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
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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