4A |
WEDNESDAY EDITION
| JUNE 5, 2019
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
| 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
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ongress shall make no law respect-
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ment for a redress of grievances.
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Copyright 2019 © Siuslaw News
Siuslaw News
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Letters to the Editor policy
For more than 50 years, Oregon beaches have
been ours — thanks to bipartisanship
seeking permission or years later and discovered
being obstructed by “no there were no private-
trespassing” signs, is al- ly-owned beaches any-
most as good.
where along the coast, I
As I’ve mentioned knew it was something
before (usually in a special.
quiet whisper), I spent
Though McCall is cred-
I have to admit that
my early years growing ited with signing the of-
people are always im- up in California before ficial legislation in 1967,
pressed when I tell them moving here as a teenag- the notion of keeping our
I’m part-owner of ap-
proximately 363 miles of
oceanfront property in
From the Editor’s Desk
Oregon which stretches
Ned Hickson
from the Columbia River
to the California border.
Naturally, they question er in 1980. As a kid, I was beaches free from privat-
my claim once they see keenly aware that certain ization began as far back
the 2001 Honda I drive.
areas of beach were re- as 1913, when then-gov-
And as you might stricted because they were ernor Oswald West and
imagine, they are less privately owned. Fences, the Oregon legislature es-
impressed once I explain property markers and tablished the state’s ocean
how I own this property signs warning of potential beaches as a public high-
with more than 4 million prosecution for violators way. The crafty move kept
other Oregonians, all of served as reminders that developers at bay for more
whom have unlimited and a line of privilege could be than 50 years as Orego-
equal access to the same drawn in the sand.
nians took ownership of
beachfront timeshare —
During one sunny af- — and no small amount
which we all received as ternoon as an 8-year-old of pride in — enjoying
an inheritance from past on Manhattan Beach, my their beautiful coastline.
Oregon Governor Tom carefree play in the surf
It wasn’t until 1966 that
McCall.
unknowingly carried me the highway designation
The truth is, even those over one of those lines was challenged by Wil-
who don’t live in Oregon and deposited me on liam Hay, owner of the
received the same “inher- someone’s private beach. Surfsand Motel in Can-
itance” when it comes to
From the deck of their non Beach, Ore., who
the Oregon coast, which three-story beach home I placed large driftwood
remains public domain could hear someone yell- logs to block off a section
“from the first dune to the ing obscenities at me, or- of the dry sand in front of
sea” along the entire 363- dering me to “get my _ss his property.
mile or so expanse thanks off their beach before I got
In addition, he set up
to the Oregon “Beach shot.”
tables with umbrellas and
Bill.”
Though I shrugged marked the area with pri-
The bill, officially it off with the help of vate property signs.
signed by McCall as HB friends, the notion that
That’s when it was dis-
1600 and 1601 in 1967, someone would threaten covered that the highway
celebrates its 52nd an- to shoot me for drifting designation established
niversary this July. And across an arbitrary line on by West wasn’t specific
while I may not be an a shore fed by the same enough and could be in-
actual oceanfront land surf shared by everyone terpreted as only includ-
baron, the fact that I or seemed wrong, even to an ing the “wet-sand” por-
anyone can walk onto any 8-year-old.
tion of the state’s beaches
beach along the Oregon
When our family ar- as a public highway. At
coast, at any time, without rived in Oregon several the time, according to the
Oregon Parks and Recre-
ation Advisory Commit-
tee, that meant that 112
of the 362 miles of beach
property could be consid-
ered privately owned.
In response, the State
Highway Commission,
along with McCall and
the Oregon legislature,
introduced HB 1600 and
HB 1601, which Associ-
ated Press reporter Matt
Kramer thrust into the
public commentary with
stories about Oregon’s
“Beach Bill.”
Kramer’s articles ap-
peared in newspapers
throughout
Oregon,
prompting
beachgoers
around the state to get in-
volved, raising awareness
and turning up the po-
litical heat in the legisla-
ture — where Republican
and Democratic leaders
joined McCall in negoti-
ating the bill.
As a result, the bill
passed the Oregon Legis-
lature in June 1967, and
McCall signed the Oregon
Beach Bill a month later
on July 6 — assuring that
no lines would ever be
drawn again in the sand
along Oregon’s beaches.
I hope you’ll take time
to these beaches them
during the months and
years ahead.
Because thanks to West,
McCall,
bipartisanship
and the Oregonians who
came before us, it’s more
than an opportunity to
enjoy our coast’s natural
beauty; it’s your right.
Write Siuslaw News editor
Ned Hickson at nhickson@the
siuslawnews.com or P.O. Box
10, Florence, Ore. 97439
LETTER
Thanks from veterans
to citizens, businesses
Thanks to the generous citizens
and businesses of the Florence area
during the recent veterans’ fund-
raisers held at Fred Meyer, Bi-Mart
and Safeway.
Without the continued support
from the citizens and local busi-
nesses, our fundraisers could not
continue.
Thanks also to veterans groups
from the American Legion Post 59
and Auxillary, VFW Post 3232 and
DAV Chapter 23.
—Dennis Hamilton,
Commander AL
Tom Benedict,
Commander VFW
Jerry Hernandez,
Commander DAV
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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