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,, c ¸
00ournai of__Opinion:
Put to the test
As the disappointing results from standardized tests contin-
ue to come in from the Shelton School District, we're left with
more questions than answers. One set of tests measuring basic
skills shows that local students remain well below the 50th
percentile in comparisons with others across the nation, while
another assessment indicates that low percentage s of local stu-
dents meet state standards for learning.
How did the district get into the position of being
"below average," and what can be done to reverse a
trend of bad scores? How do we reconcile the bad scores
reported one week with the story the next week saying
that Shelton's colJege-bound students beat state and na-
tional averages on the Scholastic Aptitude Test? Does
that prove that the education a child can obtain here
isn't so bad? If the curriculum allows the college-bound
to excel, why doesn't it work for the masses?
We agree with the district's curriculum director that high ex-
pectations must be instilled in students and parents if the stu-
dents are to meet state standards. But how is that to be done
when it appears not enough parents care and forces are work-
ing in exactly the opposite direction? Why, for instance, do 40
percent of the students in a grade make the honor roll when 7
percent of them meet state standards in all four areas tested?
Are the tests too hard or the standards for honors too low? If
it's true that you'll crush the students' spirits if you pressure
them for performance, as some educators hold, how can you
challenge them adequately to meet state standards? In today's
Journal you'll find a story about Rachel Speaks, who is going to
Cambridge in England to pursue a doctorate with $85,000 in
scholarships. Instead of graduating as a valedictorian at Shel.
ton High School, she made a tough decision to transfer to North
Mason for her senior year to take an advanced math class SHS
said it couldn't offer. We find that cancellation of high expecta-
tions incredible and disturbing at the same time.
A local school superintendent wonders aloud on this
page what will happen to kids in six years who don't
meet the state standards, In 2006, a student will have to
meet them to earn a diploma. The state, in effect, has es-
tablished the C level to supercede any local grade infla-
tion. The superintendent believes a bunch of kids aren't
going to be able to make the grade. That seems logical. It
appears that for some, remediation isn't going to over-
come apathetic parents and faulty foundations. Look at
the numbers. Not even a fourth of last year's seventh-
graders statewide met the math standards, and only 14
percent of those in Shelton did. The Class of 2006 two
years behind them has been in the same system.
So if something doesn't change fast, it won't be just a few
failing to make the grade, but many. What happens to those
kids who could have earned a diploma if it hadn't been for the
standards? Will a new caste system develop with one group re-
ceiving diplomas, one getting high-school completion certifi-
cates and one dropping out, despairing over ever meeting the
standards? Or will this ptmll,1, o tow ]urQpesn sys-
..... high-sch0le= acadcand vocational?
nears and scores'(; students aren't
going to get diplomas, will there be a parent rebellion
against the school-reform movement? Will state stan-
dards be regarded as the Growth Management Act is -
ridiculous regulations handed down by the state to local
people who would rather make their own rules?
Is the attempt to raise academic performance by the masses
an impossible task given parental noninvolvement? Or will the
steps taken by educators in the school.reform exercise result in
better education for the masses even if the state standards are
abandoned or lowered in six years? We see a parallel in state
laws on vaccinations that ban unprotected kids from the class-
room. There was so much passive resistance by negligent par-
ents that school officials had a tough choice: send the kids
home with no education or let them in. Yet the law did raise
vaccination rates because of health officials' cajoling.
Each time the test results have been released for the
last two decades, we've tried to determine what we
know about them for sure. Sometimes what we know
hasn't been much, and school officials for whatever rea-
son haven't been able to help because, they said, they
couldn't sort out all the factors that affected scores.
All we know is that in the early '80s, students here scored
above the 50th percentile" in comparisons with others around
the country in basic skills. In other words, the average child
here scored slightly better than the average child elsewhere.
e d albmt aduall re md
Since then, scores have plumm te , • gr Y, m" -
ing us of the story of the frog put in the pan of cold wat)er on
the stove that never reacts to the incremental increases in the
temperature until it boils to death. Scores dropped into the 40s,
some even into the 30s. We have to take the numbers on their
face and assume they mean children here, as a whole, aren't
learning material as well as the average child elsewhere.
The new Washington Assessment of Student Learning
tests give us another gauge of how the kids here don't
measure up, if the community didn't know before.
Sadly, as the scores went down in the last 20 years, parents
were not vigilant. They didn't demand that their board or their
children raise standards; they didn't complain that curriculum
didn't line up; they didn't require reform before it was forced on
the district by the state. In one sense, parents have failed the
WASLs as much as their children.
