4 A
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WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ MARCH 16, 2016
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
RYAN CRONK , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
LETTERS
A tribute to
Don-Lee Davidson
Thank you
My Uncle Sam once told me that one needed to
watch over his pride so it never became vanity.
Don-Lee Davidson wore the twin — largely invis-
ible — badge of generosity and humility during his
earthly adventure.
His bountiful disposition was not limited to the
Mapleton community, but reached west along the
banks of the Siuslaw River to Florence. The hos-
pital, library and other civic concerns received the
largeness of his goodwill. And, while he made the
grand lodge on his compound at Lake Woahink
available for community events, Don was content
living nearby in more modest circumstances.
Often, early in the morning, Don would alight
from his familiar Jeep to greet me on Bay Street.
From his attire one might assume he was on his
way to a manual labor job in the woods, and not
the CEO of Davidson Industries.
Don seemed to prefer this workman-like to a
coat and tie. He once confided to me his concern at
the time to preserve the forest of trees across the
Siuslaw bay from being harvested. He felt strong-
ly that it would spoil the view from Old Town and
the Port of Siuslaw.
Don’s generosity was reflected as well in small
ways. On more than one occasion, at a local
restaurant where he and his wife, Gloria, were hav-
ing dinner, we would ask for the check only to dis-
cover that he was gone and our bill paid. Don was
never too far from a smile.
Over the years we talked about many things,
including weightier matters. Although he and I
probably rarely cast our ballots for the same polit-
ical parties, we never found it necessary to argue
our positions, respecting our differences.
Don, instead, was occupied, step by step on
stubborn legs, conquering space as he went about
the task of living. He cast a long shadow. And, he
will be missed.
Ron Hogeland
Florence
To all our good friends of Florence,
We would like to thank you for sharing the cel-
ebration of life for our loving son, Shawn. Your
hugs and prayers have filled our hearts and we felt
the love from all of you.
He loved his family, his town and his job and
showed it every day of his life.
Thanks again for being there for him and all of
the family and friends.
Karen and Bob Morgan-Loren
Florence
Support Woodbury for judge
Traffic violations, domestic disputes, petty
thefts, arson and charges of drug-related crimes —
these are just a few of the many cases that come
through the doors of the Florence Justice Court.
And, although its judge has jurisdiction over all of
Lane County, our Florence Justice Court is some-
what unique in that the majority of its cases
involve issues and residents of our local commu-
nity. It is a “people’s court.”
A justice court judge in a small, rural coastal
town plays much the same role as an old-fashioned
country doctor: They serve the very folks they live
and work with, and we count on them to apply the
law with a wise and steady hand.
Woody Woodbury has been asked by local
leaders to serve as our next Florence Justice Court
judge. This is by no means the first time he’s been
asked to serve the residents of our city. He’s been
an active board member of many local organiza-
tions, a respected president of our chamber of
commerce, an advocate for strong partnerships
between city officials and local businesses, and
currently serves as a visionary member of the
Urban Renewal Committee.
He is respected by all who know him as a man
of integrity and humility. He is fair and objective,
and a seasoned listener. He approaches people and
problems with an open mind and a clean slate.
And, when he talks, folks pay attention.
As a business owner and concerned citizen,
Woody understands the challenges of our local
economy and the difficulties that many face put-
ting food on their table and keeping a roof over
their head. As an employer/mentor/father, he
understands people and administers both direction
and discipline with generous doses of wisdom and
discernment. As a former law enforcement officer,
he knows that sometimes good folks make bad
choices but that justice for all is the law of our
land.
For these reasons and more, I support Woody
Woodbury’s candidacy for judge of the Florence
Justice Court in Lane County and ask that you join
me in electing one of our own to the people’s court.
Cindy Wobbe
Florence
Reader’s Choice omission
We’re fortunate to have a tax preparation/ book-
keeping expert who calls Florence home. That
would be Barbara Martin, my tax preparer for
almost a decade.
After being recognized with the Reader’s
Choice Award several years running, her business
category wasn’t included in the list of
“Professionals” on last year’s ballot, and I was dis-
appointed to see the same omission this year.
If we’re shining the spotlight on the best our
community offers, and if the survey results are
meant to be a legitimate tool for those seeking
service providers, I know I speak for a legion of
devoted clients when I say Barbara very much
deserves to be recognized and applauded in the
“Taxes and Bookkeeping” category.
Allie LeCaux
Florence
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR P OLICY
Valuing all opinions
To newcomer Elizabeth Burletson and her letter
to the editor (“Stones From Glass Houses,” March
9): I will have to say, you delivered some mean-
spirited remarks yourself, so you should watch that
glass house of yours, too.
If you continue to be an outsider in a welcom-
ing community like Florence, it is by choice. We
value all opinions, following an old saying, “When
everyone thinks alike, no one thinks very much.”
As for being scared, not to worry. Most of us
Florence progressives are people-loving, animal-
loving, environment-loving pacifists.
So welcome. I promise, you are not the only
Republican in Florence. I moved here from Texas
— try being an outsider there!
Judy Kinsman
Florence
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Write to: Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com
Finding a viable candidate
I am really surprised the GOP could not find a
viable candidate to run for President. Donald
Trump is bombastic, an egotist, creates false per-
ceptions and lies about everything when confront-
ed. What he does best is to cajole the uneducated
to buy into his fantasy.
Pushing aside all the other 10 or so wannabes,
we have Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, two young
upstarts with little Washington experience, more
than Trump, and trying to define their agenda and
find their voice. What I think it will come down to
is that one of these upstarts will challenge Trump
and defeat him.
The problem is that they will have no ability to
defeat Hillary. She has so many good options for
the VP position — Gavin Newsom, Kasim Reed,
Martin O’Malley or perhaps a lady VP like Kirsten
Gillibrand.
It will be an interesting number of months ahead
for us. Obama will select the next Supreme Court
Justice and it will be confirmed after a hasty fight.
The GOP needs to get a handle on things and
decide if they want to have a separation of states or
actually want to work to make this country
stronger and what it should be.
Win Jolley
Florence
Wall or bridge?
According to Trump, all he has to do to bring a
bored audience to a fever pitch is say, “The wall!
We gotta build it.” They go crazy. He’s right about
that. Whenever he says it, I go crazy.
According to engineers, whatever the design, it
would take vast amounts of concrete and steel, tens
of thousands of workers and many billions of dol-
lars. If the purpose is to prevent illegal immigra-
tion, a practical solution is a trivial-cost federal
program called E-Verify. It’s free and proven.
Employers sign up for it online with the Social
Security Administration.
When a worker applies and gives a Social
Security number, the employer emails it to the
feds. Within seconds, they get a response: either
“yes, legitimate,” or “no, not legitimate.” It’s that
simple. No employability, and no attraction to
immigrate illegally. The problem is that it’s volun-
tary.
Sen. Marco Rubio mentioned making E-Verify
mandatory during the first Republican debate. No
one seemed to notice — not the media, not the
public and not even the opposition.
Uniquely and obliquely, the best solution may
have come from the Holy Father, Pope Francis. He
said that we should build bridges between our-
selves, not walls. He was talking about bridges of
friendships, but maybe it could also mean physical
bridges and physical walls. All that concrete. All
that steel. All those man-hours.
Forget the hateful and ridiculous Trump wall.
Build and repair American bridges. Hire American
workers. Also hire legal immigrant workers, which
would help many of them build up a stake in the
community. They are our neighbors and friends.
What, really, have we ever done for them?
Ron Bruton
Florence
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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