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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2019)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | JANUARY 30, 2019 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR | 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respect- ing an establishment 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 Govern- ment 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 2019 © Siuslaw News 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 Pub- lishers 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 Bartlet Ned Hickson Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Marketing Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publica- tion; 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 subscrip- tion, $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 subscription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Letters to the Editor policy LETTERS Are those really Christian oalues? As much as I am worried about the president and what he may have up his sleeves, I am even more worried about those who seem to support his legacy of hatred and bullying. In a recent Letter to the Editor from David Eckhardt, he said he agrees with the president and had no problem with the shut down “...in the least bit.” Is he OK with the hatred toward our neighbors? And is he ok with the fact that federal workers could not buy groceries to feed their families? Christ did not promote hatred. He believed in love, saying to “Love your neighbor.” That includes our neigh- bors next door and those living in the country next door. Immigrants are not the problem in this nation. “Not in the least bit.” The biggest problem this country is facing is greed and a government con- trolled by selfish billionaires whose only concern is to increase their wealth — without the “least bit” con- cern for the 99.9 percent of their fel- low Americans, the environment, the planet and the animals. Are those really Christian values? —Liat Meller Florence Share your outrage ASAP If Siuslaw News readers listened last evening to Captain Sullenberger’s as- sessment of the dire risk to the public and the aviation system that the last shutdown produced (not to mention the estimated $11 billion dollars it cost the public), then they ought to be part of a public outrage to the suggestion that another shutdown may be on the horizon. Washington needs to hear from all of us before that becomes a reality. ASAP. —Nan Harvey Florence Wall is 19th-century solution to 21st-century problem I was sorry to read that some had “No Problem with Government Shut- down” (David Eckhardt, Jan. 16). It cost taxpayers billions of dollars, hurt our economy and caused hardship for hundreds of thousands of people. It was a total failure on the part of the president because Donald Trump is incapable of governing. Governing requires a leader who can negotiate, compromise, understand complex is- sues from multiple perspectives, and work with others to find creative solu- tions. For two years, members of Con- gress abdicated their responsibility as a co-equal branch of government by allowing him to dictate. The pres- ident clearly is a wannabe strongman who loves and praises dictators (Putin, Kim, Mohammed bin Salman). But dictating isn't how we roll here in America, and now that Democrats control the House, the president’s in- competence is glaringly obvious. The shutdown was 100 percent on him; he initially said so himself before deflecting the blame later. Democrats and even some Republicans have offered compromises and bills that would have reopened the government sooner while negotiations on border security continued. Meanwhile, the president has offered nothing but re- peated demands for exactly what he wants and nothing else — much like a petulant child. I, too, would like to see an end to il- legal immigration. But a wall is a 19th century solution to a 21st century problem and I know we can do better. My heart does go out to people who have lost loved ones in crimes com- mitted by people here illegally; but I am also saddened by the many more people who have lost loved ones to the opioid crisis and to gun violence com- mitted by legal citizens born right here in this country. Opioids and guns are two problems that two years of Repub- lican rule have failed to address. I hate that the shutdown hurt our country, but I think Democrats are right to send the message to our pres- ident that America is not a dictator- ship. Thank you, Speaker Pelosi, for rein- stating the balance of powers that our founders implemented. —Donna Mlinek Florence The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the edi- tor 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 sub- ject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of let- ters received. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumen- tative, 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 pub- lished at the discretion 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 campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) En- sure any information about a candidate is accu- rate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay; and 3) Explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and perspective rather than partisanship and cam- paign-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 newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publish- er, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter 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 @oregonlegislature.gov 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
