Why did the bond issue fail?

I can't ever recall a school bond issue failing here before, like the one that did yesterday, and it was only last year that the voters approved a Casper College bond.  So what happened?  A lot of bond supporters are asking that now.

 

Natrona County High School.

It's always hard to answer a question like that, of course, but what I'm hearing right now from various people is the following:

1.  The School Board chairman noted that County Assessor's tax notice came out just a couple of days prior to the election, and it noted what the additional tax would be for each recipient.  It amounted to $22.00 per $100,000.  He feels the bond was winning up until that point.

$22.00/100,000 doesn't seem like a lot for what we were receiving, but to some people it is viewed as such.  I heard one well off person complaining that we were still paying on the college bond, even though that person is a millionaire.  So people can react to a think like that.

2.  Based on comments that appear where the public can comment, there's a fair degree of Tea Party thought in the county right now, and as part of that there seems to be a general opposition to taxes and even pretty much to any governmental entity, school boards included.  That surprises me for this county, and perhaps its not as many as it appears, but there are clearly some folks who viewed this in that fashion.  One of the main opponents of the bond posted information to a page that represents itself as a Tea Party organ, so there was at least a little of that.

Tied into that, Tea Party folks are still very fired up by the events surrounding Cindy Hill, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.  Hill has been a lightening rod of one kind or another. She generally came out of the Tea Party element of the GOP and has very distinct views.  Her administration of the department was highly controversial which lead to a legislative effort that limited her powers, although most in favor of the act that did that noting that the department was long overdue for reform.  She subsequently sued and the Wyoming Supreme Court overturned the law that limited her authority. All of this has lead her supporters to actually support censure of certain legislators and the Governor, although the action against the Governor recently failed.  Hill is running for Governor.

That wouldn't seem to have any relationship to the bond, and in real terms it does not, but some of her supporters do not quite see it that way for some reason. They also generally oppose Common Core, although quite a few people outside their ranks also do, which also doesn't have any direct connection but which some of them see as linked.

Added in even further, a legislative committee, late term, went in and actually modified the state science standards to eliminate curriculum dealing with global warming, on the basis that they apparently thought it to be propaganda against the state's largest industry. School boards and the department of education have been going back and looking at what they can do in regards to teaching the science. This also has nothing to do with the bond, but it puts education topics in the news at a bad time.

3.  Some folks oppose taxes in general.  One fellow I know just will not vote for a tax, that's his policy.  Additionally, the City of Casper has been in the news recently due to accusations that its .01 optional tax hasn't been used wisely, which makes people mad about taxes in general.

A troubling aspect of this is that if we tend to always oppose taxes, eventually it seems to be the case that the local option to tax or not slowly evaporates.  This happened in regard to the courthouse here, which failed in bond elections twice. Eventually the state undertook the cost. That made other counties upset, but the bigger story there is that mineral revenues are declining at the same time that the state is funding more and local entities less, which means that sooner or later the taxes will be there, but the local say may well be done.

 

NCHS at night.

4. Some folks strongly opposed a single item in the bond.

Everyone seemed to support safety upgrades, although obviously not enough to vote for the bond in slightly over half of the instances noted.  But in post voting comments, it's interesting to note that some people were strongly opposed to the CAPS facility while supporting the pools, and vice versa.

I think there was a fair degree of misunderstanding in both instances.  CAPS is being built. That's just the way it is, so voting against the bond is a protest vote at best.  Folks who voted against CAPS while favoring the pools torpedoed the pools, but are getting CAPS anyhow.

Having said that, the one thing in this that I somewhat understand is people who were opposed to the CAPS facility and resented it.  This came about because of a worthwhile concern of a different sitting school board which rightly noted that technical training needed to be upgraded at the schools, and that there was inadequate school space.  The thought at that time was that a new high school should be added.

That thought was right.  The county has four high schools, with one being a small alternative education school with very little in the way of extra facilities.  One is in Midwest, a town on the edge of the county, that serves every grade in that town.  The two big schools are NCHS and KWHS.  They're definitely overburdened in handling as many students as they do.  A third school would have made real sense.

Instead, the then sitting board determined not to do that, and for a really aggravating reason.  Adding a new school would have dropped the county's high school athletics down a class.  That is, Natrona County's kids would have been competing in some lower class, 3A I think.

Well, who cares?

It would have only lasted for a couple of years, but apparently that's a big deal to people for some reason.  Indeed, it's such a big deal that Campbell County has for years operated under the fiction that it has one high school with two "campuses", which is of course absurd.  But that way it has unified teams that can compete in 4A.  I don't really care about that, but it is aggravating to realize that KWHS and NCHS were deprived of technical facilities so that we could stay 4A.

So, following Campbell County's lead in a fashion, we decided to have one high grade technical facility, CAPS, and to build a new building for Roosevelt, the alternative school.  We are doing that, but that did built a lot of resentment with people including, as I've learned as we proceeded along on this, a lot of teachers.  I'm sure a majority of teachers voted for the bond, but not all of them did, and CAPS is largely the reason why.

The irony, as noted, is that we're getting CAPS no matter what.  It's not the way I'd have gone about it, but it's what's occurring, so fully equipping it is a must.

