As garbage piles up in Willamina and elsewhere we're in danger of losing something precious. When I first sat down to write this, I was angry. We have lived in Willamina, near the Park-and-Ride ...
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Editorials
Second Amendment Sanctuary dangerous, divisive and foolish
Spurred by the recent seating of Lindsay Berschauer, commissioners have been in a rush to declare Yamhill County a Second Amendment Sanctuary, free from the enforcement of “all local, state and federal ...
Time to look on bright side: We're beating back this virus
It’s been almost a year since we last ran a positive headline on the COVID-19 crisis. And it was, “County: We’re ready for spread of virus” — a March 6, 2020, assessment that ...
It warms the heart to see how community responds to a crisis
It sometimes appears the digital communication channels wrought by today’s technology have become little more than cesspools of violence, racism and hate. Breeding grounds for bizarre conspiracies, ...
Berschauer conduct is indefensible
We were not surprised to see the Yamhelas Westsider Trail rejected on a 2-1 vote by the county commissioners Thursday. After all, Mary Starrett and Lindsay Berschauer both ran campaigns pledging uncompromising ...
Trail decision a detriment to parks system needing vision
Yamhill County Commissioner Casey Kulla captured our reaction to the fierce, expensive and ultimately successful Yamhelas Westsider Trail opposition almost perfectly in a post-decision post. “It ...
Resolutions and proclamations seldom worth the investment
It seems the season for local resolutions, declarations and proclamations, the vast majority having not even tenuous relevance to the adopting body’s authorized function. In response, we’d ...
Transit service is a lifeline we must all work to preserve
When it comes to the Yamhill County Transit Area, which operates an inter-city bus system serving the county at large and municipal bus systems serving McMinnville and Newberg, officials face an ...
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 ...
Letters
Letters to the editor: March 5, 2021
Noise deafening I was saddened to read the major difficulties the restaurants are dealing with. But let me tell you about a lunch we had outside on Third Street yesterday with family members from Portland ...
Letters to the editor: Feb. 26, 2021
Arming up not answer The push to create a gun sanctuary in Yamhill County isn’t as much about the Second Amendment as it is about the arming of America. Our country is awash in guns. We are not ...
Letters to the editor: Feb. 19, 2021
An enduring romance Just a great story about Roz and Bernie Turner on the occasion of their 69th wedding anniversary. I cannot say I ever met Roz, but I remember my brief encounters with Bernie very ...
Letters to the editor: Feb. 12, 2021
The good professor Is the good professor now a guest writer? I’m referring to Steve Rutledge of course. He’s a real lefty. And, of course, he bashed Trump. The professor likes to tout his ...
Letters to the editor: Feb. 5, 2021
Seniors slighted It’s so very confusing why Gov. Kate Brown decided to not distribute the COVID vaccine to our senior community as a priority. For many months, we have listened to the governor ...
Letters to the editor: Jan. 29, 2021
Celebration of hate While walking my dog in McMinnville one morning last week, I passed a house with a “Trump 2020” banner on the garage. Below the “Trump 2020” was the statement, ...
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 ...
Commentary
Jeb Bladine: Autocracy known as a foe to democracy
It wasn’t a great recipe for America: We brought a pot of toxic politics to boil, seasoned it with economic and racial inequalities, stirred in one viral pandemic, added a dash of paranoia, and ...
Let's put biases aside, seek common ground
By DELVIN ZOOK It’s amazing how we take sides and allow walls to go up when people disagree. It doesn’t seem to matter what it’s about. We adopt views based on science, spiritual beliefs, ...
Tradition of gun ownership helps make America special
By JOSEPH MAJORS I strongly support Yamhill County’s Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance. Residents and visitors should not have to fear arrest and prosecution because they are lawfully ...
Officials promote law and order (at least for the laws they like)
By Tom Henderson The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. No, no. Never, never. Uh-uh-uh. Period. Full stop. The Second Amendment is explicit and absolutely absolute. If ...
Jeb Bladine: A scavenger hunt for vaccine access
The law of supply and demand describes an economic interplay of price and production. With COVID-19 vaccines, however, limited supply plus boundless demand created an understandable scavenger hunt for ...
Congress bows to pen and phone
By RICH LOWRY President Joe Biden has proved that, if nothing else, he has a pen and a phone. According to The Economist, he signed more executive orders in his first two days than President Donald Trump ...
Just say no to gun law sanctuaries
By VALERIE BLAHA Just say no to gun law sanctuaries I’m writing because of grave concerns regarding the Second Amendment Sanctuary plan for Yamhill County. This is yet another example ...
Functioning community can't succumb to a cult
By LISA McCRACKEN My friends know that as a psych nerd, I’m fascinated by cults. This passion began as a child watching the Jonestown Massacre unfold on Thanksgiving weekend of 1978, claiming 918 ...
Missing ingredient in local rails-to-trails project is trust
By PETER SHULTZ My father, who died Feb. 6 at age 100, wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post for his birthday. It’s about his 100 years of lessons. He explains how he’s learned many lessons ...
Treasures galore
Friends of the Library book sales full of fun and fascinating finds A number of weeks ago, an op-ed piece of mine proclaimed, "Music lasts forever." Well, so do books. And as you may have noticed ...
Beware the legacies we are leaving behind
By BOB FRANKEN It’s funny how legacies can work. Abraham Lincoln ended the practice of American slavery, inspiring Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal. Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil ...
The Grand Old Party will rise once again
By RICH LOWRY After losing a national election, it’s natural that a political party goes through a period of soul-searching and internal turmoil. The Republican Party, though, has taken it to another ...
Bladine: Even so, Noah still built the Ark
We’ve all heard dire predictions of a massive Cascadia subduction zone earthquake in our lifetime. Those blue Tsunami Evacuation Route signs are reminders, but aren’t ready for the devastating ...
Americans deserve a dose of bipartisanship
By JOSEPH CROWLEY and BILL SHUSTER Our economy remains weak. A pandemic continues to kill thousands of citizens each day. And political tensions seem to have reached an all-time high. While a plan to ...
Bladine: Thought-provoking letter from 'Friend'
Dear “Friend”: Your long letter to me this week was a mixture of personal antipathy toward liberal politics and concerns that I’ve been scarred by unreasonable hatred of Donald Trump. ...
The unintended consequences of school closures
By TRACIE MCKINLEY-LUX Licensed Clinical Social Worker “Prolonged social isolation is deadly. We have already lost one child to suicide in this county because of it. I am not willing to lose another, ...
Deb Jones: Trashing our Oregon
As garbage piles up in Willamina and elsewhere we're in danger of losing something precious. When I first sat down to write this, I was angry. We have lived in Willamina, near the Park-and-Ride ...
Jeb Bladine: Politics run hot with Westsider Trail talks
Long-time backers of the Yamhelas Westsider Trail are heartened by recent outpourings of public support for development of the 17-mile recreational trail between (just northeast of) McMinnville and Gaston. That ...
Governor displays depraved indifference
By BRIDGET BARTON Oregon Transformation Newsletter Almost everyone in America has seen the movie “Titanic” at least once. Some of the most unnerving scenes feature people fighting over who ...
