Fair revival proposal will be on ballot

You have to give Nebraska State Fair officials credit. They are trying very, very hard to put on a good fair this year, and -- in the process -- win the support of Nebraska voters for the plan to revive the State Fair with lottery funds.

The proposal -- known as Amendment 4 -- will appear on the November general election ballot. If approved, $2 million a year in lottery funds would flow to the State Fair.

Fair officials are making no bones about their intentions. In an interview with Paul Hammel of the Omaha World-Herald, interim fair manager Joseph McDermott said, "I want as much support as we can generated for Amendment 4 ... and a successful fair will help that."

Hopefully, the strategy will work. The State Fair has been an important part of Nebraska's life for 136 years, and needs to be retained to showcase the accomplishments of our citizens, especially the outstanding projects of young people.

The 'Write' Way To Go

We hear a lot about what's wrong with education, but we don't hear often enough about what's right, or, in this case, "write."

As we hope you have heard by now, Nebraska students have made huge strides forward in writing proficiency, gaining between 7 and 8 percentage points on statewide writing assessments in one year's time.

The writing proficiency ratings for fourth graders rose from 73 percent in 2001-02 to 80 percent for 2002-03. Likewise, the proficiency ratings shot up for eighth graders, climbing from 75 percent in 2001-02 to 83 percent in 2002-03.

Even higher on the writing proficiency scale are 11th graders, who reached a rating level of 87 percent in 2002-03.

The ratings are significant because they show that a vast, growing number of students are able to communicate effectively. Students, parents and school staffs share the credit for the improvement. An example is the effort of McCook High School Principal Jerry Smith to get students at MHS to take more challenging core academic classes. As a result, a larger number of students at the high school are taking tougher classes, and ACT scores are rising.

The trend is encouraging. As Americans discovered long ago, learning begins with the Three R's, with what the old-timers called "ritin'" at the heart of the educational equation. Write on, kids. Write on.