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Letters must be received by noon Friday for inclusion in the following week’s paper. Please limit letters to 250 words. Submission does not guarantee publication. Opinions printed here do not constitute an editorial endorsement of said opinions.

Letter of the week receives $5 to Palate!

BETSY JOHNSON

Remember: Betsy Johnson voted against the bill that would have prevented the Safeway shooter from getting a gun. And then she says Democrats are soft on crime. Also voted against raising the min. wage.

—Tom Gates

DECIDING ON A NEW MAYOR

Need workers? (waiters?)

Need ideas?

Need solutions?

We need new blood—a new generation—with fresh, out-of-the-box creativity to pave a new path through our problems. I believe Melanie Kebler is the future light source we’ve been looking for.

Housing – “People that work here should be able to LIVE here.”

A Thriving Community – “…our first responders must be supported in their work… to respond effectively to those who are suffering.”

A Protected Environment – “We must also adapt and mitigate the harms that we are facing from wildfire and drought.”

Personally, I’m exhausted with all the venom, all the “can’t do this” and “that’ll never work here” and “we tried that before.” Maybe it’s time for a generation that looks FORWARD without tunnel vision or the backward restraints of previous failures.

Melanie Kebler has already proven her capacity to get things done for Bend on our City Council. She knows how to connect with our community and has shown up for the past two years (!) She’s the fresh focus we need for Bend’s future.

Join me (and a host of names you’ll recognize on her website) in supporting Melanie Kebler to be Bend’s next mayor. Thanks for your time. —Claire-Anne Wood

VOTE FOR MORGAN SCHMIDT FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER

I first learned about Morgan through Pandemic Partners, the online community that she built in March, 2020. The idea was that if you needed help, ask; if you could give help, do it. I volunteered to shop for folks in an assisted living center and was grateful to be able to help in some way in those bewildering early days of the pandemic.

Since then I’ve come to admire Morgan for her leadership, her integrity and her ability to deliver tangible results for her community. With over a decade of experience in public service, she has made a difference in the lives of many people here in Central Oregon. She shows up for her community during times of crisis. She listens to people and treats them with respect.

She’s the kind of leader that I want at the helm of Deschutes County.

I have serious concerns about her opponent, Patti Adair, who does not always lead well during tough times. For example, during the pandemic, Patti disregarded the advice of public health experts and used her position of power to push back on mask mandates and promote dangerous “treatments” like ivermectin. Her associations with QAnon and election deniers are also a red flag for me. She seems to be out of touch with the values of most Central Oregonians.

Integrity and effectiveness are, for me, non-negotiable qualities in a leader. If you agree, join me in voting for Morgan.

—Angelique Loscar

REMEMBRANCE OF JIM ANDERSON

Such sad news. I enjoyed working

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with Jim at both The Nugget and the Source. So many good conversations and endless things to learn from him. He lived a good life full of love and adventure. What more can we ask of our time here. Until we meet again, Jim. —Elise Gourguechon Jones via facebook.com

REMEMBRANCE OF JIM ANDERSON

Over the years, it was always a pleasure for me to read Jim Anderson’s “Natural World” columns. I always learned something new, or at least was shown a new way of looking at something familiar. Our paths on this planet only crossed a couple of times, but through his personable writing style, I felt like I knew Jim well, as I’m sure a lot of his other readers would agree. Reading his column was like reading a letter from an old friend who would update you and teach you something remarkable.

In his writings, Jim often reminded us that one day he would go out “among the stars,” but that did nothing to lessen the sorrow I felt upon hearing the news that his ride had indeed left. On deadline Tuesdays, it was always a good day when there was a “Natural World” column waiting for me to read. Jim continued to write quality enlightening and informative columns up to his last days in this world. I’m going to miss reading those words.

—Richard Sitts, Source Weekly copy editor

Letter of the Week:

Richard: Sweet! Rather than going out and buying you a coffee as you sit and edit the news across the cubicle from me, I can simply award you Letter of the Week and let you get your own coffee/gift card to Palate! Readers, I assure you this is all on the up and up and I reserve the right to award the coffee card to anyone I please.

What really stood out for me in Richard’s letter: The advice I routinely give writers at the Source Weekly is to “write like you’re telling a story to your best friend.” Whether Richard picked up on that portion of the writer’s guidelines or not, it’s clear that our friend and contributor Jim Anderson wrote that way naturally, always with his “friends”—you, readers—in mind.

—Nicole Vulcan