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THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2011
E Firing of principal must be explained
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hat was found in the investigation is nobody’s information but those who have heard about it.�
With those dismissive words, Redmond School District board chairman Jim Erickson thumbs his nose at Redmond parents and taxpayers. The Redmond High School principal has been dismissed for “misconduct� and “performance� issues, and the community has no right to any further information, according to Erickson. It seems Erickson and at least some others in the Redmond district have forgotten who their boss is: the citizens. Tension is common on privacy issues when public bodies deal with personnel issues. Officials worry about legal issues, fearing lawsuits by someone they publicly criticize. That fear can be a healthy thing, encouraging public officials to avoid careless actions. In this case, something happened in our school system that its officials have found unacceptable. Misconduct. Unsatisfactory performance. By the man who was the leader of Redmond High School. It led the board to fire Brian Lemos. Beyond those bare facts, our only other information is the board’s claim that no students were in any danger at the high school. And we know some history. We know that Lemos had a decade-
old arrest record and his teaching license had once been suspended. The earlier cases involved domestic assault, driving under the influence of intoxicants, disorderly conduct and marijuana possession. His defenders praise his leadership and vision. Speaking before the board this week, Brad Porterfield describes Lemos as “the comeback kid.� And indeed public reports suggest he succeeded as an educator in Crook County for several years before coming to Redmond in 2009. Much as we dislike secrecy, we can understand that in the first blush of a controversy, officials feel the need to keep quiet while they sort out what happened and what their response should be. But when it’s all over? When the facts have been determined, and the legal implications have been studied and debated? When legal counsel has given informed advice? When the investigation is finished and the penalty determined? Parents and taxpayers are still not entitled to know? That goes too far. If this silence is allowed to stand, what happens when Lemos applies to another school district? Will our officials tell that district what it won’t tell us? Or will they continue their silence?
BETC reborn to rehaunt
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f lawmakers give the Oregon Department of Energy the time and the department tries hard enough, it’s going to be able to kick itself in the posterior again. The cause: energy incentives. Lawmakers and newspaper reports harshly questioned Oregon’s Business Energy Tax Credit program. The spending on BETC was out of control. The state was ready to dump $300 million into renewable energy generation in 2009-2011. Then there was how the BETC money was spent. It had so many loopholes, even a New Mexicobased trucking company found a way to hand Oregonians the bill for its efficiency upgrades. A wind farm project claimed four tax credits worth $40 million when the project could have been considered a single venture and eligible for less. Lawmakers moved in the right direction. The BETC is officially gone. But it’s like the hydra of Greek mythology. It has grown three new heads. The Oregon Department of Energy is now setting up new rules for how the three programs will work. Lawmakers and the department did learn some things from
their mistakes. The caps on the spending are tightened. Renewable energy generation goes from a program with a $300 million cap in the 2009-11 biennium to a $3 million cap for 2011-13. There’s a separate $28 million biennial cap for new conservation projects and a $20 million biennial cap for alternative transportation. The rules also attempt to tighten loopholes over who is eligible and to prevent multiple credits from being issued for the same project. But let’s remember where we are. We are in Oregon. Oregon is a state with revenues falling at least $200 million short of what the state planned for. Oregon is a state with an average unemployment rate of approaching 10 percent, worse than the national average. As much as legislators and some Oregonians would like Oregon to support green energy, is that truly where those dollars will be most effective or are most needed? BETC did not impress. And Oregon had to cut funding for schools. It’s paying more for health care. The decision legislators made was to try to rein in BETC. They should have killed it.
My Nickel’s Worth Capitalism needs values There is little doubt that capitalism has played a major part in the development of our country and has created a nation of incredible prosperity. It, as have all economic systems, has had its share of problems. Most of these problems are a result of capitalism losing its soul of social values. These values, such as self discipline, acting for the common good and giving as much as is received, cannot be legislated. They come from value-based homes, schools, churches and fellow citizens. Once we, as a people, reintroduce social values into our capitalistic system, our nation will once again be a light to the oppressed and a hope for the downtrodden. It’s not an issue of classes. It’s a value-based issue that the richest to the poorest need to embrace. It’s only then that each person in society can say, “I gave it my best shot to identify my talents and use them for the betterment of all.� It’s the total of these individuals who create a good social order. Once a people become dependent on others to solve their problems, they sacrifice their liberty to be themselves with the values that they have to personally adopt. No one and particularly no government can give these values to us. They are caught, not taught, from those who have them. Charlie Young Bend
Separate traffic, speed I’m glad that Nick Arnis, Bend transportation manager, is heading up “TRIP 97,� a study intended to
