4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ MARCH 18, 2017
Siuslaw News
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
VIEW FROM UPRIVER
We won’t see the likes of these again
W ESLEY V OTH
For Siuslaw News
T
wo disparate days of sunshine last
weekend provided a nice contrast to the
succession of drenching days that have
contributed to the 100-plus inches of rain that
have fallen in Mapleton since October. In the
places where Pacific chorus frogs still breed,
the sound now is, well... ribbiting. The first
trilliums are awake, salmonberry blossoms and
the flowers of flowering currant are magenta
and coral pink, respectively — and I have
heard the first robins sing their enthusiasm for
what a wonderful place this will be to nest.
Back on Valentine’s Day, Oregon marked
158 years as a state. One of the things that hap-
pened that day was that two of the three mem-
bers of our State Land Board voted to sell the
last and largest block of 150-year-old trees
remaining in the Coast Range.
Part of the reason is that logging there has
been largely halted due to environmental con-
cerns, and now instead of providing revenue
for schools has become a drain on state
resources to manage. Those trees are part of
the Elliott State Forest, about as far to the east
and slightly north from Coos Bay as Mapleton
is from Florence.
Although the legacies and issues involved
are complicated, I believe it is in the greatest
public good that those trees, and the golden
eggs only they can produce, be kept alive and
in public ownership.
Some 300,000 coastal forest acres, including
most of what is now the 90,000-acre Elliott,
burned in a huge fire within a decade of state-
hood. The forest regenerated naturally; half of
the Elliott are the 150-year-old trees still left
unlogged from that time, now the oldest and
best preserved forest of such trees in Oregon’s
Coast Range.
Our state was originally created by a U.S.
Congress arguing over whether slavery should
be limited to places where it already existed, or
should allow westward-moving citizens to be
free to take all their portable property with
them that they saw fit.
The compromise was a so-called Black
Exclusionary Clause in our original constitu-
tion designed to keep out of Oregon all the
people covered under that clause, slave or free.
That same Congress also granted the new
state 3.4 million acres of range and forest lands
to fund schools, to be managed by a State Land
Board consisting of Oregon’s governor, treas-
urer and secretary of state. For the vote on
Oregon’s 158th birthday, the three of these
were all new to their positions and this board:
Kate Brown, Tobias Read and Dennis
Richardson.
A century and a half, and hundreds of land
swaps and reconfigurations between our state
and its counties and the federal government
later, Oregon retains ownership of about one
fifth of that original acreage, much of it in the
form of six state forests. According to our state
Blue Book in its section on the subject,
“Revenues from these lands are dedicated to
the Common School Fund; a trust fund for
kindergarten through grade 12 public schools.
Distributions from the fund’s earnings are sent
twice a year to the state’s 197 school districts.
The State Land Board and the department also
are charged with protecting public rights to use
state-owned waterways for navigation, fishing,
commerce and recreation.”
Kate Brown, as chair of this three-member
board, stated “It is clear to me that it is in the
best interest of Oregonians to ensure public
ownership of the Elliott State Forest. The
importance of state-owned lands has increased
as the future of federal public lands has come
into question.” She has argued for time to
come up with a better solution, and tasked state
land managers to keep working on a public
option solution.
There will be another meeting of this board
on May 9 (moved from April 11.) It is thought
by many that the only chance to save these
trees is to convince state treasurer Tobias Read
to change his position and side with the gover-
nor.
I plan to be part of that effort.
For those who have the same concerns, I
hope you’ll join me.
LETTERS
H OW MUCH IS ENOUGH ?
In response to Donald Frerichs’ Letter to
the Editor (March 8), he stated “I suspect Mr.
Eales knows little about teachers and public
education.” When I hire high school gradu-
ates who don’t know that one-half and 50
percent are the same, I say the education sys-
tem is failing.
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He went on to say, “Never mind the con-
siderable, widespread underfunding of
schools...” when, in fact, Oregon spends 53
percent of its budget on education
(Governor’s Budget 2017-19).
The country is on the hook for a $1 trillion
in student loans ($966 billion Current Debt,
plus $334 billion in Delinquent Debt.)
How much is enough?
We spend ever increasing amounts, make
the education system larger and more com-
plex and yet performance still declines.
I think Albert Einstein’s “The definition of
insanity is doing the same thing over and over
again, but expecting different results” applies
here.
According to Mr. Frerichs, he began teach-
ing in 1957, two years after Rudolf Flesch
published “Why Johnny Can’t Read.”
In the ensuing 60 years, Johnny hasn’t
learned to spell or do his sums either.
Very sad.
Ian Eales
Florence
N OT THE G OVERNOR ’ S URBAN BASE
Though I thought the point of Thursday’s
town hall meeting with Gov. Kate Brown was
to get a feel for the climate and concerns of
rural communities, it was my feeling — and
that of many others in attendance — that the
true feelings of the majority of Florence citi-
zens weren’t even close to being represented.
According to Lane County Elections, the
three precincts making up our Florence and
Dunes City areas cast their majority of votes
for a Republican president, Republican
Secretary of State, Republican State
Treasurer and for Kate Brown’s opponent,
Republican Bud Pierce.
Since the meeting topics leaned to her
agenda, it did not represent, nor “tally” the
views, of the Florence majority.
It was implied that Florence’ most pressing
issues were saving the environment and being
a sanctuary state.
Florence is truly “In motion” and bigger
issues, like the crippling effects of the SJR3
tax increase on business and rental property,
are of more interest.
But we were not called upon.
Gov. Brown must have felt that she was
He replies in Tweets to reports he doesn’t
like, such as the ongoing investigation about
ties with the Russians, and attempts to deflect
the issue by accusing Barrack Obama of
wiretapping Trump Towers without any evi-
dence.
Other times, he has Kellyanne Conway
with her “Alternative Facts” say that
microwave ovens have cameras that might be
spying on us.
If that’s the case, maybe we should all stick
our heads in our microwave ovens and take
selfies?
Win Jolley
Florence
D EFLECTING TRUTH
Before Donald Trump became our presi-
dent he was able to build a financial empire
on just name recognition and was rewarded
for this by people paying for his name to be
placed on their buildings.
It’s just like Michael Jordan and Tiger
Woods making millions from endorsements.
Now, our President is being scrutinized by
what he calls the “false” press, which ques-
tions him as they are obligated to do.
The First Amendment
C
ongress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion or prohibiting
the free exercise 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.
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John Bartlett
Jenna Bartlett
Ned Hickson
Susan Gutierrez
Cathy Dietz
Ron Annis
Jeremy Gentry
speaking to her urban base when she refer-
enced “those rich doctors and lawyers” in a
statement.
She certainly did not say a single thing that
made me feel she was making the lives of
rural Oregonians better in any way — unless
you are on PERS.
All in all, she apparently feels she has a
mandate.
And she does, in Portland, Eugene and
Astoria. However, in Florence and the other
80 percent of Oregon (based on precincts),
she does not.
I guess we’re on our own.
Sherry Harvey
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