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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2019)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | NOVEMBER 20, 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 Louisiana land mass is shrinking, not increasing (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub- missions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) I wish to address comments made in the Oct. 26 article “Climate De- bate Continues Part 2.” In it, Mr. Ian Eales states that “New Orle- ans is sinking.” While Mr. Eales is somewhat correct, the very relevant “How” and “Why” are not men- tioned. The facts surrounding New Orle- ans flooding and its relationship to the wetlands of Louisiana are well known to me. Not only was I born in southeast Louisiana and spent 29 of my 47 years there, but my grand- father was on the “Governors Task Force on Lake Ponchartrain Resto- ration” in the 1970s and ’80s. He managed about 35,000 acres of the wetlands west of New Orleans until the late ’90s. When I was just a kid and heard loud explosions in the swamp, he explained that it was seismograph testing for natural gas, which made me ask more questions. Later when I chose the topic for a college project, he helped me under- stand its complexities in detail. Like anyone who cares deeply about south Louisiana, I stay in- formed about what is happening there. But even the simplest of laymen in south Louisiana can see what is hap- pening. The changes are dramatic, obvious and happening fast. There are areas of swamp — where I spent the first 20 years of my life hunting and fishing — that are unrecogniz- able to me now. It is an unavoidable reality for those who live there. The first thing that needs to be understood is that we are talking about a large delta. This means that anything that can be referred to as “land” came from the Mississip- pi River. Even before the levy sys- tem was built, the highest ground was that closest to the river. Every spring, the snow melt from most of America would flood its banks and bayous, bringing new sediment and freshwater like a watershed in reverse. As distance from the river increased, so did salinity levels and a lack of larger trees. This created a vast wetlands ecosystem where 25 percent of all seafood caught in America comes from. It is also the largest producer of shrimp and oys- ters in the northwest hemisphere. The sinking of New Orleans and erosion of its protective wetlands is a result of several factors — all of which are manmade. Guest Viewpoint By Bryan Haydel Florence (former long-time Louisiana resident) First came the levies. They stopped the process of land growth and the flow of life-giving freshwa- ter. Then came the petroleum indus- try, which dug many miles of canals through the wetlands in order to ac- cess oil and natural gas. This allows salt water to penetrate deep into the most fragile areas, killing the plant life whose roots held the otherwise loose soil together. Development is also a problem. In south Louisiana, it is a com- mon practice for land developers to “levy off ” a section of wetlands. Sand is trucked in for raised build- ing foundations and massive pump- ing stations are built to protect the development from flooding. This creates a situation where less wetland is asked to hold more water in a flood event.Timber harvests, in- vasive species brought by man (see nutria), and building with heavy bricks on little to no bedrock are all part of the story. And now there is the alarming threat of sea level rise. Over 97 per- cent of climate scientists have con- cluded that it is happening and that it is caused by man. There is plenty of published data on the subject for anyone who is interested. If one is truly unbiased, they will look at as much of the data as they can. I’ve heard the conspiracy theories that deny or denounce these scien- tists and I’ve given those theories plenty of thought. We native Loui- sianans have always been suspicious of government and institutions — or pretty much anything from the north. We’ve developed that skep- ticism in part because petroleum companies have been lying to us for so long. Ask yourself which is more like- ly: Did many scientists from many different countries get together and plan a conspiracy for no apparent reason, then maintain that conspir- acy for decades without any whis- tleblowers? Or did a very few scien- tists realize they could make a lot of money by saying whatever the fossil fuel industry wanted to hear? What has and is still happening to coastal Louisiana should be tak- en as an abject lesson for us all. Isle de Jean Charles is slated to be the first town in the U.S. to be moved and paid for by the government because of climate change. Many other towns and communities have already moved at their own expense. The town of Delacroix, made fa- mous and mispronounced by song- writer Bob Dylan, is but a shadow of its former self. In my youth I was able to see hints of how beautiful and abundant the bayou systems once were. We caught and bagged multitudes more fish and game than anyone does there now. Every time I see the old poles in the Siuslaw River, I’m reminded of so many entire communities where dock poles are all that’s left. The rest was hauled out or lost to the Gulf of Mexico. But there is hope. A few resto- ration projects where the Mighty Mississippi has been allowed to spill its banks again in a controlled man- ner have been in operation for some time now. They are showing prom- ising results. Anyone interested in these projects can learn more by go- ing to www.coastal.la.gov. Louisiana loses a football field sized amount of land every hour- and-a-half. As for Mr. Eales’ state- ment that “There are at least 5,000 more square miles of coastal area than 30 years ago,” I’m not sure if he is still referring to Louisiana. I can say that if he meant there are at least 5,000 more miles of coast- line in Louisiana, then he may well be correct. As one large land mass erodes and becomes a myriad of is- lands resembling a maze, the coast- line distance increases. On the other hand, if Mr. Eales is implying that there is more land mass now in coastal Louisiana than there was 30 years ago, then he is simply incorrect. LETTERS No parking tickets for business owners, workers It has recently come to my atten- tion that business owners as well as their employees are being ticketed for parking too long in Old Town. They spend a large portion of their days either running a busi- ness or working at one and rarely have time to go out and move their vehicle. These people are the ones who keep our town running. Why aren’t they exempt from getting parking tickets? Business owners and their employees should be provided with a vehicle window sticker that allows them to park during work hours or a designated parking area. No more tickets for the hard working people of Old Town. —Mitch Sloan 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