Wednesday, February 27, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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LETTERS
Continued from page 2
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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help make your community, hometown newspaper possible.
PHOTO BY GARY MILLER
SHOP LOCAL