http://www.NRToday.com Serving Douglas County, OR Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:45 -0600 en 30 http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6611203-113/memorial-heroes-wall-county http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6609833-113/ford-industry-timber-county http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6607288-113/gun-civil-control-nra A gem is inserted in today’s News-Review. Chances are it caught your eye right away when you opened up the paper. It’s the Visitors Guide to Douglas County. The majority of our readers are not visitors, but rather, residents of Douglas County. But we’re told you read the Visitors Guide anyway, and we can see why you would. In a county as vast and varied as Douglas County, few people can say they’ve seen and done everything offered inside this 5,000-square-mile Western Oregon county. The Visitors Guide reminds us of the richness of this region. Inside its glossy pages, the … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6610534-113/county-guide-visitors-douglas http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6533199-113/youth-gay-policy-scouts http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6531649-113/bottle-raise-bottles-cents http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/5715719-113/krieger-bills-free-rep http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6517856-113/gun-guns-already-due http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6472299-113/patriotism-pledge-esquivel-recitation http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6531978-113/public-safety-roseburg-schools http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6531386-113/leader-wes-district-melo In addressing the future of the Oregon & California Railroad lands, some words won’t do anymore. Words such as “studies,” “timelines,” “frameworks,” “strategies” and “principles.” It’s time to hear a four-letter word: “Bill.” There needs to be a bill to put into place a mechanism for increasing logging on O&C lands. It could mean stripping oversight for timber harvests from the Bureau of Land Management. It could mean managing federal lands like private forests. It definitely will require tough choices that will encounter political opposition. That’s why Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., needs to be the champion of reform. He’s the … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6549713-113/wyden-oregon-logging-lands Carolyn Kellim’s home sits in a quiet Roseburg neighborhood and there is a wooden nativity scene outside her door that stands testimony to her Christian faith. The 84-year-old silver-haired native of Jefferson (14 miles or so south of Salem) greeted me at the door with an offer of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Her home was bright and sunny and there were fresh flowers in the kitchen. As soon as we finished our sandwiches, we adjourned to a back room filled from floor to ceiling with guns, rifles and enough ammunition to hold off a platoon. Carolyn is a … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6519651-113/carolyn-gun-guns-business Circuit queen Most of us can find numerous excuses not to exercise regularly. Not Roseburg’s Winifred Fiske. She makes it to the gym at least three times a week and also rides a stationary bike whenever possible. That’s despite lacking steady transportation, being legally blind and having passed her 94th birthday earlier this year. You can find her Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings in a circuit training class at the YMCA of Douglas County in Roseburg. Class members hone flexibility, balance and strength through a series of movements and machines. Several have said they’re inspired by Fiske. Being faithful to … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6550919-113/bellis-sign-fiske-hollywood http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6531091-113/party-america-freedom-republican http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6518501-113/driver-insurance-card-bill http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6431713-113/horse-yoncalla-article-papers http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6453625-113/america-americans-anymore-collins http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6508608-113/gun-billion-economic-market http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6504513-113/curves-parkway-homeless-million http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6503270-113/drug-testing-policy-connor http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6504820-113/money-taxes-schools-stamps With interest rates at historic lows and home prices well off their peak values, now may be the ideal time for prospective buyers to enter the real estate market. Although many banks have revised and tightened their lending criteria, that doesn’t mean home buyers can’t get loans. Of course, the environment is much different today than it was during the real estate market boom, and consumers are wise to spend some time thoroughly evaluating their financial footing in order to secure the best loan for their particular situation. Tip 1: Understand your entire financial portfolio. Take stock of your complete … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6244450-113/loan-payment-lending-interest Editor’s note: Following is Senator Jeff Kruse’s weekly newsletter from May 10. I initially had a couple of different subjects I was going to discuss in this newsletter, but have now chosen a different course. This was a different week in the Legislature for several reasons. Personally, I started my week by flying to Denver on Sunday for a two-day meeting on prescription drug abuse. The National Governor’s Association has made this subject an issue of special concern and convened a group of seven states: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky, New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia, to look at innovative ways of … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6482873-113/oregon-senate-committee-focus http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6431955-113/schools-community-roseburg-economy http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6431638-113/bopp-congress-hale-care http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6439505-113/fire-tri-hall-build