4 A
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SATURDAY EDITION
❘ JULY 18, 2015
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
RYAN CRONK , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
Opinion
Earthquakes
DISASTER PREP
B Y D AVE R OBINSON
Special to the Siuslaw News
R
eports of earthquakes scattered all
over the globe keep us on our toes
and especially when one is reported
off our own coast. The Portland news media
has been faithful to remind us of the neces-
sity for disaster preparedness. One com-
mentator noted that in the event of a
Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake,
Portlanders and others in the Willamette
Valley should prepare to survive on their
own for at least three weeks. He went on to
recommend that those living along the
Oregon coast should prepare for four
weeks, or more, of disruption.
Experts believe if an earthquake strikes
the Northwest, depending, of course, on the
location and intensity, all travel into and out
of the area could be cut off. Bridges quite
likely will be damaged. Landslides could
block roads due to liquefaction and downed
trees and other debris will further contribute
to the chaos. Electrical power distribution
will be interrupted for a lengthy period and
grocery supply networks will be at a stand-
still.
The only channels for delivering supplies
to the area will likely be by helicopter or by
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
sea. Either mode of supply replenishment
will take time to organize and deliver to our
area. If the entire Northwest is involved,
then the airlift would likely be among the
largest we’ve seen in recent history.
It is a safe bet telephone communication
would be fractured and cellular phone tech-
nology would likely be undependable at
best. Remember in the event of a disaster;
use the texting function on your cell phone
to communicate with your loved ones. The
system will be overloaded with calls, and a
text message takes up less “space” in the
system. Your text is much more likely to get
through than a phone call. If you don’t
know how to send a text message, just ask
any kid. They love to show off their tech-
nology skills to us “grown-ups.”
In the meantime, we are left to our own
devices. We will be dependent on what we
have set aside. We will need to rely on our
skills, our stores and each other. Now is a
good time to develop a network in your
neighborhood.
“Mapping Your Neighborhood” involves
getting to know your neighbors and finding
out who has skills. Who owns a backhoe,
YESTERDAY’S NEWS
who knows how to run a chainsaw, and
does anyone have medical training? Is there
anyone in your neighborhood with special
needs? Maybe an elderly person lives alone
and depends on an electronic alerting sys-
tem. They will need to be looked after in
person. The list runs longer, but when nei-
ther police nor fire department can respond,
having this information may save some-
one’s life.
There are Mapping Your Neighborhood
groups all over our area. It only takes one
person to pull his or her neighborhood
together and get started. If this interests
you, contact your local Office of
Emergency Management and get informa-
tion on Mapping Your Neighborhood.
Remember, the best time to prepare is
before a disaster happens.
That time is now.
Dave Robinson is the postmaster in
Bandon, Ore., and author of “Disaster Prep
for the Rest of Us.” He may be contacted at
disasterprep.dave@gmail.com. Visit his
website for more disaster preparedness tips,
www.disasterprepdave.blogspot.com.
MOMENTS IN TIME
The History Channel
• On July 26, 1775, Congress establishes the
United States Post Office and names Benjamin
Franklin the first postmaster general. While
postmaster, Franklin streamlined postal deliv-
ery with properly surveyed and marked routes
from Maine to Florida, the origins of Route 1.
• On July 23, 1878, gentleman bandit Black
Bart robs a Wells Fargo stagecoach in
California. At the next robbery he left behind a
handkerchief. Through a laundry mark,
Pinkerton detectives traced the handkerchief
back to Charles Bolton, an elderly man in San
Francisco. Bolton confessed to being Black
Bart.
• On July 24, 1915, the steamer Eastland
overturns in the Chicago River, drowning more
than 800 of its passengers. The disaster was
caused by serious problems with the boat’s
design. The Eastland capsized next to the dock,
trapping hundreds of people on or underneath
the large ship.
• On July 21, 1959, Elijah Jerry “Pumpsie”
Green makes his Boston Red Sox debut,
becoming the first black ever to play for the
Red Sox, the last team in the major leagues to
integrate.
• On July 25, 1965, singer-songwriter Bob
Dylan rocks the world of folk music when he
performs at the Newport Folk Festival and
abandons his acoustic guitar for an electric one.
By going electric, Dylan eventually moved
rock and folk music closer together.
