4 A
❘
SATURDAYEDITION
❘ NOVEMBER 19, 2016
Siuslaw News
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
VIEW FROM UPRIVER
Making sense of what makes us great
W ESLEY V OTH
For the Siuslaw News
N
ovember continues to be the warm wet
caboose of October, when the drying
power and glow from a wood fire in
one’s own hearth trumps most alternatives as
evenings darken ever earlier.
My most memorable moment on Election
Day was watching a bald eagle as it scrutinized
Chinook salmon spawning in Indian Creek. If
you are not familiar with that part of the
Siuslaw Watershed, Indian Creek flows into
Lake Creek at Indiola, which in turn
flows into the Siuslaw at Swisshome.
It is a part of the watershed where there
have been recent disagreements between
some local residents and the U.S. Forest
Service over management and restoration
plans.
Getting back to the eagle, the majestic
bird was sitting — not standing — on a sunny,
grassy knoll overlooking a section of spawning
gravels. With eyes that can see into the water
far more keenly than ours can, the eagle
watched with patient fascination as the mysti-
cal dance proceeded below — and with it the
hope of abundant food for many, many tomor-
rows.
As I write this it is the morning after. I am
trying to get my head around what the election
results mean.
As the deeply divided American electorate
appears to favor Hillary Clinton by popular
vote but elects Donald Trump decisively by
electoral vote; maintains Republican majorities
in both houses of Congress; and Republicans
win their not-strictly-by-the-constitution politi-
cal gamble regarding the current Supreme
Court nominee.
So, the American people have spoken.
Certainly, money — now that it is speech —
has spoken pretty loudly, too. I do not, howev-
er, see that politics or politicians or the politi-
cal system has changed at all; only that power
has shifted yet again.
One thing I do understand is work, and that
working together takes work. It’s time to do
that, to get to work to make America great.
It should start with fulfilling the promise of
liberty and justice for all. That in restoring law
and order, wherever it does not currently exist,
be done in a way that does not trample civil
rights and does not look anything like a police
state, which is antithetical to liberty and jus-
tice.
We cannot become great by taking health
care away from people, by stripping consumer
protections, by weakening federal agencies
tasked with keeping water and air and food and
pharmaceuticals safe, by taking away the rights
of people to choose. We do not become great
by being demeaning of anyone.
I, for one, am going to choose to believe that
Donald Trump will rise to the shape of the
office, that our system will work to bring out
the best in him as we all struggle together to
make this thing work.
And thanks, Oregon, for passing the meas-
ure funding Outdoor School. May it mean that
a higher percentage of our children come to
care enough to go outside, and to recognize
both the eagle that I saw, as well as appreciate
and understand the incredible majesty of what
it was watching.
LETTERS
Great vision for Florence
I do not live in the city limits of Florence, but
if I did, my vote would have been included with
the rest for Joe Henry.
I hope the readers of the Siuslaw News were
able to read the write up on the Opinion page of
Saturday, Nov. 12, paper. A wonderful write up
about our town’s Mayor.
His life from early childhood sets the exam-
ple of what makes a leader for the average
American people, someone who we can all
relate to someone who has worked — actually
worked — in a variety of fields.
I liked one comment in particular Joe made,
“For some jobs, there simply are no training
manuals or college curricula. You just dive in
and tackle multifaceted challenges with hands-
on approach.”
Those have been my own thoughts all of my
life. We are fortunate that Joe and Pam Henry
chose Florence so we could choose them.
I believe in this 2016 election the American
people have spoken clearly that we want to
return to a conservative base of blue collar
workers who serve this country and family val-
ues.
America is a great country to live in and we
can all do our part to make it better.
Joe Henry has great vision for the future of
Florence.
Donna Dobson
Florence
L ETTERS TO THE
E DITOR P OLICY
The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to
the editor concerning 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 letters
received.
Libelous and anonymous letters or poet-
ry will not be published.
All submissions become the property of
Siuslaw News and will not be returned.
Write to: Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com
USPS# 497-660
Repeal the 14th Ammendment
In response to Win Jolley’s letter (Siuslaw
News, Nov. 12)
Win, I’m with you. I didn’t really under-
stand how the electoral college worked until
now, and I’m 65 years old.