And it'll apparently happen as the one thing that the district has already indicated is that it will start saving money over time to equip it.  So, the folks who voted against CAPS didn't really achieve their goal, but they did accidentally help keep NC from having a pool. That appears to be a permanent done deal.

Opposition to the pool I don't understand.  It seems its regarded as "nice" but an extravagance, by quite a few people.  By the same token, there's never been any opposition to keeping the NC football field and stadium, which were once slated to be taken out.  That sparked a real protest movement.  A big football field is nice, but it serves the same purpose as a pool.  And in this county, swimming instruction is required.  Now that is going to be difficult to achieve.

 

NCHS football player at KW stadium, Oil Bowl 1980.  Soon thereafter it was proposed that the NC Stadium be torn down.

For years and years I always said "I don't have anything against football" when topics like this came up, but I'm afraid that's slowly changing for me, and that's all the more reason I find this aggravating.  Now, I do agree a field is necessary, but not just for football. But I do continue to be amazed by the way that football so dominates the outside discussion of high school athletics.  I don't oppose the game, but I've gotten to where I do now worry about the head injury impacts that are becoming increasingly associated with the game.  I work on too many matters where people have sustained a traumatic brain injury not to take that very seriously.  It worries me that we seemingly sort of ignore that at this level, with potential long term devastating effect. At some point, and probably some point soon, it'll be addressed, I'm sure.  I note that there's no longer high school boxing like their was when I was in high school, which was also thought perfectly harmless at the time.  Football won't disappear, I'm sure, but it's probable that the game and equipment will be modified.

 

C Club Fights at NCHS, 1980.

I do wish, however, that people who find a pool extravagant would appreciate that it teaches something that's life saving at best and a lifetime activity always.  Now that's impaired and the need for the pool was every bit as great as the need for a field.

For Many, Farming Is A Labor Of Love, Not A Living : The Salt : NPR

For Many, Farming Is A Labor Of Love, Not A Living : The Salt : NPR

Friday Farming: Holscher's Hub: Sweet Allis

Holscher's Hub: Sweet Allis: Allis-Chambers vintage tractor.

Big Boy 4014 steam engine rolls into downtown Laramie

The Big Speech: Treaty between the United States and the Crow Indians.

1868  Treaty signed with the Crows at Ft. Laramie.  It stated:

Articles of a treaty made and concluded at Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory, on the seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, by and between the undersigned commissioners on the part of the United States, and the undersigned chiefs and head-men of and representing the Crow Indians, they being duly authorized to act in the premises.

ARTICLE 1.

From this day forward peace between the parties to this treaty shall forever continue. The Government of the United States desires peace, and its honor is hereby pledged to keep it. The Indians desire peace, and they hereby pledge their honor to maintain it. If bad men among the whites or among other people, subject to the authority of the United States, shall commit any wrong upon the person or property of the Indians, the United States will, upon proof made to the agent and forwarded to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Washington City, proceed at once to cause the offender to be arrested and punished according to the laws of the United States, and also re-imburse the injured person for the loss sustained.

If bad men among the Indians shall commit a wrong or depredation upon the person or property of any one, white, black, or Indian, subject to the authority of the United States and at peace therewith, the Indians herein named solemnly agree that they will, on proof made to their agent and notice by him, deliver up the wrong-doer to the United States, to be tried and punished according to its laws; and in case they refuse willfully so to do the person injured shall be re-imbursed for his loss from the annuities or other moneys due or to become due to them under this or other treaties made with the United States. And the President, on advising with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, shall prescribe such rules and regulations for ascertaining damages under the provisions of this article as in his judgment may be proper. But no such damages shall be adjusted and paid until thoroughly examined and passed upon by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and no one sustaining loss while violating, or because of his violating, the provisions of this treaty or the laws of the United States shall be re-imbursed therefor.

ARTICLE 2.

The United States agrees that the following district of country, to wit: commencing where the 107th degree of longitude west of Greenwich crosses the south boundary of Montana Territory; thence north along said 107th meridian to the mid-channel of the Yellowstone River; thence up said mid-channel of the Yellowstone to the point where it crosses the said southern boundary of Montana, being the 45th degree of north latitude; and thence east along said parallel of latitude to the place of beginning, shall be, and the same is, set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Indians herein named, and for such other friendly tribes or individual Indians as from to time they may be willing, with the consent of the United States, to admit amongst them; and the United States now solemnly agrees that no persons, except those herein designated and authorized so to do, and except such officers, agents, and employés of the Government as may be authorized to enter upon Indian reservations in discharge of duties enjoined by law, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in the territory described in this article for the use of said Indians, and henceforth they will, and do hereby, relinquish all title, claims, or rights in and to any portion of the territory of the United States, except such as is embraced within the limits aforesaid.

ARTICLE 3.

