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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2020)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | JULY 29, 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 Kids’ Corner not just for older ‘kids’ too Many thanks to the weekly Kids’ Corner page in the Siuslaw News. I always enjoy “This Day in History” and the many varied puzzles are great for my elderly brain. My neurologist recommends that I exercise my brain fre- quently with new activities, and Kids’ Corner has a grand vari- ety of word challenges, such as Hocus Focus and Kids’ Maze as visual puzzles, and also the fun riddles. After reading them, I send the pages to three of my young rela- tives accross the country. Thanks also to Oregon Pacific Bank, First Community Credit Union and the Siuslaw Public Library for sponsoring the Kids’ Corner. —Ann Lathrop Florence Respecting Constitution, Bible is not exclusive In response to Keith Kraft ’s defi nition of “far right” in his July 22 Letter to the Editor (“What ‘Far-Right’ Means To Me”). Mr. Kraft fails to understand that others can also respect both the Constitution and the Bible but may have diff erent interpre- tations of them. I believe that kneeling re- spectfully during the national anthem honors that anthem; the fl ag and those who have fought and died for it is an exercise in both the Constitutional right to freedom of expression and the Christian obligation to call out and address the ways in which we have failed, as a nation, to live up to the ideals of both Christ and the founding fathers. I believe peaceful protestors — like the moms, dads and vet- erans in Portland — who are being gassed should be allowed to exercise their Constitution- al rights to freedom of speech and assembly as well as their Christian right to stand for the oppressed — without being as- saulted by American troops in combat gear. Mr. Kraft ’s suggestion that BLM is led by Marxists refl ects a misconstrual of what it means to be trained in Marxist theory. Marxist theory raises ques- tions like: “Why was the average CEO salary 30 times higher than the average worker’s salary in the 1970s, but today it is nearly 300 times higher?” It also con- siders the causes and potential solutions to those grossly unfair and inequitable conditions. It is our Constitutional right and Christian obligation to raise and address issues of systemic inequality in our country. While I agree most police are dedicated to protect and serve, because of the great power and responsibility they are given, it is appropriate to apply a higher level of scrutiny and hold them to a higher standard of behavior in order to prevent the abuse of that power and the abroga- tion of citizens’ Constitutional rights. And Christian compassion for those less fortunate than us calls for funding community services to assist with problems like mental illness, homelessness and drug addiction — issues a police force is ill-equipped yet oft en called upon to deal with. It is true that a nation cannot exist without borders; it also cannot exist without immi- grants. Conservative Justice An- tonin Scalia ruled that refugees and immigrants have a Consti- tutional right to due process, and we have a Christian duty to treat them humanely. When I listen to Black people and at- tempt to view the world from their perspective (something I think Christian teaching in compassion compels us to do), it is clear that my white skin has aff orded me advantages. I’m sorry that Mr. Kraft can- not fi nd it in his heart to do the same. —Donna Mlinek Florence Non-partisanship is a two-way street “Amazing, simply amaz- ing” as my departed Aunt Vera would say if she were still here on this side of the grass, in re- gards to Joshua Greene’s Guest Viewpoint in the July 15 edition of the Siuslaw News (“Politics Should Have No Place In Our Local Government”). He used up 28-1/2 inches of column print to complain of, and I quote, “far-right ideals governing by proxy — which does not represent all of our constituents.” He blasted three members of our local government as align- ing themselves with our “far- right community, outspoken pro-Trump supporters.” I would remind Mr. Greene that his left -leaning also does not represent all of our constit- uents. Th roughout his Guest View- point, he ranted about non-par- tisanship. So I assume those who don’t have liberal left -lean- ing thoughts or who conform to his way of thinking are display- ing partisanship? To my way of thinking, his entire Guest Viewpoint displays nothing but the lack of non-par- tisanship, which he so readily displayed. “Simply amazing” as Aunt Vera would say, “simply amaz- ing.” — Tony Cavarno Florence Let’s do something cooperative and constructive In my opinion, our city coun- cil is being stubborn in its deni- al to allow even a formal discus- sion of the possible need for an offi cial stance on the local im- pacts of climate change. I hate to think that those op- posed are ones who don’t believe the scientifi c proof, or that the science is a hoax. We live in an area which may become greatly aff ected by climate change in the not-too-distant future. Th is is a fact. Certain stages of that un- avoidable change should be dis- cussed and prepared for on be- half of the people who pay local taxes. Th ere needs to be com- munity education to help pre- pare ourselves and learn ways to reduce our own contribution to the problem. Th e council should reconsider the recent proclamation request put forth by Councilor Ron Pre- isler. Every town must do its part to preserve tomorrow for their de- scendants. Our youth are look- ing at their futures right now; giving them reassurance that we appreciate their voices and needs in our community is of utmost importance. Let’s do something coopera- tive and constructive: I ask that Florence City Council mem- bers, including our Mayor, re- consider and allow the discus- sion with all egos aside. —Wende Jarman Florence Climate proclamation about people, not partisanship (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submis- sions on various topics of local con- cern or impact are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage com- munity discussion and exchange of perspectives.) Th e passage of a proclamation addressing Climate Change was never about me, despite Mayor Joe Henry’s assertion that it was during the July 20 Florence City Council meeting. It was a group eff ort rep- resenting hundreds of Florence cit- izens, including those who draft ed the proclamation, along with the cli- mate activists who signed petitions in favor of it. In the past, the Mayor has been given several opportunities to pres- ent and proclaim it but, instead, chose to attempt to unilaterally edit the proclamation at the last council meeting. Nowhere in the City Charter or Council rules is the Mayor autho- rized to do that. Why would we accept the edits of someone who is clearly a climate change denier? So, our group changed the word- ing and asked the City Council — not the Mayor — to recognize the proclamation instead. Guest Viewpoint By Ron Preisler Florence City Councilor Florence has a committee, the En- vironmental Management Advisory Committee (EMAC), which would certainly be able to work on the is- sues raised in the Proclamation if not for the mayor telling them they could not because it was deemed too political. On the major issues we are facing today, including COVID-19, our economic situation here in Flor- ence (high unemployment, business closures, city staffi ng at a high both in numbers and cost), along with broader issues dealing with racial inequality and injustice, as well as climate change, the mayor has cho- sen to remain silent. Th at is not leadership, it is duck- ing the issues that must be addressed if we are truly a “Premier Coastal Community.” In the fi rst four years of my six years as the Vice President of the City Council, we accomplished a great deal. We then experienced a signifi cant change in the attitude of the Council as the balance of power shift ed to the Mayor once the latest council members were seated and almost unfailingly acquiesced to his way of thinking and voting. As a result, our city has sadly be- come like many others: Very divid- ed. Our city is better than that. Florence residents deserve leader- ship that cares about the well-being of all its people. 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. 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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 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. 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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
