Thanksgiving is all about making time to reflect on the many things in life for which we are grateful. On that gratitude list, and in conversations around the dinner table, the Oregon Farm Bureau urges ...
Letters to the Editor | Submit a Letter
HOME | NEWS | SPORTS | COMMUNITY
Editorials
City steering safest course through state land use maze
McMinnville’s first and only urban growth boundary was adopted in 1981, when the city’s population stood at only 14,000. That boundary was designed to guide local growth through 2001. But ...
Third time’s the charm when it comes to campaign limits
Oregon is one of only five states placing no limits on corporate contributions to political candidates and causes. It is one of only 11 with no limits on individual contributions, allowing Nike founder ...
Electoral gridlock at the top masks shifting tides below
In many ways, this year’s general election greatly resembled those of past presidential years. America remains deeply divided. It is fractured along the fault lines of geography, ethnicity, gender, ...
GOP needs to rethink its strategy in Oregon
Democrats once again swept all four statewide offices in Oregon. They also retained their supermajority status in the state Legislature, and continued to claim both the state’s U.S. Senate seats, ...
Virus retaining its grip; new surge biggest yet
County Public Health Officer Lindsey Manfrin warns in today’s Viewpoints that this is no time to let up on the three known ways to ward off COVID-19 — masking, distancing and sanitizing. In ...
Broader civic involvement should be a universal goal
In a front page story in today’s edition, reporter Dora Totoian asks: How well do city managers, councils and mayors in Yamhill County reflect the ethnic and demographic makeup of the communities ...
Menke, Garvin, Chenoweth our choices for city council
For at least the last quarter century, McMinnville’s mayor and council candidates have generally faced little if any serious opposition. That began to change two years ago with the hard-fought, high-dollar ...
Treasurer pick goes to Bledsoe
American actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein once said, “Just because you thought something yesterday doesn’t mean you have to think it today. Don’t ever become a prisoner of your own ...
Hill the best option for Mac during critical time
Scott Hill has amassed a rich résumé of public service in McMinnville. During a 37-year career as a KeyBank executive, he found time to serve 20 years on the city budget committee, 12 years ...
Public not ready to lift penalty for possession of narcotics
Thanks to William Simon U’Ren, dubbed “Referendum U’Ren” for his devotion to the cause, Oregon pioneered the initiative and referendum process nationally in 1902. The vehicle was ...
Letters
Letters to the editor: Nov. 20, 2020
Trump treated badly The recent column by Matthew Meador demonstrates a profound disconnect from reality. Conservatives had to endure four years of unrelenting, unsubstantiated propaganda that Russia ...
Letters to the Editor: Nov. 13, 2020
A better place I watched President-elect Biden’s speech Saturday evening, and was reassured that he is a caring and compassionate person. This was confirmed for me when I learned that Major, one ...
Letters to the Editor: Nov. 6, 2020
Maskless at Fairgrounds I will be making a report to the Yamhill County Health Department and Oregon Health Authority about the Collectors West Gun & Knife Show held last weekend at the Yamhill County ...
Letters to the editor: Oct. 30, 2020
Decision time in Carlton What should Carlton’s government look like? You can answer that by voting. Three new council candidates offered their concerns and goals for Carlton in the voters’ ...
Letters to the editor: Oct. 23, 2020
Effective contributor Tynan Pierce has filed to run against Adam Garvin for a Ward 3 seat on the city council. Mr. Pierce cites frustration with how the city is operating and barriers to community participation ...
Letters to the Editor: Oct. 16, 2020
The invisible man Votes are precious. Choose wisely. We elect legislators to debate blls with colleagues on all sides, then vote on the record, regardless of the chances of prevailing. Sen. Brian Boquist ...
Letters to the editor: Oct. 9, 2020
No hidden agendas I’m endorsing the re-election of Mayor Scott Hill. I’ve known Mayor Hill for more than 35 years now, and have always been impressed by his dedication to the city of McMinnville ...
Letters to the Editor: Oct. 2, 2020
National crisis point Our president has declined to assure us he would accept the results of the Nov. 3 election. It’s the first time in more than 200 years of democracy. His words were, “We’re ...
Letters to the editor: Sept. 25, 2020
Stranded in Mac I’m visually impaired, so I don’t drive. On Sept. 11, I took the bus to McMinnville. After finishing my business, I waited at the stop for the return bus to Carlton, but it ...
