Ashland.news welcomes letters. Please limit length to no more than 300 words and refrain from personal attacks. Letters may be emailed to [email protected] or submitted through the “Article Submission Form” link at the bottom right corner of the footer section. Letters on local topics by local authors are preferred. Please include your name and city of residence with your letter (which will be published) and, in case we have a question, your contact information (which won’t be published unless you say it’s OK).
Selene Aitken: I reflect on the folks I’ve served that morning, students, families, old folk and young, friendly, sour, elegant or ragged. All need food. I am grateful to be part of the team providing sustenance and support.
Alan Journet: The Oregon Coalition for an Environmental Rights Amendment seeks to overcome this omission in our state by proposing a ballot measure for fall 2026 that would insert into our Constitution the right to a healthy environment.
Wendy Eppinger: I’ve known Eric Navickas for such a long time. He’s no racist, and he apologized to Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara for his emotional moment, and I appreciate Tighe and his interactions with our Ashland community.
Repelling an animal attack is challenging for people and risky for the animal. I have learned that a product called Dog Horn XL is easier to use and available online.
Alan Journet: It is noteworthy that Congressional District 2 Rep. Bentz was not a leading critic of this proposal and, in fact, stated: “To be clear — I do support and encourage sale or exchange of parcels of federal land….”
Meredith Page: I do not want this to get lost in the news. The U.S. Army has been planning its 250th birthday celebration for two years; it’s on June 14. This day has been stolen from the brave women and men who defend this country and our freedoms.
KG Stiles: We are a community rooted in compassion, dialogue, and collective responsibility. And that’s why this is the moment for every citizen — regardless of party, age, or background — to speak up.
Joseph Vaile: The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife carries the primary responsibility for managing Oregon’s native plant and wildlife species, but it has never had reliable, sustained funding to do this work effectively.
Ambuja Rosen: Knowing Eric, I highly doubt that he meant to slur another group of people who are often picked on: our Black fellow citizens. I think he was saying: “Just like you wouldn’t exile a Black person for littering three times, you shouldn’t do that to our unhoused neighbors.”
Tom Dimitre: Police Chief Tighe O’Meara’s aggressive race-baiting of Eric Navickas is reprehensible, unprofessional and should require the city to take a long, hard look at who their police chief is.
In a reversal of fortune, a proposed 6-acre solar installation on Ashland’s northwest side along Highway 99 appears headed for approval after a public hearing Monday, Dec. 1, before a county hearing officer. The proposal had been tentatively denied by staff, then appealed to the hearing officer by the applicant, Medella Bison Ranch.
With growing concerns over major state budget deficits, stagnating population growth, rising unemployment and new data showing Oregon businesses have started looking elsewhere as they expand, Governor Tina Kotek announced her intention to dig the Beaver State’s business cred out of the basement
Asante Ashland Community Hospital’s birthing center and inpatient surgery will close by spring 2026, leaving only the emergency room and outpatient services, according to plans shared with staff Wednesday, Dec. 3, by Asante, the Medford-based health care provider serving Southern Oregon and Northern California.
Obituary: Mary Linda Jackson passed away on Thursday, Nov. 27, after a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. A Catholic Mass and Memorial Service will be held on Monday, Dec. 22 in Ashland.
Ask Strider: For Christmas, a reader would rather have pizza in her pajamas than Beef Wellington in her dressing up clothes, but family members feel differently. What to do? And another reader makes Strider wag his tail and think of pancakes.
A potentially dire budget cliff prompted the Ashland City Council Monday to look at possible future cuts to police, fire, the City Band and burial services, along with various ideas to increase revenues. The council held a five-hour “retreat” in its council chamber Monday to hash out ways to avoid expected budget shortfalls over the next three bienniums that ranged from just over $1 million in a best-case scenario to more than $23 million in a worst-case scenario.
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