4A |
WEDNESDAY EDITION
| JULY 3, 2019
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
| 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
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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)
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Copyright 2019 © Siuslaw News
Siuslaw News
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No room for bullies in our local government
(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.)
with approximately 1/3 of the vote.
Not long after his ascension to
Mayor, I watched and listened as
he began to make comments that I
consider to be uncalled for and vio-
Every now and then, human be-
ings do something that, later, caus-
es terrible embarrassment. That is
the situation in which I find myself.
It became obvious to me, in 2012,
that “new blood” was desperately
needed on Florence City Council.
Yet, due to the council’s brutal rep-
utation, no one would step forward.
After months of searching, asking,
pleading for possible candidates, the
name of someone I had never met,
nor heard of, came to my attention
— that of Joe Henry.
It took many telephone conver-
sations before Joe agreed to file and
run as a Write-In candidate for City
Council, and he won. Then, in 2014,
Joe and two others ran for Mayor of
Floence. The other candidates split
the vote and Henry became Mayor
Guest Viewpoint
By Lea Patten
Concerned area resident
lations of the Oath of Office.
I tolerate a lot, but I cannot — will
not — tolerate what I see as clear
ethics violations. Had I been a res-
ident of the city, I would have filed
several ethics complaints against
Mayor Joe Henry.
Now, proof of those unethical be-
haviors have literally become “front
page” news [“Councilor Conflict
Dominates Discussion,” June 29 edi-
tion of the Siuslaw News].
It is my hope that City residents
will step forward and file with the
State those ethics complaints against
the Mayor. It, also, is my hope that
both Councilor Greene and Mr.
Harlen Springer will ‘consider the
source’ of the unethical comments
made against them and recall the
words of Lord Acton: “All power
tends to corrupt; absolute power
corrupts absolutely.”
Finally, I urge Councilor Greene
to remain on the Council and to
give serious consideration to run-
ning for Mayor; Mr. Springer, I
hope, will hang in there.
Each one should know that his
talents, experience and efforts are
greatly appreciated; each is doing
great work.
There is no room for bullies in
City government — and Joe Hen-
ry’s behaviors have gone beyond the
pale. He should resign.
In the meantime, my face is red
from embarrassment that I urged
him to run for Council in the first
place.
LETTERS
Proud of progressive
local art, mural
After being out of town for an
extended trip, I was astounded to
see a bold and colorful mural come
into sight as I approached Highway
101 from Highway 126.
What a stunner! It makes me
proud to see that my adopted com-
munity is a progressive, forward
thinking town that supports the
arts and stylized art at that.
—Cris Reep
Florence
City must have
unlimited funds
I hope at the end of this sup-
posed beautification project it will
look completely different than it
does in its initial stage; so far, it
looks as if they are planting weeds
and ugly flowers.
The curbs extend too far out into
the side streets off Highway 101
and I imagine there will be several
accidents from turning off High-
way 101 because of it.
Also, regarding the mural, I am
sure the city has prepared itself
for the probability that it will be
tagged. I guess the city will have
additional money to pay artists to
repair.
The City of Florence must have
unlimited funds.
— Michael O’Connor
Florence
Never expected so much
generosity, support
When I was small, my mother
made sure I wrote a thank you let-
ter for every gift I received, no mat-
ter its form, function or cost.
I just completed my fi ft h year of
teaching at Siuslaw Elementary and
I need to thank, essentially, the en-
tire city of Florence.
First, last summer the VFW do-
nated a set of durable crayon and
colored pencil holders to my class.
Th ey were a simple, elegant solu-
tion for a problem I’ve had every
year! Th is group of citizens regu-
larly donates to our schools — their
time, money and care make a world
of diff erence, so thank you!
Second, I applied for and re-
ceived money from the Western
Lane Community Foundation to
purchase 10 new sets of books for
our third-, fourth- and fi ft h-grade
classrooms to enrich our reading
program. Before attending a lun-
cheon for recipients, I had no idea
how much good this group does
for our community — Th ank you,
WLCF, for your generosity this
year and for all the years you have
helped our schools and teachers.
Lastly, I have a special person to
thank but I do not know her name.
I was in the store buying supplies
for my “end of year” party and
spending out of my own pocket
to buy 35 beach balls, foam foot-
balls and glow sticks. It must have
looked strange because the lady be-
hind me asked what it was all for.
I hesitated, but someone else said,
“It’s the end of the school year, I bet
it’s for a class party,” and I affi rmed
that it was for my class.
Without hesitating, this strang-
er handed me a $20 bill and said
“Th ank you for all that you do. I
hope this helps you to do more.”
I never expected to be helped in
such a kind and generous way, so
spontaneously. Th is person rep-
resents all of the individual parents
and adults, retirees and working
people in this city whom strive to
make the lives of our young ones so
much more.
Th e actions of these groups and
that individual describe the heart
of this town; we take care of each
other and we see value in helping
when and where we can.
I hope I can show you my grat-
itude by doing what I can to make
our students’ experience “that
much more.”
—Sarah Barnard (a.k.a. Miss B.)
Florence
distressed by discourse
I’m glad I kept my opinion to
myself when I fi rst saw pictures
of what the mural on the Central
Lincoln building was going to look
like. I was not a big fan but, like the
vast majority of our community,
did not attend the public oppor-
tunities provided for discussion
before the project was approved by
the Public Arts Committee.
Had I been one to publicly say
what I thought at the time, I would
gladly have been eating my words
now.
Living close to Highway 126, I
see the progress on the mural al-
most daily. It is a vibrant, storytell-
ing work that I greet with a smile
with each completed new section.
Kudos to the PAC for having the
vision to approve such a delightful
mural for all to see as they enter
Florence from the east. And thanks
to the many volunteers who are still
busy fi nishing the painting; I wish I
had done my part.
I must say that it is distressing to
read in the Siuslaw News [“Council-
or Conflict Dominates Discussion,”
June 29] that Mayor Joe Henry has
chosen to attack both Councilor
Joshua Greene and PAC Chairman
Harlan Springer, two men who
work tirelessly to improve the ap-
pearance of the city through public
art.
Politics has reared its head in the
ugliest manner over this issue, and
what a shame that is.
How much better to look around
Florence and see the good work
that the PAC has accomplished un-
der the leadership of Greene and
Springer.
—Judith Preisler
Florence
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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