Letters to the Editor: Oct. 31, 2025

Long tradition

Citizens of McMinnville helped pay for public facilities long before I moved here in 1978. In fact, since McMinnville’s naming in 1856 and platting in 1876, its residents have most often supported municipal improvements as part of their responsibility as members of the community.

In that vein, I will be voting yes on Measure 36-237, because I want to help meet the public needs of current and future generations, including the need for recreational facilities, library services and senior citizen activities.

Please join me in voting yes. It’s for McMinnville’s future.

Cassie Sollars

McMinnville
 

Lean on means

I’m at a crossroads.

I’ve been to events at the pool and community center, and both need to be replaced.

But then how much do I keep pulling from savings to pay for continuing government increases? When do politicians and staff realize we can no longer provide everyone with everything?

Having just received my tax bill, Social Security COLA announcement, Medicare cost increase and forecast of new city charges — remaining 50 cents of $1.50 fire set aside, new bond at 95 cents per thousand and $15 stormwater runoff fee — I figure to net another $4 a month to cover all other costs.

Although we are blessed with lower utility rates than our neighboring towns, I still have expenses for fuel, groceries, garbage pickup, uncovered medical and dental services, home repairs, car maintenance, etc. And let’s not forget about the fire district that was supposed to be financially set when formed two years ago, but has been in the news lately about financial worries.

It just feels like we are living in a time of “let them eat cake.”

Mark Kingbaum

McMinnville

Deserves the investment

As a McMinnville resident, business owner and active user of our community’s recreational facilities, I’m writing in strong support of the parks and recreation bond on the November ballot.

A modern recreation facility benefits everyone — kids, adults and seniors alike. From youth camps to adult leagues, these spaces give us places to play, compete and connect. They strengthen community bonds while promoting both physical and mental well-being.

I grew up in a town where the local sports center was the heartbeat of the community — a place where kids stayed active, learned teamwork and built lifelong friendships. Influential coaches helped shape generations of young people, teaching discipline, resilience, leadership and grace in both victory and defeat.

A new parks and rec facility in McMinnville could do the same, while also serving as a powerful economic driver. Sports tourism brings families to town for tournaments, games and events, and those families eat, shop and stay here.

This impact would be especially valuable during the slower winter months of January through March, when many local businesses see revenue dip. A facility that supports events year-round — basketball, volleyball, soccer, and more — would keep our community active and our economy vibrant in every season.

Recreation facilities are where community happens, on and off the field. They connect neighbors, support local businesses and build pride in our hometown.

Let’s move beyond discussion and start building. McMinnville deserves this investment in its future.

Todd Severson

McMinnville

Not realistic

You have probably received your ballot on the $98.5 million bond for parks and recreation in McMinnville. Before you vote:

Have you received your latest property tax statement? Real market values have decreased for our houses, but our tax obligations have increased by more than 5.5%

City officials want you to trust them on this bond, but remember the fire consolidation measure of 2023? They weren’t forthcoming on the true cost.
Meanwhile, the $13 monthly charge on our utility bill, imposed because they mismanaged their budget, shows no sign of going away. And then there’s the looming cost of the Third Street renovation and redesign coming our way.

The existing buildings have lacked proper maintenance for years. Why trust them to maintain new buildings?

I am voting no until they get their budget in line with reality.

S. J. Moore

McMinnville

Fond memories

From my front row seat at the pool, I will always remember middle-age folks exercising, while laughing, smiling, meeting friends and heading to the coffee shop after class. Parents beaming with joy as they came the first time with their newborns. And then a few years later, pride in their eyes watching their child learn to swim.

Families swimming together, splashing and playing games. Teens hanging out with their friends jumping off the diving board and rope swing. The smiles on the faces of kids passing the deep water swim test for the first time and joining their pals attempting to touch the bottom of the pool 12 feet below.

Seniors raising their arms in the air while swaying back and forth singing “We will, we will, rock you!” at the end of their arthritis class. The teen swim instructors who had learned to swim a few years earlier in the very same pool.

High school competitive swimmers upholding the decades-long tradition of sportsmanship and excellence, netting five state titles and dozens of league championships along the way. The McMinnville Swim Club parents who volunteer their time to host several of the most popular swim meets in the state.

I have a special fondness for the Survival Swim program that began in the 1970s. This program has provided an opportunity for every McMinnville third grader to receive specialized swimming instruction designed to keep them safe in and around the water.

