Letters to the Editor: Aug. 22, 2025

A cheaper way

There is a significant shortfall in funding the transportation and water/sewer infrastructure projects that have been delineated by the city of Carlton, even at the most basic level. Some at the recent meeting stated, “We’re broke.”

The city chose to invest its sewer/water revenue in repaying an $8.8 million loan for police and administrative infrastructure totaling more than $12 million, rather than in essential water sewer infrastructure, under the assumption grant money would fund future water and sewer projects in perpetuity.

So what are our funding options for essential water and sewer infrastructure now? Raising utility rates, already the highest in the county?

We pay out $783,400 annually to the Carlton Police Department for police service. Let’s compare that to Lafayette’s contract with the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office.

Lafayette benefits from the services of two full-time patrol deputies, supported by on-duty rural patrol deputies as needed. Since 1989, they have met needs for public safety, criminal law enforcement, city ordinance enforcement, traffic enforcement, police report preparation, council meeting attendance, dispatch and communication services, maintenance of records and statistical data, civil services, evidence collection and storage, warrant processing and service, and drug enforcement and interdiction, along with the benefit of YCSO membership on the Yamhill County Major Crime Response Team.

ln 2023-2024, Lafayette paid $366,000 for those services. lf Carlton followed Lafayette’s model, we could save more than $2 million over five years.

This is not an attack on the Carlton police or an effort to diminish their work. lt’s simply a plea to seek reasonable savings in the interest of fiscal responsibility.

Carlton City Council, interrupt the status quo. Authorize a request for proposal to the sheriff’s office in order to get hard figures in front of you before you consider raising new funds.

Felix Madrid

Carlton

Investment for future

As McMinnville prepares to vote on a proposed recreation bond, it’s crucial to look beyond the immediate cost and see this as a vital investment in our community’s future.

A new recreation center with a pool is not just a luxury. It’s an essential upgrade that will benefit residents of all ages for generations to come.

I’ve heard concerns about the impact on property taxes.

That raises a valid point, as the new bond would increase our city’s total tax rate for bonded debt to an estimated $1.79 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. However, this is a dedicated investment in a tangible asset.

For a home at McMinnville’s median assessed valuation of $229,000, the new bond would push the total cost of bonded debt repayment to $34 a month.

That’s a small price to pay for a community hub with a state-of-the-art pool, fitness facilities and spaces for senior and youth programs. Even with the increase, McMinnville would still be a very affordable place to own property, according to effective Oregon tax rate comparisons computed by Smart Assets and the Tax Foundation.

We are not alone in this effort, either.

Our neighbors in Newberg successfully funded their Chehalem Aquatic and Fitness Center with a similar bond measure, and now their residents enjoy a modern, year-round facility. It’s a testament to the fact that communities are willing to invest in projects that directly improve their quality of life.

The current aquatic and community centers have served us well, but they’ve reached the end of their lifespan. This bond is our chance to build a new center that can meet the needs of a growing McMinnville.

A new center would provide a place for children to learn to swim, a safe space for teens, and a hub for seniors to stay active and connected.

Let’s not miss this opportunity. Let’s show that McMinnville values health, recreation and community.

Please vote yes on the recreation bond.

Mark Pitts

McMinnville

Poisonous pals

The 47th president has proved, again, that he believes himself a king with unlimited power instead of an elected official whose power is defined and limited by the U.S. Constitution. His latest fever dream is that he can end voting by mail, which has been used in Oregon since 1998.

Clearly, Trump and his followers are unfamiliar with Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution which states that the manner of holding elections “shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof,” and that Congress can pass laws to alter voting regulations. The executive branch has no authority to determine where and how citizens cast their ballots.

Trump’s aversion to voting by mail was reignited by his Russian bestie, dictator Vladimir Putin, who fed him lies about mail-in voting last week in Alaska. Republicans have dutifully taken up the charge and repeated the canard that voting by mail fosters fraud.

According to a review by the Oregon Legislative fiscal office, between 2000-2019, some 61 million ballots were cast by mail in the state of Oregon. From those ballots, 38 people were criminally convicted for fraud, putting the rate of fraud for voting by mail in Oregon at .00006%.

But who cares about facts indicating the security of mail-in voting? Certainly not weak elected officials who realize that they cannot win elections on the basis of their ideas and actions.

Rather than risk losing elections, as the polls suggest will happen in 2026, Trump and Republicans are ignoring the Constitution and trying to rig our voting system in their favor. It would be sad if it weren’t so scary.

One other thing: We haven’t forgotten that Trump’s other bestie, Jeffrey Epstein, was a pedophile who, it is estimated, harmed hundreds of victims. Release the Epstein files.

Adrianne Santina

McMinnville

Epstein resurrection

Lately there’ve been a number of people asking the same question in various public forums.

Why is everyone paying all this attention to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal now? Why wasn’t this uproar occurring during Biden’s time in office?

Like most people who follow events, I’m aware of the Epstein case. But I wasn’t paying much attention to it until recently.

What put it back on my radar, and probably that of most other people, was Elon Musk’s public assertion that President Trump was probably named in the Epstein files.

That is by far the main reason the whole sordid mess came back to life. In the absence of the files, people are going to speculate.

The two major parties can take some comfort in the likelihood they both have a representative or two on the list, giving them each a “what about the other guy” avenue of escape.

Fred Fawcett

Lafayette

Masked distinction

The definition of Fascism:

“A political philosophy, movement or regime that exalts nation, and often race, above the individual, and that stands for a centralized leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.”

Presently, the only difference between Trump’s style of Fascism and that of Nazi Germany is that Hitler’s Brownshirts didn’t wear masks to conceal their identities.

Stuart Gunness

Sheridan