4 A
❘
WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ JULY 8, 2017
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
Twenty-nine years ago I
discovered this wonderful
city on the beautiful Central
Oregon Coast. I vowed to
retire here, which I did 14
years ago. I’ve been active in
the community since I moved
here but recently began vol-
unteering in the Siuslaw
Public School District. For
me, it’s been an epiphany. I
met so many hardworking
teachers, administrators and
staff — and of course volun-
teers. However, the epiphany
came in meeting the students
and learning of their family
life in the midst of this retire-
ment and tourist community.
It’s not difficult to get kids
to talk, at least those in the
elementary school grades. At
that age, they are delightfully
honest and forthcoming. So
many of these children live in
single-parent households —
most with a mom and maybe
one or two siblings.
According to the U.S. cen-
sus, the average income for a
female in the Florence area is
$16,184 — a figure that is
below the poverty level for
even a single female, let
alone a single mother.
Although I did find anoth-
er figure of $19,356 for a
female supporting herself
with one or more children at
home, it is still below the
poverty level.
Another statistic states that
14.2 percent of the popula-
tion of Florence is living in
poverty.
Millenials were lucky to
work eight months out of the
year. If one includes the citi-
zens living in the Florence
metropolitan area, from
Dunes City to Heceta Head
Lighthouse, I estimate that
the folks living in poverty to
be almost twice the 14.2 per-
cent in the Florence estimate.
That’s roughly 3,000 men,
women and children living at
GUEST VIEWPOINT
B Y E RIC H AUPTMAN
F ORMER M AYOR OF D UNES C ITY (2007-11)
Poverty in Florence never
really occurred to me. I had
always assumed that, given
exposure to primarily my
own peer group, Florence
was a wealthy — or at least
well-off — retirement com-
munity.
I began to look around.
I talked with a number of
young people, including
servers in our many restau-
rants and clerks in local retail
establishments. Most have
young children who they are
struggling to support.
As a tourist town, most of
these
Gen-X-ers
and
or below the poverty level.
As a volunteer school bus
monitor, I see where and how
many children live in our
area. A lot of them live in
multi-family situations: two
older brothers or sisters with
their own children, along
with an uncle, aunt or grand-
mother.
Another statistic that
shocked me was that 64 per-
cent of our elementary school
children are on free or
reduced lunches.
According to Siuslaw
Elementary School Principal
Mike Harkleroad, 110-115
children have dinner through
the school’s Twilight pro-
gram each day. I saw several
children on the school bus on
Fridays with backpacks filled
with packaged food.
He explained that the
backpacks were for kids who
probably wouldn’t have
much — if any — food avail-
able for them on the week-
ends.
What is truly disconcerting
is that the current $1 billion-
plus shortfall in our state
treasury due to recent budget
cuts from Washington D.C.
means that the social pro-
grams helping these children
and their families are tenuous
at best.
Affordable housing in
Florence is practically non-
existent.
Family wage jobs are few
and far between.
What can be done?
To begin with, we need to
recognize that the poverty
issues in Florence are very
real.
People who are poor and
hungry become disenfran-
chised; children who are poor
and hungry don’t learn.
It’s a dangerous situation
for any community, as well
as our society in general.
LETTERS
W HAT YOU READ OR HEAR
ISN ’ T ALWAYS TRUE
I agree with Ian Eales’ letter
(Siuslaw News, July 5). During my
80-plus years of life, I have learned
what you read or hear isn’t always
true.
For example, Ned Hickson’s edito-
rial “From Dune to Shing Sea” (July
5). When my grandson was in high
school, he and some of his freinds had
a fire on the beach. Two deputies
from Lane County made them put the
fire out and leave the beach.
Then, my son was given a ticket for
cutting and removing wood from the
beach. The Oregon Agricultural Law
says you can’t use a saw, wheelbar-
row, etc., and can’t take anything off
the beach.
In the ’60s, then-governor Tom
McCall asked the people to cut the
logs on the beach for wood because
tourists were climbing on them and
waves would roll the logs over on them
— killing or crippling them.
I remember the beachcombing days.
Six guys, including myself, would go
beachcombing for glass balls and floats
that would wash up on the beach. We
all had old cars with big tires.
Laws are passed and things change.
New regulations should be posted on
all the beaches.
—Virgle Bechtold
Florence
H AVE MEDICAL ISSUES ?
B E A E UROPEAN TOURIST
My wife and I have Medicare and
supplemental insurance. We both have
had major surgeries on our body limbs
which has been 90 percent covered.
I’ve had cataract surgery which was
almost completely covered. Now, I dis-
covered that hearing is not covered
although both of us have been informed
that “nothing that is needed is not cov-
ered.”
It seems like Medicare and our insur-
ance does not cover anything other than
seeing and walking.
A few years ago, I rented a 17th cen-
tury farmhouse on the Tuscan coast of
Italy. One night I fell and tweaked my
back. The next day, our housekeeper
took me to a small local hospital in
Orbetello where X-rays were taken and
I was given a muscle relaxant shot.
About a week later I had a rash on
my back that spread to my left leg. The
housekeeper said it was Saint
Anthony’s Fire — sort of like shingles.
NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
Poverty, housing issues real in our River City
“You got trouble my
friend, Right now, right here
in River City.”
— The Music Man
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Copyright 2017 © Siuslaw News
Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the
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L ETTERS
TO THE
P OLICY
E DITOR
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ria.
Once again, she took me to the local
hospital, where two doctors looked at
the rash and suggested she drive me to
a larger hospital in the city of Grosseto.
The doctor there prescribed a salve and
four pills and, within 10 days, every-
thing was clear.
Cost to me was about $30 for the
prescriptions and nothing for the three
hospital visits and treatment.
A few years ago, a friend was in the
Vatican and had a heart attack. He was
moved into the Vatican hospital and
was there for two months being treated.
Upon being released, he returned to the
U.S. and, more than a year later,
received a bill for $1,800.
The moral of the story?
If you have major medical problems,
make sure to be a tourist in Italy,
Germany or any other European coun-
try; you will be taken care of.
amenities and resources, you would
think all the “do-gooders” would want
to improve this community and make it
better for all of us.
I’m tired of the relentless asking for
money, food or volunteering time to
help the entitlement population here,
including some who are committing
crime and doing illegal drugs. The atti-
tude of so many Florence residents is to
give without questioning the results.
For the rest of us (the taxpayers) the
necessary services, amenities and
resources are limited — and that affects
the quality of life in Florence.
Just drive down Highway 101 and
take in the view as you go into Old
Town. There’s a lack of pride in land
owernship and code enforcement.
So maybe the Helping Hands move
to Highway 101 would enhance
Florence’s image to the seasonal visi-
tors.
— Win Jolley
Florence
— Jessica Rojas
Florence
L EAVING F LORENCE
I am disappointed. Florence is not the
retirement community the Chamber of
Commerce would like others to believe.
It’s a great town to visit but is a town
with limited amenities and resources
that one needs to sustain a quality
lifestyle as a senior female.
I’ve been here since January 2016
and built a home in The Reserve. I
thought this was my last stop in life.
The home is now up for sale and I’m
looking forward to leaving Oregon.
For such a small town that lacks
The First
Amendment
C
ongress shall make no law
respecting an establishment 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.
Send letters to:
nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com
WHERE TO WRITE
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, Ore. 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
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
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
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