Our beloved pool’s useful life will be coming to an end before long. The infrastructure is old, tired and failing. To repair, renovate and modernize would require building from the ground up.

The same can be said of the Community Center. A new modern Recreation Center just makes sense, as do improvements to the library, senior center and parks system.

Please vote yes on Measure 36-237

Rob Porter

Aquatic Center Manager, 1999-2025, McMinnville

Low flow danger

As a longtime resident, I took great interest in the McMinnville Water & Light article regarding who covers fire hydrant maintenance and fees. But the bigger question is: What will McMinnville Fire do when there is a fire it lacks the water to fight?

In 2019, I contacted Water & Light about low water pressure up in the West Hills. Two technicians came and confirmed the pressure to be 39 psi at my house and 38 psi at the hydrant across the street. I was advised to consider adding a pump.

Now here we are, after passage of six years and construction of hundreds more homes, not to mention agreements to supply water to nearby cities. My pressure is running less than 35 psi and the hydrant the same or less.

As I’ve shared with the McMinnville City Council in live meetings, this is unacceptable. As a paying customer, I expect pressures to be closer to the normal residential operating level 50-60 psi.

I have heard utility officials promising a pumping station will soon be constructed to alleviate this issue. But calls inquiring as to when have not been returned.
Three months ago, I experienced a parade of heavy equipment preparing for expansion up in the West Hills above our neighborhood. That increased elevation cannot accommodate any kind of water service without a solution.

What happens next?

Our water pressures are so low, our appliances and sprinkler systems no longer function normally. When a fire comes, and engines hook up to hydrants that cannot deliver, we will face something like what happened in LA in last year’s terrible disaster.

The fact is, you cannot get flows sufficient to fight a multi-structure residential fire or large wildland fire. I know, as I’ve got 15 years under my belt as a frontline firefighter.

John Gallup

McMinnville

Racist and hateful redux

Responding to a letter of Oct. 10, suggesting I should have cited sources for each quotation I attributed to Charlie Kirk.

The writer alleged they were “false statements,” but he’s wrong in every case. Most came from Kirk’s own mouth and remain posted online today.

I think the letter writer must be somewhat internet savvy, as he was able to obtain my phone number and call me. I told him most were transcriptions of videos of actual statements, discoverable by Googling “what are Kirk’s most racist, misogynistic, anti-LGBTQ rants?”

I have since been able to go back and identify specific sources for each, mostly from the Charlie Kirk show itself:

1. “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified.” (Kirk show, 1/23/24)

2. “Clarence Thomas was a far better black role model to celebrate than Martin Luther King. Period. End of story.” (Kirk show, 9/11/25)

3. Addressing Joy Reid, Michelle Obama and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a trio of prominent black women: “You do not have the brain processing power to ... be taken seriously.” (Kirk show, 7/13/23).

4. “We need to have a Nuremberg-style trial for every gender-affirming clinic doctor.” (Kirk show, 9/8/24)

5. “Biden should be put in prison and/or given the death penalty for crimes against America.” (Kirk show, 7/24/23, after terming Biden corrupt, tyrannical, bumbling and demented)

6. “I have thought about it. We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.” (Kirk at Americafest 2023, held Dec. 16-19 in Phoenix)

7. “One issue I think that is so against our senses, so against the natural law, and dare I say, a throbbing middle finger to God, is the transgender thing happening in America right now.” (USA Today, 9/15/25)

Yes, racist and hateful.

Les Howsden

Amity

A smart investment

As a former mayor, longtime citizen and local business owner, I support voting yes on measure 36-237.

McMinnville has a long history of supporting community endeavors, especially for our children and families. McMinnville also has a long history of supporting businesses and property owners.

This measure can do it all.

A yes vote represents a smart investment in the families in our town — families that businesses current and future need for their operations to be successful long-term. Jobs of all types appear and stay in communities that continually invest in the amenities covered in this bond measure — parks, senior centers, libraries and recreation centers.

While it is a group effort to fund these projects through our property taxes, it is a smart investment. You will see the direct benefit of that investment with the structures and spaces that are built, and with the value returned directly to your property.

Please join me in voting yes on Measure 36-237 by this Tuesday.

Ed Gormley

McMinnville

Attracting the best

In Nick’s 25-year career as an eye surgeon in McMinnville, he and his partners had many occasions to interview and hire new doctors and healthcare workers. One of the most important discussion points was family, school and social life in McMinnville.