It was an oft.repeated warning in the '80s that Shel-
ton's economy was changing and that kids had better
pay attention, Any dropout used to be able to find work
in a mill or the woods, but when Simpson Timber Com-
pany restructured in the early '80s, jobs were no longer
aplenty. Consider the irony. During the last 15 years
when it was more important than ever for kids to get a
good education for jobs in the Information Age because
of the loss of many manufacturing Jobs, their perfor-
mance has fallen relative to those outside the area.
Sticky questions remain about this education-reform move-
ment, which mustn't be a one-pronged effort by educators. It
seems clear that what is wrong with schools is wrong with so-
ciety, and reform will only work if educators, parents and stu-
dents take equaI responsibility for establishing higher stan-
dards. Otherwise, it will have the same effect as rearranging
the deck chairs on the Titanic.
-CG
Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, September 16, 1999
Seeing red in Amsterdam
By DAVE BARRY
Here, as promised last week, is
the second and final part of my
report on the fact-finding mission
I took to The Netherlands this
summer to increase international
understanding, a cause that - as
the great humanitarian Florence
Nightingale so often pointed out
as she toiled among the sick and
wounded - is tax-deductible if you
write about it.
My topic today is Amsterdam,
which is the largest city in The
Netherlands, unless it is not
(somebody should look this up).
Amsterdam, with its network of
picturesque canals lined with
rows of quaintly gabled town-
houses, is one of the prettier cities
in Europe; it's also one of the
most compact, which means that
you can set out from your hotel on
foot and, within minutes, be
struck by a bicyclist going 127
miles per hour (2,038 kilometers
centigrade).
This happens because Dutch
people of all ages actually use
their bicycles for transportation,
unlike Americans, who, once they
pass age 15, use their bicycles
mainly as housing for spiders.
The streets of Amsterdam teem
with whizzing bicycles, some-
times carrying two or even three
people who often are holding
packages, smoking cigarettes,
talking on cell phones, applying
makeup and generally behaving
very much like motorists on an
American interstate highway, ex-
cept that the Amsterdam cyclists
go much faster. I'm not saying
that a Dutch woman cyclist carry-
ing two small children and a sack
of groceries would win the Indian-
apolis 500, but she would defi-
nitely finish in the top five.
As a thoughtful concession to
pedestrians, the Dutch cyclists all
have little bells on their handle-
bars that make a cute "cha-
CHING" sound, which serves as a
friendly warning that you are
about to die. As a tourist in Am-
sterdam, you quickly become con-
ditioned to react to this sound. A
fun prank would be to take a bicy-
cle bell into a crowded Amster-
dam care and ring it; all the tour-
ists would immediately dive to
the floor.
Of course some of them might
already be on the floor, because
one very popular substance in
The Netherlands is beer. The
Dutch produce a lot of excellent
beer, which natives and tourists
alike consume in large quantities,
in a courageous and unselfish hu-
manitarian effort to keep this
low-lying country from flooding.
And beer is not the only sub-
stance that people ingest over
there. The Dutch have a very
open-minded, live-and-let-live
philosophy about what consenting
adults should be allowed to do,
such that certain parts of Amster-
dam make Lag Vegas look like
West Point. You can see business-
es openly selling sex, drugs and -
most shocking of all, to Ameri-
cans - French fries with MAYON-
NAISE.
Nevertheless, you feel perfectly
safe in Amsterdam (except for the
bicycles). In fact, one popular
tourist activity is to go to the
famous Red Light District and
take ganders at the extremely
friendly women who sit in little
street-level rooms behind display
windows, kind of like cars at an
auto dealership, but with less
clothing. (Notice that I am taste-
fully refraining from making a
headlights joke here.)
I was with a group of people
(including, for the record, my
wife) who decided to go see the
Red Light District. As we ap-
proached it, we were all looking
around with great curiosity, try-
ing to spot one of the friendly
women; it was exactly like when
you visit Yellowstone National
Park, and you know that there
are bears somewhere, because
you keep seeing signs warning
you about them, but you haven't
actually SEEN a bear yet, so the
tension keeps building up inside
you.
And so when we came around a
corner and suddenly found our-
selves right next to an occupied
display window, I - demonstrat-
ing the cool urbanity that certain-
ly enhances the reputation of
American tourists for suave so-
phistication - pointed and yelled,
"There's one!" At the same in-
stant, I walked into a metal traf-
fic barrier, hitting it so hard that
I thought I fractured my kneecap,
although I, offourse, did not seek
medical treatment because I
didn't want to have to explain to
the medical personnel how I in-
jured myself. This is exactly why
health authorities say that if
you're going to be messing around
in a Red Light District, you
should ALWAYS wear protection,
in the form of knee pads.
But other than that one inci-
dent, I had a terrific time on my
trip, which incidentally - Internal
Revenue Service, please note - in-
cluded a brief side trip to Paris.