The United States agrees, at its own proper expense, to construct on the south side of the Yellowstone, near Otter Creek,

a warehouse or store-room for the use of the agent in storing goods belonging to the Indians, to cost not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars; an agency-building for the residence of the agent, to cost not exceeding three thousand dollars; a residence for the physician, to cost not more than three thousand dollars; and five other buildings, for a carpenter, farmer, blacksmith, miller, and engineer, each to cost not exceeding two thousand dollars; also a school-house or mission-building, so soon as a sufficient number of children can be induced by the agent to attend school, which shall not cost exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars.

The United States agrees further to cause to be erected on said reservation, near the other buildings herein authorized, a good steam circular saw-mill, with a grist-mill and shingle-machine attached, the same to cost not exceeding eight thousand dollars.

ARTICLE 4.

The Indians herein named agree, when the agency-house and other buildings shall be constructed on the reservation named, they will make said reservation their permanent home, and they will make no permanent settlement elsewhere, but they shall have the right to hunt on the unoccupied lands of the United States so long as game may be found thereon, and as long as peace subsists among the whites and Indians on the borders of the hunting districts.

ARTICLE 5.

The United States agrees that the agent for said Indians shall in the future make his home at the agency-building; that he shall reside among them, and keep an office open at all times for the purpose of prompt and diligent inquiry into such matters of complaint, by and against the Indians, as may be presented for investigation under the provisions of their treaty stipulations, as also for the faithful discharge of other duties enjoined on him by law. In all cases of depredation on person or property, he shall cause the evidence to be taken in writing and forwarded, together with his finding, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, whose decision shall be binding on the parties to this treaty.

ARTICLE 6.

If any individual belonging to said tribes of Indians, or legally incorporated with them, being the head of a family, shall desire to commence farming, he shall have the privilege to select, in the presence and with the assistance of the agent then in charge, a tract of land within said reservation, not exceeding three hundred and twenty acres in extent, which tract, when so selected, certified, and recorded in the “land book,”as herein directed, shall cease to be held in common, but the same may be occupied and held in the exclusive possession of the person selecting it, and of his family, so long as he or they may continue to cultivate it.

Any person over eighteen years of age, not being the head of a family, may in like manner select and cause to be certified to him or her, for purposes of cultivation, a quantity of land not exceeding eighty acres in extent, and thereupon be entitled to the exclusive possession of the same as above directed.

For each tract of land so selected a certificate, containing a description thereof and the name of the person selecting it, with a certificate endorsed thereon that the same has been recorded, shall be delivered to the party entitled to it by the agent, after the same shall have been recorded by him in a book to be kept in his office, subject to inspection, which said book shall be known as the “Crow land book.”

The President may at any time order a survey of the reservation, and, when so surveyed, Congress shall provide for protecting the rights of settlers in their improvements, and may fix the character of the title held by each. The United States may pass such laws on the subject of alienation and descent of property as between Indians, and on all subjects connected with the government of the Indians on said reservations and the internal police thereof, as may be thought proper.

ARTICLE 7.

In order to insure the civilization of the tribe entering into this treaty, the necessity of education is admitted, especially by such of them as are, or may be, settled on said agricultural reservation; and they therefore pledge themselves to compel their children, male and female, between the ages of six and sixteen years, to attend school; and it is hereby made the duty of the agent for said Indians to see that this stipulation is strictly complied with; and the United States agrees that for every thirty children, between said ages, who can be induced or compelled to attend school, a house shall be provided, and a teacher, competent to teach the elementary branches of an English education, shall be furnished, who will reside among said Indians, and faithfully discharge his or her duties as a teacher. The provisions of this article to continue for twenty years.

ARTICLE 8.

When the head of a family or lodge shall have selected lands and received his certificate as above directed, and the agent shall be satisfied that he intends in good faith to commence cultivating the soil for a living, he shall be entitled to receive seed and agricultural implements for the first year in value one hundred dollars, and for each succeeding year he shall continue to farm, for a period of three years more, he shall be entitled to receive seed and implements as aforesaid in value twenty-five dollars per annum.

And it is further stipulated that such persons as commence farming shall receive instructions from the farmer herein provided for, and whenever more than one hundred persons shall enter upon the cultivation of the soil, a second blacksmith shall be provided, with such iron, steel, and other material as may be required.

ARTICLE 9.

In lieu of all sums of money or other annuities provided to be paid to the Indians herein named, under any and all treaties heretofore made with them, the United States agrees to deliver at the agency house, on the reservation herein provided for, on the first day of September of each year for thirty years, the following articles, to wit:

For each male person, over fourteen years of age, a suit of good substantial woolen clothing, consisting of coat, hat, pantaloons, flannel shirt, and a pair of woolen socks.
For each female, over twelve years of age, a flannel skirt, or the goods necessary to make it, a pair of woolen hose, twelve yards of calico, and twelve yards of cotton domestics.
For the boys and girls under the ages named, such flannel and cotton goods as may be needed to make each a suit as aforesaid, together with a pair of woollen hose for each.
And in order that the Commissioner of Indian Affairs may be able to estimate properly for the articles herein named, it shall be the duty of the agent, each year, to forward to him a full and exact census of the Indians, on which the estimate from year to year can be based.
And, in addition to the clothing herein named, the sum of ten dollars shall be annually appropriated for each Indian roaming, and twenty dollars for each Indian engaged in agriculture, for a period of ten years, to be used by the Secretary of the Interior in the purchase of such articles as, from time to time, the condition and necessities of the Indians may indicate to be proper. And if, at any time within the ten years, it shall appear that the amount of money needed for clothing, under this article, can be appropriated to better uses for the tribe herein named, Congress may, by law, change the appropriation to other purposes; but in no event shall the amount of this appropriation be withdrawn or discontinued for the period named. And the President shall annually detail an officer of the Army to be present and attest the delivery of all the goods herein named to the Indians, and he shall inspect and report on the quantity and quality of the goods and the manner of their delivery; and it is expressly stipulated that

