4 A
❘
WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ DECEMBER 21, 2016
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
The importance of accepting what homelessness isn’t
There are a lot of things
we’re proud of as Oregonians:
The scenic beauty that con-
stantly surrounds us.
Our generally progressive
thinking on important issues.
Being outside of California.
Yet, amid all the things
about Oregon that make us
proud, there’s one thing I find
it hard to admit about my
beloved state.
While homelessness has
declined around the nation,
Oregon continues to have the
highest percentage of home-
less families with children.
Between 2015 and 2016, the
number of homeless families
decreased in 41 states across
America while, in Oregon, we
experienced a 2.5 percent
increase — the fifth highest in
the nation.
Right after California.
According to a report
released in November by the
U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development
(HUD), more than half of
Oregon’s homeless families
(60.5 percent) are without
shelter, either living on the
street, in cars or in tents with-
in that scenic beauty I men-
tioned earlier.
As much as we want to tell
ourselves that most of the
homeless are drug addicts,
criminals or suffering from
mental disorders, the fact is
more than half of the homeless
living without shelter in
Oregon — more than 7,000 —
are either school-aged or dis-
placed veterans.
To bring it a little closer to
home, each day, 92 students
between the Siuslaw and
Mapleton School Districts go
to class, participate in school
activities and finish the day
without a permanent home to
go to.
The fact is, more often they
are those whose faces we rec-
ognize each day but who
never say a word about their
homelessness. They are moth-
ers and fathers, sons and
daughters. They are students,
cooks, part-time employees,
From the Editor’s Desk
N ED H ICKSON
As it stands, 4.3 percent of
Siuslaw’s student body is
homeless. By comparison, the
statewide average is 3.7 per-
cent.
Before we can truly address
the issue of homelessness, we
must be willing to understand
that the majority of those who
are living their lives without a
home aren’t those on the street
whose faces we often avoid.
unemployed veterans and sen-
ior citizens faced with decid-
ing between medication, food
or shelter.
By stereotyping the home-
less as addicts or criminals, we
insulate ourselves from the
reality of homelessness, and
how close we all are from a
life without shelter. Truth be
told, nearly half of Americans
live less than two paychecks
away from the kind of finan-
cial crisis that could lead to
homelessness.
That’s not the kind of
stereotype we want to think
about, but one we have to be
willing to accept in order to
affect the kind of change that
will, in turn, changes the lives
of so many of our homeless in
Oregon.
Today in Florence, we have
an opportunity to affect that
kind of change by participat-
ing in — and supporting —
National Homeless Persons
Memorial Day. It’s a day that
has been set aside each year
since 1990 to raise awareness
of those who don’t have a
place to call home, as well as
remember those who have
died as a result of being home-
less.
Between 10 a.m. and 6
p.m., consider donating any of
the following supplies (new or
used) at KXCR Radio (across
from the library on Ninth
Street) or City Lights Cinema,
1930 Highway 101: Tents,
tarps, sleeping bags, ponchos,
warm waterproof jackets,
blankets, gloves, warm hats
and hand warmers, cotton
socks, flashlights and batter-
ies, fast food or grocery gift
cards, canned foods and per-
sonal hygiene items.
While the bigger solution to
homelessness in Oregon will
require more than donations of
food and clothing, our willing-
ness to acknowledge the
homeless in our community
by offering support is an
important step toward achiev-
ing something else we can all
be proud of as Oregonians.
Write Siuslaw News editor Ned
Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslaw
news.com or P.O. Box 10,
Florence, Ore. 97439.
LETTERS
I’ll never doubt again
Imagine my surprise when I googled
“Manitou Springs Great Fruitcake Toss,” and
discovered that it really exists. I will never
again doubt anything that Ned Hickson says.
Todd Smitherman
Florence
Lesson to be learned
Lost Valley Ranch, a proposed 30,000 con-
fined animal feeding operation dairy, is plan-
ning to open on 7,288 acres of the Boardman
Tree Farm located in the Columbia River
Gorge. It brings into question environmental
and health issues, as well as out-of-state owner-
ship of Oregon land.
Lost Valley Ranch would be located within
30 minutes of an existing ThreeMile Canyon
Farms, one of the country’s largest dairies, with
8,000 acres of land and 70,000 animals —
which has already demonstrable visible impact
on the environment. The gases from the
ThreeMile operation are creating a haze over
the Gorge.
