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4A | JULY 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anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or without documentation will not be published.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: 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: On the lighter side of fi reworks full well their eyebrows would grow back by mid-summer. My kids don’t believe me when I tell them this. That’s because, each July Fourth, they have been handed “sparklers” that With many public fireworks displays can- celed this year due to so- cial distancing require- ments, there has been a rise in the purchase of fireworks at fireworks stands everywhere. The good news, ac- cording to the National Council on Fireworks Safety (NCFS), is that fireworks-related inju- ries have dropped by 75 percent in the last de- cade. The bad news? Any- one over the age of 30 can tell you that today’s fireworks are about as exciting to watch as a pile of smoldering socks. For example, it used to be that “sparklers” actually sparkled. They showered the air with tiny crackling embers so bright you could see them through your eye- lids. The bravest kids would spin them like propellers, knowing trailer, it must be flagged during transport. 2) You must, by law, inform neighbors when using any fireworks that require a dynamite plunger. 3) Though there is From the Editor's Desk Ned Hickson are basically sticks of incense that smell like sulfur. No crackle. No show- er of sparks. Just a mo- mentary flame as the paper wick ignites and then, upon reaching its climactic flash point, fizzles into a puff of flat- ulent-smelling smoke. Those who live in Ala- bama or Tennessee have no idea what I’m talking about. That’s because they have “real” fireworks — the kind that childhood memories (and a good portion of our nation’s first-strike capabilities) are made of. In addition, the only real restrictions they have are as follows: 1) If a skyrocket is longer than your boat no limit to the number of M-80s you can join together with a single fuse, the Department of Homeland Security warns it can’t be held responsible should your area, as a precautionary measure, be swept with heat-seeking missiles. 4) If you have studded tires, you must remove them. (This has nothing to do with fireworks; it’s just a friendly remind- er from the folks at the Highway Department.) And lastly, 5) Any and all sky- rockets capable of leav- ing southern air space must be pointed north. The fact is, even though I whine about having wimpy fireworks here in Oregon, at least we have them. In Geor- gia, they are illegal. In the past, this has meant watching public fire- works displays or, as many Georgians do, simply going outside and facing toward Ala- bama. Even though these displays are beautiful, it’s still not the same as being knocked un- conscious by a runaway ground flower. Being as I lived in Atlanta for six years, I can tell you ille- gal fireworks do make their way across the Al- abama border. This, of course, is a huge problem. Especially if your boat trailer isn’t big enough. That all being said, my best wishes to you and yours as we celebrate our nation’s Indepen- dence Day this Saturday in driveways across the country. Something that could be the best part of this year’s restrictions as we once again celebrate with friends and neigh- bors like we used to. Essentially, the board majori- ty approved what amounted to a paid vacation. In addressing the matter, the board majority created a false dichotomy, making it appear as if there were only two options: 1) Reinstatement without disci- pline, or 2) termination. The board was surely aware of the range of disciplinary mea- sures at its disposal, everything from a letter of reprimand, to suspension without pay, etc. Instead, they rejected any form of discipline whatsoever, even opting against a proverbial “slap on the wrist.” His opinions were made public, so where is his public apology? Chief Wooten must feel en- couraged if not emboldened. Director Shannon referred to Chief Wooten’s integrity. In my eyes, the chief ’s integri- ty level is now less than it was a 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 LETTERS SLCFR Board majority got it wrong with Wooten On June 18, the South Lane County Fire and Rescue Board of Directors voted 3-to-2 to re- instate Fire Chief John Wooten, without discipline, after placing him on leave for posting an in- cendiary and divisive statement on Facebook. The board majority should be ashamed of themselves. Among the majority, Direc- tors Munroe and Duffy char- acterized Chief Wooten’s state- ment as “a mistake.” It was not a mistake; it was a deliberate act demonstrating very poor judgement in viola- tion of the district’s own Stan- dard Operating Guidelines. Director Duffy characterized Chief Wooten’s leave as “pretty good discipline” when, in fact, it was no discipline at all; it was a non-disciplinary paid leave. nhickson@cgsentinel.com month ago, as is that of directors Munroe, Duffy and Shannon. They have lost the trust and confidence of many in our com- munity and are an embarrass- ment. There will be no “return to normalcy” as Director Shan- non hoped for. In comparison, Board Presi- dent Higdon and Vice President Radcliffe certainly have my re- spect and appreciation. In addressing the matter of Chief Wooten’s conduct, they were principled, responsible, competent and well-reasoned in their statements on the record. I commend them for their efforts. Jennifer Radcliffe’s resigna- tion is a great loss. Also, my gratitude to The Sentinel for the best and most comprehensive coverage of this matter any- where. — Duane Raley Cottage Grove 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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