each Indian over the age of four years, who shall have removed to and settled permanently upon said reservation, and complied with the stipulations of this treaty, shall be entitled to receive from the United States, for the period of four years after he shall have settled upon said reservation, one pound of meat and one pound of flour per day, provided the Indians cannot furnish their own subsistence at an earlier date. And it is further stipulated that the United States will furnish and deliver to each lodge of Indians, or family of persons legally incorporated with them, who shall remove to the reservation herein described, and commence farming, one good American cow and one good, well-broken pair of American oxen, within sixty days after such lodge or family shall have so settled upon said reservation.

ARTICLE 10.

The United States hereby agrees to furnish annually to the Indians the physician, teachers, carpenter, miller, engineer, farmer, and blacksmiths as herein contemplated, and that such appropriations shall be made from time to time, on the estimates of the Secretary of the Interior, as will be sufficient to employ such persons.

ARTICLE 11.

No treaty for the cession of any portion of the reservation herein described, which may be held in common, shall be of any force or validity as against the said Indians unless executed and signed by, at least, a majority of all the adult male Indians occupying or interested in the same, and no cession by the tribe shall be understood or construed in such a manner as to deprive, without his consent, any individual member of the tribe of his right to any tract of land selected by him as provided in Article 6 of this treaty.

ARTICLE 12.

It is agreed that the sum of five hundred dollars annually, for three years from the date when they commence to cultivate a farm, shall be expended in presents to the ten persons of said tribe who, in the judgment of the agent, may grow the most valuable crops for the respective year.

W. T. Sherman,
   Lieutenant-General.

Wm. S. Harney,
   Brevet Major-General and Peace Commissioner.

Alfred H. Terry,
   Brevet Major-General.

C. C. Augur,
   Brevet Major-General.

John B. Sanborn.

S. F. Tappan.

Ashton S. H. White, Secretary.

Che-ra-pee-ish-ka-te, Pretty Bull, his x mark. [SEAL.]

Chat-sta-he, Wolf Bow, his x mark. [SEAL.]

Ah-be-che-se, Mountain Tail, his x mark. [SEAL.]

Kam-ne-but-sa, Black Foot, his x mark. [SEAL.]

De-sal-ze-cho-se, White Horse, his x mark. [SEAL.]

Chin-ka-she-arache, Poor Elk, his x mark. [SEAL.]

E-sa-woor, Shot in the Jaw, his x mark. [SEAL.]

E-sha-chose, White Forehead, his x mark. [SEAL.]

—Roo-ka, Pounded Meat, his x mark. [SEAL.]

De-ka-ke-up-se, Bird in the Neck, his x mark. [SEAL.]

Me-na-che, The Swan, his x mark. [SEAL.]

Attest:

George B. Wills, phonographer.

John D. Howland.

Alex. Gardner.

David Knox.

Chas. Freeman.

Jas. C. O'Connor.

Today In Wyoming's History: Natrona County School District No. 1 Bond Issue Fa...

Today In Wyoming's History: Natrona County School District No. 1 Bond Issue Fa...: The bond issue floated by NCSD No. 1, which would have sought a $33M bond for use in upgrading the safety features of existing schools, pro...

Mid Week At Work: Saddle Maker, 1940s

"Farewell to Ireland" by Gael Warning (Normally I listen to Blues, but this is really cool).

The NCSD Bond Issue

The bond issue goes to the voters tomorrow, May 6.  Please vote yes, if you are a Natrona County, Wyoming voter.

Prior threads on the topic on this blog can be found here.

A yes vote will allow the district to replace the NCHS pool which is coming down in weeks, replace the old Aluminum pool in Midwest, repair the pool at KWHS, install safety features in existing schools, and buy scientific and technical equipment for the new CAPs facility that is presently under construction.

The investement of the public in eras past

Continuing on just a bit, on bond related topics, I can't help but note that the high school I went to, which is now seeing large scale renovation, was built in 1923. The pool was built in 1926, I think.  The football stadium, which was subject to a proposal to be abandoned at one time, but which a public movement saved, dates back to 23.

When I look around Casper at public buildings, I can find a few old ones that are really something.  NCHS, the Federal Courthouse, the old County Courthouse, and so on. Some were built with local money, some with Federal money, but at any rate, when they are examined, it is clear that they were built for the ages.

Some public facilities here are like  that too.  City swimming pools, tennis courts, parks, etc., were all built with local money.