When Gore lost the election, he actually cap-
tured a majority of popular votes. However, the
Supreme Court chose Bush to be President.
Didn’t seem fair then, but the electoral col-
lege didn’t really have the impact on that elec-
tion as it does now.
I confess, I didn’t take the time to educate
myself, I just accepted defeat.
This time it’s different.
Even with an attempt to understand the elec-
toral college, I find myself still confused.
Apparently when we vote in a presidential
election, we are actually voting for electors.
Each candidate has his/her own electors. There
are 538 electors and 270 are needed to win.
The electors selected by the party that wins
each state become the electors that choose our
president. Once again, we actually vote for
electors, not the candidate.
It does not matter if a candidate gets the most
popular votes; Hillary Clinton has received over
a million more votes than Donald Trump, per-
haps as many as 2 million — the votes are still
being counted.
It’s time we consider repealing the 14th
Amendment and elect our presidents by popular
votes rather than a group of just 538 people who
represent more than 140 million registered vot-
ers in the United States.
We go through this discussion every four
Indications of
temperment
I appreciated Arnold Buchman’s last two let-
ters, and I would like to elaborate on the one of
Nov. 12.
David Brooks, the well-known conservative
columnist for the New York Times and com-
mentator for PBS’ “The News Hour,” noted a
few months ago how the Republican Party had
lost its compass and strayed from Burkian con-
servatism — a philosophy grounded in a ration-
al, measured and incremental approach to poli-
cy, as opposed to the more “extremist” ground
in which Brooks believes the Party has now
planted itself.
He suggests one of the reasons for this trans-
formation is the Party’s tendency, over the last
decade or so, to spin events and issues into an
“Armageddon” type scenario that requires an
all-or-nothing attitude toward preventing possi-
ble horrendous “catastrophes” from materializ-
ing.
I think another component to this transforma-
tion comes as a result of the Party’s alignment
with certain fear-mongers in talk radio over the
last 25 years.
This new orientation, coupled with a deep —
and justifiable — dissatisfaction with govern-
How can we help?
I told a homeless friend recently that I would
share his story. What he wants is a safe place to
sleep each night.
He fears being rousted from his tent and told
to leave. This is what often happens in Florence
and in many other places; if you are found
sleeping in your car, you are told to leave, even
if you are parked in a church parking lot.
A fine may be imposed as well.
This homeless kind man vacuums the carpet
in the Methodist Church dining area after free
lunch is served. He has more to offer and is
willing to work if given an opportunity.
What can we do?
As a first step, let’s consider providing a safe
and legal place for our homeless brothers and
sisters to be, right here in Florence.
Janet Hirsch
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
years, regardless of the winning and losing can-
didates.
Let’s not let four years pass again only to act
so surprised if the candidate that loses actually
captures a majority of the popular votes.
Gail Katz
Florence
ment and a political system that includes out-of-
control lobbyism and special interests, has pro-
vided fertile ground for the rise of a true dema-
gogue.
And with it has come a demagogue leader in
the form of President-elect Donald Trump, a
man who wields a juvenile-level vocabulary
reliant upon exaggeration, strong adjectives and
repetition to communicate.
For example: “...a disaster, a complete dis-
aster,” or “our country is in a crisis, folks, a cri-
sis worse than we’ve ever seen...”
My concern is that all these mannerisms
serve to compensate for a lack of knowledge or
understanding when clear, rational details for a
plan, policy or remedy are presented.
To me, they are indications that he does not
have the temperament to be a thoughtful,
responsible politician-statesman.
At any rate, all is done now.
This letter is a reflection of my hope — along
with Mr. Buchman’s hope — that President-
elect Trump will morph into a clear-thinking,
adult-minded leader of the free world.
This may well be a tall order in the wake of
his choice of Steve Bannon as chief strategist, a
man who formerly headed the openly racist and
misogynistic Breitbart News.
I can only hope that the weight of our soon-
to-be President’s latest venture will humble into
following through on his promise to represent
all Americans, and not just those within the
demagogue.
Curt Buttke
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