The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current, June 19, 2019, WEDNESDAY EDITION, Page 4, Image 4

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    4A |
WEDNESDAY EDITION
| JUNE 19, 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:
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Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Display classified ads,
Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m.
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Letters to the Editor policy
Senator Roblan gives mixed message on environment
(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.)
T
here are two catastrophic
threats to our environ-
ment, one from plastics and
the other from a manmade
climate crisis. Both of these
threats have been addressed
in the Oregon State Legisla-
ture.
How has our state Senator
Arnie Roblan addressed these
threats?
First, I’d like to thank Sena-
tor Roblan for his vote to ban
plastic bags. This is a much
needed action as Oregon joins
other states.
But I was dismayed and very
disappointed when Senator
Roblan joined with Republi-
cans to defeat a statewide ban
on Styrofoam. We in Florence
worked very hard to get the
city to ban polystyrenes and
eventually were successful, al-
though only for a limited type
of packaging. Our hopes were
that a statewide ban would fill
in where our City failed in its
coverage.
Guest Viewpoint
By Michael Allen
Florence
I have picked up trash sever-
al times a year along Highway
126 and on our beaches. In
addition to plastic bags I found
lots of Styrofoam packaging,
all of which would have found
its way to our river and ocean.
Senator Roblan explained
that his “no” vote “was in re-
sponse to the concerns of rural
communities and schools,
specifically on the unintend-
ed impact this would have on
their disposal programs.”
Unfortunately, he did not
consider the overriding need
to maintain a safe environment
for all Oregon residents.
There may be a second
time Senator Roblan deserts
his Democratic colleagues
and constituents. It has been
widely reported that Senator
Roblan is uncertain about
his support of the “cap and
invest” bill, HB 2020, which
addresses the climate crisis.
HB 2020 passed the House
30-24, despite Representative
Caddy McKeown’s “no” vote.
The vote will be a much closer
in the Senate making Sena-
tor Roblan’s vote all the more
important.
It is my hope that Senator
Roblan will do what’s right to
protect us from the harmful
effects of Styrofoam and the
existential threat of climate
change.
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