4 A
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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
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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
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Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m.
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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
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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-
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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-
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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