Proclamations have their place, but direct action speaks louder
At its March 16 meeting, the McMinnville City Council approved payment of $325,000, through its insurance carrier, to help settle a lawsuit alleging failure by state officials and local police to protect ...
Sunshine best disinfectant for insidious government secrecy
When the McMinnville School District refuses to join virtually all other American cities and school districts in disclosing chief executive finalists, how do you have any way to judge the choice its board ...
Big plans need time to gel; Priority is correct, not quick
Nothing lasts forever. That’s why McMinnville is looking to replace a public library dating back to 1912 (renovated and extended in 1982), a armory turned community center dating back to 1924 and ...
Second Amendment Sanctuary dangerous, divisive and foolish
Spurred by the recent seating of Lindsay Berschauer, commissioners have been in a rush to declare Yamhill County a Second Amendment Sanctuary, free from the enforcement of “all local, state and federal ...
Time to look on bright side: We're beating back this virus
It’s been almost a year since we last ran a positive headline on the COVID-19 crisis. And it was, “County: We’re ready for spread of virus” — a March 6, 2020, assessment that ...
It warms the heart to see how community responds to a crisis
It sometimes appears the digital communication channels wrought by today’s technology have become little more than cesspools of violence, racism and hate. Breeding grounds for bizarre conspiracies, ...
Berschauer conduct is indefensible
We were not surprised to see the Yamhelas Westsider Trail rejected on a 2-1 vote by the county commissioners Thursday. After all, Mary Starrett and Lindsay Berschauer both ran campaigns pledging uncompromising ...
Trail decision a detriment to parks system needing vision
Yamhill County Commissioner Casey Kulla captured our reaction to the fierce, expensive and ultimately successful Yamhelas Westsider Trail opposition almost perfectly in a post-decision post. “It ...
Resolutions and proclamations seldom worth the investment
It seems the season for local resolutions, declarations and proclamations, the vast majority having not even tenuous relevance to the adopting body’s authorized function. In response, we’d ...
Transit service is a lifeline we must all work to preserve
When it comes to the Yamhill County Transit Area, which operates an inter-city bus system serving the county at large and municipal bus systems serving McMinnville and Newberg, officials face an ...
Session lacks a set agenda, and that's mostly a good thing
Psst. Pass it along. The 81st regular session of the Oregon Legislature opened Tuesday. A session may not have commenced with less fanfare since 1848, when Oregon Country’s provisional, pre-statehood ...
Reject false prophets and the deceptions they peddle
Indulge us for a moment while we imagine a terrifying takeover of the U.S. government without thought of political philosophy. Visualize a political firebrand from the far right or the leftist fringe, ...
Oregon's vaccine rollout is lagging badly behind
In virtually every corner of the U.S., which was struck harder by COVID-19 than any other place on the planet, reality is running well behind promise when it comes to vaccine rollout. And according ...
The promise of better times lies just around the corner
Novelist Charles Dickens recalled the French Revolution this way in the opening paragraph of his “A Tale of Two Cities,” widely considered a literary masterpiece: “It was the best of ...
State and federal relief action comes at the eleventh hour
Oregon held its 41st special legislative session Monday, following a tradition from 1860, the year following statehood. This special session was the third of the year, second only to the five conducted ...
