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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2020)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | JUNE 20, 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 LETTERS Governor has no respect for Oregonians The State of Oregon, under Kate Brown, was — and is — totally unprepared for any emergency. She has allowed the Employment Department to crumble through her lack of attention to updating equipment and personnel, there- by causing thousands of unem- ployed workers to go without any pay for months. This shows that she has no re- spect for the people of Oregon that work for their living. She had OSHA levy large fines for people trying to open or op- erate their businesses to put food on their family’s table; she requires people in stores and restaurants to maintain 6 feet of separation or face fines or being closed down; however, she does not even see the need to make a statement on the close proximity of people — many without masks — in the protests. This means that it is more im- portant to maintain separation when in contact with one or two people, but not thousands? She panicked in March and de- manded the federal government send respirators to the state, then she sent them to New York where they are sitting in a warehouse. Check out the “State and Lo- cal Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist” 2005. You will see that most of the items on this checklist that the state should have done and checked off were not done. If you are only interested in increasing taxes and not making the state better, then continue with this administration. If not, demand changes. — Robert Smith Florence Instead of removal, let’s learn from our mistakes I was sitting on my back porch watching new Mallard ducklings work the edges of a reed bank along Sweet Creek while a King- fisher noisily flew by. The Fox- gloves now tower over the fields of multi-colored prairie flowers. This peace and serenity is a stark contrast to the riot-tinged pandemic currently afflicting America. Reading the Siuslaw News, I see that folks are debating the Con- federate statues again. Removal wouldn’t bother me a bit as they are just simple symbols pounded from a sheet of bronze. However, I worry more about our country’s unquenchable intolerance. Removing a Confederate statue which lords 50 feet above descen- dants of black slaves seems a right and proper action. Sure, pull down Christopher Columbus, whom never set foot in North America, but rather only “discov- ered” slaves in the Caribbean. I do wonder, though, at what point will we be “complete” in righting the pain of the aggrieved? Robert E. Lee was declared a hero for his brutal actions during the Mexican-American war un- der democrat President James Polk; Lee did not fare so well during the Civil War. A recent letter from Marybeth Marenco (“Lee Was No ‘Ameri- can ‘Hero,’” June 17) advocated for the removal of his and oth- er Confederate statues because, among other things, “they lost.” Did not the American Indians, whom killed many innocents, also lose? Should we remove the memorials to those Indian chiefs whom lost? Abraham Lincoln may have freed the slaves, but he supported the eradication of the Indians from western lands. Should we therefore remove the Lincoln Memorial? Should not Lincoln also be re- moved from Mt. Rushmore while removing George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, both of whom owned slaves their entire life? Muhammad also owned slaves his entire life and advocated for slavery in his Koran. Jesus ad- vocated that marriage was only between a man and a woman, en- raging some gays. Mosques and churches? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the hero of the Civil Rights movement, but he was accused of being an unfaithful philanderer and laughing at a woman while observing her rape. Should his statue beside the National Mall be removed and his numerous bou- levards renamed to ease the pain of rape victims? Vladimir Lenin declared that Jews should not hold any position of power. Letter writer Joel Marks has not complained, so maybe Lenin’s statue in Minneapolis can stay. Oregon was the only state de- claring entry illegal if one was Ne- gro. Should Oregon be renamed? Even the name Siuslaw News has been appropriated from Na- tive Americans. Renaming or removing memorials, roads, bridges, buildings, rivers, lakes, mountains, teams, ships and towns may not be enough. Maybe what we should ulti- mately learn from this is to try tolerance. —Bill Shepard Mapleton Mask-wearing should be required in Old Town On May 20, I used the City of Florence’s contact page to submit a request for an ordinance to be put in place in the Old Town area requiring the use of face masks. In response, AIC City Man- ager Megan Messmer explained that the City is taking its lead from state and county guidelines, which do not include such an or- dinance or requirement. I also received links to state health agencies regarding busi- ness requirements for employees to wear masks and what business can do to encourage customers to wear masks inside of businesses. Let’s be clear about this: both my wife and I are in the “at risk age group” and I have just about every underlying medical con- dition that would make me more susceptible to catching the COVID-19 virus. Just about anyone who shops in Old Town would have to agree that maintaining social distanc- ing within our shops is nearly (if not completely) impossible to achieve — let alone maintain. The stores are just way too small. Even with the huge sign that we installed by our front door, we still get some people refusing to do so, even becoming belligerent when we try to mention the face mask requirement. In her response to my letter, Messmer assured me that my comments would be passed on to the City Council. With the rather large senior population in Florence, I hope our city leaders understand the need to vote in an ordinance re- quiring everybody to wear a face mask within the confined spaces of our stores in Old Town. —Andres A. Ruiz Florence Co-owner Wizard of Odds 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 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