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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 2018)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 10, 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 Addressing homelessness in our community begins with changing its stereotypes There are a lot of things we are proud of as Oregonians: The scenic beauty that constantly surrounds us; Our generally progressive thinking and approaches to important issues; Not being California. Yet, amid all the things about Oregon that make us proud, there’s one thing I find hard to admit about my beloved state. While homelessness has declined around most of the nation, Oregon continues to have the highest percent- age of homeless families and children. As the number of homeless families has de- creased in 41 states across America since 2016, in Or- egon we have experienced a 2.5 percent increase — the fifth-highest in the nation. Right after California. According to the Depart- ment of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), more than half of Oregon’s home- less families (60.5 percent) are without shelter, living in cars or tents within areas of that scenic beauty I men- tioned earlier. As much as we may want to tell ourselves that most of the homeless are drug ad- dicts, criminals or suffering from mental illness, the fact is that more than half of the homeless living without shel- ter in Oregon — over 7,000 According to a study re- leased by the Oregon De- partment of Education last November, 2017 saw a 5.6 percent increase in student homelessness — continuing a trend in Oregon for the fourth consecutive year. Before we can truly ad- dress the issue of homeless- ness, we must be willing to understand that many of those who are living their From the Editor’s Desk Ned Hickson of them — are either school- aged (64.4 percent) or dis- placed veterans (55 percent). To bring it a little closer to home, each day nearly 90 students between the Siuslaw and Mapleton School Dis- tricts go to class, participate in school activities and then finish the day with no per- manent home to return to. In 2016, 4.3 percent of Siuslaw’s student body was homeless. By comparison, the state average is actually lower at 3.7 percent. lives without a home aren’t those who are readily identi- fied as homeless. They aren’t necessarily the ones we see on street corners or parking lots asking for change. They aren’t the ones we can easily avoid making eye contact with as we busy our- selves past them. The fact is, they are also those whose faces we recog- nize each day but who never say a word about their home- lessness. They are mothers and fa- thers, sons and daughters, students, cooks, part-time employees, unemployed veterans and senior citizens faced with deciding between medication, food or shelter. That’s not a stereotype we want to acknowledge. But it’s one we must be willing to accept in order to affect the kind of change that will, in turn, change the lives of the homeless in our community and our state. As we consider state mea- sures and explore local pol- icies aimed at addressing the issues of affordable and transitional housing, the most important component to reducing homelessness in our communities will be our ability to acknowledge our own stereotypes about homelessness. That is the most import- ant step we can take toward reversing the trend of home- lessness in our state — and achieving something we can all be proud of as Orego- nians. LETTERS Be selfish Don’t vote for the high school bond because of earthquakes and safety rea- sons; don’t vote for the high school bond because it’s best for our children and our collective future; don’t vote for the high school bond because it’s a nice thing for the community; don’t vote for the high school bond because the old high school is run down an inefficient. Be selfish and vote for the bond be- cause it’s best for your pocket book. When a community builds, it’s grow- ing. When it’s growing all boats are lift- ed with the tide; this is Economics 101. With any large community investment, much of the money spent goes back into the community in a multiplying effect. There are a number of studies which show this effect as much as eight times the original investment. Does this mean that Florence can look forward to $800 million? Probably not. But what about half of that? What do you think that a few hundred million dollars of spending in the community will do to your property value? I don’t know about you, but my house is an in- vestment for me, my wife, our children and their children. This is me being self- ish, looking out for me and mine. What do you think that a few hundred million dollars will do for small busi- nesses in Florence? I’ve owned or oper- ated several restaurants here in Florence and I can tell you any of those could have used a stimulus shot like this. In fact, I have several friends who run “Mom and Pops” here and I’m excited for the influx in business they will enjoy during and after the new high school construction. To oppose the bond because your property taxes will go up is myopic and the opposite of being fiscally respon- sible. Be selfish and support the high school bond not for altruism but because it’s best for your pocket book. It’s best for your business, it’s best for your property values and it will make us all richer. —Eddie Mielke Florence So many choices Dunes City has a slate of ballot mea- sures to consider: • 20-293 Prohibition of pot growing in Dunes City. This is where a “Yes” vote is a No to pot growing, and vice-versa, a trick question. • 20-294 Changes Charter language regarding a Municipal Court; eliminat- ing complex requirements so that we may contract for outside court services, thereby giving codes an enforcement mechanism. • 20-295 Authorizes a minimal prop- erty tax for a 5-year period solely to qualify for shared revenues from the State. The Council has said it would not increase the amount. If you believe that and want the city to continue, a “Yes” vote is in order; if you don’t believe it, or would like to see the city dissolve, a “No” vote is the choice. Dunes City already certifies to the state that it provides fire protection, which it does not— so if truth be told, is ineligible for revenue sharing in the first place. The school bond is also there, exempt from the compression rules. An approv- al will equate to tripling whatever you have been paying under the expiring bond; for every $100, triple that to $300, if you can afford it. —Mary Jo Leach Dunes City 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