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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 2018)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | AUGUST 22, 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 Thanks for generous community support I want to give a huge thank you to the Florence Community, for your overwhelming support of the Florence police department in hosting our first annual National Night Out on Aug. 7 at Miller Park. We partnered with our local public safety agencies to make this happen and I want to thank the Oregon State Police, The Confederated Tribal Police, Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue, Western Lane Ambulance, and USCG Siuslaw River Station. The event was such a wonderful suc- cess thanks to many monetary dona- tions and many volunteers. A special thanks to Charles Korando and friends, Hine Investments, North Fork Roofing, Action Realty, Pacific Frameworks, Ka- tie Prosser, Guy Veach, William Mey- er, Wells Plastic, Al Pearn, Heceta Self Storage, Ray Wells, WG Petersen Wood- working, Bob Steele, Carl and Merrilee Mager, Hoberg’s Muffler, Three Rivers Hotel and Casino, Streets Insurance, Siuslaw Vision, Pam and Joe Henry, Res- urrection Lutheran Church, TR Hunter, Peace Health and Chuck Trent. Without the generous support of the community this event would not have been possible. I am so fortunate and blessed to live in such a caring and com- passionate community. Fortunate too that there is a deep understanding of, and commitment to, building and sus- taining police-community partnerships and neighborhood comradery here in Florence. Again, our thanks to the do- nors, volunteers, our wonderful city em- ployees, and all who attended for mak- ing it possible. —Tom Turner, Florence Police Chief News media not the enemy Th ank you, Ned Hickson, and to all your journalistic colleagues across the United States for your continued vigi- lance. I wish I could say that we in Can- ada were immune to these issues, but we are not. In my home province of Ontar- io, our government recently established its own news vehicle to ensure its mes- sage got through and to avoid the regu- lar media as much as it could. We keep a wary eye … well, some of us do. Know that you are not alone in your vigilance. Th e people cannot simply ex- pect journalists and media outlets to do all the fact-checking, to bear the lamp of openness and oversight. It is up to us as individuals to think about what we see and hear, to discuss it openly with each other, to do our best to understand perspectives that may pain or irritate us, and to ask questions and demand an- swers. I had the great fortune to spend 10 days traveling the coast of Oregon last year and spent several days in Florence (In full disclosure: Ned and I know each other socially). I met some wonder- ful people, many of whom likely have completely diff erent political and worl- dviews than mine. But as with any of my travels across the United States and Canada, I trust these individuals to seek the truth and to make well informed decisions; decisions that are aided greatly by local, national and international news organizations. Th e news media is not the enemy of the people; it is as much the people as I am. —Randall C. Willis Toronto, ON Florence visitor Fire chief, board at center of SVFR issues No less a philosopher than Jim Na- bor’s USMC recruit TV character, Gomer Pyle regularly said, “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.” It would seem greater Florence has been fooled twice. Th e current Fire Chief was terminated by a new board three years ago, but a few individuals went on a jihad to overturn that termination and he was rehired. Now, SVFR and Western Lane Am- bulance District have an parasitic IGA and the fi re district may have a fi nan- cial shortfall between $500,000 and $700,000 in the current year. At the center of both events is the formerly ter- minated fi re chief. Perhaps the board can commission a series of bobble head dolls aft er them- selves and sell those dolls as a fundraiser to cover the possible shortfall? Oh, and for a greater irony, this same board will be hiring a replacement for that chief who has recently decided to resign, and relocate back to California. Don’t you just love small towns where everyone knows every body else? —Al Pearn Florence State of play encourages us to stop listening We talk to each other from opposite corners of the room. I talk of pesticides that kill bees and you talk of pesticide regulations as government interference with farmers. Our voices fl y right past each other. I talk of children torn from their par- ents’ arms who become instant orphans, and of their mothers and fathers thrown out of the country and sent back to the horrors of Central America; you talk of aliens, illegal people trying to sneak in and take away jobs and bringing in drugs and causing violence in our cities. We talk right past each other with apparently no way to stop the fl y-by rhetoric. It has made us enemies. Any chance to heal and forgive one another and fi nd space and places where we can agree . . . well, that’s taken away from us by crude, cheap politicians on both sides of every argument who just want to keep their power and stay in offi ce, and none of whom has any sense of principle and decency. Out of all this come the loudest and crudest and, I would argue, the most dangerous among us, threatening and bullying over the internet and even out in the open now. It is a time to pull back and be silent about our opinions and to vote. Please God, let us vote. —Jim Rassmann Woahink Lake ‘Climate change?’ Climate is always changng Regarding recent Guest Viewpoint “Lessons Learned From the Dutch Flood Wall” (Aug. 22), fl ooding in the Netherlands is a historical fact. Th e 1953 fl ood was minor compared to many, some killing many tens of thousands when the population was a tiny fraction of modern times (en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Floods_in_the_Netherlands.) Multiple studies have shown the earth warms every 1,500 years plus 500 years. Th e current rise is on that timeline and just happens to coincide with the rise in anthropogenic CO2. Oceans have risen in the past. Previ- ous rise rates were several multiples of the current rate. Th e sea level has been rising for the past 500 years, well before the CO2 bugaboo. In fact, it has been rising for about 20,000 and, if historical patterns hold, the current rise has just about shot its bolt. When the earth cools, it does so rap- idly, in the order of a few decades. A 2017 study at the University of Bor- deaux reran 40 climate models with a minor tweak in the Labrador Sea. Th e models predicted a 50 percent proba- bility, not possibility, of severe North Atlantic cooling by 2100 (www.nature. com/articles/ncomms14375). When minor model tweaks of a single parameter yield vastly divergent results and model results are based on guesses feeding guesses feeding guesses, only a fool would say with any certainty that “Th is too shall come to pass.” As stated previously, no computer model has been able to run in reverse and come anywhere close to historical conditions. Ergo, they are little more than wild guesses based on incomplete data sets; as stated previously, the Par- is Accords will do somewhere between nothing and very little to change global warming. Th e climate is always changing. It been both warmer and colder with more CO2 in the air than at present. —Ian Eales Florence 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 and publisher. 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