Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 2018)
4A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • OCTOBER 31, 2018 O PINION “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) The First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridg- ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition their Government for a redress of greivences. Letters to the Editor Policy Th e Sentinel welcomes letters to the editor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or without documentation will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside Th e Sentinel readership area will only be published at the discretion of the editor. Political/Election Letters: Election-related letters must address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large. Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) Ensure any information about a candidate is accurate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay; and 3) explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and perspective rather than partisanship and campaign-style rhetoric. Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and platforms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political advertising. As with all letters and advertising content, the newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publisher, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria. Send letters to: nhickson@cgsentinel.com or cmay@cgsentinel.com Guest Viewpoint Planting seeds for tomorrow By Kristin Ammerman Cottage Grove H ave you noticed the Little Free Libraries dotted across Cottage Grove? We have four offi cially registered “Little Free Librar- ies,” plus several more around town, most of which were installed by a Ford Foundation Leadership group. Little Libraries are the brain child of Todd Bol. His mother was a school teacher, and he built the fi rst Little Library in front of his own home to honor her in 2009. In 2015, there were 32,000. Now, less than three years later, there are 75,000 registered Little Libraries in over 85 countries. What are Little Libraries? Little Libraries are free “book ex- changes.” Take one, give one. You can take a book and then return it later, too. According to the “Book Mine,” who keep an eye on the Little Library in the community park downtown, books turn over so quickly that within a couple of weeks the selection is com- pletely diff erent. Why Does Book Access Matter? Academically, children growing up in homes without books are on average three years behind children in homes with lots of books, even when con- trolled for other key factors (M.D.R Evans et al, Research in Social Stratifi - cation and Mobility, June 2010). But 61 percent of low-income fam- ilies do not have any age-appropriate books for their kids at home (Source: Reading Literacy in the United States: Findings from the IEA Reading Liter- acy Study, 1996). Th is is especially impactful when considering that both Harrison and Bohemia Elementary schools are Title I schools. Per an article in the Los Angeles Times, Little Libraries help reduce crime. Pretty bold statement, right? According to the LA Times report- er, 75 percent of the populace that goes before the juvenile court system is functionally illiterate. Literacy has a direct correlation between crime, graduation rates, job rates and other tracked statistics. In addition, know- ing how to read and research helps people better advocate for their own health, as well as use critical thinking skills and reason through complex issues (Disruptor Podcast, interview with Todd Bol, Ep 2 Free Little Li- brary). Why Little Libraries Are So Awe- some: • 92 percent of people said their neighborhood felt friendlier because of their Little Library. • 73 percent of people said they’ve met more neighbors (Informal survey of 3,000 stewards in Oct. 2017). Todd Bol’s belief was that Little Li- braries are a refl ection of who we are as a people. We are not naturally as di- visive or polarized as the media would have us believe. For example, aft er a natural disaster, communities pull together. Little Li- braries inspire us to act like there was a storm, without the storm! Communities work together to give to each other. We want to see each other succeed. We reach across the aisle and across the street. So what’s happening with our Cot- tage Grove Little Libraries? Aft er tracking down three stewards, they responded that the community does most of the work. But the stewards do fi ll in books from time to time and do a little maintenance on the libraries. Little Free Libraries deal with rel- atively little vandalism in Cottage Grove (similar to the care that has been seen around the globe). Neigh- bors view gift ing books as giving love to those in the community. Todd Bol passed away at the age of 62 on Oct. 18. He was a fi rm believer in communities working together; of literacy; and how reading helps elevate communities. Th e simple act of building a Little Library as a gift to his community grew into a global phenomenon. “What we have, is we have the strength of each other.” — Todd Bol If you have an idea that you think will change the community, or even the world, perhaps you'll be inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., who said, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” So plant your tree — and utilize the Little Libraries around town. HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS Oregon state representatives Oregon federal representatives • Sen. Floyd Prozanski District 4 State Senator PO Box 11511 Eugene, Ore. 97440 Phone: 541-342-2447 Email : sen.fl oydprozanski@ state.or.us • Rep. Cedric Hayden Republican District 7 State Representative 900 Court St. NE Salem, Ore. 97301 Phone: 503-986-1407 Website: www.leg.state.or. us/hayden Email: rep.cedrichayden@ state.or.us • Rep. Peter DeFazio (House of Representatives) 405 East 8th Ave. #2030 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Email: defazio.house.gov/ contact/email-peter Phone: 541-465-6732 • Sen. Ron Wyden 405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Email: wyden.senate.gov Phone: (541) 431-0229 • Sen. Jeff Merkley Email: merkley.senate.gov Phone: 541-465-6750 C ottage G rove S entinel (541) 942-3325 Administration Jenna Bartlett, Group Publisher Gary Manly, General Manager ..................................................... Ext. 1207 gmanly@cgsentinel.com Allison Miller, Multimedia Marketing Specialist ....................... Ext. 1213 amiller@cgsentinel.com Gerald Santana, Multimedia Marketing Specialist .................... Ext. 1216 gsantana@cgsentinel.com Editorial Ned Hickson, Managing Editor...............................................541-902-3520 nhickson@cgsentinel.com Caitlyn May, Editor. ....................................................................... Ext. 1212 cmay@cgsentinel.com Zach Silva, Sport Editor ................................................................. Ext. 1204 zsilva@cgsentinel.com Customer Service Mandi Jacobs, Offi ce Manager ...................................................... Ext. 1200 Legals, Classifi eds ................................................ Ext. 1200 mjacobs@cgsentinel.com Production Ron Annis, Production Supervisor ............................................... Ext.1215 graphics@cgsentinel.com (USP 133880) Subscription Mail Rates in Lane and Portions of Douglas Counties: 10 Weeks .........................................................................................$11 One year ..........................................................................................$41 e-Edition year .................................................................................$35 Rates in all other areas of United States: 10 weeks, $15; 1 year, $53; e-Edition $35. In foreign countries, postage extra. No subscription for less than 10 weeks. Subscription rates are subject to change upon 30 days’ notice. All subscritptions must be paid prior to beginning the subscription and are non-refundable. Periodicals postage paid at Cottage Grove, Oregon. Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. Local Mail Service: If you don’t receive your Cottage Grove Sentinel on the Wednesday of publication, please let us know. Call 942-3325 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Advertising Ownership: All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by the Cottage Grove Sentinel become the property of the Cottage Grove Sentinel and may not be reproduced for any other use without explicit written prior approval. Copyright Notice: Entire contents ©2017 Cottage Grove Sentinel
