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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2021)
4A | DECEMBER 9, 2021 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Cottage Grove Sentinel 1498 E. Main St., STE 104 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) Many Hands Make Light Work (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.) Santa, enter a raffle for a fully deco- rated tree, enjoy soup and hot bever- ages, color a picture or write a letter to Santa, hear a story, and to listen to the middle and high school choirs. As a member of the Bohe- mia Mining Days production team for the past 17 years, I am keenly aware of how much work, money and coor- dination is invested to provide our community with events that create joy, happy memories and a million smiles. Wowza! Last weekend we were blessed with seven special events to usher Grovers into the 2021 Christ- mas Season. There was literally something for everyone to enjoy! The two largest events were the Christmas at the WOE and the Christmas Kick-Off in Bohemia Park. We also had the annual Jingle Rush Walk/Run and the Boy Scouts’ Tree Sale. For those of us on the hunt for something unique to give to those on our gift-giving list, we had three holiday shopping events: Seeds & Flint craft makers offered a variety of hand-crafted items, the Humane Society’s Christmas sale offered great deals on used holiday dec- orations, and the Cottage Grove Christian School’s Bazaar filled the Armory with music and a wide se- lection of vendors. I made it to three of those events and was delighted by what I found. Thousands of adults and children gathered in Bohemia Park last Sat- urday evening to watch the lighting of the community tree, visit with Guest Viewpoint By Cindy Weeldreyer BMD President The weather was as perfect as it gets for early December – dry and not terribly cold. Everything came together to create a memorable eve- ning for all who attended! I tip my hat to the WOE Fair Board members and volunteers who transformed the Fairgrounds into a colorful and festive experience for four days (Thu-Sun) for the enjoy- ment of thousands of Grovers! Chil- dren shared their wishes with Santa. The Snowflake Pavilion featured live music and beverages. Vendors provided a great variety of items for gift-giving. On Saturday, a live nativity was in the barn and Princesses Elsa and Anna from the Disney movie Fro- zen were there – much to the delight of their fans. Kudos to the WOE folks for starting a new holiday tra- dition with plans to make it an an- nual event! On Sunday afternoon I went to the Armory to hear the Cottage Grove Christian School students give a holiday performance and found the drill floor packed with people par- ticipating in the silent auction and shopping among the many vendors that lined the large room. Christmas cheer was definitely in the air! One can only imagine the effort made by those who heavily invest- ed their time, talent and money to present these holiday opportunities for us to enjoy last weekend. I bring this up because it appears too many people today are becom- ing “consumers” and not “pro- ducers”. Like the Little Red Hen story, everyone wants to eat the delicious sweet-smell- ing bread in the oven but when the hen asked for help to make it no one wanted to do the work to create it. Many hands make for light work and forge new friendships while having fun together. It is my prayer that more people (of all ages) will make a New Year’s resolution to become a community volunteer in 2022. Many local organizations would love to have your help to do good things around town. I am deeply thankful for and appreciative of the many volunteers who do show up and roll up their sleeves to make things happen in The Grove for our enjoyment. And this seems like the right mo- ment to make an urgent request… The Bohemia Mining Days board secretary and treasurer are stepping down at the end of this month. BMD must fill these key leadership po- sitions so we can continue moving forward with planning BMD 2022. (The treasurer must be proficient in Quickbooks software.) If interested, call me ASAP at 541-915-0113 for more information. Best wishes for a safe, happy and memorable holiday season with your family and friends! Choose the River 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 • Sen. Floyd Prozanski • Sen. Ron Wyden District 4 State Senator PO Box 11511 Eugene, Ore. 97440 Phone: 541-342-2447 Email : sen.floydprozanski@ state.or.us 405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Email: wyden.senate.gov Phone: (541) 431-0229 Email: merkley.senate.gov Phone: 541-465-6750 • Rep. Cedric Hayden District 7 State Representative 900 Court St. NE Salem, Ore. 97301 Phone: 503-986-1407 Email: rep.cedrichayden@ state.or.us • Rep. Peter DeFazio sy, assisting the Iraqi government in making its transition to democ- racy. And later, after coming home from Iraq, she founded a non-profit dedicated to global peace-building, which she named The Euphra- This holiday season, in a tes Institute. world that feels increasingly So, what is the centering conflicted — where so many By Kern