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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2015)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ JUNE 13, 2015 RYAN CRONK , EDITOR Siuslaw News ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ Opinion P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 BEWARE OF IRS PHONE SCAM Bogus calls reported in Florence An aggressive and sophisticat- ed phone scam targeting taxpay- ers has been making the rounds throughout the country, including the Florence area. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), callers claim to be employees of the IRS, but are not. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They use fake names and bogus IRS identifica- tion badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre- loaded debit card or wire trans- fer. If the victim refuses to coop- erate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or sus- pension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. Or, victims may be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private infor- mation. If the phone isn’t answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request. The IRS reminds taxpayers that it will never: • call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill; • demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportu- nity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe; • require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card; • ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone; or • threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying. Fraudulent calls where the IRS is mentioned can be reported to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800- 366-4484. For more information on scams being tracked by the IRS, visit www.irs.gov. VIEW FROM UPRIVER Dry humor W ESLEY V OTH For the Siuslaw News S eemingly overnight, there are fledged birds everywhere, meaning they hatched some time ago. The river is filled with ducklings of several varieties and a few goslings, which are on the go immedi- ately after hatching. There is a similar differ- ence between our local brush rabbits, which are born blind and hairless, and varying hares that also live here, but are born ready to run. June is the month of fawns and elk calves, and I have seen a number of these out in the sunshine. Uncut, ungrazed pastures look like meadows, with the grasses spreading clouds of pollen that dust every surface, gilding spi- derwebs and windshields, waterways and nasal membranes, the latter causing grief for some. A nearby hillside woodlot, cut a couple of years ago, is thickly and riotously adorned with every shade of foxglove. I finally got the netting up on our blueber- ries, although not before quite a few had gone to the birds. For the second year in a row we have let them have the currants. The blackberry bloom is already peaking, mean- ing that now is when pollinator colonies need to be at full strength. The bees I usually keep at our place died suddenly in early spring; it may or may not be related to the fact that it was just two days after the railroad — 50 yards away — was sprayed with herbicide. The dry warm spring was very good for bumblebees and other native pollinators, and so our fruit trees and berries have all done just fine without the honeybees. And now, thanks to the kindness of other beekeepers, I again have bees in the hives at my house, and other colonies of mine elsewhere in the area are doing well. I don’t remember many Junes as warm as this one, and it is rarely this dry this month in this watershed. The measuring station near where I live records data for the Siuslaw River back to the 1960s, but some of it is not retrievable. Typically the river drops slowly from mid-June to mid-September. The last time on record that it was this dry in mid- June was 1992, but I can’t retrieve what that meant by September of that year. I can’t imagine that this bodes well. Every year I try and pay attention to what there is more of, and what seems missing that EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM has always been here. This year: fewer bats (in fact I haven’t seen any since March, and they are usually plentiful around our house at all times of the year), but we are starting to see drag- onflies after several years of none, and a large nutria swam past, the first I’ve seen behind our house, although more and more frequently elsewhere in this river. As a boy I shot one in our creek north of Corvallis that weighed 25 pounds; I shot it because I didn’t know what it was and want- ed my wildlife biologist father to identify it (we did things like that in those days). A South American rodent raised by people for fur and then released to become an invasive pest when no one bought the pelts, these pro- lific creatures are born open eyed and able to eat any vegetation in their path including gar- den vegetables. Although I have yet to see signs, it is like- ly that the last weekend in June will be the Highway 36 54-mile-long yard sale — Mapleton to Junction City, with many high points; technically, the apex among them is Low Pass. YESTERDAY’S NEWS MOMENTS IN TIME The History Channel • On June 15, 1215, following a revolt by the English nobility, King John puts his royal seal on the Magna Carta, or “Great Charter.” The document guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of the church and maintain the nation’s laws. • On June 16, 1738, patriot printer, publish- er and postmistress, Mary Katharine Goddard, is born. She would later publish the first version of the Declaration of Independence to include all of the Congressional signatures. The docu- ment appeared “printed by Mary Katherine Goddard.” • On June 18, 1812, the War of 1812 against Great Britain begins. The American war decla- ration had been called in response to the British economic sanctions against the U.S. and the impressment of American seaman into the British Royal Navy. • On June 19, 1905, in Pittsburgh, some 450 people attend the opening of the world’s first nickelodeon. The storefront theater boasted 96 seats and charged each patron 5 cents to view a 15-minute motion picture show. • On June 20, 1975, director Steven Spielberg’s thriller “Jaws” debuts in U.S. the- aters. Jaws starred Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody and Richard Dreyfuss as a marine biologist. The film’s mechanical shark was named Bruce. • On June 21, 1982, John W. Hinckley, Jr., who on March 30, 1981, shot President Ronald Reagan outside a Washington, D.C., hotel, is found not guilty of attempted murder by reason of insanity. • On June 17, 1994, after a dramatic “low- speed chase” on I-405 witnessed by millions on live television, former football star and actor O.J. Simpson surrenders to Los Angeles police. He was charged in the double-murder of his ex- wife and her friend. (c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc. L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR P OLICY The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor concerning issues affecting the Florence area and Lane County. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters should be limited to about 300 words and must include the writer’s full name, address and phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Libelous and anonymous letters as well as poetry will not be published. All submissions become the property of Siuslaw News and will not be returned. Write to: Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com USPS# 497-660 Copyright 2015 © Siuslaw News John Bartlett Jenna Bartlett Ryan Cronk Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry 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; fax 541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. 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