By Jim Heffernan There is a large banner in the School District 9 meeting room which reads, “The mission of the Tillamook School District is to prepare our students with the academic, artistic,…
Category: I’ve been thinking
Heard on the Bench: Talking to Strangers
By Jim Heffernan I have mild lumbar spinal stenosis that doesn’t bother me at all as long as I’m sitting down. If I walk about 150 feet without a shopping cart or…
I’ve been thinking … Small-minded vs. “Community-minded”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Tillamook School District’s efforts to remove “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent” from an Honors English optional reading list is considered to be “book banning” by the Oregon Library…
BOOK REVIEW: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
EDITOR’S NOTE: It was brought to the Pioneer’s attention the results of Tillamook School District 9’s Curriculum Review Committee meeting held July 29, 2024. The committee reviewed the book How the Garcia…
I’ve Been Thinking … Be The One
By Jim Heffernan I’ve been thinking a lot about suicide these days. It’s not personal. I’ve lived a charmed life and call myself very happy for someone who is almost as old…
BOOK REVIEW: You’re More Powerful Than You Think – A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen
By Jim Heffernan I have to wonder why it took me so long to find this book. I might still be looking for the message in this book if friends hadn’t recommended…
I’ve Been Thinking … About Immigration
EDITOR’S NOTE: An appropriate topic as we celebrate our freedoms, and acknowledge that we ALL came here from somewhere else; we are all immigrants, unless your roots connect to the native indigenous…
I’ve been thinking … Transportation Decline
By Jim Heffernan I was very proud to serve as a board member of Tillamook County Transportation District (TCTD), until I wasn’t. I was convinced the District had at its heart a…
BOOK REVIEWS: A Twofer – A Brief History of Fear and Intolerance in Tillamook County by Helen Hill & The Story of Tillamook-The Little County That Became the Big Cheese by Dean Collins
EDITOR’S NOTE: Two books about the history of our county, written 70 years apart with different focuses and views … By Jim Heffernan A Brief History of Fear and Intolerance in Tillamook…
I’VE BEEN THINKING … Hope and the News
By Jim Heffernan I’ve been thinking a lot lately about “the news” and hope. I’ve been talking to people, and I often find we have very different opinions. When I ask the…