4 A
❘
WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ APRIL 12, 2017
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
LETTERS
L OOKING FORWARD TO
F LORENCE F EST
“P EACE IS OUR P ROFESSION ”
General Ben King retired to a home sitting
on a quiet cul-de-sac in Florence. In that
home is a book, “Air Commando
Chronicles,” written by Ben’s friend, Col.
Robert L. Gleason.
In his book, Col. Gleason quotes General
Curtis E. LeMay, Ben’s commanding officer
of the time:
“LeMay was a person dedicated to a single
mission: The prevention of nuclear war
through the power of deterrence. Yes, he
wanted to be victorious in the event of an
actual war, but I heard him say on several
occasions that if we ever had to go to war, we
in SAC (Strategic Air Command) had failed
in our mission. The SAC motto, ‘Peace is our
Profession,’ was emblazoned on each air-
craft.”
The city of Florence is blessed with a large
retired military community, men and women
who offered up their lives and made the nec-
essary sacrifices to keep our country free. If
the purpose of the park is to honor the mili-
tary, then shouldn’t it be that same military
community have the larger say in the forma-
tion of that park?
Perhaps an aircraft emblazoned with
“Peace is our Profession.”
Mary Jo Wood
(Gen. Ben King’s niece)
Florence
T IME FOR P EACE H EALTH
TO INVEST IN COMMUNITY
Our nurses need our support. They have been
in contract negotiations with PeaceHealth since
November 2016.
In my opinion, PeaceHealth isn’t being fair. It
was eye opening to hear the nurses’ stories at
the recent Florence community meeting (April
4), which was attended by more than 100 con-
cerned residents.
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THE NEXT
They are paid 4.9 percent less than nurses in
Eugene. Several must commute from Eugene
because of the lack of affordable rentals in
Florence.
Then, after working a full shift, some are
expected to be ready for another day bright and
early in the morning — even after being called
out in the middle of the night from as far away
as Deadwood.
Some departments are short staffed while still
handling the same patient load.
Our community invested in Peace Harbor to
build the new emergency room. It’s now time
for PeaceHealth to invest in our community.
Healthcare does not function without the
nurse. Show your support to let our nurses and
local members of PeaceHealth know you care.
Consider writing to PeaceHealth’s lead nego-
tiator, Debra Miller, at: PeaceHealth Vice
President, Debra Miller, 1115 SE 164th Ave.,
Vancouver, Wash., 98683, call her at 707-494-
1420, or email: DMiller6@peacehealth.org.
Our local healthcare could depend on it.
Jacquie Beveridge,
Florence
D ECIDING WHO GETS TO SHARE
OUR BOUNTY
Early in the last century, all four of my grand-
parents escaped the grinding poverty of their
homelands, poverty generated by endless wars
and the unending desire for more and more
power by the rulers of eastern Europe.
While there is still some question which
countries they emigrated from — due to con-
stantly shifting borders based on who won the
last war — on my mother’s side they spoke
Polish while, on my father’s, it was Ukrainian.
My father’s parents landed in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, and settled in the wheat-growing
province of Manitoba. My mother’s parents
came through Ellis Island, passing by the Statue
of Liberty with its plaque bearing the words of
poet Emma Lazarus:
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled
masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched
refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the
homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp
beside the golden door!”
While they were unable to read or speak
English, these words certainly applied to them
and, as they passed by that shining lamp of
Lady Liberty, they looked forward to a new life
in a welcoming land.
Now, as I observe a nation that appears to be
hopelessly divided about so many things that
are important to us as a country, nothing is more
divisive than our attitudes on who we want
sharing the bounty of our nation.
Though it starts at the national level, it has
now even invaded our wonderful small town.
N URSES ARE PRICELESS RESOURCE
During the April 4 meeting hosted by the reg-
istered nurses of Peace Harbor Medical Center,
the attendees were updated on the status of con-
tract negotiations with PeaceHealth’s corporate
office.
It was disheartening to hear about the contin-
ued rigid stance of the PeaceHealth bargaining
team and its unwillingness to budge in favor of
granting what seems to be reasonable and cus-
tomary requests of our nurses.
