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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 2018)
4 A ❘ WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ APRIL 4, 2018 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR his mood the night before, which had carried regret over the failed march a week earli- er, as well as a political envi- ronment that had become unpredictable. His speech the night before, while meant to be a ing on the balcony outside of room 306, his banter with friends was cut short by the loud crack of a gunshot. He was taken to a hospital, where he never regained con- sciousness before being pro- nounced dead less than an From the Editor’s Desk N ED H ICKSON pep talk for those within the movement, had traces of his regret, as well as concern and deference to the hands of fate. “It doesn’t really matter with me now,” he said during his speech to parishioners. “I’ve been to the mountain- top. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life — longevity has its place. But I am not concerned about that now. ... I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the promised land.” Shortly after 6 p.m., stand- hour later. According to Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was with Dr. King that day, the Civil Rights leader “refused to be afraid of the risk of ambush or sabotage; he refused to stop what he was doing out of fear — because he did it out of courage and conviction for what was right.” Fifty years later, we once again find ourselves in the midst of marches, protests and demonstrations as we grapple with a multitude of issues facing our nation, from immigration to gun control, the economy to climate change. Regardless of where we stand on these issues as indi- viduals, finding and agreeing on the solutions requires a collective desire to support each other’s right to voice opinions — and when in dis- agreement, to do so respect- fully. Fifty years ago today, the life of Dr. King was taken by someone who did not believe in that principle. As we remember his life and death, and the powerful message he spoke, we must also remember the equally powerful message of those words that were left unspo- ken . Write Siuslaw News editor Ned Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslaw news.com or c/o Siuslaw News, 148 Maple St., Florence, Ore. 97439. LETTERS G UN PANIC DUE TO LACK OF EDUCATION I know that the people who are protesting against guns are good people, but they are also misguided. I will wager that the majority have never fired a gun and are frightened to death of them. This is an educational problem and not an enforcement problem. I believe many of today’s shooters are being mis- led by television and Hollywood’s por- trayal of guns. They have been glorified as some- thing that makes you more of a man or a way to solve your problems. We need to re-educate people. When I was a high school student in southern California in the late 1940s, I attended a high school that served two small towns and graduated 50 or 60 stu- dents per year. We had a small gym, in the basement of which was a shooting range. We had a rifle team that shot matches on a regular basis. The target rifles and the ammunition were furnished at no — or very little — cost by the U.S. gov- ernment through the Director of Civilian Marksmanship. It provided a good way for students to become familiar with guns and to remove any misunderstanding or mys- tique about what a gun could do and how it works. We do not ban cars because people kill people with them; we educate them and give them training on how to use the cars. We do not ban drugs because some people use them to harm themselves and others; we educate people on how to use them properly. We do not ban matches because some people start fires with them; we educate the people on how to use them. The drafters of our U.S. Constitution included the provision protecting civil- ian rights to bear arms to protect us from the abuses of the government. Why can’t we continue to educate our people to make use of the tools we were provided, instead of trying to take them away from us? —Robert Miller Florence W ELCOME TO F LORENCE ; ENJOY OUR ROADS While the public works department enjoys its new million-dollar facilities on Kingwood and drive new vehicles, we, the public, continue to drive our old vehicles on pot-holed streets that beat up our tires and suspension. What part of this equation is public works aside from the tax money the public pays? In what year will the City of Florence’s “Vision” project include repairing the streets? NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion Lessons from Dr. King include power of words left unspoken Fifty years ago today, Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr., was awaiting approval of permits from the City of Memphis for his second march in support of black city sanitation work- ers. Five days earlier, he had led a peaceful demonstration that ended in panic after mil- itant protesters showed up and incited the crowd, forc- ing police to break up the march. After spending most of April 4, 1968, relaxing at the Lorraine Motel following his now famous “Mountaintop” speech the night before at a local church, he stepped onto the balcony of his second- floor motel room and exchanged light-hearted ban- ter with friends who had gathered in the parking lot below. It was in stark contrast to ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ It seems they are too busy building a new palace-like City Hall. For additional information on the subject, consider reading the story of how we got this far — and why we should be ashamed by the deplorable conditions of our roads today — in the paperback : “Lifting Oregon Out of the Mud: Building the Oregon Coast Highway” by Joe R. Blakely (published Jan. 21, 2015) In the meantime, welcome to Florence, tourists. I hope you enjoy our roads. — H. Leach Florence 2) elect progressive legislators who will not only support gun violence pre- vention measures, but will work to repeal the Second Amendment. The hard work and commitment of today’s youth will bring about the end of a gun culture in America and bring us in line with the rest of the civilized world. It may not happen in what remains of my lifetime, but most assuredly it will become a reality for my grandchildren and their children. —Michael Allen Florence B ANNING DOES NOT WORK R EPEAL OF S ECOND A MENDMENT IS THE ANSWER While I believe that current efforts to create gun violence prevention meas- ures are helpful, unfortunately the few we get into law are only stopgaps — and many are never enforced. To end gun violence, we must change our cultural mindset regarding the need and right to own a gun. To do this we must repeal the Second Amendment. Over the years I have witnessed the ever-growing fanaticism regarding gun ownership and the bogus ways to pro- mote it. I watched as the NRA helped create and foster a gun culture, one that has evolved to the point where the Supreme Court feels compelled to inter- pret the Second Amendment to mean we have a right to own a gun for self- protection. Today, more and more people have become so fearful that they are arming themselves with more destructive guns, not only in their homes but wherever they travel. The expanding gun culture has resulted in an exorbitant number of deaths each year. Gun advocates argue that attempts to reduce the slaughter by restricting gun ownership is an attack on the Second Amendment. I know most gun advocates postulate that eliminating the Second Amendment will never happen. With the current power of the NRA and the do-nothing Congress led by the GOP, that is a reasonable belief. But times are changing rapidly. We now have young people who are still students in school, saying enough is enough. We have former Supreme Court Justice Stevens calling for the repeal of the Second Amendment. Repeal will happen once a super majority of Americans accept that retaining an anti- quated Second Amendment with false interpretations prevents any meaningful change. In order for us to make any headway toward repeal we must do two things: 1) End the effectiveness of the NRA, and A study at Northeastern University debunks the myth that school shootings are on the rise (www.npr.org/2018/03 /15/593831564/the-disconnect-between -perceived-danger-in-u-s-schools-and- reality). A great many of the “school shooting deaths” on Wikipedia are inflated, including the shooter and others killed — for example, the shooter’s parents in their home, or wife in a school. Over the past 25 years, an average of 10 school children are killed by shoot- ing. Contrast that with 100 per year killed by school buses, distracted driv- ers, falling off their bike without a hel- met, etc. These tragedies are ignored because they do not advance the false narrative. When one analyzes the number of child deaths by shooting, and accounts for the increase in population and num- bers of children in schools, the trend line is nearly flat. In Britain, it is illegal to buy a knife under the age of 18. It is illegal to carry a locking or non-folding knife or one with a blade longer than 3 inches. Yet knife-related crimes in Britain rose by 21 percent for the year ending September 2017. Banning does not work. The NRA advocates for the rights of the people. — Ian Eales Florence (More letters 5A) The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peace- ably 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. 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 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. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumen- tative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or documented will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside the Siuslaw News readership area will only be pub- lished 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@ 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
