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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 2018)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | AUGUST 25, 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) Recognizing SVFR issues is part of solution, not problem (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submis- sions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) I am writing this letter to communicate some important points I feel were missed in the Aug. 18 Siuslw News article (“Chief Director Langborg Declares In- tention to Resign”) regarding the Aug. 15 meeting of Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Board. As the Board President of the Fire District and a community member, it is very important to me that the fire district con-tinues to pro- vide the level of quality and responsive service it is known for. Part of maintaining this high level of service is ensuring the financial solvency of the district. My concern with the infor- mation presented in the article is that it created an impression that the fire district board has been unaware of its financial management situation, and that nothing has — or is being done — to address it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Approximately one year ago, the district became aware of these issues and began taking immediate action to identi- fy and correct the problems. At the time, the greatest area of concern was to de- termine whether any illegal activity had taken place. To ensure this, the district hired two separate CPAs with governmental audit- ing and accounting experience to review the district’s financial records. After a thorough analysis, both professionals ex- pressed the opinion that there was no ev- idence that any illegal activity had taken place. Next, the board began the search pro- cess to fill an open position within the Guest Viewpoint By Ron Green SVFR Board President district and obtain consulting services to identify all past accounting errors. This led to the creation of an action plan to correct the errors and ensure they were not repeated. As a result, the district hired an office manager who it believes is qualified and capable of learning the complexities of this job and help the district move for- ward in a positive financial direction. The district also began using the con- sulting services of Kathy Taylor, CPA, who has an extensive background in governmental financial management, to work with the district’s new office manag- er and help her correct and reorganize the district’s financial records and systems to ensure proper accounting practices are taking place. Which brings me to my point; the fire district is, and has been, aware of these challenges for some time. The informa- tion in the letter from Kathy Taylor was merely a summarization of the problems that have been uncovered and are being addressed. This letter is the result of the proactive stance the district is taking to move for- ward. Its new office manager was hired at a very difficult time and has done a great job in the face of some very challenging circum- stances. I wish the article had also stated that the letter from Kathy Taylor conveyed that our office manager is very capable and will do a great job once all the accounting matters have been cleaned up. As a SVFR Board Member and the Board President, transparency is import- ant to me and I have communicated this to the SVFR Staff. This letter is the result of the transparency we are committed to deliver to our tax payers. Have mistakes been made? Yes. But our district has been aggressively working to fix these issues and this infor- mation should be viewed as part of the solution and not as a sign of failure or in- competence. —Respectfully, Ron Green President, Siuslaw Valley Fire & Rescue Board of Directors LETTERS Overlooking the good President Trump has done I guess if your Letter to the Editor isn’t getting enough readership you move up the page to Guest Viewpoint as Arnold Buchman did recently. In his article (“Lessons Learned From the Dutch Flood Wall,” Aug. 15), he states scientist blame humans for the increase of carbon dioxide for causing climate change, which they previously called global warming. There are, however, many oth- er scientists who refute the idea of global warming. For that matter, the volcano in the Philippine Islands a few years ago raged for almost year, spewing more toxic material into the air than we humans could possible do in many years. Of course, he ended his tale of woe viewpoint by saying he pins his hopes on a happy ending to the sad tale, asking if the leadership (meaning I take it President Trump) will make the hard, necessary political decision and so far it has not happened. It is just another case of the left not looking at all the good accomplish- ments that have happened in the United States since president Trump and his administration took office, but keep dragging up old items sim- ply because the gal they banked on winning the White House flopped. —Tony Cavarno Florence Corporate privilege canceling out will of people Plain and simple, today’s environ- mental laws are incapable of protect- ing our environment. Why? Because corporate entities (legally “persons”) enjoy constitutional protections that supersede nature’s rights and the rights of citizens to protect the environment, along with their own health, safety and well-being. The Community Rights move- ment continues to gain steam glob- ally because long-overdue changes that must curtail corporate greed are essential. If we believe that we hold some responsibility for leaving our kids, grandkids and their kids a healthier planet Earth than the one we inhabit currently, then we must re-double our efforts. While we witness a cavalier U.S. government rollback former (weak) protections — not only for our en- vironment but for workers, immi- grants, etc. — we are confronting an entrenched system of laws that are unresponsive to the notion of “de- mocracy.” A true democracy only exists if “We the People” have decision-mak- ing powers. And we don’t, due to corporate privilege. How bad does it have to get? Action is the antidote to despair. —Michelle Holman Deadwood Thanks to Emily Uhrig, Ph.D monthly column Thank you for including the mon thly “Natural Perspective” column by Emily Uhrig, Ph.D in the Siuslaw News’ monthly Community Voices section. I always look forward to reading her column. —Button Watkins Florence 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 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