Letter to the Newspaper

So, we meet again. Ha ha. Good Morning from Oregon.

I have a question for you.

One can’t help but notice that the comments section is now missing off the webpage. By that same token, the other 3 publications that belong to this company still have their opinion section intact on their respective websites.

I smell a rat here.

This couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the upcoming vote on the wet/dry issue, could it?

While it “might” be a matter of economics, from here, it looks like an effort to blind me and other outsiders as to what’s going on back there.
(I’ll just have my mother send me the clippings from her copy)

If this is the case, it means this newspaper is attempting to influence the voting.

Do I need to make a public issue of this?

I would really like to talk to Les Walters before I go public with my accusation. Please have him drop me a line. I’d like to hear his side of this before proceeding further.

Meanwhile, enjoy my new website: www.hometownheretic.com

Created in response to this newspaper and the alcohol issue. And this letter will be published there shortly.

Byeeeee,

Danny H. Collins
PO Box 5450
Charleston, Oregon
97420

Things the hometown paper didn’t publish

This was a response to remarks made towards me after I posted in the comments section of the “Journel-Record” voicing my support for alcohol sales.

******

Well, here come the villagers with their pitchforks and smoking torches. Ha ha.

They feel a need to impress upon me that I’m an “outsider” with a dissenting point of view. One that is not “church friendly”.

Why should it be? The church has been the problem. Alcohol cannot be bought or sold in Marion country because of people overstepping the boundry between church and state. The right to do so was taken away. By people who thought they were protecting you from yourself.

If you’re over 21, you don’t need anybody to hold your hand. That’s now your responsibility. The church crowd never let you have that choice before concerning alcohol. It’s time you sent the message to them that you would like to make your own mind up about the issue.

Now on to my critics…

First, Todd Clippert of Hamilton.

I thank you for calling me a fool last week. I take it you’re a “Christian”? Then you should know better than to call anyone a fool. Even the bible frowns upon it. I bring this point up because it typifies people who profess being a follower of the master Jesus, but are unable to maintain that composure under pressure.

You stated that I lost my right to voice an opinion about the alcohol issue because I moved away. I don’t recall anybody informing me of this loss of rights. Winfield is my hometown. I still have attachment there. So yes, I care
enough to tell it like it is because so few have. The religious culture has people intimidated into silence. They’re afraid to voice support for alcohol sales because their boss might be a pillar of the local church or something. Can’t risk their jobs. What few there are anyway.

Now on to Tim Estes, news editor of this very paper.

I always knew this day would come. I actually have something prepared for you.

While I’m fine with you being a Christian, you are dangerously close to losing your neutrality as a newsman. A good reporter NEVER injects personal belief into what they’re reporting. It’s a violation of the public trust. It’s also an insult to people of other religions. So are you addressing me as a Christian or a news editor? Can’t serve two masters.

Is there is any intention of turning this newspaper into a “Christian” newspaper? If so, it should be stated under the logo on the front page. People expect neutrality. But they also want to hear both sides. If this paper ever fails to give a voice to dissenting opinions like mine, we can kiss our freedom of speech goodbye. On either side of this argument.

Just like you kissed your right to buy alcohol in Marion county goodbye…

Put your foot down. Vote!

Danny H. Collins
PO Box 5450
Charleston, Oregon
97420

Local links

http://www.coos-bay.net/coastalphotographs.html

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/18205309.jpg

The Wet/Dry Issue

Howdy folks, welcome to my website.

This place was created with the intention of giving a voice to those who have none.  If you come from a small town, and you’re somehow “different” than most,  you know what it’s like to be intimidated into silence and afraid to speak your mind.

I come from  the small town of Winfield, Alabama. I left in 1977 after I graduated high school.  Came to Oregon in 1982.

Located in the NW part of the state, Winfield’s main claims to fame is a yearly festival called Mule Day, and the sad tragedy of Mike Spann, the CIA operative that was the 1st US casualty in Afghanistan.

Winfield is in a dry county. That means you can’t buy or sell alcohol there. It’s been that way all my life. But now, there is a vote coming up later this year which may end this prohibition. (And religious intrusion into the goverment) Because this IS a religious issue with most back there.

I dedicate this website to that cause. The local newspaper  “The  Journel-Record”  has been publishing comments that come in about the wet/dry vote, but their resources are limited.

So,  feel free to speak your mind here.

Be to the point,  limit your profanity,  and have fun.

Danny