4 A
The First Amendment
Letters to the Editor:
C
ongress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press, or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances.
Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com
Press Releases:
PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com
WEDNESDAY
MARCH
25
•
2015
1 2 5 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y F L A S H B A C K
1890 ❙
T
T HE W EST
F LORENCE T IMES
T HE S IUSLAW O AR
T HE S IUSLAW N EWS
S IUSLAW N EWS
❙ 2015
his year marks Siuslaw News’ quasquicentennial, our 125th anniversary, a remarkable achievement for any business in a small
community like Florence. To commemorate this milestone, throughout the year we’ll feature some of the town’s history as origi-
nally published in the newspaper, including historic articles and photos from more than a century ago.
Siuslaw to get jetty appropriation
O RIGINALLY P UBLISHED M ARCH 12, 1915
The following letter was received by the
secretary of the Commercial Club Wednesday
and makes it practically certain that the
Siuslaw will get the amount asked for from
the appropriation for rivers and harbors:
Washington, D.C., March 5, 1915
Siuslaw Commercial Club, Florence, Ore.,
Gentlemen,
Referring to your telegram of February 25,
concerning deepening of the Siuslaw channel,
I beg to advise that, after the Rivers and
Harbors bill was placed by the resolution
which makes appropriation for such work
next year in the lump sum of $25,000,000, I
consulted the engineer department with a
view to learning what action would be taken
T HE W EST , V OL . 25, N O . 44
in regard to the proposal of the Port
Commission for cooperative improvement.
While no definite allotment for Siuslaw has
yet been determined upon from the
$25,000,000, the department has promised
Senator Chamberlain and I that the full
amount of $112,500 will be allowed, in as
much as the State of Oregon, as well as
Siuslaw, has always contributed to this kind
of work.
I assure you I will follow the matter up
with the department and endeavor to obtain
definite action as early as possible, to give the
Siuslaw project the full $112,500.
Yours very truly,
Harry Lane
NEIGHBORS
Hawaiian adventure — Part X
B OB J ACKSON
N EIGHBORHOOD C ORRESPONDENT
For the Siuslaw News
W
e had never imagined that
we would ever be staying
in an expensive suite
overlooking Waikiki beach. So this
was how “people with money” lived.
We were still standing transfixed and
overwhelmed, our senses reeling
from the royal opulence of our sur-
roundings, when we were surprised
by a gentle knock on the door.
A nattily uniformed bellboy
entered and presented us with a large,
beautifully wrapped ice-cold fresh
pineapple. It was cut into sections on
the inside; compliments of Sylvia
from Bronson Travel in Eugene, Ore.
— also a complimentary bottle of
champagne from the hotel desk, com-
plete with long-stemmed glasses.
After toasting our good fortune
with wine and fruit, we rushed down
to the street and boarded a city bus
that carried us to the huge Ala Moana
shopping center (the world’s largest
open-air mall). After all the rich,
exotic gourmet food on the cruise
ship, it was good to chow down on
something we were familiar with — a
big hamburger and fries in a simple
fast-food restaurant.
That evening we enjoyed a couple
MaiTai’s in the Captain Cook bar. We
paid $5.90 for two drinks (must have
been “happy hour”). Then we took
off our shoes and strolled in the
moonlight on Waikiki beach.
At around 10 p.m., we sat on the
warm sand and watched our beautiful
cruise ship Mariposa glide by, with
all her lights ablaze, and disappear
over the horizon, on her way to Bora
Bora with all those happy people. It
will be a long time before we forget
the feel of her decks pulsating under
our feet, and the sound of her bow
swells crashing against the southern
seas.
At that time, of all the world’s peo-
ple, somehow we came to be among
the relatively few, who were fortu-
nate enough to take a cruise on a lux-
ury ship.
Returning to our suite, we turned
off all the lights, opened the glass
doors onto the living room lanai and
listened to the gentle surf hissing onto
the beach below. Occasionally, there
was the dramatic sight and sound of a
giant passenger jet out of Honolulu
International, pushing for altitude on
its way back to the mainland with
another load of sunburned tourists.
Then, there was only the surf again,
and the resounding rhythmic sound
of drums from a nearby, beach-front
Polynesian show.
When we awakened on our first
morning, and heard the tropical birds
in the trees below our lanai, we at
first thought it was piped-in sound
effects for atmosphere. It wasn’t yet
daylight as I stood on our lanai and
looked down through the palm
fronds.
Floodlights from the hotel were
shining on a beach boy busily restor-
ing the beach to a pristine appearance
by raking footprints from the sand in
front of our hotel. Further up the
beach the same identical process was
underway. Already a lone surfer was
paddling out to sea, and a battleship
from Pearl Harbor was halfway to the
horizon.
