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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2018)
4 A ❘ WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ JANUARY 10, 2018 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR Opinion Payment for convenience of plastic is quickly becoming ‘past due’ The inclusion of plastic in our lives has grown exponen- tially over the past 70 years, making our lives easier, more convenient and often at a sig- nificant cost savings almost too good to be true. As we have begun to real- ize, that’s exactly what it was; the interest rate on the cost of convenience has come due with an unexpected bal- loon payment. We produce nearly 300 million tons of plastic prod- ucts each year, nearly half of which is designed for single- use purposes in what has increasingly become a dis- posable society. And despite our efforts to educate the public about the importance of “Reduce, Re-use and Recycle,” each year more than 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans. And that was before China, which has been the recipient of nearly a third of America’s recycle waste, anounced plans to ban the import of 24 different kinds of assorted waste — includ- ing unsorted paper and sever- al types of plastic. When we lose electricity in our home, I still walk into every dark room and flip the switch because it’s second nature. I’m so used to it being there that I don’t even think about how often — and in how many ways — I use electricity without giving it a second thought. • It’s no small irony that the process of producing a water bottle actually requires six times as much water as there is in the actual contain- er itself. In Lane County, our goal was to recyle two-thirds of our waste products by 2025. We were making great strides, leading the state in this campaign by being the From the Editor’s Desk N ED H ICKSON The same can be said for our use of plastic. Here are a few statistics to help illustrate the scope of how plastic has become a second-nature ele- ment of our lives: • Worldwide, more than 500 billion plastic bags are used each year, or more than 1 million bags every minute. • The average “working life” of a plastic bag is 15 minutes, after which it “retires.” • In 1996, 3.8 billion plas- tic water bottles were sold in the U.S. By 2014, that num- ber had grown to 57.3 billion. only county in Oregon to sending more waste to recy- clers than we did to landfills. However, restrictions that we in the Siuslaw region began to feel late last year, and which became official at the beginning of January, are jeopardizing the progress we’ve made as a county, and ultimately as a society. While our dependence on plastic is a global issue, the solutions will need to be implemented one community at a time, with the first step in that process being education. Before we can solve the plastic problem, we need to fully understand its scope and the ways it is intertwined not only among those of us who use it, but how any changes we make could impact us economically. In that spirit, Siuslaw News and KCST/KCFM Coast Radio, along with sponsors Central Coast Disposal, the City of Florence, County Transfer and Recycling and Lane County Waste Management, are hosting a special screen- ing of the documetary “A Plastic Ocean,” along with a panel discussion at 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. today. The event is free, and there are only a few dozen tickets still available at Siuslaw News (148 Maple St.) The film offers a sobering look at the impact of plastic on our planet’s oceans. We hope it will spur the kind of community conversation that will lead to solutions in deal- ing with what we once embraced as an element of everyday life that was too good to be true. Write Siuslaw News editor Ned Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslaw news.com or P.O. Box 10, Florence, Ore. 97439. LETTERS L EARN THE ART OF C LIMATE CHANGE W AR ON THE WORKING CLASS COMPROMISE In the late months of 1864, two friends met to discuss what could be done to end the terrible blood bath known as The Civil War. Gen. Robert E. Lee had come to visit Gen. U. S. Grant at his home in Galena, Ill., with a request which would greatly ease the tension between the apposing forces. It seems that Gen. Lee’s in-laws, who were very wealthy, owned a sizeable piece of property in the Washington, D.C. area, and were very concerned that should the Union forces prevail, this property would be claimed as Union held assets. They had hoped that the property would benefit the entire country. After much discussion, a solution was reached, and Gen. Grant made the commitment to recognize their wishes (Gen. Lee’s in-laws’ name was Arlington). This was one of the several moves which led to the end of this war that had pitched family members against family members, states against states and businesses against business- es, killing 620,000 in the process. There were no other countries involved. The end was brought about through a series of discussions between two parties who really wanted a peace- ful