4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ AUGUST 27, 2016
Siuslaw News
RYAN CRONK , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
Opinion
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
VIEW FROM UPRIVER
YESTERDAY’S NEWS
Cooperative efforts
W ESLEY V OTH
For the Siuslaw News
––––––––––––
O
n the lower river, people are beginning
to look for salmon. By “look for” I
mean seriously fishing for them. That
several species of these iconic fish still come
up our beloved Siuslaw is no accident. It is
expected that this year will be good for the
return of Chinook, not so good for Coho, but
no one really knows until they’ve come.
Although there will be no wild Coho season in
the Siuslaw River itself this year, there will be
in Siltcoos and Tahkenitch Lakes, considered
part of the Siuslaw watershed and under the
restoration efforts of the Siuslaw Watershed
Council (SWC). Therefore this is one of the
few places south of Alaska where it is legal
and possible to catch and eat wild salmon.
Siuslaw Watershed is a large area extending
from headwaters in Lorane, Badger Pass
beyond Walton on Highway 126, LoPass
above Triangle Lake on Highway 36, Cape
Mountain on Highway 101 North and Siltcoos
Lake and inlet on Highway 101 South. It
includes the near ocean waters as well.
Although watershed councils were made pos-
sible by the Oregon Legislature 20
years ago to provide a structure for bal-
anced and local input into natural
resource management and aquatic
restoration, many people are unclear
about what these councils do and don’t
do. I have heard SWC referred to as a
club; it is not. It is also not regulatory;
it does not enforce rules. But it has had a sig-
nificant impact on protecting and improving
local salmon habitat in its 20-year existence,
and a role in monitoring water quality.
SWC has its offices in Mapleton. Originally
this was because the Forest Service district
offices were here. When the latter moved their
offices completely out of this area, SWC
stayed in Mapleton where it rents office and
meeting space from Mapleton Schools, with
whom it has a close working relationship.
SWC has a board of directors of nine, drawn
from a leadership body of some 35 stakeholder
groups, including the Confederated Tribes, the
Forest Service and BLM, Lane County, City of
Florence, Port of Siuslaw, Soil and Water
Conservation District, Industrial Timber, com-
mercial fishermen, sports fishermen, small
woodlot owners and landowner representatives
from many basin areas such as North Fork,
Indian Creek, Lake Creek and Wildcat.
In a miracle of cooperation in these con-
tentious times, SWC makes its decisions by con-
sensus. It works to resolve issues outside the
courts, fosters varying partnerships across many
entities to develop and carry out large and small
scale projects, and secures funding from many
sources that brings between half and a million
dollars a year to the economic vitality of this
community. It also carries out educational and
other programs frequently pictured and
described in the pages of this newspaper.
SWC raises a small amount of seed money
locally each year, mostly through a fundraiser
called Celebrate Siuslaw Salmon, this year at
Florence Events Center on Sept. 18. This money
funds the grant writing that in turn brings in the
funds for its programs. It is a way that anyone
can help contribute to keeping the programs and
cooperative work of the council going.
The best description I have ever read of the
Siuslaw region, its scope and history, is avail-
able on SWC’s webpage, the last link on the
list on the left titled “Watershed Assessment.”
I especially appreciate its concluding state-
ment, “Lastly, no one (to our knowledge) has
ever restored a 500,000-acre river basin to
health. For the past 130 years, we, our parents,
and grandparents have altered the habitat of
the Siuslaw to a point where the aquatic sys-
tem is in trouble. This was not done deliber-
ately, but rather out of ignorance of how the
system works. We are still fairly ignorant.
Thus we must view all of our efforts with
humility, need to methodically build in experi-
mentation, and be willing to abandon efforts
that are not working in favor of those that have
a better chance. This is known as ‘adaptive’
management. It requires a commitment to con-
tinued monitoring and learning.”
LETTERS
Ice cream social
The Friends of Florence would
like to thank the community for
their continued support of the
Van Fans ice cream social, which
takes place every year in July.
BJ’s ice cream donated the ice
cream as they have graciously
done for several years. Their
generosity has been one of the
reasons the Friends of Florence
bus continues to thrive.
The social is the Van Fans major
fundraiser each year, and without
the support of many door prize
donors, pie bakers, bake sale
donors, SHS cheerleaders and other
participants, the success of this
endeavor would greatly diminish.
The Friends of Florence is
again looking to purchase a new
bus and hope to be taking posses-
sion of one sometime in 2017.
All the volunteers, including
the Van Fans, the drivers and the
Friends of Florence board, want
the public to know that we appre-
ciate you all.
Tom Grove
Friends of Florence Board Chair
Comparing
healthcare
I attended the PeaceHealth infor-
mation session on Aug. 18 and,
along with many others, submitted
a question to the panel. It was never
read or answered even though
Mayor Henry claimed that all those
submitted had been addressed.
The question was: “How does
the total compensation package for
physicians, physicians assistants
and nurse practitioners in Florence
compare with those offered in
other, similar healthcare markets?”
