News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer's name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday.
The Sisters School Board served Sisters well in the selection of a new superintendent of schools.
From the beginning of the hiring process, the board clearly articulated what the district needed in a superintendent and they received 32 applications to review. A screening committee of eight staff and community members helped interview the field of 10 candidates selected from the applications.
The Nugget observed as the long process of interviewing and background-checking narrowed the field to two highly qualified candidates.
Al Butler of Clio, Michigan and Steve Swisher of Cottage Grove, Oregon were put under intense scrutiny. Board director Harold Gott traveled to Michigan on his way home from a vacation in Tennessee so he could see firsthand how Butler ran his district. He spoke to school board members, school staff, a newspaper editor -- and he asked the folks in a Clio barber shop what they thought of their superintendent.
Connie Morris and Charles Warren did the same job in Cottage Grove and brought back a glowing report on Steve Swisher from those he worked with and served. The other board members made numerous phone calls to the candidates' districts -- all to learn whatever they could about the men they would choose between to lead Sisters schools.
The board sponsored a community forum to allow parents, staff and the community to meet the candidates. Board members actively solicited the input of those who attended.
Both candidates were of the highest caliber. In a sense, making a decision was easy -- or at least safe. Either man could do the job and do it well.
But in the end, there could be only one. It was clear that board members had come to value both men as individuals; but throughout the decision making process, they put aside personal feelings and based their decisions on the needs of the district. It was an exhaustive and painstaking chore.
So much of choosing a leader depends on intangibles -- who "feels" right. If feelings aren't built on a solid bedrock of knowledge, decisions can be dangerous.
The Sisters School Board knew their candidates. They did their job diligently and well. Sisters can have confidence in their choice.
Jim Cornelius
It's hard to imagine a person sitting behind a desk writing an obituary, making the choice "Should I be objective?" or "Should I be sympathetic?" or "Should I smear this person's reputation as far as I can?"
Tough choices aren't they? Well, apparently not for Eric Dolson. He doesn't seem to think for one second about how his words will impact family and friends. He just goes for the big smear! Who cares about what this person was really like? Who cares about their accomplishments, their hopes, dreams, and their contributions to the world? They're dead, they won't hear it. But guess who does? The friends and family who are left to mourn the loss. And words can be like knives. I know this from very personal experience.
When my brother, Phillip Rodgers was killed, Eric chose to tell about Phil's past that included some trouble with the law. He made my brother's death sound like it might be better to have someone like him off the streets anyway.
He didn't bother to mention the fact that Phil had worked so hard to get his life together and had accomplished so much in the last few years of his life. He didn't bother to mention that Phil had three wonderful daughters and a wife who loved him. He didn't mention that his brothers, sister, mother and father and many, many friends loved him and would miss him dearly. He didn't mention one good detail about this great man who was senselessly killed. He made my brother into the criminal when he was actually the victim.
Now he's at it again.
Veronica Danna died on Saturday, February 24, 1996. Eric Dolson decided everyone should know that she died after "guzzling a half-gallon of vodka in 10 minutes." I would like everyone to know the truth.
I've known Vonnie since I was a baby and I have not met another person as caring as she was. Vonnie never spoke a bad word about anyone to me. She loved everyone and wanted nothing more in her life than to be accepted.
Vonnie touched so many people's lives and I will never doubt that she gave all of those people that she touched some little part of her that will never be forgotten. Vonnie saw the good in everyone. She tried to help people whenever she could. Vonnie genuinely cared about her friends, and even about people she didn't know.
She lost her father two years ago. Her father was her lifeline. She could have just given in to her grief, but Vonnie picked herself up and used her experience to enrich her life. She became very independent, something she had never done before. I was extremely impressed with Vonnie's positive attitude and ambition. She had ups and downs, but she rarely let them get to her.
Her independence may not seem like a lot to some people, but to those who knew her, it was a huge accomplishment and she tackled it with grace. I will miss Vonnie, as will the people who knew her.
Just remember, when you read about a person's tragedy and it is followed up with a bit of insignificant triviality, there is a human being behind it, and chances are the reporter or editor is choosing to sensationalize the negative just to sell a paper. Life is precious. Memory of life is priceless.
