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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2021)
14 Wednesday, September 1, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon LETTERS Continued from page 2 (EMP) event. Such an event can result from an attack by an enemy, or it can occur natu- rally. It could result in devastating loss of life. There is disagreement on this, but why take chances? We should also have a ground-based GPS back-up system, (like Russia has,) or we could lose internet in an anti-satellite attack. Alvin Blake s s s Resort threatens water To the Editor: Thornburgh Resort, a proposed destina- tion resort near Cline Butte Recreation Area, close to Sisters and Redmond, intends to use millions of gallons of water daily at a maxi- mum daily rate. This would be drawn from the underlying aquifer, negatively affecting Whychus Creek. Trout, steelhead, and other wildlife are already struggling with drought and climate change. And right now we are all concerned about the future of our water and lands. Please direct comments and opinions to City Planner William Groves at william. groves@deschutes.org or call at 541-388- 6518. We need to be vigilant as a community to at least try to be heard before we are over- run by unscrupulous investors. Jeanne Brooks s s s Rights and responsibilities To the Editor: As American citizens we cherish our <inalienable rights.= But some of us have for- gotten that with rights come responsibilities. Our rights exist only to the point that our activities do not cause harm to others. Failure to be vaccinated impairs control of the epi- demic and increases the risk of COVID spread to others. Thus it does harm other people, your family, friends, and neighbors. Those who insist on rejecting vaccine should agree to remain at home if they con- tract the virus and not expect society to rescue them in the hospital and ICU, endangering our exhausted health care workers, claiming a bed that should be available for someone who legitimately needs it, and creating sev- eral hundred thousands of dollars of unnec- essary expense for your neighbors! It is not one9s right to reject vaccination, it is one9s responsibility to be vaccinated! Donald Harner s s s To the Editor: We are again forced by a government entity to wear masks. I don9t want to and I won9t do it unless I am all but forced. It9s my choice and I accept any responsibility for the choice I have chosen to make. I had COVID in early 2020. I am also vaccinated, and I donated my blood when the national call went out for donors to help develop the vaccines. I am asthmatic and took the vaccine to be able to take the mask off, so I can breathe normally again. I loudly state this is my own choice; no one else9s 4 mine and mine alone. I don9t need Kate Brown or any other gov- ernment agency to tell me what I need to do. I am supportive to any individual I may encounter in my daily activities that chooses to wear a mask, but I choose not to. I have been called out in local stores and seen peo- ple get upset because I choose not to wear it. That9s not their choice to make; it9s my choice. I refuse to support Kate Brown and her new mandate, and I will not put a mask on. We live in an amazing area of Oregon, and we are all forward-thinking people that are capable of thinking for and protecting our- selves in whatever form it is that we choose. Wear a mask; don9t wear a mask 4 it9s our choice and no one else9s choice to make for us! Austin Selle s s s Shades of grey To the Editor: The shades of grey were certainly pre- sented to me this week, both from The Nugget and around town. Glancing through The Nugget was the arti- cle by Erik Dolson addressing (pun intended) <homelessness.= It reminded me of a skit by George Carlin adding humor to the phrasing of our language that is happening over the years. Then there is the article by Michael Luftig about cooperation, collective action and the free-ride individuals. Supporting such individuals would benefit all society, <&cre- ating incentives to become contributors, or by reducing their welfare as a disincentive to engage in this kind of behavior.= There are many valid questions posed by both of the articles. There is a shade of grey between these two, as well. Where is the grey area when litter tossed on the highway is fined, but how is society addressing the overwhelming litter seen on Hunnel Road, for example? Our parks are public spaces, we pay city employees to help manage litter and debris in our public spaces, what about the public streets and the larger community of Central Oregon? There is the grey area between a cooperative collective society and the individual. <The Delta Blues,= by Jim Cornelius states his responsible measures of protection in jabs, seat belts, and guns. There9s a grey area between this and someone who does not believe that any of those are necessary. Or maybe only one? What if an individual is consuming society-mandated expired foods? There is the grey area between a coopera- tive, collective society and the choice of the individual. I witnessed a couple of episodes today starting at our post office. An elderly gentle- man was exiting the PO and crossing the parking lot. At the same time a young woman with an infant in the back seat was pulling out and seeming unfamiliar with the standard parking-lot traffic pattern, so was attempt- ing to proceed towards the <Entrance Only.= The man was not allowing the woman to go forward. Her forward movement was also hampered by the appropriate incoming traffic. So she had to cross through the lim- ited open parking spaces to exit correctly. A grey area 4 who are we to support? The justice-induced elderly man or the woman with an infant in a car on an extremely hot day? Then I went to a local grocery store and while checking out heard an exclamation, from a retired couple in sporty outdoors clothes, about Sisters and that since there was no (chain specialty grocery to remain unnamed) in the town they would make this local store work. The clerk helping me just rolled her tired eyes. Then, going to the shade of the River Park to eat in my vehicle the aforementioned meal, I witnessed a healthy-looking elderly woman walking her dog 4 on leash, thank God 4 but she failed to clean up her doggie doo. Where was the man from the PO? All these, one after another. It reminded me of the <Me and Jim Bridger= column in The Nugget. I didn9t know it was Jim Bridger9s lament ringing in the grey area between my ears all these years. Guess I can either quit glancing at The Nugget and/or coming into town. Or are all of these shades of grey part of living? Scott Stoery s s s Initiative would create win-win for local communities and their newspapers By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief, The Nugget Newspaper Local newspapers and the hometown businesses in the communities they cover are inextricably linked. That9s especially true in Sisters, where The Nugget 4 delivered free to our readers each week 4 is supported almost entirely by our advertisers, with the welcome addition of contributions from supporting subscribers. Operating a small business is tough, and we understand how careful our community partners have to be with their marketing budgets. That9s why The Nugget strives so hard to make sure that they get the most out of their advertising dollars. Our prosperity is tied to their prosperity. Proposed legislation provides an opportunity to boost both together. An initiative by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, and six other senators is designed to boost local jobs, accelerate sales and improve local economies. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, S. 2434, would help local news media support their newsgathering missions. The Act isn9t about providing direct aid to community newspapers. It9s about helping small businesses to thrive through supporting their advertising costs in local news outlets, like The Nugget. This would, in turn, help us maintain and enhance our roster of talented freelance reporters and photographers and the staff that puts the paper out each week. Under one provision of the Act small businesses could claim a tax credit for a portion of their advertising purchases up to $5,000 a year. Credits would remain (in declining amounts) for five years. Brett Wesner, Chair of the National Newspaper Association, notes, <It is the advertising tax credit that is the unsung hero of this legislation. Like a pebble tossed into the pond of local economies, it will show the ripple effect of benefits in local jobs, enhanced spending, revenues to run local governments and a boost to get American small businesses back in the game after a very tough couple of years.= The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, S. 2434 is an opportunity to support Main Street and keep local journalism thriving in small towns across America 4 including our own home town. Please encourage your senators to support The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, S. 2434... Senator Ron Wyden www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/ email-ron Senator Jeff Merkley www.merkley.senate.gov/contact