Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 2020)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | AUGUST 12, 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 LETTERS Show our best side Now that the Democrat Club of Florence has an office at 309 Laurel and the Florence Republicans have one at 1751 12th, the citizens of Flor- ence have a unique opportunity to demonstrate an environment of mu- tual respect and tolerance. Unlike Portland, Seattle and Eu- gene, Florence is known for people supporting each other in times of need independent of ideology and volunteering for organizations that make Florence a better place. There is a good chance that the “Hate is Bad” and “Be Kind” signs held at the 126 and 101 intersection will be put to the test when “Keep America Great” signs start to appear this election season. Let’s respect these offices and our neighbor’s property. Don’t put van- dalism and intolerance on display in Florence. —Sherry Harvey Florence Listen up right-wing zealots and leftist commies Reading and watching the news these days has been so very educa- tional. For example, I have learned that all Democrats are really closet Marxists, trying to destroy the coun- try, and all Republicans are blatant fascists, amassing guns to overthrow democracy. What happens when anyone who disagrees with us becomes an enemy; when we listen only to those who tell us what we want to hear; when name calling and personal insult be- comes the lingua franca of political discourse; when ideology supplants reason; and when the free exchange of ideas is shouted down by vitriolic attack? I would suggest that what happens is a once great and united nation be- gins the inevitable slide toward chaos and eventual irrelevance. Listen up you right-wing zealots, pay attention you leftist commies; keep this up and suffer the conse- quences! —Jimmie Zinn Florence ‘It was only six blocks’ The other day as I was going to the post office I met a friend who is po- litically my opposite. In the conversa- tion that followed, I referred to “that mess in Portland” to which he replied “It was only six blocks.” It was six blocks where the rule of law was suspended and as a result people were killed and injured, busi- nesses destroyed and jobs lost. The fact that it happened at all demonstrates the failed leadership of both the mayor of Portland and Gov- ernor Brown. Until we stop buying into the di- visive rhetoric that pours from the media and hate groups, we will not see an end to the chaos. In the words of Benjamin Frank- lin, “Only a virtuous people are ca- pable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” Tyranny is on our doorstep and as Thomas Jefferson said, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people Office: 148 Maple St./PO Box 10 Florence, OR 87439 of good conscience to remain silent.” Think carefully about the life you want when you vote in November. —Bruce Jarvis Florence This country has beaten down Marxism before I was dismayed when I saw that the rocks at the north jetty were defaced with BLM grafitti. If you want to stand behind BLM do so but don’t deface property that you don’t own. For those who feel that BLM is a beacon of light in the darkness, do some research on this organization. It hasn’t anything to do with any- one’s skin color nor do the protests have to do with George Floyd’s death or supposed police brutality. Take some time to research BLM. You’ll find that Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza, co-founders of BLM, have admitted to being Marx- ists. Patrisse Cullors was a protegee of Eric Mann who was an agitator for Weather Underground, a domestic terrorist group in the 1970s. Be care- ful with whom you align yourself. If you decide that Marxism is what you want, there are at least five countries which may accept you. The United States of America was found- ed on the belief that all men are cre- ated equal and that Almighty God is at the helm — and we plan to keep it that way. This country has beaten down Marxism before and, God willing, we will do so again. —Pamela Richardson Florence 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. 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 Nonprofi t after school programs fi ll gaps for families (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submis- sions on this and other topics are al- ways welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) Childcare and youth organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs and YM- CA’s across the state, have stepped up to provide emergency childcare for families in need since the beginning of the pandemic, filling the gap caused by the closure of in-person learning at schools. As communities and industries across Oregon begin to return to work this fall, and schools remain closed to in-person learning, families will continue to face impossible decisions regarding their ability to balance their work schedules and their expanded role in their child’s education. Our organizations have extended hours, shifted focus, and adapted to the rigorous, and expensive emergen- cy childcare criteria to ensure youth and staff stay safe. We stepped into this work without government fund- ing to cover the increased costs. We have been tirelessly fundrais- ing and grant writing to keep child- care fees affordable to ensure that our working families can access care. Our staff show up every day with a smile and reassurances to our children who are feeling the fear and uncertainty from the pandemic. The government has gone to great lengths to allocate funds and provide much-needed support to industries, education, communities and individ- uals who are struggling through this unprecedented crisis, but those who are stepping into the risk of providing critical all-day care for working fami- lies have been forgotten. As we continue to provide relief funding for industries and companies Guest Viewpoint By Chuck Trent Executive Director B&GC of Western Lane County that have been severely impacted by COVID-19, we must also prioritize the importance of funding for child- care, youth workers, and ultimately our children. On July 28, Governor Brown an- nounced that she is releasing $28 million to be distributed to all public schools under the Governor’s Educa- tion Emergency Relief Fund (CARES Act) for mobile hot-spots, computers and technology, online curriculum and teacher training. All noble causes, but isn’t there money from other sources of fund- ing, such as the $121 million in ESSER funds Oregon received that is ded- icated to helping schools adapt and respond to COVID impacts? Youth development and childcare organizations have stepped into the risk of the pandemic to allow parents to return to work and keep our local economies open. We need relief now to continue childcare services and to support students in their education while schools remain closed to in-per- son education. Childcare workers deserve to be paid for the risk being taken, our employees need additional training, and we need access to im- proved IT infrastructure and technol- ogy to support distance learning. It makes sense that some of the ESSER funds could be allocated towards so- cial service organizations that are fill- ing the gap. The state’s economic recovery de- pends on the childcare sector; without childcare parents are unable to return to work. We need your voice to encourage our elected officials to include child- care in the funding packages. Fund- ing schools is important and funding organization’s that are taking care of youth during out-of-school time is equally important. Together we make it possible for working parents to retain their em- ployment and get our economy going again. 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