Letters - Aug. 26, 2010

New School Year

Earlier this year in the wake of a failed levy, board members and the superintendent of Colfax’s School District took the brunt of negative feedback. The problems are real and should not be glossed over. But, it is important to acknowledge the efforts being made to restore trust and improve communication among staff and community.

Monday night the school board and administrators discussed specific plans to improve confidence and open wide the channels of communication. A few of those plans include open forums; one on one board member involvement with classified and certified staff through direct conversations, classroom visits, and committee participation; increased superintendent visibility in various internal and community functions; and better dissemination of information through the Gazette and other channels.

It would be naive to think a few good intentions will put all fears to rest. But, it would be equally irresponsible not to acknowledge their gesture as a major step forward. The board has extended a genuine invitation for staff, parents, and the community to speak up and participate with the promise that they are listening. The superintendent has expressed his commitment to improved communications.

The burden now lies with us to respond to their invitation and work hard to celebrate all that is good in our schools (and there are a lot of good things happening) while staying engaged long enough to help fix the things that need fixing. The doors are open wide enough to stay any fears of retaliation or private agendas, real or imagined. Only apathy can close them again.

Whether you are hopeful or skeptical it’s not time for “we’ll see.” It is time to be involved in open, honest, and helpful dialogue. Lets see to it that the children are not the only ones starting fresh at the beginning of another school year. Who knows, perhaps synergy in our schools will provide an example of healing that rings in city hall or may even reach the commissioners’ office.

Kirby Dailey,

Colfax

Commendation

I have read the article in this week’s paper about the FSA’s request to the Whitman County Commissioners to remove the cap from the county’s CRP program. I would like to take this way to commend the two Commissioners that opposed doing that. They mentioned several reasons that caused them to come to that conclusion. Here are a few more.

If farmers are mining the soil in order to raise wheat and if the CRP program was stopping that from happening then it might be a good program. That is not the case. The fact is that during the last 30 years farmers have learned how to farm the land in a much more environmentally sound way. In the spring of the year, you can look to see how many hills have gullies washed down their sides. You will see many fewer than you used to. And you don’t have to look at CRP fields to find hills that are not eroded. Farmers have learned how to raise wheat and not lose soil. It is being done more universally all the time. CRP is not the reason.

In fact I think that CRP is one of the dumbest programs the government has come up with. It is a great retirement program for old farmers. The article mentioned that. It should be called the GRP, Government Retirement Program. I don’t think that is what was intended.

The program is touted as protecting sensitive land. Everybody knows that some of the best land in the county is in it. If we have learned how to farm the hills so they don’t wash away, why is CRP needed on any of it?

The fact that FSA continues to cling to the CRP program in spite of its shortcomings does nothing for the agency’s credibility. Besides being a liability to the community it is an expensive program. The government is spending a lot of money it doesn’t have to pay for it even though it isn’t needed. Strange isn’t t it?

Again I want to commend Mr. Partch and Mr. O’Neill for not removing the cap that limits the number of acres the county can have in the program. It’s too bad they didn’t lower the cap.

Yes, I am not a fan of CRP.

Jack Ensley,

Colfax