4A |
SATURDAY EDITION
| JUNE 8, 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
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Publisher, ext. 318
Editor, ext. 313
Marketing Director, ext. 326
Office Supervisor, ext. 312
Production Supervisor
Press Manager
DEADLINES:
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tion; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Display classified
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Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m.
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Letters to the Editor policy
LETTERS
If you live outside city
limits, you’re on your own
Early Wednesday as I was leaving
home, I saw a man with a bicycle
and a small yellow trailer at High-
way 101 and Grand Avenue (south
of the bridge) with paper strewn
everywhere. When I circled back
he was gone but I picked up a large
pile of opened mail and a package.
I took it to the Florence Police
Department and was told to call
the Lane County Sheriff ’s Office
because I found the mail outside of
the city limits — even though a lot
of the mail had Florence addresses.
I wasn’t given an opportunity to
give a statement, description or talk
to a police officer. It was suggested
I take it to the post office, which I
did.
It’s not the first time I encoun-
tered this problem; even though
your address is Florence, you work
there, own a business there, shop
and donate and support Florence
events, have kids and grandkids
who go to school there, you can’t
get help from local police if you live
outside the city limits.
If you do, better keep your eyes
open and learn to protect yourself
because city police can’t.
—Larry Bouchet
Florence
Show grocery store cart
returners some respect
I have witnessed a troubling sit-
uation several times in the park-
ing lot of local grocery stores. It
concerns young men and women
who retrieve shopping carts for the
store. These young people are out
there on a daily basis in the heat,
cold, rain and even snow, running
after carts and trying to secure
them before they hit a vehicle. This
is especially true at Fred Meyer.
Most of the time, they are run-
ning after carts left by people too
lazy to return them to the corrals
available throughout the parking
lot. I have also seen shoppers lunge
carts towards workers when they
aren’t looking, and also watched
drivers speed through the lot and
nearly hit workers.
I even saw one man flick a cig-
arette out his truck window at a
worker.
They deserve as much respect
as any other employee. I talk with
them quite often and they are
well-mannered and polite.
In order to keep them, as well as
other shoppers, safeer, speed signs
and/or some speed bumps should
be installed to slow traffic.
If you haven’t done their job or
walked in their shoes, don’t judge
them — treat them as if they were
your own children out there.
—SueEllen Smith
Florence
Scotch Broom rules should be enforced equally
(Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub-
missions on this and other topics are
always welcome as part of our goal to
encourage community discussion and
exchange of perspectives.)
On May 22, the Siuslaw News
published a press release regarding
the Florence City Code that prohib-
its property owners from planting
and growing invasive species such
as Scotch Broom. Since the Scotch
Broom was introduced here in Flor-
ence, it has spread up Highway 101
to Astoria and Highway 126 all the
way to Eugene.
Scotch Broom is identifiable by
the bright yellow flowers this time
of year. While not seen so much
on residential properties, they are
growing in huge quantities on gov-
ernment-controlled and corporate
Guest Viewpoint
By Eugene Olson
Florence resident
properties in and around Florence.
The largest groves of Scotch
Broom can readily be seen on the
vacant properties surrounding
Spruce Point on Ninth Street, on the
golf course and port properties on
Kingwood; at the entrance to Waste
Management; the Humane Society
property on Rhododendron Drive;
the property across the street from
the Florence Events Center; the Port
of Siuslaw in Old Town; and under
the water tower on 35th street.
It seems those peoperties ignore
city code, allowing Scotch Broom to
expand undeterred.
I would like to request the City of
Florence require its own local gov-
ernment and commercial property
owners to abide by the same rules as
the rest of us and rid their properties
of Scotch Broom.
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