4A | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 | 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documentation will not be published.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:
A heartfelt letter to the family of Ashley Mathews
(Editor’s Note: Jane
Mathews, grandmother of
Ashley Mathews, brought
the following letter into
The Sentinel.
Ashley died in a car
wreck on the Wyoming
border while returning
from South Carolina to be
with her brother, who had
just been in a terrible car
accident here in Cottage
Grove that left him a quad-
riplegic.
Ashley’s heart was do-
nated to a young woman
named Courtney.
The following was writ-
ten to Ashley’s family by the
mother of Courtney.)
T
o the loved ones
of our donor:
Hello,
my
name is Michelle and
I would like to express
my respect and grati-
tude to your family for
the miracle of life that
was given to my daugh-
ter, Courtney, because
of your inconceivable
generosity.
Courtney was the
recipient of your loved
one’s heart. Without
this precious gift, she
would not be here and
alive today.
Courtney, myself and
our family would like to
convey our deepest and
heartfelt sympathy for
your loss.
We can only imagine
how extremely painful
this must be for your
family. Yet even in the
midst of your grief,
you were able to make
such an unselfish and
thoughtful decision to
give the ultimate gift
and save a life — my
daughter’s life.
We are eternally
grateful.
Courtney
began
showing signs of heart
failure in the winter of
2016. As she returned
to school in January
2017, she progressively
got worse.
By
mid-February,
Courtney was taken to
the hospital for com-
plete heart testing. It
was at this time that we
nhickson@cgsentinel.com
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS
Oregon state
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
Ashley Mathews (above) was killed May 15, 2017, in a car accident. Her heart
was donated to Courtney (above right) by her family in Cottage Grove.
were told the devastat-
ing news that she would
need a heart transplant
in order to survive.
By the end of March,
she was taken out of
they saved my life.”
When her doctor
came into her room that
night and woke us up to
say they believed they
had found the right
After the operation,
Courtney fought fierce-
ly through the long and
painful recovery pro-
cess. She came back
so strong and passion-
ate and said at one
“I want to live for my donor and my- point, “I want to live
for my donor and
self. We are forever intertwined now. myself. We are forev-
We have merged together in a way er intertwined now.
We have merged to-
that will live on in me.”
gether in a way that
will live on in me.
— Courtney, heart recipient of Ashley Mathews
“I feel my donor’s
presence and will
always treasure the
school and admitted to match — the perfect gift of life that was giv-
the hospital in CICV heart for her — it was so en to me.”
and put on life support bittersweet. We felt an
I wanted to write
measures.
overwhelming sense of so much sooner, but I
Throughout
seven sadness and immense iust could not find the
weeks of waiting, she sorrow for your loss.
right words and still
was well aware that she
Our thoughts and don’t know if I have in
was in critical condi- prayers were with you, order to appropriate-
tion.
your loved one and your ly convey the depth of
The reality of know- family in this agonizing gratitude for saving my
ing she was not able time. At the same mo- daughter’s life — for my
to go home without a ment, we also felt over- family and I to watch
life-saving heart trans- whelming love, hope her grow into a young
plant and the knowl- and tremenedous joy woman — to fulfill her
edge of the chain of for the precious gift that dreams with the glow
events that would need was being given, and so of the life of her donor
to occur weighed heavy incredibly humbled by shining through her.
We know the loss of
on both our minds.
the ability of a stranger
Her only hope was a to make such an amaz- your loved one is still
donor.
ingly heroic decision to extremely painful. We
are so very sorry but
Courtney tried so save someone’s life.
hard throughout this
As Courtney went hope and pray that this
incredibly difficult and through those operating letter may bring you
emotional time to keep room doors that morn- some solace and peace.
Courtney continues
a positive attitude and ing, she was determined
be fearless despite the to survive this life-sav- to live each and every
painful treatments and ing operation and come day to the fullest, know-
scary surroundings.
back with a new heart ing how precious life
She would say, “I will beating within her. She truly is.
With all of our grati-
be strong and brave just said, “I can do this, I’m
like I believe my donor going to make it, for my tude and love,
would be. If I get a new hero ... my donor.” She
—Michelle and
heart, I will make them seemed at peace as she
Courtney
and their family proud was wheeled away.
Oregon federal
representatives
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
Veronica Brinkley, Multi-Media Sales Consultant... Ext. 1205
vbrinkley@cgsentinel.com
Carla Skeel, 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
Gerald Santana, Circulation Manager... Ext. 1216
gsantana@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
Senior 62+ ...................................................................................33.00
e-Edition year ............................................................................$35.00
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 THURSDAY 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 ©2020 Cottage Grove Sentinel