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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2018)
Wednesday, May 9, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 2 O P I N I O Letters to the Editor… Kicking a bad habit The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Let- ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: In several articles in The Nugget they have stated the current owner as the founder of Village Interiors. She is actually the third owner. My husband, Bill, and I opened Maggie’s Interiors in August of 1981. I changed the name to Village Interiors in 1983. Because of ill health, we sold in 1990 to Teddy Heck. Approximately a year later she sold to Pat. This may not seem important to anyone else, but it is very important to me. I was very proud of that little store and still am. Pat has made it into much more than just a service store. Maggie Bull s s s To the Editor: National Day of Prayer is a great thing that I love to do. You get to sing songs and pray to God. When I think of National Day of Prayer, I think of a day with God. Just with Him. I love National Day of Prayer. It’s the day that makes me feel so happy during the day. I feel like the spirit of God is in me today more than ever! One day I will remember this day and pray that all the people that went and prayed to God will remember it, too. Pia Grummer Third Grade, Sisters Christian Academy s s s To the Editor: On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Sisters Trails Alliance (STA), I would like to register our strong support of the proposed Local Option Levy for SPRD. For years, our organization has partnered with SPRD to improve and use recreational trail facilities in Sisters Country — from guiding hikes and mountain bike rides, to helping with the Crest the Cascades ride on the McKenzie Scenic Bikeway, and contributing to Bike Park 242. This levy will help strengthen SPRD, with improved and expanded adult and youth rec- reational programs, more stable staffing to ensure program continuity, and better capacity for long-term planning. A stronger SPRD will mean a stronger partner for community orga- nizations like STA, and these deeper partner- ships will multiply the effectiveness of every- one involved. For STA, a closer partnership with a stron- ger SPRD will mean increased volunteer sup- port for trails work and, most importantly, better recreational programs for all ages that utilize our trail network. Working in partner- ship with a stronger SPRD will help STA be an even more effective volunteer organization to improve the trails network in Sisters Country. Because a stronger SPRD makes sense for our community, this levy makes sense. It is a small contribution that will have large payoffs for us all — young, old, volunteers, and com- munity organizations. Please vote to support it. Catherine Hayden, Chair Board of Directors, Sisters Trails Alliance s s s To the Editor: Sisters Park & Recreation District is a unique agency unlike any other. I know this because I was privileged to serve as its execu- tive director from 2013 until earlier this year. In that time I was able to learn about the agen- cy’s rich history of service to the Sisters com- munity, and its constant financial challenges. SPRD’s tax funding covers just over one quarter of the funds the agency needs to oper- ate for the year. That means that the staff go into each fiscal year knowing they need to raise 75 percent of the funds they need to serve the community that year. Also, each year the staff knows there are many other things the community would like to see them do, that they simply cannot because there is no funding available. The passage of the proposed local option would give SPRD staff the ability to See LETTERS on page 21 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Mostly Sunny Slt. Chance Showers Mostly Sunny 62/38 57/37 61/35 Saturday Sunday Monday Sunny Sunny Sunny 70/39 79/44 79/46 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. N Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Easterling Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken Graphic Design: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partners: Patti Jo Beal & Vicki Curlett Accounting: Erin Bordonaro Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Owner: J. Louis Mullen The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $45; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2018 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. By T. Lee Brown Guest Columnist I recently had occasion to chat with a local col- league about the tone of political discussion these days. Progressives are often too hostile, he sug- gested, and make too many assumptions based on (ironically enough) the race and gender of other folks— especially if those other folks happen to be white and male. I’d say there’s been plenty of hostility on all sides, but he’s got a good point. If progressives want to make real progress in the world? Rather than licking our wounds in the corner, we need to check more than our privilege. We need to check our outrage, self-righteousness, and dismissiveness of others. And we need to vote for candidates who will do the same. It ain’t easy. I’ve been whackin’ away at this prob- lem for two years, trying to open my mind. Pushing past my horrified shock when a Bernie Sanders- lovin’ friend switched his vote over to Trump, I really listened to his rea- soning. Looking out over the ponderosas, I talked without rancor with a rela- tive who believes another family member is wrong and sinful for “choosing homosexuality.” I’ve genu- inely tried to open up and understand. And I searched within myself, separating my core values from party- line policies. Why bother being open- minded? Why go through the deep pain of question- ing long-held beliefs of oneself and one’s tribe? Well, it’s the decent thing to do, especially in a polar- ized and extreme political climate. If we won’t listen to others—even people who dress, speak, eat, or w o r s h i p d i ff e r e n t l y — we deserve the chaotic White House we’ve got. Progressives claim to fight for equality for all, yet we often won’t listen to 43.8% of our local residents (that’s how many Sisters-area vot- ers leaned Trump). Just to avoid being complete hypocrites, we need to chill out and open up. Bonus: interrogating one’s assump- tions brings intellectual, emotional, and spiritual rewards. Strategically, isolating ourselves in a self-congrat- ulatory bubble where we don’t have to shake hands or exchange Facebook likes with neighbors who— gasp—vote Republican, has clearly resulted in failure. Our frothing-at-the-mouth self-righteousness was so predictable, we were even manipulated by the Russians! Letting go of our snooty attitudes could help reverse the damage done in 2016. If we stop condemn- ing our neighbors and start listening to them, maybe some will join us fighting for shared causes, regard- less of party. Long-term, we need to show that progressives can engage in real conversation without name-calling and shutting-down. We need to elect candidates who can listen to their entire con- stituency and reach across the aisle… even if the Tea Partiers have set the oppo- site example. “But they did it first!” is not a good enough excuse for kids on the playground and it’s not good enough for alleged grownups in civic life. So what’s a thoughtful Democrat to do? Start off by truly listening; it’s way harder than it sounds. Then vote for a candidate who already knows how to listen and respond with respect and consideration. Vote for someone who has a track record of public service, who’s got experience in local government. Someone who is “a big advocate of local wisdom,” while also using hard data to inform policy. A rural Democrat who knows what it’s like to be discriminated against but who’s now legally married to a wife with deep Eastern Oregon ranching roots. Vote for a leader who will positively impact the image and reach of progressives in rural Oregon—whether or not she defeats Walden next November. Vote for Jamie McLeod-Skinner. Closed-minded lefty- lib er al b eh av io r is a habit, deeply entrenched. But heck—I quit smok- ing, drinking, and plenty of other vices over the years. Surely I can kick this, too. And I’ll vote for Jamie in the District 2 primary. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.
