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2 -- November 5, 2015 editor@newslj.com
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Our view
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041,
i We were greatly discouraged when the Weston County
Commissioners appointed the five-member Weston County Solid
Waste Disposal District board a few weeks ago, and chose not
! to appoint any of the three applicants (out of eight) who actually
reside in Newcastle to that board. We felt at that time (and still do)
that not appointing any Newcastle residents effectively deprives
half of the county's population of a voice in decisions that will
significantly impact all of us, and it is still hard for us to imagine
why the commissioners chose to do so.
After reading the page one story about last week's landfill
board meeting in this edition of the NLJ, however, we can't help
but be a bit hopeful that a solution may still be found that serves
the best interests of all county residents-- including those who
live in Weston County's largest community.
We are encouraged by the tone of the discussion, the intel-
ligence of the questions being asked and the interest that was
expressed in establishing a partnership with both Newcastle and
Upton to choose a path moving forward.
And while it is disturbing to hear that there are those on the
Weston County Commission who refuse to entertain the thought
of using Newcastle's facility (which would be located in closest
proximity to the vast majority of the solid waste produced in
Weston County) as the county wide landfill, it was gratifying to
hear at least one DEQ official express the belief that such a plan
may present the county's best option. We were even more pleased
to hear DEQ suggest that the possibility of handling trash from
other communities in the region-- like Moorcroft and Sundance--
should be explored as a way to make having a landfill in Weston
County more economically feasible. We strongly urge the land-
fill board to consider the opportunity that may be presented in this
instance, instead of focusing only on the negative repercussions
associated with the stricter environmental regulations governing
waste disposal that have brought us to this juncture.
At this point, it is important to note that "economy of scale"
presents the greatest hardship to communities like Newcastle and
Upton when it comes to tackling this issue, as small towns don't
produce enough garbage to justify the cost of siting and operating
a landfill, and as such are being forced to undertake the expense
of hauling the waste to larger cities.
But as small as Newcastle is, it is still the largest community in
Weston, Crook or Niobrara counties (and a couple of nearby South
Dakota counties also) and as such, economy of scale could actu-
ally play to our advantage-- and'Weston County's as well.
We are glad DEQ encouraged the landfill board to investi-
gate this option, and suggest the board should also contact those
Wyoming communities that have greatly decreased the cost of
i~io,, landfill operation by securing DEQ approval for performance-
based design landfills that don't require pit liners.
We think DEQ left a door open to us that would allow the
county to continue to have its own landfill (thus avoiding the
cost of hauling waste to another county) and would also allow
Newcastle to hand over its landfill to the county (thus avoiding
the costs associated with designing and creating an entirely new
landfill). That solution would also open the door to getting paid
to handle trash for communities outside of Weston County, which
would help cover some of the costs associated with solid waste
disposal and make it less expensive for residents of this county.
For the past several months, we have struggled to understand
why county officials have shunned what-- to us-- seemed to be
the most viable option, and we were pleased to hear the new board
is not prejudiced to the idea.
We can't help but trod on
the downtrodden
Dear Editor,
We have a problem. Most of us have
been looking at the wrong end of our'
problem. We have been looking at the
results instead of the causes. Since we had
no particular or long-term goal the results
are scattered and incoherent. We need to
go back into recent history and look with
new eyes at the cause and effect of our
policies and procedures. We also need to
take into account the nature of man.
In the beginning some English and
European malcontents came across the
ocean to become American malcon-
tents. They wanted and took the fields and
forests from the original inhabitants. This
"wanting and taking" became a habit. It
may be part of our genetic makeup. In
any case, it became our Standard
Operating Procedure. The
smarter, bigger, stronger
almost always win from the
not so smart, smaller and
weaker.
We defeated the natives
and consigned them to
concentration camps called
reservations. Then we sepa-
rated the children from their
families and retrained them in
"our ways." Take a drive through Pine
Ridge and see how well that turned out.
Next on our hit list was the newly freed
slaves. By and large, we did not school
them at all. That's a fine tradition we have
carried on to the present and the foresee-
able future. Take a drive through Watts
district of Los Angeles or Ferguson, Mo.
and see how well that turned out.
Those two were not the only, just the
most conspicuous of the groups that the
majority has either not trained or mis-
trained.
Some evidence I submit are the more
or less common terms: Spic, Mick,
Wop, Chink, Spook, Klooch, and other
demeaning terms unknown to me.
At this point we introduce some highly
technical Psycho-Sociological terms to
describe how this works. They relate to
cause and effect.
1. As the twig is bent the tree will grow.
2. The acorn does not fall far from the
tree.
3. Monkey see, monkey do.
Lest you be tempted to argue that any
of them can learn, work hard and get ahead
consider that their environment has trained
them to be exactly what they are. Some
training is irresistible. More than once,
we (the US government) have taken large
numbers of young Americans through only
six or eight weeks of training and then
Students offer their thoughts on
-Education is its own reward
Dear Editor,
In today's society, students getting paid for good
grades has become a popular idea, and it should not
be even thought about! Students should not receive
money for having decent grades when it is expected
out of them. When students receive money for
having good grades, the incentive sends the wrong
message, changes the purpose of learning, and
decreases the child's work ethic.
If students are paid for having respectable
grades, it may send the wrong message. In 2010,
Geoff Johnson, in an article titled "Cash for Grades
Teaches Children the Wrong Message," in the
November 27 Vancouver Sun stated that, "Paying
kids gets them in a way of thinking that
in order to have something done, money
needs to be involved." He continues to
explain that once the adolescent is paid
for good grades, his/her mindset sug-
gests that they need immediate gratifi-
cation. This incentive can also send a
mixed message. Growing up, one was
always told that life is not always about
money, but once the child is paid for
having an 'A' in a class, he/she starts to
consider that life is all about the money.
