Letters to the Editor
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 12:57 PM PDT
Willowcreek should not be closed
Editor,
I have only written one other letter to the editor in my life, and I only find it necessary when there is something that one feels very strongly about. I feel very strongly about Willowcreek School. I am also aware of the effect that discussion about such things has on children and take that into consideration greatly.
However, on April 24, I entered a local restaurant with my two children and one of their friends. I couldn’t figure out what could’ve possibly stopped them outside and told them to hurry up. They told me there was an article in the paper about shutting down Willowcreek School. They were confused. I gave them some money, and they bought the paper.
To say it upset all three really doesn’t give a sense of the atmosphere around the table. Rarely have I seen two girls, a sixth and a fifth grader, so engrossed in a newspaper article. They read the whole thing out loud. My son started to cry and had to be held due to his emotional upset. He kept saying, “Why isn’t there going to be school at Willowcreek? I like my school.” He was concerned that he wouldn’t have anywhere to go on Monday. The girls with tears in their eyes started to brainstorm ideas on how to raise money to save their school, protest the decision, wanted to have a picket line (but needed to know what that was for sure) and asked if Mr. Hawley would mind his own business. I figured their questions were fair. We don’t see Mr. Hawley at our events, functions or fundraisers, so how would students from Willowcreek know he had a right and it was, in fact, his job to decide Willowcreek’s fate?
The girls asked me, “Why doesn’t anyone ask us how we feel about it? It is our school. Don’t they care?”
I told them if they felt that strongly about what they read, they should write a letter to the editor. Their response: “Who is going to listen to a dumb kid?” I told them they are not dumb, and they have a right to be heard as well as anyone else. I realized during this project of writing the letters the kids believe the editor to be a mighty powerful person. Someone who can almost wave a magic wand of sorts and change minds. Yet, isn’t that what we have the right to believe? Not that editors are magical, but that people still have integrity and the ethical desire to do the right thing? Our country is founded upon the very lives of such individuals that looked tough times in the face, pulled on their big boy pants and just got it done.
I have to admit I was extremely angry after reading the article that was written in the Malheur Enterprise a few weeks ago when Mr. Hawley made basically the same claims. However, I didn’t discuss such things around my children knowing the cause and effect it would have on them. I couldn’t hide the information as well this time. It was on the front page of a local newspaper, and two girls sat in the middle of a restaurant and read every word out loud. So whose fault is it for getting the kids involved in the debate over Willowcreek school? I suggest Mr. Hawley. I had tried to give him the benefit of the doubt after the first article that maybe some statements were a play on words or meant another way. That is very difficult to do a second time when almost the same things are repeated. The fact is, whether Willowcreek is shut down or not, he wasn’t planning to rehire for the Vale Elementary School principal position, elective programs have already been cut and all field trips were canceled, unless other funding could be found. So I pose this question. What will Vale School District gain by closing Willowcreek? They will not gain another VES principal, elective programs, and field trips can’t be made up the following year, and, by the way, if Mr. Hawley would assign Spanish-speaking employees at Willowcreek then all of the kids Willowcreek could serve, would be served. Instead, he buses them into Vale. Willowcreek’s numbers would be more than 100 if he assigned a Spanish-speaking employee to Willowcreek.
Multiple families have voiced the idea, due to the fact Mr. Hawley is trying to force the closing of Willowcreek in a very underhanded way, they will not send their kids to Vale. They would either send them to private school, homeschool, charter school or simply drive them to another district. I have to admit the thought has crossed my mind. How is it fiscally responsible to drive families out of a district? Wouldn’t that said district lose more money?
I think a better “fiscally responsible” plan is in order. Considering there isn’t much time, and I am sure that Mr. Hawley wouldn’t consider working overtime, he better come up with a better plan quick. And to those of you who state you wish parents would just keep the kids out of it, look at the three fingers pointing back at you when you point your one. Have some integrity and do the ethical thing.
Nikkie King
Willowcreek
Obama is throwing money away
Editor,
The Obama administration is throwing hundreds of billions of dollars at a multitude of programs, hoping for economic success. It appears the policies encompass Rahm Emanuel’s philosophy of “not letting a crisis go to waste.”
Instead of concentrating on creating jobs to spark the economy, Obama’s proposed budget is diluting our limited resources on spending that will not create a large number of jobs. A $3.5 trillion budget will provide a deficit on the order of $1.5 trillion in fiscal year 2010 and annual deficits of $1 trillion for many years to come, and our national debt will go from $11 trillion to $23 trillion by 2019.
There are 8,000 pork barrel earmarks in the proposed budget worth an estimated $8 billion. These earmarks should be axed. It smells like the same pork barrel politics of prior administrations, except the weight of the thundering elephants has been replaced with the misguided socialistic wanderings of the donkeys.
President Obama plans on paying for half the health care costs from increased taxes on families earning more than $250,000 per year, and these families will see a significant decrease in allowable itemized tax deductions for charitable contributions and mortgage interest. These actions will depress charitable contributions during a time of great need and will hurt the housing market. They should not be implemented.
Obama has to cease exploiting our economic fears, including the media campaign to the American people, which is designed to enable it to implement expensive domestic social programs. These social programs should be debated sometime in the future.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry, NH
Anonymous wrote on May 8, 2009 1:25 PM:
As a result of reading the editorial by Nikki King, I was forced to rebuttal.
I would like you to put yourself in the position of Mr.Hawley. As superintendent, it is his responsibility to create the best learning environment and school for all 800 district students. That education cannot be risked for 60 that are capable of receiving a great school experience right here in vale. By keeping the doors of W.C. open, electives will be severely cut and the value of education in our schools will drop drastically. Resulting in a loss of attendees.
I would persuade everyone to educate themselves on the Oregon School's Budget crisis, before going out and making false assumptions and pointing fingers at the putting time and effort into solving them.
Mrs.King, the next time you tell someone to "mind their own business," maybe you should determine whether or not they are really helping or hurting you! I give kudos to Matt Hawley, the Vale Board Members, and the school staff for all their hard work at making Vale School District an amazing place for young minds!!!
Keep it up Vale,
ANONYMOUS "