4A | JUNE 18, 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anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or without documentation will not be published.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: LETTERS Local officials must evaluate equity George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis more than two weeks ago, sparking protests and calls for justice In Lane County and across the country. The members of the League of Women Voters of Lane County join in solidarity with commu- nity members and our fellow Leaguers nationwide grieving George Floyd’s death. We call on Minnesota law enforcement officials to ensure transparency during their in- vestigation, and to seek justice for George Floyd, his family and his community. We acknowledge the anger and anguish so many of us are feeling, in particular the Black community and other com- munities of color already ex- periencing disproportionate impacts from COVID-19 as a result of systemic racism. We urge government officials in Lane County and Oregon to listen to communities of color and to adopt meaningful re- forms that will address systemic racism, the heart of these tragic killings that disproportionately target Black people. Elected officials must be re- sponsive to the calls for change that have long gone unheard. We also ask local officials to continuously evaluate programs and services, including police use of force, to ensure our own communities are protecting hu- man and civil rights. Every American — every Oregonian — must be willing to stand against racism and oppression, and to support in- dividuals, organizations and leaders working for change. We cannot afford to lose focus. We must re-commit ourselves to addressing injustice in our sys- tems and institutions, and to in- creasing our efforts at building equitable communities where everyone feels safe and is treat- ed humanely. —Charlcie R. Kaylor, President League of Women Voters of Lane County We must learn from our past for better future I believe that we need to educate our younger generations about past protests, riots and killing in our na- tion. Everyone should go onto the in- ternet and search them out to edu- cate themselves about cause and ef- fect — something that should have been taught in school: • Watts Riots in 1965 — South Central Los Angeles. • Chicago 1968 Democratic Presidential Convention • Kent State 1970 • “LA 92” The Documentary: The aftermath of Rodney King Until we know what went on be- fore, we will not be able to under- stand and fix what comes ahead of us. —Winford Jolle Cottage Grove Protests are about more than police policies I believe everyone condemns the looters and rioters; I know I do. But the looters should not be confused with the tens if not hun- dreds of thousands of peaceful pro- testers who see inequality in this country and want it to end. The property destruction is bad, but it is also bad that the looting gives people permission to ignore the real issue. Although George Floyd was the flashpoint, the real issue is not ex- clusively Floyd’s death but rather the systemic racism in the Ameri- can criminal justice system, in ed- ucation and in employment; it’s not just about the police. What about the woman who called 9-1-1 because an Afri- can-American birdwatcher asked her to leash her dog? How about Ahmaud Arbery, the man who was murdered by three vigilantes when he was out jogging? Anyone paying attention to the news knows I could give too many other examples. It’s easy to support the police, who by and large de- serve our support. It’s much harder to take an hon- est look at our society, acknowl- edge the inequalities and vow to do something about it. We’ve heard the point of view of a white male. Perhaps the point of view of a person of color would now be appropriate. —Vic Phalbin Cottage Grove 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 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... 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