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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2017)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ NOVEMBER 18, 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. USPS# 497-660 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. Oregon Group Publisher 541-265 8571 Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Consulting Editor 831-761-7353 Email: echalhoub@register-pajaronian.com Marketing Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager James Rand Jenna Bartlett Ned Hickson Erik Chalhoub Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry 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 classifiedad,sThursday 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, $76; 6-month in-county, $52; 10-weeks subscription, $23; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription,$99; 6-month out-of-county, $65; 10-weeks subscription, $29; Out of State — 1- year subscription, $125; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $71. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com L ETTERS LETTERS S TATE GOVERNMENT SHOULDN ’ T BE OFF THE HOOK FOR EDUCATION I voted “Yes” on the local school option levy, so I was happy to read that it had passed. I also know people who voted “No” for good reasons. I share their view, that good educa- tion for all Oregon cities should be ade- quately funded by our state govern- ment. Florence is fortunate because it is large enough for a local option levy to make a difference. There are many small towns where this is not the case. However, by supporting option levies and bond measures we are in effect disadvantaging the kids in small towns as the quality of their education becomes a zip code lottery. I voted ‘“Yes” because I recognize that the kids in school need better qual- ity education today. A year in the life of a student can make the difference between getting a good job or becom- ing reliant on the state’s social pro- grams. My vote to subsidize the cost of edu- cation in the Siuslaw School District in effect lets our state government off the hook and creates a situation where there is no equality in education. I want this to change, so I will be writing to my representatives to urge them to make state funding for education one of their top priorities, as it is for parents in a typical household. I invite everyone who believes in the value of education to do the same. —Eva Pinkavova Florence R ECOGNIZING AN URGENT NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY Having read Siuslaw News editor Ned Hickson’s editorial (“What will it take to assure coastal living as a com- munity?” Nov. 15), he very clearly illustrated a community need. I remem- ber being told that, when an urgent community need was recognized in Florence some years ago, the citizens of this area raised $1 million to build a hospital. I hope that a similar effort will be raised to form and fund a nonprofit organization to construct truly afford- able housing using the data and guide- lines being put together by our city gov- ernment. —Bill Durst Florence T OURIST TAX COULD HELP WITH LOCAL CHALLENGES I am reading with interest about the challenges our region faces (“Is Coastal Living in Jeopardy?” series, Nov. 15) and have two thoughts to share. First, I want to suggest that some- how, somewhere, some way a commu- nity kitchen be started. People could bring their own food to prepare and eat it and take their leftovers. Some staff could probably get hired, especially if the city or county were involved, to ensure smooth operations. I’m sure there would be a lot of reg- ulation and flaming hoops to jump through to get the kitchen going, yet elements of human dignity would be cultivated in this most basic service. From the launch pad of dignity, there is no telling where someone might land. Second, isn’t part of democracy the notion of tax revenues to help pay for services like parks and recreation pro- grams, schools, roads and maybe com- munity kitchens? If the state is not ready for sales tax, perhaps the municipalities are. With tourism as one of the drivers of the financial engines in this area, even a one-percent tax could raise a significant chunk of revenue, which might improve many situations, including peoples’ desperation. I know Phoenix has what it calls a “tourist tax.” Sure, some tourists grumble about it, yet it doesn’t slow the tourist trade. Instead, that revenue keeps the home fires burning in ways that good inten- tions alone cannot. —Ivy Medow Florence N EVER SEEN MEETINGS LIKE THOSE AT OCHS I have just returned home from another monthly meeting of the Florence Area Animal Humane Society (OCHS). I have been a member of many committees and boards, including as president of several, and I have never seen any meeting as disgusting as this one. As a member myself, there are sever- al reasons I classify this meeting as such — one being that about half the questions asked by members in atten- dance were never answered. No excuse given, no reason given — just simply no answers. Equally disgusting was board mem- ber Ed Gervais, who spent most of the meeting slouched in his chair playing or texting with his phone and seemingly unconcerned with the meeting or what members were saying. One of the few answers given was regarding why the board felt the need to have a Florence Police officer in atten- dance. The reply was that they were advised to have one present. By whom? However, when asked how much of the money donated to the local humane society for the animals was being diverted to legal fees, again — no answer. I and several members I have spoken to have the general feeling that the board president doesn’t care what the members’ concerns are regarding the animals. There are many members of the Florence area that are sincerely con- cerned regarding the helping of unfor- tunate animals in our area. All that is being asked of the board is for answers to our questions, and a properly run board that feels obligated to the ani- mals, the shelter and the community that support them. —Tony Cavarno Florence N O ANSWERS BUT INCARCERA - TION FOR SEXUAL PREDATORS In today’s culture, we have heard the words “sexual harassment” applied — first to Bill Cosby, then to Harvey Weinstein and now Kevin Spacey, Roy Moore, Al Franken and others. The list will go forward from corpo- rations and, I expect, through the House of Congress. I think harassment has softened what has been happening over the years. It was, and should be called what it is: Sexual predation. Those like Cosby and Weinstein were predators. We don’t have to go back in time very far when the entertainment indus- try had talent agents who asked favors from male and females getting into Vaudeville or the early years of Broadway. Then, along came the movie industry and the Hollywood studio system by the likes of MGM, Paramount and Warner Brothers. At that time, the stu- dios had control over the personal lives of actors and actresses, and if you want- ed to become part of the industry you had to go through a “talent scout.” There are many hidden stories about the “casting couch.” So why did not anyone speak out? Because that was their livelihood and everything was covered up by the stu- dios. Today, women and men are final- ly coming forward and speaking out about predators in their workplaces. I have no answer to the problem — other than incarceration. —Win Jolley Florence TO THE P OLICY E DITOR The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor as part of a community 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, or letters from outside our readership area will only be published at the discretion of the editor. P OLITICAL /E LECTION L ETTERS : Election-related letters must address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large. Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) Ensure any information about a candidate is accu- rate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay; and 3) explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and per- spective rather than partisanship and campaign- style rhetoric. Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and plat- forms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid polit- ical advertising. As with all letters and advertising content, the newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publisher, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above crite- ria. 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
