Letters to the Editor 12/13/2017

To the Editor:

Within the 300-word limit, it is impossible to express my deep gratitude individually, by name, to all who have supported me in my struggles to keep then regain my position at the Sisters Library.

Thank you, Bonnie Malone, for your November 29 letter to the editor expressing your disappointment at my dismissal from the Sisters Public Library and to those who responded in writing to it. Thanks, too, to library customers, volunteers, friends, and the library's union representation.

Many of you wrote letters of support to the DPL Board, attended their October 11 monthly meeting and/or spoke up to request my reinstatement to the Sisters Library and the career I loved. Your calls, visits, good wishes and encouragement have bolstered my spirits more than I have words to express.

Last January, I slipped on a small patch of ice at home, suffering a serious shoulder - and related nerve - injury. Despite successful repair surgery, months of dedicated physical therapy and numerous return-to-work orders (with increasing permissions over time) from my surgeon, I was not allowed to return to work at the Sisters Library. In September, I passed a fit-for-duty test from a licensed occupational therapist.

The DPL's "reasonable accommodation" was to permanently reassign me to the Downtown Bend Library, on a month-to-month basis, and as the district needed me. Since I could not accept their offer, I was separated from service. I was not dismissed "for cause."

Thank you for the joy and privilege of serving you for more than 20 years. For the final 12 years, it was also my honor to be in charge of the Sisters Library Volunteer Program. I look forward to seeing you all out-and-about.

Charlotte Nitcher

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To the Editor:

I'm confused but perhaps that is a result of having read Jim Cornelius's opinion piece about Russian interference in our 2016 election. The best I can figure out is that Mr. Cornelius wishes to remain agnostic about the investigation and its outcome. But along the way, he characterizes this as a "farcical scandal" and labels Trump and his team's statements about it as "obfuscations" rather than what they are: lies. He then concludes that as a matter of "absolute certainty" the investigation would further divide us Americans.

So, Mueller and his team should just pack their bags and close up shop? I guess we shouldn't know how Russia managed this inference and whether the current occupant of the White House was involved in it. Maybe we shouldn't worry about Russia (or some other foreign power) attempting this in the future.

As to divisions, I recall candidate Trump beginning his campaign by insulting "Mexicans" by calling them criminals and rapists and promising a ban on any Muslim coming into this country under his theory that they are all terrorists or terrorist wannabes. He then called for his political opponent to be jailed and until the very end of the campaign insisted that our first black president was illegitimate because he wasn't born in this country. (The cartoon next to this column included a reference to Trump using a racial slur against Senator Elizabeth Warren at an event held to honor Navajo WWII soldiers.)

I belong to a tribe. It's called American citizens wanting to protect their democracy.

Michael Wells

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To the Editor:

Thank you Craig Rullman for "The Mill Party" in the November 29 edition of The Nugget. Memories came flooding back, some buried for decades.

The noon mill whistle, the smell of fresh-cut lumber, and the mill worker dressed up in a well-worn Santa suit - all a part of growing up.

My dad was an edgerman at the Harris/Woolly Mill on Smith River, some 10 to 12 miles west of Drain, Oregon. Occasionally, my dad would bring home a cookie or an orange (as a treat) in his well-worn black lunch pail.

I'm 80 now, and this article brought tears of wonderful memories flooding back as far as 77 years ago.

Evelyn Frost

Tualatin, Oregon

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To the Editor:

Just a reminder that Saturday, December 16, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. we will be distributing the certificates for the Kiwanis Food Share, the fire department's gifts for children and the Furry Friends pet food.

Please, if you filled out an application, remember to come and pick up your gift from the community. Every year, we start about 4 p.m. calling to remind people who haven't been there yet to come in, and sometimes we end up with toys, certificates, and dog food for those who didn't come that we struggle to get to them.

We want everyone, volunteers included, to have a Merry Christmas and joyful holiday! See you at the Fire Hall Saturday, December 16!

Shirley Miller