4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ JUNE 25, 2016
RYAN CRONK , EDITOR
Siuslaw News
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
Opinion
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
Construction on Rhododendron Drive
n response to some
recent letters to the editor
and also to some of the
questions that we often
receive from citizens, I
would like to provide a brief
history of the work that is
being done throughout our
city, especially along
Rhododendron Drive.
The condition of
Rhododendron Drive over
the years has deteriorated and
it has been one of the City
Council’s priorities to
improve this minor arterial
roadway within Florence. For
the record, ODOT is not
involved in this project as
Rhododendron Drive is the
responsibility of the City of
Florence.
With the numerous proj-
ects in that area, we wanted
to provide an overview of
some of the Rhododendron
Drive projects we have done
over the past year and a few
that are coming up so that
our citizens can better under-
stand the many components.
• July 2015 — 35th Street
to Lighthouse Way: A chip
seal was applied to the por-
tion of Rhododendron Drive
between 35th Street and
Lighthouse Way in July
2015. This project was done
as a temporary repair until
funding is identified for a full
rehabilitation of that section
I
GUEST VIEWPOINT
B Y J OE H ENRY
F LORENCE M AYOR
of Rhododendron Drive.
• August 2015 — Ninth
Street to Wild Winds: A
grind/inlay was performed on
the portion of Rhododendron
Drive between Ninth Street
and Wild Winds in order to
preserve that portion of the
roadway. This project was
the first step in the Shoulder
Extension project along that
same corridor.
• Winter 2016 — Siano
Loop Project: The Siano
Loop project made improve-
ments to the stormwater and
sanitary sewer systems in the
area of Siano Loop near
Rhododendron Drive and
35th Street. Due to the loca-
tion of the improvements,
this project also included
repaving and patchwork on
portions of Rhododendron
Drive and 35th Street. This
was a city project and funded
through the Stormwater,
Wastewater and Street funds.
• May/June 2016 — 35th
Street to Eden Lane Sewer
Project: Phase 1 of the
Rhododendron Drive gravity
sewer project would be tak-
ing place this year. The grav-
ity sewer project, currently
under construction, between
35th
Street to
south of
Eden Lane will eliminate the
Sandpines sewer pump sta-
tion, which will save the sys-
tem maintenance, electrical
and operational costs while
providing for future expan-
sion. At the completion of
this project we will soon per-
form a grind/inlay of the
roadway between 35th Street
and Eden Lane. As a
reminder, the chip seal done
last year in this area was a
temporary fix. This will help
preserve the roadway for
several more years.
• Summer 2016 — Ninth
Street to Wild Winds
Shoulder Extension: ODOT
will be constructing the
shoulder extensions along
Rhododendron Drive
between Ninth Street and
Wild Winds in the early part
of this summer. This project
will improve the bicyclist
and pedestrian safety along
the corridor.
• Summer 2016 —
Highway 101 to Ninth Street
Waterline: This project will
install a 16-inch water line
from Ninth to Kingwood and
then a 12-inch water main
from Kingwood to Highway
101. There are some minor
stormwater improvements
that will take place in con-
junction with the project. We
will also be widening
Rhododendron Drive
between Greenwood and
Ninth Street adding two 6-
foot bike lanes and a 5-foot
sidewalk. The sidewalk will
include a curb/gutter on the
north and east side of
Rhododendron Drive. Once
the water, storm and side-
walk improvements are com-
plete, we will be completing
a grind/inlay of the entire
length of Rhododendron
Drive between Highway 101
and Ninth Street. By late fall,
one will be able to safely
walk or ride their bicycle
from Wild Winds to
Highway 101. In addition,
we will address ADA needs
along Rhododendron Drive
between Highway 101 and
Greenwood.
In summary, please know
that these projects are not the
haphazard scenario described
in some recent letters but are
well thought out and engi-
neered to get the maximum
benefit. Our Public Works
Department has very dedicat-
ed and talented people work-
ing to maximize the results
for every tax dollar spent.
VIEW FROM UPRIVER
Hope, for the 4th of July
W ESLEY V OTH
Guest Viewpoint
––––––––––––
I
’m up this solstice morning at my
favorite summer time of day, that period
when the birds are singing but it is not
yet light. I like to watch as our roses, the
river, the skyline of trees over the eastern
horizon gradually become visible. For the
next six months, we’re going to lose a little
light every day. Due to cumulative effects,
however, it will continue to get warmer and
drier for some time to come. So many things
are like this.
