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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 2016)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ AUGUST 13, 2016 Siuslaw News RYAN CRONK , EDITOR ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ Opinion P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 VIEW FROM UPRIVER YESTERDAY’S NEWS Blackberry bounty W ESLEY V OTH For the Siuslaw News –––––––––––– H ere in Brickerville, morning and evening bird chorus is over for another year. The netting is off the blueberries, but there is such a glut of avail- able food that the remaining fruit dries on the bushes. Branches bend to the ground on our unpruned apple trees, the leaves of Oregon ash begin to yellow. Nearly every morning so far this August my neighbor Dave Horn is out picking blackberries. As I walk by with our daughter’s dog — an animal that has been with us long enough to feel she’s always been here — he chides me that I am not there picking as well. “They’re free!” he says, and tells me what a bumper-crop year it is. We talk about making cobbler, and he says he freezes a lot of the berries, and later juices them and makes them into jelly. I have noticed that he is right about it being an exceptional year here for blackber- ries, and chide myself for not having picked enough yet to store in some fashion for winter. I check the weather forecasts to make sure I do so before it rains and the berries mold; when rain was pre- dicted for this last Sunday, I grabbed some buckets and went out to pick along the river near the measuring sta- tion, far enough back from the road to be well beyond ODOT’s spray line. The berry crop is amazing — often 20 berries fully ripe to a single fruiting lateral — with that many again that are green or red. I easily got enough for our jam needs and another berry crumble in one spot, before the sun’s intensity drove me home on a day pre- dicted to be cloudy and wet. It makes me wonder how many things we decide to do or not to do depending on such; in this case, I am glad it got me out there while there was still time to get the best. Most of the blackberries are a variety known as Himalayans; these may not be native here, but they’ve been here so long they’re an integral part of western Oregon culture. Himalayan blackberries are ubiqui- tous along nearly every road, forest edge, field, waterway and trail in the western part of the state. By my grandmother’s childhood in the late 1800s near Highlands and Marion on the Willamette, these were already com- mon, although she much preferred the taste of the native dewberry, or trailing blackberry. Himalayans are also the example my father used as I was growing up to teach me about interconnections between plants and animals. The bushes respond dramatically to being cut or trampled, and it is along these disturbed edges that the plant offers its berries with their abundant seeds most profusely. It is no coincidence that the birds and ani- mals most able to benefit from human alter- ations to the environment benefit most splen- didly from this abundance. I see the evidence in the scat of raccoons, coyotes, bears, skunks, fox and observe ravens, crows, jays, robins, waxwings and several species of spar- rows carrying away berries. Something in the berries triggers gut responses that speed the seeds through, helping to ensure that some remain viable after they have passed on through in some new place. Wherever we berry eaters go, if there weren’t already blackberries there, there soon will be. Rabbits, rats and mice shelter in the thickets, small birds nest there and many species of spiders web the canes, including the goldenrod crab spider that waits on the blossoms and targets pollinators such as bum- blebees. So we are among a throng that not only co-exist with blackberries, we co-thrive. Think I’ll have another bite of crumble in appreciation. LETTERS The people’s initiative If the Lane County Board of Commissioners votes in late September to give themselves the power to yank duly approved initiatives from the vote of the peo- ple because they decide the initiatives are not “of county concern,” there is at least one bright spot: the subsequent people’s initiative to reverse that unconstitutional ordinance will most assuredly be “of county concern.” Commissioners Bozievich, Stewart, Farr and Leiken: The initiative process belongs to the people. Keep your eye on Board of Commissioners’ agendas at www.lanecounty.org/Departments/ BCC/Pages/AgendaHome.aspx. Cathy Barr Deadwood Liberty and justice for all What kind of democracy do we have that the witnesses to questionable killings by police are treated like criminals? Aren’t the killings disgusting enough? In the case of the killing of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, the storeowner who witnessed the killing was detained by police against his will, his security equipment seized without a warrant and he has received death threats. Chris LeDay, who also received another video of Sterling’s killing and posted it on MOMENTS IN TIME The History Channel On Aug. 16, 1896, while salmon fishing in Canada’s Yukon Territory, George Carmack reportedly spots nuggets of gold in a creek bed. His lucky discovery sparked “Klondike Fever,” the last great gold rush in the American West. On Aug. 17, 1915, Charles F. Kettering, co-founder of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO), is issued a U.S. patent for his “engine-starting device” — the first electric ignition mechanism for auto- mobiles. Prior to his invention, drivers had to use iron hand cranks to start their engines. On Aug. 20, 1920, seven men, including legendary football star Jim Thorpe, meet in Canton, Ohio, to organize a professional foot- ball league, the forerunner to the National Football League. On Aug. 19, 1953, the Iranian military, with the support and financial assistance of the United States, overthrows the government of Premier Mosaddeq and reinstates the Shah of Iran. Iran remained a Cold War ally of the U.S. until a revolution ended the Shah’s rule in 1979. On Aug. 15, 1961, two days after sealing off free passage between East and West Berlin, East German authorities begin building the Berlin Wall to permanently close off access to the West. For the next 28 years, the heavily for- tified Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War. On Aug. 21, 1971, antiwar protestors asso- ciated with the Catholic Left raid draft offices in Buffalo, New York, and Camden, New Jersey, to confiscate and destroy draft records. The FBI and local police arrested 25 protestors. On Aug. 18, 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest during a coup by high-ranking members of his own government, military and KGB secret police. The coup collapsed three days later, but Gorbachev’s days in power were numbered. He resigned in December 1991. Money made from fear The other day I was walking by a salesman that was showing a young woman how to load a semiautomatic pistol. Standing behind her was her husband holding two small children. I don’t think she had ever shot a gun. My point is unless a person comes from a family that hunted ducks or big game and has been around guns or people that were hunters, they have no business buying an automatic pistol. A background check is not going to do much good. More times than not, the gun is not used to shoot an intruder, it kills an innocent person. Virgle Bechtold Florence EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM (c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc. Facebook, was later detained when he was returning to work at a military base. He was handcuffed, shackled and booked into jail for traffic tickets. We need transparency and oversight of the police. Although many killings have gone undoc- umented, past and present, the videos that do exist lead to demand for necessary change. Those videos also can’t help but let us “white folk” see that there is a double standard — that people of color are not treated with the same respect and fairness by police that we are. And, finally, in our wonderful country, we are not free until everyone has the same free- doms and justice is applied evenly to all of us, regardless of color, race, religion or gender. Julie MacFarlane Florence Gold Star cartoon Your political editorial cartoon on Aug. 6 comparing Gold Star families’ struggles through losing a child with Donald Trump’s struggles to build his businesses is very disap- pointing, and quite frankly, very insulting to Gold Star families. The cartoon showed Gold Star parents look- ing out the window of their home with the caption, “Yes we only have one star on our home. But think of the ‘YUGE’ sacrifices Donald Trump made to get a five star rating on the Trump Towers!” Losing a child in battle is not even in the same realm as working hard to build a business. Not one Gold Star family wanted to earn that star. How dare you use their devastating losses to push your political agenda? No matter your political preferences, this is just plain cruel and wrong. I expected much, much better from my local paper. Joni R. Holton Florence Editor’s Note: The editorial cartoon in ques- tion was created by Joe Heller, a nationally syn- dicated cartoonist, in response to the recent comments made by Donald Trump during an interview in which he compared his own sacri- fices with constructing buildings to those of Gold Star families, who have lost loved ones in war. We believe there was no intention to put down Gold Star families, and we apologize for any confusion this may have caused. L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR 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 number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar 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 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