Letters to the Editor: Jan. 30, 2026

Where’s the leadership?

Physical impotence can damage relationships and mental health, which is why billions are spent every year on treatments for erectile dysfunction. Lately, we’re seeing the effects of a different kind of impotence — political impotence, both nationally and here at home.

After attending recent council meetings, one thing is clear — our local government is struggling. Councilors seem overwhelmed by residents asking for something basic — feeling safe in their own town.

At times, concerns are met with irritation or a kind of paternalism that’s hard to miss: Tight responses. Clenched jaws. A tone that treats these fears as an inconvenience rather than a legitimate concern.

No one expects local officials to override federal authority, but leadership isn’t just about power. It’s about showing up clearly and honestly, even when options are limited.

Many proposed actions depend on federal cooperation. Yet it’s increasingly obvious that cooperation won’t be forthcoming from ICE.

Even well-meaning proposals feel symbolic. Hanging over all of this is a quiet fear that mentioning ICE could risk federal funding.

If the price of funding is silence, that’s not neutral. It’s a choice.

So where does that leave us?

We’re no longer just divided. We’re fraying.

Social media has become a battleground, with neighbors attacking one another, and in some cases, openly advocating violence. Even comments by trolls that celebrate deaths have impact when fear begins shaping daily life.

Safety isn’t just measured in crime statistics. It includes the ability to go to work, send kids to school or run errands without fear.

Our largest local industry depends on immigrant labor. As workers disappear, the ripple effects hit wineries, restaurants and other businesses. Layoffs are already happening.

There are questions and unease. And so far, the message feels like compliance is the only option.

Not leadership. Not honesty. Just compliance. Which is disheartening.

Mandee Tatum

McMinnville

Care inequities

Cyrus Javadi’s recent guest commentary was brilliant! It’s one of the reasons I finally decided to subscribe to the News-Register.

I appreciated his comparison of healthcare costs in the U.S. vs. other countries.

Javadi also briefly touched on one of the most important issues facing our country: the iniquity of healthcare services, depending upon where you live in the United States. The fact is, living closer to a city often means you will get far superior medical care than if you live in a rural area.

For example, I have a family member who lives in Northern Maine who needed to see a specialist.

She was told she could get an appointment in two months. After the long wait, she had to drive almost two hours south to a hospital in order to have a virtual consultation with a doctor who lived in a different state!

It’s my contention that universal healthcare cannot succeed in the United States unless we develop a vocational approach to educating doctors, serving to quadruple the number of MDs.

Jeffrey Cohen

McMinnville

Say it ain’t so, Jill

Hey, Jill Biden. Are you happy now?

By hiding Joe’s condition until it was too late, you handed the presidency to Donald Trump and killed what was left of democracy after the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision.

To recognize this achievement, you should be a guest of honor at the grand opening of the White House’s new gold-emblazoned State Ballroom. In the meantime, maybe you could book a lovely weekend in Minneapolis!

Ann Helm

Lafayette

A cry for action

I lived through the turbulent ’60s. What hell the country went through then pales, compared to what is happening today.

Today, we have an unhinged president and his sadistic advisor, Stephen Miller, leading us down a path that is unconstitutional and dangerous. We may never again be a beacon of democracy, never again be trusted.

We have lost respect worldwide. If we don’t respond by saying enough is enough, we may lose it forever.

Many conservative Republicans are finally realizing that our country is treading down a dangerous path — one we may never be able to reverse.

Conservative columnists like David Brooks and George Will, along with a number of respected psychologists, have warned of Trump’s behavior. Tom Pool and Marjorie Taylor Green, once Trump supporters, have become enemies he vilifies.

The arch-conservative editorial board of The Wall Street Journal board has called the latest murder in Minnesota unbelievable. Support for abolishing ICE has surged even among Republicans, in recent polls from The Economist and You.Gov.

People are depressed at what is happening in our country. Afraid, they are asking, “What can I do? I don’t know what to do.”

