For decades, people questioned the sense of having two school districts, each with its own superintendent, central office and high school, operating in the same small town of The Dalles on the banks of the Columbia River in north-central Oregon. But election campaigns to consolidate repeatedly failed because each community had strong emotional…

In Plains Indian tradition, a warrior gained honor and glory by "counting coup," touching his enemy in battle and living to tell the tale. This is a modern story of counting coup that follows a talented young woman named Sharon LaForge, a gifted basketball player and a descendant of one of George Armstrong Custer's Indian scouts.…