Submitted photo ## Zena Forest Products CEO Ben Deumling outside the company mill, located in the heart of his family’s 1,300-acre Eola Hills hardwood forest.

Deumling: Part of the problem

As a business owner and rural landowner, I followed the rural Amity bakery case closely as it moved through the land use planning process. I can relate to the aspirations, intentions and ideals of Wesley ...

Franken: Campaigning as a thoroughly disagreeable guy

By BOB FRANKEN There’s a word for great pleasure derived from someone else’s misfortune: schadenfreude. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, long known as a royal pain, is once again winning the contest for ...

Jeb Bladine: Build local bench for Forrest Gump

We may gain control of COVID-19, but we still must confront STUPID-21. For those paying attention, our news pages are rife with reports of the symptoms. Here are three examples. Whatchamacolumn Jeb ...

Farming diversity good for Oregon

  By ANN MARIE MOSS Of the Oregon Farm Bureau In honor of National Ag Week, celebrated March 21-27, I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned during my 17-year tenure with ...

Jeb Bladine: A great story that most of us missed

Movies are a real source of life metaphors, as occasionally mentioned here. But never in the guise of a review or recommendation – I leave that to the experts. So, as evidence of a broader interest, ...

Associations call for nursing home reform

By BETH MARTINO Of the American Health Care Association Two major national senior care associations, the American Health Care Association and LeadingAge, are teaming up to promote a reform agenda triggered ...

Hold officials accountable

By KEN PAULSON Of the National Newspaper Association When government fails, it’s the rare public official who says, “Oops. My fault.” That’s human nature, particularly for officials ...

## Mill City, 2016: Although we were often at odds, my late father, a minister and a writer, was a great influence in my writing life.

Oberst: How to become a novelist

Trying to be a novelist? Here’s one way: You’re born to two Oregon coast natives — one the eldest of seven who couldn’t wait to have her own brood, the other a preacher who, before ...

Jeb Bladine: Good government is open government

Next week is “Sunshine Week,” with media nationwide delivering the same message: “Open government is good government.” Think about why that catchy phrase needs a corollary: “Good ...

Even in Old West, prudence of gun regulation recognized

By MIKE BURR There are several adages about the difference between knowledge and wisdom. They include, “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit ...

Hailing the demise of the death penalty

By JACK PAYDEN-TRAVERS In the fall of 1984, my wife secured a church position that had our Manhattan family of four moving south of the Mason-Dixon Line to Richmond, Virginia. That same year, Anne Holden ...

Randy Stapilus

A twist to the road to redistricting

Potential addition of sixth seat complicates legislative process Oregon’s congressional redistricting is happening again, almost on schedule. And this time, it holds interest for new reasons, beyond ...

Jeb Bladine: Autocracy known as a foe to democracy

It wasn’t a great recipe for America: We brought a pot of toxic politics to boil, seasoned it with economic and racial inequalities, stirred in one viral pandemic, added a dash of paranoia, and ...

Let's put biases aside, seek common ground

By DELVIN ZOOK It’s amazing how we take sides and allow walls to go up when people disagree. It doesn’t seem to matter what it’s about. We adopt views based on science, spiritual beliefs, ...

Tradition of gun ownership helps make America special

By JOSEPH MAJORS I strongly support Yamhill County’s Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance. Residents and visitors should not have to fear arrest and prosecution because they are lawfully ...

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