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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 2018)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | DECEMBER 15, 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 Pausing to remember a moment in ‘Time’ (Last week, Time Magazine announced its Person of the Year for 2018 as “The Guard- ians,” referring to journalists around the world who have sacrificed — imprisonment and even their lives in 52 in- stances as of Dec. 10 — in the pursuit of reporting truth to power at all levels. Along with journalists Ja- mal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, Time Magazine recognized the Capital Gazette newspa- per of Annapolis, Md., which lost five staff members — Rob Hiaasen, Wendi Winters, Gerald Fischman, John Mc- Namara and Rebecca Smith — to a lone gunman June 28. In recognition of Time’s se- lection, what follows is the original editorial that ran the morning of June 29 in the Siu- slaw News...) O ne of our report- ers here at Siuslaw News, wanting to offer condolences and sup- port, made a late-night phone call Thursday to the Capital Gazette, which dutifully an- swered its phone at 2:30 a.m. Maryland time, “Newsroom.” While shattered glass and the blood of fellow journalists was being cleaned up, mem- bers of the editorial staff at the Gazette were working dil- igently to report the news and uphold their commitment to readers who depend on them for information about their community. So, early this morning, less than 24 hours after a gunman killed four journalists and a sales assistant in its news- room, today’s edition of the what it means to be in that line of work. The good and the bad. Because of the shootings in Maryland yesterday, I know this will be a hard day for you and the folks in the Siuslaw newsroom...” She’s right. And without question, Thursday’s tragic shootings have had a ripple effect through newsrooms ev- erywhere that has culminat- ed in a collective moment of pause. From the Editor’s Desk Ned Hickson Gazette landed on people’s front porches and in newspa- per stands around Annapolis. Because it’s what journalists do. Even at our small paper with a news staff of four and within a community as tightly knit as ours, nearly each of us has received threats — veiled and not-so veiled, anonymous and direct, physical and fi- nancial, through messages left on voicemails at work and at home — that came as a result of reporting we’ve done on controversial subjects or com- munity forums we’ve held. In a Facebook message this morning from a friend and past editor here at the Siuslaw News, she wrote, “I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about every newsroom and editori- al office I’ve ever been in and But only a pause. Because, as I told her, the work of dedicated journalists in newsrooms large and small, in communities around our country, will continue — and must continue — despite what has evolved into a discernable tone of mistrust and, in some cases, outright hatred for jour- nalists that has trickled down to even the smallest of com- munity newspapers. That being said, I still often work into the evening with my back to a large window facing the street, and I do so with lit- tle concern. Because regard- less of the occasional threat, I trust that the community we serve has our back. Ultimately, the relationship between every newspaper and its readers — much like jour- nalists and those who agree to speak with them off the record — is one built on trust. Trusting to be fair. Trusting to get it right. Trusting to own up if it isn’t. Trusting to protect one an- other through shared knowl- edge and being an informed community. As I write this, I can hear each of our reporters typing away, preparing stories for this edition. At the same time, I know that each of them is thinking of the Gazette staff members who were lost — Rob Hiaasen, Wendi Winters, Gerald Fischman, John Mc- Namara and Rebecca Smith — and dealing with that no- tion of loss in their own way. This editorial is mine. However, serving our com- munity each day, and with each edition of this newspa- per, is our way of dealing with the loss together. Because it’s what we do. As Time Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal wrote in his editorial regarding the magazine’s selection of “The Guardians” as the 2018 Per- son of the Year: This year we are recognizing four journal- ists and one news organiza- tion who have paid a terrible price to seize the challenge of this moment. They are repre- sentative of a broader fight by countless others around the world who risk all to tell the story of our time. 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 GETTY IMAGES LETTER Abandoned cat A neighbor passed away this summer. His old cat was left to fend for itself. This 9-year-old cat laid in the road waiting to die. One neighbor took “Cat” in but was allergic. The cat was then back on the street in cold weather. I took the cat in but had to keep it in the garage. The cat got sicker, so I called our local humane society but was told, “Sorry, we are full and are a no-kill shelter.” They had no way of knowing when they would have room available. Then I called a local vet, who said they would need to do a check-up be- fore deciding if it was necessary to put the animal down. It would cost $65 or more. I called Greenhill in Eugene and was told I could bring the cat in on Monday. Greenhill will assess the cat to see if it lives or needs to be out down. Warning: If you take in a sick or abandoned animal, be prepared to be stuck with the bill or the animal. — Pat Rongey Florence 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
