By TOM HENDERSON Independent Northwest Journalist State Rep. Ron Noble, bless his heart, wants to be a statesman. He wants to add a voice of sobriety and reason. “We are seeing an assault ...
Letters to the Editor | Submit a Letter
HOME | NEWS | SPORTS | COMMUNITY
Editorials
Session lacks a set agenda, and that's mostly a good thing
Psst. Pass it along. The 81st regular session of the Oregon Legislature opened Tuesday. A session may not have commenced with less fanfare since 1848, when Oregon Country’s provisional, pre-statehood ...
Reject false prophets and the deceptions they peddle
Indulge us for a moment while we imagine a terrifying takeover of the U.S. government without thought of political philosophy. Visualize a political firebrand from the far right or the leftist fringe, ...
Oregon's vaccine rollout is lagging badly behind
In virtually every corner of the U.S., which was struck harder by COVID-19 than any other place on the planet, reality is running well behind promise when it comes to vaccine rollout. And according ...
The promise of better times lies just around the corner
Novelist Charles Dickens recalled the French Revolution this way in the opening paragraph of his “A Tale of Two Cities,” widely considered a literary masterpiece: “It was the best of ...
State and federal relief action comes at the eleventh hour
Oregon held its 41st special legislative session Monday, following a tradition from 1860, the year following statehood. This special session was the third of the year, second only to the five conducted ...
Linfield would be ideal host for a new city rec complex
When Linfield University's founding fathers needed land to establish a local campus in the 1850s, McMinnville's founding father, William T. Newby, donated wooded acreage out south of town. When ...
Finding it in your heart to help others over holidays
Philanthropy consists of private initiatives undertaken for the public good without an expectation of personal gain. Acts of philanthropy or charity represents one of the few ways individuals, ...
Centrist compromise spurs renewed virus relief hopes
The $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Relief and Economic Security Act, known as the CARES Act, won final congressional and presidential approval on March 27. At the time, the case count stood at 85,000 in the ...
Oregon’s economic recovery hinges on legislative action
Asked why he persisted in robbing banks, the incorrigible Willie Sutton responded, “Because that’s where the money is.” We have an equally direct reason for making American business ...
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 ...
Letters
Letters to the editor: Jan. 22, 2021
Something better awaits Thank you, News Register, for providing space for my guest column of Jan 8. It seems to have provoked some thought, as I have received both supportive and critical comments. Many ...
Letters to the editor: Jan. 15, 2021
Taking a stand In this country, there is no shortage of opinions about where our priorities should lie on the many issues that face our nation. Nor is there any shortage of beliefs that underlie those ...
Letters to the editor: Jan. 8, 2021
Started at N-R Thanks for the nice mention in your "Year in Review" of the books by Jim Tankersley and me. As you note, both of our books touch heavily on Yamhill County, and Jim and I are both now writers ...
Letters to the editor: Dec. 31, 2020
Cold, cruel place Yet another homeless death on the streets of McMinnville. RIP Mike Stepp. It’s a cold, cruel place for some 1,400 of our neighbors. Mr. Stepp lost a toe as a result of a bike ...
Letters to the editor: Dec. 24, 2020
Reconsider and reverse We must support our local businesses during this pandemic. And we need more than a resolution from the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners. Please join me in encouraging ...
Letters to the editor: Dec. 18, 2020
Judeo-Christian heritage Two train wrecks were presented in the Whatchama Column of 12/11/2020. I agree with the subject matter, but see the conclusions somewhat differently. The first is the coronavirus ...
Letters to the editor: Dec. 11, 2020
Paying it forward Every now and then, we hear stories of random acts of kindness. Maybe a customer leaves a big tip or pays the remaining balance on someone’s Christmas lay-away items. These stories ...
Letters to the editor: Dec. 4, 2020
Swamp creatures Joe Biden will most assuredly be our next president. His latest quote is, “Now is the time to unite America.” After four years of unrelenting bias and downright lying to the ...
Letters to the editor: Nov. 27, 2020
Saving farms and forests We need to set the record straight with the News-Register. Last week’s editorial incorrectly stated that the city of McMinnville‘s proposed urban growth boundary ...
