Letters to the Editor: Oct. 18, 2024

Leader we need

Having known Kim Morris for many years, I’ve witnessed her dedicated leadership as the founder of the McMinnville Community Task Force. Kim has actively listened to and supported our community — its residents and businesses alike — in tackling ongoing issues like vandalism, crime and unlawful camping. She has collaborated with the city, county, school district, local law enforcement agencies and non-profits.

Kim and her core team addressed serious safety concerns for our children by proposing solutions to Mayor Remy Drabkin and the city council, specifically targeting Patton Middle School and Marsh Lane. They advocated for a “Safe Zone 4 Kids” around schools, a measure already adopted by other cities in the state.

They also suggested creating bike lanes as an entrance to Joe Dancer Park.

For eight months, Kim and community members, myself included, wrote letters and spoke at city council meetings to urge the establishment of these safe zones, which were crucial for protecting our kids from dangers like nearby camps and debris. Despite their efforts, the topic was repeatedly omitted from city council agendas, which are controlled solely by the mayor.

But Kim successfully collaborated with the superintendent and school board chair to advance the initiative anyway. Finally, in late April, the council approved safe zones on a unanimous vote.

Unfortunately, our current mayor lacks community engagement and fiscal responsibility.

I am voting for Kim because she listens, engages respectfully and is committed to financial transparency and public safety, especially for our children. She genuinely cares for all community members.

Join me in voting for Kim Morris for mayor. She is the leader we need.

Cindee Paulsen

McMinnville

Moral compass

My wife Lillian and I returned last week from a cruise to Alaska.

A terrible storm with 60-knot winds and 30-foot seas battered our ship, but it was well-built and featured the latest navigational equipment. At times the ride was rocky, but the captain brought us safely home.

However, our ship of state — consisting of our federal and local governments and our public education system —is rudderless in a worldwide storm of gigantic proportions. We have no compass to guide our ship home, and any society lacking a moral compass will surely run aground.

This brings me to the purpose of this letter:

Lillian attended the McMinnville School Board meeting on Monday, Oct. 14, and was perplexed by what she saw. Novels with pornographic titles and content were put forth by our school board as acceptable for our students.

Pornography is a principal driver of the worldwide sex trade, which has enslaved millions of children and adolescents.

I admonish the school board to do better. Let’s keep our moral compass intact and remove pornography from our schools.

Dale Nesse

McMinnville

The best choice

This is in response to the video that Commissioner Lindsay Berschauer posted Oct. 7:

The change of direction is about you and your inability to care for all of us. That and the division you have sown.

You changed the metro infiltration threat from a light rail line to a “feeling,” after your opponent, David “Bubba” King, posted video of a retired Metro president saying no rail line was ever intended to come down here.

So what exactly is this feeling? Is it art at the Chehalem Cultural Center? Fine dining restaurants? The vibe of Third Street?

Among other things, you have helped:

- Award tax breaks to a lumber company that is now sponsoring a meet and greet for you.

- Initiate a lawsuit over a supposed Second Amendment sanctuary that was deemed illegal, thus incurring legal fees at taxpayer expense.

- Pass up much needed grants and fire the county grant writer

- Cut $600,000 from Health & Human Services and attribute it to not being able to find people to get concerns addressed.

- Get caught up in a strike because of poor working conditions.

We need a commissioner who is respected by the county workers, not one triggering fear of retaliation. We deserve a commissioner who is forward thinking, who wants to build bridges in the community so we can find commonalities and begin respecting differences again.

You speak of farming being important to you. I think it would be great to have two actual farmers working together on the commission.

David “Bubba” King has already proven his commitment to farmers, both in his support of the farmers filing liens against your personal business and in the lawsuit his family won to protect small farms from government overreach. Bubba is the best choice.

J. Willow Muhr

Dayton

Vote to re-elect

We love McMinnville and we are very proud to have Remy as our mayor.