Sincerely,
Susan D. McGinnis
Yes, both victims left behind people who loved them, and we regret any pain we caused family and friends. That does not relieve us of the often unpleasant task to report the facts, especially when the deaths in question were already grist for the rumor mill.
We believe greater good can come of increased community awareness than by sweeping unpleasantness into a dark corner. From this last story, perhaps some young people besides those drinking with Vonnie will learn that alcohol can be absolutely and suddenly lethal when taken in quantity, and accepting a dare (or daring someone) to do something suicidal is not a clever game. (See following letter.)
We can accept that Vonnie was the wonderful person Ms. McGinnis says she was, but that does not let us ignore her very public and unpleasant demise, one that involved two police agencies and a group of under-age drinkers, a death that was being discussed at school lockers and on every other street corner.
We did not include every detail.
In the case of Ms. McGinnis' brother, we were led to believe that his past history illuminated the circumstances of his death on a downtown Portland street, despite his efforts to get his life together -- efforts which did in fact receive major emphasis in that 1991 story.
Ms. McGinnis is flat wrong when she asserts that the publisher of this newspaper does not "think for one second how his words impact family and friends." Many things are considered when we decide to publish a story, and occasionally we go to press with an agonizing uncertainty about whether we are doing the right thing.
On more than one occasion we have made a bad decision and stepped over the line. But that did not occur in either story referred to by Ms. McGinnis.
ED
On February 24, I lost a very good friend. Veronica "Vonnie" Danna died of alcohol poisoning. Because of one wrong judgment call by Vonnie, her life was taken from us.
A party at her house led to a dare and then death. I can only pray that the young people at the party will learn how deadly alcohol can be and also what a dare in front of many can lead to.
Vonnie had a heart of gold and cared about her friends, young people and most of all her music. I can only pray that the people of Sisters will not make a judgment against her without knowing who she was. Rumors have a way of destroying a person's reputation and I would hope that the people of Sisters will remember that unless you have been in the other person's shoes you have no right to judge.
I miss you Vonnie and as so do many of your friends and family. You were a 30-year-old woman with the heart of a 18-year-old. I will always remember the smiles, hugs and love you gave to me and many others.
Thank you for letting me write about Vonnie and I hope that with her death came some good. If we can all learn from her death, young and old, then her death isnot be in vain.
When abused, alcohol can kill violently or quietly both the young and the old.
Sincerely,
Karren Taylor
At our Sisters AARP meeting on Thursday, February 8, we as senior citizens discussed how we could help our community.
One of the subjects that received an enthusiastic response was the suggestion that our students in Sisters be required to wear uniforms while attending school.
We sincerely feel that a uniform dress code will be beneficial to all. This has been the experience where it has been adopted. The students have pride in their appearance, discipline problems have subsided and it is certainly a major factor that will undoubtedly benefit the Sisters community as a whole.
Karl Buehler
Sisters AARP President
Last month, The Nugget reported that the "gravel mine fight is over." This letter is an expression of the grief and sadness I continue to feel over this issue.
The so- called compromise that was reached was a poor one. A few concessions were made but the gravel project apparently is going forward anyway.
In the end we would still be left with 400 acres of our ponderosa pine forest gone -- to be replaced with a waste site, much of which probably would not be replanted for decades if ever.
This pending destruction of a huge tract of economically and ecologically viable forest habitat was a lost and forgotten issue in the opposition to the gravel mine, but in the bigger picture of the great ecological crisis happening worldwide, it may be the most important issue.
In the four years that I have lived here I have seen so many giant ponderosas lost not only to logging but to windstorms, disease, development, highway projects and to natural and slash fires that have burned out of control.
The bottom line is that the giant pine forest is rapidly, inexorably vanishing along with some of its ability to regenerate. To allow the destruction of another 400 acres of this diminishing, but still productive and beautiful forest (over 50,000 trees would be lost), for the sake of a gravel mine is sheer insanity.
I still feel grief for the death sentence that was proclaimed for such an enormous section of our forest, but also there is shame and guilt that I couldn't and didn't do more to stop this illogical venture. My request to those reading this is simply to drive four or five miles west on the McKenzie highway, turn south and pay your last respects to this once magnificent forest.
Irv Givot
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