Letters to the Editor: Oct. 12, 2018
The facts on gluten
If you’re gluten-intolerant, please don’t panic. The Oct. 9 article, “Study: One-third of ‘gluten-free’ restaurants in the U.S. are not,” is based on misleading information.
Gluten Free Watchdog, a reputable organization that provides gluten-free testing data to consumers, reminds us there are serious concerns about cross-contamination with gluten in restaurant settings. But cross-contact must be evaluated using scientifically validated methods. The study reported in the News-Register relied on testing conducted with a Nima sensor, which has not been validated scientifically for accuracy.
I have been a leader of the Gluten Intolerance Group of McMinnville for more than 15 years. Members meet the first Saturday of the month at First Baptist Church. They strive to provide support, resources and accurate information on gluten-intolerance to our community.
There are too many supportive local grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants and so forth to list individually, which enable us to proudly boast that McMinnville is a great place to be gluten-free. However, we still encourage everyone who is gluten-free to continue to read labels on packaged foods and ask questions whenever they dine out or refill prescriptions.
Susan Chambers
McMinnville
Keep McMinnville livable
I just read the Viewpoints article about the future of the land next to Three Mile Lane — “Five Years Later: Poised for Greatness or Opportunity Wasted?”
Why do we assume it has to be developed? What about farmland? What about quality of living?
I’ve lived here almost 30 years. In that time, the population has doubled, the roads have become congested and the small town feel has diminished.
I hope we can include livability in the equation for greatness. To me, that means a place that is friendly, safe, quiet and easy to drive, provides entertainment options and a variety of things for sale, and boasts green spaces, bike trails, housing for people of all economic levels, without ugly sprawl.
Let’s not waste the opportunity to keep McMinnville a wonderful place to live, which doesn’t necessarily include more growth. Let’s be careful not to become just another large city with all that entails.
Linette Studebaker
McMinnville
Clear mail delivery space
With regard to curbside mil delivery, it’s up to an individual city or county to decide whether vehicles may park in front of or within a certain distance of a mailbox.
Portland prohibits people from parking within 10 feet of a mailbox facing the street. A Postal Service parking guide suggests 15 feet be left. I want to speak to those mail recipients having an issue with people parking their cars in front of their curbside mailbox, or within the suggest USPS zone of 15 feet.
As of now, McMinnville doesn’t have an ordinance addressing the issue, so I have reached out to my Ward 1 counselor for help. Mr. Peralta has not shown any interest, but one of his November opponents, Leanna Gautney, has taken up the cause. On Sept. 25, she asked the city counsel to consider an ordinance.
She is running in Ward 1 because she believes a city councilor should be responsive to the needs of her friends and neighbors here in McMinnville. That is why I am supporting her.
If you live in Ward 1, please join me in voting for Leanna Gautney. Visit her website at https://www.leannagautney.com to see more about where she stands on local issues. If you would like for McMinnville to adopt an ordinance like Portland has, I urge you to contact your city councilors and urge them to adopt the suggested federal standard of 15 feet. You can find contact information at mcminnvilleoregon.gov/citycouncil.
Ron Crafton
McMinnville
Fair and balanced
Jennifer Chapman is a good friend of mine, so when she told me she was running for judge, I was eager to support her. She’s an amazing person, friend and mom.
I usually stay far away from the political world. When it comes time to vote, I read the ballot information, research the moral integrity of the candidate, cast my vote and move on.
Having played a small part in Jen’s campaign thus far, I have learned so much about how the legal system works. Jen has answered all my questions in a just-the-facts, non-campaign manner.
I adore this aspect of Jen. She is one of the most balanced, mellow, thoughtful and what-you-see-is-what-you-get people I know.
When Jen shares stories of her life, she provides information about both sides of the situation equally. I think she does it subconsciously.
When I share with her, she contemplates the information and provides thoughtful insight. This is how I envision her as a judge. Her moral fiber and strong sense of integrity will naturally rise if she is elected.
Even as a friend, she hasn’t pushed me to vote for her. She has just encouraged me to do my homework.
Most court appearances with everyday people are civil, rather than criminal, in nature. They focus on family law, landlord/tenant issues and the like. They are not considered as newsworthy as criminal cases in our law-and-order culture, but are ones dealing with everyday people situations.
I want a judge who has the background and knowledge to adjudicate everyday people situations in a professional and experienced manner.
Jen is a person of high integrity. I’m fortunate to call her a friend. If I had to go before a judge, I’d want someone like Jen, because I know she’d be fair and thoughtful.
I’m not voting for Jennifer Chapman because she’s a friend. I’m voting for her because she’s the best candidate for a balanced and unbiased perspective.
Nick Volz
McMinnville
Republicans better stewards
The Democrats have controlled our state government for many years. During that time, they have:
Wasted millions on the failed Columbia River Crossing bridge project. Wasted millions on the failed Oregon Health Plan computer program.
