4 A
❘
WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ FEBRUARY 14, 2018
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
Opinion
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
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Our community is full of ‘revolutionaries’
spontaneously arranged as
people brought in fare to
share, including a basket of
donut holes from Dirk at Big
Dog Donuts, who seemed to
be the only one not phased by
the early-morning hour.
As people warmed their
hands around cups of coffee,
My wife and I were among
the 50 or so people who swat-
ted at their alarms this past
Tuesday morning before head-
ing to River Roasters coffee
shop to be on hand for the 4:15
a.m. announcement of the
Small Business Revolution’s
five-town list of finalists.
Gathered around a large-
screen TV brought in for the
occasion was a cross section of
our community, from small
business owners and city offi-
cials, to local media and area
residents. A food table was
In that same moment, it was
obvious that even if Florence
had been named among the top
five — and had eventually
even won — it would not have
been a defining moment for
our community.
That’s because Florence is
defined by the kinds of people
From the Editor’s Desk
N ED H ICKSON
an apple fritter crowd-surfed
its way through the gathering
as individuals broke off pieces
and passed it along, waiting
for the big announcement.
When it finally came, and
Florence wasn’t named, there
was an audible groan of disap-
pointment.
But it was short lived.
represented — albeit a little
bleary-eyed — by that cross
section of community mem-
bers gathered around the TV
screen.
Men and women, millenni-
als and seniors; blue collar and
white color; morning people
and not-so morning people;
business owners and patrons;
and yes, even Democrats and
Republicans.
The room was a microcosm
of ideas, experience and diver-
sity that defines Florence,
fuels its momentum and pro-
vides those fortunate enough
to call this place “home” with
inspiration on a daily basis.
It’s those qualities that
caught the eye of Amanda
Brinkman and her producers
of Small Business Revolution
in the first place.
And they are qualities that
will continue to define us
because, ultimately, we are a
community of revolutionaries.
Write Siuslaw News editor Ned
Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslaw
news.com or c/o Siuslaw News, 148
Maple St., Florence, Ore. 97439.
LETTERS
A NIMALS ALSO HAVE
RIGHT TO LIVE
I know I’m far from the only one dis-
gusted by the actions of ODFW and
Greentrees concerning the local bears
that were killed.
If you’re a resident of Florence,
you’re aware that we have bears living
among us. I’d like to know why this
landscaper was so close to the bears that
he was swiped at?
The actions of the bears that were
described are those of an animal warn-
ing a person to back off. Nowhere in the
article does it say that the bears attacked
or tried to attack anyone.
So why didn’t the landscaper pay
attention and back off?
What has Greentrees done to address
the bear issues? They most certainly
knew they were there. If bears don’t
have access to food then they don’t stick
around. Using bear bangers is one great
method to make bears feel unwelcome.
ODFW, according to the article,
claims the “situation in Greentrees has
developed over several years.” So what
has Greentrees and its residents done to
keep this disgusting event from happen-
ing?
Apparently, not enough.
Oregon has an appalling record of
environmental protection. The horren-
dous clearcut forests don’t provide habi-
tat for wildlife and only fragment what
little is left.
Meanwhile, the ever increasing
human population and sprawl that are
clearing our gorgeous coastal forests at
an alarming rate only increase wildlife’s
desperation to find food.
These animals have as much right to
life as we do and don’t deserve to be ter-
minated at the whim of the ODFW and
places like Greentrees.
I can only hope the actions of ODFW
and Greentrees will make the Florence
community think hard about what it’s
loosing by destroying it’s coastal forests
and killing it’s wildlife.
Personally, if I wanted to be living
with humans only and safe from any-
thing remotely “wild,” I’d be living in
downtown Portland ... not on the Oregon
coast.
—Jill Rizk
Florence
C LARIFYING TO TO G IVE
CREDIT WHERE IT ’ S DUE
We are appreciative of the coverage
of Top Hydraulics’ ribbon cutting cere-
mony in Wednesday’s edition of Siuslaw
News (Feb. 7).
The event was an important opportu-
nity for us to thank everyone involved,
and to become better known in Florence.
However, the following wording in
the article may lead to a misconception,
and it was not using my exact words:
“‘It was a herculean effort,’ according to
Klaus Witte, ‘with careful coordination
between the City of Florence officials
and contractors playing a key role in the
company’s creation.’ The result, Klaus
said, was a company that can provide
living wage jobs to the community.”
Allow me to clarify:
As much as we appreciate its efforts
in our recent expansion, the City of
Florence and local contractors had no
involvement in creating the company,
and Top Hydraulics has been providing
living wage jobs for the community
since 2011.
When the business was taking up over
3,000 square feet of our home outside of
town in 2016, working quarters became
very tight. There was a constant stream
of delivery vehicles and we decided that
it was time to either scale back or move
into a larger facility. While scaling back
would have been convenient for us per-
sonally, on the other hand, it is natural
for a business to strive for expansion.
We could have expanded our business
a lot faster by moving into a larger town
with a larger pool of qualified workers,
but we love being in this area and decid-
ed to pay it forward to the community
by building a manufacturing facility in
town.
We started talking to the city about
buying land in September 2016, the con-
tract was ratified in October, we broke
ground in November and we moved into
this facility in late March 2017.
What was special about this project is
how everybody involved came together
to make it happen, and make it happen
on schedule.
We cannot thank everyone involved
enough, and we are happy and proud to
be members of our community.
— Klaus Witte
Top Hydraulics, Inc.
Florence
T WO IDEAS FOR OUR
HUMBLE TOWN
Here are a couple of ideas I think are
worth considering.
What if, in the evening, after the high
school is closed for the night, a second
shift came in — paid workers, no less,
who work an overnight shift and set up
cots in the gymnasium where homeless
people could gather starting at maybe 9
p.m. Lights out at 10 p.m., then sleep
until 5 a.m., then out of the building by
6 a.m.
After all, the gym is there, 24/7.
Secondly, I heard a story about some-
one picking up trash outside a school in
another town. This person got stopped
by the police and acknowledged the fact
of the activity when questioned.
“Wait right here,” said the officer. He
returned from the patrol car and handed
the good Samaritan a certificate for a
free pizza. The certificate said, “Caught
in the Act! Doing it Right!”
How do you like that?
— Ivy Medow
Florence
L ETTERS
TO THE
P OLICY
E DITOR
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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@
oregonlegislature.gov
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