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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 10, 2019)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | JULY 10, 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 Publishers 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 Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Multimedia Sales Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Dis- play classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to pub- lication; 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 subscription, $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 LETTERS Still the best town, even when we don’t agree What a great week in Florence Regarding Michael O’Connor letter (“City Must Have Unlimited Funds,” July 3), as I was leaving town I saw all the weeds in the planters along the highway and when I came back they were gone. So, I called the City of Florence and was told that these plants just came up in the soil — they pulled them before they went to seed. Anyone who has questions about what is going on with this or other City project should just call the City. However, the part of Mr. O’Con- nor’s letter that really bothered me was about the mural. Admittedly, I did not like it when I saw the pictures in the newspaper. Then I saw the mural in prog- ress; beautiful with bright colors — what a statement. Why would anyone encourage people to tag the mural? That is a crime. What if a neighbor did not like the color you painted your home? Would it be ok if they tagged your home? It is a painting — Leave it alone and please be nice to the people doing the mural. They are doing a job that they were hired to do. I have lived in Florence 43 years and there have been all kinds of changes, some I liked and some not so much. With that said, this is still the best town to live in, with the best people — even if we do not always agree. —Mary Grigsby Native Oregonian Dunes City Lots of good things happened in Florence over the last week. A really great park along the Siuslaw River was opened, com- plete with picnic tables. I recom- mend the new park highly. It’s good for dogs, too. We had a great day in Old Town on July Fourth with many visitors and residents taking part in Hula- hooping, pie-eating and water- melon-eating contests. (Although old folks had some trouble finding places to sit, and this is supposed to be a retirement community.) Then, this past weekend, we had the Wings and Wheels Show. The WWII planes were the biggest hit, with a lineup for the $300 tickets. They were amazing and exciting when they buzzed the airfield. Ev- eryone stopped to watch and took photos. We loved the car show as well. Next, we toured the Military Museum. I recommend that ev- eryone should make an effort to see the many exhibits. There are tons of interesting and historical stuff and the staff is so helpful, with lots of things to buy. All the events were well orga- nized and fun to be a part of. Our only wish is that the Port would use some of its budget that comes from the taxpayers to put some of its 125 picnic tables on the board- walk so we can also enjoy the river as much as the RVers do. Otherwise, we had a great time in Florence this past week. —Gene Olson Florence Sad state of affairs Where are the specifics regarding accusations? Th is Fourth of July, I sat on the front porch, contemplating how radically things have changed in regard to our national perspec- tives. Watching the fl ag fl utter in the aft ernoon breeze, it brought to mind the Pledge of Allegiance and these words: “…one nation, indi- visible.” Really? As far as I can tell, that dream is over, extinguished by the now un- recoverable polarization in a soci- ety where there is no respect for any idea — or for anyone express- ing any idea — that runs contrary to one’s own bias. To be disagreed with is considered an insult; real taunts and insults have become the standard tools of the political trade; and reasonable compromise is considered surrender. Such is the sad state of aff airs at the national level — and now, re- portedly, right here in Florence. —Jimmie Zinn Florence Lea Patten’s July 3 Guest View- point (“No Room For Bullies In Our Local Government”) was in- teresting but not very profound. She went on at length to charge Mayor Henry with “ethics viola- tions,” violations of his “Oath of Offi ce” and suggests the mayor is guilty of bullying. Yet Ms. Patten off ers no exam- ples, nor any specifi cs, of Mayor Henry’s transgressions — but calls for him to resign. Cautioning Ms. Patten on the slander laws in our country, I await to hear her specifi c examples of Mayor Henry’s misdeeds. —Ron Duzy Florence Notion that art is not governmental is unconstitutional When some of us testifi ed be- fore the Florence City Council concerning the mural project, the municipal atmosphere was rigged for adoption. It was strongly posited by some that art is not a governmental function. Th e unconstitutional notion that it is was theorized by none other than Lyndon Johnson, resulting in the Ungreat Society during the 1960s and, ever since, has dominated the cultural think- ing throughout the country. Localities such as Florence have accepted this false idea of governmental responsibility for art and, as a result, deep division and contention has erupted in our community due to personal pref- erences. Witness the recent newspaper opinions and letters submitted by Del Phelps, Tony Cavarno, Win Jolley, Bruce Jarvis, Judith Priesler and Lea Patten. Our strong Mayor Henry took an honorable stand in his “no” vote, truly representing the local populace. However, tepid groups such as our local Chamber of Commerce, not wanting to enter the fray in- stead of leading and helping the citizenry, took no strong stand, apparently afraid of the public scrutiny. Education and fortitude are al- ways necessary. By the way, wouldn’t it have been a teaching moment in Florence to have had a speaker expressing gratitude for Th omas Jeff erson and the enobling Declaration of Independence before the recent July Fourth fi reworks display? Because this has been the case nationally as well over the years, the Charlottesville City Council in Virginia recently voted to stop celebrating Th omas Jeff erson’s birthday. Stricken from history! Yes, without each generation being educated on America, we will strike the author of the Dec- laration from our collective minds and paint over them with murals. —Joel Marks Florence (Editor’s note: According to a report by the Associated Press submitted July 2, the Charlot- tesville City Council voted to no longer celebrate Th omas Jeff er- son’s birthday on April 13 as an offi cial city holiday and instead will observe a day recognizing the emancipation of enslaved Afri- can-Americans during Liberation and Freedom Day on March 3, the day U.S. Army forces arrived in the city of Charlottesville in 1865. Charlottesville was the site of a white nationalist rally in 2017 that descended into deadly violence.) 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
