4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ MAY 14, 2016
RYAN CRONK , EDITOR
Siuslaw News
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
Opinion
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
VIEW FROM UPRIVER
YESTERDAY’S NEWS
Casualties of war
W ESLEY V OTH
For the Siuslaw News
––––––––––––
T
his week has felt like summer. We sit
down beside the river in the early
evening, watching the play of light on
water. The last shafts of setting sun catch the
dancing cataracts of the riffles, partnering in
a shimmering shimmy. Insects jigger along
the surface, swallows swoop and skim, ducks
bob by, a boy is fishing blissfully, the osprey
pair that nests in a broken-top fir just down
from Rainrocks wheels about in an air pirou-
ette, in and out of the sunbeams. It is wind-
less and heavenly, and the color that pairs
with the many greens of spring is no longer
grey but golden.
The sounds are soothing: ravens rave in
rapture, sandpipers pipe, children chatter hap-
pily, there is the cooing of the band-tailed
pigeons. Up and down the Brickerville bank,
people are drawn to the water as to church.
The river rushes along in quiet babble, and
there is peace in our little valley.
Such are welcome respites from the
bustle and complications and even ran-
cor of the rest of life, both locally and
what we hear of the wider world. A
neighbor told us about her young
peach tree dying of something, and
when I checked on ours that is now six
years old, it too is dying, the leaves
shriveling up and the fruit that had set so
nicely dropping to the ground. Some of the
rhododendrons we planted a few years ago
have struggled as well.
The problem seems to happen at this time
of year, when I’ve also had the most trouble
with my bees. It is coincidental with herbi-
cides sprayed along the railroad and along the
highway, spray that drifts well beyond where
it is directed and affects far more than is
intended, but whether this is related I cannot
tell. The last of my bees dying this spring is
mostly the result of a pest I did not even
know I had or was anywhere near here, the
“small hive beetle” originating in Africa.
These are not supposed to be that big of a
problem, but a population explosion of these
ruined the substantial amount of honey left in
my hives, fermenting it and causing it to run
out onto the ground, resulting in the demise
of this last surviving colony.
The beetles are tunneled into all of the hive
wood and wax, which will have to be burned
onsite, hopefully also killing the larvae in the
ground below. Maybe if I wait a year I could
start again. Maybe it has become impossible
to raise bees here without the use of chemi-
cals, and if so, I am done.
There is an election on, and there are so
many things that trouble me about both the
process and the tone. Oregon seems to be the
only state moving in the direction of making
it not only easier to vote, but including as
many people as possible, although we have
not been free of politically motivated redis-
tricting. The partisan redistricting and the
voting and registration complications going
on in most of the nation sows widespread dis-
trust non-involvement at a time when we can
least afford it.
And then, there are the fighting words,
both between and within the dominating
political parties. This much I know, and I
know it from being raised in a dysfunctional
family, but having worked hard to establish a
well-functioning one: Some words should
never be spoken. They cannot be taken back,
forgotten, or truly forgiven, because they
damage and destroy.
Like herbicide sprays, words of hate and
belittlement damage and destroy far beyond
their immediate intent or their intended tar-
gets. They can eventually cause the collapse
of entire systems.
LETTERS
thirds of the House and Senate have
to agree that it is an emergency
unless an actual state of emergency
has been declared. To bring the
amendment to a vote, 118,000 sig-
natures will have to be obtained
from registered voters.
I urge you to sign the petition
when it comes around. The state
needs to have emergency powers in
case of a real emergency, but those
powers should not be used to com-
pletely exclude us from the law-
making process by routinely declar-
ing fake emergencies.
David R. Davis
Florence
Election
disappointments
In this election cycle, two disap-
pointing things have come to my
attention.
First, local volunteers who have
invested many volunteer hours on
school issues are personally criti-
cized for taking a stand on the cur-
rent school levy. If citizens don’t
like an issue, they should criticize
the facts bearing on the issue, not
volunteer servants. While I am not
certain how I feel about seismic
boogeymen, I respect the work of
volunteers who have studied the
issue and I thank them for their
efforts.
Secondly, I am told the sitting
Democrat state legislator from
Coos Bay is behind an attempt to
have herself written in as the
Republican candidate also, thereby
eliminating any chance for compe-
tition and discussion of her and her
party’s voting record in the recent
legislative session. While it is a
legal activity under Oregon law, I
suppose some might call that a
“dirty trick.” However, like beauty,
it may be in the eye of the beholder.
As for me, I am writing in a
well-qualified Republican, Teri
Grier from Coos Bay, for state leg-
islator in House District 9.
Al Pearn
Florence
Legislature loophole
The members of the Oregon
Legislature are more and more
often using a loophole in the
Oregon constitution to eliminate the
citizens from the law-making
process. The loophole is called the
Emergency Clause.
