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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 2019)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | JULY 27, 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 Political debate vs climate change science A few weeks ago, Frank Williams wrote a Letter to the Editor (“Re- port Concludes Climate Change Not Human-Caused,” July 17) about a report titled “No Experi- mental Evidence for the Significant Anthropogenic Climate Change,” which claimed that global tem- peratures are controlled primarily by cloud cover — and that only a small part of the increased carbon dioxide is controlled by man. Just because one research proj- ect came up with this conclusion doesn’t make it true. According to the National Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Administration (NOAA), natural causes can not be held responsible for global warming. Virtually every credible source of scientific research from around the world indicates that human causes — primarily the burning of fossil fuels — are responsible for global warming. In fact, over 197 international or- ganizations agree on this point. More than that, according to Josef Werne, a professor of geolo- gy and environmental science at the University of Pittsburgh, hu- man-caused climate change is not a scientific debate — it is a political/ economic debate. So yes, this is one of our most burning issues that we must tackle. And if you want your kids, grandkids and great-grandkids to have a planet to live on, we must make drastic changes and spend whatever it will take to reduce the burning of fossil fuels ... which is entirely caused by man. —Liat Meller Florence Give citizens more of a voice with public art Given the level of negative com- munity response to the mural project and the Public Arts Com- mittee’s handling of the project, it would seem better public input is needed. To this end, let’s make it easier for Florence citizens to be aware of — and respond to — future proj- ects being considered. Establish in- formation points and survey sheets at many of the public locations around town, i.e., the post office, li- brary, Florence Events Center, City Hall, Chamber of Commerce, Lane Community College, and all of the schools. Also, publish more infor- mation in the Siuslaw News. Much of the work of collecting this data could be handled by vol- unteers at very little cost to the city. —Bruce Jarvis Florence Lack of civic leadership is an embarrassment We all see through different eyes. We are all going to have differing opinions as to what is “good” or “bad” when it comes to art. I am neither overly pleased nor displeased by the mural on Quince Street. What I am pleased by is the use of art — any art — in highly visible public spaces. Art, by its nature, should invite and encourage discussion; this is a positive thing and I’m all for more art. Let it be varied; let it be diverse. But let it be. In the end, it’s only art. The behavior by our civic leaders on this issue has been an embar- rassment. I’m almost certain there are more important issues de- manding the level of scrutiny being imposed here. —Randy Curtola Florence The point of art is to generate discussion Perhaps Mayor Joe Henry “doesn’t buy, in his heart” that pub- lic art can be an economic boon to our community, but future deci- sions should be based on data and research — not our mayor’s inter- nal organs. Here’s a suggestion: Enter the phrase “economics of public art” in your favorite internet search en- gine. You don’t need to read the 368 million hits that Google generates, but a sampling of the first few pages should give you a pretty clear pic- ture. All of us, sometimes, extrapo- late our personal likes to equal the community good; e.g., “I like those painted seals, so they’re good for Florence. I dislike that mural, so it’s bad for Florence.” This is both silly and egocentric. Every work of art will promote discussion; that’s the point. That discussion, in turn, points to a vi- brancy that Florence can benefit from, economically as well as so- cially. —Bruce Hadley Florence Need to know number of citizens, not population Opinion: Within U.S., the num- ber of State House of Representa- tives districts and the number of electoral votes assigned to states should be based upon citizenship, not population. Reason: In order to form a “more perfect union,” our founding fa- thers crafted a compromise for representation of the people within our new democracy for the execu- tive branch, which ultimately led to a Civil War with a huge loss of life. About 625,000 men died in the Civil War. That’s more Americans than died in both World Wars, Ko- rea and Vietnam combined. This amounted to 2 percent of the pop- ulation at the time, which would be the equivalent of about 6 million Americans dying today. In order to form a “more per- fect union,” Congress passed am- mendments 13 (abolishment of slavery), 14 (citizenship) and 15 (voter rights). In 1920, the 19th ammendment was ratified giving women the right to vote. Finally, in 1924, Congress passed the Indian Citizenship act. Will we, the people of the U.S., learn from our past? Hasn’t the loss and suffering over the last 150 years been enough? I’ve heard it said, “History does not necessarily repeat. However, it often does rhyme.” Summary: The union needs to be perfected, and the number of elec- toral votes and number of house districts assigned to states should be based upon citizenship, not pop- ulation. Our country needs an accurate census to inform the citizens of the State of the Union. As the legislative branch, Only Congress representing its various districts within respective states, has the legal power to put forth the changes necessary for our country. Congress, citizens of the U.S. have vested power in you — please do your job As a citizen, I expect it. —Jeff Stonelake Florence Thanks, Florence The Van Fans has many busi- nesses and individuals to thank for the success of our Ice Cream and Pie Social on July 20 at the Flor- ence Events Center as part of the Power of Florence. Because of the generosity of this community, this very needed ser- vice continues to survive and is here free for patients needing radi- ation treatment at the Willamette Valley Cancer Center and Oregon Urology. The van goes to Eugene and Springfield five days a week, 52 weeks a year (weather permitting) and is free to all patients. All of the Van Fans drivers are volunteers, so we are often looking for additional drivers. Our thanks to BJ’s Ice Cream for its continued support and the donation of the ice cream for our annual social; also, thanks to Tony’s Garage for all of the support it gives in providing free service on our vans when needed; and thanks to the Rally Squad Girls from Siuslaw High School who gave us a cheer and helped keep the tables cleared and set up; thanks to all who pro- vided raffle gifts, including Kitchen Klutter for the beautiful gift basket; and to the music provided by Jeff Lovejoy. And lastly, a big thanks to ev- eryone in the community for your support. —Connie Rosenbalm Van Fans 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
