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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 2016)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ MARCH 5, 2016 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 DISASTER PREP B Y D AVE R OBINSON Special to the Siuslaw News I read somewhere that “The best kit is the one you have with you.” We can have our homes prepared to the max, but if we aren’t home when disaster strikes, it does us little good. If I had my way, any disaster would take place while my family and I are comfortably at home, but we can’t schedule storms or earthquakes. The reality is I personally commute to work 20 miles from home and spend eight or more hours a day in my office there. My wife spends all day at her job 30 miles from home in another direction. The likelihood of at least one of us being stranded away from home in an emergency is very good. So let’s play a game of “Let’s Pretend.” If you were stranded even 20 miles from home during a disaster, would you have what you need with you to get by? And by the way, all the stores are closed and the ATMs won’t work because the power is out. If you ask most people, “What would you do if you were in another RYAN CRONK , EDITOR ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion Getting home city during an emergency?” Most people would say, “I’d get home as soon as possible.” Have you consid- ered that you just might not be able to get home? Trees, power poles, power lines, building debris, massive traffic jams with everybody else trying to do the same thing, busted bridges and roads flooded are all realistic reasons why your best option may be to sit it out for a few hours. If the emergency is an earthquake, make sure you’re out of the tsunami zone and sit tight. If you have your kit with you, you’re good. So what’s in a kit? Everyone’s kit will look different depending on your specific needs. We all have the same four basic needs: (1) food, (2) water, (3) shelter and (4) security. (Maslow’s hierarchy of need notwithstanding.) Good, strong walking shoes are a must. If you take some kind of main- tenance medication, then you should have your meds with you, at least three or four days worth. It’s called a “Get Home Bag.” Yours will look different than mine, but water, YESTERDAY’S NEWS food and shelter are the basics. How about some extra clothes? And the shoes you wear to work are probably not the ones you want to wear to walk any distance. Consider a small water filter, like a LifeStraw or Survival Spring. Both are available for about $20. Just do an Internet search to find one. And a plan. Talk it over with your family. “If I get stranded at work, here’s what I’m going to do ...” Then, lay out the plan to reunite your fami- ly. This isn’t done out of fear, it’s done with a “just in case” mindset. Having a plan is every bit as impor- tant as having a well-equipped back- pack. Get a bag, get started and just imagine what you’d do if you were stranded some distance from home. ______________________ 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 March 11, 1861, delegates from South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas adopt the Permanent Constitution of the Confederate States of America. It provided for six-year terms for the president, who was ineligible for successive terms. On March 10, 1876, the first discernible speech is transmitted over a telephone system when inventor Alexander Graham Bell sum- mons his assistant in another room by saying, “Mr. Watson, come here; I want you.” Bell had received a telephone patent three days before, filing just hours before another inventor, Elisha Gray. On March 12, 1888, agreeing to cooperate with a policy adopted by Congress, China approves a treaty forbidding Chinese laborers to enter the United States for 20 years. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 barred immi- grants based on race and nationality for the first time. On March 7, 1923, The New Republic pub- lishes Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.” The poem, begin- ning with the famous line “Whose woods these are, I think I know,” has introduced millions of American students to poetry. On March 13, 1942, the Quartermaster Corps of the United States Army begins training dogs for the new War Dog Program, or K-9 Corps. Tens of thousands of dogs had served during World War I, the most famous being Rin Tin Tin. On March 8, 1951, the Lonely Hearts Killers, Martha Beck and Raymond Martinez Fernandez, are executed in the electric chair in New York. The couple had schemed to seduce, rob and murder women who placed personal ads in newspapers. On March 9, 1981, a nuclear accident at a Japanese power plant dumps 16 tons of radioac- tive waste into Wakasa Bay. Despite the risk to people eating contaminated fish, the public was not told of the spill for more than a month. Fish in the area displayed mutations for several years afterward. (c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc. L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR P OLICY LETTERS Trump’s tyranny I was wondering one night, if Mr. Donald Trump were to become President, would he send my Chihuahua back to Mexico to be a stray in the streets? But, alas, I’d probably see him back here since he’s good at digging under walls. Maybe he would ship my Afghan back to Afghanistan’s war zone — because he’s proba- bly Muslim — I hope he’s good at dodging bullets. My Borzoi would probably be spared depor- tation since Trump is such a pal of Putin, and my white French poodle might be able to remain since he is, after all, white. Then, there’s my Saluki — back to Egypt he goes since he is Muslim and from an unstable region of the world. And, my Shih Tzu’s doomed to return to China since Trump is not too fond of them either. Aye, aye, aye, aye! I would put nothing past — I hate to say it — a “President Trump.” He would say, “Get them out of here” to anyone he doesn’t like, torture them and off with their head without blinking an eye — some kind of person, yet alone a President — danger- ous and despotic. Julie M. MacFarlane Florence Candidate cannibalism The GOP truly deserves more public acclaim for the “rich” entertainment value offered by their candidate cannibalism. As a disintegrating party, with- out a doubt, they reconfirm the vast potential offered through a tyranny of small ideas. Rand Dawson Siltcoos Lake 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 2016 © 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
