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Debaters get warm day at Cuban beach By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � High school debaters are enjoying sunnier skies in Cuba this week after spending last week in a chilly Washington, D.C., according to reports from home. A 22-member delegation of Oregon debaters and chaperones, mostly from Ashland, arrived safely in Cuba Sunday, said Gloria Tredway, whose husband, John, is the Ashland High debate coach heading up the visit. "John called Sunday to say they had arrived and everything was fine," Gloria Tredway reported. The group spent Sunday night in Veradero, a beach resort about two hours east of Havana. They were set to begin debates Monday and arrive Tuesday in Havana, where the temperature was 84 degrees at 9 p.m. "The weather was a complete change from Washington, D.C. � warm and sunny," said Tammy Reichenshammer, who spoke to her husband, Carlos, on Sunday. "The kids were really happy." Carlos Reichenshammer is helping escort the students; the couple�s son, Rex, is participating in the debates. Ashland students presented Cubans with jackets, caps and gloves when they met at the Baltimore airport last week. "They don�t even sell things like that in Cuba, so I�m sure they were very appreciative," Reichenshammer said. Ashland High debaters first visited Cuba in January. Last week, Ashland students met their Cuban counterparts in Washington, D.C., as the Cuban students made the first such visit to the United States in 40 years. In addition to participating in cross-cultural and bilingual debates at the Capitol, the groups toured the Smithsonian Institute, the Cuban Interest Section and McDonald�s before continuing the debates in Cuba this week. News of the students� activities has been sparse since they arrived in Cuba, largely due to the poor � but expensive � telephone connections between the two countries, Gloria Tredway said. "It�s really hard to get phone calls out and then it�s probably $4 to $5 a minute," she explained. "You should see our phone bill." Tammy Reichenshammer said: "Carlos said he had a $10 phone card so he just kept talking until it ran out. That was right about 2 minutes." To make matters worse, Cuban President Fidel Castro is threatening to cut all telephone ties with the United States, a total of seven circuits, on Friday because American phone companies have failed to pay a 10 percent tax the Cuban government imposed in October, according to a BBC News Online report. Tredway and Reichenshammer say the severed phone links shouldn�t affect the Ashland students� trip. They�re set to take a chartered flight into Miami Saturday and return home Sunday. Meanwhile, the students seem to be having fun with their new Cuban friends. "I guess they�ve been learning how to salsa in the evenings," Reichenshammer said. "They said they think diplomacy should include more dancing." Reach Ashland bureau reporter Sara Murphy at 482-4655, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.