The Netherlands are lovely and
hospitable, and Amsterdam is a
lively and fun city, full of things
to do. In fact, I'll confess that,
while I was there, I took advan-
tage of the permissive laws and
did something that - call me a
wild counterculture explorer - I
just had to try. I am referring to
French fries with mayonnaise.
My advice: Just say no.
Global warming is hooey
Editor, The Journal:
I don't know about the rest of
you but I find it rather insulting
when we are bombarded, day af-
ter day, by the major media tell-
ing us the latest thing "environ-
mentalists say."
Who are these faceess (we
never see them), nameless, all-
knowing, so-called scientists and
experts?
Money, as you well know, is
the lifeblood of the scientific com-
munity. To twist an old saying a
bit, =he who gets there first will
get the most."
Therefore, doesn't it stand to
reason, if an environmental scien-
tist really has arrived at a conclu-
sion, reviewed and verified by his
peers, wouldn't he or she want to
be known? To be recognized for
one's good work is a guarantee
that they are deserving of grants
and other funding for further re-
search in their field of expertise.
The most seriously damaging
form of pollution is "ear" poilu-
tionl It is the constant battering
we are subjected to by the
"media" - one scare story after
another.
The crime is the monstrous
cost, to every one of us, for the
agency regulations that are en-
gendered by "junk" science.
When, after costing the people
hundreds of millions of dollars, a
scare story is proven to have NO
basis in fact, it never makes the
front page or the leading news
story on TV.
A very costly example of what
happens when claims based on
"junk" science are dumped on us
was the danger of the EMF
(electromagnetic fields) near over-
head power transmission lines.
That claim was investigated
worldwide. The cost not only to
the scientific community but to
property owners who saw their
property devalued has been hun-
dreds of millions of dollars. Out-
come? Not one shred of evidence
that EMF present any danger to
anyone living or working near
them.
It was announced "one time" on
the evening news, in case you
missed it.
There is a seriously endan-
gered species all across our coun-
try. They are called "informed
voters" with the powers of com-
mon sense!
We are being governed not by
decisions made by our elected
members of Congress but by
agency regulations and the execu-
tive orders handed down from the
White House.
If we do not stand up and de-
mand to know, "Who said so?"
"What are his, her or their cre-
dentials?" "What verification is
the basis for the claim being
made?" and "Show us the
sciencel!" we will get what we de-
serve and the trashing of our Bill
of Rights will continueI!
When we hear the scare term,
"global warming" used nearly
every day, are we asking, "Who
said so?"
Fact: Politicians lie. Fact: His-
torical records do not The ex-
tended hot spell in the Northeast
states IS NOT the drought of this
century; there isn't enough of this
century left to call it that.
The drought of this century
started in 1934 and did not offi-
cially end until October 1941,
when normal fall rains returned
across the U.S. The two driest
years on record were 1934 and
1936. Every state has recorded a
temperature of 100 degrees or
above. Of the then 48 states, 36 of
them set that record prior to
1940, before the industrial revolu-
tion being blamed for "global
warming." Alaska and Hawaii
were not yet states when they set
their 100-degree records that still
stand. Alaska, I00 degrees on
June 27, 1915 and Hawaii, 100
degrees on April 27, 1931. Source:
U.S. Weather Bureau records.
By the way, 22 of the 50 states
set their coldest records ever
since 1940. Source: U.S.W.B.
records.
The drought of the 1934 to
1940 era not only devastated the
plains in the heart of the U.S.
The summer of 1934 was the
height of the worst drought in Ne-
vada history. It wiped out the
livestock industry, banks failed,
Lake Tahoe was at its lowest
level ever and Washoe Lake went
totally dry. Source of data: U.S.
Weather Bureau records.
The average temperature of
this "Big Blue Marble" - planet
Earth - was said to be 45 degrees
in 1998. Source: World Almanac,
1999.
Average temperature of Earth
in 1928 was determined to be 50
degrees. Source: World Almanac,
1929.
Global warming is a lot of po-
litical =hot airI" There is NO
PROOFI If you find it, please let
us know.
Vivian Mitchell
Shelton
Editor, The Journal."
Let's fast-forward to the year
2006, when this year's sixth-grad-
ers will be required to pass the
10th-grade state assessments in
order to progress toward gradua-
tion. I'll bet the press won't be
near as slanted toward how much.
progress students and/or districts
have made.
"It's working!" everyone shouts
now. "Just look at our results."
Well, what are they? Statewide,
an average of 42 percent of all
10th-graders mastered the skills
in math and reading; 33 percent
of seventh-graders did so, and 48
percent of the fourth-graders
were successful as an average in
both areas. Success, if measured
in terms of praise for those that
exceeded these averages.