speed up traffic and shorten drive time between La Pine and Madras. This study will cost $350,000, with the Oregon Department of Transportation putting in $250,000. Arnis says that the study may conclude that the most important result is to mitigate crashes. And I think he’s right. But I don’t know how that will happen if the purpose is to shorten drive time and the north-south roadways are not separated. The obvious way to shorten drive time is to increase the speed limit from 55 mph to 60 or 70 mph on the highways and to increase the parkway speed limit from 45 to 55. Then to mitigate crashes, ODOT would have to provide more barriers between opposing lanes and also provide sensors that would alert drivers to ice on the roadways. Last winter several people lost their lives due to slick roads, skidding into opposite lanes and headon crashes. The crowded highway between Bend and Redmond has been a killer during icy conditions with the only separation being a yellow double line. ODOT has greatly improved the safety factor near Sunriver this year by separating the north and southbound roadways. But the separation ends near the truck inspection station. So, to mitigate crashes and to allow faster transit times via higher speed limits, ODOT will have to separate most of the opposing highway lanes that experience icy conditions. Therefore Mr. Arnis, I vote that you give the $350,000 to ODOT to start buying more separators and new sensors. Gary Will La Pine
Different view Jeff Cole’s In My View letter of Sept. 27 belittles Texas for all their success in creating jobs, lowering taxes, reforming tort action malpractice lawsuits (loser pays), etc. All the ambulance chasers have fled. And doctors are moving in. He disagrees that the tea party is a grass-roots organization because the Koch brothers, et al, have pumped money into funding for the rallies. So what? The Koch brothers did not create the tea party; nobody did. It just grew up from the ground by disgruntled folks. Does the name George Soros ring a bell? And he demeans Fox News for presenting both sides of an argument, not just the right. Fox’s motto is “fair and balanced.� They are, and they are the only TV voice we have out there. What’s the matter, Jeff — aren’t ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC and NPR enough for you? Cole claims the tea party aligns itself exclusively with the Republican Party. Not true. Plenty of Democrats and Independents show up at tea party events to respectfully listen to their point of view. He also bemoans capitalism and the free market system that made this country great. Lastly he states that the original Boston Tea Party patriots were protesting the East India Company monopoly as well as taxes. Wrong. The inhabitants in 1773 New England loved tea and didn’t care who brought it. They revolted against the imperial British government imposing taxes on the tea. Period. Richard Henry Bend
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Project Connect demonstrates wave of economic blues
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ou get the sense these days that while the recession may officially be over, that news has yet to reach Central Oregon. In fact, it feels as if the region is suffering from a second wave of economic blues as some who have held on for the last few years find their grip on financial stability weakening or giving way. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard some variation on that notion recently from businessmen and others. There are more concrete indicators. More students in the region come from families with incomes low enough to qualify them for free or low-cost lunches at school each day, for one thing. Demand at thrift stores is up, and places like the Family Kitchen are serving record numbers of meals to those in need. And there’s this: Project Connect, the day of one-stop services for the region’s homeless or struggling
sponsored by the Partnership to End Poverty, set an attendance record when the event was staged Sept. 24. Nearly 3,500 men, women and children and several hundred pets were served at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center. Project Connect, formerly Project Homeless Connect, celebrated its fifth birthday last month, a kind of bittersweet anniversary. Not only has poverty not eased in our region in five years, it’s grown worse, if the event’s numbers reflect the reality of the local economic situation. Back in 2007, the first year the event was held, about 1,200 of those in need were served at the fairgrounds. This year, that number has jumped to 3,421, helping to make Project Connect the largest multi-county rural event of its kind in the country. Those guests were able to take advantage of an extensive array of services, from flu shots for themselves
JANET STEVENS to standard vaccines for their animals. Animals were, as always, an important part of the event, so much so that veterinary services were housed in a building of their own. The vets, volunteers all, did a land office business, spaying and neutering 22 dogs and 6 cats, vaccinating another 371 and checking the health of scores of animals. In addition, volunteers handed out 1,300 pounds of dog food. As usual, visiting dentists and doctors also were in high demand, despite the fact that a Project Connect spinoff, Project Mobile Connect, stages mini versions of the September event. Some basics have not changed in
the five years since Project Connect began. Guests still may take advantage of two hot meals, breakfast and lunch, for one thing. And volunteers continue to assure that guests find what they need with a minimum of hassle. This year there was an array of fresh produce, an often expensive commodity, available for guests to take home, donated by farmers from Central Oregon and the Willamette Valley. Services have expanded over the years. Guests still can learn how to put inexpensive, nutritious meals on the table, of course, and volunteers continue to help guests try to solve housing problems. Physical and mental health professionals and dentists staff some of the most popular booths, as they have from the beginning, and there are still places for children and teens to hang out in safety while their parents are busy elsewhere.
But some things are new, or at least were not there in the beginning. There were hairdressers, for one thing, and they gave 254 haircuts and handed out vouchers for another 70. There were acupuncturists and massage therapists, as well, and while I don’t have numbers, it didn’t appear that they were lacking for business. When money is tight and housing precarious, taking care of life’s little aches and pains can fall far down on the list of necessities. Volunteering at Project Connect can be a highlight of the year, so much so that the same faces come back again and again. Even so, I suspect every single person who manned a booth, took care of trash, watched an animal or otherwise helped keep things running smoothly would love, simply love, not to have to go back next year or ever again. — Janet Stevens is deputy editor of The Bulletin.