4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ MARCH 4, 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.
VIEW FROM UPRIVER
Just what does it matter?
W ESLEY V OTH
For the Siuslaw News
As light lingers a little longer each day, there
are the usual native harbingers of the season
turning. Indian plum blossoms hang in tiny
sprays while their leaf buds look like upright
praying hands. Magenta salmonberry blossoms
beckon bumble bees, and earth worms are near
enough to the surface that I see the classic tug-
of-wars as robins try and prize them from the
rain-soaked soil. Pussy willow buds winsomely
velvet the long sticks of what were called
switches by too many adults for comfort dur-
ing my childhood.
Among the birds, the varied thrushes disap-
peared from our immediate area by Valentine’s
Day, gone a month early and without their
usual trilling calls, silent before leaving as they
try and adapt to a world that is changing. I had
always thought light triggered their move-
ments, but apparently not. Meanwhile, band-
tailed pigeons are back earlier than ever; does
this mean, I wonder, changes in Baja
California where they spend their winters?
Who owns the wildlife? Or, maybe, who
protects it? The answer to this is important as
part of the larger political questions being
hotly debated at the moment. In the U.S., the
simple legal answer to the first question is that
the state in which the wildlife resides holds
title to that wildlife as part of the public trust.
In the case of most migratory wildlife or
marine mammals, the federal government takes
on the role. Some species get a little trickier,
like wolves. And there are species with special
status because it has been determined by a
court that they are endangered. The idea is that
it breaks public trust to allow the altering of
habitat to such an extent that a particular
species disappears forever, or from a place
where it has always lived.
States tend to divide wildlife into game or
furbearing versus all of the rest, and manage
hunting, fishing and trapping funded by licens-
es and fees. “All of the rest” has proved a little
harder to both fund and manage.
There are also animals considered vermin or
nuisance, and different states handle those
things differently. So, it is The People’s
wildlife, one way or another. I like the sound
of “The People’s wolves” but hold at the same
time that they are wild and laws unto them-
selves. They will never survive if public lands
become private, if the other native plant and
animal communities on those public lands are
compromised, if the consequences for killing
one of The People’s wolves is not sufficiently
severe. If the animals belong to us, it is our
responsibility to care for them and the habitat
they need to survive. If we do that adequately
in every place, there is hope for the earth and
The People’s place on it.
Part of the current political argument is over
just who The People are, and what is the nature
of The People’s government. Something I
thought was well established is that it’s The
People’s air and water, and that’s why the EPA
was created — to police its quality.
Regulations that are in danger of being
bypassed, thwarted, reduced and undone are
The People’s regulations. To protect our inter-
ests. It is part of being a nation of laws.
I have been to some of the Florence
ORganizes meetings, these building on the
enthusiasm and energy of the Women’s March
and the causes supporters are for. At one meet-
ing, we divided up according to the issues we
each were most passionate about. One
woman’s simple explanation about why her
focus was the environment I found particularly
moving: “If we don’t save the earth, nothing
else matters.”
She added that she was doing this for her
children and grandchildren. Another woman
said nothing, but wore a tee-shirt that read
“Water is Life.”
I have those same words on the cover of my
computer, where I see them every day, but also
in a different language — the one first spoken
here. Water is Life in the Siuslaw language is
chii taiyuu. How to pronounce these words I
have not yet learned, but I hope to.
The words aren’t new, or intended as a slo-
gan. They are old and as central a tenet to
understanding the earth as God is Love is to
grasping the Christian faith. And so they are a
needed reminder of what is at the heart of each
respectively.
LETTERS
I NDIVIDUAL DECISION
Reading the three-part article about the
Oregon Death with Dignity Act (Feb. 15, 22 and
March 1), I am a bit confused. If I have a First
Directive, am I required to be of sound mind
and have a doctor tell me that I have only six
months to live so I can sign the required docu-
ments before I want to die?
