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4A | APRIL 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 2020 © 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anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or without documentation will not be published.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: Trying to fi nd the silver lining as a CGHS senior (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub- missions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) W hen it all first happened, before school was even canceled, it was so un- real and a feeling I never expect- ed to have. Never did I think that March 12 would most likely be my last day of high school. I remember thinking, “Wow, this is really happening,” then al- most immediately seeing probably a hundred students posting online that school is closed. Right away, I didn’t think it’d ever be this serious. I thought by the end of March we’d be back in school and it would just be forgotten about. Although, technically, school is scheduled to reopen in late April, I have a strong feeling that I won’t be going back to class this school year — my senior year. At first, I thought, “Hey, a couple of plans might get canceled, but we will be back to nor- mal in no time.” But that changed. Knowing things are coming up but not knowing if they’ll happen — such as graduation — is the hardest part for me. All I’m doing is passing time, one day at a time, until it even- tually gets better. The worst part is that I was getting so close to figuring out where I’d be going to college and how I’d be spending the next step of Guest Viewpoint By Shane Ruam Cottage Grove High School senior my life, either attending Southern Oregon University or maybe Lane Community College to play soccer. Now I just continue to wait, hop- ing everything will fall into place. In all honesty though, I’m enjoy- ing an extended break. I can still work and go outside; it’s not like when we lost power during the “Snowmageddon” in 2019. Still, going without seeing friends everyday has been hard but doable. I wish more people would abide by the rules, though. We’re told to prac- tice social distancing for a reason. Yet many people are still neglecting to do that. Just the other day, I saw a post on social media about an event that read, “Party at my place [to- night], [hit me up] for details.” Why are you throwing a party when people are dying? However, many other people are doing what they need to and precautions are be- ing made — so I hope they pay off. Trying to find a silver lining, I think the most beneficial part of all this is that it’s not a certain group of people that’s going through this. Everyone in the entire world is ex- periencing the same thing. You can talk to anyone for help or advice and I would be surprised if they said “no” because, in times like these, people ultimately come together. Once it’s all done, I’ll look back on it and think, “No, there’s still no way that happened.” I mean, we’re literal- ly living through a huge piece of hu- man history, something I’ve thought about a lot during these past few weeks. I just hope that soon we will start to get better instead of worse — and in 20 years tell the tale of the notori- ous COVID-19 to our kids. Autism Awareness in a time of COVID-19 est-growing, autism is also the least funded and, there- fore, least understood dis- order. The spectrum of au- tism is wide ranging, from those who do not speak (40 percent) to others who I knew very little about the autism spectrum back in 2006, when I met the young boy who would be- come my son. My wife and I had been dating for sever- al months when we decid- ed it was time to introduce each other to our children. She explained that he had Asperger’s Syndrome and likely wouldn’t make eye contact — and to not take it personally if he avoided any physical contact like a firm handshake. “And whatever you do, don’t tousle his hair,” she instructed with a squeeze of my hand. “He really doesn’t like that.” Autism is a neurological developmental disability with symptoms generally appearing before age 3, im- pacting the development of the brain in areas of social interaction, communica- tion skills and cognitive function. It is the fastest-growing developmental disorder, affecting 1 in 68 children, and boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls. While it is the fast- While our son, now 20, is well beyond that thanks to the support of teachers, students, family and pro- grams that have given him the tools to understand his Asperger’s, getting there From the Editor’s Desk Ned Hickson not only speak but whose talents have impacted the world: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, James Joyce, Albert Einstein, Emily Dickinson, Thomas Jefferson and Dan Aykroyd are just a few. Each summer, our family participates in the four-day KindTree Autism Camp south of Florence. The mis- sion of the Autism Rocks camp is a simple one: For four days, let those with autism and their families be who they are, free from stares, apology or judge- ment. That’s because often- times the symptoms of autism aren’t as apparent as other developmental disorders. As a result, chil- dren with autism having a difficult time in social set- tings — or in extreme cases having a full meltdown — are quickly labeled as being “bratty,” “undisciplined” or simply the result of bad parenting. wasn’t easy — particularly in those public moments under the raised-brow stare of strangers. In this time of COVID-19, social distanc- ing and sheltering in place, the world has been turned upside down for many with autism who rely on a sys- tem of routine and order to avoid anxiety. Children and families in communities here and around the world have been significantly impacted as parents and caregivers find themselves scrambling to keep up with life without a normal rou- tine. In addition, the COVID-19 crisis has caused significant disrup- tion to children’s therapy routines vital to their de- velopment. The result is heightened anxiety and be- havioral issues. As we continue through this time, as well as enter Autism Awareness Month, providing emotional sup- port for parents and care- givers of autistic children is especially important. Through the triumphs and disappointments over the last 14 years, we have always reinforced the message to our son that being autistic isn’t any different than being short or tall: Each provide chal- lenges as well as advantag- es in life. Being willing to accept yourself for who you are is the key to recogniz- ing the difference. Through my 21 years in journalism in small communities like Cottage Grove, Florence and Ma- pleton, I’ve had the priv- ilege of meeting many parents of children with au- tism, as well as adults living with autism. As I mentioned, I didn’t know much about autism when my son and I met in 2006. Since then, we’ve learned a lot from each other through the journey we’ve shared — including what it means for a father and son to share a firm handshake. I hope you’ll join me in recognizing National Au- tism Awareness Month now through April 30, as well as the unique concerns fami- lies with autism are facing in the wake of a world deal- ing with COVID-19. 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 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 Production Ron Annis, Production Supervisor... 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