Columbia Community Connection was established in 2020 as a local, honest and digital news source providing meaningful stories and articles. CCC News’ primary goal is to inform and elevate all the residents and businesses of the Mid-Columbia Region. A rising tide lifts all boats, hop in!
When comparing the Democratic and Republican party platforms I read, on the RNC website, “The RNC enthusiastically supports President Trump…” and “Resolved, That the Republican party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President's America-first agenda.”
The facts are that most often people experience homelessness when all other options have been exhausted, or they are dealing with difficult circumstances that make it hard to retain housing. One of these is drug addiction – which is a disease. The most widely abused drugs are tobacco products and alcohol, which are legal and kill far more people and cost society much more than opiates and other illicit drugs.
Many of our houseless neighbors suffer from ill-addressed mental health conditions and deserve compassion and to not die alone, outside when the temperature drops. Our community should be proud that collectively we were providing critically needed low-barrier shelter, if only temporarily.
It is disheartening to see a “new” political action committee (“PAC”) concerned with crime called Save Wasco County advocate for Mr. Ellis’ removal especially when one of them wore a shirt stating, “Black Guns Matter.” I speculate that these people have limited to no experience dealing with the criminal justice system.
On November 7th we as a community have an opportunity to invest in the students of North Wasco County School District. As a D21 board member, I have been focused on addressing the criticisms we heard about the 2018 bond measure for $235 million. In 2023, we have addressed many of those 2018 criticisms. As a board member, parent, and community member I encourage you to Vote Yes for TDHS!
I don't think it is fair for us to all pay such a large chunk of the cost via our already high property taxes. I would like to see another source of funding contribute to the new school as well.
It is our duty as a community to take care of and upgrade our public educational facilities. We cannot keep kicking this can down the road. Someone paid for our schools, now it is time for us to pay for the schools of the future. It will be a legacy we can be proud of. It will also help our community grow economically, academically, and socially. The schools are the heart of our town.
Now, they want to spend $140 million on a new school! Until our governments get a handle on spending, and reduce tax rates, I will not vote for an additional tax!
Our community deserves a safe, secure, and accessible high school. By now readers know - if they didn’t before this bond - that our existing high school has shortcomings where accessibility, safety, security, and climate control are concerned. We know the cafeteria is grossly under-sized, leading many students to leave the campus during lunch and others to eat while sitting on floors in hallways and stairways.
I find the Sept 24 CCC News article to be a clear & easy read to explain how the combined hard and soft costs for the bond is $772/sqft (blueprints, building permits, student desks) and the hard cost (the physical building) is $509/sqft. The comparison school, Caldera in Bend, was nearly exactly the same.
But time grinds on and this once "state of the art" building has worn out. Building security is now everyone's priority. That was not a major concern when the high school was originally built. If the building isn't safe and secured no amount of training can protect staff and students from harm.
More important than comfort, however, is safety. The most disturbing duty I had as a teacher was participating in “active shooter” drills with my students. Thinking about why we needed such drills was bad enough, but realizing that I could not fit all my students into a place in the classroom where they would all be safe made it so much worse.
