Letters to the Editor: Aug. 19, 2022

No to strip mall

Leave Three Mile Lane as is. Don’t try to fix what isn’t broken.

Putting another strip mall in that area isn’t going to change the fact that it was tried before, two decades ago, and failed miserably. Or don’t you remember?

That site now houses the employment and human services offices,  along with Chemeketa Community College and the theater. And pretty much all of our health care services are located in the immediate area.

Adding congestion and chaos where it doesn’t need to be is not a well thought out plan. It will hinder our doctors and emergency personnel and could very well mean a life lost.

Highway 18 really needs to run as smoothly as possible for traffic flow from Portland to the coast. Leave things like they are.

If you are after efficiency, take out the light and put in a cloverleaf by the airport and water park.

We moved to the McMinnville area when I was a teenager in 1971. I have seen our town evolve from four stoplights and streets rolling up at 6 to what it is now.

McMinnville used to start at Cedars Inn and run to Chuck Colvin Ford. I’ve seen a lot of changes, some improvements and some not.

When I was young, there wasn’t anything for the youth to do but go to the rec center or cruise the gut on Friday and Saturday nights. Maybe you should concentrate on providing youth opportunities and activities instead of trying to put your own stamp on our town.

If you want to do something positive, how about streetlights from the overpass on Highway 18 and Three Mile Lane all the way to Durham Lane, and from Lowe’s to Highway 18 or the outskirts of city limits?

Anna Redl

Sheridan

Sign blight

I have a couple issues with Mike Erickson, Republican candidate for Congress in Oregon’s new 6th District.

Why hasn’t he taken down his signs from the May primary?

State party officials say it’s not their obligation, it’s the campaign’s obligation. But the campaign isn’t answering my e-mails.

The county Elections Office says signs may only remain up for nine weeks, six prior to the election and three afterward, and a fine may be levied for violations.

The primary was held more than 12 weeks ago and the general election is still almost 12 weeks out.

When does a party stressing values follow and respect them? I’m tired of the visual blight, and it covers three counties!

Maybe he can pass the buck, since private landowners should have given permission originally. Maybe that’s where the blame will go.

Tim Duerfeldt

McMinnville

Here and there

This quote is from the annual report by the clerk in Stratton, Vermont. I thought it worth sharing:

“You came here from there because you didn’t like there, and now you want to change here to be like there. We are not racist, phobic or anti-whatever-you-are, we simply like here the way it is and most of us actually came here because it is not like there, wherever there was.

“You are welcome here, but please stop trying to make here like there. If you want here to be like there, you should not have left there to come here, and you are invited to leave here and go back there at your earliest convenience.”

Tim Cross

McMinnville

Democratic platform

It’s essential this mid-term election not follow the usual pattern of favoring the party out of power.

I believe many of the current Republican candidates for Congress, as well as governor and secretaries of state, are intent on making it impossible to have a fair election again. This could result in the 2024 election marking the end of our democracy, and that’s not hyperbole.

On most issues, Democratic positions are supported by a majority, according to polls. Therefore, I believe all Democratic candidates for national office should be out front with their positions, perhaps by adopting a statement like this.

I support:

• The right of every woman to access abortion services prior to viability. Access should never be denied in cases of rape or incest. Since poverty is often related to the need for an abortion, I support repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which serves to limit coverage.
• Universal access to all approved methods of birth control, over the counter where possible.
• Efforts to reduce income inequality and poverty, including reinstatement of the child tax credit.
• Separation of church and state, recognizing the current Supreme Court has an incorrect view on this concept.
• Efforts to make access to the vote easy and universal. Election Day should be made a national holiday. Early voting, voting by mail, and same day registration should all be required for federal elections.
• Passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and full restoration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
• Full marriage equality and the codification of same sex marriage by Congress.
• Common-sense firearms legislation.
• Tax increases for the Top 1%.
• Reversal of the Citizens United decision on campaign finance.
• Maximum effort to reduce the rate of global warming.

Les Howsden

Amity