Many readers have sung her praises, and we whole-heartedly agree. It’s great to have a bright, forward-looking, courageous young person leading our community.

We ask you to join us in voting to re-elect Remy as mayor.

Peter and Beverly Richardson

McMinnville

Saving ’em up

Our town is lucky to have a newspaper.

I want to respond to many Viewpoint letters and commentaries, but can’t because of the News­-Register’s 30-day rule for submitting letters. So I’m combining some responses here.

On Sept. 6, Mark Davis said the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds unit was not a good idea. But its elite young pilots use air shows as practice. They may someday use it to save our lives in case China decides to drop in. I think its a good idea to host the Thunderbirds and hope they return.

Phil Forve suggested Sept. 20 that to save our country from government interference, we need to elect Harris and Walz. Are you aware FEMA is running out of money to help our fellow citizens impacted by Hurricane Helene? I call that government interference. And by the way, have you noticed that nearly all the News-Register guest commentators are left-leaning?

A gentleman whose name I don’t remember was upset that his Harris/Walz yard sign had been stolen. Well, I can relate. In 2016, I had two Trump signs stolen from my yard, and I can’t count how many times I’ve gotten the finger from passing motorists because of my Trump bumper sticker. Tit for tat.

An Oct. 4 letter from by Patricia Rickert, headlined “It’s Up to You,” suggests Trump is another Hitler. Does this woman actually think people will believe that! How ridiculous.

A vote for Kamala Harris is a vote for communism. Everyone with grandchildren should be frightened by that prospect.

Judy Hromyko

McMinnville

Concerned in Mac

This week, the McMinnville School Board met to vote on whether books that went through the district’s challenge review process should remain on the library shelves at the high school. The board voted unanimously in favor of retaining the titles.

In an age where diversity and tolerance are worshipped, I did not see the school board practice any of this.

The board began by scolding the individual who started the book challenge, for wasting the districts time and money, and voiced the opinion that all books should be available for minors. This individual was even accused of being a terrorist by a member of the audience.

Not one board member voiced concern that pornography might be harmful to a young adult with a still-maturing brain. Teenage STDs and unwanted pregnancies are on the rise, so why would schools provide material that indulges in unsafe sex and drug use?

I am very concerned that parents are unaware of the material on the library shelves at McMinnville High School.

I am very concerned that if parents are aware, more of them aren’t speaking out against it.

I am very concerned that the school board is one-sided.

It is important to have a well-rounded school board that represents all of McMinnville’s citizens. I hope to see a more diverse group of people running for the school board in the future.

Terri Crawford

McMinnville

Future at stake

Mayor Remy Drabkin works hard for McMinnville. We need to re-elect her so she can continue that work.

My wife, kids and I have lived in McMinnville for almost two years. My in-laws fell in love with McMinnville and moved here from South Carolina as well.

We love this community, and we love what Mayor Drabkin is doing for it.

From making our government systems more efficient and inclusive (saving time, therefore saving money) to Project Turnkey (problem-solving, not just problem-identifying!), to the $850,000 she secured for Third Street infrastructure improvements (long-term goals), she has made lasting impact in our community. And she is just getting started.

Mayor Drabkin has put McMinnville on the map in so many ways.

For us, finding somewhere we are not only accepted, but actually safe and celebrated as a queer family, has been one of the best parts about living here. I have witnessed parents of queer kids tell Remy how impactful her leadership in our city is.

Over the last several months, I have gotten a tiny glimpse into how hard our mayor works for our community, and what she’s done to bring McMinnville into the modern era. We need to re-elect her so that she can continue the valuable work she has already done for our community.

Please re-elect Mayor Remy Drabkin. It’s what’s best for the future of McMinnville.

Tracy Palmer

McMinnville

Not giving up

The last Land Use Board of Appeals decision on the Yamhelas Westsider Trail was sent to Yamhill County on Dec. 30, 2020.