My answer is: If you are not registered to vote, register. When the mid-term elections arrive, vote — vote for someone who will help unseat the cowardly politicians in Congress trembling in fear of Trump.

If we don’t win big in the mid-terms, our way of life is not going to be something you will like or feel safe in. Your door may be the next one that ICE kicks in to drag away you or a family member.

We survived the ’60s, when citizens protested and vented that anger at the ballot box. Let’s do that now to stop our government from murdering its citizens.

We can’t take three more unchecked years with this unstable president!

Patricia Rickert

McMinnville

Treasure the photos

Kudos to Rachel Thompson and Rusty Rae for their splendid photography of various local sporting events.

They provide up-close, award-worthy shots of local athletes in action. I always look at the N-R sports pages to admire the photographs!

Gretchen Freeman

McMinnville

Our land

I’ve noticed, at the two hearings I’ve attended for the Yamhelas Westsider Trail, a total lack of communication between the sides.

To my knowledge, there hasn’t been any effort to meet and make compromises, say the convening of an advisory committee to make the trail work for everyone. Could this be due to the ag interests stacking county government with anti-trail proponents?

It’s unfortunate that there has been little to no effort to contact landowners along adjacent properties to address concerns. This doesn’t have to be the case going forward.

Before this project is foolishly sold down the river, we need small listening sessions to address concerns and form solutions. There are many creative solutions to explore.

According to the Rails to Trails Conservancy, the U.S. has 2,423 trails encompassing 25,934 miles of converted rail corridor. And hundreds more rail-to-trail conversion projects are currently in planning or development stages.

Unlike most counties in Oregon, Yamhill County has no such resource at this time. We have to drive.

The conservancy reports, “While concerns are real and sometimes significant, many are addressed through planning, community engagement, smart design and legal frameworks. Research generally shows that the feared negatives (crime, liability, property value decline) most often do not materialize once trails are built.”

Zoning, laws and minds can be changed with a little creative effort. Farmers can still farm, and as for the argument of “wasting taxpayer money” on this project, this trail is exactly what I want my taxes to go for.

Give it a fair chance. Put a vote to the people.

It’s our land.

Alanna Pass

Newberg

Destroying our faith

Open letter to the Yamhill County commissioners:

I’m writing to encourage you to retain the Yamhelas Westsider Trail in the Yamhill County Transportation System Plan.

You do not just represent the interests of a few privileged landowners and donors. You represent all county residents.

Is it in the interest of landowners to not have a trail adjacent to their property? That’s their belief.

Is it in the interest of many, many more county residents to have access to safe recreation and transportation corridors? Quite certainly.

At the hearing last month, multiple people insinuated LUBA killed the trail, but in fact it was two commissioners voting not to continue the approval process. That forced our county to use our tax dollars to pay back money for work that had been started.

Had the process been allowed to continue, work could have been done to mitigate landowner concerns.

But we live in a county where grift and pay-to-play rig the game against us. So those greasing the right palms are heard most loudly. The welfare of the rest of us is clearly not as important as the comfort of some loud NIMBYs.

It’s disheartening to witness, but smallness and greed are being championed from the highest level of government. So it’s no wonder those lending support at lower levels would be equally short-sighted.

Having followed this board for many years, I’m quite sure this is an exercise in futility. I figure I might as well voice my opinion, even though it will only provide more fodder to the Gestapo likely coming for those of us daring to exercise rights soon to be eliminated.

Congratulations for doing what you, at least some of you, set out to accomplish from the outset — destroying our faith in government.

Valerie Blaha

McMinnville

Don’t blame LUBA

A staff report indicates the Yamhelas Westsider Trail was halted by an adverse Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals ruling of a Farm Impacts Study. But this staff report, cited last week in the News-Register, is incorrect.

The trail was not halted by LUBA. It was halted by a 2-1 county board of commissioners’ vote against responding to a LUBA remand allowing continued efforts to mitigate remaining issues.

LUBA indicated that it saw no legal reason the trail could not be move forward and felt remaining issues could be resolved with development of a proper master plan, which was underway.

Wayne Wiebke

McMinnville