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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 31, 2019)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | JULY 31, 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 Easier to breath Like Michael Allen, I would like to see the City get serious about the facts related to our changing climate. Here, it matters for two reasons unrelated to the Paris Accords or any other political agenda; here, it can be seen as a sound business decision and a matter of public health. Tourism is the lifeblood of this town, and if we don’t get serious about stewarding our natural re- sources, they will not be available for recreation and commerce. Although I do not have any great original ideas about how to save our coastline, our fish or even the people injured in ac- cidents at the dunes, I do have some suggestions for making it a little easier to breathe here: 1) Can people turn off their engines when they are not driv- ing? I have seen lots of folks just leave the engine running, partic- ularly with diesel engines, which send the most insidious particu- lates into the air — all while car- rying on lengthy conversations, running in to pick stuff up from restaurants and stores, etc. 2) Can we designate some non-motorized, traffic-free ar- eas? Can businesses offer scoot- ers and battery chargers to people who are differently mobile? Can we install some rent-a-bike racks? These can generate revenue for the city and get people out of their cars. I know it’s complicated. But so is doing nothing. —Ivy Medow Florence Simple answer to voting concerns Turn on the radio, turn on the TV, pick up a newspaper... what do you hear, see or read? The Russians influenced our 2016 national election and will do like wise in the upcoming 2020 election is what you hear, see or read about. Everyone wants to know how we are to stop this and I haven’t been informed by anyone on how we do this. I hereby offer a sug- gestion. It is very simple really: Go back to the paper ballot. This would foil the Russians attempt and as an added benefit it would greatly cut down on the number of illegal aliens and dead people from voting which seems to be increasing. Simple huh? —Tony Cavarno Florence Stitching Time, Weaving Cultures — a mural (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.) For Angie, Joel and the city of Florence... What would you do with a wall in the living room of a town, where your people pass through the cross roads of the community? Paint it with public art, perhaps, a mural, which is another name for a wall when it becomes a window, a frame to see life through, a view of who you are. A gift. A way to say ‘we.’ Though winds swept along the walls and tried to throw the paints in other directions and then gave into the colors, the natural fabric of flowers these walls welcome you into reweaving season and shore, stitching a quilt of days with bridges. This mural is a bridge into history as it happened and happens: Guest Viewpoint By Tim Barns Editor of “Friends of William Staff ord: A Journal and Newsletter” An elk and a bicyclist on a bridge who might meet in the bear grass weave of flowers the Siuslaw women have woven from the hems of the marshlands. and that bicyclist’s twin on the south wall tilted into the west where the sun set hangs its moons and the wind spills across the chevron shape of valleys and divides watersheds and waves, the lowland lakes breathing the sea, he’s happy. “Life,” he thinks, “It’s a gift.” This a wall to see with, to drive by and grasp. A gift from the people of Florence to the people of Florence and to drivers, bikers, walkers, gulls, whoeverpasses by may see a patterned web of place, its embodiments— history and imagination fused, an earthy commonwealth... Tim Barnes taught in the English Department at PCC Sylvania for 25 years, where he was the chair of the creative writing department and ad- visor on Alchemy, the campus liter- ary magazine. 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
