Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2019)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | MARCH 20, 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, $79; 6-month in-county, $56; 10-week subscrip- tion, $25; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $102; 6-month out-of-county, $69; 10-week subscription, $35; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $134; 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 Succumbing to our worst nature in ‘real time’ require us to ensure it would be used towards those ends. “Otherwise,” he said, “it is merely wires and lights in a box.” This past week, millions of Facebook users witnessed In the late 1950s, iconic newsman Edward R. Mur- row recognized a paradox developing as the advent of television was transform- ing news reporting from the purely word-driven medium of radio into a much more powerful visual medium available in homes across America. Murrow understood that news journalism would nev- er be the same. He also rec- ognized the responsibility that accompanies that kind of power. In 1958, during a Ra- dio-Television News Direc- tors Association and Foun- dation dinner where he was the keynote speaker, Murrow spoke of the new television medium and the potential effects it could have on jour- nalism and our society as a whole. Known as his now famous “Lights in a Box Speech,” Murrow explained how the new medium had the po- tential to teach, educate and inspire — but that it would there are more NCIS spin- offs than any other genre on TV; and why Greek mythol- ogy is full of cautionary tales that end in tragedy. We find a certain comfort in recog- nizing when the mistakes or From the Editor's Desk Ned Hickson in real time the murder of 50 people during an attack at a New Zealand mosque. Most of those who witnessed the murders simply found it in their Facebook feed and clicked to see what it was about. Though social media was quick to condemn the live feed and Facebook removed it, the footage had already been downloaded by hate groups associated with White Supremacy and shared to other social media sites. This horrific use of social media is becoming more common as platforms such as Facebook and others suc- cumb to the worst — rather than the best — we have to offer as a society. It’s human nature to be drawn to things that disturb us. It’s the reason we gawk at the scene of accidents; why problems of others have led to their misfortune — and how we can avoid making those same mistakes. But things are different in this era of social media com- munalism. It’s no small irony that, while we have become in- creasingly engaged in shar- ing our thoughts and experi- ences with more people than ever before, we have simulta- neously come to accept that we are sharing those very things with people we will likely never meet. Through that acceptance we are slowly laying the groundwork for the kind of social disconnect that we have begun to see with live streaming of disturb- ing events — and, perhaps even more disturbing, hav- ing them shared hundreds of thousands of times by others. In a way, social media is promoting a culture of dig- ital-aged peeping Toms, encouraging us to gawk through an endless array of partially open windows into the lives of others — many of whom we don’t truly know. We can leave comments and engage in the conver- sations of strangers without consequence or accountabil- ity. It’s an era of communica- tion unlike any other, and the ultimate repercussions on our culture remain to be seen. In the same way that Mur- row expressed the need for us to have a willingness to use the medium of television to teach, educate and inspire, we need to ask ourselves what direction we will take with the evolution of social media. Will we succumb to the worst of our nature or the best of it? Will our smartphones and other digital devices be uti- lized to improve the way we communicate and broaden our understanding of each other and the world? Or will they prove to be little more than microchips and lights in an even smaller box? LETTERS Let’s really see what Florence wants I am opposed to the placement of any large visually distracting mural at the intersection approach to highway 101 and 126 for the following reasons. Motorist approaching from the east already have many directional signs to observe and select the directions they wish to go. There are seven pos- sible turning points at the site of the proposed mural. The proposed PAC mural, with its bright colors and graffiti-type fig- ures, would pose and extreme visual distraction. In my opinion the style and graphic representations are not reflective of the spirit of Florence as seen in the other murals in town. In addition, this section of highway 126 already has a problem area with the pedestrian crosswalk recently in- stalled between Spruce and Quince Streets. I note the city has found it neces- sary to cover over the flasher buttons as they were too disruptive to traffic. While funds have been expended al- ready on the mural the potential for the City being sued could well out weigh that cost. At the very least a well advertised public hearing should be held. I note there were hearings in December at the height of the holiday season and during a time when much of the pop- ulation of Florence was sick with a vi- rus and was avoiding public contact. Lets really see what the population of Florence wants on this matter. — Bruce Jarvis Florence Where have all the cleaners gone? Why is there no maid service in Florence? And by that I mean a le- git, insured business that has proper coverage both in case of damage to a clients property or injuries sustained by the workers. I was quite shocked to discover that none of the national chains had any coverage in the region, and a call to the Chamber of Commerce con- firmed that not a single local business exists. This makes no sense to me. It would seem like a no-brainer that a town with such a high percentage of retirees could sustain a thriving maid service. I mean, wiping countertops is one thing, scrubbing stubborn bathroom tiles with arthritic knees and fingers is something else altogether. Sure, there are hand-written notes 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. Email letters to: nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com WHERE TO WRITE offering all sorts of services including cleaning to be found on community boards around town, but elderly in particular may not be comfortable letting a complete stranger into their house. And what if that person has an acci- dent? A simple slip on the stairs could open a legal can of worms about as pleasant as a trip to the dentist. I guess this is my way of putting up a flag that there is a great opportunity for a hard-working person to become his or her own boss with a minimal start-up investment. So who will sa- lute and capture this large, completely neglected market? —Matt Danielsson Florence New policy at The Pearly Gates could be a problem After seeing some of the vitriol posted on Facebook in regards to the proposed mural, I feel it’s a good time to remind folk that there’s a new poli- cy at the Pearly Gates of Heaven: Saint Peter now reads your internet comments out loud. All of them. —Ed Gunderson Florence Pfes. Donald Tfumh 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 Ofegon Gov. Kate Bfown 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 Mefkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.gov U.S. Reh. Petef DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416 541-269-2609 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Afnie 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 Reh. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown @oregonlegislature.gov West Lane County Commissionef Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us