Adding Lost Valley Ranch will put a huge
amount of waste into the ground and air. The
data for these emissions is mind-boggling. It is
L ETTERS TO THE
E DITOR P OLICY
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
USPS# 497-660
estimated that 55,000 cows produce a ton of
manure a minute — a nonstop ammonia emis-
sion. In addition to ammonia, cow manure con-
tains hydrogen sulfide and methane gas, which
are the three toxic materials of most concern.
Gases such as ammonia and nitrogen are
causing acidification of the gorge ecosystems.
Oceans show this same acidification (and asso-
ciated rising temperatures). So it is not just the
haze that we can see, it is the toxins that we
cannot see.
While Lost Valley Ranch is not ThreeMile
Canyon Farms, it will be another mega-industry
owned by out-of-state families whose names I
have been unable to find in print.
At the Threemile Canyon farms, 358 prod-
ucts were recalled (Two Willamette Valley com-
panies, Salem’s NORPAC and Corvallis’
Stahlbush Island Farms both bought processed
vegetables under the Organic by Nature label.)
In addition to consumer health risks, lawsuits
claiming minimum-wage violations, long work-
ing days without breaks, gender bias, animal
abuse practices, and workers complaining of
respiratory distress such as burning eyes, sore
throats and other ailments.
My recollection from watching the documen-
tary on this operation at City Lights Cinemas is
that the animals were inoculated to protect them
from respiratory problems. It seems the ani-
mals in this respect are better protected than
their workers.
Violations of safety hazards resulted in 12
citations from Oregon OSHA, as well as pun-
ishment for engaging in union organization
efforts. I believe it is a sign of things to come if
we do nothing and run the risk of becoming a
big factory farm state
We need to protect the state’s recreation,
tourism and agricultural area of the Columbia
River Gorge by not allowing another mega
(CAFO) confined animal feeding operation in
Oregon.
We must protect human health and planetary
health by calling our legislators and insisting
that the permit for Lost Valley Ranch be denied.
Those who do will be in good company along
with organizations like the Columbia
Riverkeeper, Friends of Family Farmers, Food
and Water Watch, Oregon Physicians for Social
Responsibility, Center for Food Safety,
WaterWatch of Oregon, Humane Oregon,
Friends of the Columbia Gorge, the Humane
Society of the United States, Sierra Club
Oregon Chapter, and Socially Responsible
Agricultural Project.
Nan Harvey
Florence
Praise for post office
My husband Willie and I left Florence for a
senior facility in California some three years
ago.
However, we have continued to request that
Florence Habitat for Humanity send cards to
family and friends on our behalf. It saves shop-
ping, shipping, packaging and everyone is
delighted to receive the elegant handmade cards
indicating that a donation been made in their
name.
This year, I goofed and mailed my labels to a
street address instead of the P.O. Box. Twice!
I want to praise the Florence Post Office for
1) Returning the first package to me, and 2)
Catching the second one after it was brought
back to the facility, (undeliverable to street
address, no boxes). Diane caught it and put it
into P.O. Box., ensuring it arrived at its correct
destination this morning.
That’s above and beyond the call of duty! It’s
just one example of why Florence was a great
place to live. Our “bestest” to all of you for a
Merry Christmas.
Barbara Prisbe-Sutton
Oceanside, Calif.
Formerly of 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
By the numbers
Just finished reading the latest edition
(Saturday, Dec. 17) of the Siuslaw News and
once again I see in the Letters to the Editor
more folks who can’t seem to accept the Trump
presidency.
The main contention seems to be that Clinton
won the popular vote by over 1.5 million votes
— or at least more than President-elect Donald
Trump.
I can concede she did that.
But let’s toss around a few other figures I
think are important to note.
If my figures are correct, there are 3,141
counties in which Trump won (3,084); Clinton
won only 57.
There are 62 counties in the state of New
York, of which Trump won 46 and Hillary won
just 16. There are 5 counties in New York City,
from which Clinton won by well over 2 million
votes.
Those 5 counties alone could have accounted
for her winning the popular vote. Those same 5
counties comprise only 319 square miles of the
United States’ 3,797,000 square miles.
Therefore, in a country that includes nearly 4
million counties, the folks living in 319 square
miles of it shouldn’t be able to dictate the out-
come of our national election by their heavily
populated numbers. By popular vote, a few
densely populated Democratic cities like Los
Angles, Chicago and New York City could
essentially speak for the rest of our country.
Once again, this shows the wisdom of our
very capable forefathers when they conceived
the Electoral College into our system.
Thank God for them and God bless America.
Tony Cavarno
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