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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2015)
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 SATURDAY M AY 9 • 2015 LETTERS for years he was known as Mr. American Legion and he has received recognition from the governor for his extensive volunteer work in other areas. I also know and respect the gentleman run- ning against Steve but doubt he realizes the dif- ficult decisions lying ahead for the next board. After watching Steve’s work on the SVFR board and many other activities for well over a decade, it is my sincere belief he is best quali- fied for Director Position 5. Albyn Pearn Florence Vote for Rob This May we will cast our votes for a variety of positions and measures all directly affecting our lives and future. Rob Ward is running for the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Board. He has served success- fully and effectively since 2006. Whether as mayor of Florence, mayor of Dunes City or serving on many other community boards, he is a proven leader. I am voting for Rob Ward for Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Board. I hope you will too. Boomer Wright Florence Re-elect Steve Ward for fire board I am recommending Rob Ward for Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Board. Rob has served on the board for nine years. Rob leads with hard work and fairness. He cares about our community, serving both as Florence and Dunes City mayors. Rob has been a surveyor in our community for 30 years, raising his family in the communi- ty. He supports local efforts and programs such as Boys and Girls Club, Siuslaw Baseball Association, Relay For Life and over 10 years of involvement with the annual Rhody Run. We are fortunate to have Rob on the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Board of Directors. I encourage you to vote for Rob Ward. Eric Tanikawa Florence Locals must carry road fee I’ve noticed a few signs around town in opposition to the $35 road fee that comes up for a vote on May 19. I’m just wondering, how do these folks think road maintenance and improvement will happen without this fee? We all had an opportunity to implement a gas tax that would have distributed the cost among all road users, including — significantly — tourists that use our roads. Wouldn’t that have been a smarter solution — to get tourists to pay a portion of the expense? Instead, as a result of blind opposition to any additional taxes, the entire burden of road main- tenance must now be carried by the locals. Pretty short-sighted. Dolly Ann Brock Florence Vote ‘no’ on road fee I have been voting since the 1960s and have noticed several things over the years about “special” elections. First is, why go through the added expense (literal and personal) to do it when November still exists? And secondly, sometimes they are used to push something through that would never pass in a general elec- tion. This brings me to Measure 20-231 cleverly titled, “To ensure road safety by modestly increasing vehicle registration fee.” The meas- ure says $35 a year, but since renewals are every two years, this “modest” increase is actu- ally $70 per licensing cycle. For a car with a fee of $86, a common amount, that increase is actu- ally over 81 percent. Have your wages or Social Security or any other income source ever come close to approaching that amount? While the “problems” may be real, so are per- sonal budgets, especially for lower and fixed income families. Repeating the roads’ problems over and over and scaring the public with deficit talk does not address underlying issues that include the possibility of this just being the beginning of using DMV fees as a very lucra- tive source of income for any “good cause,” including this one. What will the fees be next time? What additional concern will be added to this fee? We don’t know. An unintentional but good history lesson is the result of the voters’ pamphlet coming out less than two weeks after income tax day. Let’s USPS# 497-660 not forget that federal income taxes are about 100 years old, although the original purpose was supposed to be to pay for World War I and be a very low percentage for a very short time. How’s that working out so far? Will this be the same at a county level? Who knows? Rarely do fees and taxes go down or go away. By the way, I just received an impressively large and colorful postcard in the mail telling me to vote for this measure. I looked for a com- mittee or group who paid for this card, but the only indication was “Lane County” itself (another expense for us to pay?). So, I suggest not letting a measure presented deceptively and between regular selection cycles, involving millions of dollars, be voted in by a very small number of people who may con- sider an 81 percent “modest” and the electorate uninformed. I feel the proper response to Measure 20-231 should be “No.” Ron Stanley Westlake Fortunate to have Rickard My wife and I had dinner with Nancy Rickard the other day so that I could talk to her about writing a letter to the newspaper recom- mending that she be re-elected this May to the Port of Siuslaw Commission. I’ve known Nancy for 11 years and can attest to her high character. I wanted to learn some specifics about her job and how she felt about serving. This is what I came away with: First and foremost, she is a genuine public servant. Her past — 14 years on the local school board — attests to that. So does the present. She was elected a port commissioner two years ago having no agenda other than to fulfill the stated duties of a commissioner and serve the best interests of our community. Second, she is conscientious. I asked her what she had learned during these past two years that she hadn’t expected. She answered that her job is complex and