Even when we stop illegal gun sales, begin
to reduce the number of assault weapons in
general circulation, reverse trends that take
away the right and opportunity to vote and
stop the insane flood of money into politics,
real improvement in the quality of life may
take a long time to be discernable. But, when
we do these things, it will restore hope. And
hope is what this country is all about.
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
This morning I am full of it —
hope. Belief in the power of love, of
ideas so compelling and tantalizing
they will not die even in the ugly face
of despicable acts. Make America
great again? Yes, some things used to
be better, although we may not agree
on what. But let’s start by living up to
our promises.
We live in a society rife with unequal
power. Unequal wealth, size, status, privilege,
weaponry, access to everything from educa-
tion and healthcare to safe water and environ-
ment. The greater the inequity, the longer the
road to either democracy or justice.
Justice begins by being born wanted. Born
welcomed at least, even if not completely
planned. Justice cannot flourish if one’s
whole existence is an unwanted and unin-
tended consequence of power inequities (rape
masquerades in such a rainbow of forms),
youth, or the many forms of not thinking or
other impairment. Abortion exists for the
same reason that courts exist — trying, how-
ever imperfectly, to apply damage control and
keep things from being worse. It is an attempt
to make things less horrible when the best
solutions are no longer an option.
The idea that the composition of the
Supreme Court can be shifted to take away
the right to an abortion, a right that is at its
heart more fundamental than the right to
vote, is ludicrous — it will not work.
Firestorm, reaping the whirlwind are terms
that come to mind.
Mapleton’s Fourth of July fireworks celebra-
tion will be at dusk on the holiday itself. The
fireworks will be set off slightly downriver from
where they have been in the past, and Terry
Saubert, who is making it happen, tells me the
126 bridge or Port of Siuslaw dock will be the
best public viewing. Donations to cover the
costs are still being accepted at the Mapleton
branch of Banner Bank.
A special invitation goes out to Florence
residents who may not know or have forgot-
ten that through their property taxes and Port
of Siuslaw assessment they own, and have
right to, the port property, including restroom
and dock behind the store and just below the
bridge in Mapleton. I plan to attend even
though in light of recent events anything
sounding like gunfire is going to make me
cringe, and bring to mind anything but cele-
bration. But I also agree that silence is not the
right response either.
__________
The opinion expressed above is solely that
of the contributor and does not necessarily
reflect the views of the Siuslaw News.
YESTERDAY’S NEWS
MOMENTS IN TIME
The History Channel
• On July 2, 1839, Africans on the Cuban
schooner Amistad rise up against their captors
and seize control of the ship, which had been
transporting them to a life of slavery on a sugar
plantation in Cuba. Despite an international
ban, Cuba continued to transport captive
Africans until the 1860s.
• On June 28, 1862, Confederates posing as
paying passengers make a daring capture of a
commercial vessel on Chesapeake Bay. The
conspirators planned to use the St. Nicholas to
force other Yankee ships into Confederate serv-
ice.
• On June 30, 1900, four German boats burn
at the docks in Hoboken, New Jersey, killing
more than 300 people. The combination of old
wood, strong winds and fuel-filled cargo sheds
made the fire spread very rapidly. The fire was
so large that it could be seen throughout the
New York City area.
• On June 27, 1940, the Germans set up two-
way radio communication employing their
most sophisticated coding machine, Enigma, to
transmit information. The Germans considered
Enigma unbreakable, but the British had bro-
ken the code as early as the German invasion of
Poland.
• On July 3, 1957, Nikita Khrushchev takes
control in the Soviet Union by orchestrating the
ouster of his opponents in the government.
Khrushchev’s action delighted the United
States, which viewed him as a more of a mod-
erate.
• On June 29, 1967, blond bombshell actress
Jayne Mansfield is killed instantly when the car
in which she is riding strikes the rear of a trail-
er truck on I-90 east of New Orleans. A thick
white fog from a mosquito sprayer may have
obscured the truck.
• On July 1, 1979, the first Sony Walkman
goes on sale for $150 after a breakneck devel-
opment phase of only four months. The initial
production run of 30,000 units looked overly
ambitious when only 3,000 were sold the first
month.
(c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
L ETTERS TO THE
E DITOR P OLICY
The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to
the editor concerning issues affecting the
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available and the volume of letters received.
Libelous and anonymous letters as well
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All submissions become the property of
Siuslaw News and will not be returned.
Write to:
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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