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Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 16, 1999     Shelton Mason County Journal
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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 Second-class postage paid at Shelton, Washington Member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' AssociatiOn SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $25.00 per year in-county addresS, $35.00 per year in state of Washington 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 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 Second-class postage paid at Shelton, Washington Member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' AssociatiOn SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $25.00 per year in-county addresS, $35.00 per year in state of Washington 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