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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2016)
4 A ❘ WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ OCTOBER 12, 2016 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion Keeping your letters from becoming a murky brew political debates: inflammato- ry rants from both sides that simply deepen the divide rather than educate and clarify. As the election draws near- er, more letters are arriving each day in support of both candidates as well as senators, judges, measures and who should’ve won this week’s “Dancing with the Stars.” This is our Constitution in action as We the People express our First Amendment right to free speech on the things that are important to us. Seeing your letters and emails arrive each day is inspiring because each is a reflection of the viewpoints, concerns and Twice a week, this 22-by- 12-inch sheet of newsprint becomes its own community forum-style debate as we voice our opinion on things that matter to us as individuals and as a community. It’s my job to be its moder- ator, ensuring this space does- n’t turn into what we’ve wit- nessed during the last three values we hold as a communi- ty. However, free speech does- n’t mean it can come at the cost of being responsible. ken with several letter writers regarding why I wouldn’t be printing their submissions. In each case, I feel we learned something about each other From the Editor’s Desk N ED H ICKSON As editor, my responsibility is to offer a balanced perspec- tive that our community can trust as a resource in reaching educated, informed decisions about the things that matter to us. Since Monday, I have spo- and reached an understanding; We the people used our right to free speech in the way it was intended and, as a result, established a dialogue that we will both benefit from as members of our community. As I explained to one read- er, personal opinion is fine in a letter to the editor, as long as it is tactful, constructive and not irresponsible or inflammatory. Anything that includes “evidence” or accusations needs to be sourced by some- thing other than an Internet link, and it needs to be cited in the letter. We’re part of an age that is the first to explore the benefits and dangers of a social media mentality, where wild accusa- tions, rumor and opinion come together to form a murky brew served as regularly as our morning coffee. To keep this page an honest representation of our commu- nity means I have to be a watchdog when it comes to offering facts for our readers to form opinions from. That being said, I make the same promise to you that I did to one reader — which is to be the kind of watchdog that runs to either side of the yard when someone is at the fence. That way, when I bring you the newspaper with this 22- by-12-inch page wrapped inside, it will be something we can both feel good about. Write Siuslaw News editor Ned Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslaw news.com or P.O. Box 10, Florence, Ore. 97439. LETTERS He’s a keeper I am happy to be endorsing the re-election of a friend of ours and a friend of all his con- stituents up and down the coast: Senator Arnie Roblan. Not a tough decision. In an election year fraught with F.U.D. (fear, uncertainty and doubt), it’s a slam-dunk to vote for a man who has proven to be a true represen- tative of the people — all the people. What? He’s a Democrat? And I’m a Republican? That’s the point: it’s rare to find a legislator who listens with equal intensity and concern to those on both sides of the aisle. He’s a keeper! Pat Sapp Florence Get out and vote The presidential election is almost upon us. There are three important points to remember: 1) Trump is for controlled immigration; Clinton supports open borders 2) Trump will appoint Supreme Court Justices who (I feel) will uphold our Constitution; Clinton will appoint liberal Justices who (I feel) will try to change our Constitution 3) Trump is pro-life; Clinton supports partial birth abortion Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. The rest of us need to get out and vote. Pamela Richardson Florence Stand with me It is no secret that State Senator Arnie Roblan has been a champion, in both in his private and public lives, of strengthening K-12 education and the expansion of access to higher education for all our citizens. Even when our Oregon experienced the worst economic times since the Great Depression of the 1930s, during his leadership as Co-Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, we did everything in our power to cushion the pain that would be visited on our schools, colleges and universities. With the support from Democratic col- leagues, who have always stood together to address the educational needs of our children, we fought hard to restore the budget cuts that had to be taken in those hard times. We are now out of those desperate economic woods and, thanks to those who have continu- ously led the charge for more education fund- ing, our schools are getting more financial sup- port from the State than ever before. And now the campaign season is upon us and it is the time when we have to make choices that could have a lasting effect on future generations USPS# 497-660 of Americans. I ask you to stand with me in supporting a person who continuously stands with you and has historically delivered on his promise to put the children of Oregon first. Join me in re-electing State Senator Arnie Roblan this November. Joanne Verger Retired Senator Coos Bay We can’t wait any longer Our roads are a mess. It seems like every time I watch the evening news or log onto my com- puter there’s a report of a fatal accident. But crumbling roads and bridges aren’t just deadly — they’re costly too. Every year we miss out on new jobs because our roads can’t handle the traffic. Politicians in Salem haven’t passed a trans- portation package in seven years. Our roads and bridges can’t wait any longer. We need funding now to pay for desperately needed repairs and safety upgrades. This year, I’m voting for Dick Anderson because he has a proven track record of getting Dying for lack of medicine Here is an example of what our Congress has done to protect the people of the United States. Due to lobbying by phamaceuticals industries, we have a regulation that forbids the govern- ment from negotiating the prices for drugs that are bought for Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration (VA). As an example: The Gillian Sciences compa- ny manufactures a drug that treats Hepatitus-C that costs $1 to produce and which they charge as much as $1,000 for. This has resulted in many people dying for lack of money. The government has paid out more than $10 billion to those companies, which have their money being “stored” in Ireland and don’t pay any U.S. taxes on. The reason this bill passed is because some of our representatives in Congress benefit from the pharmaceuticals industries, from funds con- tributed to campaigns. These statements were quoted as fact by Dr. Jeffery Sachs of “The Earth Institute” on the Morning Joe show, Oct. 11, 2016. It was also stated that the VA was quoted as having to “send people home until they were sicker” because they could not afford the cost to treat the early diagnosis. This should take Congress one hour to write and one hour to pass on a single sheet of paper since the current Congress has proven to have veto control. Call 202-224-3121 and let your state Representative know you want this approved as a bill. Albert Anderson Florence 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 Ned Hickson Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry things done for the Coast. As the Mayor of Lincoln City he cut red tape to widen Highway 101 and make it safer. He also sits on two ODOT transportation commissions where he collaborated to secure funding for a new dry dock at the Port of Toledo. If he did all this as Mayor, imagine what he can do as our Senator. Dick Anderson is an expert at working with ODOT and politicians on both sides of the aisle to secure funding for projects here on the Oregon coast, not in the I-5 corridor. Let’s elect a Senator that can get things mov- ing; let’s elect Dick Anderson to Oregon Senate. Karen Childs 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
