4A |
WEDNESDAY EDITION
| FEBRUARY 6, 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
More appropriate place
for trash
Kudos to the Siuslaw 97J School
District for putting trash cans
up at the high school campus on
Oak, both at the corner with 27th
Street and at the edge of the path
through the woods from the park-
ing lot.
Of course, the grounds look a
lot better now that people have a
more appropriate place to throw
their trash.
Thank you!
—Ivy Medow
Florence
New city hall was
under budget and overdue
Certainly, someone like Loren
Parker (“Why a Taj Mahal,” Feb.
2) who has lived here for 45 years
has noticed the growth and need
for expanded services in our com-
munity.
More than 750,000 visitors
spending $136 million tourist dol-
lars here annually is a strong indi-
cator that Florence is definitely a
destination.
The recently remodeled city
hall was previously completed in
1967. Since then population has
increased nearly 400 percent. It
stands to reason that the old facil-
ity would need upgrades and ad-
ditional space, while presenting a
welcoming appearance.
It is being completed $3 million
under the original bid of $6 mil-
lion.
That isn’t something you see of-
ten.
Those who feel strongly about
how dollars are spent
should take the oppor-
tunity to voice their
opinion at city council
meetings before the fi-
nal decision is made.
Every city council
meeting allows for pub-
lic comments.
Those who wish to
speak should sign up
at least 15 minutes be-
fore the meeting begins.
Meetings are recorded
to be viewed from the
comfort of your own
computer. You can sign
up to receive email no-
tification and the agen-
da.
The City of Florence
monthly
newsletter,
to which you can also subscribe,
contains information about cur-
rent and upcoming items of im-
portance.
Remember the words of Benja-
min Franklin: “An investment in
knowledge pays the best interest.”
— Jacquie Beveridge
Florence
Who’s watching the
taxpayer henhouse?
Loren Parker's Letter to the Ed-
itor ("Why a Taj Mahal for City
Hall?" Feb. 2) tells the story of the
average taxpayer who questions
the spending wisdom of our city
council and city management,
which appear to be one and the
same.
Like Loren, I am dismayed with
the cost of the new Kingwood
public works building for such a
tiny municipality like Florence.
Th e mayor’s State of the City ad-
dress focused on these two proj-
ects as well as city arts — really a
private not public responsibility.
Th e mayor also boasted about the
municipality’s intervention con-
cerning housing, which translates
into government subsidizing so-
called “aff ordable dwellings” in-
stead of free enterprise being the
determinant.
Housing is the business of busi-
ness, which is the business of cap-
ital formation. Most of the may-
or's congratulatory colloquy dealt
with the growth of government,
accompanied by the onlooking
smiles of bureaucratic approba-
tion.
Th e question that citizens like
Loren and myself have is: Who is
guarding the taxpayer henhouse?
In my view, we have seen no evi-
dence of special restraint by any of
our elected offi cials and certainly
not the unelected staff whose spe-
cial responsibility appears to be
growing our local government.
Where is the city councilor who
will stand athwart history and
say, “Stop?” At this juncture, who
among us can discern between
city management and elected of-
fi cials?
Th e Chamber of Commerce ex-
ecutives who should be protecting
the populace from onerous city
spending is instead talking about
ephemeral busy-work issues in
lockstep with city spending de-
sires.
In order to expand capital for-
mation for thriving business ex-
pansion, the City of Florence,
with Chamber lobbying, needs to
annex surrounding areas so large
business corporations have cer-
tainty in working with localities.
City and Chamber leaders must
work tirelessly on changing the
laws and regulations in Salem for
a friendlier coastal entrepreneur-
ial environment.
Eighty-year-old Loren Park-
er has the wisdom of a modern
day James Madison inferring that
those we elect must be increas-
ingly infl uenced by the taxpaying
citizenry rather than unelected,
self-congratulatory city manage-
ment.
May the good Lord bless Flor-
ence to become a mecca of thriv-
ing capitalism and booming busi-
ness — not a braggadocio of big
government.
—Joel Marks
City of Florence Budget Committee
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