4A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • NOVEMBER 28, 2018
O PINION
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without documentation will not be published.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.
LETTERS
Postcards for
fourth-graders
Th e fourth-grade class at
Aviston Elementary, located
in southern Illinois, is learning
about the United States and
the diff erent environments,
climates, resources and high-
lights found in each region.
Th e kids in the class think it
would be fun to receive post-
cards, souvenirs, resources or
any information about our
great country from each of the
50 states.
We hope that people who
read this letter will be interest-
ed in mailing our class items
pertaining to their state.
Our address: 4th Grade at
Aviston Elementary 350 South
Hull Street Aviston, Ill., 62216.
A sincere thank you to any-
one who is able to contribute.
We appreciate the excitement
you will add to our learning
experience.
Sincerely,
—Mrs. Neimeyer’s 4th grade
class
Aviston, Ill.
Th e ripple eff ect of thankfulness
not, we have come to
instinctively reach for a
blindfold when it comes to
how we see each other and
anyone with a differing
viewpoint.
While I don’t necessarily
subscribe to the theory
behind trickle-down eco-
nomics, I have become a
firm believer in the trickle-
down effect of national dis-
course and its ability to per-
meate how we feel about our
lives — and, just as impor-
tantly, in recognizing the
good in each other.
The overt divisiveness
that has arisen within our
society over the last few
years has conditioned us to
accept pessimism as a natu-
ral part of our daily perspec-
tive.
Forget about wearing
rose-colored glasses or beer
goggles; more often than
outlets, social media and
notifications on phones,
computers and tablets, our
attention is constantly being
diverted away from real
interaction with each other
From the Managing Editor’s Desk
Ned Hickson
It’s a mindset that runs
completely counter to being
thankful — because it nar-
rows our vision and mini-
mizes the chance of recog-
nizing any good that exists
within our peripheral.
To put it plainly, it’s hard
to appreciate a sunset while
facing east.
Admittedly, I’m no excep-
tion. And not just because I
have a lousy sense of direc-
tion.
In today’s constant bar-
rage of information, opinion
and analysis through news
Americans.
I believe the trickle-down
divisiveness around us can
be diluted if we allow the
ripple effect of thankfulness
to provide some much-need-
ed levity.
There will be several
opportunities in the weeks
ahead to meet with friends,
neighbors and community
members in the spirit of the
holidays.
It is within moments like
these that we are reminded
of the things that unite us as
people within a community
rather than by our partisan-
ship.
Our best wishes and sin-
cere thanks to Sentinel read-
ers, letter writers and the
community for providing so
many moments each day for
which to be thankful.
and toward a nebulous rela-
tionship with those we hard-
ly know.
The result is a growing
inability to live in “real” time
and in the moment with one
another.
As we enter into the holi-
day season, I hope we can all
take time to gather around
the table and talk about what
we’re thankful for in one
another; the things that
unite us in appreciation; and
the common good that
Write to Cottage Grove Sentinel
defines us as a family, com- Managing Editor Ned Hickson at
munity and ultimately as nhickson@cgsentinel.com.
Send letters to:
nhickson@cgsentinel.com or cmay@cgsentinel.com
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
Gina Nauman, Inside Multimedia Marketing Specialist ........... Ext. 1203
gnauman@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, 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