L ETTERS TO THE
E DITOR P OLICY
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Write to: editor@thesiuslawnews.com
USPS# 497-660
I understand that I have (illegal) options with
The Final Exit and Hemlock Society, but there
are other options. For example, I can grow a
hemlock plant and eat the berries and leaves,
purchase cyanide online or turn my pistol on
myself.
Seems like the ODDA needs to revise the law
and exclude any religious or social bias. It is an
individual’s decision and not a society’s.
Win Jolley
Florence
B E A ‘F RIEND ’
When it came time for my wife and me to
find a place for retirement, one of the main rea-
sons we selected Florence was the beautiful
Florence Events Center. Over the past nearly 19
years, we have enjoyed many hours at this fine
facility both as event attendees as well as per-
formers.
When I became aware of the volunteer-based
Friends of the Florence Events Center (FFEC),
I joined up to help this organization, which does
so many things in keeping the FEC running
smoothly with just the barest of paid support
staff. Besides providing volunteer labor for
everything from ushering events to putting
down the dance floors as they did for last
Sunday’s SEA presentation, the FFEC provides
a very valuable service in providing the FEC
with much-needed funds.
Recently, the facility has added two new dig-
ital projectors and screens for the flat floor and
just completed the project to install another dig-
ital projector and large stage screen in the the-
ater. Planning is underway to improve the sound
system. Also in the planning stage is the
replacement of the energy inefficient incandes-
cent stage lighting with state-of-the-art and
environmentally-friendly LED lighting.
All of this, of course, takes money — lots of
money. The FFEC raises funds for these proj-
ects in a number of ways, the most recent being
the very successful “Dancing with Sea Lions.”
Other fundraising events underwritten by the
FFEC include the popular indoor garage sales,
the Festival of Books and the Winter Music
Festival among others.
To make this money requires volunteers will-
ing to do event planning/coordination, provide
communications and serve on various commit-
tees. Over the past couple of years, the number
T RACKING THE
R USSIAN BEAR
“Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions
in Recent US Elections,” a 25-page unclassified
summary of the highly sensitive report, (New
York Times, Jan. 6, 2017), details how the CIA,
NSA and the FBI concluded the Russians were
involved to some degree in the 2016 U.S. elec-
tion for the purpose of electing Donald Trump
as president.
On March 1, the New York Times reported
“American allies, including the British and the
Dutch, had provided information describing
meetings in European cities between Russian
officials — and others close to Russian presi-
dent Vladimir Putin — and associates of
President-elect Donald Trump…” (from the
article: “Obama Administration Rushed to
Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election
Hacking.”)
The intervention of an authoritarian foreign
power in U.S. elections is not a partisan issue.
It is not simply a political issue.
It is a national security issue of the gravest
import.
Those in Congress, whether Republican or
Democrat, must put patriotism first and appoint
an Independent Counsel to investigate this dan-
gerous corruption of our electoral process.
Russia’s efforts to help elect its chosen can-
didate threaten the very foundation of our
democracy.
Rosalie Wells
Florence
Copyright 2017 © Siuslaw News
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WHERE TO WRITE
Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National
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Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax
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John Bartlett
Jenna Bartlett
Ned Hickson
Susan Gutierrez
Cathy Dietz
Ron Annis
Jeremy Gentry
of volunteers to provide this support has
dropped steadily.
Attendance at the monthly FFEC meetings is
comprised of the same six or seven volunteers,
plus FEC staff members. This is not sufficient
to enable the FFEC to adequately plan on con-
tinuing some of these events.
In short: we need help.
Webster’s Dictionary defines a friend as “one
attached to another by affection or esteem.” I
need friends. You need friends. The FEC needs
friends.
Consider becoming a Friend of the Florence
Events Center and outwardly demonstrate your
affection and appreciation for what this facility
continues to bring to our community. FFEC
brochures are available in the lobby or stop at
the box office and ask for Kevin or Jennifer.
They will be more than happy to talk to you.
Kenneth Janowski
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