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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 2019)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | APRIL 27, 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 Soar, Ada Florence lost one of its finest cit- izens on Easter Sunday when Ada Rabar slipped away. That petit body housed an enormous heart. To know Ada was to become a treasured friend. She had such a heart for cancer pa- tients and gave generously of her time, talent and love. She styled hair and wigs, donated wigs to their cause and always had a hug, smile and comforting word. The last time I saw Ada she was tak- ing a friend to lunch. She was dressed to the nines, as usual, and was wear- ing her signature three-inch heels. She looked beautiful and the picture of health — but told me her cancer had returned. Ada is no longer in pain; she is dancing with the angels, smiling with those eyes shining. I’ll just bet she’s in an adorable outfit in those high heels. Soar, Ada. We will miss you but are thakful for you and all the lives you touched. Thanks for just being you. —Trish Rhodes Florence If you like paying more taxes, vote for courthouse In regard to the special election May 21, I absolutely agree with Mr. John Cox; we need to vote “no” on measure 20-299. Please read page 20-29 of the Voter’s Pamphlet. Several years ago I spent two months on jury duty in the current Lane County Courthouse, and when I was a general contractor I was in the courthouse many times to get permits. It was more than adequate. I bought my house in 1968. It’s on .29-hundredths of an acre. We have spent thousdands of dollars on per- mits for additions and other improve- ments over the years, and our proper- ty taxes are now $3,000 a year. I believe you should spend for what you need, not what you want. If you like paying more taxes, then vote yes on measure 20-299. But I don’t believe anyone likes paying more taxes. — Virgle Bechtold Florence Electoral College protects against dictatorship I recently noted that our Democrat- ic leadership in Salem decided to sup- port electing the president by popular vote. Do we really want the Los Ange- les County — with a population about the same size as the population of Or- egon and Washington combined — to decide Presidential elections? The new Socialist-leaning Demo- cratic party would appear to say “yes,” with the apparent goal of creating a one-party system. In the formation of the 12th Amendment, the concept of the popu- lar vote was not seriously promoted as an alternative to the Electoral College. In part, protection of states’ rights was a factor in that decision. The ex- cesses of the French Revolution were also noted, wherein their Democracy was created without adequate consti- tutional constraints. The resulting un- restrained Democracy rapidly degen- erated into dictatorship. I believe that our Constitutional Republic functions best when there is a strong minority party to monitor and criticize the majority party when needed, in order to prevent abuse of power. The Electoral College makes mi- nority opinion relevant, whereas the popular vote for president leaves that decision to to a half-dozen heavily populated states. Unrestrained Democracy is best demonstrated when two wolves and lamb sit down and vote on what to have for lunch. — Keith R. Kraft Florence Experience matters on Lane Education Service District I had the pleasure of meeting Mark Boren at a casual gathering in Flor- ence. He is running for the Lane Ed- ucation Service District. He talked about his current and past experience at ESD and as the Chairman of the Fern Ridge School District Board. There is also lots of volunteer work he has done for the schools — coach- ing and teaching — as well as volun- teer firefighter work. He is running against Nora Kent, who lists Prior Governmental Experi- ence as “none.” Mark and his wife grew up in Or- egon. They live in Veneta and raised five children that all went through the Fern Ridge School district. The Lane ESD postion covers the Siuslaw School District and others in northwest Lane County. In his current ESD liason role he visits Florence and other zone 4 cit- ies. Please take a moment to read his candidate statement in the supple- ment that you will receive with your ballot. As a contrast to his opponent, you will see his prior governmental experience: Fern Ridge School District Board-2018-2019 Board Chair; Lane Education Service District Compo- nent District Board Liaison; Oregon School Activities Association-Sports Medicine Advisory Committee; Lane Community College EMT Advisory Committee; Fern Ridge School Dis- trict Budget Committee; Region 5 Training Association–Secretary; Ore- gon Fire Instructors Association–Sec- retary. By the way, Mark was just voted Man of the Year by the Fernridge Chamber of Commerce and Kiwanis Club. —Sherry Harvey Florence Make Public Art decisions part of public One aspect of the Public Art Com- mittee meeting on Monday, April 22, was not covered in the Siuslaw News article published May 24 (“Public Art Committee Moves Past Mural Contro- versy”). Without exception, every person who spoke to the PAC noted a need to allow the citizens of Florence to see submissions for various future art projects. Had we been given an oppor- tunity for this on the mural project, things may not have been so contro- versial. The Siuslaw News, local library, city hall and Florence Events Center are all places that could have posters of proj- ects with comment sheets. Lets really make the Public Art Committee a part of the public. — Bruce Jarvis Florence So far, Revision Project is proving to be nightmare The ReVision project going on in Florence is a good idea except for a few issues. The main issue is coordi- nation. I would think that the project coordinator involved would check with business owners affected by the project, maybe one a week or so, to see if they have any issues or concerns. The parking lot between Fifth and Sixth streets on the West side of 101 has been taped off since March 11. The only parking is behind the build- ing and a few spots on Sixth, which are quickly taken by the construction workers. Customers who drive by see the yel- low “crime scene” tape and keep on going — and the heavy equipment that is usually parked out front doesn’t help the situation. The Blue Dolphin has been landlocked with no business ac- cess since March 11. Business has been down over 60 percent. Meanwhile, other businesses in the construction zone have had vehicle access. The project coordinator said that the area mentioned above is a prior- ity. Really? She dropped off flyers on March 22 and, after a month went by, I contacted her on April 23. She came by that late afternoon af- ter the store closed and left some “sur- vival flyers”. We read the three “sur- vival flyers” several times but business hasn’t improved one bit. The only thing keeping us from opening is as- phalt to fill in the vacant spots. Concrete should be cured by now. I understand that this project is a large undertaking and that there will be is- sues. However, if this area that I men- tioned is a priority, why don’t we have business access yet? —Marty Perseo Florence Yachats Connector Bus is great service The coast between Florence and Yachats is full of stunning views and “wow” moments. One could say that some of the best “public art” in the world is on display here. You don’t have to drive the curves of Highway 101 to get there — just go for a ride on the Florence-Yachats Con- nector Bus. This very affordable pub- lic transportation service will give you a comfortable viewing experience of a breathtaking part of the Oregon coast. The Connector Bus departs from Grocery Outlet four times a day Mon- day through Friday. The destination in Yachats is the Little Log Church, with a stop at Washburne State Park. The fare is $2.50 one way; bring exact change. This is state-funded tri- al service. To learn more about this service to our communities along the coast, contact 541 902-2067 or see www.ltd.org/florence-yachats-con- nector. —Karin Radtke Yachats Letters to the Editor policy 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 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