Wasted millions on the corrupt Business Energy Tax Credit program. Wasted millions on fraudulent or misdirected Medicaid payments. And spent a million on an off-cycle election to force through a medical tax.
Meanwhile, PERS is bankrupting the state. And their answer is more taxes.
If you wish to send your money to Salem and have it wasted on liberal, progressive policies that take away more of your liberties, away, please continue to vote Democratic. If you wish the state to return to fiscal responsibility, please vote for Dr. Knute Buehler for governor and Rep. Ron Noble for the Legislature from District 24.
Don Bowie
McMinnville
An excellent addition
Sal Peralta has been an excellent addition to our city council since his appointment to the Ward 1 position last year. Always thoughtful, he considers the information presented before making decisions that affect all citizens of McMinnville.
In this non-partisan position, he brings broad support from local leaders, not special interest groups. His passion for all aspects of this community is clear, from weekly “plawking” — picking up trash while walking the neighborhood — to delving into a variety of solutions for our unhoused citizens.
I encourage people to vote for Sal Peralta for city council.
Sylla McClellan
McMinnville
Maintain the balance
Each election cycle, many of us concern ourselves with the candidates running for the higher state and national offices. We fail to concern ourselves with local judicial candidates.
Sadly, I have been guilty of this myself. That is, until this election.
At the candidates’ forum for judges last spring, it was important to me to support a candidate who would best replace our widely respected Judge Ronald Stone upon his retirement.
Ron served on the bench for many years in Yamhill County, bringing with him substantial experience in civil law. All of the other judges serving our county have expertise mainly in criminal law. It is important that we have a judge to replace Judge Stone who understands civil laws and how to apply them.
Jennifer Chapman is such a candidate. She would bring to the bench 15 years of civil litigation experience, maintaining the valuable balance needed to help those seeking assistance with family or business concerns, property disputes and other issues that affect our daily lives.
Some people I have talked with recently feel the need to have another judge who will be strong on criminal cases. However, the majority of people who go to court do not seek help due to criminal activity, so how does it make sense to elect another judge oriented to criminal law?
I realize now just how essential it is to know the candidates running for judge, and I’m confident I am supporting the most qualified, dignified and reputable candidate to replace the honorable Judge Stone. Please join me in electing Jennifer Chapman to serve on Yamhill County’s Circuit Court.
Liz Marlia-Stein
McMinnville
Sacred duty to vote
Ideology is a collection of normative beliefs and values that an individual or group holds for other than purely cognitive reasons.
I do not want my elected officials, once given the opportunity to serve, to simply join in lock-step ideology and obstruct new ideas or balanced solutions. I cannot help but apply that standard to our incumbents and want them out.
In his dedication speech to Lady Liberty on Oct. 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland stated: “We aren’t here today to bow before the representation of a fierce warlike god, filled with wrath and vengeance, but we joyously contemplate instead our own deity keeping watch and ward before the open gates of America and greater than all that have been celebrated in ancient song. Instead of grasping in her hand thunderbolts of terror and of death, she holds aloft the light which illumines the way to man’s enfranchisement. We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home, nor shall her chosen altar be neglected. Willing votaries will constantly keep alive its fires and these shall gleam upon the shores of our sister Republic thence, and joined with answering rays a stream of light shall pierce the darkness of ignorance and man’s oppression, until Liberty enlightens the world.”
Just shy of 132 years later, would President Cleveland be shaking his head at us for neglecting Liberty’s altar? In failing to cast a vote, are we letting that fire die?
As a voter shaped by the #MeToo and progressive movements, I want the oppressors out. I want fresh ideas, consistent with those carved in perpetuity at the base of our Lady of Liberty, honoring “your tired, your poor, your hungry.”
Please join me in electing young workers with the energy and drive to take up this leadership role in earnest and sacred American tradition. Vote Nov. 6.
A.M. Fernandez-Madrid
Carlton
Chapman for the bench
There are few things that I agree with Lisl Miller about, but here’s one: There is no substitute for experience. And that’s why I support Jennifer Chapman for judge.
We already have three former prosecutors on the bench. We don’t need a fourth. It says something when we tell our community that only prosecutors are qualified to be judges, and I don’t like that message.
I’ve known Jennifer for several years because of her work for the Yamhill County Employee Association. We have asked her a lot of questions about a lot of different things,so have seen her in action. Her experience is unmatched.
Jennifer Chapman has seen how other Oregon courts handle their work. She has argued cases in almost all of them. She has also argued cases at the Oregon Court of Appeals and Oregon Supreme Court.
She has experience with contract disputes, business disputes, family law disputes, restraining orders, juvenile dependency cases, civil commitments, elder abuse, childcare disputes, restitution, family leave, wage and hour issues, ADA accommodations, child support, health insurance, car insurance, property disputes, landlord-tenant law and licensing issues.
