Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2018)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 27, 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 classified ads, Thursday 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-week subscription, $23; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription,$99; 6-month out-of-county, $65; 10-week subscription, $29; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $125; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year sub- scription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Letters to the Editor policy LETTERS Property taxes can’t carry the load indefinitely I may be wrong, but it seems like the only taxes going up in Oregon are prop- erty taxes. I just got my 2018-19 state- ment, and now we are being inundated with new bond measures, which as good citizens we are asked to support. But past issues haven't prevented the closing of libraries or there being many schools in poor condition around the state. There needs to be some serious dis- cussions in Salem and around Ore- gon about another way to pay for these things. Bond measures are not doing the job. A general sales tax, say 5 percent, on everything — which applies to all residents, nonresidents and tourists — would be a lot more fair than expect- ing property owners alone to carry the school improvement load. I don’t like paying more in taxes, but unless the issue of more revenue is ad- dressed, in the future we may be looking at a Proposition 13 revolt like they had in California. —Charles Lugg Florence What is happening to our beautiful town? At the risk of getting on the wrong side of the local newspaper of a small town I happen to love very much, I'd like to comment on the recent rise in political confrontation and ask: If a truly genuine person wants to run for office and finds themselves the victim of ongoing harass- ment, bullying and vicious attacks, how do we end it? I, an unregistered, unaffiliated inde- pendent voter, will take the blame (or credit) for having encouraged Geraldine Lucio — my friend and barber — to run for City Council. I did so because I be- lieve she is a smart, personable young woman and small business owner who is a fair thinker and wants what's best for our community. She isn't pushing either a conservative or liberal agenda. She has many friends across the polit- ical spectrum in this community. To me, that is exactly the kind of candidate we need. When she announced her candidacy at an event in her barbershop in early September, it was attended by friends who were liberal and conservatve alike, many of whom made donations. What a breath of fresh air. And when Geraldine signs started popping up around town, they were in all types of businesses and yards. What happened next was truly tragic as attacks began, starting with anony- mous and false accusations made to the newspaper. Then she was harrassed by sitting city council members, one in per- son and one by email encouraging her to withdraw from the race. That was fol- lowed by numerous vile letters, texts and — just recently — anonymous and de- rogatory flyers distributed in Old Town during the night. She is now afraid that she or her prop- erty will personally be targeted. What is happening to our beautiful town? Where does this viciousness end? Sadly, I think I need to apologize to Geraldine for ever encouraging her to get involved. But I will support her to the end. Her only “crime” has been having the audacity to challenge the powers in charge. How sad for all of us. —Terry Tomeny Florence I want more from my city council members I cannot afford the luxury of such a crippling emotion as despair. But, after twice reading the saga of the Siuslaw News story “Chaos in the Community” (Oct. 24), I bumped it up a notch to feel- ing sad that the community leadership allowed itself to dip so low. I read the account twice to make cer- tain that I was not jumping to conclu- sions. I read the mayor’s words “gifted speaker” and “attempting to shame” in what seemed to be a defense for a partic- ular candidate under scrutiny because of her own avoidance behaviors. Also, the mayor’s statement that the qualifications to run for city government are to “live in the city for one year, to at- tend meetings and vote yea or nay.” I don’t think he believes his own words. I know I want more from my council- or. These words gave further substance to my conclusion, which is that who is running for councilor is a personal issue for the mayor. The job of councilor, like many volun- teer public service posts, requires a great deal of skill and dedication both for the time and the complex issues that come before them. Had I not done a good deal of explo- ration, I would have gone forward on my application to run for the school board. I thought I had what it took. But after speaking to school board mem- bers, it was pointed out to me that what I thought I would bring to the school board would be better addressed at the state level. I thanked them for keeping me from making a bold move that might not have benefitted our local community. —Nan Harvey Florence Miltenberger is my choice In the Nov. 6 election, Maureen Miltenberger is running for city council and she will be my choice. She is a won- derful person, a local Oregonian, and she cares about the people and the en- vironment. We sit together in EMAC (Environ- mental Management Advisor Commit- tee) and in Siuslaw Climate Alliance, in which she serves as the chairperson of both. I learned to respect and appreciate her and all she does because her heart is in the right place and she is fighting for better education and better environ- ment for all of us. She is an intelligent and warm-hearted woman trying to get involved and improve lives. She is a vol- unteer at the school helping adults with basic skills to gain reading skills and confidence, and she does so with respect and compassion. She is also helping EMAC to improve the rules and make our environment better and cleaner. We are lucky to have her and would be a great addition to our city council. I will be filling in the oval next to her name on the Nov. 6 ballot. —Liat Meller Florence Bond measure will hurt those on fixed income Measure 20-291 was not addressed in the voter's pamphlet. This letter reiter- ates information contained in an article published in the Siuslaw News earlier this year. Measure 20-291 is a 30-year school bond measure. The present school bond, which will expire soon, levies a proper- ty tax of .90 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The new measure will raise the amount to $2.72 per $1,000 of assessed value. For example, a home assessed at $200,000 under the current bond equals $180 per year. If Measure 20-291 passes, that payment will be $544 per year — a number that will increase as assessed property values increase. This measure, if passed, will have a significant impact on the amount of property tax that homeowners/proper- ty owners will have to pay in the future — especially for those of us on a fixed income. —Robert Flowerday Florence Looks can be deceiving Drive by Siuslaw High School and you see a well maintained campus — green, manicured lawns, well-kept shrubs and a distant but nice looking large building. But take a tour of the school as I did and what do you see? Small, dark, win- dowless classrooms, inadequate lighting, a 50-year-old heating system that breaks down, an electrical system that cannot accommodate new technology, outdated plumbing, an antiquated lift system for students with disabilities, a girls’ locker room that affords students no privacy, and no cafeteria. So why should I care? I’m retired and don’t have any children or grandchildren in school. But, my doctors do; my hair stylist does; the checker in the grocery store does. So do many others who provide invaluable services for retired people like me. To keep Florence a growing and vi- brant community with a good quality of life for all ages, I’ll vote “Yes” on the school bond for the future of Florence. —Pat Allen Florence (More LETTERS on 5A) 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