http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6472274-113/students-district-levy-roseburg Always the romantic, I thought Mother’s Day would be a good time to provide an update on my chickens. It seems like forever ago that I brought nine new chicks home from the feed store and stuck them in my sunroom, where they would be warm and cozy under a red heat lamp until they got old enough to put into the chicken coop that came with the house. There are eight left and I’ll get to that tragic event in a minute. First, I wanted to review what I’ve learned about raising chickens in my first two months on … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6456829-113/chicken-chickens-chick-chicks http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6425470-113/fire-wes-melo-district http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6413783-113/schools-blame-roseburg-fault http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6272035-113/article-dangerous-drug-ill http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6431896-113/candidate-apathy-candidates-county http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6428087-113/create-downtown-respect-roseburg ROSE Spiffy salute A couple of Winston men did more than just notice something that bothered them on a spur-of-the moment stroll through the town’s Civil Bend Pioneer Cemetery. The put some elbow grease into a solution. Michael Liles, 26, and 22-year-old Raymond Malone followed a whim by searching for the cemetery’s oldest grave some time back. It was probably harder than they thought. Moss-encrusted headstones and wayward foliage made it difficult to identify the plots. Many people would have considered it a shame and moved on. Liles and Malone, however, grabbed gloves, scrub brushes and weeding tools and set … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6459596-113/lowes-fire-fires-malone http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6445855-113/campaign-murkowski-groups-donors Oregonians like sharing their homes with critters. The American Veterinary Medical Association reported this year that the Beaver State ranks fourth nationwide in pet ownership, with nearly two-thirds of our households featuring at least one animal in the family roster. It’s understandable if Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Lee Bartholomew feels as though he’s taken a call about each and every one of them. There was a time when the county’s Animal Control division staffed five deputies. That time is past, leaving Bartholomew the lone animal control deputy in the state’s fifth-largest county in land mass. Bartholomew’s territory is 5,134 square … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6417798-113/animal-bartholomew-county-pets http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6427920-113/texas-heroes-west-buried http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6425231-113/barn-historic-bunker-creek http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6413731-113/roseburg-bond-levy-support http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6413110-113/bill-3506-citizen-language Republican Art Robinson’s defamation lawsuit against U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio was doomed from the start. Robinson wanted DeFazio to be punished for deceptive political advertising. That’s like demanding Dale Ernhardt Jr. be ticketed for speeding at the Daytona 500. As Josephine County Circuit Court Judge Pat Wolke ruled last month in dismissing the suit, omissions and misstatements are more offensive when they don’t occur during a political campaign. Political ads have a low threshold to be considered truthful, more or less. Positive ads ooze less sincerity than a late-night infomercial. Attack ads poke fun, highlight foibles and lampoon positions. This … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6425405-113/robinson-defazio-political-voters http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6364695-113/fire-wes-district-financial Our children, our community and our future require action! As a citizen, please consider how you can help our kids and our schools. Voting “yes” on the Roseburg School District bond levy is a good first step. A second step could be getting a hold of your neighborhood parent/community group and seeing how you can volunteer to help ensure the bright future of our children and save the district money. My wife has not only worked at Rose Elementary for more than seven years, but she also attended Rose as a child, as did our two younger children. She grew … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6349256-113/district-schools-closing-levy http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6376958-113/elliot-forest-forests-save http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6338981-113/budget-abortion-federal-government http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6272122-113/incentives-recession-begin-business It may be a matter of time before a background check is required to purchase pressure cookers. If you’re like me, you didn’t know what a pressure cooker was used for until two brothers used them to blow up a bunch of innocent people in Boston. I have one in my kitchen, but it looked too complicated to use until recently. Besides, I’ve never needed it for my macaroni and cheese. And, before I forget, memo to the Boston brothers’ mother: Shut your Wicked-Witch-Of-The-West-Looking pie hole. Nobody but your fellow jihadists care what you think. If you hate this country … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6365236-113/pressure-editor-cookers-cooker http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6381319-113/oregon-act-scenic-wilderness Recently Children First for Oregon released a report card that once again gave Douglas County poor ratings for children’s welfare. The percent of children living in poverty is high — 28 to 31 percent — which is associated with a host of other problems including child abuse, poor educational achievement and teen pregnancy. In the same issue of The News-Review carrying the Children First report, there was a front page article highlighting one effect that poverty has on the county in general: Downtown Roseburg can’t find a retailer to fill prominent retail space because the local median income is too … ]]> http://www.NRToday.com/news/opinion/6351048-113/poverty-county-single-columns