Letters to the Editor 6/19/2024

Local newspapers

To the Editor:

Imagine no local newspaper in Sisters. We all love The Nugget, but what if it disappeared?

That’s the world our friends in La Grande, Hermiston, Baker City, Enterprise, and John Day are facing. Their local newspapers are disappearing before the start of July. And two dozen other Oregon-owned newspapers were sold on June 1 — to a company based out of Tennessee. If history is any guide, this ownership change will not be kind to the communities these papers serve.

That means no real journalism. Nobody covering city council meetings. Nobody sharing local sports stories. Nobody telling the stories of the people who make our community so unique and great. And no place for local businesses to advertise to tell us about their events, new products, and sales.

We Sisters residents are very fortunate to have The Nugget. Support their advertisers and consider dropping by The Nugget to donate a few dollars. Every week The Nugget is delivered for free to every mailbox in town. Let’s make sure this continues for years to come. I’m sure the citizens of La Grande, Hermiston, Baker City, Enterprise, and John Day would agree that we should support our wonderful hometown newspaper.

Brent MacCluer

Nowhere to run

To the Editor:

I scoured the internet looking for a reference of a wise man saying the quote used by Erik Dolson in his column piece on June 12th, “if you’ve fallen off a cliff, it does little good to cling to rocks and roots falling with you,” but could not find a single example. I did, however, find a quote that I believe better summarizes what the United States of America set out to do 248 years ago when our Founding Fathers put their names on documents that immediately made them criminals facing death should America fail in its bid for freedom, “if you’re falling off a cliff, you may as well try to fly.” This is what our country has been doing when George Washington was first selected to be the President of this Great Experiment, and ever since Washington, the citizens of this country have complained about their political candidate choices for office.

It is the beauty of our founding documents, that the authors understood through divine wisdom that the system of government that was needed to counter for evil and incompetent leadership was one of checks and balances, and regular voting cycles so that we the people could “throw the bums out” every two, four, and six years. However, it was we the people who chose not to vote, or to vote a party line regardless of whether the candidate was competent to serve because we believed so strongly on one issue. GK Chesterton famously answered the question posed to him, “What is Wrong with the World Today?” with the pithy response, “I am.” Perhaps we should heed his warning.

In addition, and this is clear every day in the news, since the George W. Bush presidency, and especially stoked up during the Obama administration, we have paid agitators who openly hate our country. For the first time in our history, we have a large group of people who share all the freedoms and opportunities we possess and yet are willing to do anything to see our country fail. We know this is manufactured because the climate protester, Greta Thunberg, the poor child no one is allowed to criticize because she falls somewhere on the autism spectrum, is now also pro Hamas. We also see the LGBTQ community, but especially the Ts and Qs, coming out as pro Hamas as well, even though all of the letters would be rounded up and killed in most Muslim led countries. The intersection of all these groups, including BLM, bound by their Marxist ideologies, all wish to end the United States as we know it. If there is any progressive cause, the same cast of characters are out rioting and causing violence, not just in the USA but now worldwide, and the various governments, but especially our own, allow it to happen with no repercussions. Our founding fathers were prepared to give their lives for the freedoms offered in America, our soldiers have done the same both home and abroad, but the people who wish to take these freedoms suffer no consequences, and so their movement grows — both in size and violence.

There is another famous saying, attributed to Pericles, “just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.” The voting public can sit on the fence complaining about their choices in this coming election cycle, or they can understand where we are as a country, that there are people who actively want to destroy us from inside and outside our country. When the leader of Iran is openly thanking the university students rioting on behalf of Hamas and the killing of Jews, and the Democrat party and its large donors are paying for these protesters, perhaps we, the voters, should think about what side we are casting our vote this November.

Steve Woodside

Wonderful concert

To the Editor:

I would like to sincerely thank all responsible for ensuring Sisters gets a yearly dose of fine classical music featuring the wonderful Oncken brothers! Nicholas played a wonderful senior recital Saturday, June 15, at the Episcopal Church, and his brother Ezra joined for the last stellar duet by Sarasate!

Their young accompanist Dasol Um from University of Oregon, where she is a candidate in graduate piano performance, was a most accomplished and articulate musician as well!

I have been attending yearly concerts by these two brothers since they were very young boys, and it’s been so rewarding to follow their musical journeys. Their parents, and grandparents, whom I just adore as well, are beaming with tears and pride, as well they should be, and as I was by the end of the too short recital! I could have listened to them all day!

Lola Knox