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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2018)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | SEPTEMBER 19, 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 Recognizing the unhealed wounds of war freedoms we enjoy each day in ways that are second-nature to each of us. This Friday, there is another opportunity for reflection. It’s one that I feel is often over- looked or, at the very least, un- Several times each year we post flags, lower them, cel- ebrate them and show our respects to them and, more importantly, those who have given themselves — in life and death — in service of what the flag represents. Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Flag Day; these are but a few of the days in which we make time and, in some cases, are given the day off in order to assure we have the unimpeded opportunity to reflect on the families who must approach each Memorial Day and Veter- ans Day without closure. The same can be said for those whose lives have been forever impacted as prisoners of war — an experience that, From the Editor’s Desk Ned Hickson derappreciated because POW/ MIA Recognition Day itself is a reflection of something that continues as an unhealed wound to the heart — and with no real sense of finality. The lives of those whose final resting place is unknown lives on in a different way for those in some way, will always hold them prisoner to those mem- ories. As a society, we are quick to recognize the sacrifice of those who have served our country, whether they returned to us or to the soil they died to protect. We should always be quick to recognize and give thanks to those who served. But like other uncomfortable conversa- tions, we tend to avoid the one that includes prisoners of war and those missing in action. This Friday, Sept. 21, is an opportunity to engage in that conversation during POW/ MIA Recognition Day, during a special observance at Veterans Memorial Park in Old Town, beginning at 2 p.m. It’s a conversation that re- quires nothing more than a willingness to reflect and, most importantly, let the POWs in our community, and the families of those who never returned, know that their un- healed wounds are not over- looked. LETTERS Changes at newspapers; some for the better and some for the worse After some 50 years as a daily newspa- per subscriber, I cancelled our subscrip- tion to Lane County’s daily paper. I have always been a fan of the opinion sections of papers from our time living in the Chicago area with the Tribune, Southern California with the LA Times and here in Florence. As an equal opportunity read- er, I also have subscribed to the online Washington Post. In addition to columnists like econo- mist Paul Krugman, political writers like Dana Milbank, Kathleen Parker, Jennifer Rubin and Michael Gerson, I also like to read the opinions in the letters columns. With the recent change in owner- ship, our nearest daily newspaper has narrowed down in providing, not just a cross section of opinion pieces, but oth- er features that have been of interest to me. So when the Tribune recently offered several weeks of its e-edition at no cost, I decided to give it a try. The difference in what they provide compared to what I had been used to was startling. True, the first few pages were slanted heavily towards Chicago area news, but the depth of coverage of all other areas turned out to be a satisfying experience. When I took a look at the recent sub- scription rates to our local daily, I was quite surprised. In 2010, the annual cost was $189. By 2014, it had risen to $260. And last year, it was $322. In contrast, the Washington Post on- line is $4 a month. Now on to the Siuslaw News. As our local daily has deteriorated, our local twice-a-week paper has improved in quality over the last year or so. Important topics of interest to the Florence commu- nity get in-depth coverage. The opinion page is nearly always en- tertaining, if not enlightening. However, one problem is that there are just a few writers contributing to the letters col- umn, at least just a few who get published Where are the cries of ‘un-American’ then? suggesting the U.S. should temporarily suspend the immigration of certain eth- nic groups, nationalities and even people of certain religions (Muslims). Th ey said it was un-American, dumb, stupid, reck- less and racist. Th is Act of 1952 allows for suspension of entry or imposition of restriction by a president whenever that president fi nds the entry of aliens or any class of alien into the U.S. would be detrimental to the interest of the United States. A president may, by proclamation and for such time as he deems necessary, sus- pend the entry of all aliens or any class of alien, immigrants or non-immigrant, or impose any restriction on the entry of aliens he deems to be appropriate. Harry Truman was president when this was passed by the 82nd U.S. Con- gress over the president’s veto, with a vote of 278 to 113 in the House, and 57 to 26 in the Senate. Who last used this Act? Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, 39 years ago in 1979, to keep Iranians out of the U.S. He had 7,000 Iranian students de- ported for being in violation of their vi- sas. A total of 15,000 Iranians in all were forced to leave the USA. So what was all this criticism by Dem- ocrat senators, representatives, members of the Obama Administration and liberal democrats and judges? Th ere was no cry of un-American, dumb, stupid, reckless and racist as I re- call back then when a liberal Democrat sat in the Oval Offi ce — so why now ? It’s just more party biases as I see it. —Tony Cavarno Florence A friend of mine sent me an email which I deem worthy of passing on. Knowing Ned Hickson, this paper’s ed- itor, he won’t print anything without some kind of verifi cation, so I verifi ed this article by going to Google and typing in McCarran-Walter Act of 1952, which is a law that has been on the books for 66 years. Th e article stated that President Don- ald Trump was severely criticized for (Editor’s nore: It’s important to note that President Jimmy Carter initiated sanctions against Iran in 1980, including the cancella- tion of visas for Iranian citizens, a cessation of diplomatic relations, a prohibition on trade and a moratorium on new visas (with exceptions for humanitarian and otherwise compelling situations) in response to Iranian terrorists’ having invaded the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, during which 50 American citizens were takern hostage.) on a regular basis. By now, one only need look at the subject of the letter and the name at the bottom to be able to predict quite accurately what the writer will say. One last question: Whatever happened to that guy who used to write those hu- mor columns? The numbers of his columns have dropped sharply. Has he lost his sense of humor? —Kenneth Janowski Florence Innovative tax idea I am a concerned native-born Orego- nian. My concern is our state’s fi nancial future, specifi cally our schools. Educa- tion should be a priority for us all. I am aware that my proposal might or possibly will disgust and surprise many in our lovely state, but please at least read this and consider this proposal as a legit- imate idea. I am proposing a state sales tax ... but a sales tax not on Oregonians, but only for those passing through this incredible state. Why would we not want to collect sales taxes on those who travel through and enjoy our state? I don’t believe this tax on passers through would negatively aff ect tourism; sales taxes have never deterred my travels to where I wanted to go. And, this proposed sales tax will not be on you or on me! —Sheldon Meyer, PhD 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. 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
