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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2016)
4 A ❘ WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ AUGUST 31, 2016 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 RYAN CRONK , EDITOR ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion What it means to be a no-kill, limited-intake shelter man came into the Oregon Coast Humane Society (OCHS) recently with three kittens. The family pet had gotten out and got pregnant. They had taken care of the kittens until they were weaned and now they needed to get the kittens placed into other homes. Our shelter manager explained that we have a waiting list for people to surrender their animals and that he would have to wait until there was room to take in his kit- tens. The man was very angry at receiving this bad news. People believe that the shelter must accept any animal brought to them, at any time. This is not the case. OCHS is a non-profit, limited intake, no-kill shelter. What does that mean? A No-kill shelter This is the most important part of our mission — no-kill. It is a rou- tine practice in large urban, tax-run, shelters to limit their population by euthanizing the older, less desirable animals to make room for the newer, younger animals. OCHS will never do this. We do not euthanize animals that are healthy. The Animal Welfare Committee must be involved in any decision to euthanize an animal. The best interest of the animal will drive this decision, not the convenience of operating the shelter. Limited-intake shelter What does limited intake mean? Our shelter is a small building and we have crates and and Marge!) cages to house our Foster families are cats and dogs. Think desperately needed. B Y B ETTY A NN B LACHOWICZ of this shelter as an If there were more B OARD M EMBER , O REGON C OAST H UMANE S OCIETY apartment building for foster homes, we animals. When all the would not have to apartments are full, the keep animals in need The Florence community has a shelter cannot accept more animals. on waiting lists. Please contact the very big heart. We have a large vol- The shelter manager limits the shelter at 541-997-4277, if you number of animals we let live there. unteer base to help care for the kit- would like to apply to become a tens by cleaning food bowls, ken- We put animals that need to get in foster family. nels and litter pans. They provide on a waiting list. There is no place The shelter provides food, crate, post-surgery monitoring on to put any more cats this month. litter pan, collar, leash, harness and spay/neuter day. They socialize and Our capacity is about 100 cats. We record forms for these foster pets. currently have 100 cats, plus 60 kit- play with the cats and kittens. They Medical care includes worming, take our dogs for walks. They tens. There are cats and kittens vaccinations, flea treatments, answer the phones at the shelter, everywhere we can put them! spay/neuter services, routine med- provide landscaping help, help with ical treatments and contacts for Non-profit shelter fundraising and work as cashiers at emergency medical treatment. These our downtown thrift store. Oregon Coast Humane Society is are all paid for by OCHS. If you have some time to give, we a non-profit, privately run animal All animals in foster care are would love to hear from you. Please reviewed by the shelter veterinarian shelter. We do not get public tax come to the shelter or visit our web- on a regular basis. During these vis- revenue to operate the shelter. It site, oregoncoasthumanesociety.org, its, the animals are evaluated for costs a lot of money to feed 100 cats. All 60 of the kittens need to be to complete a volunteer application. general improvement and growth. We have volunteers who provide vaccinated, spayed or neutered, Foster care providers are required to foster homes for kittens, special microchipped and dewormed. The keep records on the progress of their needs animals and small dogs. cost of caring for so many animals foster animal and of procedures These wonderful families help us is staggering. There are 160 feline done at home such as worming and increase the capacity of our shelter mouths to feed each day. flea treatments. by taking some of the 60 kittens Our small, dedicated, hardwork- The shelter works actively to find into their homes for a couple of ing shelter staff needs to be paid. permanent, loving homes for these Our operating costs include utilities, months. These lucky kittens are foster pets. insurance and building maintenance. cared for, litter-box trained, social- There are other ways to help. Our ized and played with, to prepare We do not pay rent. Lane County thrift store is a major source of owns the land where the shelter was them for being the best pet their funding for the shelter. Please new family could hope for. built and has given the humane donate your lightly used household We have one family who has fos- goods to our Bay Street Thrift Store. society a 50-year, no-cost lease. We tered more than 70 dogs and another Your tax deductible donations help get our operation funding from family who has cared for hundreds donations, membership, fundraisers us take care of all our animals. And of kittens over the years. (Thank and the revenue from our Thrift if you are looking for the best bar- you so much, Bob and Eddie and Ed gains in town, this is the place to Stores. GUEST VIEWPOINT shop. Spay and neuter your cat or dog. This will help