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-
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free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom
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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)
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Copyright 2018 © Siuslaw News
Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon.
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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
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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:
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Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing cam-
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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.
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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