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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2019)
8A | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019 | SIUSLAW NEWS Advocates of the belief that fewer voters partici- pating in elections is good suggest that limiting the total numbers of Amer- icans that vote will ulti- technology and leverag- ing partners, we’ll educate “Many Americans, es- Americans in all 50 states pecially in today’s frantic about how to register, sign political landscape, ask the up for election reminders, question: ‘Why should I check their registration vote? My vote online, get doesn’t count mail ballots, “Your vote is your voice and it is im- learn about anyway,’” Hen- ry said in an portant that you make your voice heard. early voting email. “Politics If you care about the future and want the and more.” is complicated • Un it i ng best things for your family, other people for a Common and becoming more so every and the environment, you should vote in Purpose: “Na- year. Even at every election.” tional Voter our local lev- — Joe Henry, R e g i s t r at i on el, things can Mayor of City of Florence Day is a day of become com- civic unity. It’s plicated. What an opportuni- if we vote and it does not mately be beneficial with- ty to set aside differences turn out the way we want- out completely articulating and celebrate democracy ed? Does that mean we the reasoning behind the and the rights and oppor- should hang our head and position. tunities we all share as not vote? No. To the con- The results of the 2016 Americans.” trary; your vote is your presidential elections show National Voter Registra- voice and it is important that thousands of eligible tion Day is supported by a that you make your voice voters were turned away broad spectrum of organi- heard. from polling places be- zations from across the po- “If you care about the cause of minor issues with litical spectrum, including future and want the best state and county voter secretaries of state, state things for your family, oth- registration requirements. and local elections admin- er people and the environ- These voters were not al- istrators, major nonprofits ment, you should vote in lowed to exercise a basic and nonprofit networks, every election.” tenant of citizenship be- schools and universities, Since 1998, Oregon has cause of a simple error. libraries and other civi- established vote-by-mail These rejections could cally conscious businesses as the standard mecha- and did occur for reasons across America. nism for voting, making it such as missing a registra- National Voter Registra- the first state in the U.S. to tion deadline or for mov- tion Day definitely works conduct its elections exclu- ing and not updating, prior as a tool for prompting sively by mail. to an election, the voter’s interest and participation Recently, there has been new address. Misspelled in voting related matters. a shift in the willingness names on voter rolls also During the 2018 Nation- of some state legislatures proved to be an issue for al Voter Registration Day, and representatives to many seeking to cast a bal- more than 800,000 new Congress to encourage and lot. These discrepancies names were added to voter facilitate voter registra- were factors in reducing rolls across the country. tion. There have also been overall voter participation. “Next Tuesday, Sept. 24, dramatic reductions in the The reaction has been to is National Voter Registra- hours that polling places generate a nationwide ef- tion Day and I encourage are open in many states, fort to inform and register each and every eligible vot- with some, like North Car- voters this time around. er to get out there, register olina, even eliminating The two main goals of to vote and let your voice Sunday voting times. the National Voter Reg- be heard,” Henry said. These efforts have been istration Day, as detailed The event in Florence recognized by courts as by nationalvoterregistra- on Tuesday will be an op- improper and there is a tionday.org, are: portunity for new voters to concerted counter-effort • E d u c a t i n g Vo t e r s : register and for those who underway to allow as many “Millions of voters need to need to update their voter Americans that are legally register and re-register ev- information or confirm able to vote to participate. ery year. By utilizing new their signature to do so. VOTE from page 1A Siuslaw Watershed to saunter at Sutton Creek today Join the Siuslaw Water- shed Council on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for “Siuslaw Saun- tering at Sutton Creek,” a one-mile walk. The hike begins at the Holman Vista Overlook, six miles north of Florence in the Sutton Recreation Area. Designed as a self-guid- ed hike with a fact sheet aligned with numbered markers along the trail, people may walk alone or with a volunteer familiar with the trail. There is