Letters to the editor: Sept. 18, 2020
Grateful evacuees As evacuees from the Echo Mountain Complex Fire in Otis, we would like to thank McMinnville Motel 6 Manager Brooke and her kind staff for accommodating us. They went out of their way ...
Commentary
Bladine: Election, pandemic still have to play out
Politics and COVID-19 remain prominent in our Readers Forum. This week there are a few signs of a return to diversity, but first a still-volatile election and a truly terrible pandemic have to play out. Whatchamacolumn Jeb ...
All eyes on Georgia
By JAN NIJMAN Georgia State University As runoffs loom, control of the Senate hangs in the balanceOver the past 36 years, Georgia had voted for Republican presidential candidates in every cycle ...
With change at helm, virus hope on horizon
By CATHERINE LYNNE TROISI University of Texas Health Science Center President-elect Biden’s new COVID-19 task force gives nation fresh chance to turn around public health disaster. A change in ...
Moss: ’Tis the season for celebrating the bounty of Oregon’s farms
Thanksgiving is all about making time to reflect on the many things in life for which we are grateful. On that gratitude list, and in conversations around the dinner table, the Oregon Farm Bureau urges ...
Meador: A colossal job lies ahead in wake of this election
Although Democrats and other anti-Trumpers could be forgiven a moment of jubilation, both should, in fact, be urgently focused elsewhere. Today’s ebullience should be tempered by the gaping chasm ...
Watkins: Hwy 47: A regional issue demanding a regional solution
On Sept. 29, the Oregon Department of Transportation held a meeting to discuss the feasibility of converting Westside Road into an alternate Highway 47 route for heavy trucks traveling between McMinnville ...
Jeb Bladine: It’s November, and COVID still is news
Famously, in October, President Donald Trump delighted political rally crowds by rejecting legitimacy and dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic. “They prolonged the pandemic,” he said. “That’s ...
Hillestad: Democracy rests on telling bad information from good
We just went through a really rough election. The amount of misleading, incorrect and outright false information sent your way reached what must be considered flood stage. It’s bad enough that your ...
Jeb Bladine: Worst week for Thursday column
It’s the worst week ever to write a political column on Thursday morning! Between this writing and your reading, there probably was a huge national exhale/gasp when updated vote counts named the ...
Jeb Bladine: Whatever the vote, it's in a democracy
It’s Friday … the last TGIF before polls close in about 100 hours. That’s 6,000 minutes; 360,000 seconds, and I’m counting them down: thousand 1, thousand 2, thousand 3, thousand ...
Lindsey Manfrin: COVID-19: Where we've been, where we're going, and why
For most of us, February marks the month we all became significantly aware of this new circulating virus. We watched in awe what was happening in other countries, and soon started hearing and reading ...
Jeb Bladine: The right mayor at the right time
This is not the first time competing political interests have sought control of McMinnville City Council. Whatchamacolumn Jeb Bladine is president and publisher of the News-Register. > See ...
Dollinger: Ballots safe and secure, even in troubled times
Television announcer: “We interrupt this pandemic to bring you an election.” As if 2020 were not already loaded with drama, we now have a major national election underway. Ken ...
Jeb Bladine: Social media the target of diverse warnings
It seems there’s a split decision about social media: Those digital apps are amazing communications tools … or, an addiction that insulates and isolates many people. Social media ...
Bone: Teleconferencing restoring medicine's house call roots
By MICHAEL BONE For the News-Register For many of us, the images of doctors making house calls are relegated to nostalgic black and white movies in which the doctor arrives at the patient’s ...
Jeb Bladine: PPP loans may be a bait-and-switch
Millions of businesses across America are beginning to recognize what may be the largest financial bait-and-switch scheme in history. You know it as PPP — the “Paycheck Protection Program,” ...
Marshall: Addiction cries for treatment, not punishment
By S. AMANDA MARSHALL For the News-Register As a 16-year resident of Yamhill County, I was disappointed to see my hometown newspaper editorialize against Measure 110. Oregon’s current approach ...
Jeb Bladine: Politics produce signs of the times
Researching rules on political campaign signs reveals an interesting dichotomy: Whatchamacolumn Jeb Bladine is president and publisher of the News-Register. > See his column Citizens ...
Olson: Is time right for county to embrace home rule?
What is home rule? Should Yamhill County consider a move in that direction? Under home rule, local government retains all powers of self-governance except those specifically pre-empted under state or ...
