Page 4 - Reedley Exponent 3-8-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A4 Thursday, March 8, 2018 Editorial & Opinions
Serving “The World’s Fruit Basket” since 1891
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION Perhaps everyone of us — as have I — need
Giving a forum to the school district
Jon Earnest — Editor
Chris Aguirre — Sports Editor Felicia Cousart Matlosz — Panorama Editor Budd Brockett — Editor Emeritus
to take a step back and reassess that which is happening right now in the United States. The “nutty left” composed of much of California, Hollywood, some in sports — specifically pro- fessional football — and much of the media have displayed such hatred for this president that they have found their audience ratings falling precipi- tously. Remember that ratings which represent viewership convert to money and represent the very lifeblood of this currently deranged group. It is so prevalent that it has been provided a name...Trump Derangement Syndrome!
School shootings. Threats to safety on campus. Immigration issues. Dealing with the Deferred Action for Chi;ldhood Arrivals situation. School bullying. Mis- use or abuse of social media.
Yes, there is plenty to be con- cerned about when it comes to your child at school.
The Kings Canyon Unified School District wants to inform the Reedley, Dunlap and Orange Cove communities that it is looking out to provide its stu- dents with the safest possible learning environment and optimum opportuni- ties to succeed. Because of this, The Exponent will publish periodic guest columns from district administrators — going as far up as Superintendent John Campbell — discussing topics of inter-
ests to parents and students’ families. The plan is for the guest columns to run monthly — sometimes more often, sometimes less. The idea is to let the communities know that Kings Canyon Unified is on the cutting edge
of hot button issues.
We welcome feedback from you,
the reader, regardless of if you have a child enrolled at a KCUSD campus or are merely an interest alumnus or even an interested community mem- ber. Feel free anytime to email column ideas or topics to jon@midvalleypub- lishing.com, and I will be happy to pass them along to the district.
•••
Reedley residents are invited to
attend an event assisting veterans in
Dinuba on Friday, March 9. The “Fry- Day Fish Fry” is a fundraiser to continue support of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in front of the Dinuba Memorial Hall, at 249 S. Alta Ave.
Jon Earnest
I won’t even pretend to understand such behavior, which is basi- cally childish. It just strikes me that when America is doing well and prospering — as it now is — every single American is the beneficiary.
“A rising tide lifts all boats.” The job of commander in chief is, in itself, a tough enough job without having to literally drag the negativ- ity of almost one-half of this country toward our goal. Democrats and Berniecrats just need to accept the fact they lost the election. You get to try again the next time — it’s the American way. This pettiness you display is not acceptable.
We hope that Hollywood got the message last Sunday evening when their ratings were off about 20 percent year over year. Roger Goodell and the National Football League saw ticket sales, attendance figures and television ratings plummet because of their silly anti- American stance involving the flag. One can only hope that these entities, as well as the countless other information and entertainment media, understand the message being sent by millions of hard-work- ing Americans who believe in this great country. They like this return to the strong world-respected America they grew up in. Right now, right here in America, a little respect between the left and the politi- cal right would go a long way toward beginning the healing process.
Come to think of it, what’s not to like in today’s America? You may be unhappy that your candidate didn’t win. The seemingly endless tweets of President Donald Trump may upset you — or even the man’s personality may seem incompatible with what we see as a polite society — but he does keep promises, he gets things done and he loves his country. Those are the main items we should demand in a national leader.
All economic indicators indicating job growth and more money being left in the paychecks of Americans are tremendous positives. Many are upset with Trump’s elimination of a Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program created by President Barack Obama which most reasonable people agree was well beyond Obama’s Constitutional purview. Immigration laws are to be established by the House of Representatives and the Senate. This is not a subject left to executive order by the Executive branch. If Congress truly wishes to do anything about the order being lifted then they should act. We sincerely believe that Democrats don’t want to do anything because they prefer to have it as an election issue this November.
