Letters to the Editor: May 8, 2026

More follow-through

The News-Register’s endorsement of Kit Johnston identifies serious concerns, but stops short of the obvious conclusion: After nearly four years in office, Johnston still has not shown a clear plan for the county’s future.

The editorial points to disagreements over the trail, elimination of the county’s grant-writing position and Johnston’s opposition to a lodging tax. Those issues may sound unrelated, but they all point to the same pattern: saying “no” without building a realistic alternative. That pattern is especially visible with parks and the fairgrounds.

Johnston has served as liaison to both for nearly four years. During that time, the county could have developed a phased strategy to repair or replace aging facilities, pursued grants for infrastructure and capacity building, and developed long-term revenue plans. Instead, even the county’s newly adopted FY27 budget was described as “status quo.”

Fairgrounds facilities can be a tremendous economic assets when counties actually invest in them. Across Oregon, fairgrounds support tourism, small business, community events and local jobs. Yet Yamhill County still struggles with basic maintenance, staffing and long-term planning for its facility.

Now Johnston and his endorsee for the other seat up for election, Jason Fields, are floating ideas about selling the fairgrounds, relocating it, and building an amphitheater.

Maybe those ideas sound exciting. But “smart ideas” are not a substitute for an actual roadmap.

Who’s going to do the work? What is the funding strategy? How does the county replace the revenue lost during the transition?

The real missed opportunity of the past four years is not a lack of ideas. It is the lack of decisive action needed to turn ideas into workable plans.

John Linder and Neyssa Hays are offering a different approach — one grounded in long-term planning, partnerships and making full use of available county resources.

Yamhill County does not need bigger ideas right now. It needs bigger follow-through.

Carrie Martin

McMinnville

Collaborative spirit

I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Commissioner Kit Johnston over the past three years.

During that time, he has been extremely active with and deeply invested in our park system. His communication is excellent, enabling him to consistently keep everyone informed and engaged.

Commissioner Johnston brings forward new ideas with genuine enthusiasm, always showing a strong interest in improving our parks for the community. He is also a great listener — one who is thoughtful, approachable and respectful of others’ perspectives.

His leadership and dedication to collaborative spirit have made a meaningful impact on the board advising on county parks. Thanks to that, and to his commitment and responsiveness to the community, I heartily recommend Commissioner Johnston for re-election.

Celine Hall

Newberg

Wrong place

I want to know how the demolition of a small historic church morphed into the construction of a huge 72-unit apartment building.

It has been my understanding that when historic buildings must be demolished because of some valid structural or economic reasons, the imperative is that they must be replaced by something with a similar footprint and architectural design. But the proposed building that would replace the historic Methodist church is totally incongruous with the surrounding neighborhood, in terms of size and density, the modern facade and first-level parking garage.

When I attended the Historic Landmarks Committee hearing, I sat through hours of detailed description of the plans for this four-story apartment building.

Everything was already drawn up and researched in minute detail before they even opened the portion of the hearing that addressed approval of the actual demolition of the church. So the developer did not even know if the demolition would be approved, or what restrictions might be required in that event.

To me, it seemed like putting the cart before the horse.

Why not decide first whether the demolition was warranted. Or was it a foregone conclusion that approval would be given to turning a historic neighborhood church into a four-story apartment building?

There was a lot of discussion linking this property to the need for more low-income housing. McMinnville does need more affordable housing, but this is not the right location.

There have been hundreds of new apartments built beside the hospital on Highway 18. And there are many other locations in and around the area that would be far more suitable for a large project such as this.

I know there will be more discussion and hearings before this plan receives approval. I sincerely hope it is denied.

Phyllice Bradner

McMinnville

Loss of community

We are elderly and without a vehicle, so will greatly miss the budgetary changes having to be made within the transit agency’s bus and Dial-a-Ride services.
The new fees having to be charged after May 11 are very reasonable. Will they, however, provide enough money to keep the system solvent?

Hopefully, the mechanism to pay these fees will be made accessible to those of us without a smartphone. Otherwise, that introduces a new burden.

Budget cuts such as this take away our feeling of community well-being. Additionally, it makes me sad that the employees had to take a pay cut through a reduction in their hours.

Drivers and dispatch employees work very hard. They deserve more than they have gotten.

If you do not agree with my perspective at this time, believe me, you will when you get older.

Beverly Montgomery

McMinnville

Wonderful town

How wonderful to live in such a caring and helpful town!

I was bitten by a dog last week. The owner was right there, when the dog broke free and attacked me, to pull it off.

He had papers from Homeward Bound showing the dog’s recent shots, given six days earlier. A call to the very helpful staff at Michelle Schroeder’s office confirmed my thought that the rabies vaccine takes two weeks to provide protection, so I should contact Public Health.

The nurses at Public Health, especially Nicole, took the time to answer my concerns and walk me through the choices I had. Police officer Dereck was very helpful as well.

Homeward Bound was able to track down the owner and have the dog confined. So if it is healthy after 10 days, I can skip the ordeal of rabies shots.
Thank you all!

Kathleen Culbert

McMinnville

Fair and balanced

I am writing today to support of Neyssa Hays and John Linder for seats on the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners. I have known both for some time now, and can confidently say both possess the skills, qualities, and intelligence necessary for being strong leaders on the board.

