Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Ross Speaks To Annual Upchurch Banquet

TOP CITIZEN  Larry Faulkner (above, right) was named Citizen of the Year at the 12th Annual Ila Upchurch Awards and Recognition Banquet, held Saturday, April 28, at the McRae Middle School cafeteria.

STORY:

Congressman Mike Ross, D-4th District, said the theme for the 12th Annual Ila Upchurch Banquet couldn't be more appropriate.

The theme for the banquet, held Saturday, April 28, was: Exploring Education in the 21st Century.

Ross, the featured speaker, said the theme was appropriate as the group is involved with education outreach.

During his time as a state senator, Ross worked with the Upchurch group to help get the General Education Degree (GED) program in place.

"I am the proud son of public school educators," he said, "and my children go to public school.

"Education was one of my campaign issues, because everything starts with education."

As Ross returns to Washington, Congress is preparing for the education debate. He said there's a real crisis in education in America.

"There's something wrong when a person can graduate college, work on a computer and make twice as much as a teacher. We need respect for teachers in the classroom."

Teachers, he said, are being lost because of money and discipline, along with paperwork.

"We need safer schools," Ross told the audience. "Our schools here are safe, and parents know what we're talking about."

Parents, he said, wouldn't have dropped their children off at school in areas where there have been school-related shootings, had they not thought it was safe to do so.

Ross favors smaller class sizes for students in kindergarten through the third grade, saying the children can get more individual attention and do better later on.

"We must invest in our children, not prisons. Turning them into productive taxpaying citizens costs less than keeping them housed in prisons.

"Ila Upchurch is a perfect example of how people can work together, and I salute you and thank you for all you do in education."

In Congress, he said, the representatives have been hearing about the budget and tax cuts, along with how they will impact education.

The $5 trillion projected surplus, he said, is just that  projected, and 75 percent of the projected monies won't exist before 2006. These projections also include the Social Security and Medicare funds, but not the national highway program.

The highway program, Ross said, was left alone because it has powerful lobbyists fighting for it.

However, he said, the Social Security and Medicare funds shouldn't be counted as part of the surplus either.

With Social Security, Medicare and military retirement taken out of the equation, he said, the projected surplus is only $8 billion.

Of this, he said, $1 billion should be paid toward the nation's debt. This would save between 2-4 percent interest.

The first bill Ross filed in Congress told the politicians to keep their hands off Medicare and Social Security.

"I support the largest tax cut we can afford," he said. "I supported President George Bush's tax plan because it included tax reform on the marriage tax. We'd been encouraging people to live together out of wedlock for tax purposes.

"The estate tax has also been repealed," he continued. "It's wrong to tax someone when they die.

"I'd like to see income tax relief, but there are problems with the president's plan. Under his plan, the people of this district would get back $1.64 per day (in tax breaks). We can do better than this for working families."

The budget passed, he said, needs to have 50 percent of the surplus going toward the national debt, with 25 percent as a tax cut for working people and seniors and the other 25 percent for education.

"We've got to invest in education and modernize Medicare for the seniors. There's also a problem when a person can serve in the United States Air Force and still qualify for food stamps."

Ross has a website up and running, where those interested can get an electronic newsletter of what he's doing. The site is: www.house.gov/ross.Ross returns to the district as often as possible to meet with constituents, see what the people need and what's going on.

He's also a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group seeking to bridge the gap on political ideologies.

The evening, though, began with a welcome by Willa Muldrew, who said the Upchurch group works to create a better world to live in. "You can't help your fellow man without helping yourself in some way," she said.

Three awards were also presented, with Kathryn Wiley being named educator of the year.

Larry Faulkner was tabbed as citizen of the year, and Marie Smallwood was selected as Prescott High School Senior of the Year.

Smallwood and Rafael Marlow also earned the Ila Upchurch Scholarships. These scholarships are for $300 each.

The evening concluded with Henry Butler saying the banquet was a success and Ross hit on some important issues.

We want to invest more in education," he said, "and have teacher's salaries increased. Discipline needs to start at home and parents need to do their part. The community must work on these issues as well."