This is success? If you read the
press and listen to the state
superintendent of public instruc-
tion it is. Well, I disagree. If it
was 2006, either 58 percent, 67
percent or 52 percent of the stu-
dents in schools across the state
will not be graduating. They did
NOT meet the standards. Read
that again.
dent populations who l
successful. What's last
pen to them? Who B/a/
them? Although I am It
those who did master Oly.
tested, the voices of those Ipriz
not pass have been Ae
they concern me. I see (WA
working hard every 0w
some of the hardest cet
didn't pass. Is the
students to meet ]
dards? Yes, and 59
Schools will be 40
op two tracks for those 51
grade. Those that
will go on as 37
didn't will be 24
medial tracks for 33
solely on test taking,
time as they pass and 71
positive direction 87
tion. That assumes 72
drop out from frustration' ffi
what we want of schoolS?.Lag t! If i
Has anybody, inclua_.s'4 y be
press, projected the il
c0re
these educational reformS' _,
one is singing happy hat
promising to learn the t°' m trna i
until 2006. Fred Y# 01
Iti# de
Ya le s
We spend all 6ur time thinking (Editor's note: Mr. i
of the positives, yet there are and the superintendent of tM #' e u
Iry c
will be large segments of our stu- Knight School District.) ett .
I "early
Spraying wellne00
li
Editor, The Journal:
A series of signs is posted along
Dayton-Airport Road across from
the corrections center. The signs
read, "Warning - Wastewater
Treatment Plant Effluent Appli-
cation Site - No Trespassing."
Alongside them is another sign,
reading, "Department of Correc-
tions Wellness Trail." •-" ?he:
St
It seems odd to me th . 0u t
would lace a ,WellneSV..' th;
P st '"
right next to a site th _ h]
larly sprayed with refS o
(treated or not). Maybe "
is
- l)et
law
i
and Health Services, DI
t
Alcohol and Substanc i
(DASA) have launched s i
statewide media campai
at high-school and coI..; - :
dents under age 21 who
As students head
school excited about ,
school parties, football s d
homecoming, they'll b',#
radio ads that feature r,
telling true stories aboUt, sc(
ra e d.d
sequences of unde g tly
and driving. Outdoor audit€ :'el
and in-school elementS ' t
September as well, ,;.i ;.til
If you are intere stea-d@)l of
information about Wss aqr
new underage drinld_. 1
ing laws, call the WTSp 'h:iItt
822-1067. For free ._cm kil
other drug treatment iml# "
and referrals, call tbelP
Drug Helpline at 1"800,'1 lt._
Teens can call the T.,t 1 ,._;
(206) 722-4222, and a w )t
teens is located at iOs th
media.net. MoffS
John Co
Traffic Safety 0,
Beware new
Editor, The Journal:
Based on feedback from Wash-
ington teens and 20-year-olds,
young adults are not worried
about getting "busted = for" drink-
ing and driving after just one
beer, much less injuring or killing
someone or themselves in a car
crash. If you are under 21 or are
the parent of a teen, you need to
know about Washington's new
"zero tolerance" underage drink-
ing and driving laws.
Alcohol-impaired driving is a
major problem nationwide and in
Washington State. It is our hope
that a new statewide campaign
will inform youth, who often con-
sider themselves invincible and
think "it could never happen to
me," that the penalties for under-
age drinking and driving are
severe.
Washington State statistics re-
port that 2,369 people under 21
years of age were stopped for
drinking and driving in 1998.
Over 32 percent of all deaths for
young people aged 15 to 20 result
from car crashes. In 1996, colli-
sions involving people age 24 and
younger were responsible for 101
fatalities and 2,931 injuries in
Washington.
Under the state's "zero toler-
ance" underage drinking and
driving laws, drivers under age
21 with a blood-alcohol level of
.02-.07 percent will lose their li-
cense for 90 days. For most peo-
ple, it only takes one drink to get
to .02 percent, and for some it
takes even less.
As part of an overall program
to reduce underage drinking and
driving in the state, the Washing-
ton Traffic Safety Commission
(WTSC) and Department of Social
What does the
say to the loaves
in the
brushes
"Rise and shine!"
IMIM
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason
County Journal, P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584.
