Editor:
That was a superb editorial you wrote for the May 9 edition!
Dave Cooper and I bought The New Era in 1975 from the Springfield News. The weekly had been owned for decades by Bill Dudley and Mac Macoubrie, who were married to sisters. The men ran the back shop and had a good printing business.
They hired a news man and Edna Thompson ran the front office. Dave was that news man from 1958 until 1961.
When Mac died unexpectedly the business agreement said Bill had to sell (we were told). The Springfield News bought The New Era and tried to run The New Era from Springfield, with minimum staff on site and it went downhill fast.
Dave had always said he wanted to own a weekly just like The New Era and his dream came true. There was nowhere to go but up as a local owner, caring about the community made all the difference as you so succinctly said!
It has been a pleasure to watch The New Era thrive under the ownership of first Alex and Debbie Paul and now your family.
It is a great little newspaper and a wonderful town and I wish you the very best.
And thanks again for a great editorial.
Bridget (Cooper) Montgomery
Sweet Home
Editor’s note: The following letter is a response to the Sweet Home High School Booster Club’s fund-raiser at halftime during the Sutherlin basketball game over each of the past three years, in which money raised has been donated to the Treven Anspach Fund. Treven played sports and graduated from Sutherlin. He was shot and killed in the Umpqua Community College shooting in 2015.