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
M AY
6
•
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.
Rhododendra crowned
O RIGINALLY P UBLISHED M AY 22, 1908
T HE W EST , V OL . 17, N O . 53
Wednesday, May 20, was a memorable day
in the history of our quiet town, for on that
occasion was held the ceremonies of crowning
the rhododendron queen and presenting to
her the keys to the gates of the city.
A large crowd was present.
The town was handsomely decorated for
the occasion. All the business houses and
many of the private residences were orna-
mented with the national colors, evergreens
and the beautiful rhododendron flowers,
which grow in profusion on the neighboring
hills. The streets were ornamented with a
grand arch of evergreens and rhododendrons.
Boats loaded with passengers in holiday
attire began to arrive about 9 a.m., and by the
time for the exercises to begin, a large crowd
thronged the streets.
After they landed, pupils of Mapleton
school marched up through town and then
down to the city wharf, each bearing a ban-
ner.
At 10 a.m., Laura Johnson, who had been
chosen queen for the occasion and attended
by her maids, marched to the wharf where
Mayor Edwards delivered an address of wel-
come.
Then Joaquin Miller, “Poet of the Sierras,”
crowned Johnson queen, following an inter-
esting address.
The queen then took her seat on the
throne and the keys of the city were present-
ed to her by Mayor Edwards.
The keys, appropriately, were made from
the wood of the rhododendron tree and bore
inscriptions.
Then followed the triumphal procession of
the queen’s barge and several floats on the
Siuslaw River.
After the return of the queen and her
attendants, they proceeded to the Odd
Fellows’ hall and then to the Western House,
where dinner had been prepared for them.
The afternoon exercises at the hall consist-
ed mostly of songs, recitations and drills, all
of which were well rendered and showed that
great care had been taken in the preparation.
Several races then took place on the street.
There was lively competition.
NEIGHBORS
Snake oil
of fatty oil (beef fat), red pepper, tur-
pentine, camphor, etc. This is similar to
modern Capsaicin liniment.
If you, or someone you know, have a
common PC (personal computer), you
are bombarded shamelessly by modern
snake oil salespeople each and every
day.
Following are just a few examples
received in just one day from Newsmax
Health, Moneynews, etc., with titilating
titles:
Foods that can ward off aging. Eating
like a caveman, best way to lose weight.
Begin enjoying a razor-sharp mind in
only 48 hours. Baldness linked to can-
cer. Alzheimer’s treatment stops memo-
ry loss immediately. Seven deadly
drugs being forced down your throat.
Click here to see the inexpensive treat-
ment that’s making doctors and big
pharma look really bad (selling book).
Before reading confirm that yes, I am
B OB J ACKSON
N EIGHBORHOOD C ORRESPONDENT
For the Siuslaw News
Q
uite naturally, when the term
“snake oil” appears, it conjures
up a scoundrel pseudo doctor
selling cure-all bogus medicine from
the back of a covered wagon.
Oftentimes he would have a “shill”
planted in the crowd to attest vocally
how this very elixir had restored his
health. This scene appears in many old
shoot-em-up western cowboy movies.
The covered wagon is gone, but the
scams continue today.
Snake oil once meant any phony
health product foisted upon a gullible
public, that promised cures for most
anything. Early on, rattlesnake oil was
actually sold as a cure for rheumatism
and skin diseases. The Chinese had used
snake oil for years.
One hypothetical theory for the term
relates that it originated thusly: folks in
New York and Pennsylvania had been
rubbing wounds with oil that seeped
naturally from the soil, it seemed to
speed healing, so they began bottling
and selling the stuff as a cure-all. They
called it Seneca oil, after the local
tribes. It was pronounced “Sen-ake oil,”
which eventually became “snake oil.”
(As this is purely folk etymology, it may
not be factual).
A product named Stanley’s snake oil
was tested by the U.S. government and
found to contain mineral oil, 1 percent
over 21 (yeah, right!).
Does Tylenol shorten lifespan? All
these things are a hypochondriac’s
delight! And then there are the “finan-
cial advisers” that are desperately trying
to make me rich.
Leading Chicago developer offers
exceptional terms on landmark building
with minimum investment of $50,000
(what a deal!).
Bob Jackson (do I know you?), not
for sale book — I have reserved a free
copy in your name, it’s on hold waiting
for your response — click here to fill
out your address.
Lifetime moneymaking opportunity.
Hundreds of millions in dollars avail-
able — and on and on. And, a must read
for Bob, How Ben Horowitz invested in
a company, now worth $2.8 billion.
Why are they telling me, why don’t they
jump on this opportunity themselves?
