4A | WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 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
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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)
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Political/Election Letters:
Th e enduring reasons we thank Mom
This year perhaps more
than any other, my wife
deserves something special
for Mother’s Day. That’s
because in spite of our
youngest daughter’s many
teenaged mood swings, my
wife has somehow managed
to avoid what I’m sure has
been a strong (some might
even say natural) urge to eat
her young.
This hasn’t been easy. As
I mentioned, our daughter
is experiencing the physical
and emotional challenges
that accompany adoles-
cence. One minute she is
merrily talking about her
favorite kind of cheese; the
next minute, she is blaming
cheese for ruining her life.
As a father, my instinct
is to fix the problem by
addressing the root of the
issue by going directly to
the refrigerator and throw-
ing out everything that
is — or has the potential of
becoming — a cheese-like
substance.
My wife, on the other
hand, understands there are
complex emotional issues
at work, and that, in spite
of my good intentions, the
likelihood of me being able
to resolve such issues is akin
to having a bomb success-
fully deactivated by a goat.
fulness is something that
only comes with mother-
hood.
It’s a bond that starts
during that first nine
months, when mother
and child reach a special
understanding that if Baby
doesn’t stop using mommy’s
bladder for step aerobics,
From the Managing Editor’s Desk
Ned Hickson
Thanks to her motherly
intuition, my wife was able
to explain to me that what
our daughter says — and
what she really means — are
two completely different
things.
As I understand it, this is
the first step to becoming a
woman. Being a man, I am
no stranger to this concept.
However, I was in denial
when it came to my daugh-
ter. Mostly because I didn’t
want to admit that she is
growing up; time is slipping
away. Though I kept this
realization to myself, it was
clear that my wife’s insight-
mommy will eat a raw
jalapeno.
In this way, even before
birth, a child learns Mom
will endure physical or
emotional discomfort if it
means providing a valuable
life lesson; because that’s
what Moms do best.
Endure.
If you don’t believe me,
then I have two words for
you: Breast Pump. True, not
every mother utilized this
torture device, but the mere
thought that she could have
is reason enough for a child
to be respectful.
Truth be told, if it were
up to fathers to provide
breast milk to the human
species, we’d all be nursed
by monkeys.
And remember that
breast pumping came after
nine months of losing con-
trol over most of her bodily
functions, including — but
not limited to — food crav-
ings. These cravings came
as a direct result of Baby’s
needs inside the womb,
even though, in many cases,
those needs could gag a
contestant on Dumpster
Diver.
Keep in mind that during
this process, she was still
merrily preparing for Baby’s
arrival by hanging borders,
assembling mobiles, making
trips to the doctor — all
while visiting the bathroom
once every three minutes.
So, make sure to give a
big “Thank You” to all the
wonderful mothers out
there, especially those who
are celebrating their very
first Mother’s Day this year!
You know who you are.
If you don’t, you might
try turning down that breast
pump a notch or two…
LETTER
Councilor’s outburst was
an embarrassment
Mayor Gowing and Councilor
Boone recently spent $6,000 to go to
a conference in Washington D.C. and
then reported virtually nothing about
the trip.
So I attended the April 22 Cot-
tage Grove City Council meeting to
ask councilors to create a policy that
says officials traveling at taxpayer ex-
pense are required to write a report
as to the purpose of their travel. This
would ensure that residents and fu-
ture city councilors would know why
that travel was necessary and what it
accomplished.
What I got in response was what I
view as verbal harassment by Coun-
cilor Mike Fleck, who accused me of
being “angry” and then, while wag-
ging his finger, “scolded” me (his
word). He then wrongly claimed that
Cottage Grove taxpayers who live
outside City limits have no right to
speak at Council meetings.
It is the right of all Grovers to ex-
pect financial accountability by pub-
lic officials, and our duty to call it out
when that accountability is ignored.
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
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
My thanks to Councilor Boone
for at least making an effort to reply
to my request and also to Councilor
Solesbee for disciplining Mr. Fleck.
I felt Mr. Fleck’s rant was an em-
barrassment to the whole city council
and to his constituents.
I feel he owes me, his fellow Coun-
cilors and all Cottage Grove taxpay-
ers an apology for his failure to listen
to what was being requested and his
unprovoked outburst.
—Allan Katz
Cottage Grove taxpayer
Bennett Creek Road
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
Celebrating local heros during Small Business Week
Try to go one day without having a
small business impact your life. In fact,
try to go one day without having at least
a dozen small businesses touch your day.
It’s impossible.
There are nearly 378,000 small busi-
nesses in Oregon. Beyond the two out of
three net new jobs they create; and, be-
yond their employment of half the state’s
workforce, small businesses are woven
into the fabric of our daily lives.
Consider an average day. You wake
up in your home that was built by small
contractors. The framers, roofers, elec-
tricians, plumbers and painters were all
likely from local small businesses.
Your breakfast — be it the milk, the
juice, the cereal, the eggs, the toast, the
jam — all came from a farm. And giv-
en our local agricultural abundance, it’s
very likely it was sourced locally.
The business that paved the roads of
Guest Viewpoint
By Jeremy Field
Regional Administrator Pacifi c Northwest SBA
your commute, the businesses that re-
pair the car, bus, bike or plane you ride
to work — or the businesses that built
those parts for these modes of transpor-
tation — are most likely small business-
es too.
These are the local heroes we cele-
brate during National Small Business
Week (May 5-11)
Every year since 1963, the President
has declared National Small Business
Week as a time to shine a spotlight on
the impact of small businesses on our
economy and communities.
During this year’s celebration, I chal-
lenge you take a moment to realize how
many touchpoints you have with small
businesses every day. It’s something we
often take for granted.
Small business owners are one of our
state’s greatest resources and a thread in
the fabric of what we seek to achieve as
a community. During National Small
Business Week, join me in honoring the
small businesses and entrepreneurs that
are woven into our lives.
Meg Fringer, Office Manager, Legals, Classifieds... Ext. 1200
mfringer@cgsentinel.com
Production
Ron Annis, Production Supervisor... Ext.1215
graphics@cgsentinel.com
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