Published weekly by Shelton Publishing Inc. at 227 West Cota Street,
Mailing address: P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA
Telephone (360) 426-4412
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Charles Gay, editor and publisher. Newsroom: Carolyn Maddux, manag
Patch, sports editor; Jeff Green, general assignment, city government,
society editor, county government; Seen Hanlon, police, courts, Port of
Stephen Gay, advertising manager; Dave Pierik, ad sales. Front office: Julie'
manager; Vicki Kamin, circulation; Donna Dooms, bookkeeper; Krista Carter,
Composing room: Diane Riordan, supervisor; Margot Brand and Jan
Koleen Wood, typesetter and computer system manager; Karl Freer,
computer system manager; Cynthia
duction foreman; Roger Lawson, darkroom; Kelly Riordan, pressman.
u
,, c ¸
00ournai of__Opinion:
Put to the test
As the disappointing results from standardized tests contin-
ue to come in from the Shelton School District, we're left with
more questions than answers. One set of tests measuring basic
skills shows that local students remain well below the 50th
percentile in comparisons with others across the nation, while
another assessment indicates that low percentage s of local stu-
dents meet state standards for learning.
How did the district get into the position of being
"below average," and what can be done to reverse a
trend of bad scores? How do we reconcile the bad scores
reported one week with the story the next week saying
that Shelton's colJege-bound students beat state and na-
tional averages on the Scholastic Aptitude Test? Does
that prove that the education a child can obtain here
isn't so bad? If the curriculum allows the college-bound
to excel, why doesn't it work for the masses?
We agree with the district's curriculum director that high ex-
pectations must be instilled in students and parents if the stu-
dents are to meet state standards. But how is that to be done
when it appears not enough parents care and forces are work-
ing in exactly the opposite direction? Why, for instance, do 40
percent of the students in a grade make the honor roll when 7
percent of them meet state standards in all four areas tested?
Are the tests too hard or the standards for honors too low? If
it's true that you'll crush the students' spirits if you pressure
them for performance, as some educators hold, how can you
challenge them adequately to meet state standards? In today's
Journal you'll find a story about Rachel Speaks, who is going to
Cambridge in England to pursue a doctorate with $85,000 in
scholarships. Instead of graduating as a valedictorian at Shel.
ton High School, she made a tough decision to transfer to North
Mason for her senior year to take an advanced math class SHS
said it couldn't offer. We find that cancellation of high expecta-
tions incredible and disturbing at the same time.
A local school superintendent wonders aloud on this
page what will happen to kids in six years who don't
meet the state standards, In 2006, a student will have to
meet them to earn a diploma. The state, in effect, has es-
tablished the C level to supercede any local grade infla-
tion. The superintendent believes a bunch of kids aren't
going to be able to make the grade. That seems logical. It
appears that for some, remediation isn't going to over-
come apathetic parents and faulty foundations. Look at
the numbers. Not even a fourth of last year's seventh-
graders statewide met the math standards, and only 14
percent of those in Shelton did. The Class of 2006 two
years behind them has been in the same system.
So if something doesn't change fast, it won't be just a few
failing to make the grade, but many. What happens to those
kids who could have earned a diploma if it hadn't been for the
standards? Will a new caste system develop with one group re-
ceiving diplomas, one getting high-school completion certifi-
cates and one dropping out, despairing over ever meeting the
standards? Or will this ptmll,1, o tow ]urQpesn sys-
..... high-sch0le= acadcand vocational?
nears and scores'(; students aren't
going to get diplomas, will there be a parent rebellion
against the school-reform movement? Will state stan-
dards be regarded as the Growth Management Act is -
ridiculous regulations handed down by the state to local
people who would rather make their own rules?
Is the attempt to raise academic performance by the masses
an impossible task given parental noninvolvement? Or will the
steps taken by educators in the school.reform exercise result in
better education for the masses even if the state standards are
abandoned or lowered in six years? We see a parallel in state
laws on vaccinations that ban unprotected kids from the class-
room. There was so much passive resistance by negligent par-
ents that school officials had a tough choice: send the kids
home with no education or let them in. Yet the law did raise
vaccination rates because of health officials' cajoling.
Each time the test results have been released for the
last two decades, we've tried to determine what we
know about them for sure. Sometimes what we know
hasn't been much, and school officials for whatever rea-
son haven't been able to help because, they said, they
couldn't sort out all the factors that affected scores.
All we know is that in the early '80s, students here scored
above the 50th percentile" in comparisons with others around
the country in basic skills. In other words, the average child
here scored slightly better than the average child elsewhere.
e d albmt aduall re md
Since then, scores have plumm te , • gr Y, m" -
ing us of the story of the frog put in the pan of cold wat)er on
the stove that never reacts to the incremental increases in the
temperature until it boils to death. Scores dropped into the 40s,
some even into the 30s. We have to take the numbers on their
face and assume they mean children here, as a whole, aren't
learning material as well as the average child elsewhere.
The new Washington Assessment of Student Learning
tests give us another gauge of how the kids here don't
measure up, if the community didn't know before.