Saved the best for last: World’s great-
est healing miracle of all time. 1-1/2
cents a day, self administer at home.
Treat virtually all diseases successfully,
including cancer, AIDS, heart disease,
diabetes, arthritis, asthma, hepatitis and
emphysema. Everything from acne to
yeast infections, flu, etc. Could poten-
tially make most drugs and medical
treatments unnecessary!
Big threat to trillion-dollar pharma-
ceutical and medical industries.
Diseases caused by oxygen deprivation,
low oxygen environment. Patients
dragged back from the brink of death.
CAT scan proof. Docs don’t want you to
know about this simple cure for practi-
cally all known diseases (multiple scle-
rosis cure), lose alcohol craving, heal
dogs, cats, horses, “gift to mankind” —
no price quoted.
Seems to me that we are off to la la
land here, and right in the privacy of
your own home.
LETTERS
Re-elect Ward
Please join me in support to re-elect Rob
Ward for Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Board
of Directors.
Rob and his family have lived in the area
since 1974. Over the years he has generously
volunteered in the cities of Dunes City and
Florence, serving both communities as mayor.
Today, experienced leadership matters. Vote
to re-elect Rob Ward.
Rebecca Ruede
Dunes City
Take back democracy
Kudos to Doug Hughes for having the guts to
fly his gyrocopter onto the Capitol lawn to bring
attention to the issue of campaign finance
reform.
Campaign finance reform is the single most
important problem facing our democracy. Due
in part to Citizens United, multi-national corpo-
rations and special interests control our legisla-
tors with their profit-driven agenda.
Florida Rep. Alan Grayson and U.S. Sen.
Bernie Sanders are the only two members of
Congress who mostly financed their campaigns
with contributions of less than $200. That
leaves almost the entire Congress in the pockets
of big business, and don’t expect corporate
USPS# 497-660
media to enlighten us on this issue.
Hughes knew he needed to bring this prob-
lem to the attention of the people of this coun-
try since Congress already knows what’s hap-
pening. He suggests one proposal for campaign
finance reform — a constitutional amendment
ratified by 3/4 of the states that would skirt the
vote entirely of the U.S. Congress through an
Article 5 convention. That amendment could
protect legislation from being struck down in
the courts.
I’m sure there are other options that could be
considered also.
Multi-national corporations are driving this
country and the world for their own interests. It
is time for the people to take back our democra-
cy before there is no democracy left.
Julie MacFarlane
Florence
‘Modest’ measure
A properly written ballot title should be a
neutral summary that gives the voter impartial
and non-emotional information concerning the
proposed measure.
The use of the words “ensure safety” and
“modestly” fail in both cases. Nothing can
ensure road safety and modest is an opinion.
From zero dollars to $35 may not be considered
“modest” by many on fixed incomes.
Support Steve
Reflecting back on my 50 years of career
firefighting, I feel my experience of 18 years
with the Siuslaw Rural Fire District, which
became the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue,
was the absolute high point of my career.
We were successful in replacing and/or
rebuilding fire stations, replacing fire apparatus,
recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters,
consolidating with the City of Florence Fire
Department and creating an intergovernmental
agreement with the Confederated Tribes for the
protection of the Three Rivers Casino, all with a
minimum increase in tax rates.
We were successful on obtaining several fed-
eral grants to enhance our mission. These were
not the accomplishments of the fire chief, but a
team effort. The team started with the board of
fire directors and included the administrative
staff, fire officers and career and volunteer fire-
fighters.
The board of directors is the key to any gov-
ernmental agency, and our boards over these
many years were the driving force to create a
model agency.
One fire director remains as the benchmark.
Steve Olienyk has served the community for
over 20 years as a fire board member, board
president and my personal confidant.
Steve has served our community since locat-
ing to rural Florence, volunteering on several
community service organizations, and was even
named by the Governor of Oregon as the
“Volunteer of the Year.”
He also served our country at the end of
World War II as a military guard of the Sugarmo
Prison in Japan.
I ask my many friends and former and active
firefighters to support Steve Olienyk for re-
election to the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue
Board of Fire Directors.
John D. Buchanan
Retired Fire Chief
Florence
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:
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1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m.
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1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m.
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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
The $11 million per year that would be raised
by this measure will still not be sufficient to
fund the $9 million annual deficit the county
states it has in the roads fund.
After sending 40 percent of the funds to the
cities in the county, there will still be a $2.4 mil-
lion annual deficit. Will this gap be filled by
then increasing the vehicle fee up to the legal
limit set by the State of Oregon?
If passed, this measure will have no effect on
the condition of either Highway 126 or
Highway 101, which are not serviced by the
county.
Ed Scarberry
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