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.
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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
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grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not
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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without documentation will not be published.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
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