I don’t plan to ever commit a crime or become a crime victim. That doesn’t mean I should have no say in who our next judge is, or that my issues are any less important.
I want a judge who cares about everybody, who believes in a healthy court, who sees civil cases as just as important and interesting as criminal cases. I want this community to elect Jennifer Chapman.
James L. Craver
McMinnville
Coastal interest questioned
Did the rest of you wonder why someone from Newport cares about a circuit court judge election here in Yamhill County?
Do people care about this in Lincoln County? Normally not.
I was left scratching my head after reading the letter (“Educated, informed voters”) in the Sept. 28 Readers Forum. It was written by Troy Spurlock of Newport.
I am upset, which motivated me to answer, because he accused people writing letters in support of one of the candidates for circuit judge of “expressing nothing more than an uneducated, subjective and unsubstantiated opinion.” He went on to say that this is the worst kind of voter — uneducated and uninformed.
Back at you Mr. Spurlock. Are you aware that the candidate in question received the support of her Yamhill County Bar Association peers?
Linda O’Hara
McMinnville
[Editor’s Note: Troy Spurlock is a former Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office employee who recently moved to the coast to take a job with the Newport Police Department. He remains a News-Register subscriber.]
Upset over intervention
I am writing this about something that happened today at WinCo.
My 9-year-old great-grandson was using an electric cart, due to having just had a third surgery on a broken femur. He underwent bone grafts and extensive bone surgery, and had a titanium rod inserted.
This was done 1 1/2 weeks ago, and he still can’t put weight on his leg. He can use a walker; it’s too much for him in a store the size of WinCo.
As we were entering, a fellow shopper told us he could not use the cart because he wasn’t 18 years old. I told her about his leg, but she didn’t seem to care.
He is unhappy anyway, because this is the third surgery he’s had since breaking his femur March 27, 2017, and he can’t go out and play like the other kids. And her attitude and remarks really upset him.
Why do you have to be such a bully to a 9-year-old child? Who are you anyway to say he can’t use a cart? You are a customer, just like us, and had no right to say anything to him or me about it.
I told an employee what you said. She told me you had it all wrong. Anyone with a need can use a cart, no matter what their age.
Katherine Escajeda
McMinnville
A farmer’s perspective
I am writing to offer my support for Casey Kulla for Yamhill County commissioner.
After living in Yamhill County for the past decade, and knowing Casey personally for the last five years, I am excited about his vision, energy and leadership. It would be a great asset to our county. I initially met Casey during my time working as nursery manager at Miller Woods for the Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District.
I was drawn to his deep commitment to being a steward of his land. He engaged in habitat enhancement, native plant preservation and low-impact cultivation methods on his family’s certified organic farm. Although I currently work in the wine industry, the climate challenges and cultural conditions are similar across the farming community. Achieving a successful harvest takes effort, adaptability and dedication. I support Casey Kulla because I value his farmer’s intuition, along with his attention to the county’s challenges and opportunities as we grow into the future.
Clay Wesson
McMinnville
We’re better than this
Oregonians of good will should step forward and vote no on Measure 105.
For 30 years, we have been known as a “sanctuary state.” During that time, we have not allowed racial profiling by our already overextended public safety officers.
This ballot measure would move us backward toward a time of racial profiling and discrimination. It would bring fear and confusion to the lives of many of our neighbors and friends, not to mention their children, who are already confused about whether or not they are a real part of our community.
We are better than this. Vote no on Measure 105.
Deborah McQuade
McMinnville
Comments
Don Dix
Don Bowie -- you didn't mention the failed QWIN (statewide radio network) worth $600M or the fleet of state cars lost to in flooded parking lot in 2015 that could have been avoided by just moving them. 'Job description' has it's limits, you know!
And, with schools failing the students (grad rate 48th nationally), Brown and the Ds think more money will work every time, even though it never has. Funny that Brown's political ad 'blames' Buehler for not funding schools (his vote in the legislature) when what he actually voted against was a $1B increase (which would have never found the classroom anyway). That ad might be Buehler's most convincing to date!
Lulu
Thank you, Linette Studebaker, for injecting the rare voice of reason. After all the "visionary" planners are finished dickering with this city and have moved on to whip someplace else into their perception, we'll be stuck with the consequences: infill, insane traffic, manufacturing plants turning people into machines, low wages--and for what? To screw more money out of the tourists? Much of the individual charm McMinnville possessed is in danger of the let's-fill-every-nook-and cranny mentality, parroting so many forgettable places while losing genuine character in the process.
T.W.S.
Nick Volz - ”I read the ballot information, research the moral integrity of the candidate, cast my vote and move on.”
Not good enough. You have to research more than that, namely the one thing your candidate, like yourself and those like minded keep getting wrong, is the number of criminal vs civil cases heard in the Yamhill County Circuit Court.