Having had the chance to work with and observe Neyssa on the Yamhill County Parks Board, I have seen just how deftly she can manage a public process, facilitating input from all and developing an outcome that truly is fair and balanced. Her resume and skills show her to be not only the ideal candidate for the office, but the superior choice at the ballot.

John Linder brings a strong focus on accountability and systems. He understands that maintaining livability requires clear priorities, measurable goals and consistent follow-through.

Budgets should reflect long-term responsibility, not short-term patches. John understands that we are all tax-paying county residents, whether we live in the heart of the city or the furthest reaches of the West Valley, and we all want the best for our county.

Neyssa Hays and John Linder understand that a healthy community requires balance. That public safety and public health are not competing priorities, but are interconnected. That investing in mental health services, crisis response and preventative care reduces long-term strain on law enforcement and improves outcomes for everyone.

They would bring realistic and truly transparent processes to bear for the betterment of all. They wouldn’t be afraid to say yes to opportunities.

I’ll be saying YES to Hays and Linder for Yamhill County commissioner.

Zack Geary

McMinnville

Best qualified

Yamhill County residents: please join me in voting for John Linder and Neyssa Hays for county commissioner. These are two of the most qualified candidates we’ve had in years.

I’ve known John for nearly 25 years. With a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in accounting, John brings deep financial expertise. Through his jobs as a financial planner and CPA, he’s shown himself to be hard-working, meticulous and detail-oriented.

The agricultural industry has representation on the board already. The addition of someone with John?s background would be a welcome change for our county’s long-term financial health.

Neyssa has been doing community-building work throughout our county for years. Her bachelors’ degrees in biology and fisheries and wildlife have led to her involvement with county parks, outdoor education, non-profit organizations and small businesses. Neyssa has built community relationships that wouild be beneficial as a county commissioner.

Both John and Neyssa share a commitment to growing county revenue without taxing our local residents more. They are committed to protecting our county parks and public spaces.

Yamhill County deserves the steady leadership that they would bring. Please join me in casting your vote for Linder and Hays.

Dayna Gilbert

McMinnville

Real solutions

In my life, I have held true to the values of family, community, the environment and the economy, mostly in that order.

I am sick of seeing more tax breaks for billionaires, $5 a gallon diesel, skyrocketing food and fertilizer costs, housing prices folks can no longer afford, lost voting rights, high healthcare costs and weakened environmental laws. But most of all, I am tired of political spin.

Small farmers are getting crushed, public land is being sold off and social media is pitting good folks against each other, as though we don’t all want the same thing. I believe we are all deeply concerned, especially for the future of our kids and grandkids.

As an independent voter, I think party politics is distasteful. But Republicans hold all the cards right now, in both the county country.

Republicans Jason Fields, Kit Johnston, Lindsay Berschauer and Mary Starrett have shown they will sell off the historic park and trail lands. They propose to miraculously build new things, just like Trump is selling pardons to rich guys and lying every single day to our faces.

Honestly, the thing I fear most is Republican loyalty to each other and the lousy policies that largely help the fat cats and big businesses. I encourage folks to get involved in the solution.

Please get out and vote for your kids’ future. Go on the record in alignment with your values.

I am.

Charles Van Genderen

Dayton

Bus a clunker

There sure are a lot of images of the old VW Microbus around these days.

I think we’d be hard-pressed to say there was a less reliable vehicle ever made. They were breaking down all the time, often catastrophically when the exhaust valve on cylinder number three stretched to a point it severed and embedded itself in the piston.

As a former auto repair shop owner, I did my best to tell owners to cut their losses and buy a Toyota, even though I stood to gain from the all-too-frequent repairs. Why anyone would use that image for a campaign is beyond me.

A more true image is one of a distraught owner standing on the side of the road with black smoke billowing from the back of his bus. Stranded. Again.

My vote won’t go to the one who might want us to be addicted to continual spending on something without merit or lasting value.

Michael Sauber

McMinnville

Supreme travesty

The Supreme Court gutted the last of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v Callais. It’s conservative majority basically said racial discrimination is no longer a problem.

Justice Alito cited Black and white turnout parity in two of the five most recent presidential elections, but that was only true when Obama ran in 2008 and 2012. In the last three, turnout disparity widened. In 2020, 69% of eligible whites voted, but only 55% of eligible Blacks.

The current unemployment rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is 3.7% for whites and 7.7% for Blacks. Average household wealth stood at $44,900 for Blacks and $285,000 for whites in 2022. Bachelor’s degrees were conferred on white males at seven times the rate of Black males in 2021.

In Mobile v Bolden in 1980, the court ruled discriminatory intent, essentially never provable, was required to challenge voting practices. Congress responded with a 1982 amendment overruling the Bolden decision and implementing a measurable effects test. The new decision reinstates the proof of discriminatory intent standard.

John Roberts, then associate counsel to President Reagan, fought hard to block the 1982 amendment. Forty-four years later, he wins!

We again have a Supreme Court “inflated with supremacy,” and it must be stopped. Congress must reject the retrenchment and rework the Voting Rights Act with very clear language.

We have seen a large number of partisan, religious, homophobic or racist decisions under Roberts — Citizen’s United (2010), Dobbs (2022), Presidential Immunity (2024) and numerous LGBTQ decisions. And there will no doubt be many more.

Abraham Lincoln said at his 1861 inauguration, “If vital questions affecting the whole people are to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the people will have ceased to be their own rulers.” Unless the people stand up, we are consigned to becoming an apartheid country.

Les Howsden

Amity