4 A
The First Amendment
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ongress shall make no law respecting an
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people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances.
Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com
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SATURDAY
APRIL
11
•
2015
VIEW FROM UPRIVER
YESTERDAY’S NEWS
Measured response
W ESLEY V OTH
For the Siuslaw News
I
t’s hard enough to imagine what is going
through the mind of another human, let
alone that of a dog or some other crea-
ture. Susie and I are temporarily dog sitting,
and this is the first time since I was 12 and
my childhood dog died of salmon poisoning
that I have been around one on a daily basis.
One of our daughters who came to stay with
us to help me with the mail when I was inca-
pacitated after hospitalization last fall, has
now moved back to the part of Hawaii where
she grew up; she left behind her dog, Olive,
until the 120-day rabies clearance is complet-
ed.
So I get to spend time with this loveable
terrier, part of which consists of walking her
on a leash three or four miles a day. Plenty of
time to observe her behavior, and to puzzle
over why she does what she does.
Olive is fascinated by smells,
although for the life of me I can’t fath-
om why a slug flattened and dried on
the road draws her attention more than
a freshly killed rabbit. Or why fresh
elk droppings or tracks are suddenly
exciting one day when for weeks they
have not been.
But it is her interactions with live animals
that are especially fun to observe: aggressive
postures with other dogs no matter how large,
jumping back at the erratic movements of a
snake, true terrier at an encounter with a rat,
chasing and leaping to catch flies.
Just the other day, Olive had one of the
most interesting and puzzling encounters to
date. We see river otters regularly here, and
they are usually fairly wary around people.
But walking with Olive along the river we
encountered a family of four otters still
grouped together from last season.
When they noticed Olive, instead of disap-
pearing, they seemed extremely interested,
and kept coming closer and closer; eventually
one was just five feet from where she was
standing at the edge of the water. The otter
then began to splash her, making quick duck-
ing motions, very noisy and so in-her-face.
Olive appeared oblivious, much to the otter’s
annoyance, who seemed beside itself to get
noticed.
In addition to the splashing, the otter began
making little muttering sounds that could
have been, “Hey you — yeah you, you yel-
low livered chicken mutt — dare you to come
join me in here ....” Olive gazed at the sky,
watched a bumblebee passing, nibbled some
grass and turned her back on the scene. So I
shrugged, apologized to the otter, and we
went on our way, the otters following along
until we moved away from the river.
Not 50 yards further, a neighbor had just
put up a set of those black bear silhouettes,
mother and two cubs, with the addition of
eyes. Olive went crazy when she noticed
them from some 20 feet away, and began
lunging and barking, and then squealing in
frustration as I dragged her further along our
way. Go figure.
Except — the experience niggles away at
me like the little parable it is. A parable for
what gets a rise out of me. For sometimes it
seems I spend my time and energy battling
paper tigers, while all the while oblivious to
what actually threatens the things I hold dear
or actually need. Yup, I’ll spare you the details
for now, but it’s my own behavior I need to
ponder.
LETTERS
Celebrate library staff
This Tuesday, April 14, is a day you
may not have heard of, but I hope you
will take a moment to recognize that it is
National Library Worker’s Day.
Established in 2003, NLWD is a day
for library staff, users, administrators
and Friends groups to recognize the
valuable contributions made by all
library workers.
And I can tell you those contributions
are stellar — library workers here at the
Siuslaw Public Library circulate more
than 199,000 items each year.
They answer questions about how to
teach children to read and where to most effec-
tively look for a job. Staff help more than
30,000 people access the internet, and serve
more than 10,000 people with cultural pro-
grams. If you ask somebody who works at the
Siuslaw Public Library for help, I guarantee
they will work hard to make sure you get what
you need. I know because I get to watch it hap-
pen every day.
As the Siuslaw Public Library nears our
100th anniversary on May 7, it is truly the
hard work of library staff that has kept the
library strong and growing for all those years.
Since I began work at the Siuslaw Public
Library, there is probably one thing I have
heard more than anything else: “Wow. This
library has an amazing staff.” There is not
much I can do except nod my head and smile
and agree.
The Siuslaw Public Library District really
does have an amazing staff, and it is my priv-
ilege and pleasure to celebrate all that they do.
Meg Spencer
Director
Siuslaw Public Library District
Justice will be served
First, not that it really matters, I am an 86-
year-old veteran. In reading the letter titled
“Insult to America” by Larry L. Barney (April
4), I could not help but wonder why he would
consider a charge of “desertion and misbehav-
ing” a slap on the wrist to Bowe Bergdahl.
Currently under the Uniform Code of
Military Justice, 14 offenses are punishable by
USPS# 497-660
death. Four of the offenses carry a death sen-
tence if the crime is committed during times of
war. The first of these is desertion.
I would be surprised if Bowe Bergdahl is
found guilty, he would be put to death, but I
would think he will face a lengthy prison sen-
tence.
