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
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ongress shall make no law respect-
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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)
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Copyright 2019 © Siuslaw News
Siuslaw News
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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.
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As with all letters and advertising content, the
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er, general manager and editor, reserves the right
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criteria.
Email letters to:
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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