OPINION Port Orchard
Page A6
Families are still the story of Oso mudslide
Question of the week
This week’s online question:
Do you plan to attend any Mariners baseball games this season? Last week: Do you feel the city and county are prepared for a disastrous mudslide? Results: Yes: 12%, No: 88%
WWW.PORTORCHARDINDEPENDENT.COM
Friday, April 4, 2014 • Port Orchard Independent
Y
ou may notice the daily media Comments briefings on the Oso mudslide getting shorter and tenser with less said and more questions asked. As unanswered questions pile up, some of those chronicling the disaster are losing patience. So are some of those entrusted with trying to sort things out. One flashpoint has been a push to get names of those killed or missing released to the public, though not everyone in the public may want it out. Jerry Cornfield Another source of stress has been stories giving voice to second-guessers of the response even while grief-stricken families await word of their loved ones. Such tension is no surprise, it just seems to be occurring sooner than one might expect. Generally coverage of disasters tends to follow a pattern. At first, the focus is on telling what happened and describing the emergency response. Next come tales of heroism, profiles of survivors and portraits of victims. Eventually, reporting will fix on how well government forces reacted and the causes of this horrific event. Criticism tends to emerge in the later phases. The magnitude of this tragedy, with the search for victims expected to take weeks, has disrupted everything. It is not crystal clear-when it is okay to dial back on chronicling the response and to begin unraveling whether there are parties at fault. Nor is there a bright line between seeking details of the lives of those who’ve died and what constitutes invading the personal space of their survivors. As a result, in the course of this week, those spearheading the rescue efforts in the field and the operations centers found themselves discussing matters probably few Arlington and Darrington residents felt needed addressing with so many people left to be found. SEE CORNFIELD, A7
Independent Port Orchard
www.portorchardindependent.com
WNPA
member
Contact us at: 2497 Bethel Rd., Suite 102, Port Orchard, WA 98366 Administration Circulation Classified Ads
(360) 876-4414 (360) 876-4414 800-388-2527
Display Advertising Fax Kitsap Week
(360) 876-4414 (360) 876-4458 (360) 779-4464
ADMINISTRATION
EDITORIAL
PUBLISHER Sean McDonald smcdonald@portorchardindependent.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Lorraine May lmay@portorchardindependent.com
EDITOR Dannie Oliveaux doliveaux@soundpublishing.com
NEWS STAFF
ADVERTISING
SENIOR REPORTER Chris Chancellor cchancellor@portorchardindependent.com COPY EDITOR Jessica Ginet
MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE Tiffany Walker twalker@portorchardindependent.com
STAFF ARTIST Kelsey Thomas
CIRCULATION
KITSAP WEEK
ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Janis French
CIRCULATION MANAGER Noreen Hamren nhamren@portorchardindependent.com
PRODUCTION
Richard Walker rwalker@northkitsapherald.com
The Port Orchard Independent is published weekly, every Friday by Sound Publishing, Inc. Headquarters: 19351 8th Ave NE, Poulsbo, WA 98370. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $25/year carrier or motor route delivery; $60/year in-state mail delivery, (not available within carrier or motor route delivery area); $90/year out-of-state mail delivery. Periodicals postage paid at Seattle, Washington. POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to The Port Orchard Independent P.O. Box 27, Port Orchard, WA 98366. Copyright 2014© Sound Publishing Inc.
www.facebook.com/PortOrchardIndependent
Skilled trade jobs go unfilled in economy
M
illions of unemMy View ployed college graduates are back where they started, living with their parents. Upon receiving their diploma, they find themselves saddled with crushing student loan debt and unable to find a job. More than 36 percent of those who have found jobs aren’t working in their chosen profession and many are working Don Brunell for minimum wage. At the same time, millions of good-paying jobs are going unfilled. Nationally, an estimated three million jobs are available in the skilled trades – electricians, plumbers, manufacturing workers, pipefitters, mechanics, appliance repair, computer techs and welders. Known as blue collar jobs, they routinely pay $40,000 to $60,000 a year or more. According to Salary.com, the average heavy equipment operator in Seattle earns more than $93,000 a year in wages and benefits. Still, these jobs go begging – and the situation will only worsen as skilled craft workers retire. “The average age of a skilled craftsman such as a carpenter is 49; welder, 55; plumber, 56; and stonemason, 69,” said Phil Crone, executive officer of the Dallas Builders Association. Washington’s Workforce Training Board reports that, despite the best efforts of the state, the Association of Washington Business, labor unions and community colleges, our state faces a significant shortage of skilled craft workers. From 2016 to 2021, job openings in manufacturing, production, installation, maintenance and repair are projected to outstrip the supply of skilled workers by three-to-one. Many employers will be forced to import
workers from other countries. Why is there a shortage of skilled craft workers? We look down on such jobs. My father inadvertently perpetuated that attitude. As a World War II vet, he used the GI bill to become an electrician. Even though he rose to the rank of master electrician and made a good living for his family, he pushed his kids to go to college. Despite his accomplishments, he felt a trade school education was second best. True, studies show that, over a lifetime, college degrees translate into higher incomes. But as they say, the devil is in the details. First, you have to factor in the crushing burden of student loans that must be repaid. Currently, America’s college grads are shouldering $1.2 trillion in college tuition debt. Secondly, the advantage of a college degree depends on your major. Graduates with math, engineering, science and technical degrees fare better than those who majored in the liberal arts. And unconditional taxpayer-funded tuition subsidies have allowed universities — and students — to indulge in majors that bear little relationship to real world career prospects. For example, University of Connecticut students can earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in puppetry. At Plymouth State University, you can earn a degree in Adventure Education, studying canoe paddling fundamentals, wilderness expedition and whitewater kayaking. Mike Rowe, host of Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs,” says we need to hit the reset button on higher education. “If we are lending money that ostensibly we don’t have to kids who have no hope of making it back in order to train them for jobs that clearly don’t exist, I might suggest that we’ve gone around the bend a little bit. Many of the best opportunities that exist today SEE BRUNELL, A7
Write to us: The Independent welcomes letters from its readers. Letters should be typewritten and not exceed 300 words. Send letters to P.O. Box 27, Port Orchard, WA 98366, or fax to (360) 876-4458, or email to editor@portorchardindependent.com. 2497 Bethel Road, Suite 102, Port Orchard 98366 or Administrative Office: 3888 NW Randall Way, Suite 100 Silverdale, WA 98383 Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Independent or its staff