Beare power of the river? What does cultural battle lines have been Founder of the Difficult Conversations Project it symbolize? For Janessa it drawn, it’s impossible not to symbolized the most power- stumble over one of them and ful force of all: the force of life. find yourself in unfriendly territo- While it may not feel like it at the The constant flow of creative ener- ry — what centering force helps us time, reaching the saturation point gy that nourishes and builds, rather maintain our inner sense of wellbe- can be a very creative moment. It’s than depletes and destroys. ing, our faith in a better future? “I had just left the most in-your- an opportunity, says Ripley, “for a The experience of Janessa Gans shift.” At a loss for what else to do, face display of power I’d ever expe- Wilder may be instructive. She new possibilities arise we hadn’t rienced...and I realized, no matter found her centering force in the seen before. how many of those freaking bombs midst of a war zone. For Janessa, a new possibili- went off, the river was complete- An intelligence analyst for the ty came as she stood on a rooftop ly unaffected by it. And I thought, CIA, Janessa spent 21 months overlooking the Euphrates River: well, which is more powerful? The in Iraq from 2003 to 2005 — the “From the roof of the house, I noise and bombs, or this effortless- height of the insurgency. Her job could see the Euphrates, and I was ly, relentlessly flowing force? was to make sense of the enemy, captivated by its beauty and by the “And then I realized something to understand their motives, tac- quiet. The only thing I could hear else…that this force, this creative tics, strategies, funding sources and was the water gurgling by, which energy, is available and flowing leadership — all to help the U.S. was so incredible, because the noise through all our lives at every mo- wage a more effective war. of war is so intense and constant. ment, and we can choose to align It was a job that brought her to So that contrast with the quiet just ourselves with it even if we can’t see the brink of despair. It was all too took my breath away. And I just sat it.” much: The death, the maiming, there, wanting to be taken in. Here then is one recipe for main- the near impossibility of collecting “And what I noticed was, just a taining our inner wellbeing and good information, the nights made few miles downstream, this river our faith in the future, even in the sleepless by the incoming mortars goes right through the middle of midst of conflicts that seem forever of the enemy and, even worse, the Fallujah. This beauty, this peace out of reach of resolution: Choose outgoing mortars from U.S. forces and quiet, was actually happening the river. Say no to the fighting, the that “shatter you from the inside amidst all the bombs and noise and attacking, the resisting. Trust the out.” death and destruction. flowing, creative force of the river For Janessa, the first battle of Fal- “And then the thought came to rather than the destructive force of lujah — sparked by the killing and me: Which will you choose? our rage and fear. mutilation of four American Black- “And I was so taken aback. I Saying yes to the river won’t make water guards, their bodies hung on mean, it’s a choice? I could choose our conflicts go away. We’ll still have a bridge spanning the Euphrates this scene of life and peace and to live though perilous and chaotic River — was the worst of it. “It felt beauty? times. But we’ll be living through like the world was coming to an end “And I just said out loud, ‘I them having made the one choice and I couldn’t do anything to help. I choose the river.’” that can truly make a difference: just felt so powerless...I was drained At that moment, says Janessa, a To trust in each other’s capacity for emotionally, physically, spiritually, weight lifted from her shoulders. kindness, and to surround those on every level.” She’d regained a calm and clarity of who seem to have lost that capacity Janessa had reached what Aman- mind the war had taken from her. with the full force of the river’s ener- da Ripley, author of “High Conflict,” After choosing the river, Janessa gy — the quiet but eternally power- calls the saturation point: “The stopped being an analyst and took a ful presence of love, understanding point in a conflict where the loss- new position with the U.S. Embas- and wisdom. (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.) • Sen. Jeff Merkley • 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 es seem heavier than the gains.” In common parlance, it’s when we’ve “hit bottom,” when we finally accept that the old ways aren’t working, but don’t yet know what else to do. 405 East 8th Ave. #2030 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Email: defazio.house.gov/ contact/email-peter Phone: 541-465-6732 Guest Viewpoint S entinel C ottage G rove 541-942-3325 Administration Jenna Bartlett, Group Publisher 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... Ext 1204 kmurphy@cgsentinel.com Customer Service Office Manager, Legals, Classifieds... 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