Emma Nolan: A look at foster care from the inside

I was 15 years old when I was placed in foster care for the first time. It was the day before Halloween, four days before my 16th birthday. The host family’s four kids, ages 2 to 10, were in their ...

Jeb Bladine: Parking study puts light on challenges

There’s much to like about McMinnville’s Downtown Strategic Parking Management Plan, now pending city council adoption. At best, however, it is a good start … a framework for challenging ...

Ron Noble: A local take on 2018 legislative session

Although representatives were limited to introducing two bills, and senators just one, 260 measures were introduced during Oregon’s recently concluded 2018 legislative session. The House passed ...

Brian J. Hunhoff: Flushing truth down an Oval hole

“Captain Jack” Crawford was one of the original Black Hills Rangers. He survived many Old West adventures.

Known as “The Poet Scout,” this is the final stanza of his 1889 poem, “Truth” —

Jeb Bladine: Evergeen-related stories still swirling

People have asked about the lack of recent updates on various sagas still swirling around the Evergreen campus. The best answer is legal conflicts evolve slowly, often with lengthy gaps between newsworthy ...

Thompson Morrison: Mustering the courage to re-imagine education

The world is changing. Fast. We are transitioning, at breakneck speed, from an industrial economy to an innovation economy. Soon, more than half of all jobs we have today will no longer exist. They will ...

Cassie Sollars: Broader background checks a point of consensus?

The nation’s collective grief felt tragically and achingly familiar after last month’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Fourteen students and three teachers ...

Matt Nelson: The collected moments of 50 years

Friday night, I went to Gallery Theater for the opening night of “The Wizard of Oz.”

In my youth, it was called Gallery Players. I grew up doing shows there. It’s been 23 years since I walked through those doors, but everything came whooshing back.

Jeb Bladine: President ignores consequence ‘laws’

At press time Thursday, we were awaiting word on President Donald Trump’s plan for tariffs on steel (25 percent) and almuminum (10 percent). Earlier in the week, bending to diverse pressures, Trump ...

Jeb Bladine: Counting stripes a path to patience

Patience appears on many lists of our most important virtues, but it’s not exactly a human norm. Roadways are filled with impatient people. To best see that impatience in action, just follow the ...

Scott and Melody Gibson: Vietnam - Lightning in a Bottle

After a brief recent visit, we have concluded today’s Vietnam is much like lightning in a bottle. Its people are ambitious, industrious, highly educated, largely young and eager to show what they ...

Marie Vicksta: Protecting topsoil crucial for farming

Agriculture has been the lifeblood of the Yamhill County economy for generations. The diversity of what can be grown or raised here — grass seed, livestock, nursery stock, hazelnuts, grapes and high-value ...

Jeb Bladine: An apt inspiration for culture change

A culture can change its laws, but laws don’t necessarily change the culture. For proponents of cultural change, it’s most disturbing when the offending laws themselves are unassailable. That ...

Jim LeTourneux: Looking to the intent for guidance

The Second Amendment, consisting of 27 words written and ratified by our Founding Fathers in 1791, continues to be an obstacle for those who want to see certain guns banned. With the latest school shooting, ...

Steve Bagwell: Please drop us a line

We receive scores of comments online, but not so many in print. Maybe it’s the ease of posting. Maybe it’s the instant gratification. Maybe it’s the anonymity. Maybe it’s just ...