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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2017)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ FEBRUARY 18, 2017 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR Opinion ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respecting an estab- lishment of religion or prohibiting the free exer- cise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. LETTERS G ENEROUS VOLUNTEERS The students, staff and I at Highland Elementary School in Reedsport want to thank those near and far who helped with the set-up of our new swings. Locally, Frank Hedges has persistently kept the project moving and has made sure all the details are worked out prior to hav- ing additional volunteers show up to work. We also would like to thank our friends 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 Libelous and anonymous letters or poetry will not be published.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 from Florence, Tony Miller, Doug South and his wife, Terri South. Doug South Contracting supervised the construction, transported its backhoe and donated numerous hours to the project. Viking Concrete provided cement for the project at a discounted price, and Rainbow Concrete Pumping from North Bend also donated its time and services. Numerous Highland Elementary School staff and their families, along with students from Reedsport High School, also volun- teered. This project would not have been possi- ble without the generosity of our neighbor- ing businesses and all these volunteers. With much gratitude, Principal Beckie Lupton Highland Elementary Reedsport M AKE YOUR VOICE HEARD I believe the failure of Republican Senators to be swayed by the overwhelm- ing lack of support for Betsy DeVos among the electorate was fueled by fear. Fear of losing face. Fear of losing an election. Fear of losing control. I think there will be many more fear- based denials of the peoples’ will in the time ahead. We have an admitted anti-Semite, Steve Bannon, in a very powerful position as President Trump’s Chief Strategist. How are we, as citizens of this great nation, to proceed? H AVE AN IMPACT We live in a community of Confederated Tribes of Native Americans. I am writing this on their behalf. Attempting to peacefully protect their sovereign land and sacred burial grounds, the Lakota Sioux in North Dakota have been subject to military-style tacticts from local police, state police and private securi- ty guards. They have used attack dogs, pepper spray, being sprayed by fire hoses in sub-zero weather, and being shot at with rubber bullets — all of this against “water protectors” who are using drums and song as their weapons. These methods are supported by the local mayor and the governor in North Dakota. A recent executive order has lifted the ban to stop construction, so protesting has begun again. For our Florence community that has spoken for a “hate free” communi- ty, this is an opportunity to extend this atti- tude. We can support the peaceful protestors and help them regain their rightful land. If you bank with or have credit cards with a bank that is funding this pipeline, move your business away and tell them why you are doing so — and do your banking busi- ness locally. Some of the larger banks involved in the pipeline project are Wells Fargo, City Bank Citibank (CitiGroup) and Bank of America. This will not cost you, but could have an impact on a financial institution that is only motivated by profit. Or you could access a number of online support groups, one of which is the Indigenous Environmental Network at www.ienearth.org, where there are a num- ber of projects to support. Either one could make a feel-good day for yourself and others. Nan Harvey Florence T RUMP BEING TRUMPED National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Labor Secretary Andrew Puzder are gone because of the White Houses’s inabil- ity to do any vetting. President Trump has already lost a few of his transition team members and I won’t be surprised if Kellyanne Conway soon fol- lows. Who will be next in the coming year? Betsy DeVos? Stephen Bannon? Being the President is not a “reality TV” show. “You’re fired!” only works if it is within his own staff. He can’t fire the “fake” press reporters, congressmen or sen- ators in his own party who disagree with him. There will be continued fallout until he decides to learn to be President. Win Jolley Florence Copyright 2017 © Siuslaw News Publisher, ext. 327 General Manager, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Marketing 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, Saturday 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 Many of us are trying to make our voices heard, but it’s unclear if we are gaining any traction. Ivy Medow, MA, CRC, OTA Florence Pres. Donald Trump 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 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.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. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416 541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us 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