FIREWORKS SHOW DISAPPOINTMENT
We would like to thank the many
members of the Florence community
who made our recent Independence
Day celebration on Saturday, July 4,
a reality. As has been said many
times over the years, it takes a whole
village to raise a child, and in this
case, it was just that type of effort to
make our celebration of our nation’s
birthday a reality.
So many events were happening
involving so many different volun-
teers, such as Chamber board mem-
bers as well as Chamber business
members with the concert and
pie/watermelon contests in historic
Old Town; our media partners Coast
Radio and Siuslaw News and their
GUEST VIEWPOINT
B Y C AL A PPLEEBEE
E XECUTIVE D IRECTOR , F LORENCE A REA C HAMBER OF C OMMERCE
promotion and coverage; service
clubs like the Florence-Siuslaw
Lions Club for Wings and Wheels;
and of course, our friends at the Port
of Siuslaw and the herculean effort
they put into our fireworks display.
We understand there was some
disappointment around the commu-
nity for the display this year due to
the weather, but obviously we have
no control over those elements.
Once the fireworks have been pur-
chased, built and placed, there is no
option other than to fire them off as
they cannot be held or re-used at a
later time.
In addition, the location is not as
desirable as prior years with the loss
of the barge two years ago as well as
meeting regulations, such as distance
setbacks.
The donation of that barge by
HDB Marine was an $8,000 value,
which simply can’t be replaced both
from a logistical perspective (as it
left Florence) as well as financial
perspective.
The fireworks display as it exists
now is about an $11,000 cost to the
community currently without the
additional cost of replacing the
barge, and the financial support
from the community to help fund
the display has only historically run
around $2,000 each year toward
those costs.
We hope the community keeps
the focus on the reason for the cele-
bration — our nation’s independ-
ence, and not the occasional disap-
pointing display due to elements out
of our control.
Shameful politics have once again painted
our community as dysfunctional and small-
minded. It’s no secret that the Port of Siuslaw
board is in turmoil, the Boys and Girls Club
board is in crisis mode and now we see an
attempt to wrest control of the Siuslaw Valley
Fire and Rescue board. This is a transparent
coup attempt by those who prefer the “good ol’
boys” network over a professionally managed
and trained fire department, led by a very capa-
ble Chief Jim Langborg.
A trio of candidates coordinated their cam-
paigns as an organized “hit squad” and were put
up to run by those who took umbrage at the hir-
ing of someone from outside Florence who was
much better qualified and trained than any local
and current member of the fire department. You
• On July 22, 1990, American cyclist Greg
LeMond wins his third Tour de France after
leading the majority of the race.
(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
LETTER
Shameful politics
• On July 20, 1972, a U.S. government study
disputes consumer advocate Ralph Nader’s
charges against the Chevrolet Corvair.
Conducted by the National Highway Traffic
Administration, the two-year study concluded
that 1960-63 Covairs were at least as safe as
other cars sold in the same period.
or typed letters must be signed. All letters
could tell this was an organized plan by the
identical placement of their campaign signs and
the exact use of the same patriotic logos on each
sign.
When we personally asked these candidates
before the election what their position would be
toward the current Chief they were disingenuous
and said that they could work with Chief
Langborg.
Chief Langborg is exceptionally well-quali-
fied and was hired after a lengthy interview and
qualification process that included many com-
munity leaders from outside the fire board. The
chief was hired to bring a higher level of train-
ing and professionalism to the fire department
and he has undertaken that task with serious-
ness, changing and improving the culture within
the department, despite a few loud and vocal
naysayers.
This past week, at the very first board meet-
ing the new board members elected their own
new president and the very first order of busi-
ness was to terminate the chief. So much for
their lack of candor during the election.
Not only did they keep their machinations
secret from voters until after taking office, some
of these board members have now violated
Oregon’s Open and Public Meetings Law and
have acted and voted with overt conflicts of
interest. When there is an employment or com-
pensation relationship with the organization you
are working with, you must be excused from rel-
evant voting matters.
We understand that the board may reconsider
this matter and that Chief Langborg can return
to the mission he was hired to undertake.
Larry and Crystal Farnsworth
Florence
should be limited to about 300 words and
must include the writer’s full name, address
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Letters are subject to editing for length,
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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:
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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; fax
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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