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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2017)
4 A ❘ WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ NOVEMBER 25, 2017 Siuslaw News NED HICKSON , EDITOR Opinion P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 A legacy of leading with levity and honesty On my first day of the SVFR firefighter academy in 2010, Battalion Chief Harry Moore approached me as I hurried to don my turnouts and SCBA in the allotted 90 seconds. I clapped my gloved hands, signalling that I was done and stood sucking air through my respirator. Harry had stopped timing me after I hit the two-minute mark. With a smile on his face, he patted my shoulder and said, “The bad news is, you went way over, Ned. But the good news is, your time probably won’t get any worse.” Harry always managed to balance honesty and levity in a way that reinforced stan- dards and expectations with- out ever making you feel incapable. He had seen and experienced enough in his more than 40 years of fire- fighting that he could relate to anyone; anticipate the needs of any situation; and inspire confidence in every- one around him. Whenever we were on scene, whether it be a house fire, car accident, injury on the dunes or brush fire, knowing Harry was in com- mand always added extra confidence to responders regardless of experience, the task at hand or even which emergency service they rep- resented. Chances were, Harry had been there and done that before, in one way or another, and was already leaps ahead of the problem, with plans “A,” “B” and “C” worked out in his head. Through his encourage- ment, I became a qualified ATV responder, learned to drive and operate a water ten- der and was certified as an engineer for Station 2 — things I had never imagined myself doing as a then 44- year-old firefighting newby. Over the course of my next five years as a volunteer, I got to know Harry beyond early-morning tapouts and Tuesday night drills. Living across the street from his mother, I also saw the side of Harry that was doting and protective as he built things in and around her home to help with daily life. His regular visits with family were always filled with warm laughter as they sat outside, often- times watching grandkids in the sprinklers. Because of the con- stant energy and enthusi- asm he had for every- thing he did, mixed with his wiry stature, I told him once that he remind- ed me of “The Lorax” from Dr. Seuss — always walking quickly, with purpose and a goal in mind. A smile broadening beneath his beard and he laughed. Then he told me to reload the hose bed. He stopped me as I leaped to the running board. He was just kidding. But I would’ve done it happily and without hesita- tion. Just because he was Harry... Write Siuslaw News editor Ned Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslaw news.com or P.O. Box 10, Florence, Ore. 97439. LETTERS A T HANKSGIVING THANK YOU Helping Hands Coalition sends a big thank you to The New Life Lutheran Church and its pastor, Rev. Lori Blake. The church has opened its arms and has welcomed us. A big thank you also to Rev. Carol Thompson and The United Methodist Church, who were so support- ive of our work for over a year. Three times a week, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., we serve a hot meal to the homeless and those on the edge of home- lessness. Food Share is our neighbor and they send folks over to us and, in turn, we let our clients know about the servic- es of Food Share. Our big Thanksgiving dinner was served on Wednesday the 22. Thank you to TR Hunter for providing the turkeys. We could not do this work without the tremendous work of our volunteers who are so faithful in giving of their time. In our new home, we continue our other services of laundry and shower vouch- ers, hygiene parcels, mail service, utility cut-off notices and other help on an indi- vidual basis. We are an all-volunteer organization and encourage volunteers to join us. This Christmas, we will also be providing a holiday meal as well as stockings filled with hygiene products and warm hats and gloves. Thank you, Florence, for your sup- port. —Lois M. Bass and Helping Hands Coalition Board Florence N EWS STORY PAINTS FALSE , DIRE PICTURE Regarding “Is Coastal Living in Jeopardy?” Part I: SOS (Nov. 15), while I appreciate the great deal of effort that goes into a story of this magnitude, I do believe that the initial installment pres- ents a false and dire picture of our delightful community. For anyone considering relocating to Florence this article alone could change their decision. We’ve subscribed to the Siuslaw News for 17 years. Reading favorable and positive articles in the Siuslaw News helped convince us this was a great town in which to spend the rest of our lives. It was especially enjoyable to see articles featuring student activities and the many good things going on in Florence. When we tell people about Florence, one of the most important things we say is that there is a real sense of communi- ty. This town runs on volunteers, who by the way are usually over the age of 65. Having completed successful careers, their talents are put to use to benefit all