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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 26, 2018)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | DECEMBER 26, 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 A diff erent kind of letter into his hands. talking into the headpiece. “Are Alex’s presents there Alex watched his dad dis- appear, then brought his gaze yet? Great. What did I get to the laptop’s glowing screen. him?” he asked, rinsing him- It wasn’t a look of intrigue, or self, then pressing the hand even mischief. Reaching over, dryer to life. “That sound’s he pushed the device for- good. What else? ” In the wake of Christmas I’d ward, teetering it on the edge Suddenly, flurries billowed like to share a tale based on a of the seat. He sat staring at it, from the dryer, covering his true-life experience. It’s a mix- the debate of whether or not hands with what appeared to ture of fact, whimsy, hope and to push it to the floor evident be snow. belief that a heartfelt wish is “What the…? Hold on a on his face. the cornerstone of life’s most After a minute, he thought second,” he said, shaking off important magical moments — particularly in an age where our constant need to be From the Editor’s Desk “plugged in” to the world often competes with being plugged Ned Hickson into those in our lives who are within arm’s reach. That said, our sincere thanks to all better of it and slid the laptop the cold, white powder. He moved to the paper back on the seat. of you for sharing the magic towel dispenser and cranked “You should’ve done it, ” I in your own way, every day, the handle. said, startling him. I had been within our community... Christmas wrap emerged watching the events unfold e looked very out of for the last few minutes as I and, along with it, a letter ad- place sitting alone in the waited at Portland Airport dressed simply: To Santa Claus flight terminal, his arms fold- for my friend to arrive from Next to the postmark, the ed over a Superman back- Dallas. Slowly, an uncertain smile image of a mittened hand pack, and large brown eyes peering out from beneath materialized on the boy’s pointed to the words “Return to Father.” He his baseball cap. A few seats face, then quickly faded. “My studied it curiously, then away, a keyboard recital was dad would be pretty mad.” flipped it over and noticed “Madder than you?” being performed by a busi- his son’s name above the re- He shrugged. nessman wearing Bluetooth I looked up at the depar- turn address. headphones and chastising “You get that from the tow- someone at “headquarters” ture board. “You guys live in Chicago, el dispenser?” asked a man about overspending. who was standing at the next “I said gifts for the imme- huh?” sink. “My Dad does. We’re gonna diate staff only. That means “Yes… yes I did.” Carl, Jody, Jessica and what’s- spend Christmas together.” “You going to open it?” Does your Dad know that? I her-name — the gal we hired Uncertain, he rubbed his last month,” he instructed, wondered, but nodded with- keyboard clattering continu- out comment, deciding in- chin. “It says ‘Return to Fa- ther,’ and that’s me, so I guess ously. “Yeah, her — Loni. But stead to change the subject. “Did you see Santa this I should, huh?” that’s it. I never said anything The other man stepped to about the sales department. year?” the hand dryer, thought bet- He shook his head. “I wrote What? Of course you’re in- ter of it, reached for the tow- cluded with the immediate him a letter.” “What did you ask him el dispenser — then simply staff. Get yourself some- wiped his hands on his pants. for?” thing.” The boy withdrew into the “I’m not sure what’s going on, The boy shifted, causing his plastic chair to squeak a chair, suddenly interested in but I know I’d open it,” he fi- bit as he leaned toward the the large, red zipper running nally said. With that, Alex’s father along his backpack. He traced businessman. “Hey, Dad…” peeled back the lip of the en- it with his finger, averting his For the first time, the man’s fingers left the keyboard, just gaze for a time before finally velope and extracted a piece long enough to wave his son whispering, “Only Santa can of notepaper. Unfolding it, he immediately recognized his know…” to silence. son’s printing, and felt him- The boy obeyed, and (Note: The next part of self skip a breath... hugged his backpack a little this story is pure speculation, closer to his chest. Dear Santa, If you give me “Hold on a second,” Lap- based on a hastily spoken a new dad, I promise I’ll never eyewitness account. And a top-man said, cupping the microphone. “Hey, Alex, handwritten note bound for ask for anything ever again. Love, Alex Riley. keep an eye on this for me. the North Pole…) I’m going to the restroom.” till talking into his Blue- His father stood staring at He slid the computer onto tooth, Alex’s father the note, oblivious of the man the empty seat next to his son and made his way through emerged from the restroom reading over his shoulder. “Sure ain’t no ‘Hallmark,’” the crowded terminal, still stall and squirted soapy gel H S the man commented. Wordlessly, Alex’s father refolded the note and careful- ly slipped it back inside the envelope, then absently stuck it into his coat pocket. As he left the restroom, a muffled voice could be heard ema- nating from his headpiece — which wasnow in the trash. Mr. Riley made his way back through crowd to the termi- nal, his footsteps awkward and uncertain. As if retracing a once-fa- miliar path that had become neglected and overgrown Over the loudspeaker, board- ing calls for Chicago had be- gun. “My dad’s coming back. I have to go,” Alex said, and stood from his seat, backpack hanging off one shoulder. As his dad approached, he studied Alex for a moment, then reached out his hand and nodded in the direction of the terminal gate. They had only gotten a few steps when I noticed the laptop still sitting on the seat. “Hey!” I yelled, waving it in the air. Mr. Riley stopped and looked at me through the crowd, shrugged and then boarded the plane with Alex to Chicago. More than a bit confused, I set the computer down and wondered to myself about what had just happened. That’s when I saw the man sitting just a few seats away — and the identical look of curiosity on his face. Looking up, he noticed me staring. “Listen, in a few minutes, I’m leaving for New York,” he blurted. “I’ll probably never see you again, so I can tell you this.” He moved closer and, with his hands clasped tightly in front of him, spoke of what he’d seen in the restroom. When he finished, the two of us sat wordlessly, neither of us certain of each other. That’s when we noticed the laptop screen, which I’d left open, and these words scroll- ing continuously from top to bottom: Make time for the ones you love 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
