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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2019)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | SEPTEMBER 28, 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 Fair is fair Based on the Letter to the Ed- itor “Your Tax Dollars At Work,” (Sept. 25), it would appear that Mr. Carvano doesn’t consider Trump’s multiple visits to his own golf courses to be “traipsing.” But surely he is aware that Trump’s golf travels have, accord- ing to the Huffington Post, cost taxpayers at least $102 million in extra travel and security expens- es, including a seven-figure presi- dential visit to another country so he can play at his own course. His two dozen trips to Florida have cost U.S. taxpayers $81 mil- lion; $17 million for his 15 trips to New Jersey; another $1 million so he could visit his resort in Los Angeles; and at least $3 million for his two days in Scotland last summer. All this despite his campaign promise that he would not play golf while in office. Democrats may not be spend- ing wisely, but it’s disingenuous to say Trump is doing any better. —Dolly Brock Florence Thanks to all who helped with Collard Lake Road We wanted to take this oppor- tunity to thank all who partici- pated in the county’s efforts with bringing Collard Lake Road into the county system. That appreciation goes out to the Lane County Commissioners who unanimously voted to make it happen, to Jay Bozievich for his persistence in moving forward with the enormous task, and also to our neighbor, Ms. Marilyn Ad- kins, for her diligent and contin- ued work with the county and her own attorney. Marilyn is one of the original residents of the Collard Lake area and has been working on getting Collard Lake Road accepted into the system for many years. Our appreciation also goes out to the terrific crews who came out here to repair that big hole in the road caused by a huge tree that fell, taking a portion of the road with it. In addition to being highly skilled in their craft, these folks were always courteous and after each day’s work, always left the scene as neat and safe as was pos- sible for an ongoing major road repair. The finished job is awe- some and beyond our expecta- tions. Our appreciation also extends to the county’s prompt attention to the responsibilities that now go with Collard Lake Road being a county road, like the beautiful mowing job that was done a few days ago to the entire length of the road. And a particular thanks to the kind-hearted machine operator who slowed down and careful- ly avoided hitting the “Bunny Crossing” sign! And last but not least, our ap- preciation goes out to the Collard Lake neighbors who made the trips in to Eugene to attend the commissioners’ meetings rele- vant to this project. We feel that everyone’s participation there did make a difference. A collective thank you to all from the Collard Lake area resi- dents, all of who use Collard Lake Road daily and who depend on it as their only way to get to and from their homes. —Camille and Skip Thomsen Florence Medicare phone scam We recently got a call here from someone purporting to be from Medicare. I was quite suspicious because she wanted our Medicare number and for us to verify infor- mation such as our address, date of birth, height and weight. She was very insistent. I told her to call me back and I would give it to her. In the mean- time, I called Medicare. The call was a scam. Medicare will never contact you by phone; they will only mail you. The scammer claimed she had to have my information today so they could mail out my card. The first number that showed up on our phone when she called was a Florence number. The next time it was Medicare’s 800 num- ber. Just hang up; it’s not Medicare. —Nancy Sobottka Florence Great community support for students, schools Last month, the Florence Ro- tary Club kicked off its annual School Supplies Campaign to raise funds in support of local students. This campaign is more important now than ever, as a majority of students at both the Siuslaw and Mapleton school dis- tricts qualify for free and reduced lunch (“FRL”), meaning that their households fall below a certain income level. Accordingly, many local students are unable to afford school supplies and other ba- sic necessities, including meals, clothing and hygiene products. In order to maximize support to our local students, the Rotary Club opened this year’s campaign up to the Florence-area commu- nities. Rotary members and local citizens donated not only funds, but also supplies. Additionally, the Cross Road Assembly of God church in Flor- ence runs a similar annual fund- raiser, and this year elected to combine their efforts with the Rotary Club’s campaign. As a result, we were togeth- er able to raise a grand total of $5,000 to benefit local students. The funds raised will be divided between the Siuslaw and Maple- ton School districts, and will be used to pay for basic necessities for students of all grade levels throughout the entire school year. Thank you to Florence and sur- rounding communities for your continued generosity and support of our students. The school year is off to a great start. —Florence Rotary Appreciation with others for Robert Hunter Admittedly, I have never at- tended a Grateful Dead concert. I did discover, some years ago, their music — or, I should say, en- countered Robert Hunter’s lyrical treatment of many of their songs. The announcement of his death at 78 came unvarnished last Wednesday, Sept. 25. The range of the man’s talent was remarkable. Hunter was a hipster and a romantic combined with a scholar’s interest in Biblical theology and ancient history. He set his words to verse dancing or marching across sheet music. In concert with the music of Jerry Garcia, they reflected an optimistic uncertainty about life’s journey. Although Hunt- er never appeared on stage with the Grateful Dead, from the mid 1960s through the early ’90s he wrote a great number of their lyr- ics. “Dark Star,” “Saint Stephen,” “Friend of the Devil,” “Franklin’s Tower,” “Ramble on Rose,” “Black Muddy River” are just to name a few. Robert Hunter’s free verse is contained in an imposing vol- ume: “The Complete Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics” (Free Press, 2005), with a companion black and white and color graphics. It’s a must-read. —Ron Hogeland Florence 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
