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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2019)
4A | WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Cottage Grove Sentinel 116 N. Sixth St. Cottage Grove, Ore. 97424 NED HICKSON , MANAGING EDITOR Opinion | 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ CGSENTINEL . COM The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respect- ing an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Govern- ment for a redress of grievances. “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) USPS#133880 Copyright 2019 © COTTAGE GROVE SENTINAL Letters to the Editor Policy The 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anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or without documentation will not be published.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 The 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: Finding common ground in your phone calls On the one hand, I’m never quite sure what to expect when my phone rings here at the editor’s desk; on the other hand, I do know it’s always an opportunity to share an exchange of viewpoints, ideas or — sometimes — a point of contention with someone in our community. Many years ago as a restauranteur, I learned that when a guest wants to talk to a manager about a bad experience, they aren’t seeking excuses, or reasons as to why you couldn’t meet their expectations. They want two things: 1) Some form of reso- lution, and 2) To be heard. My wait staff always knew I was willing to address issues at a table because I viewed every situation as an opportu- nity to build a relation- ship with a guest — the kind that reaches well beyond a meal and table service. If you can turn a dis- satisfied guest around, you build a certain kind of loyalty though that shared experience. Did I always manage that feat? John had some very good points that I took to heart. Though our view- points differed, we could agree that these kinds of conversations are im- portant ones and a nec- essary part of our own that seemed to be politi- cally motivated. Eventually, our con- versation turned to our joint concern about how political affiliation has begun to supersede our affiliation as Americans, within its citizenry as well as within our gov- From the Managing Editor’s Desk ernment. It was clear that we Ned Hickson had supported different candidates in the past. However, the common Of course not. system of checks and ground we shared about But I always tried. balances as a community our nation’s polarization It’s the same approach — here in Cottage Grove went beyond election I take to your phone calls and beyond. results. as editor. It was through this Naturally, not every Each is an opportunity discussion that we also phone call ends that way, to build a relationship found other common any more than I was able which, in this case, ground, quite literally in to exceed the expecta- reaches beyond Wednes- Atlanta, where we had tions of every guest who day’s newspaper pages. both spent time. ate at my restaurant. This morning I got a It was the kind of But I also know that call from “John,” who conversation that left for every conversation wanted to know why we us both feeling heard that didn’t take place, we allowed one letter writer and, more importantly, both lost an opportunity. to use the phrase “admit- resolved in the sense I want to thank the ted anti-Semite Stephen of understanding one “Johns” and “Sharons” Bannon” on our Opinion another’s perspective. out there who take the page a few weeks ago. A short time later, I time to call and provide This led to a discus- got a call from “Sharon,” an opportunity to turn sion about our differing who wanted to let me things around — and points of view on wheth- know about a troubling build relationships that er guilt by association is trend involving the reach beyond these or isn’t a proper indica- destruction of certain newspaper pages. tor of intent. “adopt-a-highway” signs nhickson@cgsentinel.com HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS Oregon state representatives Oregon federal representatives • Sen. Floyd Prozanski • Rep. Peter DeFazio District 4 State Senator PO Box 11511 Eugene, Ore. 97440 Phone: 541-342-2447 Email : sen.fl oydprozanski@ state.or.us (House of Representatives) 405 East 8th Ave. #2030 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Email: defazio.house.gov/ contact/email-peter Phone: 541-465-6732 • 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 • 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 S entinel C ottage G rove 541-942-3325 Administration Jenna Bartlett, Group Publisher Gary Manly, General Manager... Ext. 1207 gmanly@cgsentinel.com Allison Miller, Multi-Media Sales Consultant... Ext. 1213 amiller@cgsentinel.com Gerald Santana, Multi-Media Sales Consultant... Ext. 1216 gsantana@cgsentinel.com Gina Nauman, Inside Multi-Media Sales Consultant... Ext. 1203 gnauman@cgsentinel.com Editorial Ned Hickson, Managing Editor... 541-902-3520 nhickson@cgsentinel.com Damien Sherwood, Lead Reporter... Ext. 1212 dsherwood@cgsentinel.com Zach Silva, Sports Editor... Ext. 1204 zsilva@cgsentinel.com Customer Service Meg Fringer, Office Manager, Legals, Classifieds... Ext. 1200 mfringer@cgsentinel.com Production Ron Annis, Production Supervisor... Ext.1215 graphics@cgsentinel.com Subscription Mail Rates in Lane and Portions of Douglas Counties: 10 Weeks ....................................................................................$11.50 One year .....................................................................................$43.50 e-Edition year .................................................................................$35 Rates in all other areas of United States: 10 weeks, $16; 1 year, $56.50; 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. 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