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SATURDAY EDITION
❘ SEPTEMBER 3, 2016
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
RYAN CRONK , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
Opinion
LETTERS
Bountiful harvests
Thank you, Mother Nature, for the bounti-
ful harvest of fruits this year. From my three
trees — gravenstein apple, bartlett pear and
Italian prune plum — we have harvested over
250 pounds of organic fruits, which have been
donated to the Mapleton and Florence Food
Share programs.
If you are also in this situation, please glean
your harvest and share with these organiza-
tions or other similar ones. Edible food should
never be wasted, as my mother said in my
youth when “the Chinese were starving.”
Please share your bounty with others.
Caty Giovinco
Mapleton
An open letter
to Dr. Holmes
Dear Dr. Aaron K. Holmes,
It appears my stay in Grants Pass will be
extended and I don’t know if or when I will
return to Florence. Therefore, it is necessary I
become established with a health care profes-
sional here. Before moving on, I just wanted
to give you some input on my experience
while in your care.
People are most often quick to criticize and
condemn and slow to praise and give credit
where due. I would be remiss if I didn’t take
time to express my appreciation.
I have never viewed you as simply my doc-
tor — you were my partner in health care. You
were always patient, concerned and compas-
sionate. I never felt you were rushing me
through an appointment. You made sure I
understood all my options and had a voice in
treatment choices. You truly listened and
respected my input. I always felt you were
personally interested in my welfare, not that I
was the “revolving-door” patient who was to
simply follow the doctor’s orders.
Florence and PeaceHealth are lucky to have
you. I hope I will be so lucky as to find your
equal for health care here. Also, if and when I
return to Florence, I hope you’ll still be there
and find room for me in your busy practice.
Thank you, and God bless.
Leta McCurry
Grants Pass
Not just about the music
Last Saturday afternoon, I had the great
pleasure to listen to the Strange Brew Band,
playing at the Port of Siuslaw’s Windfest on
the Boardwalk. While the band was great, the
purpose of this letter is to thank the Port of
Siuslaw for sponsoring this summer-long
series of events, and to voice my support for
continuing next summer and beyond.
Attempting outdoor events on the coast can
be challenging, what with our fickle weather,
but the port staff persevered and rolled with
what came their way — cancelling perform-
ances when they had to, rescheduling when
they could.
And it’s not just about the music — there
were lots of kids’ activities, too. All the activ-
ities and the concerts were free, to boot. Of
course, having the port as the scenic backdrop
while listening to the bands was great!
In closing, let me again say “Thanks!” to
the Port of Siuslaw for Windfest — and let’s
hope it happens again next year.
Debi Colvin
Florence
In defense of the
people’s constitution
Tuesday’s (Aug. 30) 5-0 vote from the Lane
County Commissioners to revoke a proposed
ordinance that would have allowed them veto
power over ballot initiatives is due, in large part,
to Lane County residents’ outrage and pressure.
Through letters to the editor, calls to com-
missioners, attendance at the commissioners’
meetings and donations to the cause —
USPS# 497-660
YESTERDAY’S NEWS
democracy isn’t free — we are witnessing
democracy in action!
Our work is far from over. The commis-
sioners are slated to revisit their proposed
ordinance within six months. And, we know
the opposition will not go “gently into that
good night.” Attorney Stan Long has promised
to sue the county if the commissioners do not
cave to the will of corporate special interest.
We must continue in our defense of the peo-
ple’s constitutionally protected right to the ini-
tiative process.
So, let’s fan the flames of direct democracy
and celebrate the power of the people. Let’s
pledge our vigilance to protecting the people’s
rights and continue our march toward a
healthy democracy. And thanks to all of you
for your hard work and tenacity.
Michelle Holman
Community Rights Lane County
Deadwood
Police decision making
First, all lives matter — all of the time!
Second, those with malicious intent never
shoot or swing sharp objects to wound. Police
officers are taught that the only time they
should use deadly force is to stop a life-threat-
ening event: to protect the life of an officer or
to protect the life of another person. The chal-
lenge is to apply this fundamental policy in
blurred, hostile or violent situations.
Police officers are our sisters, aunts, brothers
and friends. They take up this profession to pro-
tect our communities. They are humans just like
us, they are not super humans. Police organiza-
tions spend a lot of time and money training offi-
cers on when and how to respond to all types of
force and deadly force situations.
When an officer draws a firearm, it is not a
natural thing to do. If the question is asked,
“Why don’t officers shoot to wound?” The
answer is, it is not that easy to shoot and hit a
target — range targets or a live target.
Even with training, officers with pulled
firearms have increased heart rates, they may
develop tunnel vision or they may have to
contend with a mentally troubled person
charging in their direction. It is not easy! FBI
statistics tell us that 80 percent of officer-fired
shots in a stressful situation miss their target.
As a community, we should expect our police
officers to only fire their weapon when a human
life is in danger. But, we want them to stop life-
threatening situations as soon as possible.
If an officer tries to wound a suspect — they
will be shooting at a hand, arm or leg. All of
these areas are much smaller targets than the
body torso. Smaller targets will result in more
missed shots. Also, a wounded suspect may
continue to shoot at the officer, hit bystanders
or end the life of an intended victim.
Nationally, we are living in a time of signif-
icant community concern over how we want
police officers to perform their duties. Our dis-
cussions and deliberations should rest on the
foundation that: All lives matter — all of the
time!
