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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 30, 2016)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ JULY 30, 2016 RYAN CRONK , EDITOR Siuslaw News ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ Opinion P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 Supporting local law enforcement A lmost daily it now seems national events are throwing law enforcement into turmoil and fear from all angles. Our police hear from citizens that are in fear of law enforcement driven by incidents they see happening in different parts of our country. There have been many recent tragic events that have sparked outrage on both sides of the fence and it seems like the problem continues to escalate and no part of our country seems to be immune to this senseless violence. I have recently had the privilege of hearing the thoughts of Florence Police Chief Tom Turner, who addressed the graduates of the Oregon Department of Public Safety, Standards and Training Basic Police Academy. His address at this graduation ceremony introduced new officers and deputies, including Florence’s newest patrol officer, into a career that looks more daunting than ever with recent tragic events so prevalent in everyone’s mind. In a recent memo Chief Turner sent to the Florence Police Department staff, he stated: “I am planning to explain in this address that being in law enforcement is the work of a true guardian, a person who defends or protects GUEST VIEWPOINT B Y J OE H ENRY Florence Mayor something which is often thank- less and difficult. Not everyone can do this work but for those who can there is nothing that can match the satisfaction of being put in the position of guardian. This opportunity may mean many things and requires the maximum level of courage, integri- ty, intellect and self-sacrifice, but you will be the one that makes the difference, defending and protecting, and that is what makes this career the best.” With those inspiring words, law enforcement has always been inherently dangerous and is often not recognized by the community as such. Don’t we live in a fantastic place where, for the most part, we don’t have to think about such things? It is because law enforcement is doing their job. Chief Turner often expresses his belief that Florence is truly one of the most supportive communities of law enforcement that he has ever had the pleasure to be in. He has had phone calls, let- ters, e-mails and personal contacts from the community to let him know how thankful they are for our police force and how much they are appreciated. He has worked in places where this support is unheard of and the value of law enforcement is dis- mal at best. One of the reasons that our com- munity supports our law enforcement is because of the incredible work that they are doing and the way our Police Department personnel and their families live their lives in our community both on and off the job. I thank God every day that I live in an area with community oriented public safety agencies like the ones we have. These are challenging times we are in and to get through these times as a community we need to remain strong and remember that all lives matter, and that includes blue lives. We saw on national news people lined up to hug police officers and that is something that could surely be appreciated here in our community. If not a hug, then take the opportunity to just wave and say hi. VIEW FROM UPRIVER Four-fifths of not quite half, full or empty W ESLEY V OTH For the Siuslaw News –––––––––––– generally begin these columns by talking about the noticeable aspects of our local natu- ral world and things that impact the lives of the people I see every day; this one is no excep- tion. Every survey I have ever seen done of why people choose to live here puts the beauty and character of this natural world at the top of the list. Yet much of what is natural is under threat through converting forests to cropland, and using practices such as clearcuts and aerial spraying of herbicides. The propaganda campaign to try and make these palatable to the public is being waged with public funds. Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI) was created by our legislature and is funded by a dedi- cated harvest tax on producers of forest products. While tasked to be an objective source of informa- tion, OFRI clearly tries to put the greenest of faces on an industry with so much that is not. The fol- lowing quote is from page one of their “Forest Facts and Figures 2015-16,” available online and as a 32-page pamphlet: I EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM “Nearly half of Oregon is forestland. About 80 percent of this forestland is clas- sified as ‘timberland.’ Timberland is forest- land that can productively grow commer- cial-grade timber. It excludes forestland with low growth and areas where logging is restricted — such as wilderness areas and national parks, referred to as ‘reserved’ areas.” So, the industry begins by viewing the 80 per- cent of Oregon forestland that is not national parks or wilderness area as cropland. For us, this is most of the land we see most of the time. Oregon’s Forest Practice Act rules impact us more directly than the vast majority of this state’s residents. Despite the claims that these rules protect wildlife, and protect water quality, fish habitat and human health, it is my opinion and that of many people who are the timber industry’s closest neighbors that they do not. What they mostly ensure is that logging as it is currently done is free from legal impediment. Take the wildlife protections. Tiny concessions are made to hugely popular or well-known species. No concessions are made for lesser known or rarely seen creatures. One simple case in point. Look at any recent clearcut. You will see very large slash piles. When an area is clearcut and torn asunder, small creatures that aren’t killed outright that are somewhat mobile — many kinds of salamander, mice, chipmunks and the like — find some sem- blance of shelter in those piles, sort of like refugee camps. Come fall, these will be burned. The crea- tures sheltering there — adapted for survival of forest fires — do not survive the slash fires, which burn very hot at ground