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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 2019)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | AUGUST 3, 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 Will we allow ourselves to be informed or distracted? mocracy — one that is pro- Journalists are liaisons tected by the intellect of an of trust between the Amer- informed society. ican people and those who One of the key ingredi- govern, whether it be in ents to a foundation strong Washington D.C., state enough to support the government, a national While watching cov- weight of democracy with- corporation or with local erage of the Democratic debates along with my normal intake of national news, I switched between Ned Hickson CNN, ABC, FOX-News, CBS and others. I read news articles online and in in our Constitution is the officials and institutions. print. Even after two years, freedom given to the press. The trust we place in I continue to be struck by Its intention is to guaran- journalism is one of the how one event can be seen tee a level of transparency cornerstones of maintain- so differently by so many within the government ing a unified, peaceful news organizations — and, just as importantly, society. Without the trust nearly all of which had a keep government from and belief that we are an clear slant, whether for or manipulating the informa- informed people, the en- against. tion its citizenry receives. suing uncertainty is fertile When our forefathers Shortly after the Mis- ground for chaos, mistrust included Freedom of the souri School of Journalism and division. Press in the Constitution, was established in 1906, its Today’s Information they knew it was a dou- founder, Walter Williams, Age, thanks to the Inter- ble-edged sword with as wrote The Journalist’s net and social media, has much potential to do harm Creed. Within it are these forged its own two-edged as it could to ensure the ex- words: sword with the potential to change of factual commu- I believe that clear think- do as much harm as good. nication free from govern- ing, truthful statements, In the late 1950s, iconic mental interference. accuracy and fairness are newsman Edward R. Mur- However, they knew it fundamental to good jour- row recognized this para- was a risk that needed to nalism, and that the su- dox. News reporting was be taken if America was preme test of any journalist being transformed from going to have a chance at is the measure of their pub- the purely word-driven establishing a peaceful de- lic service. medium of radio into a From the Editor’s Desk much more powerful visu- al medium of television. In 1955, during an awards dinner where he was the keynote speaker, Murrow spoke of the new television medium and the paradox it presented for journalists and our soci- ety; it’s a paradox we find ourselves facing once again in the age of social-me- dia-style journalism — and in particular, the ease in which assumption can be passed along as fact. In his speech, Murrow challenged us to utilize the new medium of television as a way to enhance our understanding of issues and each other. “Other- wise,” he said in his fi- nal remark, “television is nothing more than lights in a box.” As we enter into the up- coming election season — both nationally and within our own communities — we need to ask ourselves whether the age of infor- mation will enhance our understanding or simply distract us with the lights inside the small boxes in our hands. 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 LETTERS WHERE TO WRITE Homeless but not nameless He spoke through tears of fifteen years; How his dog and him had travelled about. The dog up and died, just up and died; After twenty years he still grieves.” From the song “Mr. Bojangles” His name was Adam — the man who died up on the hill behind Safeway the Wednesday before last. Adam. He loved to travel up to White- fish, Mont., with his old dog Bruc- er. They’d been together for nearly a decade. Adam never really got over Brucer’s death. There was a catch in his voice when he mentioned Bruc- er, even many years later. Adam was a friendly, generous man — always willing to share what little he had. He believed that people were basically good. “If people knew what it was like out on the street” he once said, “they would help us.” There are many of us who live out on your streets and in the for- ests around Florence. We die homeless. Please don’t let us die nameless, too. His name was Adam and he was a good man. His many friends will truly miss him. Homeless, but not nameless. —Steve Wandrus Florence Why it’s important to take a stand as a city What’s important about passing a climate crisis resolution? Resolutions by a city council are non-binding statements, but can be used to express values. Despite not having legal teeth, taking a stand means something. A resolution is important not only in communicating the values of a community, but also in acknowl- edging the government’s failure to realize that value. It puts the city council on record as being fundamentally behind a pledge to make a difference. In the case of man-made climate change, a resolution signals that the city council sees climate change as a growing threat to be countered. A climate crisis resolution should include endorsements from the City’s environmental committee (EMAC in Florence), local organi- zations and business owners. I hope Mayor Henry will take the lead in passing a climate crisis res- olution. Resolutions by a city council do matter. —Michael Allen Florence We Agree This may come as a shock to many, but I have to admit that I am in total agreement with Tony Cavarno and his recent Letter to the Editor regarding our voting systems (“Simple Answer to Voting Concerns,” July 31). I have always been very proud of the manner in which our vot- ing system functions (limiting the receipt of a ballot to only those registered and returning by mail) without the need for the polling places, where most of the fraud is taking place. The time involved should permit everyone to study the issues, and complete their ballot in their own home. This would greatly elimi- nate the need for political parties to be telling people how they should vote. Unless that’s not what Mr. Cavar- no meant? —Charlie Pennington Florence 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