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Wednesday, September 30, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
LETTERS
Continued from page 8
address this issue, specifically to provide a deter-
rent. The estimated value of the tree was $26,845.
ORS 108.810 lawfully allows the city to demand
three times the estimated value of the tree, legal
fees, and reforestation costs.
What did the city manager do? He had a 50
percent-off sale on an irreplaceable heritage tree.
This is a slap on the wrist for a citizen and a tree
company that ignored the law and the city denial to
remove.
This sets a dangerous precedent just as Sisters is
about to have a 250-home development built on the
west end of town. I know some City Council mem-
bers expressed frustration on how this was handled
and plan to tighten up the city regulations.
The laws needed to create a strong deterrent are
already in place! They were not enforced in any
meaningful way. Fifty percent of the value of an
irreplaceable tree is hardly a deterrent.
Tragically, Oregonians have lost thousands of
trees to recent fire including in the Opal Creek old
growth forest. I strongly recommend that every-
one read the Pulitzer Prize winning book <The
Overstory= by Richard Powers and <Braiding
Sweetgrass= by Robin Wall Kimmerer to get a sense
of the contribution of these magnificent trees to all
creatures and to our rapidly-changing environment.
Kathleen Kennedy
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To the Editor:
I am always touched by the stories people share
in The Nugget of the many kindnesses that happen
in our community. Recently one happened to me
and it is too precious not to share. I stopped at Ray9s
to get a bag of groceries. The check-out person rang
up about half the bag when I reached into my pocket
and realized my credit card was in another jacket at
home and I didn9t have enough cash on me to cover
it.
I was so embarrassed but the check-out person
was lovely and handled it so well. I asked him to
just hold everything in the bag for me and told him
I would be back in 10 minutes. I returned quickly
and waited in the same line. When it was my turn I
reminded him I was there to pay for the bag he so
nicely set aside for me. He said, <You aren9t going
to believe this but two firefighters who were in line
behind you paid for your bag of groceries.=
Their gesture so deeply touched both of us that it
brought tears to our eyes. That sweet selfless act on
top of what the firefighters already do just warmed
our hearts. They had told the check-out person that
someone had done that for them recently and they
wanted to pay it forward.
A nice woman leaving the store in front of me
overheard part of the story and, when I shared the
rest with her, she told me it just made her day. I
know it certainly made mine. I am writing to for-
mally thank those firefighters, whoever they are.
Not only do they put themselves in harm9s way for
our safety but they do it with such heart on so many
levels. This story is about so much more than the
experience I have just shared. It is a story about
kindness, generosity, integrity, gratitude, joy, appre-
ciation and forfeited faith in humanity. I look for-
ward to finding the opportune time to keep the <pay-
it-forward= chain going in honor of all the amazing
firefighters and in honor of our community.
Lynne Keller
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To the Editor:
In the future, individuals will be asked to account
for their whereabouts during 2020. Similar to the
attack on the twin towers on 9/11, we will tell our
children and grandchildren about living through the
coronavirus pandemic.
During the past few years, I have not wanted to
be part of the problem but, rather, part of the solu-
tion. So I treaded lightly around speaking of poli-
tics. I thought that being informed about domestic
and international affairs was sufficient.
At this point, though, I cannot remain on the
sidelines. It is too risky. I must speak out at least to
feel like I did something during this unprecedented
time. It has gotten that bad.
With the contentious 2020 election directly
ahead, conflict intensifies with President Trump
suggesting that he will not step down from office,
even if his Democratic opponent Joe Biden wins the
election.
Thursday, Trump went so far as to say that the
voting ballots should be disposed of. He said <get
rid of the ballots= because this election is a <scam,=
a <hoax= devised by the Democrats, insisting that
we won9t need a transfer of power but rather there
will be a continuation of power. Really? This is a
dangerous abuse of power that we have never seen
the likes of in our democracy.
This week Republican Senate leader Mitch
McConnell, among other Senate Republicans, in an
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unusual bipartisan move, assured that the U.S.
Constitution will be upheld. The Constitution pre-
ciously ensures a peaceful transfer of power upon
election results, regardless of the winner.
Continuously, Trump behaves more like a dic-
tator than a democratic leader. Over the past few
years, Trump has actively disrespected democratic
norms in a covert attempt to dismantle the founda-
tion carefully constructed by our Founding Fathers.
His past statements imply that Trump will do
whatever it takes to win this election, even accept-
ing and encouraging foreign interference to increase
his odds of winning.
Many Republicans have endorsed Biden because
of Trump9s divisive words, so often impulsively
revealed on Twitter, along with his destructive and
outright cruel actions.
Most recently, a long-standing Republican,
Cindy McCain, endorsed Joe Biden, encouraging us
to put our country above our political party. She said
in a tweet, <There is only one candidate in this race
who stands up for our values as a nation and that9s
Joe Biden.= She went on to say that even though she
does not agree with Joe Biden on all issues, <He is a
good man. He will lead us with dignity. He will be a
commander and chief that the finest force in history
of the world can depend upon.=
We are in for a scary, tumultuous rollercoaster
ride to the finish line. The citizens and immigrants
of America must fight for peace and restoration of
order in a time of history characterized by chaos and
division. Our democracy depends upon it.
Sarah Pond
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To the Editor:
Why here, why us? We are already one of the
cleanest countries in the world and by promoting
what Democrats want to do, more regulations,
higher taxes will only drive manufacturing out of
our country once more to places that don9t come
close to our standards.
So, by limiting your attention to the USA and not
thinking out of the box, it will not only hurt us but
produce more pollution worldwide.
Trump could actually do it through trade restric-
tions and with his business expertise. Require them
to meet our standards first and when the playing
field becomes level we can all concentrate on fur-
ther steps. Weakening us first and not acting through
strength would only be futile.
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