I note this, as I really wonder about the current bond opposition.  I understand that people do not want additional property taxes, but these projects are not unwise.  Prior generates here were very obviously willing to invest in something that was calculated to last well after they were gone.  Indeed, looking at some of these buildings, such as NCHS, it's very obvious that they were consciously built with the knowledge that most of the beneficiaries of the bond issues that built them would be born after the generation that paid for them was dead.  Now people don't seem to think quite that way.  Perhaps we should.

I am also surprised by the ongoing "times are tough" talk here.  No, they are not.  If people are having tough times here now, they better be thinking hard about that, as for this state, these are really good economic times.  Indeed, historically, with the type of economy we have here, these are really good times.  If individuals who have long residence here are having tough times, what that means is that this economic model, which seems to be the one we prefer, isn't working. That should lead us to support a broader educational model, not a more narrow one.

Finally, it's distressing the way that education has become a political football for other philosophical and political theories.  There is a lot of rhetoric floating around about "local control", "Common Core" and the like.  At the heart of it, people who are dedicated in their opposition to government beyond a minimalist government are of the view that everything should be local in control.  I'm not intending to debate that in any fashion, and a person can spend a lot of time exploring that, but what I'd note here is that none of this has anything to do with the bond.  Ironically, the bond actually restores local control.   Prior to 1970, all school funding in Wyoming was through bonds.  100%.  Now, what we have left is those items which the state does not fund, but which may still be necessary as a practical matter.  Ironically, therefore, those who oppose the bond on the basis that they support local control actually propose to surrender as much control as possible to the state, as they'd essentially have all funding be from the state.

Education and the real, technological, world.

Fairly recently I wrote an item here about romanticizing the past.  Fairly recently, I received some well deserved critical analysis on one of the comments I made there, from a reader, but the comments themselves basically supported the overall thesis of the thread, which was that romanticizing the past  has its dangers.

 

Oil Bowl Rally, 1980, at Natrona County High School.

It may be somewhat okay to romanticize the past, as long as we are cognizant of the realities of what we're doing. And to admire an era in the past, or something about it, is not wrong.  We shouldn't live in the past of course.  But even worse than living in the past, is to believe that the past really is the present.

I bring this up in the context, perhaps surprisingly, of the bond issue here in Natrona County.  The other day I read a well meaning letter to the editor  I set that letter out, in part, here:
.

The school bond issue is ridiculous! They designed more than they had funds available assuming approval of more tax money to complete things. Swimming pools are nice but not needed. Times are tough: We don’t need these now. Maybe later.

Recent letters state the Wyoming State Board of Education’s job is to “approve academic standards.” In my opinion they have failed so far. Graduation rates, low test scores for reading and math and high school graduates barely able to read are proof. Despite creating the Department of Education, more money, new standards, etc., we are failing to educate. Forget about Common Core Curriculum or Next Generation Science Standards from a centralized government.

Here’s a thought: Let’s go back to mastering mathematics, (good enough to put man on the moon), reading, science (earth, human, biology facts), government (local, state and U.S.), finance like counting back change and balancing a checkbook) and writing and penmanship. Today’s kids would be in great shape if they were educated the way we were back before any Department of Education or National Education Association. We spent a lot less money. We don’t need the government or “education experts” telling us how to teach our kids. It is our responsibility to get them educated, not the school districts, state board or federal government.

The first comment I'd make here is the "times are tough" comment.  I hear this a lot, but here, they are not.  The entire region is booming due to oil plays. That should be self evident just looking around. To the extent that times are tough here, it's for those moving in who can't afford a place to live. That is pretty common, but the reason that's occurred is that property values have leaped, due to the boom.  Those folks, and they do have a tough situation, aren't the ones whose tax dollars would go to pay for the bond.

In actuality, the state is enjoying good times.  It's times like this in which we should build, and we always claim that we've learned from the last boom/bust cycle and that when times are good, we're going to expand our infrastructure, broaden our base, etc.  The school bond actually seeks to do just that.

But it's actually the following comments that cause me to make this post, as they're so common, and sadly, so off the mark.  We don't live in this world.

Here’s a thought: Let’s go back to mastering mathematics, (good enough to put man on the moon), reading, science (earth, human, biology facts), government (local, state and U.S.), finance like counting back change and balancing a checkbook) and writing and penmanship. Today’s kids would be in great shape if they were educated the way we were back before any Department of Education or National Education Association. We spent a lot less money. We don’t need the government or “education experts” telling us how to teach our kids. It is our responsibility to get them educated, not the school districts, state board or federal government.

"Back to Basics" has been an educational movement for at least 30 years.  Perhaps, although probably not, 30 years ago it made some sense. But that world of 30 years ago has died.  This no longer reflects reality at all.  It's not that these topics are bad, they're not, its just that not only do the schools teach them (except for penmanship, which has passed by the wayside) but they're doing well with them, and have a lot of additional material to teach.  In short, not only do the schools do much better with the basic topics than they were here 30 years ago, they are tasked with a monumental task of educating children for the world we live in today.

I graduated from NCHS in 1981. The first thing that I'll note about that is that, in spite of what people may sometimes romantically recall, the education being offered in the school now is far and away superior to what it was then.

