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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2018)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | JUNE 16, 2018 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR Opinion | 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM C The First Amendment ongress shall make no law respecting an es- tablishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise 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 2018 © 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. Jenna Bar tlett Ned H ickson Erik Chalhoub Publisher, ex t. 318 Editor, ex t. 313 Co n s u l t i n g E d i to r 8 3 1 -7 6 1 -7 3 5 3 echalhoub@register-pajaronian.com M ar k e t i n g Di re c to r, e x t . 3 2 6 O ffice Super visor, ex t. 312 Pro d u c t i o n Su p e r v i s o r Pre s s M a n a ge r Su s a n G u t i e r re z Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Je re 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,sThursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednes- day 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 subscrip- tion, $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 Letters to the Editor policy LETTERS Define our country based on principals of decency The practice of ripping children from their parents and separating families is utterly cruel and immoral. These people are not “illegals.” They are not M-13 members or terror- ists. They are human beings seeking polit- ical asylum from a country where their lives are endangered. As refugees, they have every right to petition the United States to have their request for asylum heard on a case-by-case basis. What they don’t deserve is to have their children thrown in metal cages, where they spend up to 22 hours each day without proper medical care and nutrition, terrified and not knowing where their parents are. They don’t deserve the physical and psychological trauma inflicted on them by ICE agents who appeare to be acting as Trump’s private gestapo. As Americans, most of us had ances- tors who came to this country seeking refuge from religious and political op- pression. Most Americans even claim to believe in a compassionate and loving god. If so, how can we allow this inhu- mane practice of separation of families to continue? We must not be complacent or numb. Demand politicians take a stand against fascist policies and put an end to this. Cruelty is not democracy and ha- tred is not freedom. As Americans, we can chose to define our country based on the principles of decency and com- passion for all humanity. It is my constant prayer this is the America we will become. —Linda Olsen Forence Patriotism is not partisan The card found in the Veterans Park is a wonderful reminder that children are this country’s future. The heartfelt message from a 5-year- old thanking veterans for protecting us is truly noteworthy and every veteran, regardless of political affiliation, should be able to view this remarkable evidence of awareness and gratitude. Patriotism has nothing to do with par- tisanship. So why will it reside in a place that seems to serve only one belief sys- tem? It has been proposed that the local military museum might be a more inclu- sive location for it. I couldn’t agree more. Apparently, Lawrence Ferguson and MJ Flowerday of Patriot Place think that only those veterans who share their opinions and values should have a “heartwarming” experience. I’m sure Mallory didn’t think so. —Peggy Bradley Florence It’s up to us to defend our own democracy Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press are guaranteed in our U.S. Constitution. Our democracy relies on these freedoms. However, our president's constant portrayal of “fake media” and attacks against the press are a cause for concern. We could live under a dictatorship like Syria, Saudi Arabia, China, North Korea or countless other countries where free- dom of speech is nonexistant. It’s up to us and our congressional leaders, liberal and conservative, to de- fend these constitutional principles. Otherwise, we could end up in a very diff erent country we no longer recognize as a democracy. You choose. — Julie MacFarlane Florence Want to be a better father? Get a bigger grill T omorrow morning, I will awaken to the sizzle of bacon and eggs, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and shuffle of approaching feet as I lay in bed quietly thinking to myself, My God, my wife is leaving me. Then I’ll remember, Wait — It’s Father’s Day! A day when we fathers are revered for our wis- dom, patience and, in a few rare instances, our neckwear. For one whole day I’ll be the perfect father since my wife will be handling everything for me. She does this to help me relax and enjoy my special day. The problem is, it’s hard to relax when, by handling every- thing herself, my wife makes it clear I could be replaced by a new dishwasher and a few extra power cords. Okay, that’s not entirely true. But our son already takes out the trash, leaving me with “The Grilling of Food” as my main contribution to the daily oper- ation of our family. I have managed to keep this duty the way most men do, by making the task of grilling ap- pear as complicated and miser- able as possible, even if it means faking a heat stroke while grill- ing pre-cooked hot dogs. I realize there are many new fathers who have made them- selves indispensable during the diaper-changing phase. Just remember: Your in- dispensability in this area — much like this morning’s tightly-wrapped dooty — will eventually disappear into the Diaper Genie. That’s when grilling even the simplest things, such as a bratwurst, should be made to look as difficult as possible. To do this, you’ll need a large grill. The bigger the better. In fact, if a Hibachi is your main grilling source, go now, hop into your vehicle, and acciden- tally back over your Hibachi several times and replace it with something more practical. And, practically speaking, we’re talking a grill roughly the size of an Oldsmobile. Why? You need a large cooking sur- face so that you can convincing- ly spray down flames and battle for control over a raging infer- no that, if not for your grilling skill, would quickly consume everyone’s bratwurst — and quite possibly the county. Unless you are highly expe- rienced in pyrotechnics, or live hidden behind the grill. Lastly, you should purchase a special, custom-made spatu- la that is so enormous and so heavy it can only be wielded with two hands. This will make the grilling process appear even more difficult by requiring a “spotter” every time you flip someone’s burger. Put all of this togeth- er — spray bottle, giant grill, two-handed spatula — and you’ll have the dramatic image you want: a sweat-stained fa- ther staggering in and out of the flames of his grill, both hands gripped tightly around the han- dle of his 50-pound spatula as he devoutly retrieves the eve- ning meal. Sure, this may sound like a lot of effort; you could fold clothes instead. But the effort is worth it when it comes to family. Besides, it’s really hard to keep beer cold when it’s hidden in the laundry. near an open gas line, trying to produce this same effect on a Hibachi is very difficult. Once you have your giant grill, you’ll need to keep a spray bottle handy. Your wife will as- sume it’s to prevent charring. This is partially true. But mostly you’ll be using it to spray on your face and body to appear as though you are (Write to Ned Hickson at perspiring when, in fact, you nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com, are frequently supplementing or c/o Siuslaw News, 148 Maple any loss of body fluid with lib- St. Florence, Ore. 97439) eral amounts of ice cold beer 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, gram- mar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaran- teed 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 dis- cretion 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) ex- plain the reasons to support candidates based on per- sonal experience and perspective rather than partisan- ship 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 news- paper, at the sole discretion of the publisher, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any let- ter 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 Oregon 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 (4th 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