4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ JANUARY 27, 2018
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
N EED NEW COMMISSIONERS
WHO WILL SERVE THE PEOPLE
Three County Commissioner seats
are open in this year’s election. Those
seats are currently being held by
Commissioners Jay Bozievich, Sid
Leiken and Gary Williams.
These three incumbents have all
accepted campaign donations from the
timber and mining industries in Lane
County.
Extractive industries have a lot to
gain (or lose) when land use and other
local laws and policies support (or
undermine) their businesses. So they
pay for good representation with cam-
paign donations.
We the people have a lot to gain (or
lose) too, but few people have the
means to make donations comparable to
private industry.
Let’s clear out the industry lackeys
currently on the Lane County Board of
Commissioners and fill these three open
seats with new commissioners who
serve the people, not their corporate
masters.
—Linda Kanter
Deadwood
A LL P RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN
FLAWED HUMAN BEINGS
I’m writing in regards to the Letter to
the Editor “Food For Thought,” (Jan.
24).
During my research on President
Trump’s quote, which has been suppos-
edly quoted so many times I’m not
going to waste space on it, I’m recom-
mending an interesting article by Curt
Autry NBC12 titled: “Top Profanity in
POTUS history.”
Google it and read the article in its
entirety. It will wake people up to the
fact that all presidents (and elected offi-
cials) in office are flawed human beings
just like the rest of us.
Here are a few of the quotes included
in the article:
• President Obama, referring to Mitt
Romney being a “bull******r”;
• Senator Kerry, “Did I expect GW
Bush to F**** it up as badly as he
did?”;
• VP Joe Biden called the health care
reform bill a “big f*** deal.”
I could mention the horrendous cor-
ruption in some African countries or
why there is such a problem between
Haiti and the Dominican Republic (one
island, two governments with a whole
lot of conflict), but there is not enough
space in this newspaper to address that.
Or maybe I could mention the bil-
lions requested by Puerto Rico?
In other words, you can lead a horse
to water, but you can’t make him drink.
Meanwhile, in today’s national news
coverage (Jan. 25, 2018): “White House
Open to Amnesty for 1.8 Million in
Exchange for Increased Security,
Immigration Restrictions.”
Perhaps people should just wait and
see what pans out once all the wheeling
and dealings is done; that beautiful
quote by Emma Lazarus that is on the
Statute of Liberty, erected in 1886 when
the U.S. had less than 65 million people
compared to today’s population of over
325 million, actually still qualifies for
the 1.8 million people who are current-
ly living in our country quasi-legally.
The current problem with the people
that are here illegally goes all the way
back to Carter’s presidency. All of the
presidents after him just floated the
issues along and ignored the laws that
were already in place.
Now, we actually have someone who
is trying to enforce the laws that have
been ignored for 40 years.
I’m fine with the “Dreamers” that are
here already, and who are an established
part of their local communities, work-
ing and paying their taxes, etc.
However, I do believe that the outcome
would have been far different for the
two women, both in their 60s, who were
victims of rape and brutalized by repeat
offender and known criminal Sergio
Martinez — who had been deported 13
times since 2008. He has a criminal
record in three states, with charges
including battery, felony, burglary and
felony, as well as illegal re-entry after
removal.
Things may have been different for
those two women had Immigration and
Custom Enforcement (ICE) been
allowed to take custody of Martinez
rather than going ignored by the
Portland Police Department.
Meanwhile, a Eugene elementary
school allowed posters to be displayed
calling the border agents predators with
badges.
Seriously?
—Virginia Reynolds
Florence
C LIMATE C HANGE
ISN ’ T POLITICAL
As with so many issues these days,
the truth is shrouded in a fog of mis-
guided notions, intentional distortions
and, in some cases, outright lies.
It is no less the case with climate
change, which is fairly simple and was
observed as early as 1896.
Water vapor, methane, ozone, nitrous
oxide and carbon dioxide mix to create
a nice blanket of molecules around the
earth without which the planet would be
freezing.
There is no doubt as to the existence
or purpose of greenhouse gasses or that
they are increasing. Too much of the
greenhouse gasses will heat the planet,
as they do on Venus, where the temper-
ature is over 800 degrees Fahrenheit.
But for those who choose to remain
skeptics, perhaps the question to ask is
whether implementing strategies that
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
mitigate climate disruption are benefi-
cial outside the mission of addressing
climate change.
While an official greenhouse gas
inventory could target best practices
for the city, obvious actions include
switching all lighting to LED, increas-
ing housing density and walkability,
and consolidating electric car purchases
with other “Climate Mayor” cities to
make the best use of City Hall’s upcom-
ing EV charging station.
These are just a few of the things the
climate group, referenced by Mayor
Henry in a recent letter to the editor
(“Focusing On Local Issues Has
Broader Impact,” Jan. 10), identified as
items that will, indeed, have an impact
on climate change but also “support the
work plan” of the city and make
Florence “a better place to live.”
As Liat Miller aptly stated in her let-
ter (“Climate Change is Not A Partisan
Issue,” Jan. 13), there are plenty of
Republican mayors who are working
diligently on climate change issues in
their own cities, including Regalado of
Miami, Carson of Coral Gables,
Brainerd of Carmel, and Faulconer of
San Diego.
I encourage Mayor Henry’s stance to
remain unpolitical in meeting the needs
of the city. That being said, we need
either a city Climate Change Task Force
or a Siuslaw Climate Alliance to draw
together interested parties to do our
part, as a community, in mitigating
greenhouse gas emissions and secure
Florence for the future of our children
and grandchildren.
—Sandy Todd
Florence
L AW MAKING IS
STUCK IN THE MUCK
If the people want a new law, there
are only two ways to get one passed in
Oregon.
One way — which we think of most
often — is to get your elected officials
to enact or refer it to a ballot.
The other way, available in Oregon
and 26 other states, is to write the law
yourself, collect petition signatures and
put it on the ballot for a vote of the peo-
ple.
On the most important issues, one
way or another, moneyed corporate
interests rule the outcome — either
through campaign donations to public
officials or through seemingly endless
litigation and legal hurdles to block ini-
tiative advocates.
It is within this sytem quagmire that
the Freedom From Aerial Spraying of
Herbicides Bill of Rights and the
Community Self-Government initia-
tives are currently stuck.
So we ask: Where do concerns for
protecting our country’s residents and
environment from the aerial spraying of
poisons for the financial benefit of a
corporate few fit in?
Along with the initiatives and their
advocates, these community values are
stuck in the muck.
We need sytematic change that puts
the power in the people to decide the
laws that affect their lives.
— Jan Kinney
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