We want top notch doctors and healthcare workers in McMinnville. We want people with a desire to live down the street.

It’s important that doctors are available for emergency care. And competing with other communities to recruit doctors isn’t always the easiest.

Community recreation facilities attract new young families who want to establish a career in a smaller town. To meet their needs, McMinnville must offer healthy lifestyle options for all.

A thriving community, recreation and swim center is essential to what makes our hometown appealing when hiring new doctors, nurses, dentists and practitioners in other healthcare disciplines, from pediatrics to general surgery. If you’ve tried to find a primary care doctor, you know how hard it can be.

Vote yes on Measure 36-237 to boost the town’s recreation facilities for all of us while making sure McMinnville is attractive to new healthcare professionals.

Kelli and Nick Grinich

McMinnville

One-party system

The kind of representative democracy the U.S. Constitution created works best when we voters are able to know the candidates and feel assured the people we elect will honestly represent us. Unfortunately, that is not the democracy we have today.

Our founding fathers believed strongly in a government run by representatives chosen by the people, but today, gerrymandering has stripped our vote of its power.

Traditionally, redistricting happens after every census as states gain or lose residents. The U.S. Constitution leaves this task to the state legislatures, prohibiting only redistricting that denies or abridges voting rights based on race or color.

But redistricting on the basis of political party is allowed, the U.S. Supreme Court says, so legislatures dominated by one party can freely redistrict to ensure their party continues to win.

In 2010, Republicans wrested control of several states from Democrats and promptly redistricted them to favor right-leaning voters. As a result, in 2012, Democratic candidates for the House won 8% fewer seats than their Republican counterparts nationwide, even though they received 1.3% more votes.

In North Carolina that year, Democrats received 51% of the vote, but took only 4 of 13 seats — 31%. Republican redistricting efforts effectively denied many voters their choice to represent them in Congress.

Today, Republican legislatures are again blatantly redrawing their legislative maps to push more Democrats out of Congress. In response, some Democratic legislatures are doing the same. “One person, one vote” has become “one person, one vote that doesn’t count.”

This trend not only manipulates voters, but also silences third parties and alternative viewpoints while strengthening the major parties’ hold on elected offices. We’re effectively a two-party system today.

If this redistricting trend is allowed to continue, we might well be a one-party system in the future. That is not democracy.

Susan Watkins

McMinnville

Center for all ages

As a local who grew up here and returned to raise her kids, I’m disappointed in the lack of change regarding parks and recreation facilities over the past 40 years. The armory still stands as an inadequate makeshift community center, and the aquatic center is outdated, lacking the capacity to meet the growing community’s needs.

Aside from a couple of neighborhood parks, I believe Joe Dancer Park is the exception to this lack of foresight. Joe Dancer has upgraded its facilities in a way that fits our current needs and still has space for growth.

The playground, roads, paths, abundant parking and well-maintained grounds are something the city should be proud of.

Joe Dancer and its well-planned park are the reasons why putting the community center on Marsh Lane is such an obvious choice. It is a perfect extension of the park, making a beautiful campus along the river with potential for growth.

I encourage you to support the upcoming parks and recreation bond so we can build a real community center with facilities for all ages — one that acts as a gathering space for our community. Doing nothing is not an option due to the condition of the current facilities, which means a cost to taxpayers will be incurred either way.

Let’s make the choice that will not be a Band-Aid, serving just to push the burden down the road to future generations, depriving current residents of the benefits. Join me and vote yes this November.

Olivia Johnson

McMinnville

For your health

As a mental health counselor, I encourage, urge and help motivate people seeking aid with anxiety and depression to get regular, enjoyable exercise. If needed, I also encourage, urge and help motivate them to end their isolation and be with others who enjoy similar pursuits. What better way for McMinnville residents to ensure their mental health and wellbeing than to regularly attend exercise and recreational opportunities at a new community rec center?

When I work with the staff at Head Start of Yamhill County, we talk about encouraging those families to recreate in an affordable place for the whole family to be active and have fun. What better place to do that than at a new community rec center with many choices for health and mental wellness promoting activities?

As a new mom, new to McMinnville and without friends yet, I sought connection and exercise at the Aquatic Center to help my own stress and loneliness — and to weave myself into the community. I wish for options for every new parent and his or her future family.