This isn't to say our education was bad. Far from it.  It was pretty good.  Some of the critics of our local district later found that when we graduated we fared pretty well compared to the graduates of public schools elsewhere.  But, having said that, what students are taught presently, and how they are presently taught, has enormously improved.  The number of credits required to graduate has gone up and up and year after year, and the quality of that learning has as well.

And the world that we graduated into in 1981 just isn't the same as the one that exists now.

In 1981, when I graduated, with an oil boom going on, locals could enter a work world in which everything was mechanical.  Most boys messed with cars at the time in a "shade tree mechanic" sense.  When I graduated in1981 I owned a 1974 Ford F100, a vehicle which was only seven years old at the time, and which was purely mechanical.  It didn't last long after that, as it had over 140,000 miles on it, a tremendous number of miles for the time.  I could, however, actually work on it.  We presently have a 1997 Dodge D1500, a roughly equivalent truck, for use by the teenagers and around town here.  It's computerized and there are aspects of it that only a trained technician can work on.

This is equally true of everything else in that 1981 world.  All shop equipment was mechanical.  A drilling rig I worked on while in college was purely mechanical. The logging equipment used on that rig was electric and radioactive, with the data recorded in analog fashion.  When I went to basic training the howitzers we trained on were adjusted manually and hydraulically.  If we direct fired, which we only occasionally did, we used the guns telescopic sight.  When I switched to fire support I used a Brunton compass, binoculars, and a map to spot artillery.  I used the Brunton compass again while a geology student at the University of Wyoming, where I also learned how to make maps using a theodolite and plain table, instruments so old that George Washington would have recognized them from his surveying days.

All of this is now a think of the past. While I do feel that the past is much more with us than we imagine, it is folly to pretend that a graduating student today can get by with basic skills in a world in which absolutely nothing remains basic.  Reading, writing, and arithmetic, in their basic forms, are not going to suffice in this world.  A person needs to know how to apply them, or how they can be applied.  Ideally they'll have some experience in applying them.  And, beyond that, hopefully they will have received a solid foundation in history, science and a foreign language.

I should note that I also wrote a letter to the editor, although because of my late submission and my crowding the word length restriction, I'm not sure if it will be published.  It reads as follows.

As a lifelong Natrona County resident familiar with industry and the economics of our communities I’ve often heard that industry and commerce is the lifeblood of our community and that we should do what we can in order to provide an entry way for graduating students into local careers. I’ve also heard from those in business that they wished there was a greater pool of well-trained residents who were ready to enter the work place.  Natrona County School District No. 1’s Center for Advanced and Professional Studies (CAP) is designed to address those needs.

The CAP will provide high school students with a facility that will offer them training in a variety of fields relevant to our community.  Courses in business, agriculture & natural Resources, architecture, construction, and manufacturing & engineering, will be offered, giving those who take them a jump on a later college career or the ability to go directly into work.  For those planning to go directly to work, having these courses increases their chances of finding a good paying job in their immediate future.  For those going to college, exposure to these fields when they are still forming their plans offers them a big advantage later.  For those of us in the community, having this facility available to students increases the chances that our local community will benefit from a well-trained group of motivated young people, something we always claim we desire, and which employers clearly want.

The pending bond will pay for equipment at the CAP facility it will otherwise not be able to obtain.  Having modern equipment available to students is critical in this era in which nearly every industrial, technical and scientific job is now high tech compared to even a decade ago.

This provides another reason to support the bond, and to demonstrate that what we’ve claimed to be our views for many years really are.  In addition to building and repairing the critical swimming pools and upgrading safety facilities in existing schools this provides an ample reason to support the bond.  Please vote yes on May 6.

This touches upon the same topics, but here I'll add one more.  Here in this county, for as long as I have remembered, residents have looked toward the oil and gas industry for employment, while at the same time arguing that we need to broaden our economic base.  But in reality, we're not doing a good job of training people who want to enter these industries to do so at the entry level.  Here too we seem to look towards a romantic past that just no longer exists.  If we're really serious about this we need to adjust accordingly.  Of course, perhaps we really aren't that serious, or perhaps we just don't care to pay for our aspirations, no matter how minor the costs, either.

Young people have been the greatest export of rural areas for some time.  Generally, rural areas do a pretty good job of educating people really, and I think our district is no exception.  But then we find that we ship them off elsewhere to finish their education.  I can't say that these measures will stop this, but I am sure that for those who look back to some time when they imagine a more rigorous basic education, they look back to a world that never existed and which will not be coming back.

Postscript

A thought occurred to me related to my point yesterday on this particular topic.

Regarding the thought that a basic education ought to suffice for the modern high school graduate, the computer system present in a current model automobile is more advanced, and more complicated, than the one that was in the B-52 Stratofortress at the time it was introduced in 1955.

The B-52 is still around, but at no point in its history did they allow people simply to go to work on one without training.  Those who think a basic education suffices in today's world just aren't being realistic, when everything out there is now more complicated than this.

On a related topic, the writer above noted, one of the items was " finance like counting back change and balancing a checkbook".  Again, who actually does that?  It's rapidly becoming the case where everything is done electronically.  Yes, checkbooks still exist, but a lot of people don't use them.

