8 Wednesday, September 30, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon LETTERS Continued from page 4 their agenda and gain more power. This has led to needless killings of both white and Black police and others. The push to defund police will leave Black communities, where Black-on-Black crime is ram- pant, unprotected from criminals. The rioting has destroyed many Black-owned businesses. Do these Black lives and livelihoods matter? Do you know that Planned Parenthood places abortion clinics in Black neighborhoods to reduce the Black population, killing about 40 percent of Black babies by abortion? Do their lives matter? Statistically, more whites than Blacks are killed by police, but nearly all are due to resisting arrest during criminal activity! Why? Blacks who become successful through our system are called <Uncle Toms= by other Blacks! Why? It would further the mission of our peaceful pro- testers if they would edit their signs to say all Black lives matter (and even whitish ones). Lorene Richardson s s s To the Editor: Our heartfelt thanks and condolences to Deb Kollodge9s family. Deb, who passed away July 25, was a wonder- ful asset to the community of Sisters. She served on the city council and volunteered for almost every organization in Sisters at some point during her time here. She went out of her way to recruit members of the Sisters community to join her in volunteer efforts. She was gentle, graceful, and kind. I loved seeing her and Jerry often as they rode their bikes around town. She had Gary Frazee on speed dial, and I am sure he would get calls daily to fix some- thing she saw needed attention on her daily rides. I loved Deb dearly and she was a good friend to me. I enjoyed working with her on the Community Action Team and the city council. She is loved and will be remembered fondly as a wonderful and valued member of the Sisters community. Thank you, Kris and Phil, for sharing Deb with our town! Judy Trego Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce Sisters Community Action Team s s s To the Editor: I remember a time when you could enjoy a good political discussion. It was interesting and enlight- ening to hear others9 opinions, enjoy a congenial banter, agree to disagree and walk away friends. No rocks were thrown, no buildings burned, no one was killed. But today, we live in a country torn apart by divisiveness. The United States of America has become The Divided States of America. Our <lead- ers= draw lines, take sides, point fingers, toss insults 4 and like lemmings, we the people follow. Do you, like me, sometimes scratch your head in wonder? How did our country become so intolerant of differing views? Why did we become so deeply divided, so angry, so accusatory? When did politi- cal divisiveness turn pandemic? Call me naïve, but I attribute much of our division to this millennium9s age of <instant information= and the popularity of social media. The latest <news= (whether fact or fic- tion) is right at our fingertips. Click and read4then shake your fist. Or spout off even more steam by <sharing= these juicy tidbits on your favorite social media platform. It9s no secret that we9re attracted to opinions that align and support our own beliefs and views. Liberals tend to listen to liberal news sources. Conservatives gravitate to conservative ones. And thanks to technology we have plenty of resources to choose from. On both sides of the ever-growing spectrum. But have you noticed, there aren9t many resources in the middle? It9s hard to find an honest, neutral and reliable news source these days. Well, besides The Nugget 4 for which I9m grateful. But take a moment to ask yourself 4 who do you listen to? Is it only one side? Do you sur- round yourself with the voices that echo your own opinions? Or do you take time to listen to opposi- tion? Even if we don9t like the words or tone they use, are we willing to bend our ears their way in order to get a better understanding ... to see a larger picture ... perhaps even engage in a friendly banter that doesn9t turn angry or ugly? I don9t want to live in The Divided States of America. But unity, like charity, begins at home. I pray we all do our part to mend, restore, and heal our country. United we stand, divided we fall. Melody Carlson s s s To the Editor: I want to take a moment to say thanks for the time and effort you all put into printing the weekly Nugget. It is nice to hear of the many activities that occur in the Sisters area. I especially have been enjoying the <Scottie Wisdom and Faith.= Jean Russell Nave has a nice way of using real life situations to better understand <life.= The paper does a nice job of presenting different viewpoints, either through <Letters to the Editor= or your columnist articles. I look forward to reading the variety chosen for print each week. Jane Chugg s s s To the Editor: I had to respond to the article on September 16, <Felling the wrong tree can be costly= (The Nugget, page 1). The 100-foot ponderosa pine on City prop- erty was present before the City of Sisters was set- tled. The homeowner asked permission to remove it and the city denied this request. The homeowner brazenly and unlawfully removed it anyway. They used Cascade Tree Works that didn9t have a license to operate in Sisters. There are city ordinances and state law to See LETTERS on page 12 h i g h - i m pac t A dv e r t i s i n g FOR YOUR SMALLBUSINESS “At Your Service” Oct. 21 & 28 2-week special section in The Nugget Be a part of the “At Your Service” business feature section that lets people know what’s special about you and your business. Each participating advertiser receives a full-color ad both weeks and a 150-word mini- story with photo about you and your business in one of the issues. We’ll interview you and write the story, and professional design of your ad is included! Ad size: 3" wide by 3.31" tall Reserve your space and submit a high-resolution photo, logo, and copy (or camera-ready ad) by Friday, October 2. Contact Vicki at The Nugget to reserve your space! 541-549-9941 | Vicki@nuggetnews.com