4A | JULY 1, 2021 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Cottage Grove Sentinel
116 N. Sixth St.
Cottage Grove, Ore. 97424
damien sherwood, editor | 541-305-1409| dsherwood@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)
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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documentation will not be published.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:
Local focus an antidote for 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.)
As we continue to
emerge from the pan-
demic, there’s a sense of
relief and optimism that
things will return to normal.
Long-awaited family gatherings,
birthday parties and graduation
ceremonies are finally happen-
ing in person. Sporting events
have fans in the stands, airports
are busy, and we all are in the
process of reclaiming those el-
ements of life we’ve missed the
past year.
However, with that optimism
is the reality of the impact the
pandemic had on local com-
munities. Local businesses that
struggled through the past year,
if they were able to stay in busi-
ness at all, are still trying to re-
cover and regain lost revenues.
These locally owned restau-
rants, shops and services are vi-
tal to our economy and provide
valuable jobs and important
resources. Whenever you can,
please shop local and eat local.
You can add your local news-
papers to the businesses that
need your support. During the
pandemic, newspapers provided
the critical information needed
to protect the health and safety
of their readers.
And, that level of commit-
ment has continued with the
most relevant information about
vaccines and plans for schools to
Guest Viewpoint
By Dean Ridings
CEO, America’s Newspapers
return to normal in the fall.
The importance of local news-
papers reaches well beyond the
pandemic. Local newspapers
cover the issues most important
to their communities.
From crime to local schools
to local government, readers
can rely on their newspaper to
provide the latest news that will
impact them directly. Without
vibrant newspapers, cities and
towns across the country would
surely suffer.
Newspapers were hit hard
during the pandemic, just like
other businesses. Advertising
revenue, which was already in
decline, dropped significantly.
While more readers turned to
newspapers and their websites
for information than ever be-
fore, that didn’t generate enough
additional revenue to bridge the
gap.
The result is that newspapers
need your support now, more
than ever.
Fortunately, the importance of
newspapers is being recognized
in Washington. Legislation has
been introduced to help protect
newspapers from the business
tactics of Big Tech companies
that often use newspapers’ con-
tent without compensa-
tion.
On June 16, the Local
Journalism Sustainabili-
ty Act was introduced as
a bipartisan effort to rec-
ognize and protect local news-
papers and the journalists who
deliver valuable content.
The LJSA is unlike other bills
in that it delivers benefits to
readers and advertisers for sup-
porting newspapers. Subscrib-
ers will be able to get a tax cred-
it for their subscription, local
businesses can get tax credits for
advertising in newspapers and
other local media, and newspa-
pers would receive tax credits
for their newsroom employees.
These legislative efforts de-
serve your support and the
support of your government
representatives. Contact your
congressional
representative
and ask them to co-sponsor and
support the Local Journalism
Sustainability Act that ensures
newspapers continue to serve
their readers and advertisers.
And, while you shop local and
eat local, we encourage you to
continue to read local and sub-
scribe to your local newspaper.
Supporting your newspaper is
one of the best things that you
can do to directly strengthen
your community.
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:
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
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
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