From 9/30/18 to 10/30/18 alone the were more than 450 criminal cases vs a mere handful of civil cases heard before judges on the court docket.
Where you people keep thinking more people come to court for civil matters is beyond dumbfounding. Traffic tickets don’t count. Landlord tenant complaints without cases being filed don’t count. There are far few between contract disputes that’s really not just handled in small claims court, and a local attorney as a pro-temp judge hears those cases.
If county voters want facts over your and Chapman’s dictionary numbers on how many cases there are, go straight to the county court calendar for the county and do a date range search and count the cases yourself.
Even if retiring Judge Stone brought civil experience to the bench, it was not used as much as anyone thinks or believes. On that note, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks or believes, only what one can prove. And to date no one has proven Chapman’s claims there ar more civil cases than criminal heard on either a daily, monthly or annual basis.
Additionally, a court hearing a 85-90% criminal case load at any given time with a civil attorney playing criminal judge just won’t fly. She has no criminal experience and without it would e a detriment to the court.
I mean really, it’s like hiring a Ford certified mechanic to work strictly on a Tesla electric engine. If that’s the sort of mechanic you want on duty for your Tesla, go ahead. You’ll be walking or riding a bike before you know it.
T.W.S.
Liz Marlia-Stein
Problem with voters like you is that you wholeheartedly uniformed and undereducated to be giving opinions you think or believe are factual, when they are entirely factually inaccurate.
The Yamhill County Circuit Court is DOMINATED by criminal cases, NOT civil. That is an incontestable FACT easily verified by doing a date range search of the court docket for that county. It’s not rocket science, just put in at least a month at a minimum and you’ll get an overwhelming number (85-90%) of criminal cases to civil cases (10-15%).
The continued misinformation from Champman supporters is not surprising.
T.W.S.
James Craver - “There are few things that I agree with Lisl Miller about, but here’s one: There is no substitute for experience. And that’s why I support Jennifer Chapman for judge.”
Chapman has NO criminal experience to handle a docket that is 85-90% criminal vs 10-15% civil. Her civil experience would be rarely used. Cases are assigned by fairness and weighted based on the judges docket and not by their experience. Why Chapman and her supporters won’t understand that is just remarkable.
Chapman has only argued cases before courts hearing CIVIL matters where the burden of proof is a mere preponderance of the evidence and not the highest level of burden of proof before a criminal court on a routine basis as Miller has.
Miller also has civil law experience and has dealt with those cases as well. She is the most experienced candidate with impeccable morals who fights for the victim.
While Chapman may be great at what she does, at the end of the day, she has never been a criminal prosecutor or defense attorney and has admitted same. That lack of experience will be a huge burden on a court that is predominately criminal as she takes years to get trained (CLE, etc) and up to speed on criminal matters, hearing gn
T.W.S.
Linda O’Hara - you mean fellow bar members who suooort and/or work represent the same large organizations, unions, etc. Chapman does?
When a circuit court that is dominated by criminal cases is supported by local law enforcement, child and victim services, domestic violence services, and anything and everything else that revolves around the criminal justice system...personally I find Millers supporters far more impressive to that end, which includes state representatives who legislate on those criminal laws attorneys like DDA Miller has been entrusted with holding true to when prosecuting defendants. Something she has excelled at for the past 15 plus years.
Chapman has no criminal law experience as a prosecutor or defense attorney. Fact. She has even admitted such publicly. A court that hears hundreds upon hundreds of criminal cases per month vs a handful of civil cases would be burdened by such an inexperienced [civil] attorney with NO criminal experience.
T.W.S.
Nick Volz reply to above....
Edited for auto correct spelling/term error(s):
If county voters want facts over your and Chapman’s **fictional** numbers on how many cases there are, go straight to the county court calendar for the county and do a date range search and count the cases yourself.
T.W.S.
I want a judge who cares about everybody, who believes in a healthy court, who sees civil cases as just as important and interesting as criminal cases. I want this community to elect Jennifer Chapman.
James L. Craver
—— Do you have any evidence that Miller doesn’t meet if not exceed these qualifications of yours?
Have you even who endorses Miller? Law enforcement personnel and especially crime victims offices wouldn’t endor she her if they didn’t feel she cared about the children and adult he county.
Miller has civil experience and addresses them with equal zest as criminal cases, for she is about the rule of law as it is written, it’s legislative intent, and not how others think it should be. She has worked in that court she is running to be a sitting judge in for fifteen years, not because it is a job or an adventure, but because she cares about a healthy functioning court system where victims get justice.
Chapman simply does no have that experience. And I’d rather have a former prosecutor with civil law experience hearing important criminal cases than a civil attorney who has never tried a case as either a criminal prosecutor or criminal defense attorney where the burden of proof is so high.