I’m not sure I would question Mr. Barney
regarding criticism of the Obama administra-
tion in making the prisoner swap to begin
with. However, I feel at this point the admin-
istration of justice toward Bowe Bergdahl is
strictly a matter of military handling in a
courts-martial, and the administration will not
be involved in the findings nor the carrying
out of any sentence if he is found guilty.
In any event, if he is found guilty, I am sure
he will receive more than “a slap on the wrist.”
John A. Hyder
Florence
Water roulette
A general, self-evident
principle of
“Russian Roulette” is that you can only lose
once. If you “lose” a game of “Russian
Roulette,” you can’t demand a rematch.
Likewise, once the purity of our only source
of clean drinking water is gone, once the
North Florence Sole Source Dunal Aquifer is
contaminated, it’s game over folks. We don’t
get a second chance to keep our aquifer clean
and pure. Government documents say our
aquifer is “sole source” because it’s our only
source of water. It’s the only “sole source”
aquifer in the state.
Another ‘best’
Small town that we are, it was fun reading
through the recent “Best of Florence” winners
in the Siuslaw News (“2015 Readers’ Choice
Awards,” March 21). We’re fortunate to have
so many notable businesses in our community.
I scanned the publication for one of my
favorites, Barbara Martin Taxes and
Bookkeeping, but found no listing for that cat-
egory. Barbara was voted No. 1 in Florence for
both 2013 and 2014, and no doubt would have
continued her reign if her category had been
included this year.
She’s a professional through and through
and a delightful person as well. She definitely
deserves the opportunity for continued recog-
nition by all of us who are very glad she’s
here.
Allie LeCaux
Florence
The 2015 Readers’ Choice Awards’ format
was revised this year and some categories
were changed. We appreciate our readers’
feedback and will take it into consideration for
next year’s awards. —Editor
• On April 13, 1360, an Easter Monday hail-
storm kills an estimated 1,000 English soldiers
in Chartres, France. Lightning struck down sev-
eral leaders, and hailstones began pelting the
soldiers, scattering the horses. Hail typically
falls at about 100 mph.
• On April 17, 1885, Karen Dinesen, better
known by her pen name Isak Dinesen, is born
in Denmark. Dinesen’s memoir, “Out of
Africa” (1937), helped demystify the Dark
Continent for millions of readers. She pub-
lished several other story collections before her
death in 1962.
• On April 19, 1897, John J. McDermott of
New York won the first Boston Marathon in a
time of 2:55:10. Various routes had been con-
sidered before a measured distance of 24.5
miles from the Irvington Oval in Boston to
Metcalf’s Mill in Ashland was selected. The
marathon’s distance was changed in 1908 to its
current length of 26 miles 385 yards.
• On April 14, 1918, six days after being
assigned to the Western front, pilot Douglas
Campbell from the U.S. First Aero Squadron
engages in America’s first aerial dogfight with
enemy aircraft. By the end of May, Campbell
had shot down five enemy planes, making him
the first American to qualify as a “flying ace” in
World War I.
• On April 16, 1943, Albert Hoffman, a Swiss
chemist working at the Sandoz pharmaceutical
research laboratory, accidentally consumes
LSD-25, resulting in unusual sensations and
hallucinations. Widespread use of the so-called
mind-expanding drug began in the 1960s.
• On April 15, 1967, a massive parade to
protest Vietnam War policy is held in New
York. Police estimated that 100,000 to 125,000
people listened to speeches by Martin Luther
King, Jr. and Dr. Benjamin Spock. Prior to the
march, youths burned nearly 200 draft cards in
Central Park.
• On April 18, 1983, the U.S. embassy in
Beirut, Lebanon, is almost completely
destroyed by a car-bomb explosion that kills 63
people, including the suicide bomber and 17
Americans. The terrorist attack was carried out
in protest of the U.S. military presence in
Lebanon.
(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.
he Siuslaw News wel-
comes letters to the edi-
tor on subjects of general
interest to its readership.
Brevity is mandatory, and let-
ters are subject to editing.
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of the writer for verification.
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T
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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
On a recent Sunday, the Pope called
water “the most essential element for
life.” Furthermore, “humanity’s future
depends on our ability to care for it and
share it.”
In the Florence area, we all share and
depend upon this one aquifer. We had
better care for it as though our lives
depend upon it — because they do.
What a shame if through neglect, lack
of vigilance and greed we were to foul
our aquifer, our one and only source of
pure water. It has often been said that an
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure. Let’s not play “Russian Roulette”
with our one and only source of clean,
pure drinking water.
Spraying toxic chemicals on the highly per-
meable, sand-based land above our aquifer, or
on land that drains into lakes that feed our
aquifer — this is a very foolish game, a game
we would be very wise not to play.
William B. Calvert
Florence
MOMENTS IN TIME
The History Channel
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