level and deeply into the soil. Clearcuts permanently rezone land from being the homes of countless species to being fields for Douglas-fir trees. The planting of those trees does not remake a forest. Yet, I recommend reading “Forest Facts and Figures”; the statistics are useful and the informa- tion revealing. I also recommend reading online the excellent 1,000-word essay “The Myth of Replanting: 5 Ways Oregon’s Laws Destroy Forests,” by Jason Gonsales, a resident of our watershed. And OregonForestVoices.org for the videos and stories of people living next to aerial spraying, mostly from here on the coast. I agree with those calling for an end to clearcut- ting as the way timber harvest is done, and an end to aerial spraying of herbicides. I support making forest practice laws that actually value and protect the diverse community of plants and animals that make up forests, protect soil and water, do no harm to fish habitat, and that demonstrate care and respect for the people who live, hunt, drive through, fish and forage in or near forestland. YESTERDAY’S NEWS MOMENTS IN TIME The History Channel On Aug. 2, 1776, members of Congress sign an enlarged copy of the Declaration of Independence. Fifty-six delegates signed the doc- ument, going by state from north to south, begin- ning with New Hampshire and ending with Georgia. On Aug. 7, 1782, Gen. George Washington cre- ates the “Badge for Military Merit,” a purple silk decoration to be presented to soldiers for meritorious action. In 1932, the U.S. War Department announced the creation of the Purple Heart. On Aug. 5, 1914, the world’s first electric traffic signal is put into place in Cleveland. Four pairs of red and green lights, each mounted on a corner post, served as stop-go indicators. On Aug. 6, 1928, renowned pop artist Andy Warhol is born in Pittsburgh. He took literally the advice of an art teacher who said he should paint the things he liked. Warhol liked ordinary things, such as canned soup and soft drinks, and so he painted them. On Aug. 4, 1944, the Nazi Gestapo captures 15- year-old Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family in a sealed-off area of an Amsterdam warehouse. The Franks had taken shelter there in 1942 out of fear of deportation to a Nazi concentration camp and were aided by Christian friends. On Aug. 1, 1966, Charles Whitman goes on a shooting spree at the University of Texas, killing 14 people and wounding 31 from atop a 300-foot tower. He had told his doctor that he was thinking about shooting people from the tower with a rifle, but the doctor never followed up. On Aug. 3, 1977, “The Spy Who Loved Me,” starring Roger Moore as James Bond, is released in theaters. The film features one of the most memorable Bond cars ever — a sleek Lotus Esprit that does double duty as a submarine. (c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc. L ETTERS P OLICY 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 num- ber for verification. Letters are subject to editing for length, gram- mar 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 LETTERS Timber industry In regard to Jon Tipple’s letter (“Power Grab,” July 20): Clear cut- ting the forest promotes wildlife, while stands of old growth don’t leave light for vegetation to grow. The Forest Service left large trees in a clear-cut area above Sea Lion Caves, but then the wind blew them over. There are two ways to log: clear cutting or thinning. Thinning is cut- ting marked trees and leaving the rest to grow. It lets the trees that are left to grow bigger. I believe the timber industry has the right to do what they want as long as they follow the rules of the state law. The county has the say where spray can be used and what type. Virgle Bechtold Florence A Trump presidency Germany’s post-World War I Weimar republic died because a political elite who thought they could contain the authoritarian mountebank attacking the nation’s awakening cos- mopolitan values and governing institutions allowed it to die. Some see uncomfortable parallels in America today with a presidential can- didate whose “Make America Great Again” theme echoes the rhetoric of Germany’s uncertain post-war times. Mr. Trump’s careless disregard of truth can be both indecent and incendiary. (“There has been a call for a moment of silence in honor of the murderer of five policemen in Dallas.”) Nevertheless, the venerable Republican Party’s elite, running scared, have allowed the party to cravenly bow to this outsider’s usurpation. Most thinking conservatives see this imposter for what he is and have opposed his rise to power. However, they treated the possibility of a Trump presidency as unlikely and therefore inconsequential, ignoring the near-cer- tain consequences of the governing-by- gut Mr. Trump promises. Instead, they defaulted to a rooted habit of Hillary hatred so ingrained that even in the face of Mr. Trump’s excesses, they resort to the inventory of her alleged (and unproven) vil- lainy accumulated over 20 years of her public life as an existential threat to our constitutional government. To claim that an opposing politi- cian is a threat to our country is noth- ing new. But, Mr. Trump has shown himself to be the existential threat: a paranoid narcissist contemptuous of both facts and basic norms of civility — in a word, unstable. Political commentator Adam Gopnik points out that fascism, in whatever national form it takes, glo- rifies the nation, exaggerates its humiliations, promises violence to its enemies; admires power and the powerful; is contemptuous of the rule of law; uses repeated lies as a rhetor- ical strategy; and promises to restore better times to those who feel they have been disempowered. If you think a candidate so inclined can’t take power here, witness the virtual collapse of the party of Lincoln and Reagan. Hillary Clinton is an ordinary, imper- fect politician. But, as much as you might dislike her or disagree with her policies, a Clinton presidency would not be an existential threat to the digni- ty of the office and the inclusiveness of American democracy. With his fact-free, insult-slinging, fear-provoking, solipsistic style, the same cannot be said for a Trump presidency. Arnold Buchman Florence 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