4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ JULY 2, 2016
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
DISASTER PREP
B Y D AVE R OBINSON
Special to the Siuslaw News
ne of the more popular summer
activities in our area is camping.
We live in the middle of one of the
most beautiful outdoor recreation areas in
the world. No matter where you live in the
south Coast region of Oregon, you are only
a short drive from an amazing camping
location. Whether you need full hookups for
your home on wheels or simply a flat spot
to pitch your tent, southwestern Oregon has
the camping venue to meet your need.
While I have always loved to go camp-
ing, not everyone is in love with a back-to-
nature weekend. “We have a nice house,
why go live in a tent with no shower, no
toilet and rough it?” It is a lot of extra
work, and when you get home, you have to
clean up your stuff and put it away while
you’re feeling grimy, tired and a little weird
from eating too much junk food. On the
“plus” side, you have just made an amazing
memory with your kids.
But with all this being true, a family
camping trip is a great way to test your dis-
aster preparedness skills. How organized
are you? I don’t think I have ever gone
O
RYAN CRONK , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
Opinion
Go camping
camping when I didn’t forget something I
needed. A few years back I took my grand-
son up in the Siskiyou National Forest for a
three-day trip. When we arrived at the
Forest Service campground we set up the
tent, arranged our ice chest full of food and
it was then I discovered I had forgotten the
Coleman stove.
I took stock of my situation and decided
to go it without the stove. It was too far to
go back home and retrieve the thing, it was
also too far to go to town and buy another
one. Besides I looked at my menu and
decided I could cook everything on my list
over an open campfire. So we did. It wasn’t
as handy as the stove would have been, but
other than blackening some of my cooking
utensils, we made do with no serious conse-
quences.
Maybe a camping trip would be a good
shake-down cruise for your disaster preps.
Make a list, check off the items and spend a
weekend in the wild. You will invariably
learn what you should have brought along.
You will even learn what you could have
left behind. If the power grid fails, or a
YESTERDAY’S NEWS
major earthquake strikes, your camping
gear will be your key to maintaining some
kind of normalcy. If you have it arranged in
a general location, you’ll be able to lay
your hands on what you need quickly.
Maybe even in the dark.
Your lantern, your cook stove and other
gear will get you through while your neigh-
bors are still trying to hunt up their flash-
light. While we’re on the topic of your
neighbors; once your home is stabilized,
make sure your neighbors are OK. It’s pos-
sible they are completely unprepared and
are sitting in the dark hoping the lights
come back on soon.
If you’ve ever gone camping and forgot-
ten something important, I’d like to hear
about it.
______________________
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.
LETTERS
Gun control
Let me ask: Who benefits from all the mass
killings in this country? The gun manufactur-
ers. Who benefits from the endless quagmire
of war we are involved in? The military-indus-
trial complex, weapons manufacturers and
multi-national corporations who make
“killing” off of stealing other countries’
resources to provide for our excessive
amounts of consumer products.
It is past time for meaningful gun control in
this country — background checks with no
loopholes and a ban on assault weapons.
Although I respect the right of Americans to
own guns, is it really necessary to own an
assault rifle as a toy at the expense of so many
lives lost due to their accessibility? Other
countries have done it, Australia for instance,
with a drastic reduction of deaths due to gun
violence.
Internationally, while still maintaining a
defense, it is past time for us to stop the inter-
ference of our empire in countries all over the
world for our own profit. There have been
endless places over the decades — El
Salvador, Chile, Honduras, Columbia,
Mexico, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya,
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria, to
name a few.
It is past time to start promoting sustain-
ability instead of consumerism; peace and
diplomacy instead of war; and to care for the
innocent civilians of those wars we’ve had a
part in — refugees who need a safe haven.
It is time for change.
Julie MacFarlane
Florence
Our rights to initiatives
Our Community, Our Rights just received a
big win in court that protects our right to the
initiative process. The majority of county
commissioners, in conflict with Judge
Carlson’s June 3 ruling, is seeking to nullify it.
This entire initiative review process is uncon-
stitutional.
The constitutional right of initiative belongs to
the people, not the whims of elected officials. The
“matters of county concern” argument these
commissioners refer to is a Trojan horse. It pro-
vides an excuse to attack the substance of any ini-
tiative before the people have spoken.
