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
APRIL
1
•
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.
The house the high school built
O RIGINALLY P UBLISHED M ARCH 25, 1976
T HE S IUSLAW N EWS , V OL . 16, N O . 12
Last September nine Siuslaw High School
students faced a brush-choked lot on 20th
Street with hammers and saws in hand.
Six months and many blood blisters later
they have completed a three bedroom, 1,200-
square-foot house worth approximately
$31,000 under the direction of Paul Spriggs,
building construction teacher for the district.
This is the second house and the third year
of the course — one of the most unique edu-
cational ventures in the area.
The crew, consisting of Ron Barrett,
Calvin Lewis, Ken McIntyre, Dave Perkins,
Jerry Phillips, Eric Rines, Richard Slonecker
and Mark and Rick Wells, are nine weeks
ahead of schedule. They will shortly finish up
the interior details of the house and then
move next door to prepare footings for a
foundation for next year’s project.
During the first year of the class, Spriggs
and his students outfitted the shop area of the
high school. Last year they built their first
house for the commercial market on Upas
Street and saw it sell to City Manager Jack
Isadore as quickly as it was put on the mar-
ket.
The students do everything but the plumb-
ing and electrical, which must be done by a
licensed contractor according to state law.
The crew spends four hours per day on the
job in earning three credits toward the
required 22 needed for graduation.
They take pride in their work as is obvious
to the casual observer. First-quality materials
are used throughout and everything is done
the hard way so that the students learn the
many facets of proper home construction.
Several ex-students have found jobs as a
result of the class, according to Spriggs.
“A lot of the guys find that they want to
specialize in one particular aspect of construc-
tion,” said Spriggs. Some want to stay with
sheetrocking, framing or roofing, while others
find plastering or brickwork to their liking.
“Whether they go into the field profession-
ally or not, they will have many basic skills
for a lifetime,” he said. “Even if they only
build their own house someday, it’s all been
worth my time.”
The district has options on five more
parcels of property to enable the class to plan
ahead from year to year.
“We are gonna be around for a long time so
people who buy these houses from the district
can have the assurance that, if anything goes
wrong with the house, we’ll be here to take
care of it,” added Spriggs.
NEIGHBORS
Hawaiian adventure — Part XI
B OB J ACKSON
N EIGHBORHOOD C ORRESPONDENT
For the Siuslaw News
U
pon arising in this fifth-floor
luxury suite overlooking
Waikiki beach, we were
reluctant to put on any clothing. Back
home on Siltcoos Lake, the open air
assaulted exposed skin. Here, it lov-
ingly caressed it. And in the short
time we would be staying here, we
wanted to make the most of it.
A separate, private elevator at the
far end of our hall went directly to the
beach. Standing underneath a large,
thatched umbrella, a smiling hotel
attendant handed us two fresh towels.
It was almost as if we were royalty.
Back in 1942, and on shore leave
from the heavy cruiser Indianapolis, I
had stood on nearly this same spot,
on this same sandy beach — only
then it had been far different! I had
been carrying the mandatory gas
mask, and the curling waves, free of
surfboards, were crashing against
row upon row of menacing barbed
wire, thanks to the nation of Japan.
Wading out until we were standing
chest-deep in the cool water, an
incoming swell lifted us clear of the
sandy bottom and we were paddling
furiously to stay upright. I tossed her
into the air, and Peggy came back up,
laughing and screaming like a
teenager. An old Biblical adage came
to mind, “our cup runneth over.”
That evening we had a tropical
drink beneath the same huge banyan
tree where Robert Louis Stevensen
once sat to write and perhaps contem-
plate. We took a long walk in the
refreshing air, along the palm-lined
Kalakua avenue, which was a kalei-
doscope of color. Nearly everyone
was dressed in bright flowered shirts,
shorts and muumuus. It seemed every
race and nationality on Earth was
strolling and browsing in the hun-
dreds of shops filled with beautiful
merchandise.
We took a ride in a pedal-powered
rickshaw-type vehicle operated by a
vigorous and affable young man, for
the very reasonable sum of three
bucks for a five-block tour.
