Letters to the Editor: April 12, 2024

Keep the character

There are many objective and subjective reasons why McMinnville is considered to have the best small-town downtown west of the Mississippi River. So why are we paying large fees to a consultant who is telling us we should turn the downtown into another outdoor shopping mall?

Let’s address the safety issues but retain the character which makes our downtown so wonderfully explorable.

Would track lighting improve the ambiance of La Ramba? Would eliminating awnings make it easier to browse for books, shoes or art supplies on a rainy day or hot afternoon?

Going door to door reveals all kinds of wonderful surprises. The word is already out there: McMinnville is a classic place to visit.

Duane Brudevold

McMinnville

Signs say it all

Every rural road in Yamhill County is now decorated on both sides with political signs, and it sure looks like the two candidates running for county commissioner in Position 2 have different ways and means of putting their message out there.

For one thing, there are so many Lindsay Berschauer signs you can easily see the next one down the road from the one you just passed.

Those couldn’t have come cheap. A lot of money must have been paid for all of those signs.

Where did all that money come from, and what is expected as a return on investment? Maybe we’re not supposed to worry our little rural heads about that.

If you drive around Yamhill County enough, you might actually see one or two of Bubba King’s signs. And those signs have a little something extra — three statements that seem to say what Bubba wants you to know about him, namely that he’s a father, farmer and outdoorsman.

Lindsay’s signs only say “re-elect.” They lack characterizations like Bubbas’s.

How about mean girl, dark Barbie and Farm League Lauren Boebert?

Jeff Marten

Carlton

An easier way

I don’t get it. If homeless people have managed to save enough to buy RVs or trailers, they’re halfway to having homes — at no cost to the public.

Instead of hiring personnel to impound each one parked in the wrong place, spending $3,500 to dismantle it, then incurring towing costs to bring the remains to a lot that costs the city $30,000 a year, why not just rent or buy an empty property far from existing commercial and residential areas and invite the owners of the vehicles to park there? Then, bringing in a couple of port-a-potties and arranging for garbage pickup could solve the whole problem.

Putting homeless people in jail for a while, at taxpayer expense, accomplishes absolutely nothing. Where do they go when they get out?

Claudia Miriam Reed

McMinnville

Support for cycling

I lived in the McMinnville area for 25 years.

As an avid cyclist, I enjoyed the miles of quiet, scenic roads of Yamhill County. But over the years, as traffic increased, getting to those roads proved more and more difficult.

It is safe to leave McMinnville on a bicycle in one direction only — west off of Hill Road. Going north on Highway 47, south on Highway 99W or east via the Three Mile Lane Bridge is very dangerous, even for the experienced cyclist.

The debate in the March 28 edition over the Yamhelas Trail drowns out a larger debate the city and county should be having over safe cycling access into and out of McMinnville.

The city and county lack any true cycling infrastructure. They do not even have decent bike lanes on most major roads, despite Oregon’s reputation as a leader in funding for cycling infrastructure.

I am all for trails, but trails are just one segment of what can and should be an integrated, countywide plan to encourage and support cycling. As a tourist destination, the city of McMinnville and Yamhill County should be focused on an integrated, long-term plan.

I now live in Mesa County, Colorado. The contrast between its well-developed, politically supported cycling infrastructure and that of Yamhill County is stark, and Mesa is not a big county by Colorado standards.

Do not let the debate over the Yamhelas Trail dominate what should be a larger view of what cycling infrastructure can look like and the benefits it can bring to residents and tourists alike.

Matt Lazzeri

Grand Junction, Colorado

Trust us

Regarding the ongoing discussion regarding how our health department presents information concerning the availability of vaccinations, and specifically COVID vaccinations, it seems the right thing to simply keep opinions out of the presented information, whether it be signage or websites.

Inform the public of what is available. Beyond that, it is not informational but advertising or promotion.

Regardless of where you stand on vaccination pros and cons, let us decide without trying to convince us.

There are opinions on both sides by intelligent, qualified, educated, experienced professionals on whom we can base our opinions and decisions. Trust us to decide for ourselves.

Loretta Johnson

McMinnville