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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2019)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | AUGUST 24, 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 Who benefits? While we acknowledge a time to celebrate our newest addition [mural] to Florence on 126th and Quince, we should always esteem progress with certitude and com- munity solidarity. It is with great positive pride that municipal and state cultures exude happiness in their citizenry or at least the pursuit thereof. The ques- tion always is, who benefits? Moreover, there are some dis- tinct cautions for this emerald gem called Florence as a coastal mecca of Oregon. Now that good and cou- rageous Mayor Henry and Coun- cilman Greene disagreed to agree, the stealth hand of ever-increasing government has won slowly but in- exorably. A public concern is the ease with which our agreement will be dedi- cated for the next and the next and the next public-good project. As the day comes when the Florence gem beams brighter, finally and ir- reversably growing in spite of city and chamber prudence, who will dominate? The people or the tax collectors? I believe Florence’s steady growth will result in bigger and eventually unmangeable local government, like our all-knowing state and fed- eral helpers — unless someone contradicts the flow. In order for business to really flourish, the city needs an annex- ation policy which will ensure capital investment as well as capi- tal formation insuring consistency for corporate and small business America. Home prices with competition could descend and average work- ing wages ascend. The type of growth experienced in Bend could be duplicated with the proper phil- osophical mooring. This will also produce jobs, population, mone- tary flow and a thriving culture and economy. However, if we continue policies which enable city hall over a pri- vatization call, it is doubtful that the architects of pork will ever not belch satisfactorily. As the Latin states, “Cumi Bono?” i.e., who ben- efits? Obviously, in the last great de- bate, it was unclear though many with special interests partook of the spoils and congratulatory plaudits. The future is now. —Joel Marks Florence Need better camping enforcement along jetty I am thankful Lane County Parks and Recreation has jurisdiction over the North Jetty. The posted signage helps prevent overnight parking and camping. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the South Jetty; lots 6, 7 and and jetty itself. The “honor system” doesn’t work. On any given night, RV vis- itors ignore the posted “No Camp- ing Past This Sign.” The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (ODNRA) and the U.S. Forest Service have desig- nated these areas as Day Use only. The USFS maintains many camp- grounds both north and south of Florence. Not all of the campgrounds are ATV recreation sites. I feel like these abusers of our public lands can — and should be required to — find a designated campground. Surely there is an agency such as ODOT that should be able to con- trol — with the help of Florence Police — the overnight parking in the wide area of road across from the Oregon Coast Humane Society road. Not all of these vehicles are self-contained. Without a 24-hour gas station in sight, I have no doubt that the illegal activity of urinating on the rocks in that public space occurs more frequently than I care to think about. The revitalization in Old Town and “Main Street” will be benefi- cial. But does Florence want to be- come the coastal town that offers free camping on our side streets, cubby holes and empty lots? — Michael Fletcher Florence Best economy in 50 years for a reason The whole rest of the world is in recession and negative interest returns are the norm everywhere else. China has the worst economy in 35 years. Meanwhile the U.S.A — your U.S.A — is having the best econo- my of the last 50 years with some of the best numbers ever. Who are you going to vote for? — Martin Cable Dunes City 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
