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❘
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
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The Siuslaw News welcomes letters
to the editor concerning issues affect-
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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