no cost for this walk. Donations to the “We have been work- ing on the fabrication of the metal that will face the river. It is a version of the bridge that I think will look really good behind Mo’s, as people walk on the pier by the river,” he said. Mill and his team are also prepping the underwater part of the site, cleaning the area of miscellaneous materials dragged to the location from upriver. “We have been clear- ing the underwater area of the debris that has ac- cumulated over the years and we should be able to get started soon on the main installation,” he said. “We kind of held up a bit so we wouldn’t interfere with Rods ‘N’ Rhodies last weekend and we also wanted people to be able to walk by the river and see the bridge.” Huntington believes the modification project will proceed smoothly, hope- fully inconveniencing the public for only a short time. “We should be starting demolition on the Mo’s walkway on Monday, and we’re hoping to have a new walkway installed and completed in a couple weeks,” he said. The most important, but perhaps less noticeable ef- fort, will be the long-await- ed dredging of some navi- gable parts of the Siuslaw River and at the Port of Siuslaw. The Siuslaw River is more than 100 miles long and carries soil runoff and other loose materials from the valley to the Pacific Ocean. The ocean tides and river current moves hundreds of thousands of gallons of water through that area every day. The residue from that move- ment builds up over the years and makes navigat- ing into and out of the port difficult and, in some cas- es, impossible. Huntington updated Port of Siuslaw Commission- ers at the group’s monthly meeting on Wednesday on the application for permit the port filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “We are in the final stag- es of the permit process to be able to dredge,” he said. “It’s a 10-year permit which allows us to dredge our marina. Our ‘in the water’ work window would be between Nov. 15 and Feb. 15, 2020. For the project, Port of Siuslaw would partner with Business Oregon for the use of the state-owned dredge operated by the Port of Coos Bay. “We have not dredged in 10 years now, and for nor- mal maintenance dredging, we’re about 5 years overdue — and it shows,” Hunting- ton said. “We have boat slips that are unusable at times because they sit in the mud on low tides, also causing damage to the docks. The port has made this a priority and we’re working very hard to complete this project.” The next Port of Siuslaw Commissioners meeting will be held on Wednesday, Oct.16, at Mapleton High School, at 10868 East Ma- pleton Road. For more information, visit portofsiuslaw.com. Florence Food Share is your local community food pantry. We serve emergency food boxes to all those who qualify fi nancially. Our hours are 9:30a.m.-1p.m., Monday through Friday. We reopen in the a ernoons on Monday and Wednesday from 4-6p.m. We are also now open the third and fourth Saturday of each month, from 10a.m. – 1p.m. Please call us with any ques ons and/or for more informa on. 2190 Spruce Street 541-997-9110 www.fl orencefoodshare.org info@fl orencefoodshare.org Florence Food Share es su lacena de comida comunitaria. Servimos cajas de comida de emergencia a todos esos que califi quen fi nancieramente. Nuestras horas son de 9:30a.m. – 1p.m., de lunes a viernes. Re-abrimos por la tarde del lunes y del miércoles de 4-6p.m. También, ahora abrimos el tercero y cuarto sábado de cada mes, de 10a.m. – 1p.m. Por favor llámenos con cualquier duda y/o para conseguir más información. Siuslaw Watershed Coun- 541-999-9213. cil, www.siuslaw.org, or to ECO (Ecology in Class- rooms and Outdoors), www.ecologpeopletdoors. org, are appreciated and welcomed to support wa- tershed education for our local youth. Sutton Recreation Area – Holman Vista is a U.S. For- est Service fee site, though multiple interagency pass- News and views that defi ne our community. es, including the Oregon Pacific Coast Passport, are accepted. For more information, contact Jim Grano at 541- 268-9954 or Dennis King at SAVE NOW on WINTER MUSIC FESTIVAL! Save on 2 & 3-day passes, individual sessions! EARLY-BIRD DISCOUNTS END FRIDAY! 9 Bands 3 Days of Fun Arts Fair Jam Sessions Seminars Food & Drink Winter Music Festival ! PORT from page 1A .TWZMVKM7ZMOWV WinterMusicFestival.org 541-997-1994 SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 Siuslaw News G OOD L IFE 2 19 SEPTEMBER 26 • 9AM-2PM • FLORENCE EVENTS CENTER Free Admission (please bring a canned food item to donate for Florence Food Share) • Raffl es • Lifestyle Presentations & Seminars • Health Screenings • Samples • Volunteer Opportunities FREE Enter to win a “New Night’s Sleep” gift certifi cate good in the Mattress Shoppe (good for mattress, box springs, adjustable base, linens or pillows. Value $1700. BJ’s Ice Cream until gone. Sponsored by Siuslaw News & BJ’s Ice Cream