And, based upon the math they're now teaching, the schools have this covered.  Actually, the amount of math expected out of a graduate now, is far more than it was in 1981, when I graduated.

The Big Picture: Cavalry Camp, 1917

Lazy Sundays. . .

You  know, get up late, lounge around all day, eat brunch, maybe an early dinner. . . great, eh?

No, I hate 'em.

Sounds weird, I suppose, to those who do, but I can't stand a slow Sunday.  Generally, I like to hit the ground running on Sunday.  Heck, I like to do that everyday.  On Sunday, I get up, read the paper, and plan on getting down to Mass by 8:00.  Yes I do. 

And when I get home, I don't want to hang around the house.  I work indoors, usually, give days out of seven and usually six days out of seven. On the seventh, I hope to be out in nature.

Recently things just haven't worked that way at all.  There's just been something to conspire against this every week.  And so it is today.  We'll head to the 11:00 Mass this weekend, for a good reason.  And this afternoon we have an event scheduled that'll take me out of pocket all afternoon.

But its frustrating.

Last weekend, when we similarly had a events conspire, on that then snowy Sunday afternoon my wife remarked.  "Don't you just love these lazy Sundays?"

No, not one darned bit.

Churches of the West: Church Ruin, West Laramie, Wyoming

Churches of the West: Church Ruin, West Laramie, Wyoming:

This striking church ruin is located in West Laramie, Wyoming

The structure is clearly that of a classic Gothic style church, which was constructed out of stone and cement.  The structure of the church itself would tend to indicate that it was likely built in a classic Catholic church manner, which would indicate here that the church was likely built with a Catholic or Episcopalian congregation in mind, although its location might possibly indicate that it was built as a chapel for the Territorial Prison in Laramie.  The structure is very old, and its been in ruins for as long as I personally can recall.  It's now located on the grounds of a farm, but at the time it was built it would have been actually several miles outside of Laramie, and indeed it would have been at least three miles from the territorial prison.

This church is a mystery to me, and if anyone knows what it was, I'd appreciate knowing.

The Distrubing Thesis of Capital in the Twenty First Century.

I haven't read it yet, but I've been reading a lot about Thomas Piketty's new book, Capital In The Twenty First Century.

The book sounds pretty complicated in some ways, and of course we'd expect any book on economics to be just that. But the basic thesis isn't that complicated, and may be even a bit self evident.  Pikety, an economist, argues that over time the entire Western World is returning to an oligarchic economic structure. That is, wealth is going to be very much concentrated at the top, and inherited.

That ought to be extremely distressing to capitalist, which it seems most Americans claim to be.  If Piketty is correct, and even the observed evidence strongly suggest he is, we're entering an era when real economic power and wealth will be strongly concentrated in the top 10% of the population, who will maintain that status simply by inheritance, rather than by their industry.

What I don't know is whether Piketty conducts any analysis in regard to the land aspect of this, but if he does, I think his thesis will seem all the stronger.  In Europe the rise of industrialism heavily disrupted the traditional land owning structure, as did the rise of political parties that were dominated by the working class.  That broke the land inheritance system that had existed for centuries, allowing industry to acquire land, and also allowing small farmers to own the land they farmed.  In the US, the lack of land availability was a driver of immigration, and up until mid 20th Century acquiring land in the US was fairly easy.

Now all of this is no longer true. According to Piketty, and at least partially evident, we're entering an era in which resource ownership is increasingly concentrated and inherited.

This doesn't mean that the Middle Class will cease to exist, but it does mean that the Middle Class will become increasingly marginalized, if this trend continues, and that the Middle Class will own a diminishing share of the economy. All in all, this is a disturbing trend.

As this blog seeks to track long term trends, its interesting to look at this over a long period of time, in regards to the US.  It's now 2014, let's go back two centuries to 1814.  In 1814, we'd fine wealth very evenly distributed in the US, as a rule, with some really significant wealth here and there and some desperate poverty here and there.  Some significant wealth would be found in the South, in which case we have the corruption of slavery creating a bizarre oligarchic structure there, with a high concentration of wealth in planters and accordingly real severe poverty on the part of blacks.  For whites everywhere, obtaining ownership in the economy was not too difficult to obtain, however.

A century later, in 1914, obtaining ownership in the economy was still not too difficult for most Americans.  Trades generally paid well, and land was still readily available.  There were pockets of real poverty, however, based upon region or immigration.  And there were industrial pockets of very great wealth.

Now, in 2014, obtaining ownership in the economy is much more difficult, and obtaining agricultural and essentially impossible.  Piketty's trend seems well established, and by extension, that's a serious long term concern. There are still industries and occupations which generate wealth, to be sure, of course.

The NCHS Pool

The NCHS swimming pool in an undated photo, with girls swimming team:

NCHS Pool.

This old pool is about to come down.  Hopefully the voters approve the construction of a new one on May 6.

Forces with History -- Official Blog of Robert W Mackay: Tools of The Trade (2)

Forces with History -- Official Blog of Robert W Mackay: Tools of The Trade (2):  This Tool of The Trade is of course a pair of dividers, always to be found on or near the chart table in a submarine's control room. ...

