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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2019)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | MAY 29, 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 Recognizing teachers at graduation is fi tting tribute to seniors, school district Admittedly, I had a bit of a crush on my high school College Prep English teach- er, Mrs. Fillers, who was young, inventive and ex- tremely encouraging to the only freshman in her class of 25 juniors and seniors. The first semester was a breeze as she allowed us to explore creative writing with few boundaries Each week, along with our read- ing assignments, we were given a new list of 20 vo- cabulary words — usually with a theme — that we were required to use in a story. Most of my classmates crammed as many of those words into a single sentence as they could (The decrepit, cantankerous, ill-tempered man raised his wrinkled, weathered, sallow fist in a show of furious and frus- trated rage over losing his car keys...”) I, on the other hand, fleshed out 15 to 20 pages of handwritten storyline, usually with the last five to six pages devoid of vocabu- lary words. I got good grades but, as you can probably imagine, was rarely asked to read my stories in class due to the time constraints of a 45-minute period. Throughout that semes- ter, I noticed strange red marks on my pages with comments like “incomplete sentence,” “check spelling,” “punctuation needs work.” As a result, I’d get “A+” for content and creativity but “D” for mechanics. My thinking was, Who cares about mechanics when the story is so great? Mrs. Fillers did. As we headed into the had never received before. Well, not for English. At that point, I had learned our family was moving to Florence and I’d be attending a new school whose name I couldn’t yet From the Editor's Desk Ned Hickson second semester, she took me aside and told me that raw talent wasn’t enough, and that I needed to learn the tools of writing if I wanted to get serious. She described my writ- ing as something similar to chainsaw sculpture: Cre- ative and interesting, but it would never be Michaelen- gelo unless I learned the tools needed to smooth the edges into something seamless. I listened carefully to her advice and then, like any teenager, disregarded ev- erything except that part about having “raw talent.” Surely that was enough. However, in the weeks ahead I realized it wasn’t nearly enough in the eyes of Mrs. Fillers. I began to fail miserably on my assignments, which had shifted from creativity to the analysis of writing pros and recognizing the me- chanics and devices used by writers like Shakespeare, Hawthorne, Hemingway, Emerson... ...Blah, blah, blah. When the final grades were given, I went from having a crush on my teacher to being crushed by her and the “F” on my report card — something I tential. Mr. Danielson taught me about essay format and the need to have a logical be- ginning, middle and end — and that energy and en- thusiasm are wasted if they aren’t given a direction that readers can follow. He remains one of my fa- vorite and most influential teachers. But I also know, if not for Mrs. Fillers’ will- ingness to teach me an even more important lesson about writing, I may not have recognized what Mr. Danielson had to offer me. A few weeks ago, students at Siuslaw High School pe- titioned to have teachers hand them their diplomas rather than school board members, breaking with a long-standing tradition. I applaud the students for taking that initiative, and also the board and ad- ministration for recogniz- ing the students’ desire to share that moment with the teachers who helped guide them to this point in their lives. And, in the case of one newspaper editor, contin- ues to guide them long af- ter. It’s a fitting tribute in recognizing the educators in our community whose influence in our lives goes well beyond our time in the classroom. And Mrs. Fillers, if you somehow ever read this... Thank you for the “F” that changed everything. pronounce. With that in mind, I went to Mrs. Fillers and told her how unfair I felt my grade was, and that I’m sure my new school and its teachers would be better. To this day, I still get knots in my stomach when I think about what I said, and how visibly upset she was by my hurtful words. My sophomore year at Siuslaw, I was enrolled in College Prep English once again. For our first assign- ment, Mr. Danielson asked us to write an essay titled “At My House.” We were given no fur- ther instruction other than it being due the following day. When I turned in my five-page essay, I felt I was off to a good start with a teacher who would surely overlook the petty details of mechanics and grammar in favor of creativity. When he handed back our assignments, he had written the following com- ment: “A+ for enthusiasm/ D+ for mechanics. What are you trying to say with your essay?” It seemed there was no escaping what I eventual- Write Siuslaw News editor ly came to realize were the demands of engaged teach- Ned Hickson at nhickson@the ers unwilling to bend at the siuslawnews.com or P.O. Box expense of a student’s po- 10, Florence, Ore. 97439. LETTERS Remembering our history and those who made it On a somewhat overcast day at Veterans Park, the Memorial day re- membrance of our fallen dead was surely solemn and somber, honor- ing the sacred fallen heroes who gave the “last full measure” of devo- tion to their country. It would be fitting and proper to extend the short program with words of consolation denoting not only where we derive our freedoms and liberty but who and what it all means. Names such as Washing- ton, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Lincoln and Adams should be as resplendent as the wonderful Coast Guard ceremonies. If we remember not who and why we have the glorious freedoms put together over the many millenia, our children’s children will grow up despising the very freedoms our forefathers preserved and wrought. Each generation has a responsi- bility to light freedom’s vanguard for all to see, especially the present and future generations who so des- perately need to know. We need more words of Washing- ton, Jefferson and Lincoln so that we may preserve the “last best hope of man on Earth” for future heroes. God bless America. —Joel Marks Florence holidays’ meaning is lost This past Friday I was watch- ing a morning show when one of the commentators said Memorial Day Weekend is when families and friends get together for cook-outs to celebrate “False Summer.”’ I was appalled in that the true meaning of Memorial Day was not addresses. I then realized that most of our younger population has a mindset of what holidays are. Christmas is a time for a decorated tree and presents; Easter is decorat- ed eggs and chocolate bunnies; July Fourth is fireworks, hotdogs and beer. Most do not seem able to under- stand the true meaning of holidays and why we recognize them. —Win Jolley 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. 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
