4A | WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 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documentation will not be published.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:
Today’s fi reworks aren’t what they used to be
First, the good news:
According to the Na-
tional Council on Fire-
works Safety (NCFS),
fireworks-related
injuries have dropped
by 75 percent in the last
decade.
The bad news? Any-
one over the age of 30
can tell you that today’s
fireworks are about as
exciting to watch as
a pile of smoldering
socks.
For example, it used
to be that “sparklers”
actually sparkled. They
showered the air with
tiny crackling embers
so bright you could
see them through your
eyelids.
The bravest kids
would spin them like
propellers, knowing
full well their eyebrows
would grow back by
mid-summer.
5) Any and all sky-
rockets capable of leav-
ing southern air space
must be pointed north.
The fact is, even
though I whine about
having wimpy fireworks
here in Oregon, at least
we have them.
In Georgia, they are
illegal.
This means
From the Managing Editor’s Desk
watching public fire-
Ned Hickson
works displays or, as
many Georgians do, go-
ing outside and facing
toward Alabama.
shower of sparks. Just a plunger.
Even though these
3) Though there is
momentary flame as the
no limit to the number displays are beautiful,
paper wick ignites and
it’s still not the same as
then, upon reaching its of M-80s you can join
being knocked uncon-
together with a single
climactic flash point,
scious by a runaway
fizzles into a puff of flat- fuse, the Department
ground flower. Being
of Homeland Security
ulent-smelling smoke.
as I lived in Atlanta for
warns it can’t be held
Those who live in
responsible should your six years, I can tell you
Alabama or Tennessee
area, as a precautionary illegal fireworks do
have no idea what I’m
measure, be swept with make their way across
talking about. That’s
the Alabama border.
heat-seeking missiles.
because they have real
This, of course, is a
4) If you have studded
fireworks. The kind that
tires, you must remove huge problem. Espe-
childhood memories
cially if your boat trailer
them.
(and a good portion of
isn’t big enough.
(This has nothing to
our nation’s first-strike
All joking aside, best
do with fireworks; it’s
capabilities) are made
just a friendly reminder wishes to all of our
of.
readers for a fun and
In addition, the only
from the folks at the
Highway Department.) safe Independence Day
real restrictions they
celebration tomorrow.
And lastly,
have are as follows:
My kids don’t believe
me when I tell them
this. That’s because,
each July Fourth, they
are handed “sparklers”
that are basically sticks
of incense that smell
like sulfur.
No crackle. No
1) If a skyrocket
is longer than your
boat trailer, it must be
flagged during trans-
port.
2) You must, by law,
inform neighbors when
using any fireworks
that require a dynamite
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
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
Carla Summers, Inside Multi-Media Sales Consultant... Ext. 1203
csummers@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. 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 541-942-3325 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 ©2019 Cottage Grove Sentinel