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without documentation will not be published.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