State officials would be better served if they stopped doing foolish things designed to hinder federal law enforcement and stop making foolish pronouncements such as the one recently uttered by Libby Schaaf, the mayor of Oakland. This woman literally has committed a federal crime with her warning of ICE arrests of criminal illegals. It remains to be seen if there is any punitive action, but our govern- ment is certainly entitled to introduce her honor, the mayor, to the inside of a jail cell.
All I ask is what is called for — simple common sense. Donald J. Trump is our elected president. There will be no impeachment even if Maxine Waters and Adam Schiff continue to proclaim it on a daily basis. Wishful thinking never will make it so. Why don’t we all begin to pull together to truly restore America to greatness. A regular dis- play of hate-filled rhetoric and obstinance is a drag on the efforts of true Americans everywhere.
But, as always, that’s only one man’s opinion.
KCUSD pro-active when it comes to school safety
Fred Hall
Fish & Chips,
coleslaw, tartar sauce and a drink are part of the $12 meal with the funds raised to use toward the fourth annual April 30 dedication ceremony at the wall.
For more information on the fish fry, call Ruth at (559) 696-8614 or Frank at (559) 978-5177.
Editor’s note: This is the first in a periodic series of guest columns from Kings Canyon Unified School Dis- trict officials that address education issues.
By Mary Ann Carousso
Guest columnist
School safety concerns are splashed across every source of media recently, and with good reason. Such tragic events give all of us pause. We empathize deeply with those affected by senseless violence and mourn the loss of innocent life. These events cause each of us to look at our- selves and ask how could this have happened, and how would we respond if we were somehow thrust into a similar situation.
Thankfully, Kings Can- yon Unified has worked closely with law enforce- ment over the course of many years to scrutinize the issues surrounding school safety, and adjust our campus responses ac- cordingly. The number of security cameras has in- creased, as has the num- ber of uniformed school re- source officers. Doors and locks have been replaced so that they can be locked by staff from the inside with- out stepping outside into harm’s way. Schools prac- tice lockdown drills on a regular basis. With respect to preventative measures, the number of social-emo- tional support personnel (school social workers, psychologists, family coun- selors, and transition coun-
selors)
has grown
from nine
to 32.
These li-
censed
and cre-
dentialed
profes-
sionals
meet with
students
daily to provide support, offer coping strategies, and keep a finger on the pulse of those struggling with the issues of their daily lives.
Annually, all schools are required to update their school site safety plans at the start of each calendar year. School site councils, district office administrators and govern- ing board members review and approve those plans, with a copy kept at sites and at the district office. Law enforcement, parents, school staff all have input to those plans as they are updated each year. Equal- ly important are the con- versations we continue to have with students about their critical role in report- ing any activity or concern that could lead to endan- germent of others. To their credit, our students and staff have demonstrated greater awareness in this regard, and they are in- deed reporting concerns in a timely fashion. Recent evidence of this occurred at Reedley High School, where staff became aware of alarming social media posts one evening. District officials were on the phone and involved in late night
conversations with Reedley Police admin- istration, who put their offi- cers into mo- tion that night at the home of the suspect; thus assur- ing that any threat was
investigated and resolved prior to the start of school the next morning.
Ultimately, we have to work together in our com- munities, schools, hospi- tals, and all public settings to avoid becoming com- placent or matter-of-fact with our crisis training. Even prior to the recent tragedy in Florida, Kings Canyon Unified sent sev- en administrators to a training known as ALICE training (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacu- ate), which focused on ap- propriate responses in the event of an active shooter. Reedley Police Depart- ment sent two officers as well, so that the collabora- tion about content of the training would be open, honest, and informed. Dis- trict team members are formulating new scenar- ios and plans for training so that school staff will recognize how critical it is to understand each type of response and the setting in which it would be appro- priate. The latest training methods expand upon the “Run...Hide...Fight” train- ing that has been our ba- sic framework. The seven trainees from KCUSD are
finalizing their certifica- tion (by exam) and will be available to train here within our district.
