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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2019)
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon s LETTERS Continued from page 2 s s s To the Editor: In response to what has been printed in this paper, I am calling to action our community to stand up against intolerance. Commit to disrupting hate and intolerance at home, school, the work- place, and in faith communities. Acceptance, fun- damentally, is a personal decision. It comes from an attitude that is based in understanding and com- passion: a belief that every voice matters, that all people are valuable, that no one is <less than.= We all have prejudices. Acknowledging them 4 and working through them 4 can be a scary and difficult process. It9s also one of the most important steps toward breaking down the walls of silence that allow intolerance to grow. Luckily, we all pos- sess the power to overcome our ignorance and fear, and to influence others to do the same. We should be commending our teachers for creating a culture of acceptance, safety, love, and respect. Children learn from the language you use and the attitudes you model. If you demonstrate a deep respect for other cultures, races, and walks of life, they most likely will, too. Suzy Hayes s s s To the Editor: The two letters to the editor by Lorene Richardson were excellent and well-expressed. Many of us feel the same and agree wholeheart- edly. We aren9t always able to express ourselves as well as she did. We appreciate her well-written letters. In these Last Days, we need great discernment. Thank you, Lorene! Linn Watson s s To the Editor: The members of the country dance band Dry Canyon Stampede would like to give a big thank- you to all who supported the Americana Song Academy for Youth during one of our recent shows. During our performance at The Belfry on February 15, it was announced by one of our mem- bers, Lilli Warona, that any monies we received in tips would be used to help fund the participation in the Song Academy for some local high school students. Lilli, a high school teacher in Central Oregon, will be bringing, for the second year now, some students from her high school to attend this won- derful program administered through Sisters Folk Festival. The generosity and outpouring of contri- butions from those in attendance was amazing and will definitely help for those students to participate, some who may not otherwise have the financial means to attend. We realize that some in attendance who con- tributed do not live in Sisters and may not read or receive The Nugget. But we want to thank those we can for their generosity and support. This community seems to step up every time for every reason. Thank you, Sisters Country. Mike Biggers and Dry Canyon Stampede s s s To the Editor: I want to take this opportunity to expand upon a point made in an article that featured my busi- ness the other week. While the bulk of the article focused on Paulina Springs Books9 decision to step away from social media, it also briefly touched on the importance of shopping locally and cited some dollar retention figures. From the article: <Studies show that if a customer spends $100 at 17 an independent local retailer, $48 will circulate throughout the local economy. Spend the same $100 at a big chain store nearby, and only $15 stays local. Buying from online stores like Amazon drains money out of a community. A mere $1 remains local.= While these figures should themselves be moti- vation for keeping your dollars local, they9re much lower than the studies that I9ve seen, which often put the dollar retention rate for local, independent businesses in the range of $65-$70 per $100 spent. There9s a whole laundry list of direct and indi- rect benefits to shopping locally other than dollar retention, but here a just a few: Local indepen- dent businesses are more likely to donate to local schools and support local organizations, as well as source materials, products, and services from other local businesses. Shopping locally is also environ- mentally friendly, conserves tax dollars (less wear on infrastructure), raises the value of homes in the area, and supports entrepreneurship. In addition to the benefits of shopping locally, there are also the immense costs of shopping online, specifically on Amazon. Yes, items are often cheaper up front (though not as often as we9ve been trained to believe), but they carry many other costs. A recent study conducted by Civic Economics called <Prime Numbers: Amazon and American Communities= shed light on some stag- gering realities. In 2018 alone, Amazon was responsible for 900,000 displaced retail jobs, 62,000 displaced shops, and $5.5 3 $7 billion in uncollected sales tax. No wonder New Yorkers pushed back against having this behemoth put down roots in their backyard. Sisters businesses are fortunate to have the tour- ism and second-home-owner boom of the summer See LETTERS on page 25 The Nugget is brought to you weekly because of our advertisers’ support. So we ask you to support the local businesses which help make your community, hometown newspaper possible. PHOTO BY GARY MILLER SHOP LOCAL