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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2019)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 23, 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 Bartlett 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 The danger of opposition for opposition’s sake is to divide and conquer. Without question, we are already a nation divided. Our representatives in Con- gress must put aside their need to conquer each other and remember that the true As most parents will casualties of this kind of tell you, every child goes political war are those who through a stage where they they are supposed to be seem to suffer from “opposi- representing. Ned Hickson tional disorder,” fervently A little more than 200 opposing even the slightest years ago, our nation difference of opinion as opposed tyranny in order if the future of the world ly, this kind of “obstruction- to pursue the dream of automatically “filibuster depended on it. Whether being free. It was part of a ist” mentality also runs the any and all Supreme Court it’s the “terrible twos” or risk of delegitimizing future necessary step toward inde- Justice nominees Trump teens (or both, Lord help pendence. Our forefathers challenges within our sys- puts forward.” you) it’s part of a necessary were mature enough to tem of checks and balances Keep in mind that it step toward independence recognize that opposition when they could matter wasn’t long before that and establishing personal itself wasn’t enough to when Republican leadership most. Wherever you stand perspective on the road to on the impeachment inqui- secure our nation, but that in our nation’s capitol did maturity. something similar by refus- ry currently underway, this it would take perspective However, opposition and understanding to help isn’t the time to overreach ing to consider President itself isn’t a sign of maturity. Obama’s nominee, Merrick or grandstand simply for the us grow as individuals and a Opposition for opposition’s Garland, for the very same people united. sake of being in opposi- sake only limits our oppor- As we enter the early part tion or playing it safe with appointment. tunities, our perspectives of our nation’s own “terrible party politics. Americans And the beat goes on. and the kind of understand- twos,” we need to remember are divided because their While I agree that any ing that helps us grow as in- nominee seeking Congres- representatives in Congress that fundamental truth. dividuals. Maturity happens sional approval should be Because unlike that have allowed themselves with the recognition of this scrutinized for their quali- stage we must deal with to become divided simply fundamental truth. on the merits of which side as parents, in this case we fications, to enter into that Over the last several really do need to act as if the process with a preconceived of the aisle they happen to years, I’ve heard a growing future of the world depend- sit on. conclusion and public rhetoric from both demo- ed on it… One of the most basic promise to automatically cratic and republican lead- techniques of winning a war deny approval merely con- ers in Congress to “oppose everything” the administra- tion of the time proposes. This includes our own Oregon Senator Jeff Merk- ley, who told Politico (Jan. 30, 2017) that he would tinues the kind of partisan politics that have turned the wheels of government into the rusted grind of rickety gears that Americans have lost faith in. Perhaps more important- From the Editor's Desk LETTERS How do those in Congress leave with more money? I agree with Dolly Brock’s opin- ion (“The Problem Is More Than Senators’ Salaries,” Oct. 19) that there are things to worry about in this country presently, not neces- sarily the points she is concerned with however. She overlooked a couple of big ones, such as opposition to building the wall to keep illegals from con- tinuing to eat up billions of our tax dollars in benefits. Another one, of course, is the designation of sanctuary cities by liberal mayors and city councilors that allows law-breaking illegals to hide out like the bad guys in old western movies. And how is it that many of our Senators and Representatives leave Congress — both parties included — with many times more money than their annual salary and bene- fits provide? A lot of us would like to have that answer, although I’m sure most of us have figured that out. —Tony Cavarno Florence Must be better examples for the young Sometimes, we all have a “lost-in-translation” moment. You see, read, hear or touch something you don’t understand — and don’t know why. That is being Human; we all are. Sometimes, when we don’t know- ing something, our first response is frustration or anger. We don’t ask inquiring questions, try to under- stand or accept another’s point of view or idea. We generally learn these things in childhood but sometimes forget them as adults. As adults, we are supposed to be helping those younger than us learn, explore and discover — yet we sometimes forget this. Young people look up to us, seeking knowledge, acceptance and encour- agement. Let us all use our power of being human to take a moment, learn, help and understand each other. Have gratitude and support each other, despite our differences. —Jo Beaudreau Florence Florence still best of all possible worlds There always seems to be some- thing special going on in Florence. Featured Saturday was the annual Florence “Vintage Trailer Show,” that was also supported by The Rhody Cruiser, who braved wind and rain to participate. During the year, Florence also has the Rhody Festival; Rods and Rhodies; The FEC Music Festival coming up in January and always features top name entertainment; Okto-Fur-Fest a couple of weeks ago with Weiner Dog races, Ger- man-style beer and food that end- ed only last week. There are also regular activities like the Rhody Cruisers car club stand-arounds; The British Car Club; Wings and Wheels with clas- sic vehicles and airplanes; a very ac- tive Boys and Girls Club; a military vehicle club, an active American Legion, VFW, DAV and ELKS Club; and two top golf curses with their own events and contests. Plus, Florence is home to art and music events that are indeed spe- cial. Of course, we also have access to the ocean, 17-plus area lakes, the Siuslaw River with fishing extraor- dinaire, and state, county and fed- eral parks. However, housing is expensive and there are very few rentals for medium income families and in- dividuals. Plus, the crime and drug problem is a strong concern. But, the positives far outweigh the negatives. Having lived here since 2006, I can truly say that Florence is the best of all possible worlds. Sometimes we need to remember that. — Dennis Baker 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
