Letters to the Editor: Nov. 21, 2025

Yes on Yamhelas Trail

I am now a senior rider, after decades of being a cyclist for both recreation and transportation at different periods in my life. And I feel much safer on a trail away from the increasingly distracted drivers on our county roads.

I have ridden our local Banks to Vernonia trail, and have never seen any criminal behavior or other trail misuse. Plus I have spent money at the terminus town of Vernonia, buying lunch and shopping the art galleries, when I ride there.

Keeping and developing the Yamhelas Trail would be a win for our Yamhill County citizens, both economically and recreationally.

Cheryl Nangeroni

McMinnville

Masked marauders

Since when did it become OK for officers of any civil authority to arrest people without identification? Do people need to get shot before this stops? Or does somebody have go get “disappeared” by a criminal gang impersonating ICE?

Ask yourself what your reaction would be if masked men grabbed members of your family and tossed them into a van without identifying themselves. It could get violent.

The only reason to behave this way is to avoid accountability. Anonymity and lack of accountability lead to bad behavior, a la the internet.

I cannot walk into a bank wearing a ski mask. I can tell you from experience that there is no expectation of privacy on a public street, or even in your car, which is subject to speed enforcement cameras.

We as a nation need to demand that all officers having arrest authority are clearly identified by first and last name and show their faces. Accountability demands it.

John Linder

McMinnville

King got it right

At a recent county commission meeting, Bubba King raised the idea of instituting a transient lodging tax as a potential revenue source for Yamhill County. He said it would generate $1.6 million a year in support of parks, tourism and other general fund projects.

This is a significant revenue source that would not cost county taxpayers a dime.

But Commissioner Mary Starrett said she is a “hard no” on this idea, calling it an act of “class warfare.” She suggested the people visiting our area need the money for themselves, arguing, “We need to live within our means and we need to let the people (visitors) have a few bucks left in their wallets.”

What she is saying is that the county should forgo much needed revenue, approximately $1.6 million annually, so the average two-night visitor can keep less than the cost of a cup of coffee in their wallets. In fact, most visitors would prefer beautiful parks, places for outdoor walking, riding and recreation, cleaner streets, and continuous improvements in their overall experience visiting our beautiful county.

Yamhill County is no longer just a drive-through place on the way to the beach. It is a destination for sophisticated tourists who want a great experience.

Why don’t we ask them for a small contribution to make that possible? Let’s not burden our heavily taxed residents to foot the bill for everything.

Keeping property taxes low while providing needed income for better services should be an issue that all of our residents and representatives could agree on.

Philip Forve

McMinnville

The despicable one

We are not boo-boo the fool. We see exactly what’s going on with the Epstein/Maxwell/Trump files.

Corrupt DOJ officials (Bondi, Blanche, Patel, etc.) are covering up for Donald. Some sycophants are parsing what constitutes a pedophile.

Speaker Johnson shut down the House for nearly two months to avoid swearing in Adelita Grijalva, who promised to become the tipping-point signer on a discharge petition to release those files. The three Republican congresswomen who signed on were bullied in an attempt to get them to reverse course.

Only when it became clear the tide had turned on the Republican cover-up did Donald’s handlers tell him to claim he wanted the files released after all. Of course, he could already have done that all along, on his own.

Now it seems the DOJ might initiate spurious investigations into others even tangentially linked while ignoring Donald’s deep, long-standing ties to Epstein and Maxwell. Perhaps it will be left up to investigative journalists and whistleblowers to get the facts out.

Those of us paying attention know Donald has always been a creep unworthy of any elected office. Here are a few examples of his predatory behavior:

More than 20 women have lodged credible allegations of sexual assault against him. He was found liable, according to the presiding judge, for rape as it is commonly understood. He bragged to Billy Bush about sexually assaulting women. He ogled teenage beauty pageant contestants in various stages of undress.

I’ll end with this one: In a television interview many years ago, in the company of his second wife, Donald wondered how large his infant daughter’s breasts might grow.

It was a disgusting moment. Would any of you fathers out there do that?

What kind of person would talk about their child — any child — in such a lewd manner? A despicable one.

Alisa Owen

McMinnville

Slow down!

I’m a very concerned grandmother. I have a special needs grandchild who likes the independence of walking to school.

People don’t pay attention to school zone speed, though, and it scares me. What’s it going to take, a child getting hit and killed?

I drive the speed limit. So should you.

Tammy Piazza

McMinnville

Ferrua the best fit

When I was a branch manager, and looking to hire a new member of my team, I would love to have had the opportunity to hire someone on a test run basis to see how they connected with others and proved their competency. And the school district is currently in that position with Kourtney Ferrua.

She grew up in McMinnville, went to school here, came back and taught here, and worked in various positions in administration here. She is now the interim superintendent here.

If I were on the school board, I would be pinching myself for the good fortune to have her available for that role on a permanent basis. What a perfect fit!

She is known in the school district, has proved herself as a teacher and administrator, understands the challenges ahead, and communicates well with teachers, administrators and students. All the important boxes are checked.

I’m not sure what the process to hire a new superintendent involves, but I’m guessing it includes a search committee, hiring a consultant and waiting months for a decision. Why pay someone money and wait when the perfect fit is currently right there in front of you?

Brad Lunt

McMinnville

The last penny

The news informs me that The U.S. Treasury has minted its last penny, the reason being that it costs four cents to produce something that is only worth one.

This is faulty logic. Pennies aren’t a bulk commodity, rather tools used to transact business.

How long do pennies stay in circulation? What is the life of a dollar compared to its cost?

It’s not that I’m into buying penny candy.

It’s that I see this as a product of past inflation and contributor to future inflation. And without pennies, how will we teach kids to make change?

Nancy Thornton

Yamhill