far-reaching and that ethics in the performance of her work is essential. Newly elected commissioners are expected to study and learn the many rules of being a commissioner. This took many hours to accomplish. She did this immediately. She always reads the extensive paperwork that the port manager and his staff give commissioners to peruse prior to each port meeting. Consequently, she is always prepared. She is a trusted member of the commission. It is no accident that she has represented the port manager at important meetings out of town. One such meeting was with the Siuslaw Watershed Commission regarding its efforts to convert the old Waite dairy farm property into a natural habitat in order to improve Siuslaw River water quality and increase fish popula- tion. Another meeting was with representatives of port commissions of coastal communities between Florence and Coos Bay regarding the pooling of resources to purchase dredging equipment to be jointly owned and shared. Choose Karl for WLAD Karl Enlund is committed. We need outstand- ing leadership at the Western Lane Ambulance District — a commitment to excellence, and Karl is that person. Karl understands what our ambulance district needs to keep running efficiently. We (the vot- ing community) need Karl to help in the selec- tion of a new general manager, which is going on now. Karl has been a very strong board member, has good leadership skills and is always a good listener. He is a very good steward of taxpayers’ money. Please vote Karl Enlund. Sue Lockwood Florence Vote for Steve Candidate campaign signs are beginning to appear for the upcoming elections; soon there will be ads on air waves and in news print. Cynics will remark “The Silly Season is upon us!” Not me: friends and neighbors who volun- teer for the hard work (lots of time in too many long public meetings, criticism for their attempts to make this community better) and no pay? Those who volunteer for public office deserve our collective and sincere, “thanks!” For me, none are more dedicated and deserv- ing than longtime Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Director Steve Olienyk. It is my under- standing, as a director on previous boards Steve was instrumental in saving SVFR well over $100,000 in interest on the much-needed new fire station. Currently it is a great multi-use community asset. Steve has served our area in numerous other roles; perhaps you have seen him putting up American Flags for Kiwanis (I’m a Rotarian), he Siuslaw News wel- comes letters to the editor on subjects of general interest to its reader- ship. Brevity is mandatory, and letters are subject to editing. Libelous letters and poetry will not be published. Thank- you letters are generally inappropriate. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed. Handwritten or submitted letters via mail must be signed over the writer’s name. All letters must include an address and phone number of the writer for verification. Email letters to: Editor @TheSiuslawNews.com T 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 In both instances, the port manager trusted Nancy to give him unbiased, detailed informa- tion. Third, she is a commissioner that looks out for the little guy. Even though the port needs to increase additional revenue to pay necessary expenses and accumulated debt, there is a limit to what she will agree to regarding the raising of revenue. She does not want to charge a fee for the use of the parking lot off Harbor Street by the river. Nor does she approve of the idea of allowing business shops constructed beside the boardwalk that extends along the river. She wants visitors to enjoy the ambiance of the river. She wants them to come increasingly to our community and, while they are here, reward local businesses with their patronage. Nancy Rickard is an ethical person who is always conscientious in the performance of her duties. She takes a balanced view about expen- ditures to be made and sources of revenue to be sought. We are fortunate that she wishes to con- tinue to serve. Harold Titus Florence Steve Olienyk has served on the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Board for 24 years. He was instrumental in transforming our rural fire district from an outdated quonset hut with only one chief, one half-time staff and minimal equipment to our now modern Fire Station No. 1 with full staffing and a fleet of 38 rescue appa- ratus. As chairman, Steve negotiated the Consolidation Agreement with the City of Florence and the original WLEOG agreement for disaster preparedness. He supported upgrad- ing important radio systems so agencies could communicate with each other during emergen- cies. Steve’s many years in banking gives him the expertise needed to save money for organiza- tions and taxpayers. Because of his careful planning and responsible spending, SVFR has remained a fiscally strong agency. Steve is proud of SVFR’s volunteer firefight- ers and has great respect for their service to our community; they keep our citizens safe and save taxpayers millions. Steve has served on nonprofit boards for over 45 years. He was founding member of the Kiwanis Flag Program and Veteran’s Memorial Park. He received the 2011 Oregon Governor’s Lifetime Volunteer Award. He was presented with the “Key to Florence” by the mayor. Steve also received the SVFR Pat Clark Public Service Award, Kiwanian of the Year, VFW Community Service Award and Age Knows No Limits Award by LCOG. Steve is a person of good character and exemplary integrity. He is a caring person with a sharp sense for doing what is right. He is someone we can trust to keep our citizens safe and our fire district strong. We enthusiastically ask you to re-elect Steve Olienyk. Mike and Kathy Bones 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