4A | AUGUST 6, 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
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ongress shall make no law respect-
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prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
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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)
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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
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Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters
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Letters containing poetry or from outside The Sentinel
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Political/Election Letters:
LETTERS
Where was the ink?
I am saddened to know our
small-town newspaper is nothing
more than a “Fake INK.”
Just a few weeks ago, we had a
Main Street Business disgracing
our American Flag. Not one word
came from the Cottage Grove Senti-
nel but it was on TV.
I always thought a local newspa-
per let people know what was go-
ing on in their town. I realize some
people connected to the ink paper
might be heavyduty liberal cus-
tomers at that local watering hole,
where the disrespect went on. But
a newspaper should not take sides
and should just report the facts. I’m
guessing the paper didn’t want it to
reflect badly on the business.
Some people were upset and had
to fly the American Flag around
Main Street to show their support
for our country. There are some
people that wondered why the pa-
per held back.
As our local paper, it should have
had some ink on this. Even our
Mayor Jeff Gowing, a member of
The American Legion and a U.S.
Army veteran, went belly-up and
decided to fill in the hole for the
flag in front of the business so it
won’t happen again.
Each month on the 11th, the
American Legion outlines Main
Street with the American flag.
For some of you who are not
aware: Cottage Grove has been
awarded the All-American City by
the National Civic League.
Twice.
Well, I guess we won’t get that
honor again.
—Cheryl Mulhall
Cottage Grove
Choosing empowerment over imprisonment
(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.)
Substance abuse is a problem na-
tionwide and solving this issue has
proven to be complicated. Many
states have made changes in poli-
cies to assist in finding a solution to
the drug epidemic, and Oregon has
recently unveiled its plan.
The Drug Addiction Treatment
and Recovery Act is an initiative be-
ing elected on Nov. 3 across the state
of Oregon. It aims to provide state-
wide addiction recovery services
that are funded by marijuana taxes
and state prison savings.
It also reclassifies possession pen-
alties for specific drugs. This new
proposal has become controversial
because it provides something the
state desperately needs while estab-
lishing a new precedent that many
are unsure of.
No one will argue that the state
can benefit from more drug and al-
cohol treatment services, but there
is a definite apprehension when it
comes to changing laws the govern
drug possession. This may be be-
cause the decriminalization of drugs
is a widely misunderstood idea.
Many assume that it aims to make
all drugs legal, which is not the case.
Legalization and decriminalization
are two different things. The goal of
decriminalizing certain drugs is to
prevent the influx of low-level drug
offenders with substance abuse is-
sues from overpopulating the state’s
costly prison system.
Guest Viewpoint
By Cory Buck
Health Care professional
Contributor to Addicted.com
Though it may make some people
uneasy, it is undeniable that keeping
individuals out of prison can save
the state money.
According to a research article,
Lifetime Benefits and Costs of Di-
verting Substance-Abusing Offend-
ers From State Prison, if 10 percent
of drug-addicted offenders received
drug rehabilitation instead of jail
time, the criminal justice system
would save $4.8 billion.
This number increases with the
percentage of people diverted away
from the state’s costly prison system.
And while saving taxpayer’s mon-
ey is always good, there is an even
more significant benefit. Those re-
ceiving treatment will be getting
support services that could prevent
further substance issues and other
issues that could negatively affect
the community.
Furthermore, avoiding the cycli-
cal justice system is extremely im-
portant for many who seek to better
their lives.
According to the Prison Policy
Initiative, at least 1 in 4 of individu-
als arrested are subsequently arrest-
ed again within the same year. Of
those rearrested, substance abuse is
observed at a high rate. The above
statistic illustrates the cyclical na-
ture of drug arrests and penalties.
So, under the current system,
many individuals are getting a crim-
inal record instead of drug treat-
ment. And these arrests appear to
perpetuate the problem.
Anything from gainful employ-
ment to social services can be de-
nied due to past illegal activity. So,
once an individual is arrested and
labeled a criminal, they are facing a
life sentence of circumstances that
prevent them from receiving specif-
ic opportunities.
It’s not to say some individuals are
not responsible for these repercus-
sions, but there is a whole popula-
tion lost to the system that had the
potential to avoid this fate. Decrim-
inalization of certain drugs could
help give them a chance to become
empowered instead of imprisoned.
After all, isn’t that the goal of
laws? A safer and healthier world.
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
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