the organizations that provide indispen- sable services. In the last few months, articles in the newspaper have focused less on all the positive aspects of our community. Yes, there are homeless people, many of whom I believe are there by choice. Many have dogs, smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. I personally witnessed a homeless person, who had just received a free meal from someone I know, feed- ing part of it to birds while drinking a beer. “Right now, 72 percent of the popula- tion is above the age of 55,” he (Bob Teter of SOS) was quoted as saying in the article, adding, “Economically, a community cannot sustain on that. You need a younger generation workforce to sustain things.” According to the City of Florence website, here’s the data: Under age 14: 11.6 percent age 15 to 24 is 8.2 percent; age 25 to 44 is 15.5 percent; age 45 to 64 is 28.4 percent; age 65 to 75 is 17.2 per- cent; and age 75 and older is 19.2 per- cent. The article also states: “Online real estate website Trulia showed only seven properties available for rent in the Florence area at press time.” Trulia may be a way to search for homes for sale, but I certainly don’t think it’s the best place to find rentals. The article also mentioned that Teter and Huenergardt believe, “The vast majority of individuals in the Siuslaw region are just one step away from becoming homeless.” Stating the vast majority are one step away from becoming homeless seems highly exaggerated. I hope the rest of this continuing series will include substantiated facts and praise for the hundreds of volunteers that make our community great. —Jacquie Beveridge Florence E NCOUNTER WITH A GREAT HORNED OWL Last Saturday I had an encounter with a Great Horned Owl that left me shaken and has disturbed my sleep. My grandson and I were headed out to get him a milkshake at a local drive- through. I was following him into the garage and, as I came to the entry door, I heard a disturbance off to my left. Turning to look down the breezeway, to my horror I saw an owl’s face, large body and talons — which were all com- ing at me. It took me a minute to react, and I quickly proceeded into the garage entry door while screaming at the top of my lungs. My screaming scared my daughter, who was in the house. She opened the front door to find out what had hap- pened. I told her to go back in the house and that I would explain when I returned. My grandson and I closed the entry door and got into the car. When we returned, we quickly went into the house and my grandson looked at the tape on our security camera. The owl was the largest Great Horned Owl I had ever seen. The only reason that the owl did not proceed after me was that it had hit its head on the roof of our breeze- way and wound up on the walkway next to the lawn chairs. Fortunately, the owl left before we returned from our errand. My reason for writing this is to warn others who believe, as I did, that the predators in this area are ones that move on the ground. To find a predator that flies around our area is really pretty scary. —Sandra Allison Florence F ELIZ NAVIDOG In my quest for peace and kindness admist the swirling frenzy of the holi- day season, I’d like to step away from the criticisms being directed by some against our local Humane Society and say a mighty “thank you” to all who’ve worked tirelessly over the past weeks and months and throughout the year to create the magical, welcoming, beauti- fully-organized, wonderfully-successful Humane Society Christmas Store. I adore dogs and very much appreci- ate all they have to teach us about love and tolerance and gratitude. If only we could learn to treat each other with the heart of a dog, in spite of our disagree- ments, what a softer, gentler, more-com- passionate world it would be. —Allie LeCaux Florence D EBT MORE COMPLICATED THAN TAX REFORM It is overly simplistic to attribute job growth to a particular president and tax rate adjustments. One would do well to look at the prior administration, the state of the economy at inauguration, party in control of Congress and global factors — all of which impact the national job cre- ation rate. Hoover raised taxes in 1932 and the economy tanked; Roosevelt raised taxes in 1937 and the economy tanked; Clinton raised taxes in 1993 and the economy performed well coming out of the Bush recession. Congress passed a tax cut in 1997 and the economy grew a full percentage point faster in Clinton’s second term than the first. Fiscal policy is more complicated than can be explained in a left-media sound bite. Congress passes laws. The President signs them into effect. During the Reagan administration, federal receipts grew from $618 billion to $991 billion (an increase of 60 per- cent) while outlays grew from $746 bil- lion to $1144 billion (an increase of 53 percent). Short version: Lower taxes raised government revenue. Our “I want it now” culture has skewed wealth ratios. The bottom 90 percent hold over 70 percent of all debt. Growing up, my grandfather counseled “In God We Trust. All others pay cash.” —Ian Eales Florence ❘ 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 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