Initiatives are the people’s business. This
action by the commissioners is an attack on
direct democracy. It’s time to get involved,
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
MOMENTS IN TIME
The History Channel
On July 5, 1775, the Continental Congress
adopts the Olive Branch Petition, which appeals
directly to King George III and expresses hope
for reconciliation between the colonies and
Great Britain. George refused to accept the peti-
tion. A year later, the Declaration of
Independence took a much stronger stance.
On July 4, 1804, Lewis and Clark stage the
first-ever Fourth of July celebration west of the
Mississippi River. The expedition stopped near
a creek, which they named Independence Creek
in honor of the day.
On July 9, 1877, the All England Croquet
and Lawn Tennis Club begins its first lawn ten-
nis tournament at Wimbledon. The tournament
was suspended after semifinals were held July
12 in order to leave London fans free for a
cricket match.
On July 10, 1925, in Dayton, Tennessee,
the so-called Monkey Trial begins with John
Thomas Scopes, a high-school science teacher,
accused of teaching evolution in violation of
Tennessee law. The town took on a carnival-like
atmosphere and included a chimpanzee that
wore a plaid suit, brown fedora and white spats.
On July 6, 1942, in Nazi-occupied
Holland, 13-year-old Anne Frank and her fami-
ly are forced to take refuge in a hidden area of
an Amsterdam warehouse. The day before,
Anne’s older sister, Margot, had received a call-
up notice to be deported to a Nazi work camp.
On July 8, 1960, captured CIA pilot
Francis Gary Powers, who was shot down two
months before while flying a secret spy mission
over Moscow, is charged with espionage by the
Soviet Union. It was a huge setback in U.S.-
Soviet relations.
Lane County. Join us in protecting our consti-
tutional right to the ballot box. Go to
CommunityRightsLaneCounty.org.
Michelle Holman
Deadwood
Saving Capitalism
Truth? “You can’t handle the truth!” But if
you value clarity, and you have the “cojones”
to see how the sausage is made, read “Saving
Capitalism” by Robert B. Reich. It’s “Just the
facts, ma’am.” But isn’t that what we need to
make functional decisions?
“When people feel that the system is unfair
and arbitrary, and that hard work does not pay
off, we all end up losing.” It’s called “The
Negative Sum Game.” “Again and again we
have saved capitalism from its own excesses
by making necessary corrections. It’s time for
us to do so again.”
SB Starlight
Swisshome
Time for a change
As a native Oregonian from a pioneer fam-
ily, I have become disappointed with my state
government. There was a time when our state
government listened to the people of Oregon.
But, in the last 20-plus years those elected
(and appointed) have been controlled by big
money and special interest groups. The mind-
set seems to be if the state needs money, let’s
tax the people, even if we have to hide the tax.
No matter what your political leaning is,
you need to take a look at how our state gov-
ernment is being run. You will agree it is time
for a change. New ideas. New vision.
There is only one person running for governor
that is willing to make the changes that benefit
the people of the state of Oregon. Bud Pierce is
that person. He is smart, understanding and not
beholden to any special interest groups. He is not
a career politician, and is willing to listen to the
people of Oregon with an open door policy.
Bud Pierce is willing to debate Kate Brown,
who seems to be hiding from the people of
Oregon. Kate Brown has turned down debat-
ing with Dr. Bud Pierce, stating she is too
busy. Dr. Pierce is still taking care of his
oncology practice, as well as going to speak to
groups and listening to people’s concerns.
Kate Brown seems to not be able to make
the tough decisions or multi-task. Bud Pierce
has made these hard decisions many times in
his career. He has been asked many times to
speak on these matters.
Pierce has been all over the state talking to
Oregonians about their needs, their concerns
and what they expect from their governor.
When was the last time Kate Brown traveled
the state or visted any small town outside of
the Portland metro area?
Mickie Stephens
Salem
On July 7, 1983, Samantha Smith, an 11-
year-old girl from Maine who had written to
Soviet leader Yuri Andropov about her worries
of a nuclear war, begins a two-week goodwill
visit to the Soviet Union at Andropov’s invita-
tion.
(c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
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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