I asked it because many in the
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
community believe that the short-
age of medical professionals here
is, at least in part, a function of non-
competitive compensation. I know
that at least one of the physicians
who left recently did so, again at
least in part, because the retirement
benefit was inadequate.
Granted that there is a nation-
wide shortage of healthcare profes-
sionals resulting in stiff competition
for their services and that Florence,
as a rural area, is disadvantaged in
that environment. It is exactly for
that reason that total compensation
looms large in recruiting and retain-
ing qualified individuals here.
There is little the local facility
or PeaceHealth can do about the
labor supply and nothing at all
about the location, but compensa-
tion is an aspect that could miti-
gate other factors.
I don’t know why my question
was not answered at the meeting.
I hope it was simply an oversight.
I and others, however, would still
like an answer.
Perhaps PeaceHealth will put
together and publish a compari-
son of compensation packages at
a number of comparable facili-
ties. It would shed some light on
the local predicament and might
put to rest the suspicion that a
contributing cause is excessive
parsimony — or not.
Dennis W. Dickinson
Florence
Editor’s Note: In the front-page
article, “PeaceHealth Working to
Recruit More Doctors,” Aug. 3,
hospital officials said salary has not
been an issue for the recent depar-
tures, though comparisons to simi-
lar healthcare markets’ compensa-
tion packages were not given.
The facts are
out there
Jim Selby, in claiming that
Hillary Clinton wants to raise taxes
on the middle class, suggests that,
on the contrary, “A reduction in
taxes will bring untold wealth to the
treasury … The facts are out there
… all you have to do is research”
(“Clinton Doesn’t ‘Have Our
Backs,’” Aug. 24).
Actually, research reveals that
Clinton calls for a tax cut for low-
and middle-income families. Her
proposed $1.1 trillion in tax increas-
es — a 4 percent surcharge on all
income over $5 million; requiring
people earning more than $1 million
annually to pay at least a 30 percent
tax rate; tightening loopholes used
by the wealthy; and reducing the
estate tax threshold from $5.5 mil-
lion to $3.5 million — are hardly
aimed at the middle class.
Mr. Selby says that simply low-
ering taxes will bring “untold
wealth to the treasury.” It’s the
argument that taxes are such a bur-
den on the economy that lowering
them allows the revenue from the
larger economy to offset the rev-
enue lost from the lower tax rates.
If only it were that simple. A bit
of research indicates that econo-
mists see tax rates as just one piece
of a complex policy puzzle.
Standing alone, Mr. Selby’s asser-
tion is deceivingly misleading.
If Mr. Selby is looking for
increased tax revenues, they can
be found by increasing tax rates,
reducing tax breaks, improving
enforcement and levying new
taxes. But, the effects are short-
lived. It is policies that increase
economic activity and long-term
economic growth that “will bring
untold wealth to the treasury,” not
the Trump tax proposal to signif-
icantly reduce marginal tax rates
and increase standard deduction
amounts with the largest benefits
going to highest income house-
holds. That, according to the Tax
Policy Center, would reduce fed-
eral revenues $9.5 trillion over its
first decade.
The ultimate goal of any eco-
nomic policy is not to maximize
government revenue, it’s to maxi-
mize long-term economic growth.
The facts are out there … all you
have to do is research.
Arnold Buchman
Florence
MOMENTS IN TIME
The History Channel
On Sept. 4, 476 A.D., Romulus Augustus,
the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire,
is deposed by Odoacer, a German barbarian,
who proclaims himself king of Italy. Although
Roman rule continued in the East, it marked the
end of the original Roman Empire.
On Aug. 29, 1533, Atahuallpa, the 13th
and last emperor of the Incas, dies by strangu-
lation at the hands of Francisco Pizarro’s
Spanish conquistadors. The execution of the
last free reigning emperor ended 300 years of
Inca civilization.
On Aug. 31, 1897, Thomas Edison
receives a patent for his movie camera, the
Kinetograph, which used celluloid film. In
1898, Edison sued Biograph Pictures, claiming
patent infringement. However, in 1902, the
U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Edison only
owned rights to the sprocket system that moved
perforated film through the camera.
On Sept. 2, 1959, Henry Ford II introduces
his company’s newest car, the Falcon. The
compact car was an overnight success. In just
one day, dealers had snapped up every one of
the 97,000 cars in the first production run.
On Aug. 30, 1967, Thurgood Marshall
becomes the first black American to be con-
firmed as a Supreme Court justice. He would
serve for 24 years before retiring for health rea-
sons, leaving a legacy of upholding the rights of
the individual.
On Sept. 3, 1982, Apple co-founder Steve
Wozniak’s U.S. Festival opens in San
Bernardino, California. Entertainment included
The Police, The Kinks and Fleetwood Mac,
along with games for the Atari Video Computer
System. The Apple Macintosh was still 18
months away.
On Sept. 1, 1998, the Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 finally
goes into effect. The law required that all cars
and light trucks sold in the U.S. have air bags
on both sides of the front seat.
(c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
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Eugene, OR 97401
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