Cheers: To the Battle Ground High School Drama Club. A group of students and drama teacher Stephan Henry have been selected to participate in this year’s prestigious Edinburgh Festival Fringe. That’s Edinburgh, as in the capital of Scotland, where in August the group will perform “Almost, Maine,” their winter show that opens this weekend at the school. “Honestly, they are some of the most professional kids I’ve ever worked with,” Henry said.
Likely since the beginning of time, it has been common for older generations to lament the state of young people and fear for the future of humanity. But the selection of the Battle Ground club for the Edinburgh festival is yet another reminder that plenty of young people are accomplishing extraordinary things, and that many of them live right here in our community.
Jeers: To waving a gun while riding in a car. A Battle Ground man was arrested this week after reportedly flashing a replica weapon while riding in a truck driving past protesters in downtown Portland. The man was facing a disorderly conduct charge, but authorities decided to not press charges.
With concern about President Donald Trump’s policies and the direction of the country, streets often are filled with protesters these days. Times are tense, which calls for calm on both sides of the issues. Protesters should remain peaceful and should realize that resorting to destruction harms their cause in the court of public opinion. And those who oppose the protests should simply let things run their course and not exacerbate the tension.
Cheers: To messages of love. Regardless of how one feels about President Trump’s temporary travel ban from seven Muslim-majority countries, there always is room for positive messages in our community.
So it is that somebody decorated the front door of a mosque in Hazel Dell with small, handmade construction-paper signs reading, “Thank you for bringing us light” or “We love our Muslim neighbors” or some other message of support. While there has been much discussion about immigrants and refugees and Muslims coming to this country, the bottom line is that many of them have been here for years and are our neighbors.
Jeers: To rising homelessness. According to the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, a total of 40,000 students throughout the state were homeless during the 2015-16 school year, marking a sharp increase from the previous year. That increase was echoed in Vancouver Public Schools and Evergreen Public Schools, the largest districts in Clark County.
The need for addressing homelessness is particularly acute when children are involved. The problems that accompany homelessness can hamper a child’s ability to learn and, in the long run, their ability to become a contributing member of society. In other words, we can solve the problem now or pay for it later.
Cheers/Jeers: To the story of Amaya the dog. The 1-year-old bull terrier created a memorable morning the other day for some students on their way to Shahala Middle School. Amaya had escaped from her yard and was running in the street as a school bus approached. When the driver stopped and opened the door to see where Amaya had gone, the dog hopped on board and ran to the back of the bus.
Showing no interest in leaving and apparently enjoying the trip, Amaya rode to school with the students, where school officials eventually were able to corral her. She later was reunited with her family at the Humane Society for Southwest Washington. While the adventure seems to have been fun for all involved, it could have been dangerous, and there is a moral to the story: All dogs should be licensed and have a microchip implanted for easy identification.
