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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 2018)
4 A ❘ WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ MAY 2, 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. “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) 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. 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P u bl i s h e r, ex t . 3 1 8 E d i t o r, ex t . 3 1 3 Consulting Editor 831-761-7353 E m a i l : e c h a l h o u b @r e g i s t e r - p a j a r o n i a n . c o m M a r ke t i n g D i r e c t o r, ex t . 3 2 6 O f f i c e S u p e r v i s o r, ex t . 3 1 2 Production Supervisor Press Manager Jenna Bartlett N e d H i ck s o n Erik Chalhoub Susan Gutierrez C a t hy D i e t z Ron Annis J e r e my G e n t r y 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,sT- hursday 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 Rounoabouts not the answer I have read with interest the vari- ous letters in The Siuslaw News concerning construction of a “roundabout” or “traffic circle” at the corner of Kingwood and Ninth streets. I am neither a traffic engineer nor a city planner, so my comments spring from a deep well of near total ignorance. However, I live about a block away from the subject inter- section and navigate it frequently. I have also navigated several such “roundabouts” in various locations during my life. In my opinion, the problems at this intersection are due to the fact that Kingwood is a busy street and Ninth Street is a very busy street — especially during commute times or lunch break times for Peace Harbor staff, when it becomes what I call “The Ninth Street Parade.” I suspect that most of the acci- dents there are due to drivers stopped on Kingwood who have grown impatient trying to exploit a break in the Ninth Street parade. I don’t see how a traffic circle is going to help this at all. However, I am familiar with the almost universally loathed traffic circle in Long Beach, Calif. When I happened to be driving in that area, I always did my best to plan my route to avoid the traffic circle. I will do the same if one is constructed here in Florence. The one on Greenwood Street on the way to the Eugene Airport is relatively benign, in my experience. The question I have about that one is: “Why is it even necessary or desirable?” In my opinion, the best solution to the traffic problem at Ninth and Kingwood streets would be a traffic light with left turn arrows for the Ninth Street side. If this proves to be unworkable, the second choice would be a four- way stop. —Stan Easter Florence A Florence angel Today, I took my friend to get her glasses repaired. She had been wait- ing several months until her insur- ance would once again help cover the expense, all the while hoping and praying her glasses would hold together until then. She had her exam, was fitted for new glasses and presented with the balance that insurance would not cover, which was $224. My friend explained that all she had was $25. I told her to remain there and that I would go get my credit card to pay the bill for her. When I returned to the office, I was greeted with smiles and the announcement that her bill had been paid by a patient who handed her two $100 bills. We all stood in amazement and a bit teary-eyed, and I blurted, "Hallelujah, praise The Lord.” We were so stunned we didn’t even have the presence of mind to ask for a name. But you, dear angel, have blessed several hearts and lives with your open heart, kindness and generosity. Thank you, and many blessings back to you. We were indeed “touched by an angel.” —DeAnna Larson Florence roadways, 417 bridges and thou- sands of culverts that are a $6 billion asset on an annual budget of less than $30 million. That equates to a 200-year replacement cycle and roads do not last that long. That is why the county is unable to take on maintenance of additional roadways. And that is why I worked hard for the passage of the transportation package in the legislature to restore part of our annual maintenance budget that was lost. Maybe one day in the future we will regain the resources to maintain LARs — and I look forward to that day. For anyone who has questions about Local Access Roads and County Road Maintenance, please call me on my cell phone at 541-953- 6555. —Jay Bozievich Commissioner West Lane — District 1 Setting the recoro straight Concerning the roundabout pro- posal at Ninth and Kingwood streets, it’s definitely not a good idea. The ambulance and police department would find themselves in jeopardy. The high occurrence of transporta- tion from Peace Harbor Hospital to River Bend in Eugene is generally 7 to 13 times each week. In addition, the high volume of traffic and congestion during an emergency evacuation would be its own disaster. Adding a roundabout would slow the necessary fast-moving traffic and create more congestion in an emergency. The real eye catcher is the stop sign with the flashing lights. Place one on each side of Kingwood Street. They would help reduce speed and accidents immediately. The stop signs currently in place are not visible. Save the City of Florence the expense of a roundabout and use the money to fix the horrible potholes on Ninth Street and Rhododendron Drive, just below Wild Winds. There are potholes there so deep that they can throw your car out of alignment. — Vivian Conrad Florence This is an election year and truth becomes more flexible, so I want to set the record straight about the recent Letter to the Editor from Linda Watts (“Why No More of Jay Bozievich,” April 28). She stated that I compared main- taining Collard Lake Road with my driveway, which is a false statement. I own a corner lot on two Local Access Roads (LARs) that my neigh- bors and myself have to maintain. The LARs provide access to 21 homes and comprise half the length of the 1.5 miles of road she wrote about. It is not my driveway. Over the years, I have written checks to the pool, personally filled potholes and even wielded a pick and shovel to replace a collapsed culvert beside my neighbors. What I did try to convey is that maintenance of LARs is a concern all over the county, from the folks that have to use Second Avenue in Heceta Beach that is sliding off the hill, to Ricketts Road near Creswell, which floods every winter. Unfortunately, Lane County just does not have resources to maintain these roads without the federal tim- ber revenues it used to receive. Today, we maintain 1,440 miles of Rounoabout is bao ioea for Florence TO THE POLICY 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, argumentative, 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 published at the discre- tion of the editor. Political/Election Letters: 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 cam- paigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) Ensure any information about a candidate is accurate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay; and 3) explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and perspective rather than partisanship and campaign-style rhetoric. Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and platforms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political advertising. As with all letters and advertising content, the newspa- per, at the sole discretion of the publisher, general man- ager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria. Emal 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