to reduce the number of unwanted animals that have to come to our shelter. When you are looking for your next pet, adopt a shelter dog or cat. These animals are so grateful for their forever homes. They make great pets. All our dogs and cats come to you microchipped, neutered and up to date on their vaccines. Please consider the Oregon Coast Humane Society in your estate plan- ning. If you cross the rainbow bridge before your pet, we will care for your pet and do our very best to find them another loving home. Contact your lawyer to ensure there is a donation to the shelter in your will and add a statement that it is your desire that OCHS take care of your pet. Better yet, plan ahead and designate a friend or family member to be the custodian for your pet, so that your pet does not need to spend time in the shelter. Become a member of our local humane society. Your tax- deductible, membership dollars will all stay in our community and help these animals in need. Membership costs $30 per year. Please contact the shelter or visit our website www.oregoncoasthumanesociety.org to become a member or to make a donation to the Oregon Coast Humane Society. All your gifts are greatly appreci- ated by our dogs and cats. Please help us, help them. LETTERS Potter’s Auto is the best I’ve brought my cars to Paul Potter’s Automotive Services for about 15 years. I have bought cars from Paul as well. Old cars — I’m pretty old myself, so I’m fond of those oldies- but-goodies. Potter’s has the best crew to keep the old cars running. I bought a sweet Chrysler New Yorker from Potter’s a few months back. Old cars usually have problems, of course, but this “Sweet Betsy” soon developed an ignition-electrical problem, like a nasty flu that wanted to slip down into pneumonia. I’d come to love that car. She is a deep maroon, with a Landau top, made in 1990. She is in near-pristine condition and looks and drives like a Caddy. She gets happy glances when folks see her. Finest model Chrysler ever made. I’m more than just a longtime customer to Paul — we’re longtime friends. And we don’t throw away a fine machine that someone cared for all these many years. Paul shared the costs and time searching for the source of Betsy’s mysterious illness. In the meantime, Paul sold Potter’s Automotive to AJ and Megan Shervin. They hail from Jackson Hole, Wyo. AJ grew up in the auto repair business. Florence is quite lucky because he comes with a brand-new generation of automotive knowl- edge. He also provides our community the same family spirit Paul offered Florence all these years. My Betsy is back on the road again. She’s starting up sharp and breathing right and almost as good as new. And, just like Paul always did, AJ gave me a sweet discount just to give me a friendly hello. Thanks Paul and AJ, from a very happy customer. Francis Archer Florence USPS# 497-660 A responsibility to safety Kevin Kraft’s recent Letter to the Editor (“So- Called Rights,” Aug. 17) is the perfect example of the paranoia I referred to in my Letter to the Editor of Aug. 10. My point was that, at the time of the break-in, True Value Hardware in Florence was not equipped to safely and securely sell AK- 47s, Glock handguns, or other assault weapons. Simply put, I said that gun sellers and, by extension gun owners, have a responsibility which too many of them are wont to ignore. I did not suggest repealing the Second Amendment or changing it in any way; although the Supreme Court has ruled that the right to bear arms is not unlimited and doesn’t prohibit regulation of firearms. Unfortunately, many gun owners are so obsessed with protecting their interpretation of L ETTERS P OLICY Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor con- cerning 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 let- ters 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. Copyright 2016 © Siuslaw News 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. John Bartlett Jenna Bartlett Ryan Cronk Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry their rights that they leap to conclusions, make assumptions, ignore statistics and spurn any attempt at informed, civil discourse. While it was not the point of my letter, I can- not let go unchallenged Kraft’s claims that tougher gun laws are not the solution. He cites Chicago as proof of his claim. With a little research he would learn that approximately 60 percent of illegal guns recovered in Chicago are from out of state. Nearly a quarter of those are from neighboring Indiana, where gun laws are very lax, e.g., gun owners can sell their weapons without back- ground checks or any paperwork recording the sale; lawmakers repealed a prohibition on manu- factured sawed-off shotguns; adults can keep guns in their vehicles in school parking lots. Another 22 percent came from parts of Cook County outside the city limits where gun dealers and gun shows are legal. In other words, if Chicago didn’t have tough guns laws, gun vio- lence statistics would be even higher. Bottom line — common-sense gun laws don’t infringe on Second Amendment rights any more than a legal drinking age of 18 infringes on the 21st Amendment. I, for one, do not understand why a rational, thinking person would not support universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, and limiting firearm magazine capacity to 10 car- tridges if it saved the life of even one single inno- cent child. Dolly Brock Florence 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
