Letters to the Editor: Jan. 27, 2017

Warnings appreciated

Many thanks to the Yamhill County road crew for the concern and warning signs of dangers ahead so we can safely reach our destinations.

Mary Novak

McMinnville

We miss you, Tom McCall

The Oregon Story needs a rebirth. It seems that all of the hard work and hopes of the Tom McCall era are fading fast.

The Grasping Wastrels are knocking at Oregon’s every door. Remember that we would not even have a Beaches Forever bill or access to rivers and lakes without the effort of many people of that era.

The growth industry presently controls the cities. It does this by going to the Legislature and sponsoring bills that dictate the future of the cities and favor growth. The citizens and their city councils are left dangling like puppets with no meaningful input as to the future of their towns.

When anyone advocates removing urban growth boundaries to encourage growth, it sends the message that we are returning to the “rip it up and build it out” philosophy regardless of any common sense. Growth is not endless. That message seems to fall on deaf ears in the Legislature and with our governor and even some citizens. Growth does not pay its own way.

Just drive to Portland and observe all the prosperity growth has brought to that once-great city. They have higher housing costs, crowded streets and exponentially more crime, accompanied with higher taxes.

It’s a shame that we don’t even have a second-rate Tom McCall anywhere in the halls of our state government.

John W. Englebrecht

McMinnville

Cause worth reporting

Thank you for the article in Jan. 17’s paper, “Locals prep for ‘polite’ inauguration protest walk.”

Because of that article, I discovered Action Together Oregon Yamhill County. I just returned from the Wednesday night meeting, very impressed with this chapter of the organization and with what it has accomplished in such a short time in creating a vision and mission statement as well as setting realistic goals for the coming year.

I am looking forward to bringing back civility, truth and honesty to our political debate and to work toward a common ground in our communities by reminding all of us of our shared values and dreams for the future.

A rough estimate puts the count at about 50 people in that room tonight. I find it strange and a little troubling that not one of them was from the News-Register to continue the good work of publishing the activities and accomplishments of this newsworthy organization. Stay tuned, Yamhill County, for good things to come.

Patricia Carlson

McMinnville

Protest trumps inauguration?

Seriously? You’re kidding, right? On Inauguration Day? On the front page? A big four-column article above the fold touting the “women’s protest” marches and not one sentence about the miraculous, unique, peaceful transfer of power?

It’s miraculous because in our world, people in power don’t willingly give it up. Only in America does this happen. It’s obvious that some people don’t like President Trump. How could we not know this fact? It’s in our faces 24/7, mainly because the “old media” won’t let it go.

Please, News-Register, don’t be a segment of the old media. Give us locals what we desire out of a local paper — local news.

Gary Beard

McMinnville

Nice bit of journalism

Thank you for your front page Jan. 20. I am grateful to know that there is principled journalism in our county.

Jisun Lee

McMinnville

Study would be nice

I watched KLYC’s live streaming of Jan. 19’s board of commissioners meeting where I observed new Commissioner Rick Olson ask for a farm-impact study for the proposed Yamhelas Trail. Nice to see another commissioner agree with what Commissioner Mary Starrett has been saying for years. Odd I didn’t see you cover this. Why not?

Amy Coburn

McMinnville

He’s no Jack Kennedy

“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy (Jan. 20, 1961).

Compare that with, “You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement the likes of which the world has never seen before. At the center of the movement is a crucial conviction: that a nation exists to serve its citizens.” — Donald J. Trump (Jan. 20, 2017).

That philosophical change is the real “American carnage.”

Denise Murphy

McMinnville

Terrorists need not apply

Senate Democrats are violently opposing the cabinet choices, and it is true they don’t represent a cross-section of the current United States.

There likely is not a terrorist, terrorist sympathizer, socialist, communist or many professional politicians in the whole group. They primarily seem to be people that have been successful at managing something in the real world. There might be a slim chance they could pull us back from our headlong dash to bankruptcy.

Elmer M. Werth

Grand Ronde

Where’s he going to cut?

President Donald Trump says he will be “massively” cutting taxes, so I ask: What cuts to the federal budget will be made to balance the reduced funding?
Will we cut defense spending, education? Maybe health and emergency services and infrastructure? Will our national parks be one of the areas that suffer diminished funding? I get it. No one really enjoys paying taxes. However, that’s how we pay for a safe, healthy society.

Then there’s the administration’s push to eliminate regulations. Perhaps we can expect another serious recession by the end of Trump’s term if he’s really serious about getting rid of Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Protection Agency.

Oh sure, banking and financial executives are good about policing themselves. Not! They are, after all, in the game for profit. Any monitoring that doesn’t involve an outside agency is just a rubber stamp for whatever scheme they want to try next to increase their profits.

What about environmental regulations? Human health and safety always seem to suffer if it’s left up to self-regulation and the owners/managers being the responsible parties for making sure that employees and the community are fairly compensated and safe. When will business recognize that the better workers and the environment are treated, the more money they will make in the long run?

One more thing: The Affordable Care Act is not perfect. It needs to be reviewed and improved. However, this crazy idea to repeal and replace has the potential to destabilize our entire health care system as well as dump millions back into the uninsured category. The ACA has reduced waste in Medicare. It has given more than 20 million people health care who didn’t have it before. Don’t repeal it. Improve it.

Susan Dehm

McMinnville