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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2020)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | JULY 8, 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 Siuslaw News Office: 148 Maple St./PO Box 10 Florence, OR 87439 Office Hours: Monday to Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday: 8 a.m. to noon Letters to the Editor policy LETTERS Was the editor gone? How could the bastion of liber- alism, the Siuslaw News, print the Guest Viewpoint from Ian Eal- es (“An American’s Perspective,” June 27)? Our illustrious editor must have taken some time off. It is amazing to see that some- one else understands that the KKK was a democratic organi- zation, and that “progressive lib- eralism” is promoting anarchy in our USA right out of the Marx- Lenin playbook. —Martin Cable Dunes City Thanks, Sam Spayd A few weeks ago, I was arriving at a local grocery store when I heard the annoying sound of that little red bell. I thought to myself, “It ain’t Christmas.” But as I approached the dona- tion stand, I noticed a brochure for “Christmas In June,” which is a program started by Sam Spayd this year to help people who lost work due to the coronavirus pan- demic. Qualified local residents whose jobs were affected have received checks that they can use any way they choose. I received one and chose to buy a high-pressure washer and long extension wand. The addition of these tools helped me get back on track washing buildings, walk- ways, driveways, roofs, gutters and more. Once the coronavirus hit, work for me was slim to none. That was until Christmas in June, a posi- tive attitude and my experience washing homes led me to being almost overwhelmed with work opportunities thanks to my new tools. Thank you, Sam Spayd. Your program worked for me; it changed my life and inspired me to be a better man. —Alan Kyllo Florence Be careful who and what you suport In the recent letter from Judy Schwartz (“Standing In Solidari- ty For Equality,” July 1), she gives the impression that she speaks for the Jewish community. That is false. There is no Jewish community. Even a Rabbi doesn’t represent the Jewish people ex- cept regarding the religion. The meaning of the term Rabbi is teacher. A Rabbi does not have the authority of a minister, a priest, even the Pope. Neither does Judy Schwartz. In regards to Black Lives Mat- ter, you would think it stands for the unfortunate incident in which George Floyd was killed, along with associated incidents. If you think this, you are wrong. It is a catch-all for all sorts of rad- ical organizations. I would like to inform Ms. Schwartz that the BLM organization’s platform in- cludes vile antisemitism and the associated hate mongers. This is weird because the Jew- ish people were instrumental in the forming of the NAACP. The BLM organization’s agenda is far different than the slogan. Money given to them goes down a rabbit hole. It’s unfortunately a sign of the times; you have to be very careful who and what you support. —George Goldsten Florence Proposed housing project has some problems For anyone concerned about the traffi c on 35th Street and Rho- dodendron Drive, please review the documents for the Florence Planning Commission meeting set for July 14 on the City of Flor- ence website. Th e description of the proposal is for 101 low-rise, multi-fami- ly homes and 31 detached sin- gle-family homes to be added on a 9-acre plot in the area. Th e plan calls for no changes to help the traffi c fl ow in the area, despite the estimated 1,077-net new weekday daily trips. I suggest the community looks at this development with a view as to the impact it will make in the area. Let the city know of your con- cerns before this becomes a prob- lem. —Sandy Davidson Florence Only by working together will racism end In response to the national fo- cus and support of Black Lives Matter, starting on June 2, there have now been eight rallies and a Juneteenth celebration here in Florence. Residents of this small com- munity, along with cities big and small from all over Oregon, the nation and the world, are stand- ing in solidarity and following the lead of the Black Lives Matter movement recognizing that sys- temic racism is prevalent in our country and must be addressed in every city. Since that fi rst rally on June 2, the Florence Police Department chief successfully dispelled the rumor of outside agitators; of- fi cers continue to wave at rally participants when they pass by the intersection of Highway 101 and 126 and are responsive to any concern. However, I have received no response to a request in my June 7 letter to the Mayor and City Council for a statement that Black Lives Matter, a review of the use- of-force policies, and measures to use common sense reforms to end police violence. I made no mention originally of the Black Lives Matter demand to defund the police, but that is a conversation that needs to be ad- dressed and defi ned as well. With many Council meetings and committee meetings can- celled, the next Council meeting is July 20. Is this when these concerns will be publicly addressed? In the middle of a global pan- demic, an economic crisis, a cli- mate crisis and a racial justice cri- sis, is Florence just going to hope it all goes away? Aft er a month of rallies right here in Florence and more to come, the health and safety of our citizens should not be a political debate. Only when we work together as a community, support each other and recognize that systemic rac- ism is real can we have a prosper- ous, healthy and safe community for everyone. —Beverly Sherrill Florence No one has the right to put others at risk On July 3 and 4, I held a ceram- ic studio sale with a “thank you” to all those people thoughtful enough to wear a mask, just as I was doing, to protect each other from COVID-19. Th ese are true community members. I defi ne community as a group of people who care about each other. Th en there was the very diff er- ent group in Old Town, demon- strating with no social distancing or masks. Demonstrate for whomever you want — that’s your right. But you don’t have the right to put others at risk with your behavior. If Florence gets new cases of COVID-19 in two to three weeks, it will be due to those kneeling at the altar of divisiveness rather than that of community. —Mike Schwartz Florence The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor 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 in- clude full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publica- tion of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumen- tative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are un- sourced or documented will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside the Siu- slaw News readership area will only be published 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 accurate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hear- say; and 3) Explain the reasons to support candi- dates based on personal experience and perspective rather than partisanship and campaign-style rhet- oric. Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and plat- forms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid politi- cal advertising. As with all letters and advertising content, the newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publisher, general manager and editor, reserves the right to re- ject 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