Joe Cullivan
Westlake
Reverse this course
If anyone is surprised by the success of
Donald Trump and, to a lesser degree, Bernie
Sanders, then I must suggest they have not
been paying attention to what has been going
on among the body politic over the past years.
Since the days when Ronald Reagan and
Tip O’Neil stood at opposite ends of the polit-
ical spectrum yet maintained a civil and, in the
end, constructive relationship, the steady
degradation of civility and constructive dis-
course has wrought the debacle we now face;
not only in the Presidential race but in the core
elements of government.
Trump and Sanders are simply answering the
call of common people frustrated, if not outright
angry, with the inability of government, so hin-
dered by ideological warfare, to provide the func-
tions for which it is constituted.
The irony here lies in the reality that, though
difficult to admit, what we see in Washington is,
for the most part, a direct reflection of what is
going on among the general electorate. So long as
we embrace this foolishness we will continue to
suffer the consequences.
It is time for thoughtful people from differ-
ing perspectives to open a dialogue aimed at
reversing this demonstrably destructive
course. For well over 200 years, this country
managed its affairs through two party govern-
ment; one in power, the other providing a
loyal opposition. This system demanded civil-
ity in order to reach the rational compromises
necessary to sustain the steady progress our
country has long enjoyed.
But, somewhere we have gone astray.
Our ideological polarization has now
reached a point where the country is near
ungovernable. The work of our congress has
ground to a near halt and to defend themselves
our leaders resort to little more than name call-
ing and political lies. Serious debate on sub-
stantive policy has become a chimera.
With the money and power at stake for
those now holding or seeking office — those
who should be the ones addressing this prob-
lem — there is very little hope for progress. If
such a movement is to achieve any traction it
is going to have to start at the grass roots, right
here at the local level.
Jimmie Zinn
Florence
Waste not, want not
I was born in 1936. We weren’t poor, but we
weren’t rich either. We were taught to waste
not, want not. We ate what was put in front of
us and cleaned up our plates.
Now, my wife still cooks like the kids are
still home, so we eat a lot of leftovers.
What bothers me is what people do today. I
see people at buffets fill their plates, but don’t
eat half of what is there on their plate.
I discovered my camera wouldn’t use the 2-
gigabyte chips I bought. They wouldn’t work
because my camera is too old. I tried to buy
ones that would work, and was told they do
not make ones that fit my camera. Their
advice was to buy a new camera.
That is what young people will tell you —
just throw it away and buy a new camera. I
took my chips, that were full of pictures, to
Fred Meyer. The young man was able to trans-
fer all my pictures and make the others work.
Now I have three cards that work in my dig-
ital camera and I can see my photos in a digi-
tal photoframe.
Too many people do not eat what they take
or try to see a solution. They just throw it
away and buy something new.
Virgle Bechtold
Florence
Trump’s ‘answers’
Trump has the answers.
Build the wall; Mexico will provide the
material. End Social Security, veterans’ bene-
fits and welfare; put those people to work
building the wall. Deport all illegal immi-
grants and give more work to retirees; they
can pick veggies from their wheelchairs.
End cheap overseas goods. Use “made in
America” only. When Walmart closes, more
labor to replace illegals.
We have all those nukes. Let’s use them on
ISIS. It will turn the sand into a sea of glass.
Trump, being a biblical man, knows the “holy
shall stand on a sea of glass.”
And, who knows more about women than
an avowed womanizer? His Vietnam was
social disease. Trump will put walls around
problem neighborhoods. His white suprema-
cist supporters will guard them for free. Those
are the ones who believe in Trump.
You could make America great again. Vote
for Trump in November for, surely, he has the
answers.
Dale C. Dimoree
Florence
MOMENTS IN TIME
The History Channel
• On Sept. 9, 1776, the Continental Congress
formally declares the name of the new nation to
be the “United States” of America, replacing
the “United Colonies” that had been used in
Thomas Jefferson’s version of the Declaration
of Independence.
• On Sept. 10, 1833, President Andrew
Jackson announces that the government will no
longer use the Second Bank of the United
States, the country’s national bank, and with-
draws all federal funds. Jackson resented the
bank’s lack of funding for Western expansion.
• On Sept. 7, 1911, avant-garde French poet
Guillaume Apollinaire is arrested and jailed on
suspicion of stealing Leonardo da Vinci’s
“Mona Lisa.” No evidence surfaced, and
Apollinaire was released. Two years later, a for-
mer employee of the Louvre, Vincenzo Perggia,
was arrested while trying to sell the famous
painting.
• On Sept. 11, 1921, Fatty Arbuckle, a silent-
film era performer at the height of his fame, is
arrested in San Francisco for the murder of
aspiring actress Virginia Rappe. After two mis-
trials, the jury in Arbuckle’s third trial found
him not guilty and even issued him an apology.
• On Sept. 5, 1958, Boris Pasternak’s roman-
tic novel “Dr. Zhivago” is published in the
United States. The book was banned in the
Soviet Union, but still won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1958 after admirers smuggled out
the manuscript.
• On Sept. 6, 1972, a West German police
attempt to rescue nine Israeli Olympic team
members held hostage by Palestinian terrorists
ends in disaster. All nine hostages were killed.
Terrorists from Black September had stormed
the Israeli quarters in the Olympic Village in
Munich early the previous morning.
• On Sept. 8, 1986, Nissan’s first European
manufacturing plant opens in Sunderland,
Britain, an area hit hard by plant closings.
Some 25,000 people applied for the first 450
jobs advertised.
(c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
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E DITOR P OLICY
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EDITOR @ 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
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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
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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
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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