Sadly, as the scores went down in the last 20 years, parents
were not vigilant. They didn't demand that their board or their
children raise standards; they didn't complain that curriculum
didn't line up; they didn't require reform before it was forced on
the district by the state. In one sense, parents have failed the
WASLs as much as their children.
It was an oft.repeated warning in the '80s that Shel-
ton's economy was changing and that kids had better
pay attention, Any dropout used to be able to find work
in a mill or the woods, but when Simpson Timber Com-
pany restructured in the early '80s, jobs were no longer
aplenty. Consider the irony. During the last 15 years
when it was more important than ever for kids to get a
good education for jobs in the Information Age because
of the loss of many manufacturing Jobs, their perfor-
mance has fallen relative to those outside the area.
Sticky questions remain about this education-reform move-
ment, which mustn't be a one-pronged effort by educators. It
seems clear that what is wrong with schools is wrong with so-
ciety, and reform will only work if educators, parents and stu-
dents take equaI responsibility for establishing higher stan-
dards. Otherwise, it will have the same effect as rearranging
the deck chairs on the Titanic.
-CG
Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, September 16, 1999
Seeing red in Amsterdam
By DAVE BARRY
Here, as promised last week, is
the second and final part of my
report on the fact-finding mission
I took to The Netherlands this
summer to increase international
understanding, a cause that - as
the great humanitarian Florence
Nightingale so often pointed out
as she toiled among the sick and
wounded - is tax-deductible if you
write about it.
My topic today is Amsterdam,
which is the largest city in The
Netherlands, unless it is not
(somebody should look this up).
Amsterdam, with its network of
picturesque canals lined with
rows of quaintly gabled town-
houses, is one of the prettier cities
in Europe; it's also one of the
most compact, which means that
you can set out from your hotel on
foot and, within minutes, be
struck by a bicyclist going 127
miles per hour (2,038 kilometers
centigrade).
This happens because Dutch
people of all ages actually use
their bicycles for transportation,
unlike Americans, who, once they
pass age 15, use their bicycles
mainly as housing for spiders.
The streets of Amsterdam teem
with whizzing bicycles, some-
times carrying two or even three
people who often are holding
packages, smoking cigarettes,
talking on cell phones, applying
makeup and generally behaving
very much like motorists on an
American interstate highway, ex-
cept that the Amsterdam cyclists
go much faster. I'm not saying
that a Dutch woman cyclist carry-
ing two small children and a sack
of groceries would win the Indian-
apolis 500, but she would defi-
nitely finish in the top five.
As a thoughtful concession to
pedestrians, the Dutch cyclists all
have little bells on their handle-
bars that make a cute "cha-
CHING" sound, which serves as a
friendly warning that you are
about to die. As a tourist in Am-
sterdam, you quickly become con-
ditioned to react to this sound. A
fun prank would be to take a bicy-
cle bell into a crowded Amster-
dam care and ring it; all the tour-
ists would immediately dive to
the floor.
Of course some of them might
already be on the floor, because
one very popular substance in
The Netherlands is beer. The
Dutch produce a lot of excellent
beer, which natives and tourists
alike consume in large quantities,
in a courageous and unselfish hu-
manitarian effort to keep this
low-lying country from flooding.
And beer is not the only sub-
stance that people ingest over
there. The Dutch have a very
open-minded, live-and-let-live
philosophy about what consenting
adults should be allowed to do,
such that certain parts of Amster-
dam make Lag Vegas look like
West Point. You can see business-
es openly selling sex, drugs and -
most shocking of all, to Ameri-
cans - French fries with MAYON-
NAISE.
Nevertheless, you feel perfectly
safe in Amsterdam (except for the
bicycles). In fact, one popular
tourist activity is to go to the
famous Red Light District and
take ganders at the extremely
friendly women who sit in little
street-level rooms behind display
windows, kind of like cars at an
auto dealership, but with less
clothing. (Notice that I am taste-
fully refraining from making a
headlights joke here.)
I was with a group of people
(including, for the record, my
wife) who decided to go see the
Red Light District. As we ap-
proached it, we were all looking
around with great curiosity, try-
ing to spot one of the friendly
women; it was exactly like when
you visit Yellowstone National
Park, and you know that there
are bears somewhere, because
you keep seeing signs warning
you about them, but you haven't
actually SEEN a bear yet, so the
tension keeps building up inside
you.
