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A School Life

My partner and I committed our lives to working with children and families in public education,

often advocating for children and families who were not easily served in a regular education setting.

Together we worked over 70 years in full-time work in public schools.

You may or may not know that we are blessed to have Tyler Reed as our new superintendent. He is

demonstrating that he is very capable and sincere in working with teachers, parents, and students. He is dedicated and able to elevate what we are able to provide the children here.

But the radical short-fall in timber funding that is now threatening us is real and will have real impacts on the programs and services that our children and families need.

It has always been clear that community well being depends on the quality of support that families receive from our local schools.

The very small request of property owners in the upcoming election is truly needed to preserve what we take for granted. A Yes Vote on 29-184 will enable our wonderful teachers and support staff to continue the great work that we see. Class size, programs and services, it all matters and is now dependent on your voting. We can do this for our children.

Friends

Announced by the lengthening days,
they arrived, a curious tribe of upbeat
swallows. After serious attempts
to discourage urgent nesting efforts,
deconstructing the bits of mud and moss,
all the debris that has been carefully
brought together, I smile and surrender
to what is unfolding. With the rising sun,
hungry little beaks now perch at the edge
of a nest, eager for the return of mother
and father. Routine is established.
One day I open our door and see a baby
 has fallen out of the nest. Cold and still,
it rests on our front porch. The next day
yet another has somehow fallen. It was
right to stop, remember, to offer time.
In the stream of days, the last baby is
flying and the collective simply moves on.
This morning I noticed their nest remains
still intact under our front eves, close to
new wind chimes. We are passing through
the winter solstice now. The days are
beginning to get longer. I smile, fondly
awaiting the return of these friends.

the green japanese maple trees on my steep hillside have been at it again, producing 1000’s (yes, this years it’s THOUSANDS) of tiny seedlings.

i don’t know what variety they are, only that they have green leaves, and that they are flung in abundance from seven green japanese maple trees.

any one who wants them may come and get as many as you like. the digging is MINIMAL, only a trowel needed. just give me an email reply (babbles@nehalemtel.net) or call my cellphone 503-812-4637. i live in nehalem.

happy planting!

om peace namaste

lucy brook

Students should not go without due to the $2,775,000 shortfall due to the decline in forestry funding. No district can operate year to year with such uncertainty. A new system must be put in place for funding to be stable and reliable because children’s well being are at stake. They are our future and should be treated with the care and concern they deserve.

Until such a new system can be put in place, this levy of approximately a few dollars each month for property owners must be passed so the district can assure the children and their families continued and growing pathways to success. Success for a student in the district means success for us all.

Paula Real