(Published Thursday Jan. 24, 2008)

Let parents decide all-day kindergarten

Many feel charging $300 a month to offset the cost of the full-day kindergarten program is too expensive.

I agree that quality education is incredibly expensive. However, the cost of half-time child care at a center outside the public school well exceeds $300. By comparison, $300 a month is a deal.

In addition, most families that have two parents working outside the home simply cannot transport their child to another location in the middle of the day. The full-day kindergarten program is a service. Families on free and reduced lunch do not have to pay at all.

Continuing research shows students who participate in full-day kindergarten programs have stronger social-emotional and academic skills over time (Child magazine, September 2004). This being said, some parents prefer their child attend kindergarten half time and instead create plenty of other avenues to enrich their child. If full-day programs become mandatory, these parents would not have this option.

I have frequently heard that California has free all-day kindergarten. We are not California. Oregon voters have repeatedly turned down measures that would support sales tax which could allow for such enriched programs. Can school districts across the state or the Department of Education afford this cost?

By mandating full-day kindergarten, would we be shooting ourselves in the foot by making it all or nothing? Would this cause class sizes at other grades to increase?

The best solution is to let parents choose what will work for them.

Anicia Criscione

Corvallis

Left out of debate over God, science

The editorial about the debate between evolutionists and creationists (“Science and God,” Jan. 14) was interesting, but it let me wondering where I fit into the discussion.

I believe in evolution, but I don’t believe in the claims made by Darwin’s supporters. Obviously organisms do adapt to circumstances and breeders have long understood how to cull for desired characteristics.

But this doesn’t explain the existence of the adaptive entity — how it came to be in the first place. Random adaptations from a single cell acted on by the environmental selection over time? It’s the randomness there that bugs me.

The diversity and the intensity of life forms argue for a progressive driving force. Randomness to the extent proposed is regressive, not progressive.

And I am not a creationist. I don’t believe that this world and this universe were created out of nothing (ex nihilo).

God or some other latent entity organized the world our of pre-existing materials. These materials are probably eternal and always existed, which to me is more believable than the “first cause” theory that brings everything into being out of the ether in one fell swoop.

Oh well, I’m used to being left out. After all, I am not a Republican or a Democrat, either.

Roy Severin

Corvallis

Abused parents can need protection, too

I don’t know how many others have come across this problem, but it is a major problem.

If a child is in danger, there are a lot of organizations that will step in and help out. If a parent is being physically, mentally or sexually abused by their overgrown child (still under the age of 18) there is very little resources available.

I speak out of experience. I have a client whose 17-year-old son is very abusive. There is not one organization out there that will help her out.

She is a single parent who is intimidated and threatened by her son, and yet I seem to get the Benton County Runaround.

I am hoping that in writing this letter, we can come up with resources to help out parents that are being abused by there minor children.

Are there other parents out there with the same problem? Most likely. Are they getting any help before it is to late? Most likely not.

We as human beings need to look to each other for support to stop all violence. The main way I see this happening is getting our troubled youth the help they need and stop letting them slip through the cracks before it is to late.

Jennifer Ambrosius

Corvallis

Is Romney’s success being downplayed?

The headline in the Gazette-Times on Jan. 9 read “McCain, Clinton win in New Hampshire.”

On Jan. 15, the primary in Michigan was held. Where was the headline concerning Gov. Mitt Romney’s win? Not on page 1 or 2, but on page 9!

Could this be just a coincidence, oversight or a case of biased reporting?

Just wondering.

How about fair and balanced coverage?

Allan M. Stensvad

Philomath

Who will stand up to Bush, Cheney?

New reports of voters upset over election results in Kenya mirror the unhappiness voters felt following elections in Uzbekistan and Pakistan.

The blatant voting irregularities and subsequent installation of the supreme rulers were eerily reminiscent of the election debacles of 2000 and 2004 in Americanistan, where in 2000 the loser of the popular vote was dutifully installed by a pliant handpicked Supreme Court.

The CEO of USA Inc. and his sidekick G.W. are, of course, much admired by the leaders of such shining examples of democracy as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Singapore.

The excrescence inhabiting the White House and posturing as the leader of the “free” world, has caused more revulsion than all of his predecessors combined.

Even the vile Nixon had the good sense to resign when the extent of his misdeeds became public.

But for a handful of courageous congressmen (wish that DeFazio was one of them) we have not seen any concerted effort from the loyal opposition to initiate the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.

And to the current presumptive successors: Quit jabbering about change that stops short of tackling the real problems. And stop excluding Dennis Kucinich who has the only worthwhile message for the voters.

Leo de Vogel

Corvallis