In it, the board said: “We are not convinced that the trail is prohibited by farm impact standards as a matter of law.” Accordingly, it sent the appeal back to the county for a fix for the few remaining issues.

In the same month, the first phase in the three-phase trail master plan was presented to the board of commissioners for its consideration.

The master plan was supposed to serve as the centerpiece of the county’s response to LUBA. It would also have included detail on the trail’s cost and design.

But the 2020 elections replaced a member who supported the trail with one who did not. When the newly composed board met in January 2021, it voted 2 to 1 against continuing with the master plan or further addressing remaining issues with LUBA. This essentially halted not only the appeal process, but also the effort and progress made over the decades, and thus actual trail development.

The actions of the board as then constituted did not, however, kill future development of that trail or trails like it in Yamhill County. The trail has become a highly politicized issue, but can eventually be addressed through advocacy, public awareness, and future elections.

The trail could return with a supportive future board by simply requesting reconsideration of the permit application, taking into account the entire record.

Wayne Wiebke

McMinnville

Vietnam revisited

The Biden administration has been an abject failure in restraining Benjamin Netanyahu’s serious overreach in Israel’s war in Gaza.

I had hoped VP Harris would make an effort to separate herself from Biden on this issue, notwithstanding the fact her husband is Jewish. Failure to exert a constraining influence here makes us complicit in horrendous levels of death and destruction, first in Gaza and now in Lebanon as well.

Just a few weeks ago, the Gaza Health Ministry released the names and ages of Palestinians killed in this war. The names of children under age 10 filled the first 100 pages of the report.

As of Oct. 11, the total death toll in Gaza stood at 42,126.

The UN reports Israel has carried out “wanton destruction of healthcare facilities” and killed more than 885 healthcare workers in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. The New York Times reports a large number of children under 12 have died of a single bullet wound to the head.

Forty-four health workers have confirmed the execution-style deaths of children. A U.S. physician reported witnessing 13 during a one-month tour in a Gaza hospital.

International aid for Palestinians in Gaza has been blocked or slowed repeatedly, and more than 280 aid workers have been killed. The entire population is facing crisis levels of food insecurity.

The U.S. has some 40,000 service members in the Middle East, and recently deployed an aircraft carrier and unit of attack aircraft.

Surveys of U.S. citizens under 30 indicate that in excess of 75% disapprove of our current policy toward Israel.

It took most of two decades for opposition to the war in Vietnam to crystalize. Given the current level of opposition to our support for Israel, we must end our immoral, complicit entanglement with and endorsement of both Netanyahu and Israel.

Les Howsden

Amity

Vote of the people

The theme of the Democrats, espoused by their TV talking heads, is that Trump is a “threat to democracy.”

In a democracy, we have primary elections where the people get to select their candidate with their votes.

In the Republican primaries, the people selected Trump as their candidate. Somehow I missed the Democratic primaries where the people selected Harris as their candidate.

Don Bowie

McMinnville

Free voter guide

These days it can be a challenge to find information about the local candidates and measures that appear on your ballot. Luckily, there’s Vote411.org — a one-stop resource for everything on your ballot.

Vote411 is a trusted public service project of the League of Women Voters. It is used each year by millions of voters who are looking for objective, nonpartisan information so they can decide how to vote.

In addition to candidates’ answers to questions, it features neutral analyses of ballot measures and information about registration, voting, deadlines and more. Voters simply enter their street address to get a personalized list of every race, candidate and measure that will appear on their ballot, enriched with the kind of information that helps voters make their own choices.

Every candidate in the state is invited to post on Vote411, which is free to both candidates and users. Candidates can speak in their own words about what matters to them and the voters in their district.

If a candidate in your area hasn’t posted there, you can contact them to ask why.

The League of Women Voters of Oregon never endorses or opposes any candidate or party. It is dedicated to promoting civic engagement and a well-informed citizenry.

I urge candidates and voters alike to make use of Vote411.org before the Nov. 5 general election.

Lisa Bentson

League President, Salem