Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2018)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ MAY 2, 2018 NED HICKSON , EDITOR Siuslaw News ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) Filling the void left by Jose Dela Mora chosen to fill that void by offering a way for others to reach their own poten- tial. Jose was an artist and a Each of us responds to loss in our own way. For the past three years, the Dela Mora family has chosen to deal with its heartbreaking loss by giv- ing back. Since the spring of 2016, when Jose Dela Mora would have graduat- ed from Siuslaw High School, his family has been hosting an annual taco feed to raise funds for the scholarship they established in his memory. The Jose Dela Mora Scholarship is the family’s way of turning Jose’s drowning into something more than an irrevocable tragedy — by not allowing the loss of so much poten- tial to continue on as a void. Instead, they have offered each year to stu- dents who are pursuing their own passion for art or wrestling, especially those who make lack the LETTERS The mid-term primary election is ga thering momentum. It is important that at this critical juncture of our democracy we as citizens stand up for our shared values and vote. My choice is Representative Caddy McKeown. She is current- ly the Co-Chair of the Transportation Committee and in that role has been very sup- portive of the road and bridge- work we here in Florence can’t survive without. She is also on numerous com- mittees including many in the environmental area. Whenever the citizens of Florence have a problem, Caddy and her team are extremely sup- portive. Specific examples are the work on Highway 126 and the recent problems with the Building Codes Division that are threaten- ing to shut down or slow to a crawl our permitting process. When I reached out to her on the Codes issue, she was in com- munication with the Speaker of the House, the Senate and the Governor’s office within 24 hours. Caddy is a member of the Coastal Caucus, and she is very supportive of the RAIN entrepre- neur program. A native of the Oregon Coast, she knows our needs and values. —Ron Preisler Florence City Councilor Misuse is the answer After reading the whole Siuslaw Ne ws special series on guns, it is clear to me that there will never be an answer on which both sides of the debate will agree. Even Florence Police Commander John Pitcher won’t come down on either side. I find it disheartening that he states he knows of no one who is looking to confiscate our guns, when in fact there are many who have made the national news calling for what is essentially the same thing. Am I to assume if the state were to order officers go door to door to confiscate them he would say no? Sorry, I’m not that naive. We should all be skeptical of cited sources. For instance, there seems to be a study for just about anything you like or don’t like — and experts galore. Although the Siuslaw News article was fairly well written, it fell into the age- old trap of “magazines vs. clips,” which is a good way to determine just how familiar one is with guns. It is also a mistake to think law enforcement officers are all experts on guns. They are not. Just as I would not go to a jour- nalist for advice on an operation I was thinking of having, I also would not go to a gun control advocate for advice on gun safety. The oldest gun safety people are the ones who administer the Eddie Eagle Program. I have raised two sons who are very safe with guns. Not because I scared them with some phony numbers but because I educated them from an early age on the facts. While I could go on and on about the misuse of number and statistics, I will just quote a known author and say, “There are lies, damn lies, and then statistics.” If you care so little about the freedoms we enjoy in this great land and the responsibilities that go with them that you run scared at the thought of your fellow countryman having a gun, then I pity you. However, if you choose to give up your God-given rights, I will not follow you. You should remember that your rights come not from the government. But the government was established to protect them. And if it does not, there are two boxes we can utilize. I pray to the Lord we only have to use the first one. —David Eckhardt Florence One or the other As you read this, there are thou- sa nds of migrants pressed against the southern border, hands stretched out northward through a steel fence. At the same time in California there are 110,000 Americans sitting on the streets and living in tents — homeless. North of those souls are 14,000 homeless here in Oregon. And just above us in Washington State, are 21,000 homeless. I think you can see where I'm going with this. California already has 2.3 mil- lion illegal residents, Oregon 130,000, and Washington State 250,000. Imagine, if the United States just enforced it's immigra- tion laws how many low income homes would become available in these three states? 100,000? 500,000? And imagine with that surplus of housing, how much rents would drop. You see, you can't solve home- lessness, the housing shortage and make housing more afford- able — and at the same time, not enforce the law and have an open boarder. You have to make a choice: One or the other. —Jeff Ashmead Florence The First Amendment C Copyright 2017 © Siuslaw News it. This year’s scholarship taco feed is tomorrow, May 6, beginning at noon at the Crossroads Church, 1380 10th St., just across from the Siuslaw Public Library. The cost is $6 for From the Editor's Desk 10 tacos, and the feed will Ned Hickson continue until the tacos are gone. Don’t wait. financial support they people person, someone The Dela Mora family whose sense of humor and need to attend college or a owns Rosa’s Mexican fun-loving nature touched vocational school. Restaurant, so I don’t need Without question, the many lives, particularly to explain how good the idea of helping others those of his fellow stu- tacos are. achieve their goals and dents. Our oldest son, It’s these kinds of events who was friends with Jose dreams is something Jose and would have graduated would have wanted to be a that not only bring people together and remind us of part of — which is what with him in 2016, often the common bond we spoken of Jose’s kindness makes this scholarship share as a community, particularly poignant. and their shared love of they also foster the kind Even in his absence, drawing. of healing and fellowship Jose’s spirit of kindness As a testament to his uniqueness, Jose was also and shared love of art and we could all use a little more of right now — all wrestling continue a talented wrestler and of which represent the through the scholarship pursued it with the same passion he did for art. For itself and, perhaps just as very best reasons for hon- oring the memory of Jose that reason, the Jose Dela poignantly, the spirit of community that supports Dela Mora. Mora Scholarship is Casting my vote for Caddy USPS# 497-660 ongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exer- cise thereof; or abridging the free- dom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of griev- ances. 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. 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 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 undocumented 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
