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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 2017)
4 A ❘ WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ MARCH 22, 2017 Siuslaw News NED HICKSON , EDITOR Opinion P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 ❘ 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 A LL HAT AND NO CATTLE It seems we have some people who can’t fig- ure out the purpose of their positions. As for the folks at the Port of Siuslaw, it seems clear to me that the Port Commissioners set the rules and the Port Manager enforces them. When he feels the need to advise the Commissioners it should be done in letter form, and not in open meeting. As for references to “gaming the system,” again the answer seems clear to me. Just because someone has a commercial license and a few poles doesn’t make them a commercial fishing boat. To be a commercial boat you must make a living from the boat. I look at it this way: Having a horse and a cow doesn’t make me a cattle rancher. As for Governor Brown, just because there are too many groups wanting money for their agendas doesn’t mean we have to oblige them. Oregon will never have a sales tax if I have my way. This state is not California, although listening to Governor Brown I would be hard pressed to see any difference. Taxing the wealthy (please provide that defi- nition) won’t solve the issues. And the sanctu- ary state and her executive action demanding that our police essentially disobey the law in order to satisfy her voting base is plain wrong. She should be aware that Federal law trumps state law — especially in the case of illegal immigration. Governor Brown needs to under- stand that this stance risks federal funds now that we have a President who enforces all the laws instead of just the ones he chooses. Just because something is called a nicer name like “undocumented” instead of “illegal” does- n’t change it. Someone who is in our country illegally has broken the law and that makes them criminals. To suggest otherwise makes Governor Brown all hat and no cattle in my opinion. David T. Eckhardt Florence H UMANE OFFICERS Thank you to Florence Police and to my neighbors who all rallied to assist a loose dog over two nights this weekend. Did you know that the Police Department’s Animal Control Officer has an arrangement with the Humane Society whereby animals picked up after hours can be taken to the shelter? L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR P OLICY The Siuslaw News welcomes let- ters to the editor as part of a com- munity discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Libelous, argumentative and anonymous letters or poetry will not be published. Write to: editor@thesiuslawnews.com USPS# 497-660 I was so happy to find out about this. Florence really is a city in motion, and a city that cares. Ivy Medow Florence W INDS OF CHANGE AT P EACE H EALTH P OWERFUL EXPERIENCE I wanted to follow up on the excellent synop- sis of the current contract negotiations between the hospital and the Registered Nurses by Judy Thibault, RN (Siuslaw News, March 15.) I am an experienced nurse, having worked in the profession for more than 30 years. I came to Florence, and Peace Harbor, seven years ago and it has been a very positive experience for me. I have worked in several other hospitals, some small like Peace Harbor and some much larger. What I realized very early on is that our local hospital is different — in a very good way. Right away, I noticed the nurses seemed happy and the relationship with the local in- house management was good. I did take a pay cut to work here, but the cost of living was def- initely less. That is why I am still here seven years later. But I feel the winds are a changing… It’s a fact that the cost of living has risen dramatical- ly in the last couple of years with increased rents and housing costs — if you can even find an affordable place. I lived and worked in Bend for 30 years and the expression “Poverty with a View” has become quite common as the sky rocketing cost of living has made it increasingly tough for low-income folks especially, but also to recruit nurses there. I feel the same situation is happening here in Florence. RN wages must keep up with Eugene/Springfield to attract nurses to Florence, especially experienced RNs, who stand to take up to a 5-percent wage cut to be here — then find the cost of living is not less. The Peace Health corporate negotiators seem to have forgotten the art of negotiations, which is a give-and-take situation rather than a “don’t give/take away” process. Most importantly, they have forgotten that good, experienced nurses are the life blood of great, compassionate care at any hospital. We must continue to be able to recruit and retain those nurses. If you have never been inside our beautiful State Capitol building in Salem, now is the per- fect time. The Legislature is in session until June. It has stopped raining, trees and flowers are blooming and parking is easy on the nearby streets. Just walk up the front steps through the revolving door into the Rotunda with its impressive murals depicting Oregon’s history. Take a tour or just walk around, up marble stairs, to the two Chambers, past the Governor’s office and past public hearing rooms. Get a feeling for the work that our state leg- islators do every day on behalf of all Oregonians. It is a powerful experience to visit this “People’s House” and see open government in action. Stop by the offices of our Senator Arnie Roblan (SD5) and Representative Caddy McKeown (HD9). Perhaps ask them to vote for a Bill that you support. When I visited recently, they and their staff made me feel very special. These are busy offices right now and their time is valuable, but each person they connect with helps them to better understand the rural and coastal Districts they represent. See the contact information for our legisla- tors that appears in every issue at the bottom of this page. Karin Radtke Yachats N OT WHAT WAS PROMISED In my opinion, President Trump’s budget, as it stands today, is bad for the country and in many cases the opposite of his campaign prom- ises. I believe it will adversely affect Americans across the nation. He promised the American people jobs. Yet, he proposes cutting the Economic Development Administration, Minority Business Development Agency, Appalachian Regional Commission, Delta Regional Authority, Denali Commission and Northern Border Regional Commission. These are all job creators around the country. In addition to signing executive orders to get rid of various regulations that protect average Americans, as part of his budget he has pro- posed cutting the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) training grants, and Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, as well as more than 50 other programs and agencies that would be eliminated under the umbrella of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These cuts will only benefit the big corpora- tions and the wealthiest among us. There are many social programs affecting children, seniors and people of all income lev- els, which Trump proposes to cut from the budget. Some of these are before and after school programs, Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Program, Meals on Wheels, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), PBS, Health Professionals and Nurses Training Program, Community Development Block Grants and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. And yet, Trump proposes a $54 billion dollar increase in defense spending, while gutting the State Department. Even Generals Mattis and McMasters have said they need the State Department. Our goal should be to solve problems through diplomacy, not through force. The latest healthcare proposal supports a $880 billion cut in Medicaid and insurance sub- sidies to low- and middle-income Americans over a decade, while it offers $880 billion dol- lars’ worth of tax cuts to health insurers, phar- maceutical companies, investors and even tan- ning salon operators. By the way, pursuant to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, the ACA is not “imploding,” nor is it in a “death spiral.” Also in his budget is a request for approxi- mately $2.5 billion for “the wall” even though I thought Mexico was going to pay for it. Now Trump wants taxpayers to cough up $2.5 bil- lion. This is not what he promised low- and mid- dle-income Americans who voted for him. Marybeth Marenco 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, 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 At the moment, we have that now at Peace Harbor. The question is whether it will contin- ue. Lance Steinmetz RN 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