And so when we came around a
corner and suddenly found our-
selves right next to an occupied
display window, I - demonstrat-
ing the cool urbanity that certain-
ly enhances the reputation of
American tourists for suave so-
phistication - pointed and yelled,
"There's one!" At the same in-
stant, I walked into a metal traf-
fic barrier, hitting it so hard that
I thought I fractured my kneecap,
although I, offourse, did not seek
medical treatment because I
didn't want to have to explain to
the medical personnel how I in-
jured myself. This is exactly why
health authorities say that if
you're going to be messing around
in a Red Light District, you
should ALWAYS wear protection,
in the form of knee pads.
But other than that one inci-
dent, I had a terrific time on my
trip, which incidentally - Internal
Revenue Service, please note - in-
cluded a brief side trip to Paris.
The Netherlands are lovely and
hospitable, and Amsterdam is a
lively and fun city, full of things
to do. In fact, I'll confess that,
while I was there, I took advan-
tage of the permissive laws and
did something that - call me a
wild counterculture explorer - I
just had to try. I am referring to
French fries with mayonnaise.
My advice: Just say no.
Global warming is hooey
Editor, The Journal:
I don't know about the rest of
you but I find it rather insulting
when we are bombarded, day af-
ter day, by the major media tell-
ing us the latest thing "environ-
mentalists say."
Who are these faceess (we
never see them), nameless, all-
knowing, so-called scientists and
experts?
Money, as you well know, is
the lifeblood of the scientific com-
munity. To twist an old saying a
bit, =he who gets there first will
get the most."
Therefore, doesn't it stand to
reason, if an environmental scien-
tist really has arrived at a conclu-
sion, reviewed and verified by his
peers, wouldn't he or she want to
be known? To be recognized for
one's good work is a guarantee
that they are deserving of grants
and other funding for further re-
search in their field of expertise.
The most seriously damaging
form of pollution is "ear" poilu-
tionl It is the constant battering
we are subjected to by the
"media" - one scare story after
another.
The crime is the monstrous
cost, to every one of us, for the
agency regulations that are en-
gendered by "junk" science.
When, after costing the people
hundreds of millions of dollars, a
scare story is proven to have NO
basis in fact, it never makes the
front page or the leading news
story on TV.
A very costly example of what
happens when claims based on
"junk" science are dumped on us
was the danger of the EMF
(electromagnetic fields) near over-
head power transmission lines.
That claim was investigated
worldwide. The cost not only to
the scientific community but to
property owners who saw their
property devalued has been hun-
dreds of millions of dollars. Out-
come? Not one shred of evidence
that EMF present any danger to
anyone living or working near
them.
It was announced "one time" on
the evening news, in case you
missed it.
There is a seriously endan-
gered species all across our coun-
try. They are called "informed
voters" with the powers of com-
mon sense!
We are being governed not by
decisions made by our elected
members of Congress but by
agency regulations and the execu-
tive orders handed down from the
White House.
If we do not stand up and de-
mand to know, "Who said so?"
"What are his, her or their cre-
dentials?" "What verification is
the basis for the claim being
made?" and "Show us the
sciencel!" we will get what we de-
serve and the trashing of our Bill
of Rights will continueI!
When we hear the scare term,
"global warming" used nearly
every day, are we asking, "Who
said so?"
Fact: Politicians lie. Fact: His-
torical records do not The ex-
tended hot spell in the Northeast
states IS NOT the drought of this
century; there isn't enough of this
century left to call it that.
The drought of this century
started in 1934 and did not offi-
cially end until October 1941,
when normal fall rains returned
across the U.S. The two driest
years on record were 1934 and
1936. Every state has recorded a
temperature of 100 degrees or
above. Of the then 48 states, 36 of
them set that record prior to
1940, before the industrial revolu-
tion being blamed for "global
warming." Alaska and Hawaii
were not yet states when they set
their 100-degree records that still
stand. Alaska, I00 degrees on
June 27, 1915 and Hawaii, 100
degrees on April 27, 1931. Source:
U.S. Weather Bureau records.
By the way, 22 of the 50 states
set their coldest records ever
since 1940. Source: U.S.W.B.
records.
The drought of the 1934 to
1940 era not only devastated the
plains in the heart of the U.S.
The summer of 1934 was the
height of the worst drought in Ne-
vada history. It wiped out the
livestock industry, banks failed,
Lake Tahoe was at its lowest
level ever and Washoe Lake went
totally dry. Source of data: U.S.
Weather Bureau records.
The average temperature of
this "Big Blue Marble" - planet
Earth - was said to be 45 degrees
in 1998. Source: World Almanac,
1999.
Average temperature of Earth
in 1928 was determined to be 50
degrees. Source: World Almanac,
1929.
Global warming is a lot of po-
litical =hot airI" There is NO
PROOFI If you find it, please let
us know.
Vivian Mitchell
Shelton
Editor, The Journal."
