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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 2020)
4A | APRIL 30, 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anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or without documentation will not be published.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: Why Congress should support community news sources (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.) D uring this coronavirus pan- demic, access to accurate and trustworthy information in our communities is as critical to life un- der quarantine and as sought-after as hand sanitizer and face masks. Your local newspaper provides the news and information unique to your community. Where are testing sites and who’s eligible? Which busi- nesses are open? What is the local online unemployment benefit appli- cation process? What is the plan for local education? And much more. But your access to local news and information is gravely threatened by the economic carnage COVID-19 has wrought. While local newspapers continue to field reporters and bring news and advice from public health au- thorities in print and online — at the same cost — their revenues have all but disappeared as the business- es that were their most important advertisers have been reduced or even shuttered. That’s why Ameri- ca’s Newspapers and other organi- zations representing local news pro- viders are asking Congress to take urgent action to ensure communi- ties don’t lose their vital sources of timely and trustworthy information. First, we’re asking that Congress expand and clarify the Payroll Pro- tection Program to ensure it cov- ers all local newspapers and news broadcasters. While some of these outlets may be owned by larger organizations, they must survive on their own. It’s only fair that they should be includ- ed in any expansion of the program. These loans will keep the news- Guest Viewpoint By Dean Ridings America’s Newspapers CEO paper employees — your neighbors — on their payrolls and help get the news to you in print as well as on- line. We appreciate the bipartisan letter of April 19 from U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), John Ken- nedy (R-LA), Amy Klobuchar (D- MN) and John Boozman (R-AR) that requested waiving the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) affiliation rule to allow local media outlets to access funding, pointing to the critical role these outlets play in keeping communities healthy and informed. Second, we are asking that the Trump Administration direct cur- rent federal government advertising funds to local news and media out- lets. These public service and infor- mative ads could be similar to the ones running right now about the U.S. Census. They could carry critical govern- ment information about data from the CDC, access to small business loans, medical resources for fam- ilies and other important topics. We’re asking for a commitment that would be spent in an equitable man- ner across all local news providers. We also believe that there should be an immediate relief package that is based on total newsroom employ- ees. Some local news organizations won’t survive without some type of immediate grant or infusion that is tied to the organization’s employ- ees who directly work in the news- room. This is not a demand for an in- dustry bailout by local news provid- ers. Instead, these measures recog- nize that local news publishers are on the information frontline of the coronavirus pandemic, providing a public service vital to keeping our communities safe, secure and sus- tained during this unprecedented public health crisis. We encourage community mem- bers who wish to support their local news sources to contact the offices of their senators and representatives in the U.S. Congress (bottom right of this page) and tell them you sup- port expanding the Payroll Protec- tion Program to include your local news source and that the federal government should use your local newspapers or news broadcaster to convey important information through public service ads. And finally, let them know that a grant based on newsroom employ- ees is critical at this time. Visit www. usa.gov/elected-officials for their contact information. Consider taking this action to ensure that your access to local in- formation doesn’t become another victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you and may you and your family remain safe and informed during this difficult time. Invest now in LCC for long-term economic recovery (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.) R ebuilding our local economy and investing now is what is needed for the long-term econom- ic recovery as students return to LCC to retool, retrain and re-enter the workforce Lane Community College is the community’s college. From Nursing to Medical Office Assistance to Public Safety, LCC is the starting point for many of our local healthcare workers and emergency first responders. We stand united with all Lane County residents in thanking our health- care heroes and essential medical personnel working to keep our community healthy and safe. The LCC Board of Education understands the fear and eco- nomic uncertainty we face as a community, together, and we have great empathy for community members who have been recently furloughed or laid off from work. We too have had to lay off work- ers as the landscape shifted to on- Guest Viewpoint By Mike Eyster Board Chair, LCC Matt Keating Board Vice Chair, LCC line and distance learning. As the premiere education part- ner squarely focused on training the workforce that will rebuild the local economy after this planetary pandemic, LCC is the foundation for local career and technical ed- ucation (CTE) programs, for two- year transfer education, and for workers in need of retooling. Lane County residents who have lost employment due to this pan- demic may need re-training. Local employers — not just healthcare employers but many others as well — will need qualified applicants as businesses restart, reopen and re- establish themselves. But LCC needs vital invest- ments to continue to train and ed- ucate local community members returning to sharpen their skills. As we prepare for a potential in- flux of recently laid off students of all ages — of all walks of life — we ask for voters’ support. Now, more than ever, invest- ments in LCC’s workforce devel- opment programs, public safety, technology, and healthcare facili- ties are desperately needed. With voters’ help, LCC will be there for those who are seeking to return to the workforce; with voters’ help LCC will be a support network for our struggling small businesses. We urge a “yes” vote on Measure 20-306, “yes” for the LCC Bond and the future workforce of Lane County. 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... 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