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)
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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
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Ned Hickson
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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.
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As with all letters and advertising content, the
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er, general manager and editor, reserves the right
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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