their growth targets, but if you look at their adjusted percentages (the numbers used to determine AYP), you will find all three subgroups represented at Pioneer had more than 96 percent meeting the standard in reading and more than 76 percent in math. Though five of the six subgroups at OMS missed the growth target in math, every group did show growth. So what about OHS? The Argus article failed to mention the fact only 35 percent of Oregon high schools met the 2007-08 AYP targets. What does this tell us? Does it tell us Ontario High School is a chronically-substandard school, or does it tell us there is a systematic problem with high schools in general, or with the state standards, or with AYP reporting? By the way, for the blogger who put all the blame on Dr. Carter, do you blame him for the other 298 high schools in Oregon that failed to make AYP? You should, as anyone can do, go to the Oregon Department of Education Web site and pull up the AYP reports. A survey of districts in Eastern Oregon shows Ontario School District is certainly not alone. Neither Baker, Crook County, Elgin, Burns, Hermiston, Hood River, La Grande, Milton-Freewater, Umatilla, Union, Vale nor Wallowa school districts made AYP. A number of districts had at least one elementary school that did not make AYP. A sort of high schools by OSAA division is even more interesting and revealing: 55 percent of 3A high schools made AYP compared with 19 percent of 4A schools (OHS’s division) and only 5 percent of 5A schools. Apparently size does matter. By the way, across the state, 61.3 percent of schools made AYP. In the Ontario School District, 71 percent of schools made AYP, and OSD has no schools in improvement status. While it seems some Argus readers delight in seeing yet another headline that points out the failures of the OSD, it seems like a lot of other people might like to read about the successes. So let’s examine headlines: Aug. 6 — “Ontario Schools fail to make AYP benchmark.” Aug. 21 — “Measuring success.” Who would guess at first glance the second article, while highlighting the accomplishments of the New Plymouth School District, reports the failure to meet AYP in Fruitland or Payette? It’s subtle, in my opinion, but deliberate. AYP is complicated and misleading. It does not tell the whole story about any one school or district. That is why we have a state report card. But with or without an AYP report or a state report card, administrators and teachers in the OSD recognize improvements are essential to meet the needs of every student who walks through its doors. They have taken on aggressive reading and math initiatives. Each of these initiatives has the support of the Oregon Department of Education, who in many cases has held OSD up as a model for program implementation. I can guarantee you as long as the local press finds some sort of fascination with portraying OSD in the worst possible light, keeping up the morale of the staff (not to mention the community) will continue to be a challenge. I just wish some of the overwhelming majority of parents who rated their child’s school “very high” on a recent survey would speak up, if it’s only across the back fence or a shopping cart. To the many talented and dedicated administrators, teachers, support staff, volunteers and parents who are working very hard to make our educational program a source of pride for the community, I commend you and ask you to hold your head high. You are making a difference in the lives of many children. You know the truth. Sherri Hironaka Ontario