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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 2015)
4 A ❘ WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ DECEMBER 16, 2015 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 RYAN CRONK , EDITOR ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion E XTRAORDINARY P EOPLE Robert (Bob) DuBose C ATHERINE J. R OURKE For the Siuslaw News _____________ A s a man who conducted diplomatic relations during the Cold War era, Bob DuBose is now facing another kind of war against the cold. Every year for the past decade at least one homeless person has died from hypothermia in the Florence area. That chilling fact spurred Bob and his wife, the Rev. Georgia DuBose, a vicar at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, into action last year during a meeting to address the need for an emergency cold weather shelter. “I was deeply disturbed,” Bob said. So he told the group, “Let’s do some- thing instead of just talking about it.” It was the voice of experience. Since Bob and Georgia had operated a shelter in Harpers Ferry, W. Va., before moving to Florence in 2014, they stepped up to help organize the Florence Emergency Cold Weather Shelter Committee (FECWSC). As FECWSC chairman, Bob works with “a very vibrant team” of groups and individuals dedicated to the cause: the Masonic Lodge, the Helping Hands Coalition, the Presbyterian Church of the Siuslaw, Rotary, Siuslaw Outreach Services, Florence United Methodist Church, the Florence Seventh-Day Adventist Church, St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Church of Latter-Day Saints, Florence Food Share and others. Bob wasted no time applying his diplomacy skills to contact FEMA, the Red Cross and other agencies for the shelter’s needs, such as cots and blankets. “We won’t have people in sleep- ing bags,” he said. “Sheets and pil- lows provide so much more dignity.” With a facility provided by the Masonic Lodge, the FECWSC pro- vides emergency food and shelter for homeless men, women and their pets when the wind chill dips below freezing. “It’s really just about keeping peo- ple alive,” Bob said. But it’s also a daunting task with multifaceted complexities. Volunteers remain ready to go at a moment’s notice — no easy feat dur- ing the holiday season — with a long list of functions. “It’s quite a chore putting up dozens of people, so every volunteer is crucial,” said Georgia, who man- ages the training. “We really need more help with everything imagina- ble, from laundry to publicity.” Bob bears the huge responsibility of deciding when to open the shelter. That requires constant monitoring of multiple weather sites and medical alerts when the weather poses a life- threatening danger. For people living out in the ele- ments, the season to be jolly is the most dreaded time of the year. As storms battered the area last week with record rain and wind gusts clos- ing the port, the homeless huddled under building overhangs and in doorways trying to stay dry. Despite the harsh weather, temperatures weren’t severe enough to open the facility. Bob and the FECWSC team are working tirelessly to raise communi- ty awareness about the need for a year-round shelter. “Plans are afoot to establish one, but it’s going to take a lot of money and manpower,” he said. “We have huge support from the community Bob and the Rev. Georgia DuBose work with a team of local groups and volunteers to provide an emergency cold weather shelter for the homeless in Florence. PHOTO BY CATHERINE ROURKE and the volunteerism here is remark- able. I have learned to love this beautiful little riverfront city and its amazing spirit of compassion.” An Arkansas native who received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard and a master’s degree from Berkeley, Bob chose careers reflect- ing that compassion. After serving in the Navy, he became a journalist and “civil rights agitator,” then joined the Foreign Service in 1964 as a diplomat in Rwanda. “It was the most isolated foreign post in the world at that time,” he said. While most people would have retired after 30 years in the Foreign Service, Bob had other plans. “It was time to do something for humanity,” he said. With positions as director of Counter-Terrorism Intelligence and director of Office of Arms Control, he negotiated arms control with 75 different nations on a daily basis. Bob served as chief U.S. negotia- tor of the Chemical Weapons Convention and co-creator of the structure of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. His idea of “retirement” meant serving on the town council, the his- toric landmarks commission and var- ious local charity organizations, including the county homeless coali- tion in Harpers Ferry. That desire to serve humanity now continues with Florence’s less-fortunate people. “My life has just been about try- ing to help bring peace and love to this jangled world, and it’s so fulfill- ing to help others,” Bob said. “There are a lot of folks really struggling here. It takes two minutes to call or become a volunteer on our website, and the holidays are when we often need help.” So in between the shopping and festivities, take some time to volun- teer at the FECWSC. National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day falls on Dec. 21, the longest night of the year, to remember those who have died due to lack of shelter. It’s a great day to extend a random act of kindness to the homeless and remember that laying one’s head to rest is our birthright. Call 804-439- 1775 or visit www.coldshelter.org to do something extraordinary for humanity this season. ______________________ Catherine J. Rourke is an award- winning writer, journalist and book editor who teaches creative writing at the Florence Regional Arts Alliance. She may be contacted at CJReditor@gmail.com. Florence Emergency Cold Weather Shelter — how you can help ___________ Attend volunteer training on Thursday, Dec. 17, from 4 to 6 p.m., at 410 Ninth St. Call Norma Wood at 804- 439-1775 for volunteer info, or visit www.coldshelter.org. LETTERS values to be put on hold? In regards to the second letter and that ques- tion about the M&Ms (“Accepting Facts as Facts,” Dec. 9). Of course not. What is the ques- tion? Exposing children to poison? So the answer that is proposed would be that no immi- grants should be allowed with respect to the possible inherent danger. This country has been built on the back of immigrants. It continues to prosper in a global environment, full of interactions with some of the 1.6 billion Muslims that inhabit the planet. Isolationism has no place in the world, the present one we all live in. World trade, international finances and glob- al health issues cannot be ignored or wished away. These are the facts. Justin Lavespere Florence Corral your carts I was stuck in the Safeway parking lot last weekend for about 45 minutes. Why? Someone didn’t corral their small grocery cart. It ran into the back of my car and the lower basket was firmly wedged under the bumper. The upper basket prevented me from opening the back door and getting to the jack. I couldn’t get the basket loose, neither could the assistant manager or the cart gal. We worked in tandem to try to get the cart unstuck, and of course, it was raining like crazy. I finally called my husband and he brought down a jack, lifted the car and the cart got unhooked. By the time I got home I was soaked to the skin from the waist down and our ice cream had melted. I’ll admit, I’ve not always corralled my cart, especially if I had young kids along and wasn’t close to a corral. I try to park near one so there’s no excuse not to safely park a cart. Please remember to at least park your cart across the slope or hooked on a cement parking barrier, especially on windy days, if the corral is too far away. As we were working on freeing my car, a gal pulled out of a handicapped space, and as she left, her large cart rolled north and smacked into a parked car down the row from mine. It was too far away to catch in time. Button Watkins Cushman L ETTERS P OLICY Just the facts In recent issues of Siuslaw News, two letters have been published in regards to the issue of Syrian/Muslim immigration. The first, as I recall, stated that Syrian Muslim refugees had thrown Christian refugees overboard (“Just Remember,” Dec. 5). The fact is that there were no Syrians involved in this incident. According to CNN and several other news agencies, the protagonists were actually from the Ivory Coast, Mali and Senegal. They have all been arrested by the Italian Palermo police. So are all possible immigrants to be banned from entry? The writer of the first letter also mentioned that America was based on Christian values. Although there has been a debate about that “fact,” some of the pillars of Christianity are forgiveness, compassion and charity. Are these Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor concern- ing 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 poet- ry will not be published. All submissions become the prop- erty of Siuslaw News and will not be returned. Write to: Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com USPS# 497-660 Copyright 2015 © Siuslaw News 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. 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Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: www.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