Every morning, two large tourist
catamarans beached themselves in
front of the hotels, their arrival
announced by a sun bronzed giant
standing on the bow and blowing
through a big conch shell. It was hard
to take it all in.
More to come.
LETTERS
mates available in real time, and would require the Oregon Health
Authority to publish average prices on the state’s public website.
The bills would not completely fix our broken health-care sys-
tem, but they would help savvy consumers. Hospitals and insur-
ance companies are lobbying hard to stop this legislation.
We need to speak out or continue to be fleeced.
Tom Payn
Florence
Recycle art
I just read the art article in the paper (“Tourists Urged to
‘Linger Longer,’” March 14, A1). I was a tourist in 1965 who
came back to Florence in later years. The first time I was 11-1/2
years old.
For 40 years, my drawings were kept in a Seal-a-Meal bag in
my parents’ home. I found them in awesome condition four years
ago when I went to Minneapolis, Minn., to take care of my moth-
er for two years. Now, I’m recycling them with reusable things I
find on the beach and some on the roadways.
I saw the signs “Keep Oregon Green,” and I’ve kept that
awareness. Because of the beauty of Oregon, I still carry a photo
of my mother with the lake and dunes. I have lived in Oregon
since 1976 and recently moved to Florence because of my draw-
ings and the artists here.
I have great photos of the West Coast because of my uncle and
my grandmother’s love of nature and the beauty of birds and fish,
which my artwork is mostly of. I use paper receipts from grocery
stores, restaurants and walkways where people have forgotten to
pick up plastic bags, cans, bottles and cardboard from packs of
soda.
I have made art donations all up and down the coast — Depoe
Bay, Newport, Coos Bay, Lincoln City and Florence. I have also
recently donated to the Siuslaw Public Library.
I’m ready to be an involved artist in the community, but I’m
disabled and don’t have membership fees. We need a low-income
or free program for those who don’t have the funds who are in
this community.
We could really use a Washed Ashore program here to keep
Florence clean and to keep our Oregon green.
Catherine Beckstrom
Florence
USPS# 497-660
Repair voting rights
Hidden health costs
Health-care provider companies use their local market domi-
nance to drive up costs, and not just a little, but as much as 2,000
percent. Unfortunately for consumers, neither the patient nor the
doctor is entitled to know how much a test or treatment costs until
after they decide to buy it.
Of the 2 million-per-year bankruptcy filings, most — 62 per-
cent — are for medical bills, and 8 percent of those people had
medical insurance. Short of bankruptcy, one in five American
adults will struggle to pay medical bills this year. Around 40 per-
cent of Americans owe collectors money for illness. Even small
medical debts can ruin a person’s credit rating.
Enough with secret pricing! Oregon’s legislature has two bills
aiming to give consumers the information they need. Senate bills
891 and 900 would require hospitals and clinics to make bill esti-
Copyright 2015 © Siuslaw News
Publisher, ext. 327
General Manager, ext. 318
Editor, ext. 313
Advertising Director, ext. 326
Office Supervisor, ext. 312
Production Supervisor
Press Manager
DEADLINES:
Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday
1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m.
Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Thursday
1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m.
NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $71; 10-weeks subscription, $18; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $94;
10-weeks subscription, $24; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $120; Out of United States — 1-year subscription, $200;
E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $65.
Mail subscription includes E-Edition.
Website and E-Edition: www.TheSiuslawNews.com
WHERE TO WRITE
Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National
Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore.
Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439. Phone (541) 997-3441 (See
extension numbers below). FAX (541) 997-7979.
John Bartlett
Jenna Bartlett
Ryan Cronk
Susan Gutierrez
Cathy Dietz
Ron Annis
Jeremy Gentry
The march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in March 1965
contributed to enactment of the historic Voter Rights Act of 1965
that prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
A profound setback in progress toward voter equality occurred
in 2013 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key enforce-
ment provision of the voter rights act requiring some states
attempting to impose limits on the right to vote, to submit them
for federal pre-clearance. (Shelby County v. Holder)
Subsequently a number of states have enacted legislation
designed to restrict black citizens from the right to vote. It is pos-
sible to repair the damage to the voting rights act.
The Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2015 (HR 855) assigned
to the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 11 would do so. The
Senate could also craft its own bill to restore our ability to assure
the fundamental right to vote to citizens regardless of race.
President Johnson said, “It is all of us who must overcome the
crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.”
It could help if each of us would urge our representatives in
Congress to act to repair the damage from Shelby v. Holder.
Bob and Peg Peters
Florence
Pres. Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
Gov. Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
Governor’s Citizens’ Rep.
Message Line 503-378-4582
www.oregon.gov/gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
FAX: 503-986-1080
Email:
Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997
541-465-6750
State Rep. Caddy McKeown
(Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email:
rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416/ 800-944-9603
541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
West Lane County Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
FAX: 541-682-4616
Email:
Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us