In close proximity to an adult book
store, a proselytizing sidewalk evan-
gelist was screaming his sanctimo-
nious message, oblivious to the din of
the traffic that had reached the satura-
tion point.
It was close to midnight. The air
was like warm honey and a full moon
was hanging over Diamond Head as
we walked out onto a breakwater jut-
ting out into the sea and looked back
at the sparkling night-time grandeur
of Waikiki beach. A scene that will
remain in our memory, perhaps for-
ever. Much has changed.
Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain,
came over on a coal-fired steam
schooner and spent four months here
in 1844 as a newspaper columnist. It
was then known as the Sandwich
Islands in honor of the Earl of
Sandwich, by order of Captain Cook.
(Oregon wouldn’t become a state
until 15 years later, in 1859).
With no hotels, $5 to $10 a week
got Mark Twain a furnished room in
a bungalow. Transportation was by
horses and mules, which could be
bought or rented from the Kanakas
who, according to Twain, were hon-
est but shrewd; often passing off
decrepit and lame animals as being
fit. Honolulu’s first hotel, the sump-
tuous Moana, opened in 1901 at a
cost of $150,000. The first rooms
went for a dollar and a half a night.
The Royal Hawaiian, known as the
“Pink Palace,” was built on 10 acres
in 1927 for a cost of $4 million,
which was a lot of money back then.
It was designed in a Spanish/Moorish
style
to
resemble
Rudolph
Valentino’s Arabian-themed movies,
which were popular at the time.
Time marches on.
LETTERS
at the state, federal or international level.
Together, we will be one step closer to stripping local clerks
and judges of their power to deny us a way forward to exercise
our right to the democratic process.
Michelle Holman
Deadwood
Appreciation for Florence police
Backstreet Gallery would like to thank the Florence Police
Department for its exceptional help in solving a theft at the
gallery. After someone came into the gallery and stole three art
items, the police viewed the tape from our security camera and
were able to apprehend the person involved.
We at the gallery are very impressed with the follow-up and
thorough investigation completed by the officers and sergeant at
the FPD. They are the best!
Jane Rincon
Backstreet Gallery President
Florence
Sold to the highest bidder
Space inquiry
Is the United States being embarrassed or humiliated by only
being able to send astronauts into space on Soviet space craft?
Al Pearn
Florence
Our rights
Big thanks to Greg Wasson for his March 23 op-ed in The
Register-Guard, “Ruling Sidetracked GMO Petition,” which
shines light on the “elephant in the room.” Our foreparents
worked hard for the right to be heard through the ballot box. The
USPS# 497-660
pre-election requirements put a roadblock between the intended
purpose of the initiative process and the actual right of “We the
People” to speak up for ourselves.
Oregonians for Community Rights are addressing one part of
the problem with a proposed constitutional amendment that
would codify into law the right to local, community self-govern-
ment, enabling local governments to protect fundamental rights
and prohibit corporate activities that violate those rights. It would
secure the existing and inalienable authority of communities to
put in place stronger rights and protections than those recognized
Copyright 2015 © Siuslaw News
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General Manager, ext. 318
Editor, ext. 313
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Office Supervisor, ext. 312
Production Supervisor
Press Manager
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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
If our Congress was founded for “the welfare of the people,”
why don't we have a right to healthcare, justice, a clean environ-
ment and healthy food?
Instead, many in Congress are elected and supported by the
very wealthy to serve their interests — from individuals and
multi-national corporations who produce record profits from fos-
sil fuels, outsourcing jobs overseas, genetic engineering of our
crops, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, the military
industrial complex, prison-for-profit companies and a mass cor-
porate media monopoly who fears and supports their agenda.
All this leads to climate change, lack of American jobs, toxic
food and environment, high healthcare and drug costs, endless
wars, encouraged incarcerations and a media who provides no
alternative investigative viewpoints to the corporate spin.
Who is in charge of this country? We the people, or we the
highest bidders?
Julie MacFarlane
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