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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2019)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | JULY 13, 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 Duty is not to preserve party but peace, freedom “Neither the fanatics nor the faint-hearted are needed, And our duty as a party is not to our Party alone, but to the nation, and, in- deed, to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of po- litical power but the preservation of peace and freedom. “So let us not be petty when our cause is so great, Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Na- tion’s future is at stake.” — President John F Kennedy. —Edward Gunderson Florence Silent no more For years, I took pride in calling myself a part of the “silent major- ity.” I did not stand on the street corners with signs, did not speak up when confronted with radical socialistic statements, did not take the time to get the facts — I just sucked up the biased reporting be- ing fed to us and did not speak out against radical left efforts to take away our freedoms. When I was a kid we started each school day standing and saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. We all stood and saluted when the flag passed in a parade. However, the last 20 years have seen the strip- ping away of honor and reverence for our American freedoms. We now have at least two generations of young people who have not real- ly been taught to be proud of what America and the U.S. Constitution stand for, nor have they really been taught the price this country and its people have paid for these free- doms. In the words of Thomas Jeffer- son, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good con- science to remain silent.” We must let our fellow citizens know they are not alone in their concern for the direction our coun- try is going. It is time to be heard not just in word but in deed as well. Display the American flag at your home or business and on your car; contact your elected officials and make your concerns known; wear an American flag patch on your jacket; take time to get the facts on issues that concern you and contact your representatives. If you are thinking this is a bit much just remember: Freedom isn’t free. The most simple thing can have a large impact. To that end, I have been taking small rocks and painting an American flag on them with the words “Freedom Isn’t Free.” When I see a veteran and thank them for their service, I hand them a rock. In addition, I leave them where ever I go. It’s a simple thing but the response and feedback has been excellent. I have chosen to be silent no more and I hope others will find a way to join me. With deepest respect for all our rights under the U.S. Constutution, —Bruce Jarvis Florence Murals will always be ‘ghetto art’ I realize far too much has been written about the murals currently being done in a prominent loca- tion in town. With that said, I must weigh in on the subject. I am sure the selected artist is of high exper- tise as I also expect of high moral character. Florence is a beautiful Oregon beach town. I completely approve of the direction the current city government has taken us. Under the direction of Mayor Joe Henry, the future appears to be bright. As for the mural, I am not sure how it made it through the public input process and especially if the “artist’s concept” was included. From my point of view, murals have always been — and will always be — “ghetto art.” They originated in inner cities, on the sides of free- ways and in some of the most un- fortunate and lower-class portions of our country. Why our lovely beach town would want to emulate an in- ner-city ghetto is beyond my imag- ination. If somebody knows how to set up a “Go Fund Me” site, I would like to be the very first donor to contribute the first donation of $50 to hire a contractor to re-side and re paint said buildings ASAP to save us from further embarrassment. —Robert Russell Florence Great trip on new Florence-Yachats bus service I saw the advertisement for the new bus service to Yachats. My friend and I went over to the bus stand at Grocery Outlet to catch it. It leaves at 11 a.m. and comes back at 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, and costs $2.50 each way ($5 round trip). The bus is nice, clean and has room for bicycle and wheelchair transport. The bus parks at the Log Church and you can walk any place in town from there. We had lunch at Ono and stopped in every gift shop. There’s also a nice mar- ket there. You don’t have to worry about parking, and the bus driver, Al, was very nice. It was a great trip over and back and one I’d encourage others to take. — Bea Maury Florence 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