Let's fast-forward to the year
2006, when this year's sixth-grad-
ers will be required to pass the
10th-grade state assessments in
order to progress toward gradua-
tion. I'll bet the press won't be
near as slanted toward how much.
progress students and/or districts
have made.
"It's working!" everyone shouts
now. "Just look at our results."
Well, what are they? Statewide,
an average of 42 percent of all
10th-graders mastered the skills
in math and reading; 33 percent
of seventh-graders did so, and 48
percent of the fourth-graders
were successful as an average in
both areas. Success, if measured
in terms of praise for those that
exceeded these averages.
This is success? If you read the
press and listen to the state
superintendent of public instruc-
tion it is. Well, I disagree. If it
was 2006, either 58 percent, 67
percent or 52 percent of the stu-
dents in schools across the state
will not be graduating. They did
NOT meet the standards. Read
that again.
dent populations who l
successful. What's last
pen to them? Who B/a/
them? Although I am It
those who did master Oly.
tested, the voices of those Ipriz
not pass have been Ae
they concern me. I see (WA
working hard every 0w
some of the hardest cet
didn't pass. Is the
students to meet ]
dards? Yes, and 59
Schools will be 40
op two tracks for those 51
grade. Those that
will go on as 37
didn't will be 24
medial tracks for 33
solely on test taking,
time as they pass and 71
positive direction 87
tion. That assumes 72
drop out from frustration' ffi
what we want of schoolS?.Lag t! If i
Has anybody, inclua_.s'4 y be
press, projected the il
c0re
these educational reformS' _,
one is singing happy hat
promising to learn the t°' m trna i
until 2006. Fred Y# 01
Iti# de
Ya le s
We spend all 6ur time thinking (Editor's note: Mr. i
of the positives, yet there are and the superintendent of tM #' e u
Iry c
will be large segments of our stu- Knight School District.) ett .
I "early
Spraying wellne00
li
Editor, The Journal:
A series of signs is posted along
Dayton-Airport Road across from
the corrections center. The signs
read, "Warning - Wastewater
Treatment Plant Effluent Appli-
cation Site - No Trespassing."
Alongside them is another sign,
reading, "Department of Correc-
tions Wellness Trail." •-" ?he:
St
It seems odd to me th . 0u t
would lace a ,WellneSV..' th;
P st '"
right next to a site th _ h]
larly sprayed with refS o
(treated or not). Maybe "
is
- l)et
law
i
and Health Services, DI
t
Alcohol and Substanc i
(DASA) have launched s i
statewide media campai
at high-school and coI..; - :
dents under age 21 who
As students head
school excited about ,
school parties, football s d
homecoming, they'll b',#
radio ads that feature r,
telling true stories aboUt, sc(
ra e d.d
sequences of unde g tly
and driving. Outdoor audit€ :'el
and in-school elementS ' t
September as well, ,;.i ;.til
If you are intere stea-d@)l of
information about Wss aqr
new underage drinld_. 1
ing laws, call the WTSp 'h:iItt
822-1067. For free ._cm kil
other drug treatment iml# "
and referrals, call tbelP
Drug Helpline at 1"800,'1 lt._
Teens can call the T.,t 1 ,._;
(206) 722-4222, and a w )t
teens is located at iOs th
media.net. MoffS
John Co
Traffic Safety 0,
Beware new
Editor, The Journal:
Based on feedback from Wash-
ington teens and 20-year-olds,
young adults are not worried
about getting "busted = for" drink-
ing and driving after just one
beer, much less injuring or killing
someone or themselves in a car
crash. If you are under 21 or are
the parent of a teen, you need to
know about Washington's new
"zero tolerance" underage drink-
ing and driving laws.
Alcohol-impaired driving is a
major problem nationwide and in
Washington State. It is our hope
that a new statewide campaign
will inform youth, who often con-
sider themselves invincible and
think "it could never happen to
me," that the penalties for under-
age drinking and driving are
severe.
Washington State statistics re-
port that 2,369 people under 21
years of age were stopped for
drinking and driving in 1998.
Over 32 percent of all deaths for
young people aged 15 to 20 result
from car crashes. In 1996, colli-
sions involving people age 24 and
younger were responsible for 101
fatalities and 2,931 injuries in
Washington.
Under the state's "zero toler-
ance" underage drinking and
driving laws, drivers under age
21 with a blood-alcohol level of
.02-.07 percent will lose their li-
cense for 90 days. For most peo-
ple, it only takes one drink to get
to .02 percent, and for some it
takes even less.
As part of an overall program
to reduce underage drinking and
driving in the state, the Washing-
ton Traffic Safety Commission
(WTSC) and Department of Social
What does the
say to the loaves
in the
brushes
"Rise and shine!"
IMIM
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u