Letters to the Editor:
Tuesday, October 14, 2008 10:18 AM PDT
School bond passage will restore fundamentals
Editor,
Ontario has been very good to my family and I. The upcoming school bond measure provides a way to give back to the community that has given me so much. The bond funds will support a well-thought-out plan that was designed by volunteer citizens based upon broad input from the community. It provides needed funds to upgrade our existing facilities on their existing sites. In supporting this plan, it is my belief the community is making a covenant with the school district, administration and teachers that true learning and academic abilities will significantly improve. To me, passage of the bond issue is a measure of trust the citizens are saying to the schools’ powers that be restore discipline, restore a learning atmosphere, restore Ontario’s schools to a place of community pride.
Riley Hill
Ontario
Bond would improve Ontario schools
Editor,
The Associated Student Body (A.S.B.) officers of Ontario High School feel it is important that Ontario School District Measure 23-47 be passed. In doing this, it will create a safer, more appealing and up-to-date atmosphere. As current students of OHS, we have experienced the crowded classrooms, seen the dangling light fixtures and felt the negative energy as a result. The nearly 60-year-old classrooms of our science wing face the gruesome challenge of adapting to today’s updated and growing sciences. On rainy days, students walk through the halls trying to avoid buckets that catch the drips of inevitable leaks. Despite the high school’s poor conditions, those of Ontario Middle School may be even worse.
Currently, the OMS campus is a cluster of several buildings, divided by a road through the middle. Having an enclosed campus, rather than the current situation would provide a safer environment for students before and after school. During our attendance at OMS, there was an incident in which a young girl was accidentally clipped by an incoming bus. This accident serves as one reason why the bond would provide a safer place for students.
Aside from this, as new families visit the area, it seems they choose other nearby schools because of their more updated and visually appealing campuses. This bond would contribute to the growth and diversity of Ontario, attracting even more eager-to-learn students.
We ask others to research and consider this bond. The youth of Ontario would greatly appreciate your support.
A.S.B. Officers: Mimi Kameshigi, president, Chris Paulsen, vice president, Brittany Palmer, secretary, Erica Herrera, treasurer, Isabel Fiebert, activities director, Kim Boyd, public relations
Ontario High School
Voting yes for bond is community’s duty
Editor,
The Argus has supported the 8C School District facilities improvement plan of a bonding request in the upcoming elections with editorials, news items and public letter statements, which have been very supportive. The information on the “Ontario pride” Web site is convincingly supportive.
It is our patriotic duty to provide the best opportunity for our youngsters to prepare themselves to compete in the ever-increasingly complex world we live in. We are falling behind in preparing our children to compete intellectually. The percentage of high school graduates going on to college is decreasing. Colleges are reporting that all too many kids who enter college require remedial courses to bring them up to grade to succeed at the collegiate level.
The citizens committee reviewed the situation and has concluded our community needs to upgrade the facilities. Our teachers are well trained and dedicated to their task of teaching our youngsters.
In addition to voting to support the 8C facilities upgrade program, our parents could enhance the improvements significantly by making a greater effort to inspire their kids to take their educational challenges more seriously. Our athletic programs seem to have no shortage of community support. If the “soccer mom” spirit could be extended to motivate the kids to take their studies more seriously, our community will have the best of all worlds. And this would not cost a cent!
This 85-year-old recalls how hard I studied to avoid my father’s wrath when he felt I was not studying hard enough. I don’t know if it was fear or respect that kept me at my studies, but that “tough love” went a long way toward enriching my life. Competent teachers need motivated students in order to be good teachers for our children.
Please vote “YES”!
Augustus M. (Gus) Tanaka, M.D., Ret.
Ontario
Nuclear plant proposal bad for water users
Editor,
There is a big push to build a nuclear power plant in southern Idaho. Clean energy! Forget nuclear waste! The Idaho problem nobody talks about is water. Nuclear power plants need an enormous amount of that precious commodity, and they have preference over anything else. They will get water from the Snake River ahead of farmers, ranchers and other industries dependent on sufficient water: fishermen, recreationists, etc. When the river goes down and temperatures go up, a nuclear power plant will need even more water for cooling.
Can we afford to give up our life blood for electricity that will get shipped out of state anyway? And for the myth that this plant will create jobs, it is just that, a myth. The jobs are so highly specialized, even in construction, there are not enough people in Idaho to fill them. So think twice before you throw your support behind this venture. We can survive without nuclear energy, but not without water.
Ingeborg Albritton
Weiser
Vote thoughtfully this election
Editor,
Election time! What does it represent? How many of you good people have stopped to really sit down and think about “election time” and what it means to your posterity? When you mark the ballot you are impacting the past mistakes and the future hopes of your country so do not take it lightly! How many of you so-called Democrats or Republicans remember this is America: the nation brought forth by people who were seeking to escape the tyranny and slavery of their native land, who were enslaved by the minority, the wealthy and the elite of those who ruled. America was that land of opportunity and took its place among the established nations of the world. America has become one of the world’s foremost powers through the blood, sweat and tears of its forebears. It is only through the price paid by your ancestors and those who love their country enough to shed their blood and give their life to ensure the freedom of choice to choose who shall govern that you still have the choice to vote for those who wish to govern. Sadly, history appears to be inevitably in the process of repeating itself, as it has with nation after nation down through the annals of time. This is what the history of mankind tells us: man’s lust for power and wealth inevitably brings about corruption. I submit, today, the Congress of this wonderful land of ours has come to that point in time! The Harry Reids and Nancy Pelosi-type members of this Congress have demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt the so-called “liberal elite” who represent immense wealth intend to control the government of the United States of America! Do not think for one minute the Republicans do not share the same corruption. In short, fellow citizens, today this nation is cursed by one of the most corrupt congresses in its entire history, and I am old enough to remember the “Great Depression” quite well.
Partisanship has no place in a fair and balanced governing body. Remember, they take an oath to represent the welfare and interests of all the people — not poor, not rich, not in-between, but all the people! When those whom the people have entrusted with their lives and their futures are elected to Congress and walk through the doors to the halls of Congress, partisanship should be left behind! I submit to you it is most evident in today’s congressional membership this is not the case! What are you, the people, going to do about it? Vote! Not with your party, but with your brain.
J. A. Martin
Fruitland
Sali right to balk on bailout
Editor,
I didn’t vote for Bill Sali in the 2006 election cycle, but I admire his stance against the bailout of Wall Street. The idea of voting to spend our hard-earned money on the big investment banks, mortgage companies, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc., is absurd. It would be a colossal mistake to bail these companies out — we should just let them fail as we would fail if we made bad business decisions here in Idaho.
When the Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson came to Congress and tried to sell his bailout, Rep. Sali balked. He was on Fox News, 630 AM and other shows spreading the word the plan was suspicious and he would not vote to throw taxpayer money away. He stood up for the Idahoans on this issue, and while I don’t agree with him on a whole lot, I appreciate this stand for us. He is absolutely right to be questioning the Bush administration plan. Keep up the good work, Bill!
Daniel Kern
Meridian
