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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2019)
4A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • JANUARY 23, 2019 The First Amendment O PINION 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anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or without documentation will not be published.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: LETTERS Climate is national emergency with local solutons A national emergency (ac- tually international) should be declared on global warm- ing and climate change. In the journal “Science,” a study was published that found the oceans are ab- sorbing heat 40 percent fast- er than what was predicted fi ve years ago. Th e warming has contributed to rising sea levels, destruction of coral reefs, declining ocean oxy- gen levels, and declines in ice sheets, glaciers and ice caps. Our federal government’s energy policies are exacer- bating global warming, so it’s up to us, in every state, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Th ere are many ways, for example, create clean energy jobs: Use mass transit when- ever possible; protect our forests; reduce meat con- sumption; and the Depart- ment of Lands and Oregon Governor Kate Brown must deny permits to new fossil fuel projects like the Pacifi c Connector Pipeline and Jor- dan Cove Liquifi ed Natural Gas Export Terminal. Th is project would be- come the largest source of climate pollution in our state. Labor unions are in fa- vor of this project because of the jobs it would create for them, but they’re not look- ing at the bigger picture of how this project could de- stroy and pollute thousands of acres of land and water- ways. Th ey seem to trust the Canadian company who is trying to build this project, saying they’ll be so careful to ensure there will never be a leak or explosion. Th at’s laughable since the terminal is also planned to be built in a tsunami zone. Th e project may produce a few thousand temporary jobs, and about two hun- dred permanent ones. Are we willing to sacrifi ce over 200 miles of our beautiful state for 200 permanent jobs? Are Oregon legislators willing to say “jobs at any cost?” What good are jobs and schools on a dead planet? —Mary Addams Cottage Grove I’ll remember Cottage Grove, always By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will view them with indulgence. — “Hamilton, An American Musical” A t the time of this writing, there are just over 72 hours before I’m set to put Th e Sentinel to bed one more time and, honestly, the panic has set in — because there’s nothing like the feeling of having more stories left on your list than days at your desk. If you haven’t heard by now — though I’m sure you have because this is Cottage Grove, and nothing stays a secret for long — I’m leaving Th e Sentinel aft er having accepted a position at a daily newspaper in Linn County. So, by the time you read this, I’ll be gone, although I’ve spent the last week and half saying goodbye. Last Monday, a new reporter showed up to hang around and get the feel of the offi ce. His name is Damien and I hope you like him. But as I went through the basics with him, I realized how much had changed in the last two years at Th e Sentinel — me too. As it stands, I have just one more day to try and prepare Damien to report in Cottage Grove and, for the last few hours, I’ve been jotting down notes and trying to remember all there is to know. I have to remember to tell him that everyone really does know everyone in a town like Cottage Grove. And that when someone off ers him food, to eat it — or risk hearing about “that time he didn’t eat the food he was off ered” for the remainder of his time here. It’s probably also a good idea that he know what a good idea it is to make friends with the unoffi cial mayor of the city, i.e., the guy who holds court at the coff ee shop. And if the actual mayor likes him too, it probably wouldn’t hurt. People may call him names. And praise? Th at’s seldom. If he spells someone’s name wrong, he should be fully prepared to recite it — aloud — whenever he encounters that someone (M-U-N-R-O-E!) In a jam, the M&Ms from the vending machine in the lobby will substitute for an actual meal. Good people are going to die from bad things. He’ll have to call their mothers. Th ere’s a chance he leaves the offi ce aft er a 14-hour day swearing not to come back. But, with any luck, he’ll also fi nd the stories that make him want to stay. I hope he fi nds the joy in reporting in a small town and that he fi nds someone like Don Williams. Someone who, when he decides the newspaper will only run a certain number of press releases, comes into his offi ce and tells him it’s a mistake and asks him to explain himself. Someone who, when he carries on about the decision for 10 minutes saying, “I wanted to do this” and “I believe in that” will sit back in the chair and listen. Maybe tap their fi ngers soft ly on the desk and push their hat back before leaning forward to whisper, “You say ‘I’ a lot.” I hope he fi nds a city manager who knows he’s not great at math, and so slips him solutions to equations that would have taken him forever to fi gure out — and still probably would have been wrong. I hope he fi nds a little school with a dedicated tribe of teachers teaching the “bad kids” who are really the good kids; the school no one expects anything from but that gives it everything it has. And that he stumbles into city councilors who make sure he has more information than he needs; little theaters that invite him to dress rehearsals; and the women who serve the community and whisper the week’s gossip to him — sharing just the stuff they know is true. I hope he fi nds Main Street bookstore owners who are like walking community history books and bodega owners who always wave to him on the street. I also hope he fi nds the veterans who are brave enough to share their stories and the people of color who are trying to fi nd acceptance in a town built on timber in a state founded by exclusion. I hope he fi nds a sports guy who becomes an education guy who also becomes indispensable to the production of the newspaper every week. I hope he fi nds forgiveness when he’s wrong. Mostly, I hope he’s welcomed. So be nice to him, guys. It’s not an easy job. And while Damien won’t exactly be stepping into my shoes as editor, trying to come up with a list of all the things he has to know as the City Reporter is overwhelming enough. Because it’s taken me two years, 29 days and 762 stories to even know what I know about this job — and quite frankly, there’s still a lot to learn. Still, I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished in that time. We redesigned the front page and the layout. We pivoted toward hard news stories and tougher — but necessary — coverage. We implemented community engagement tools, and just recently launched a podcast. I have complete faith that those things will carry on aft er this column goes to print, I’ve left town, and that everything will be ok. You’ve still got Managing Editor Ned Hickson who is engaged in the community and devoted to the pillars of journalism. And of course, Sports Editor Zach Silva, which should put your minds at ease because as we say around here, “Everybody likes Zach.” You’ll also see my byline a few more times and hear me on a podcast or two in the coming months. It’s been a bumpy road, smoothing out towards the end, but we traveled it together, Cottage Grove. And I’ll remember it, always. Th anks, and good luck, —Caitlyn -30- 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 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 Sales Consultants ............................ Ext. 1213 amiller@cgsentinel.com Gerald Santana, Multimedia Sales Consultants .......................... Ext. 1216 gsantana@cgsentinel.com Gina Nauman, Inside Multimedia Sales Consultants ................ 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, Sports Editor ............................................................... Ext. 1204 zsilva@cgsentinel.com Customer Service Meg Fringer, Offi ce Manager, Legals, Classifi eds ....................... Ext. 1200 mfringer@cgsentinel.com Production Ron Annis, Production Supervisor ............................................... 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