When the emergency clause is
added to a bill it cannot be referred
to the voters. Once “We the People”
are excluded from the law-making
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
process, we are no longer function-
ing as a democracy.
Over 50 percent of the bills intro-
duced during the 2016 Oregon leg-
islative session included an emer-
gency clause. What was the emer-
gency? The politicians didn’t say,
so we don’t know.
Why were all these emergencies
declared? There is really only one
reason. If a bill is passed with an
emergency clause attached, it
becomes law when the Governor
signs it instead of waiting the statu-
torily required 90 days.
Without the 90-day period, the
law cannot be referred to the voters.
It eliminates the voters from any
chance of participating in the law-
making process.
More specifically, during the
2016 short legislative secession,
149 bills were introduced in the
House, of which 82 (55 percent)
contained an emergency clause.
The Senate introduced 104 bills, of
which 62 (60 percent) contained the
emergency clause.
So over 50 percent of the time
some politician decided they did
not want us to possibly vote on the
bill they proposed.
Of the 82 House bills that con-
tained an emergency clause, only
24 were passed into law, that leaves
58 that did not. For the Senate, 17
of the 62 bills introduced with an
emergency clause passed, leaving
45 that did not. Just how real do you
think the emergencies were for the
58 House bills and 45 Senate bills
that were declared as necessary by
reason of emergency but were not
important enough to pass into law?
Several controversial bills were
passed with an emergency clause
attached during the recent seces-
sion, including the “Minimum
wage law” and the “No more ener-
gy from coal for Oregon.”
Regardless of your personal stance
on these issues, summarily taking
away our right to vote is just wrong.
The emergency clause was
placed in the constitution to accom-
modate serious threats to the people
of the state, for instance in the case
of a tsunami or health epidemic,
not to be routinely used to eliminate
citizens of the state from the law-
making process.
A constitutional amendment is
being proposed that will change
the allowable use of the emergency
clause. The amendment has two
basic requirements: 1. The emer-
gency has to be named in the pro-
posed legislation; and, 2. Two-
Support Val Hoyle
One reason for Democrats to be
slow in returning ballots for this
Primary Election is that they have
some hard but good choices to
make. Here is a hint to help with
decision-making in the race for
Secretary of State: Val Hoyle actu-
ally lives in Lane County and
knows our coast well.
Val has been a strong voice in
Salem as a state representative
speaking on behalf of Oregonians
in a rural district outside the
Portland metro area. She will cer-
tainly bring that perspective to the
job of Secretary of State.
As House majority leader, Val
has worked extremely hard to pass
legislation on strong education
funding, expanding voting rights,
background checks for all gun
sales, paid sick leave, higher mini-
mum wage, non-polluting fuel and
energy sourcing and much more.
The deadline to return ballots to
the official drop box on Ninth Street
outside the Florence Police
Department is 8 p.m. on May 17.
Don’t forget to sign the outside of
the return envelope.
Karin Radtke
Yachats
MOMENTS IN TIME
The History Channel
On May 19, 1715, the colony of New York
passes a law making it illegal to “gather, rake,
take up, or bring to the market, any oysters
whatsoever” between May and September. This
regulation was one of many passed in the early
days of America to help preserve certain
species.
On May 22, 1856, Rep. Preston Brooks
(D-S.C.) savagely beats Sen. Charles Sumner
(R-Mass.) in the halls of Congress as tensions
rise over the expansion of slavery. Wielding the
gold-topped cane he used for injuries suffered
in a duel over politics in 1840, Brooks entered
the Senate chamber and attacked Sumner at his
desk.
On May 20, 1873, San Francisco business-
man Levi Strauss and Reno, Nevada, tailor
Jacob Davis are given a patent to create work
pants reinforced with metal rivets, marking the
birth of one of the world’s most famous gar-
ments: blue jeans. They were originally called
“waist overalls.”
On May 21, 1881, humanitarians Clara
Barton and Adolphus Solomons found the
American National Red Cross to provide
humanitarian aid to victims of wars and natural
disasters.
On May 18, 1917, six weeks after the
United States formally entered the First World
War, the U.S Congress passes the Selective
Service Act, giving the U.S. president the
power to draft soldiers. Within months, some
10 million men had registered.
On May 16, 1929, the first-ever Academy
Awards ceremony is held. Some 270 people
attended, and tickets cost $5 each. After dinner,
complete with numerous speeches, actor
Douglas Fairbanks handed out 15 awards in a
five-minute ceremony.
On May 17, 1965, after a two-year investi-
gation, the FBI declares the supposedly porno-
graphic lyrics of “Louie Louie” to be officially
unintelligible. Agents had purchased numerous
versions of “Louie Louie” played and re-played
the song at different speeds in their laboratory.
(c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
L ETTERS TO THE
E DITOR P OLICY
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All submissions become the property of
Siuslaw News and will not be returned.
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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