Current training ex- ercises emphasize that each of us, young and old, can be taught to respond as automatically to an ac- tive shooter situation as we have been trained to do with a building that has caught on fire. Fire near you? Know and practice exit routes. Smoke filling the room? Get close to the floor to enhance your breathing. Clothing on fire? Smother it with a coat or blanket, or roll around on the ground if need be. Growing in our students and staff, that same auto- matic response to varied active shooter situations can be done. Newer train- ing methods offer avenues for preparing students to react to a hostile intruder without creating a sense of anxiety. Protecting all our children by instilling con- fidence rather than worry is indeed possible. The em- phasis is on remaining safe and thinking clearly about options in a tense moment. That is certainly what we want our children to do in any situation that requires they think and act quickly.
Our school communi- ties have shown they are ready, willing, and able to prepare themselves to think and respond to save lives. That’s the mindset we will continue grow.
Mary Ann Carousso is the student services admin- istrator for the Kings Can- yon Unified School District.
Letters Policy
THE REEDLEY EXPONENT invites letters from the public on
any topic of local relevance. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity or brevity, and we reserve the right to NOT publish them if they could be deemed libelous or profane. Letters should be 300 words or less, and bear the author's name, address, and phone number. Letters can be mailed, emailed (jon@midvalleypublishing. com), submitted via our website, or personally delivered to: Editor, Reedley Exponent, 1130 G St, Reedley CA 93654.
Candidate forum a ‘heartbeat of democracy’
On Thursday, Feb. 15, a unique- ly American tradition took place as four candidates from the 22nd Con- gressional District participated in a forum of ideas at the Reedley Col- lege Forum Building.
Public forums like these are the heartbeat of our democracy. The community should encourage, and the media should cover, candidate visits to smaller towns and rural areas where they talk with constit- uents face to face. Sadly, the two frontrunners for this district weren’t there: the Republican incumbent, Devin Nunes, and the Democratic candidate who has raised the most
money, Andrew Janz.
But there were four candidates
on stage who came out to Reedley to talk and meet with constituents. Bobby Bliatout, a Democratic candi- date; Brian T. Carroll, an American Solidarity party candidate; Ricardo ‘Rico’ Franco, another Democratic candidate; and Bill Merryman, a Libertarian candidate. The event was hosted by United Valley Civ- ics, a nonpartisan voter education group and the Reedley College As- sociated Student Government. The candidates tackled such issues as immigration, water, gun control, healthcare, jobs and the economy, among other topics.
Thank you for your coverage of these community events. We look
forward to many more in this elec-
nized and are appreciated.
I must begin by thanking our
sponsors for supporting this promi- nent Reedley event. I also must give special thanks to Kendelynn Men- doza, George Takata, Inez Vasquez, Denny Mason, Aide Garza, Barbara Thiesen, Patty Valdero, Sam Gipson, Adale van Dam and Brenda Castillo, for helping organize many of the fine details that made this evening so memorable.
A big highlight of the evening was our local talent, so I would like to give special acknowledgment to Michal Angel, Meg Clark, Alina Gonzalez, Stacey Hall, Joseph Ham, Thomas Hayes, Jeff Lusk and Berit Rhodes. I also extend my thanks to the Reedley High School River
Rats, Reedley Boy Scout Troop 282, Reedley College CEO Club, Reedley College Constitution Week, Reedley Elks Lodge, Reedley Historical So- ciety and Reedley’s River City The- atre Company.
Lastly, I would like to thank Board Chairman Tim Thiesen and the Chamber Governing Board for putting their trust in me and the solid leadership they provide. The Chamber awards dinner is an op- portunity to showcase and honor the best about Reedley, and I am very grateful for the support the commu- nity has shown.
Erik W. Valencia, executive director Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce
Letters from readers
tion season.
Kelli Glazebrook, United Valley Civics Fresno
Thanks for making Chamber awards dinner a success
I would like to extend my deep- est gratitude to everyone who helped make this year’s Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce Awards Din- ner a critically acclaimed success. My team and I worked hard to put to- gether a program that would properly honor our award recipients, showcase Reedley, and be entertaining for those in attendance. It means so much to know that our efforts were recog-
QUOTE
“There are no whole truths; all truths are half-truths. It is trying to treat them as whole truths that plays the devil.”
— Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947)