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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2021)
4A | APRIL 15, 2021 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Cottage Grove Sentinel 116 N. Sixth St. Cottage Grove, Ore. 97424 ned hickson, managing editor | 541-902-3520 | nhickson@cgsentinel.com Opinion 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 2021 © 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anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or without documentation will not be published.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: nhickson@cgsentinel.com Let’s not allow COVID to make a comeback years covering sports, one phrase that I heard coaches repeat over and over, season to season, sport to sport was this: Just because we’re ahead doesn’t mean we can relax. Over the past several weeks, we’ve experi- enced the first glimpses of what a return to some level of normalcy could look like as coro- navirus infection rates dropped and vaccina- tion numbers rose. For the first time in more than a year, our communities have been able to return to dining in, our local businesses have expanded hours and services, and limited numbers of fans were able to attend local sporting events to cheer for teams in Cottage Grove, Elkton, North Douglas and Yoncalla. That being said, during my previous 16 been in the valley, the end result is the same: We win as a county and we lose as a county. Without question, the combined factors of better weather, spring breakers and a false that we finish strong and not allow COVID to make a comeback. If we remain resolute in our own practices of mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing, each one of us can play a role in reaching that finish line — maybe in time for From the Editor’s Desk July Fourth. Ned Hickson I can’t think of a better way to celebrate our independence from The same can be sense of security over a virus that has caused said about the current vaccination rates have so much havoc than by battle that continues all played a role in the doing so in our own against COVID-19 in attitude that we can let backyards with family our communities and our guard down and and friends on Inde- across Lane and Doug- coast to the finish line. pendence Day itself. las counties. While we But that would be a The coming week have made progress costly mistake, espe- could likely see a return and edged into a small cially for our local busi- to “high risk” status for lead, it has become nesses, which are just Lane County. Instead clear in the past two now beginning to feel of losing steam, let’s weeks that we have some relief — and hope use that as motivation relaxed. The result has — after the financial to make a final push been a fourth-quarter devastation of the past together to secure that rally by the virus in year. Independence Day Lane County. We owe them, and goal for each other, our And while the rise one another, the dili- schools, local business- in cases has primarily gence needed to assure es and our community. HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS Oregon state representatives • Sen. Floyd Prozanski District 4 State Senator PO Box 11511 Eugene, Ore. 97440 Phone: 541-342-2447 Email : sen.fl oydprozanski@ state.or.us • Rep. Cedric Hayden Republican District 7 State Representative 900 Court St. NE Salem, Ore. 97301 Phone: 503-986-1407 Email: rep.cedrichayden@ state.or.us • Rep. Peter DeFazio (House of Representatives) 405 East 8th Ave. #2030 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Oregon federal representatives Email: defazio.house.gov/ contact/email-peter Phone: 541-465-6732 • 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 • Heather Buch Lane County Commissioner - District 5 Email: Heather.Buch@lane countyorg.gov 125 E. Eighth Ave. Eugene, OR 97401 Or call 541-682-4203 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 Customer Service Meg Fringer, Office Manager, Legals, Classifieds... Ext. 1200 mfringer@cgsentinel.com Production Ron Annis, Production Supervisor... 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