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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2018)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 20, 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; 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; Display classified ads, Wednesday 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, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Letters to the Editor policy LETTERS Unbiased exchange can inform, change minds First, I want to agree 100 percent with Keith R. Kraft on his most pointed opin- ion piece on Measure 105. (“Arguments Against Measure 105 Don't Hold Water,” Oct. 17). I would also add that “illegal” is not a race. Please think of all the ramifications of unfiltered immigration, both illegal and legal. As I was once told, buy land, they don’t make it anymore. What that means as it pertains to this issue is we have a finite supply, and do you really want to live like they do in China? I do not. To Mr. Bob Horney and his Commu- nity Voices piece “Behind the Headlines” (Oct. 17) regarding prostate cancer: Thank you. I will be getting the test. Now to my main point. There was a writer on the opinion page recently that complained, I thought, about those who get published and insinuated that the Siuslaw News editor was biased. I for one will testify this is not so. The letter writer also proposed that you could look at the title of a letter and then who it came from, and assume the contents. I find this thinking to be very shallow. First off, Ned Hickson and I could not be more different if we tried. So, if he’s biased, it sure wouldn’t be towards me. Yes, quite a few of my letters — and the letters of other regular contribu- tors — get published, and I would like to think that’s because the opinions are stated succinctly and are thought pro- ducing. You can disagree, but you will have to think, not feel. To throw a monkey wrench into those who would like to pigeonhole me, I pres- ent my case for Measure 20-291. My first instinct was to vote “no.” Usually, these bond measures are just used to pad the general fund for pet projects, no matter what they say. But then I read a very good piece in the Siuslaw News outlining the fiscal benefits to our community for doing it now instead of in the future. I was left thinking how these improve- ments would have to be done sooner or later, and that doing so sooner would be more fiscally sound. Then today, I see that the middle and high schools are upgrading their con- struction classes. This is so important, not only here but all over. There is a great void of classes in the trades. When I was in high school there was automotive, wood and metal shops. I took all three and not only used them in my life but enjoyed doing so. Nothing but good can come from having a focus on these occupations. Everyone will need these services in their life, and it is getting harder to find competent folks in these occupations. So, don’t just feel for the kids but think of how you will be improving their life’s. I will be voting “yes” on 20-291. —Dave Eckhardt Florence Property increase too much for school bond Please protect our schools by voting “no” on the new school bond. Last year, the owner of a modest home with an as- sessed value of $200,000 paid $1,323 in taxes to support education at all levels. — with $150 of those dollars for the lo- cal operating levy, which must be peri- odically renewed with voter approval in order for our schools to function. If the new construction bond is ap- proved, the owner of that home would have to pay an additional $400, assum- ing that the existing bond in fact will have been paid off . I don’t know how many property own- ers, faced with a 30 percent increase in their property taxes for education, will continue to vote for future operating levies. Th ose who rent will also pay the additional cost, as property owners pass on all their additional costs in the form of increased rent. Th e school district may feel that it needs to replace existing buildings, but to attempt to do this at a cost so high that it jeopardizes approval of future operat- ing levies is extremely short sighted. —Paul Floto Florence Slow down and follow speed limits I wrote you a letter a few months ago regarding the speed limits on Munsel Lake Road. Speed limit is 35 mph from Highway 101 and is 25 mph starting at Ocean Dunes Drive (golf course ) and Munsel Lake Road, and continues through res- idential area all the way to North Fork Road. We have had numerous people mov- ing into our area from out of state who do not abide by our speed limit and oft en laugh at us for trying to help slow them down. We get drivers fl ipping us off and who are down right disrespectful. Th e police have made some what of an eff ort to police the area, but they are too busy. Th ere are several neighbors who have put many hours into this fi ght for keeping our neighborhood safe, con- tinuing to send letters to city and county works trying to get solutions. We had a battery-operated digital speed sign for about three weeks, we just started seeing a diff erence when it was taken down and placed somewhere else in Lane County. Th ere has been support from ODOT, Florence City Works and ODOT from Eugene, but nothing per- manent yet. Please use common sense and drive safely in our community. We just want awareness of the speed limit and respect of our neighborhood to be recognized as a safe keeping community. —Pamela Fox Florence ‘City in Motion’ should include schools I strongly support the new school bonds. Specifi cally, our Florence stu- dents defi nitely need the vastly im- proved technology facilities that will be available to them in these new buildings. I am a retired professor from the University of Oregon. My professional expertise centers on the eff ective appli- cation of computer technologies at all grade levels, K-12, and in all curriculum areas. Nowadays, adults routinely use computers (including smartphones) throughout their daily lives, at work, at play and so on. Our children need an ed- ucation that thoroughly integrates such routine use of computer technology in the learning of each subject area they study, and in using this learning to solve problems and accomplish tasks. Th at is, they need an education that is appropriate to today’s world and the fu- ture life they will face as adults. If Florence is to indeed be a “City in Motion,” then it requires a school sys- tem with facilities that support our stu- dents in their own forward motion into a world that is increasingly digital in all aspects. Th e bond funds to build these new fa- cilities will make this possible. For our children’s future, I urge support these new technologies in our school by vot- ing “yes.” —David G. Moursund, Ph.D. 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