When money is used as an incentive for
having decent grades, the purpose of learning is
changed. In "What's an 'A' Worth" printed on
December 17, 2012 in the Wall Street Journal, Van
Zutphen says, "The downside of using money as
a motivator is that it defeats the true purpose of
learning." He later explains that, "The knowledge
learned will be worth it in the future." Furthermore,
when students are paid for grades, they do not retain
the knowledge. The student only tries to receive an
'A' in the class rather than truly remembering.
Although the incentive of getting paid for
respectable grades seems like it would make the
child work harder, he/she ends up not working as
hard. In "Paying Students for Grades May Provide
Wong Motivation to Excel, Professor Says" printed
in Targeted News on August 5, 2014, Durtschi
hypothesizes that "The end result is the kid is more
likely to stop working hard." He explains that once
the money stops, so does the hard working child,
since there is no motivation to work hard. Not only
that, but if the method of paying for grades is used,
the money should slowly decrease so the motivation
comes from the student. If the student becomes
motivated on their own, paying for grades will no
longer be needed.
In the end, patents should not pay their children
and instead be telling them, "You can only become
truly accomplished at something you love. Don't
make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things
you love doing, and then do them so well that people
can't take their eyes offyou."- Maya Angelou
--Courtney Rainbolt
NHS students should become
the next programmers
Dear Editor,
Computer coding opens doors to
a world of possibilities, for anyone.
Newcastle High School offers a wide
range of classes, and computer coding
should be one of the classes offered.
Learning computer coding opens job
opportunities, creates a new generation
of computer programmers, and develops
important skills.
High school students are starting to
discover job possibilities, and computer coding
opens up many more of these possibilities. In 2014,
Donna Saint George stated in an article titled,
"Students Know Computers, Not the Science behind
Them," in the April 24th issue of the Washington
Post, "There is not a field right now that computer
science doesn't contribute to or support." With tech-
nology rising, most jobs require some background
with computers. Also, without students knowing
how to code computers, there will not be new tech-
nology for any jobs. Students in high school are the
next generation of Americans, and will need jobs.
If a student knows nothing about computer science,
that process will be extremely difficult. Computer
coding is an important skill to be successful in
finding a job.
High school students are the next generation
of Americans, and a new generation of computer
programmers. An article titled "Week-long 'Hour of
Code' Campaign Lures Millions of U.S. Students to
Computer Coding," printed in the Washington Post
directed them to run across that land-mine
field into withering machine-gun fire to
capture the enemy! Drive past any of the
many military cemeteries, including the
one at Sturgis, to see how well that turned
out.
I agree that simply throwing money at
the problem will not fix it. Maybe, rather
than throwing more money at it we should
throw more non-political, intelligent and
long term planning. Many of our K-12
schools are far from adequate and far from
the best in the world.
Those not academically gifted should
transition to a trade school. Switzerland
transitions all students into military
training and they stay in "The Reserves"
until age 65. They are rarely involved in a
war.
Our so-called justice system incarcer-
ates (in for profit prisons) a much, much
larger percentage of our population than
any other country in the world,
including Russia and China.
Has that, in any way benefited
either them or our country? I
think not. Try getting a job
when you have a record and/
or jail time for maybe selling
an untaxed cigarette in New
York or DWB (Driving While
Black) in Ferguson, Mo. Long
Beach Ca. or Chicago.
So, it all boils down to this:
1. Get an education if you can pry
one out of the political environment you
find yourself in - or go to jail.
2. Get a job if your education, lack
thereof, skin color or accent doesn't dis-
qualify you.
3. Don't do anything foolish like the
men hanging out at the street corner. While
they may be the only examples around to
copy they are not good examples to follow.
Well, that's a simple enough
formula. Why do so many not follow
that plan and prosper? There must be a
contravening force! Among the many
suspects are the Oligarchs: Welch,
lmmelt, Dimon, Fuld, Blankfein,
Coffman, Condit, Burnham, Kresa,
Raymond, Cheney, Gorman, Lesar,
Campbell and many others.
They have employed politicians to alter
laws to benefit themselves and the politi-
cians. They export their factories and jobs
overseas. They keep their untaxed profits
and income overseas.
Our captains of industry and elected
representatives have joined forces and
declared war on the American economy
and its workers. They are winning. They
don't care about the carnage they leave
behind. The misery they inflict on workers
and the unemployed by their greed is an
amusement.
--Jerry Baird
S
on December 11, 2013 stated, "Don't just download
the latest app - help design it. Don't just play on
your phone - program. No one's born a computer
scientist, but with a little hard work - and some
math and science - just about anyone can become
one." Students are always using applications on their
phones, and playing video games. With a computer
programming class, students at NHS would gain the
skills to become the next generation of computer
programmers.
Many students are interested in computers, they
just do not know how to program them. With this
class, students will have more interest in computer
coding and programming, and through a computer
coding class, they would learn how to code and
program. This will create a new generation of
workers in the computer science field. Most people
in generations above high school students will argue
that it is too early for students to learn computer
coding, but students currently in high school have
been around computers their whole life, so they are
ready. Some are more than ready.
A computer science class will develop important
skills in Newcastle High School students. Further
support of this idea is found in Kim McGuire's
bb Ilen~r
Publisher and
Editor
Iflm Dean
Circulation/
Accounts Manager
~olatanle Bamar
Graphic Artist/
Advertising
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fi.:i%:ii!_ _%:"ri"-'Z;Z.:
:7,
Office/Sales/
Classifieds
Mldkln
Co-Owner
Rob Hlcks
Co-Owner
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