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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2020)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | APRIL 1, 2020 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 2020 © 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 A time to be aware, generous and thoughtful of others (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.) The following letter is from my granddaughter, Skyler George, who is a nurse at Auburn Faith Hospital in Auburn, Calif. She posted this to Facebook for general view and I think it is so important I want to share it with our community: Please stop buying and wearing surgical masks that are needed by medical professionals who are in harm’s way every day and facing extreme shortages of protective wear. The purpose of masks is to pro- tect everyone else from you, so you don’t breathe or sneeze on anyone else. And if you are sick and try- ing to protect others, go one step further and stay home if at all pos- sible. N95 masks will protect you, but please, please leave these items for the medical professionals. You shouldn’t be in close enough contact with anyone contagious enough to infect you if you are distancing the way you should be. We nurses and doctors come into contact with highly conta- gious patients daily and need the Guest Viewpoint By Judy Roth Florence resident masks so we do not become vec- tors of the disease, transmitting it around the hospital, within com- munities or our own families. We do not have a choice to avoid contact with COVID-19 patients, so please help us protect ourselves when contact inevitably happens. Also, please stop wearing rub- ber gloves out into the world. Stop wearing them if you are working and interacting with others. You might keep your hands clean while you’re out, but you are actually making things worse for everyone else with improper glove use. Unlike doctors, nurses and oth- er healthcare workers who change their gloves with every contact, many people are wearing the same gloves for the day, touching every- thing with the same pair of dirty gloves that touched everything else. This transmits all the germs, vi- ruses, and grime just as much — or more — because no one is washing and sanitizing their gloved hands. I would like to point out one more thing: not only are people wearing gloves out in their dai- ly activities, but some people are discarding their used gloves in the parking lot, where somebody else has to pick them up and put them in the trash. Littering is bad enough, but to dispose of personal protective wear like this is dangerous. All of this right now is really scary for everyone, but I ask you to please think of others. These are times to be the least selfish, most aware and most generous. Everybody, let’s be considerate and get through this together. — Posted by Skyler George, a nurse at Auburn Faith Hospital LETTERS Unexpected blessings Life has presented various op- portunities for me to isolate. In 1970, I accepted an opportunity to live remotely in Northern British Columbia with the task of teaching English as a Second Language to Carrier Indian Children. When the temperatures dipped to minus 25 degrees, the school bus didn’t venture out and deliver the runny nosed, lovable kids to the school. So, I’d put on my goose- down and wander around outside with my camera, mesmerized by winter’s exquisite beauty. Here in Oregon while isolat- ing this past two weeks, I’ve been putting on rain gear and taking a look to see what nature has to of- fer. Every now and then I stop, stay in place and let the action come to me. Today, just as the rain stopped and the sun broke through, about 50 Ruby Crowned Kinglets swarmed the alder trees above me along the edge of the road. Totally quiet, busy, busy, busy. Then two Downy Woodpeckers chased each other into those trees. Two Oregon Juncos swooped past in pursuit of each other. Then a Song sparrow sang; a Bald Eagle drifted past high above; a Northern Flicker called. On the way back home, a Pacific Wren hopped through the Salal. All was mesmerizing. I object to closing parks and trails. People need places to wander. Surely it’s possible to keep physical distance while allowing nature to offer her unexpected blessings. —Kathryn Damon-Dawson Siltcoos Station Treat climate crisis like we would a pandemic On March 23, I listened with in- terest to City Manager Erin Reyn- olds on Coast Radio describing what the City Council planned to do about the coronavirus crisis. I particularly related to her de- sire — and that of the City Council — to take measures to prevent oth- er disasters. My first reaction was that she was referring to the climate crisis. But upon further listening I found that was not the case. So I want to again sound the alarm and remind the City Council that the key ingredient to surviv- ing both coronavirus and climate change is our shared sense of hu- manity during both crises. I was struck by the following words from senior staff writer Yvette Cabrera, who wrote in the Grist on March 22: “We are faced with a deepening health crisis that scientists say may well be linked to environmental destruction. The question is: What will you do? “In the short term, it’s heartening to see generosity extended from one stranger to another, and by those willing to help others in this time of need. “But as we fight this pandem- ic, we should remember that the greater battle against global warm- ing is still ahead, and that the same environmental degradation that may have led us to this outbreak is poised to lead to a more extreme public health crisis as climate change accelerates. “That same spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood can help us find solutions that address both of these calamities.” As we go into these perilous times I urge the City Council and City Manager to please treat our climate crisis like you would a pan- demic. —Michael Allen Florence Creating a patchwork of active safekeeping Regardless of whether there is a global pandemic or not, the Earth needs protection from the human species. When we “locals” advocate for the places we love, and folks in different places work to protect the places they hold dear, we can create a patchwork of active safekeeping that has the potential to create a movement. The Covid-19 virus has creat- ed for us, a “timeout” opportu- nity to do some very necessary soul-searching. Let’s re-examine the roles we must play as stewards of our planet home and work to create a world worthy of our elders, children, and future generations. —Michelle Holman Deadwood 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
