Saturday Thumbs
Saturday, June 7, 2008 12:48 AM PDT
Printable version
E-mail this articleJune 7 Daily News editorial
Children cast a line
(Thumbs up) Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods,” reminds us that children aren’t spending as much time outside as they used to so they aren’t as likely to care about it when they’re adults. A well-organized group countered the trend last Saturday at Coldwater Lake.
State and federal fisheries folks and volunteer expert anglers shared their time with 26 children from the Vancouver area. Most of the kids had never been in a boat. Though they didn’t catch many fish (it was tough for adults, too), the children had a great time and will want to cast a line again.
A commendable road show
(Thumbs up) Thumbs up to Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul De Muniz for going the extra mile — literally — to acquaint Oregon high school students with the workings of the court. The chief justice has taken the high court on the road, hearing oral arguments at various schools around the state.
Most recently, the justices set up shop in the La Grande High School auditorium to hear a medical marijuana case. The case involved the legality of a search warrant and a statute of limitations. After the hearing, the justices took questions about the court, their career choices — anything but the case they’d just heard. This traveling court is a great way to involve young Oregonians in the law and issues that will affect their lives. No doubt, La Grande students will be paying close attention when the court issues its opinion in the case heard at their school.
Waste of time and effort
(Thumbs down) Authorities will begin enforcing Washington’s new ban on text messaging while driving next month — sort of. Like the state’s initial seat-belt law, text messaging is a so-called “secondary infraction.” That means drivers can’t be pulled over simply because an officer witnesses them text messaging. They can be cited for text messaging only if they’ve first been stopped for a primary infraction, such as speeding or running a stop sign.
Clearly, legislators were conflicted about the need for this law. They even went so far as to write that a text messaging infraction cannot be placed on your driving record or reported to employers or insurance companies. A law that’s not worth enforcing as a primary offense isn’t worth enacting.
Busy volunteers
(Thumbs up) Wow! Five hundred and fifty to 600 volunteers working throughout the week to spruce up homes and city buildings and other areas around the community. Thumbs up to these folks from almost three dozen Lower Columbia area churches who turned out to make this third annual Servant Week a rousing success.
The volunteers painted homes, replaced roofs, collected trash and worked to improve landscaping at private residences, city parks, the Humane Society and Butler Acres Elementary School. They painted the Longview Parks Building, Elks building, city shop and Roy Morse Park garage. They installed playground equipment, cleaned up storage area at the Longview Police Department and visited with residents at area nursing homes. And that’s just a partial list of what these hard-working volunteers accomplished.
Past Month's Most Commented Stories