4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ DECEMBER 31, 2016
Siuslaw News
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
VIEW FROM UPRIVER
Finding the light
W ESLEY V OTH
For the Siuslaw News
I
t is the dead of winter here in the Siuslaw
Valley. Sol shines seldom, and so low on
the horizon he never even peers over many
of the ridgetops. The north to south orientation
of the river bend where our house sits means
that the sun does occasionally sneak into the
open to scuttle across an open patch of sky on
its southeast-south-southwest slide, but only
when fog and nimbostratus and gloom and the
daily dose of darkness simultaneously decamp.
Mostly it is dark, misty, wet and with more
grey that is greenish than green that is shades
of... well, grey.
I am one of many Americans who prefers
the British — and in this case better —
spelling of the word grey, to bow to its close
association with green rather than any-
thing having to do with sunrays.
I don’t think that other spelling of the
word applies to a color that shows up
around here — at least in winter.
Many birds that are here now feed on
the ground, and are the color of soil and
dead leaves. Varied thrushes with their
orange breasts and “V” throats — hermit
thrushes with brown spotted breasts, brown-
streaked song sparrows, robins and tiny winter
wrens — churn through the leaf litter through-
out this region in a compost-turning operation
that is one of the many unsung public works
projects of the natural world.
Unsung especially by themselves, who in
other times of the year do sing so beautifully.
And by the calendars used by much of the
world, and reflecting converging sets of old
traditions, we begin a new year with 2017.
For many it is a time for reflection, goal-set-
ting, housecleaning and finding some form of
cheer. Fire, firecrackers, wassail that was hot
or applejack that was potent, and — for many
of a bygone age — some form of fruitcake.
Sadly, there are places where the only thing
people can think of doing with fruitcake these
days is throw it, but dried fruit and sometimes
meat in some form of cake or pie was a mid-
winter mood elevator in many parts of the
northern hemisphere across many cultures for
thousands of years. It has been a long time
since I had one, and even longer since it was a
good one.
Our family tended to do a fairly dry mince-
meat pie, and homemade using venison and
figs and hazelnuts was the best. A few days
ago, I was with my surviving siblings and
some of our children. Many of our family food
traditions were on display, but that one is dead;
and I am the lone mourner. I consoled myself
with some delightfully restorative jalapeño
jelly. And pfeffernusse, the tiny and spicy inde-
structible German cookie whose name means
“pepper nuts.”
This morning, at an hour my wife Susie
refers to as 0-dark-hundred, I am eating a pseu-
do-breakfast known by another culture as a
mood enhancer: tiramisu (or “pick-me-up”). It
was made by our daughter, Beulah, from a
recipe we sent her by postcard from Italy when
we were there. This confectionary combination
of coffee and chocolate with egg and cookie
and mascarpone cheese I can only handle if it
is early in the day.
But it is bringing a smile now as I indulge in
its stimulating character.
All this past month I have been researching
organizations, issues and causes that I have
wanted to know more about — a different one
each day — as my personal “cause challenge.”
While the issues of our time seem daunting, I
have been inspired in this search by learning of
the many people — old, young, male and
female, of many races and persuasions and cir-
cumstances — who are doing something to
make this country, this human dominated earth,
a better place for people and the rest of life on
the planet.
I have also been moved by the deaths of two
men I much admired for their faith and work.
One of them, Charlie Kimball, is well known
in this community. I have found his quiet,
upbeat, caring activism over a long and pro-
ductive life a great encouragement and exam-
ple.
Now, from my home to yours, I wish you all
a wonderful New Year.
Whatever it takes, make it count.
LETTERS
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.
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Letters are subject to editing for
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Publication of any letter is not guaran-
teed and depends on space available
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Libelous and anonymous letters or
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All submissions become the proper-
ty of Siuslaw News and will not be
returned.
Write to:
Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com
Finally hopefull
After reading Mr. Curt Buttke response
(Dec. 28) to a previous letter writer (Dec. 21), I
not only do not accept the sources or their con-
clusions regarding Mr. Trump’s mental health,
but ask for the shoe to be put on the other foot.
Have we not seen the many articles on real
news sites (not Huffington Post) about
President-elect Trump’s daughter and son-in-
law being harassed on a commercial flight? Or
the many articles accusing him for being every-
thing from a racist, KKK supporter, anti-Semite
and more?
And all by the supposed “non-biased” media.
He is not only fit to be President, but soon
will be. I believe he will not only represent me,
but even those who didn’t support him. I voted
for him based on many things, the most impor-
tant being that he won’t continue what I consid-
er to be the race-based policies of the previous
administration.
I am hopeful for the first time in many years
that a pen and a phone will not take the place of
USPS# 497-660
Congress and the people. I also have hope that
the rule of law will become the norm once
again.
Do I think that it will always go my way?
Of course not.
As a matter of fact I would be happy if it goes
my way half the time after feeling I received
nothing for eight years.
Unlike those years, I expect to see things get-
ting done for me... And for you.
David T. Eckhardt
Florence
The Founders’
compromise
Mr. Cavarno’s Dec. 21 letter provides voting
statistics showing that while Mrs. Clinton won
the popular vote by over 2 million votes, Mr.
Trump won the votes in an overwhelming
from our constitutional history, the Supreme
Court’s consistent rulings and longstanding
practice.
Evenwell vs. Abbott says voting districts
should contain roughly the same number of
people be they eligible voters, residents, immi-
grants who are here legally but are not citizens,
illegal immigrants and children.
The Electoral College was the Founders’
compromise to assure the electoral power of the
small (and slave) states against the northern
states with their greater number of white-male,
enfranchised voters.
As Mr. Cavarno’s statistics indicate, when
electing the president today, “one person, one
vote” can become “one acre, one vote.”
Arnold Buchman
Scottsdale, Ariz.
(Formerly of Florence)
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John Bartlett
Jenna Bartlett
Ned Hickson
Susan Gutierrez
Cathy Dietz
Ron Annis
Jeremy Gentry
majority of the nation’s counties. But for the
genius of the Electoral College, he says, “a few
densely populated Democratic cities like Los
Angles, Chicago and New York City could
essentially speak for the rest of our country.”
In the 1963 Supreme Court decision in Baker
vs. Carr and the line of cases that followed, the
Constitution clearly requires electoral districts
to be apportioned so that each district is rough-
ly equal in population. More simply, “one per-
son, one vote.”
The most recent of these cases, the unani-
mous decision in Evenwell vs. Abbott earlier
this year, went a step further. It affirmed that our
representative democracy means “representa-
tional equality,” with elected officials bound to
represent the interests of the all the people in
their numerically equal district, whether or not
those people are voters.
“One person, one vote” is the lesson learned
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