Forces with History -- Official Blog of Robert W Mackay: Tools of the Trade (1)

Forces with History -- Official Blog of Robert W Mackay: Tools of the Trade (1):  This rather odd-looking item is a wheelspanner. Ships' engineers and all submariners will be familiar with wheelspanners, as they are...

Forces with History -- Official Blog of Robert W Mackay: Canadian Cavalry Takes On Secret Service

Forces with History -- Official Blog of Robert W Mackay: Canadian Cavalry Takes On Secret Service:  Last week I published three blogs describing the scene around Moreuil, France, on March 28-30, 1918. At a luncheon in honour of Moreuil Day...

Mystery of 1918 Flu That Killed 50 Million Solved?

Mystery of 1918 Flu That Killed 50 Million Solved?

The Uniform Bar Exam, early tell of the tape.

One of the threads most hit upon here is the one on the Uniform Bar Exam.  As folks who stop in here will recall, Wyoming's adoption of the UBE put the state in a class of states which now uses it, and which basically allow a person taking the test in one state to be admitted to practice in nearly any other state which uses it. 

When this passed, I maintained that the end result would be the exportation of legal jobs from Wyoming into the hands of out of state law firms, probably mostly in Denver.  Well, the state reported admissions from the last test the other day, and therefore it might be interesting, in this context, to look at the results.  Now, it must be considered of course that this was the mid winter test, which is always a bit abnormal anyhow, as recent law school graduates do not take it, and the results of one single test might not mean that much. And even if they do, we might not quite recognize what they actually mean. With that said, here's the results, with the names admitted..

Wyoming State Bar Members,

The Wyoming State Bar today announced that 23 people have been recommended for admission to practice law in Wyoming.  An admission ceremony before the Wyoming Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming will be held this fall. The ceremony will be a combined ceremony of both Courts at the Wyoming Supreme Court building.

The Wyoming State Bar and the Wyoming Supreme Court would like to congratulate these future members of the Wyoming State Bar.

The following people are being recommended for admission after receiving a passing score on the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) and meeting all other requirements for admission.

The Uniform Bar Exam consists of three major parts:

1. The Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) - This portion of the UBE test has been used in Wyoming for many years and is now used in every state except Louisiana.
2. The Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) - Essay questions on major areas of the law.
3. The Multistate Performance Test (MPT) - Requires prospective lawyers to complete practical application of the law on tasks associated with certain resource materials. 

•  – Cody, Wyoming
•  – Ft. Collins, Colorado
•  – Denver, Colorado
•  – Cheyenne, Wyoming
•  – Denver, Colorado
•  – Enid, Oklahoma
•  – Cheyenne, Wyoming

The following people are being recommended for admission after successfully transferring a passing score from another UBE jurisdiction and meeting all other requirements for admission. Scores are only transferrable between those states that have adopted the Uniform Bar Exam.        

•  – Ft. Collins, Colorado
•  – Ft. Collins, Colorado
•  – Torrington, Wyoming
•  – Dayton, Wyoming
•  – Belle Fourche, South Dakota

The following people are being recommended for admission on motion. This applies when attorneys are licensed in another jurisdiction and meet all requirements without examination in Wyoming.

•  – Lakewood, Colorado
•  – Salt Lake City, Utah
•  – Denver, Colorado
•  – Bethpage, Tennessee
•  – Riverton, Utah
•  – Williamsville, New York
• – Denver, Colorado
•  – Ft. Morgan, Colorado
•  – Castle Rock, Colorado
• – Lakewood, Ohio
•  – Denver, Colorado

 Pretty interesting results.

So we have twenty three people who are being admitted.

Of the twenty three, seven actually took the test here.  So, less than 1/3d of those being admitted, took the test in Wyoming.  Of those, three indicated that Wyoming was their home, but that may be deceptive.  Recent grads of a law school might really be from Wyoming, or might have long ago determined to make Wyoming their home but still reflect their homes of origin.  Still, interesting results.

Five transferred in scores from another state's UBE, almost the same number as which took it in Wyoming.  Of those five, two list their homes as Wyoming.  Again, the same caveats on home listings remain, and additionally its not really uncommon for new lawyers to take a bar exam in more than one location, so this may be a variant of that.

Finally, there are those being admitted by motion, which basically means being waived in.  I don't know what the current rules on reciprocity are, but basically that reflects states with which we had reciprocity prior to the UBE.  This is something that has been slightly controversial over the years as well, as at one time, within the past 20 years, the state Bar halted reciprocity, and then re authorized it.  Like the UBE, in my view, reciprocity isn't the greatest idea in the world, but it does generally take into account some years of practice usually as an element.  Eleven lawyers are coming in through reciprocity.  At least we know they took a real state specific bar exam somewhere.

So, what if anything does this tell us?  Well, maybe not much. But what's interesting about these mid winter results is that of the twenty three individuals being admitted to the bar, five claim Wyoming as their home.   Eleven claim Colorado as their home.  Our other neighboring states claim a combined.three.