4 A
❘
WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ MAY 31, 2017
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
Opinion
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
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.
On May 25, The Society of Professional Journalists announced the winners of its Excellence in Journalism contest for 2016. Winners were chosen from
newsrooms consisting of 15 members or less (Siuslaw News has four) throughout Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Montana. Siuslaw News
received second place for “Editorial & Commentary” for its combination of editorials The Importance of Accepting What Homlessness Isn’t (Dec. 21),
Keeping Your Letters From Becoming a Murky Brew (Oct. 12) and The Danger of Forgetting Our Day of Infamy (Dec. 7). Given that Monday was Memorial
Day, below is one of the winning editorials, which pertains to the importance of never forgetting those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom ...
The danger of forgetting our ‘Day of Infamy’
I was nine years old the last
time our nation fired a shot
while openly declaring war
with another nation. And
while we have certainly spent
the majority of the last few
decades fighting abroad and
sacrificing the lives of our
young men and women in
places like Kuwait, Qatar,
Baghdad and Syria, the horrif-
ic attacks of Sept. 11 are the
closest that many of my gener-
shadow below the harbor’s
surface.
I also knew it was a morn-
ing filled with as many acts of
heroism and sacrifice as there
were moments of the horrific.
Over the years, images in text
books, commemorative issues
ation have come to experienc-
ing war first-hand.
As a child, I was only
peripherally aware of the
Vietnam War and even less so
of the Korean War, which
ended before I was born.
Yet, as the last shot was
being fired in Vietnam, I
already knew what Pearl
Harbor was.
I knew how, on Dec. 7,
1941, a quiet Sunday morning
was transformed into a fiery
nightmare by Japanese planes
that claimed the lives of more
than 2,400 servicemen.
I knew about the USS
Arizona, and how in less than
nine minutes more than 1,000
men became entombed in the
wreckage that now rests like a
surface each year — much
like the slowly recurring
“black tears” of oil that still
bubble to the surface from the
USS Arizona — serve as a
reminder of the ultimate price
demanded by a world at war.
In an age when many of our
From the Editor’s Desk
N ED H ICKSON
from publications like Time
magazine and stories captured
in movies impressed upon me
the virtues of valor.
At the same time, and per-
haps more importantly, those
images and the stories that
youth entertain themselves
with gaming systems that cen-
ter around killing enemies
with everything from grenades
and knives to sniper fire and
IEDs (Improvised Explosive
Devices), lessons learned from
the sacrifices of the past are in
danger of becoming diluted by
pre-packaged valor and condi-
tioned gaming responses.
Admittedly, my friends and
I spent countless summer days
of our youth as soldiers rescu-
ing our platoon and driving
the Nazis out of our back-
yards. The difference between
then and now is that, as kids,
we were drawing from those
text books, commemorative
magazine articles and movies
that dug such deep grooves in
our memories.
Without knowing it, we
were reinforcing our own
understanding of war based on
what we knew of history —
and in particular the sacrifices
made by soldiers at places like
Pearl Harbor and the beaches
of Normandy.
Today, the knowledge of
those sacrifices — and the les-
sons learned from them —
aren’t digging nearly as deep a
groove in the minds of our
children as they once did.
As they say, history forgot-
ten is a history bound to repeat
itself.
Unless we take the time to
ensure that each generation
understands what our “Day of
Infamy” truly means, the
black tears slowly surfacing
from the USS Arizona will be
for more than the servicemen
who came to rest within it.
Write Siuslaw News editor Ned
Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslaw
news.com.
LETTERS
M AKE SUMMER SAFE
FOR YOUNG CYCLISTS
Thursday, May 25, was “Ride Your Bike to
School Day” at Siuslaw Elementary School.
One hundred thirty-six of the school’s 650 stu-
dents rode bikes or scooters to school and an
uncounted number of others walked to school.
Activities for the day included exercises in
bike, scooter and pedestrian safety. Western
Lane Ambulance District visited the day before
and gave helmets to students that didn’t have
them. Volunteers were stationed on Highway
101 to increase student safety.
Kudos to all who helped make the day suc-
cessful.
As I watched all these eager young faces
looking forward to the added freedom and array
of activities summer affords, it occurred to me
that people my age (I’ll be 70 in July) might not
realize that summer vacation begins June 14 —
and that all of us need to be cognizant and cau-
tious as these precious children move about our
L ETTERS TO THE
E DITOR P OLICY
The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to
the editor as part of a community discus-
sion 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 anony-
mous letters or poetry, or letters from out-
side our readership area will not be pub-
lished.
Send letters to:
nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com
USPS# 497-660
community in greater numbers.
Slow down.
Watch carefully.
Give them space.
Expect the unexpected.
Please make this summer a safe one.
— Suzanne Mann-Heintz
Siuslaw School Board
Florence
D O WHAT I SAY AND THE WORLD
WILL BE BETTER
I am shocked and appalled that there are peo-
ple, let alone the media, in this community who
do not share my personal political view.
This must stop at once.
There is no doubt in my mind that if everyone
would just be quiet and do what I say, it would
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WHERE TO WRITE
Susan Gutierrez
Cathy Dietz
Ron Annis
Jeremy Gentry
— Edward Gunderson
Florence
R EASON FOR THE SIGN
There is an explanation to Mr Gray’s ques-
tion (May 27) about “political signs on munici-
pal traffic posts.”
He refers to the sign at the intersection of
Highway 126 and Highway 101 that reads
“Florence Area Democrats.” It has been there
for several years. However, it is not a stand-
alone sign.
The ODOT Adopt-a-Highway sign is usually
located right above, but was unfortunately
blown off during a recent windstorm, and will
be replaced as soon as possible.
The same signs can be seen at the two mile
marker when driving west. The Florence Area
Democrats have been picking up roadside trash
for the state’s Adopt-a Highway program four
times a year for the past 15 years, and its mem-
bers are proud to be helping keep our town and
river community beautiful.
By the way, over the years the group has
noticed that plastics and styrofoam are a large
part of the roadside trash that does not decom-
pose quickly, and often ends up in the river and
eventually in the ocean or along the beaches.
Perhaps we could all use fewer of these
items?
— Karin Radtke
Florence Area Democrats
Adopt-a-Highway Coordinator
Copyright 2017 © Siuslaw News
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.
James Rand
Jenna Bartlett
Ned Hickson
Erik Chalhoub
be a much better world.
For now, I will continue screaming at my tel-
evision.
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
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. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
FAX: 503-986-1080
Email:
Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us
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
State Rep. Caddy McKeown
( Dist. 9 )
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email:
rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio ( 4 th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416
541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
State Sen. Arnie Roblan ( Dist. 5 )
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
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