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4A | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 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) Celebrating National Newspaper Week At least once a week, some 7,500 community newspapers — those with a circulation of less than 30,000 — land on porch- es, inside mailboxes or at local supermarkets and coffee counters across the United States. According to a sur- vey conducted by the University of Missou- ri-Columbia, more than three-quarters of respon- dents said they read most or all of each edition of their local newspaper — with 94 percent of those people holding subscrip- tions. Locally, on Wednes- day mornings, you can see the front page of the Cottage Grove Sentinel suspended in front of faces in coffee shops, restaurants and markets around The Grove, as in Yoncalla, Elkton, Drain, Creswell and Lorane as people inform them- selves about what’s hap- pening in our commu- nities — from upcoming festivals and events, to recaps of the latest board meetings and features on local issues and residents. While there is a notion that print journalism is dying, the truth is that many community newspapers are actu- ally thriving compared to many of their large metro-area and national counterparts. “Community papers are doing better than many large, daily papers because they provide news coverage about things that matter to their local community that would otherwise style and focus, there has been one important understanding that con- tinues to define us as a community newspaper: To our readers, we are not just the newspaper; we are their newspaper. USC professor Judy Muller told the Stanford From the Managing Editor’s Desk Ned Hickson be overlooked without them,” said Al Cross, director of the Insti- tute for Rural Journal- ism at the University of Kentucky. In fact, in 2018, the combined readership of those 7,500 non-daily newspapers was almost 20 million more than that of daily newspapers, with non-dailies tallying 65.5 million subscrib- ers — compared to 45.5 million daily-paper subscribers. This is according to the National Newspa- per Association (NNA), which also noted that 70 percent of those small non-dailies have a circu- lation of less than 15,000; The Sentinel is among that smaller group, with a circulation of just over 7,000. When I became man- aging editor here in mid- 2018, I’d had the good fortune of working with three terrific editors over my previous 18 years as a journalist. And while each brought their own University Press that, while local journalism is certainly about police blotters, obituaries, bake sales and club meetings, “The best community newspapers also hold local governments and institutions accountable by covering meetings, asking questions and recognizing the good as well as the not-so-good because ... if not them, then who?” While we’ve received equal amounts of ac- colades and criticism regarding our coverage of controversial issues ranging from housing, education and the home- less, to gun law, suicide rates and hate crime over the last two years, our story meetings are un- derscored by the notion of: “If not us, then who?” I am reminded of my first day as a journalist covering sports at the Siuslaw News in Novem- ber 1998 — and how intimidated I felt sitting at my desk listening to the constant sound of keyboard hammering emanating from behind partitions on either side of me. Twenty-one years later, it’s a sound that I have come to love in the same way a mechanic appreciates the sound of an engine hitting on all cylinders, or the way a music conductor savors the convergence of musi- cal notes into a singular harmony. (Keep in mind I still type with two fingers, so my contribution to that harmony is more like the cow bell, but still...) As we head into Na- tional Newspaper Week (Oct. 6-12), I’d like to thank you, our readers, for supporting your local newspaper. Not only with your subscription or weekly trip to the office to buy your copy, but also for your partic- ipation and contribu- tions — through letters, emails, phone calls and conversations in my office — that help make The Sentinel one of those 7,500 non-daily commu- nity newspapers that is continuing to grow. In the words of Thom- as Jefferson in a letter to Col. Edward Carrington on Jan. 16, 1787: “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a govern- ment without news- papers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” LETTERS A Day For The Earth The Global Climate Strike on Sept. 20 began at 10 a.m. with a rally at Opal Park. Those attending walked together to Bohemia Park. The event was a mellow gathering with a mixture of adults, as well as young people. I heard that the es- timated number of attendees was from 250-300. The weather was perfect for the gathering, set up next to the stage and the nearby children’s play- ground. Speeches and music on stage went on until 3 p.m., while tables manned by various local groups offered information and conversation. A beautiful circle of flowers and leaves were placed on the lawn, next to a globe of the Earth, to hon- or the sacredness of our planet. Free food for all to snack on was provided. I set up a small table, on which I had the sign, “A Penny for Your Thoughts About Climate Change.” With the help of my monkey puppet Ros- co, I invited people to write down, in a binder, their comments about climate change — and then “Rosco” would pay them a penny. I told them it was a “lucky” penny and advised them not to spend it all in one place! In addition to the comments people wrote down, a clever six-year old boy came by sever- al times to dictate his comments to me; he earned four pennies. It was an event where people networked and met one another, and everyone there (wheth- er wearing a costume of a leopard or a wolf, or wearing a vast array of contemporary street attire) played a part in a congenial collection of humanity — with the same serious climate crisis message being re- peated many places in the world on the same day. —Gayle Kahane Cottage Grove For the future Margaret Mead said, “Nev- er doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it is the only thing that can.” We have seen that in practice… when a young girl took a simple act, holding a school strike in front of the Swedish Parliament every Friday to protest the climate cri- ses facing our planet, and turned it into an international movement. Last Friday, over 250 students and community members in Cot- tage Grove joined over 4 million people who participated in up to 4,900 climate action events in over 150 countries. Th ey marched down Main Street and held a rally in Bohemia Park with speakers and information ta- bles to discuss ways we can all be a part of the solution to save the world for our grandchildren’s chil- dren. Many of those present signed a petition urging the Cottage Grove City Council to declare a climate emergency and host a town hall meeting to work on solutions to make Cottage Grove carbon neu- tral by 2030. Th ose who participated in last Friday’s event believe even a small community such as ours can set an example for the world, and we are asking our elected offi cials to step forward and lead other Oregon communities by acting on this crit- ical issue now — for the future, —Cristina Hubbard, Executive Director Forest Web Cottage Grove 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: 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 Gerald Santana, Multi-Media Sales Consultant... Ext. 1216 gsantana@cgsentinel.com Veronica Brinkley, Multi-Media Sales Consultant... Ext. 1205 vbrinkley@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 Nick Snyder, Sports/Community News Reporter... Ext. 1204 nsnyder@cgsentinel.com Customer Service Meg Fringer, Office Manager, Legals, Classifieds... Ext. 1200 mfringer@cgsentinel.com Production Ron Annis, Production Supervisor... 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