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4A | AUGUST 19, 2021 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Cottage Grove Sentinel 116 N. Sixth St. Cottage Grove, Ore. 97424 damien Sherwood, editor | 541-942-3325 | 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) Emergency preparedness is a critical precaution We’ve been in fire season for some time now and it is very im- portant for anyone who lives in our rural and wildland urban inter- face (WUI) areas to be familiar with the coun- ty’s evacuation levels and notification meth- ods. It is also crucial to have a family emer- gency plan that you’ve practiced in advance with your two-weeks- ready supply kit or ‘go- bag’. Emergencies can come at any time and in any season. Here is how to be prepared: Know the three evacuation levels: Level 1 - BE READY: This means pack your valuables and sup- plies that you’ve gath- ered to be two weeks ready. This includes important documents, medical equipment or medication, extra food, water, clothing and more. There are numerous checklists available online to help you ensure you have everything you need. Additionally, prepare your home both in- side and out. Shut your windows and doors, remove flammable ob- jects and place them away from the home, shut off gas at the me- ter, turn off pilot lights and BBQ appliances. Leave your lights on inside and out so fire- fighters can see your house when it is smoky. Connect your garden hose but don’t leave your sprinklers run- ning as they can affect water pressure. Make sure your pets are near- by and prepare farm animals for transport. Finally, check on your neighbors! tion you will receive. Do not stop for any further items to find or pack. Stay calm and follow your family emergency plan. Please follow instructions of law enforcement and emergency managers promptly. How will I be noti- fied of an emergency? There are a variety of notification methods and it is important to From Your Commissioner’s Desk Heather Buch Lane County Commissioner District 5 Level 2 - BE SET: Monitor the news ei- ther on television, ra- dio or the Sheriff and local fire department’s social media pages. Review your family emergency plan and ensure your supply kits are in your vehicle. This may be the last notification you’ll get. If you feel unsafe, you could leave the area now and take this time to help others that may need extra time to move out of the area. Don’t wait to be or- dered by authorities to leave. Level 3 - GO NOW: Immediately evacuate! This is the last notifica- utilize them all: 1. Your Neighbors – #1 Best return on in- vestment when all sys- tems fail 2. Landlines (reverse 911) 3. Cell phones (Wire- less Emergency Alerts) 4. Radio (Emergen- cy Alerting System or EAS) 5. TV (Emergen- cy Alerting System or EAS) 6. Identify your trust- ed sources for informa- tion a. Emergency Call Center 541-682-3977 b. Lane County Face- book Page 7. Sign up for county emergency alerts here: w w w. l ane c ou nt yor. gov/emergencyalerts Create a Wildfire Action Plan This plan should in- clude all members of your family and could be different from fam- ily to family. Some critical items to determine are mapping various escape routes, designating an emer- gency meet up loca- tion, pet and livestock transport locations and designate an out-of-ar- ea friend or relative as a single point of contact should you be separat- ed. Ensure you have fire extinguishers nearby and train family mem- bers on how to use them. Make sure each fam- ily member knows how to shut off main control systems. Also, keep extra emergency supply kits in your car (I have a go-kit in my trunk at all times). This is a summary of some widely recog- nized emergency pre- paredness techniques. You can find more comprehensive check- lists and information at www.ready.gov or at www.lanecounty.org and click on Emergen- cy Preparedness. Stay Safe! 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: 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 C ottage G rove 541-942-3325 LETTERS Administration Jenna Bartlett, Group Publisher Governor Sells Out Our High Schoolers Once again, Governor Kate Brown has bypassed public ad- ministration process and public comment by signing a law un- der the table to please her woke, social flavor of the month poli- ticians and school officials sup- porters. This time, because these people are embarrassed that too many minorities flunk high school math and reading proficiency tests, she signed a law that elim- inates these tests. She signed this law on July 14 without issuing a press release or entering it into the public record. How progressive! Oregon already is well into the lower half of all states in stan- dardized tests results, according to a recent U.S. News and World Report assessment, among oth- ers. Instead of working to improve grades she is dumbing down Or- egon’s high schoolers. They may graduate believing educators who say they have the requisite life skills to make it in the world, but how many employers will hire them suspecting they cannot count or communicate? Ironically, this misbegotten cave-in will hurt most the mi- norities these elitists profess to shield. Minority students some- times have a steep educational and economic hill to climb. This law will not aid their ascent. The law shields only those who have abdicated their responsibili- ty to prepare our students for the work force. —Robert Tully Cottage Grove Taxpayer Gets Stiffed Again In this week’s Sentinel (Aug. 12), it ran an article about the old Harrison School site. First, the South Lane School District sold the old Harrison site because it was old, had asbestos and lead issues and we were told we needed a new school. So, we had a bond measure and built a great new Harrison School. The SLSD sold the old site for $345,000 less than the appraised $745,000 because of the above stated issues. Contractor A buys it under the conditions listed in the pa- per; take out asbestos and lead and upgrade facilities or tear it all down. Contractor now says he did not see any of the listed con- ditions in the contract and has not done any of the corrections determined by SLSD. Contractor A says, “There was no requirement or preference communicated to interested pur- chasers that the old school build- ing be renovated or removed.” Are you kidding me? Is the SLSD competent enough to put such important things in writ- ing or is the contractor blowing smoke? And now the ACE school is looking to buy the property, and who do you think helps fund ACE coffers? Why, I believe it is SLSD. So, not only did the property get sold for under value, but now ACE will be asking for monies I am sure are from SLSD to help make the school safe for their kids, which is striking because SLSD could not put money in the old site and make it safe for kids before they got the bond measure to build the new school — but will it now budget monies to ACE to correct these safety issues? You guessed it — a shell game. And who will finally pay for it? Why, you and me. I truly hope I am all wrong on this issue. We will see. —Rod Cameron Cottage Grove Gary Manly, General Manager... Ext. 1207 gmanly@cgsentinel.com Advertising Gerald Santana, Multi-Media Sales Consultant... Ext. 1216 gsantana@cgsentinel.com Carla Skeel, Inside Multi-Media Sales Consultant... Ext. 1203 csummers@cgsentinel.com Editorial Damien Sherwood, Editor... Ext. 1212 dsherwood@cgsentinel.com Kendrick Murphy, Sports/Education Reporter... 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