solution. The technique was called compro- mise. As the days go on, it seems our coun- try is again becoming more and more fractured in more and more directions by name calling, lying, fabrications, etc., with no one being interested resolving any of these fractures peace- fully. My fear is that we now have another legislative body (according to Sen. McConnell) called the NRA, which will certainly not help reach an intelligent conclusion. My biggest fear is that we are build- ing towards another Civil War rapidly. Sure, the colors are different (red and blue instead of blue and gray), the wealth lines are more definite and the artillery hasn’t been fully placed yet, but the battle lines have been drawn with beliefs and attitudes. I only hope that we do not have to go through another Civil War before we can get to the process of compromise. —Charles Pennington Florence UNDERREPORTED BY In July of 2017, the Oregon legisla- ture quietly passed as a declared emer- gency what was framed as a transporta- tion improvement tax (HB 2017). This bill was declared an emergency in order to prevent public discussion. More than 50 percent of the bills passed in the last long session were declared an emer- gency for this reason. The anticipated revenue from this tax is estimated to net about $5.3 billion to the state of Oregon, or roughly $1,200 from every man, woman and child liv- ing in Oregon. Carefully written into this legislation was a small increase in the state income tax. Other components of this bill includ- ed the Bicycle Excise Tax, Vehicle Privilege Tax and Vehicle Use Tax, a statewide transit tax. In addition to what I feel is this oner- ous increase in taxation on Oregonians, we are now being asked to agree to an additional tax on the healthcare benefits of working Oregonians in the form of Measure 101. Measure 101 will levy an additional 1.5 percent tax on the value of health- care benefits provided to the working people of Oregon. Elected officials have specifically exempted themselves as well as Medicare recipients from this legislation. Thus, this becomes a tax on the working people of Oregon. The state of Oregon already has the second-highest income tax rate in the country, with California being the high- est. If you read the language in these bills, it is easy to see that they represent the beginnings of a targeted sales tax on working people in Oregon. This legislation and the continuing tax increases targeted toward the work- ing class highlight the disconnect between the political class in Salem and the working people of Oregon. It’s time for a change in Salem. As working Oregonians, we need to hold our elected officials accountable for how they are spending the money we earn. We can start by voting “no” on Measure 101 — but that’s only a start. It’s time for the working people who fund our state government to insist their money be spent wisely, not in the dead of night. If our elected officials are unwilling to do this for the people of Oregon (their employers), we should replace them with people who will be better stewards of the people’s money. —Katie Prosser Florence LOCAL MEDIA A new report, “Carbon Omission: How the Media Underreported Climate Change in 2017,” finds that the U.S. media has largely failed to connect the dots between our warming planet and extreme weather events (Read the report at http://pubc.it/2lXlwq8.) When the Environmental Management Advisory Committee (EMAC) sent a request to Major Joe Henry to join forces with other climate mayors across our state and the country, he declined. When I asked the Siuslaw News to follow up, there wasn’t any. Already in 2018, record cold and record snowfall, both consistent with our changing climate, have ravaged communities along the eastern seaboard. As evidence of our warming planet continues to amass, I urge you to report on the climate crisis with the quality and quantity it merits. Cover climate in 2018. —Michael Allen Florence T HANKS TO COMMUNITY FOR TIME AND TALENTS On behalf of our team at Three Rivers Casino Resort, please accept our sincere thanks for all those in our com- munity who gave their time and talents over this holiday season to serve others. It was gratifying for so many of us to come together, collecting donations and working toward the common goal of ensuring that families in need had toys and gifts for their children to enjoy. Thanks to those efforts, hundreds of toys were donated to the Soroptimists of Florence who, working in collaboration with other local organizations and vol- unteers, helped bring food and toys to hundreds in our community. In addition, over 1,000 pounds of food was donated to the Florence Food Share. Its staff and volunteers worked tirelessly to distribute food and other items that were generously donated from local businesses and individuals. From all of us at Three Rivers Casino Resort, thank you to all those who worked so hard to ensure that so many others could enjoy the holidays. —Rich Colton Director of Marketing Three Rivers Casino Resort ❘ 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