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 ...
Commentary
Jeb Bladine: Quashing pandemic must be top priority
Doors have opened to the Biden Administration, with promises for more transparency and honesty in communications about government plans and performance. Circumstances call for a short honeymoon and a prolonged ...
Starrett peddling potentially fatal information
By DAN DALE Retired Emergency Room Physician Misinformation can kill. I am specifically referring to the misinformation and pseudoscience Mary Starrett has used, and continues to use, to form ...
Publish something that saves someone
I, Christina Malae, am the victim left unnamed the in Feb. 19 and Nov. 19 articles stemming from trauma I endured from 2008 to 2019 at the hands of my now ex-husband, but resoundingly named ...
Save us from an indifference to truth
By STEVE RUTLEDGE Classical Studies Professor There is perhaps no greater symbol of two worlds colliding than that of Christ before Pilate. The meeting has been dissected and analyzed for millennia. We ...
Removing monuments erases the false glory, not the history
I was doing a crossword puzzle the other day, a pastime I’ve enjoyed since I was a teenager. I am accustomed to seeing filler clues, those very common sequences of letters occurring in many ...
Casey Kulla: Nearman has forfeited right to hold public office
By CASEY KULLA Yamhill County Commissioner I take my oath of office seriously. I feel strongly that elected officials should try their darndest to work together, to act in a civil manner, to ...
Tom Henderson: Protest, even if violent, not same as insurrection
By TOM HENDERSON Independent Northwest Journalist State Rep. Ron Noble, bless his heart, wants to be a statesman. He wants to add a voice of sobriety and reason. “We are seeing an assault ...
Sherri Yeager: Take a stand for truth, country and democracy
By SHERRI YEAGER Retired History Professor An open letter to elected Republican officials, local, state and federal: I am a resident of McMinnville, a retired 25-year professor of U.S. history and politics. ...
Jeb Bladine: Frogs caught in the boiling water
This week, I’m at a loss for words: It’s too late for regrets, too early for inspiration. From our small corner, we can only hope for attenuation of the contempt and hatred that have poisoned ...
Letter to Readers: No mention of siege?
When I picked up last Friday’s News-Register, I was surprised when I didn’t see an article about the insurrection in Washington, D.C. I assumed it had been assigned to someone while I had been ...
Lowery: The economic cruelty of the COVID pandemic
Just when it seemed some of the most disheartening trends in the U.S. economy were finally beginning to reverse, COVID-19 arrived to entrench them.
Whatchamacolumn: Ron Noble: Democracy needs 'sensible majority'
It is a sad day, but that can change. Protest and let your voice be heard? YES. Violence and criminal activity? NO. Our country embraces the idea that differing opinions and ideals have equal voice. ...
Let's make government boring again
Not quite 30 years ago, I stood in a well-worn conference room at an obscure Naval base, raised my right hand, and swore to defend the Constitution. With some variations — the civil and ...
Jeb Bladine: A New Year needs some new traditions
It’s New Year’s Eve. At midnight, a national sigh of relief will combine “good riddance” to 2020 with hopeful anticipation for a far better 2021. As New Year’s resolutions ...
Laura Finley: A doctorate earned the old-fashioned way
Last month, Joseph Epstein, who teaches at Northwestern University, penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal admonishing Dr. Jill Biden, President-elect Joe Biden’s wife, to stop referring ...
Bond: Get your second wind in a community band
Imagine you are a 16-year old high school football player. Ten years from now, you probably will never play again, because you no longer have the physical skills you need. Imagine you ...
Worthy alternative to Christmas cards
It seems silly to say, but Christmas always arrives at a good time of year. The great Christian holiday falls four days after the winter solstice, an ancient pagan holiday that generated many of today’s ...
Rutledge: Let’s rediscover truth, democracy
In this season of Advent, Christians are asked to reflect on the holy family, their sojourn in Egypt, and what this might teach the faithful about how to treat the stranger among us. The story of the ...
Pointer: The rich tapestry of holiday traditions
This is the 20th year Starla Pointer has written about holiday traditions that area residents grew up with. A News-Register reporter since 1982, she believes stories like these, and the Stopping By features ...