The dedicated nursing staff is a precious
resource in Florence. They stand ready to care
for and help patients day or night, on a holiday
or weekend, or whenever someone is sick,
injured or facing a health emergency.
They are here for us, regardless of how weary
they may be from the demands of their shift, or
if an emergency situation required a return to
the hospital or hospice patient in the middle of
the night.
What many people don’t realize is we have
many long-tenured nurses with knowledge and
experience to draw upon, instinctively knowing
the right thing to do in a crisis or avoiding a
serious health problem.
Isn’t that exactly what we want when we’re
sick or injured? This priceless resource is dwin-
dling due to nurses leaving for better wages,
better working conditions and affordable hous-
ing elsewhere.
The nation is experiencing a shortage of
physicians and nurses. This problem exists here
in Florence — and it is scary.
A house cannot stand without a foundation,
and a hospital cannot stand without nurses.
I hope all who have heard about this issue
will support our PeaceHealth nurses by helping
take care of them — because they take care of
us.
We have the ability to advocate for the nurs-
es and help persuade the PeaceHealth corporate
office to do the right thing in granting our nurs-
es’ reasonable contract requests, which includes
wages equal with those in Eugene/Springfield.
Our nurses have the right to work in a satis-
fying, safe environment with the means to pay
their bills.
That request is not unreasonable.
Julie Jarvis
Florence
F ABULOUS AUDIENCE
AND COMMUNITY
On behalf of the Dallas Brass, who per-
formed at the Florence Events Center on March
29, I must share with you what a wonderfully
positive experience we had. We travel all over
the United States and are given a warm wel-
come wherever we go — but in Florence, it was
extra special.
We were treated like royalty by the Seacoast
Entertainment Association (with show produc-
ers Sandy Kuhlman and Carl Miller), the
Florence Events Center staff, and numerous
volunteers who were ready to help us at every
step.
And the audience was fabulous, not only giv-
ing us an enthusiastic response throughout the
show, but giving the guest students an immedi-
ate standing ovation with lots of cheers and
bravos. We also had a standing-room only
crowd for a pre-concert discussion.
We discovered the warmth of Florence went
beyond the stage door. The Waterfront Depot
stayed open for a post-concert reception. The
next morning, fans greeted us at Fresh Harvest
Restaurant (best breakfast ever), and our
accommodations at The Riverhouse were per-
fect. We never did view the ocean, because we
met more interesting music enthusiasts at the
Siuslaw Coffee Roasters and chatted until it was
time to leave for the airport.
I need to give a special shout out to Siuslaw
schools band director Chris Rowbotham. His
hard work with the students was obvious, and
he worked alongside us in the afternoon
rehearsal. Chris personally transported the
drum set, xylophone and auxiliary percussion
from the schools.We were tempted to take him
with us.
Thanks also to Rachel Pearson for setting up
the student component, as well as to the
Seacoast Entertainment Association selection
committee for choosing The Dallas Brass.
It was truly heart-warming to see how the arts
are alive and well in Florence.
Michael Levine,
Founder and Director
The Dallas Brass
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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
The attitude “I’ve got mine, too bad about
you” prevails in many quarters. Perhaps it is
time to remove the plaque, extinguish the lamp,
put a “no admittance” sign on the golden door
and face the reality of who we have become.
Kenneth Janowski
Florence
I want to commend everyone who was
involved with the outstanding Florence Fest.
The combination of Oregon wine, Oregon art
and Oregon jazz was first-class.
The room was arranged in such a way that
we could be seated while we were entertained
by the great jazz, but we were also free to
wander around to the wine booths for tasting
and enjoy the art on display. I loved that
everything was in one large space rather than
having the music in the auditorium.
I have to admit that not only did my friends
and I thoroughly enjoy ourselves, we all
bought food and bottles of wine. I even pur-
chased a beautiful photograph.
We hadn’t intended spending the whole
day there, but it was so enjoyable and the
music was so wonderful that we found our-
selves staying until almost closing.
The meticulous planning was evident.
We’re already looking forward to next year’s
fest.
Congratulations on such a successful
event.
Barbara Giles
Florence
Pres. Donald Trump
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U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.)
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State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
FAX: 503-986-1080
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Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us
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(Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
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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