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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2020)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | MAY 13, 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 LETTERS Now isn’t the time I’m afraid I must say “Not Now” on bond measure 20-306. A ballot measure involving a huge debt should not be placed on a primary or special election ballot in- stead of the general election. This means a very small number of voters could pass a very large debt for ev- eryone (renters too). The question this brings is: Could this pass if a larger percentage of the population were voting on it? I was impressed with the very nice full color mailings and advertising appearing and paid for by the intended recipient — which is you and I. That’s because we as a community cur- rently support LCC in several ways, including taxes. And since no indication is given where the funds came from other than LCC — well, some of us under- stand where the dollars for those mailings came from. On the ballot, at the bottom, the last sentence reminds us that since the bond could be issued in series, the “actual levy rate may differ due to changes in interest rates and as- sessed values.” Have you ever has an adjustable mortgage? How well did that work for you? Did all your figures and costs stay the same? No. Since all the numbers given are during times when interest rates are at historic lows, all the info about numbers, costs, percentages, being pennies per day, etc, seem overly optimistic at the least. This leads me to this time in his- tory. When the decision was made to put this on the primary instead of the general election ballot, there was no hint of an approaching pan- demic. The entire learning process is currently off campus and, although very creative at times, change is coming. It appears higher educa- tion is at the doorstep of massive and perhaps permanent changes that were never imagined when the bond issue was written. So, this bond offering was con- structed during very different times, focusing on a very small number of voters to pass it, and with numbers that could change dramatically. With the uncertainty of how higher education itself will be con- ducted in the near and perhaps distant future, for me the answer to the question on the ballot for the LCC bond measure is “Not Now.” — Ron Stanley Westlake Stepping up to the task with help from others Oregon Dunes Chapter Daugh- ters of the American Revolution is extremely grateful to member Americans first and put the good of the country ahead of politics. —Ron Preisler 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: Carol Slaugh, resident of Florentine Estates, and others in the commu- nity who contributed to our schol- arship fund. Carol saw the need for face masks and stepped up to the task, with help from member Bobbie Hyder and other friends of Carol’s. Not seeking payment for her efforts, recipients were moved to generously contribute. As a result, the chapter will have additional monies to award to a graduating senior. Since actual meetings are on hold, an electronic ballot is being sent to members to approve this unexpected opportunity. Oregon Dunes Chapter is bless- ed to be a part of this wonderful Florence community. —Jacquie Beveridge Oregon Dunes Chapter Scholarship Chair Put America ahead of politics I guess it hasn’t been enough since my last letter. We are now the undisputed leader in deaths and infections due to COVID-19 in the world. It’s been weeks since President Trump waved his hands and said that the virus will disappear and the death toll would be “zero.” Now, more than a quarter million people are infected and the death toll is more than 80,000 and growing. Testing and contact follow-up have been extremely inadequate, along with no national response, coordination or leadership. Corruption and cronyism are running rampant and there is a disregard for our Constitution and rule of law. What do we need to do to stop the carnage? We need to remember we are Are we really ready? Today on the radio show “Mar- ketplace,” there was an interview with someone about how she will approach re-opening her retail business. The proprietor expects patrons to sanitize their hands and wear masks upon entering her store. She is not a government official; she is an entrepreneur. How will she enforce this re- quest? What will happen if some- one feels like his or her rights are being violated by being asked to wear a mask? On May 1, eight children were left fatherless in Flint, Mich., af- ter their father, doing his job as a security guard at Dollar General, was shot to death for asking a fe- male customer to wear a mask in the store. According to accounts at CNN online, the woman first spit on the guard, and then went home to complain to her husband and son. They came to the store with their guns and killed the security guard for “disrespecting” the woman. This kind of stuff will surely throw a monkey wrench into every municipality’s efforts to re-open the town. What are we going to do about it? What and who matters in the equation? There needs to be some dis- cussion and preparations made, along with some agreement as to the rules of engagement as part of the answers to when, if and how to start back up. — Ivy Medow Florence (Note: Marketplace is produced by American Public Media and is a radio show focused on matters re- lated to the economy.) 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
