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http:// --> Weather Forecast Ashland, Oregon HOME Archive Backpage Business Classifieds Columnists Contact Us Forum Hot Topics Local Issues Most Viewed Nation & World Obituaries Online Games Opinion/Editorial O-Zone Photo Galleries Place an Ad Rate Card Readers Polls Revels Real Estate Guide Shakespeare Special Sections Sports Subscribe Valley & State Video Weather Etcetera --> Movie Preview --> Hottest Galleries: October 7, 2008 Letters to the editor Letter Submissions ALL SUBMISSIONS for the Opinion Page should be e-mailed in text-only format to [email protected] . Please include your address and a daytime phone number where you can be reached. All submissions should be followed up with a phone call by the author to confirm authenticity. Please call 482-3456 x225 or x223 to confirm your submission within 48 hours of sending it. Letters: Submissions are limited to 250 words and may be edited for content and clarity. Letters are given priority and published as soon as possible. Letters At Length and Guest Editorials are published as space permits. Letters At Length: Submissions are limited to 400 words and may be edited for content and clarity. Guest Editorials: Submissions are limited to 500 words and may be edited for content and clarity. Local residents only are encouraged to submit guest editorials on local timely issues. All editorials must include a tag line at the bottom of the submission that informs readers of who the author is and how long he or she has lived in Ashland. The Tidings gives priority to letters on local and regional topics of current interest. It seeks to encourage thoughtful, well-reasoned leters and to discourage personal attacks, repetitive messages and personal disputes. Form letters are not published in the Tidings, nor are letters identified as having been published in other local publications. Participate in local cultural activities This Wednesday, Oct. 8, is Oregon's first Day of Culture. You might be asking, "What does that have to do with me?" Or "What is culture anyway? Sounds a bit hifalutin." The answers are that it has everything to do with who you are as an Oregonian. Culture in Oregon isn't about what you go to; it's about what you do. It's not reserved for just a few people; it's about bringing people together, building relationships, helping people bridge differences. It's about understanding diverse interests. Culture in Oregon is the very fabric of community. In Oregon, culture is about sense of place, history — and new ideas. It engages your emotions and intellect. It contributes to the revitalization of communities, creates cultural tourism and generates jobs and wealth for the state. Recent studies have clearly revealed that communities that support and encourage involvement in arts and culture tend to have greater economic health than those that don't. Culture is a powerful antidote for these economically troubled times. There are very few industries that generate the kind of return on investment the arts do. This is not just a financial benefit. The arts and culture are singular in their ability to remind us what it is to be human, to be in touch with our fellow Oregonians in a deep and powerful way — to explore ideas and celebrate the wonderful diversity of our state. This Wednesday, we encourage you to think about how you already participate in culture and how your life would be enriched through greater involvement. You might be surprised to know that in Oregon there are more than 1,200 arts and cultural organizations. There are thousands of ways for you to be involved in building the fabric of your community through arts and culture — from visiting the Schneider Art Museum or the Bandon Historical Museum to attending a performance of the Rogue Valley Symphony or the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. You can actively participate in creating music with the Sweet Adelines or with the South Medford High School Choir. Opportunities abound. Take action now! Buy a ticket to a performance. Experience history at a historic site. Buy a work of art. Buy a membership to a cultural group or public broadcasting. Sign up for a ceramics class. Rent that saxophone and sign up for lessons! Put a cultural license plate on your car. Make a gift to the Cultural Trust and benefit from the tax credit. Be an Oregonian! Paul Nicholson Executive Director Oregon Shakespeare Festival Bill Thorndike, President Medford Fabrication Support Charter for judge We support Judge Joe Charter for the position of Circuit Court Judge based on both his experience and character. In his 24 years of diverse legal experience he has experienced a broad range of cases that are brought to court. In addition to being a mediator for 12 years, reducing court caseloads, Judge Charter presided over hundreds of trials and and thousands of arraignments over the past four years. He also served as a Circuit Court Pro Tem Judge, where he presided over criminal and family law matters. And he is a past president of the local bar association and also has held statewide bar positions. A person of integrity, Joe Charter does not accept contributions from lawyers. We believe that he will be a fair, compassionate and committed judge, which is why he will have our vote. Please join us. Clark and Carol Custodio Ashland Vote Vavra for City Council Elect Pam Vavra, for she will be present, listen deeply, suspend judgement, extend goodwill, be patient and presume goodwill. Can this be said for the incumbent? Paul Moss Ashland Save Oregon cougars from the CMP At a recent hearing in Newport, Oregon lawmakers heard testimony about cougar management from Dr. Robert Wielgus, director of Washington State University's Large Carnivore Conservation Laboratory. Dr. Wielgus and his team found non-selective killing of cougars through aggressive lethal control and liberalized hunting had caused the region's cougar numbers to decline, created social chaos with cougar populations and increased conflicts with the big cats. Other peer-reviewed studies support WSU's findings that non-targeted killing of cougars does more harm than good. Despite such evidence, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife continues to implement its ill-conceived Cougar Management Plan (CMP), which calls for indiscriminately killing nearly 2,000 cougars across the state. That plan has nothing to do with protecting the public, since it does not target the very rare individual cougar responsible for conflicts. Rather, it broadly kills cougars throughout Oregon, many of whom have no history of causing trouble. Sen. Alan Bates, who chairs the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, should introduce legislation to immediately halt the CMP until the plan undergoes rigorous scientific review. Rep. Peter Buckley has said he intends to introduce such a bill in the House. Sen. Bates should now follow Rep. Buckley's lead. Ron Elterman Ashland Advertisement: Advertisement: Partners: Security Cameras & Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2008 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Southern Oregon Media Group: Mail Tribune.com – Ashland Daily Tidings – Medford Nickel Del.icio.us