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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2019)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | DECEMBER 11, 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 LETTERS Re-beautify rusty horse art piece back to a ‘Wow’ I congratulate Harlan Springer on his new position as Art Advo- cate for our state [as recently ap- pointed by Gov. Kate Brown]. I ask, however, that before you accept more responsibility for beautifying anything, that you ad- vocate for the very first of your art projects here in Florence — the lit- tle metal horse that stands in front of the Florence Senior Center. At the time of its dedication, it was a bright little fella, definite- ly fitting the PAC definition of a “Wow.” Now, the horse is a rust bucket — quite predictable in our climate — and appears to make a case for ani- mal neglect. Please have him taken to a dry stall for the winter where, hopefully, someone skilled in metal art will restore his corroded parts. Then turn him back out in the spring with a nice coat of automo- tive paint. The craze for rusty yard art has long since gone to pasture. —Lisa Readel Florence NATO needs to focus on climate issues drawing widespread attention for several reasons, all of which are to- tally irrelevant. NATO as an organization with enduring powers of cooperative ac- tion should recognize the glaringly obvious main threat to not only its 13 members but the entire world: Climate change. By refocusing its established powers to address survival rather than hegemonic power it might help save the planet. —Bill Durst Florence The NATO alliance is currently Tips for having an eco-friendly holiday season (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub- missions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community dis- cussion and exchange of perspec- tives.) When I was a kid, my grand- ma always gave me stamped, un- finished pillowcases meant to be cross stitch embroidered and the edges finished. Every year. I hated them. But every year, I dutifully smiled and thanked her for her lovely gift. As soon as she was gone, I gave them to my mom and never saw them again. (Mom didn’t finish them, either.) According to the Environmen- tal Protection Agency, the average person in the U.S. generates al- most six pounds of trash every day and the average has been going up each year. Much of the trash we generate is from food waste and single-use items, such as wrapping and greeting cards. Most of this trash goes to the landfill where it will sit for decades. Initial production of these items, transport to the store and hauling them away as trash generates costs — financial and environmental. What if this year we saved some money, time and the environment? What if we gave more thought to what we buy and what we throw away? I’m not talking about depri- vation or no presents, just a more thoughtful approach. Staying organized — Use your phone for shopping lists, store coupons and keeping track of your holiday season calendar. Greeting cards — Have you tried the ecards online? Compose your message and give them your contact list. Big chore done! If that won’t work, there are holiday postcards that use less paper, don’t need envelopes and save on post- age. Also, cards that you receive can be reused in crafts next year like gift tags or wrapping small items. Stop catalogs & junk mail — As you receive unwanted catalogs and junk mail, go to a free online service like CatalogChoice.org to get off these mailing lists for the future. Guest Viewpoint By Brenda Howard Florence Master Recycler Decorating — How about a live tree from the nursery that you can plant in your yard after the hol- idays? Greenery and pine cones collected from your neighbor- hood? Gifts — How about gifts for fun experiences rather than physical things? Gift certificates for City Lights Cinemas, local restaurants, Florence Events Center perfor- mances, Sea Lion Caves, the Umpqua Discovery Center, etc.? Also, homemade coupons for campouts, trips to Cape Perpetua or the Heceta Head Lighthouse, or washing their car? Maybe some yard work or pet sitting? If you are crafty, homemade gifts can be special. Packs filled with rice and herbs to warm in the microwave, homemade and home-canned food, shopping bags made from old T-shirts, collec- tions of family recipes, etc. If purchasing items — Shop- ping locally can save transport and packaging costs and help the com- munity. Use your reusable shop- ping bags! Think how these ideas could simplify your holiday shopping. Save on shopping time, reduced packaging, no breakage and things not easily forgotten after a few uses. Gift wrap — Old maps, news- papers, magazines from foreign countries, homemade cloth bags, cloth napkins from the thrift store all make wonderful gift wrap. Thrift shop pillowcases make great gift bags for larger, odd- shaped items. Stocking stuffers — Reusable produce bags, bamboo tooth- brush, reusable bamboo eating utensils, a reusable straw are just a few options. Hosting gatherings — If you need more dishware than you own for a large gathering, consider tak- ing advantage of the Master Recy- cler Reusable Dishware Program, which lends silverware, dishes, table linens and serving pieces for groups of up to 150. Its free! Reusing dishes and table linens, even taking washing into account, uses far less energy and resources than single use, disposable items. Even compostable ones. For info on the program, or make a reservation, call 541-590- 0506. Cooking & baking — Make time to cook from scratch, buy specialized cooking pans, small appliances and table linens at the thrift store or craigslist, send left- overs home with your guests and compost whatever is left. I hope these suggestions bring deeper meaning and thoughtful- ness to your holidays, as well as helping the environment — and that you don’t give raw pillowcases to your grandchildren unless they actually enjoy cross stitch! 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
