May 31, 2013 [5]
KENT
OPINION
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O Q U O T E O F N O T E : “This is about protecting kids by being pro-active. My goal is to (eventually, if drivers follow the speed limit) not give out any tickets.” – Councilman Bill Boyce, a former Kent School Board member, on traffic cameras being installed in school zones.
Directing and writing movies easier than real life
“Do you approve of the way Obama is performing as president?” No: 59% Yes: 41% KENT
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Will the last one to leave the Kent School District turn out the lights? • From Jan. 1, 2013 to April 24, 2013 – 80 employees have left employment • 30 employees (certificated & classified) have retired • 50 employees (certificated & classified) have resigned • From Jan. 1, 2009 to April 22, 2009 – (Pre-current administration) 44 employees left employment • 13 employees (certificated & classified) retired • 21 employees (certificated & classified) resigned Possible reasons: • Kent Association of Paraeducators (KAP) = No current contract • Kent Association of Educational Office Professionals (KAOEP) = No current contract
Letters policy The Kent Reporter welcomes letters to the editor on any subject. Letters must include a name, address and daytime phone number for verification purposes. Letters may be edited for length. Letters should be no more than 250 words in length. Submissions may be printed both in the paper and electronically. Deadline for letters to be considered for publication is 2 p.m. Tuesday. Or could it be because my colleagues’ unrelenting and diligent work ethic supporting student learning and student safety is valued and respected in neighboring districts? Kent School District Board members – Debbie Straus, president; Tim Clark, vice president; Karen DeBruler,
GUEST EDITORIAL
The human spirit is our greatest asset With a steady stream of bad news stories about maimed soldiers, the Boston Marathon bombing and the house of horrors in Cleveland, it would be natural to despair for the human condition. What defect in the human character allows us to
do such things? But the survivors of these terrible ordeals tell a different story, one of courage, strength, determination and hope. It is the story of the indomitable human spirit. Iraq war veteran Army Sgt. Brendan Marrocco lost his arms and legs to a roadside
MY TURN
www.kentreporter.com Last week’s poll results:
Don C. Brunell
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OUR CORNER
“Do you support Gov. Inslee’s proposed 10 cents-a-gallon gas tax hike to fund transportation needs?”
Dennis Box
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Question of the week:
Robert Rossen recently hooked me for a couple of hours. I came across the 1947 movie “Johnny O’Clock” starring Dick Powell, Lee J. Cobb, Evelyn Keyes and Nina Foch. It has one of my favorite lines in film noir history, uttered by Johnny, played by Powell. “I do not know what’s going on, and I don’t like it when I don’t know what’s going on.” That sums up Rossen’s dialogue and life in many ways. Rossen was one of the great dialogue writers and directors of his day. “Johnny O’Clock” was his first job as a director. He was promoted after the original director, King Vidor left, I think. (Someone on Facebook just correctly noted it was Charles Vidor and I had written William Powell, and it should have been Dick Powell.) Rossen directed three of my favorite pictures, “All the King’s Men,” “Body and Soul” and, in 1961, “Hustler,” with Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason and George C. Scott. There are few moments in film like the end of “Hustler” when Scott growls across the pool hall at Newman, “I want my money.” Rossen is an interesting character. He was one of the best at writing story and dialogue. His film talk lives well after the picture has ended. But in 1951 it was Rossen not talking, then finally talking, that got him into the trouble that plagued him until his death in 1966 at the age of 57. The House Un-American Activities Committee named him a communist in 1951. Rossen refused to name names the first time the committee brought him before its members, but two years later he named 57.
bomb in 2009. Not satisfied with his prosthetic arms, Marrocco took a major risk by opting to become the first soldier to receive an arm transplant. The 13-hour double transplant surgery was the first ever performed at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and only the seventh to be performed in the United States.
district director; Russ Hanscom, district director; Agda Burchard, legislative liaison – it’s time to show the dedication and responsibility that voters once entrusted to you for the students, parents and employees of the fourth largest school district in the state. – Johanna Huber
Detroit shows the way I hope members of Congress and the White House read the papers and take note of Detroit. That city has its own D.I.Y. Department, not run by the city. The lessons are the government cannot solve all your problems, as many in the government espouse. Detroit is broke and cannot provide many public services. But individuals are taking responsibility for improving the city and not letting it deteriorate any further. [ more LETTERS page 6 ]
Just days after his surgery, Marrocco’s spirit and sense of humor were on display when he met with reporters. Comparing himself to his favorite character in the Harry Potter books, he called himself “the boy who lived.” “I never really accepted the fact I didn’t have arms,” Marrocco said, “Now I have them back, and it’s like I went back four years and I’m me again. It’s a second chance to start over after I got hurt.” At last report, Marrocco’s progress [ more BRUNELL page 6 ]