People across the lifespan can improve some measure of mental and physical wellness by being together with others in-person in an active, joyful place. It stands to lower the costs associated with preventable problems — especially for youth — within school, healthcare and justice settings.

Stop by the community center’s Tiny Tots and see parents and toddlers socializing, or visit Laser Tag Night for youth, or hear the conversation and laughter at the pool’s arthritis exercise class with the 45 or more older adults seeking treatment for painful joints.

These settings offer movement, togetherness and a focus on something enjoyable. This is the basis of community health and wellbeing.

I’m voting yes on Measure 36-237 because I want to see McMinnville thriving.

Amy Halloran-Steiner

McMinnville

Period ‘brothel’ look

Once again, radical left-wing domestic terrorists affiliated with antifa have attacked President Trump, this time regarding his creation of a ballroom in the White House.

I, for one, applaud the president’s interest in aesthetics. This will be a continuation of his earlier improvements.

And let’s face it, a revival of late 19th-Century Denver Brothel interior design is long overdue!

David Pichette

McMinnville

A helping hand

In early October, as dark skies were threatening with a dose of thunder, I had yet to bring in my lawn furniture from the open patio. The furniture was sitting on an outdoor rug that must be dry when rolled up and stored for the winter.

Here was my problem: All the furniture was sitting on the rug, including a table supporting a heavy patio umbrella.

After partially unscrewing the umbrella pole from the iron base, one must lift the umbrella up and out through the table opening.

I’m a little old lady, making this feat is impossible. It didn’t use to be, but it is now.

As I looked out on the adjacent golf course, four young golfers — either high school or Linfield students — were passing my house. Did I dare?

“Excuse me,” I said in my loud first-grade-teacher voice. “A tall blond golfer looked up, and I asked, “Could you help me?”

“Of course,” he replied as he dropped his bag to the ground and ran over.

After explaining what I needed, he quickly unscrewed the pole from the base, gently but easily lifted the umbrella out of its opening, and asked where he could store it for me. I replied that I could handle it from there and thanked him profusely.

“Are you going to Linfield?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied, “I’m a Linfield student.”

“Well, I can’t thank you enough,” I said, and he again replied, “Of course.” Then he hurried to pick up his bag and catch up to his foursome.

I write this in tribute to this unknown student and golf team member at Linfield, who helped a distressed but so very grateful homeowner out of a difficult situation.
I hope many birdies and pars are ahead, my dear.

Shirley Crenshaw

McMinnville

Something for all

My children grew up using the many parks and recreation facilities and programs in McMinnville.

Survival swimming and swimming lessons, all the way up to national- and university-level competitive swimming at the Aquatics Center. Preschool, dance, gymnastics and martial arts at the Community Center, along with holiday concerts and dances. Story time and books from the library. Play time at all of our wonderful community parks, including soccer, baseball and softball.

Now my grandson is starting to enjoy the same activities. And personally, I have also valued and enjoyed the health benefits and community of our aquatics center, as a life-long swimmer.

Much of the foundational parts of our current aquatics center date back to the 1950s, and are failing. The huge cost to repair and renovate the current facility is one of the primary reasons that building a new facility makes sense.

By combining staff and space with the community center, the community will have a multi-use recreation facility it can enjoy for a very, very long time.

Margaret Porter

McMinnville

Greatest president

For days, and weeks, and months now, Oregon’s citizens have been told everything is under control in Oregon’s largest city of Portland. My eyes must have been deceiving me.

Now we have people carrying No Kings signs.

Shockingly, many of these protesters are Q-tips in my age bracket. When did they lose their way?

I haven’t been inside a church for more than 40 years, but I do remember when Jesus said from the cross, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.”

Sorry, but I can’t be so forgiving. I think these No Kings protesters are total imbeciles who have no clue what they are doing and should not be forgiven for being such brainwashed idiots.

I have special disdain for the paid protesters supported by George Soros and his son, Alex, who should never have been given citizenship. How can we get rid of this vermin? How do they live with themselves?

Donald Trump is the greatest president this country has ever had. But he is only one man.

Sadly, there are many Tina Koteks, Ron Wydens and Jeff Merkleys on the other side, trying to destroy this country.

You dumb, ignorant protesters. Don’t you realize you are marching for Hitler? You are marching toward the downfall of the once greatest country on earth.

Judy Hromyko

McMinnville