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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 2016)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ OCTOBER 22, 2016 Siuslaw News NED HICKSON , EDITOR ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 VIEW FROM UPRIVER Speaking up W ESLEY V OTH For the Siuslaw News I have had the joy of traveling several times lately along the Siuslaw River from Mapleton to below Florence by boat. The beauty of the river flowing through corridors of fall riparian vegetation, the tranquility, the tidal ebbs and flows and slacks, the cama- raderie of fellow fishers, whether they be human, feathered, furred or finned. It is a nice break from the political clamor, both on the airways and in print. It renews the mind and restores the soul. Although I have spoken out about this in the past, I need to say emphatically again that all forms of abuse against persons are intolerable. By abuse, I mean the painful and coercive exercise of dominance by one or a group over another, whether it be verbal or physical or in any other manner. We must not allow such abuse, ignore it, excuse it or cover it up — all of these permit abuse to perpetuate. But I have to admit I am personally guilty of all such responses. I grew up in a family with both a set of vio- lent secrets and a strong code of silence — telling someone outside what happened inside was strongly condemned by my mother and severely punished by my father. When by some sick skill I managed to deflect the abuse onto a younger sibling, I did not stand up for them. When as the oldest I was left in charge, a pretty frequent occur- rence, I typically relied on the methods of con- trol I learned from my parents — to my shame. So why was the silence so important? Because we all knew within our hearts that this abuse was wrong. That it wouldn’t stand up to the scrutiny and judgment of other rela- tives, our church, the school, our community. Its power was staying hidden. For me, what eventually saved me as a hus- band and father was the condemnation and zero tolerance of abusive behavior by people I loved and respected, both personally and in print. As an adult I have come to know the joy (and relief) of being part of a loving, open family. But there are places that cover up forms of abuse with codes of silence other than families, such as: institutions, businesses, departments, offices, locker rooms. We all have opportunities to stand up — and speak up — against abuse wherever we are. Who knows how many lives we improve by doing so? Or how many we let down when we say nothing? care residence for my chronically-ill veteran father, I had finally found a place for him at the Oregon State Veteran’s Home. Within 6 weeks of his placement, I was contacted by adminis- trators at that facility. They told me that I would need to find another home for my father, as they were not prepared to dedicate the resources required for his care. I was despondent. I knew there was nowhere else. Our friend Rosie Shatkin suggested I contact our State Sen. Arnie Roblan for help. I wrote him an email, explaining our family’s situation. His office got back to me within the hour and I was in contact with Senator Roblan by the end of the day. He assured me that everything would be okay — that my dad would be taken care of. Later that week I received a phone call from the Veteran’s Home, ensuring that my father would be cared for as long as he needed it. I can’t explain how much of a relief that was. I’d like to thank Senator Roblan, not just for making sure my father was taken care of, but for giving me my life back. Before this experience, I didn’t actually believe that politicians were real human beings who truly wanted to help the people they “represented.” Thank you, Arnie, for proving that notion wrong. Sean Sisson Florence L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR P OLICY LETTERS Thanks for cleanup On behalf of the mayor, city council and res- idents of Dunes City I would like to personally thank the members of the Eugene Dive Club for their tremendous efforts to clean up Woahink Lake on Saturday, Oct. 8. (Siuslaw News, Oct. 12) As you may or may not be aware, Dunes City hosts the Oregon Dunes Triathlon and Duathlon on Mother’s Day weekend each year. Our com- petitors in the event, some of whom are Olympic qualifiers, swim in the waters of Woahink Lake. We were absolutely stunned to learn of the amount of debris removed from the lake. It is so sad to believe that people deliber- ately dump their waste in what is the drinking water source for not only the residents around the lake, but those camping and playing at Honeyman State Park. Certainly greater educa- tional efforts are needed! We encourage your continued efforts on Woahink and suggest you contact City Hall well ahead of the scheduled time for your next cleanup event at Woahink so we may aid in get- ting the word out to find additional help in whatever way we can — whether it be to pro- vide more divers (some of our council members are certified) or volunteers to bring boats, trucks and trailers, additional funding to help pay for things or just warm bodies to help float and load the debris. We applaud your efforts and offer to help at future events. Jamie Mills City Administrator and Recorder Dunes City That $17,175 Prop. 97 isn’t difficult to understand: Take 2.5 percent from a corporation’s gross profit over $25 million. If I had to give up 2.5 percent of my business’ gross profit to the state of Oregon, (on top of what we already had to pay in taxes), it would amount to close to $17,175 for the year 2015. That $17,175 that would go to the state would eliminate the $12,208 in bonuses we gave to our employees. That $17,175 would not go to help our granddaugh- ters’ college education, or go to business growth and investment for tools, education and train- ing. That $17,175 would go to the state to spend as they see fit. There are no limits to what the state can spend it on, contrary to what you may think. We are told it won’t go to pay down the bloat- ed $22 billion dollar PERS account. Really? I’m not surprised to read editorials that espouse how wonderful it would be to have $3 billion to spend on our kids, health care, etc. every year; most of those editorials seem to be coming from those who currently benefit from PERS. Why give more money to anyone or any USPS# 497-660 organization or government entity whose past performance is less that satisfactory? Would you expect a raise from your employ- er if your performance at work was less than satisfactory? As a parent, would you continue to pay for your child’s college education if they were failing or not performing satisfactorily? Why do you think Oregon has lower corpo- rate tax rates? Corporations didn’t propose the rates; state leaders proposed rates. I would think the lower tax rates were to encourage corporations to come to Oregon and invest in tools, supplies, employees and of course to help fill state coffers. By raising cor- porate tax rates the corporations will either leave, invest less in employee pay, invest less in infrastructure or raise the cost of goods. It’s not difficult to think who will pay the extra taxes. Do you really think corporations will just take it on the chin and suck it up? No. Tax payers will pay for it. Help me pay my granddaughters’ college education and my employee’s bonuses by vot- ing “No.” Dana Rodet Westlake My dad will be taken care of After 18 months of looking for an assisted 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 The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor concerning issues affect- ing 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 guaran- teed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Libelous and anonymous letters or poetry will not be published. All submissions become the proper- ty of Siuslaw News and will not be returned. Write to: 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 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
