4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ JUNE 3, 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 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.
A need to define public art in Florence
Recently, the City of Florence’s
Urban Renewal Agency made funds
available for public art, focusing on
the historic downtown district. As
many have already noticed, public
trash receptacles along Bay Street
have been “enhanced” with bright
colors and designs.
This conversation attempts to raise
the question of who public art serves
and what might be appropriate.
It could be argued that since funds
are public, there should be general
input or consensus. It seems that the
art committee, as the decision mak-
ers, should be asking themselves
whether they have
been open-minded
in reaching their
S UBMITTED BY R ON H OAGLAND
decisions — or if
P
ROPERTY OWNER AND F LORENCE RESIDENTS
they have already
decided what public
art is and its contex-
here, it is still a “village” reflecting
tual appropriateness.
the best of older coastal communi-
The Old Town area is reflective of ties.
its historic origins, the bay and
Along with the redesigned public
Siuslaw River Bridge. The bay is also trash receptacles, there has been dis-
abundant with wildlife. The stately cussion that the steps leading down
lamplights and the historic buildings from the Siuslaw River Bridge,
provide visitors — as well as resi- designed by Conde McCullough,
dents — with the pride of the past.
should be colorfully enhanced. While
For many who who live and work some allurement might be appropri-
GUEST OPINION
ate for Miller Park, is
this the kind of of deco-
rative feature that should
be viewed on a daily
basis in Old Town?
It should be pointed
out that the Siuslaw
River Bridge is on the National
Register of Historical Places. While
changes, currently underway, are
aimed at improving its longevity,
attempts to redecorate a part of one
of McCullough’s most beautiful and
artful bridges isn’t appropriate.
The City of Florence has been pur-
suing Old Town becoming a Historic
District, which would give it addi-
tional appeal to visitors and enhance
economic opportunity.
As the city’s motto states: “Our
Future is Before Us.”
This might be the right moment to
consider how public art fits this con-
text.
— Nancy Archer,
Arts Administrator
— Judy Fleagle,
Author and local historian
— Ron Hoagland,
Property owner and resident
— Lynn Taylor,
Architect
LETTERS
E LECTORAL C OLLEGE
DEPRIVES MANY VOTERS
Some people, citing the U. S. Constitution,
say we should keep the Electoral College.
I think it’s important to keep in mind that
those who wrote the U.S. Constitution had
never tried to put together such a document. The
opinions of factions were present from 13 soon-
to-be states. Framing and ratifying the docu-
ment was a long and difficult process.
In the Constitution — which was created in a
very different time from the present — it’s dif-
ficult even finding the right to vote listed,
except for the Electoral College system.
It was agreed that only white males who
owned property could vote.
Some delegates from the Constitutional
Convention didn’t trust ordinary citizens to
vote, so the cumbersome extra layer of the
Electoral College was added. People from
slave-owning states wanted to ensure they could
compete with other states in influencing the fed-
eral government. To boost population figures,
they counted each black person as 3/5ths of a
person, in addition to the free (mostly white)
residents.
I think it’s important to note that the
Constitution was amended in:
• 1804 (12th) to clarify (somewhat) the
Electoral College process
• 1868 (14th) indicates that male citizens 21
or older are eligible to vote
• 1870 (15th) to allow black men to vote
• 1913 (17th) to allow citizens of each state to
elect their own national Senators (previously
L ETTERS TO THE
E DITOR P OLICY
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Libelous, argumentative and anony-
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lished.
Send letters to:
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USPS# 497-660
done by each state’s legislature)
• 1920 (19th) to allow women to vote
The U. S. Constitution grants to the states
powers not listed in the main document, includ-
ing the conduct of elections. This seems reason-
able for elections within each state. The
President is supposed to govern the whole coun-
try and all the people in it. For this reason, the
President should be elected by all the individual
voters in the country.
I don’t believe that every state colored red on
the TV screen has only people who vote
Republican any more than I believe all the blue-
colored states only voted Democrat.
Five times in our history the person elevated
to the Presidency did not win a majority of pop-
ular votes.
I believe the Electoral College deprives many
people of their right to have their vote count.
— Shirley Nelson
Florence
L ESS HATE ,
MORE RESPECT
The Electoral College versus the popular vote
was a hot topic during the recent (May 29) Ron
Wyden Town Hall meeting. Some people at the
meeting expressed their desire to eliminate the
Electoral College. Even Sen. Wyden supported
it, and the idea of allowing the next presidential
candidate to be elected by the popular vote.
Currently under the U.S. Constitution, the
person who receives the most electoral votes
becomes president — even if he or she does not
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WHERE TO WRITE
Susan Gutierrez
Cathy Dietz
Ron Annis
Jeremy Gentry
person being booed — until someone asked a
question as a Trump supporter.
That was absolutely heartbreaking as she is a
friend.
As Sen. Wyden put it, let’s do this the Oregon
way, which is mostly a red state, with no more
hate — and a whole lot more respect.
— Virginia Reynolds,
PCP Republican Party
Florence
D IFFERING OPINIONS
MAKES A DEMOCRACY
Though I didn’t attend the recent David
Barsamian speaking event at the Siuslaw Public
Library (May 19), I have looked forward to his
“Alternative radio” broadcasts on various pub-
lic radio stations.
I understand that some people didn’t like his
critical view of the President and the direction
the country is heading.
However, it is differing opinions and the right
to speak those opinions that makes a democra-
cy. We could all live somewhere like Syria,
where a hint of dislike of the Assad regime will
likely get you abducted, imprisoned, tortured or
killed.
I treasure our country’s checks and balances,
its diversity, and its freedoms regarding speech
and the press to hold truth to power when need
be.
— Julie M. MacFarlane
Florence
Copyright 2017 © Siuslaw News
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James Rand
Jenna Bartlett
Ned Hickson
Erik Chalhoub
receive either a plurality or a majority of the
popular vote.
In fact, I feel we should create an Oregon
electoral college system to elect our next gov-
ernor.
Coastal residents — and that would be
Southern California, right up through Seattle
and the eastern coastline — need to accept that
they do not speak or vote for the people who
live in the “flyover states.” The electoral college
ensures that all who live within the United
States have a voice on who becomes President
because the person(s) campaigning must be
cognizant of all the different types of people
and cultures that exist.
As such, a coastal resident living in an area
with a large population (and number of voters)
wouldn’t have much in common with voters in
a less populated area such as Kentucky, which is
dealing with the loss of jobs and homes due to
diminishing use of coal.
That being said, I wholeheartedly support
Sen. Wyden’s suggestions on dealing with ille-
gal immigrants, which is basically enforcing the
laws already in place and creating a way to pro-
vide a means to citizenship for some immi-
grants who are already here but not legal.
Personally, I feel we could use a little less
hate towards Trump and his supporters —
something that was apparent during the Town
Hall meeting. Through the first 16 questions, or
more than an hour and 15 minutes, people
raised questions about impeachment, getting rid
of the Electoral College, “Trumpgate,” health
care, etc. During that time, there wasn’t one
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