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
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TO THE
POLICY
E DITOR
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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