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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2018)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | NOVEMBER 7, 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 We’ve voted. Now it’s time to move forward together For that reason, this time reasons. Sometimes it was because it wasn't about enjoying the I connected with the ideals privilege of voting as much of one candidate over an- as it is about accepting the other. Other times it was obligation I have, as an because I felt their vision or American and Lane County the purpose behind a par- resident, to educate myself ticular measure suited our and make an informed de- There have been mo- changing world politically, cision — not by relying on ments over the last several weeks where the thought of From the editor’s desk casting my vote for a can- Ned Hickson didate or measure left me shaking my head. I’ve spoken with several spoon-fed rhetoric, head- people who have told me economically or socially. Over the years, I have vot- lines, carefully staged inter- that the the political rhet- oric from both sides has ed for Democrats, Republi- views, rants on social media or even some of the news soured them to the point cans and Independents. I even voted for Ross Per- sources that claim to be un- that they would not vote in ot, whatever he was. (Hey, I biased. the midterms. I had to roll up my sleeves, was young...) I understand this. In each case, voting was a dig in and do the work so However, I have always believed that our right to privilege I enjoyed because, that, come Election Day, I vote is not merely a privilege no matter who won, I still could do the right thing in- we enjoy as Americans; it is felt our country or state stead of the easy thing. It still means I will have an obligation. Most years, would be in capable hands. This time, I’m not so sure to accept — and live with — it has simply been a privi- lege as I went to the voting as the importance of parti- the results, no matter who is booth or mailed in my bal- sanship seems to outweigh elected to which positions lot in support of candidates the needs of those elected to or what measures do or don't pass or measures for different represent us. But to not vote would mean compromising my own ideals as an American, as well as the expectation our forefathers had for each of us when they established our right to vote in a de- mocracy protected by the Constitution. As I said, there have been moments where the thought of casting my vote in this mid term election has left me shaking my head. But when the votes are finally tallied, regardless of the re- sults, I support the end re- sult and majority vote of my community members. Not as a Democrat. Not as Republican or In- dependent. But as Florentine, Lane County resident, Oregonian and, most importantly, as an American. Write to Ned Hickson at nhickson@ thesiuslawnews.com Please drive safely in our neighborhood As I write this, I have no idea who will win in the mid-term elections. But I hope one thing: Civility returns at every political level, especially in our community. I hope what happened recently in Florence with the politics of charac- ter destruction doesn’t continue. We at least can be better than that if we stop and consider the full im- pact of our words. I was watching the news this morning, election day, and heard my favorite historian, Doris Kerns Goodwin, quote Franklin D. Roos- evelt: “Human kindness has never weak- ened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” I just love that. I hope you do too. I submitted a Letter to the Editor a few months ago regarding the speed limits on Munsel Lake Road. The speed limit is 35 mph from Highway 101, and is 25 mph starting at Ocean Dunes Drive (Golf Course) and Munsel Lake Road. It continues through the residential area all the way to North Fork Road (approxi- mately 1/4 mile). We have had numerous people moving into our area from out of state who do not abide by our speed limit and often laugh at us residents trying to help slow them down. We get people flipping us off and who are just downright disrespectful. The police have made somewhat of an effort to police the area but they, too, are busy. There are several neighbors who have put many hours into this fight for keeping our neigh- borhood safe, continuing to send let- ters to city and county works trying —Judy Kinsman Florence 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 LETTERS A hopeful return to civility 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. to get solutions. I call businesses who drive our road at high speeds, using this road as a short cut, and try explaining to them that the speed limit is 25 mph. Someone is going to get hurt or have a pet run over. We had a battery operated digital speed sign for about three weeks. Just when we started seeing a difference, it was taken down and moved some- where else in Lane County. There has been support from ODOT and Florence Public Works, but nothing permanent yet. So please use common sense and abide by the speed limit through our neighbor- hood. We just want awareness of the speed limit and respect for our neighbors to keep them, their chil- dren and pets safe. —Pamela Fox Florence 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
