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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2020)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | NOVEMBER 25, 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 Cathy Dietz Ron Annis For Advertising: ext. 318 Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor For Classifieds: ext. 320 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 A whisper of thankfulness despite challenges “What? Yesss.” Oregon changed my life for the better. Twice, actually. First as a 15-year-old with my family, then again Though it’s been 38 years since I arrived in Oregon as a high school sophomore, when peo- ple ask where I moved from, I still whisper when I say, “California.” I do so in jest (most- ly), secure in the knowledge that reveal- ing my California roots — however withered — won’t suddenly bring nearby conversations to an embarrassing halt, leaving cricket chirps in its place. But recent- ly, I’ve come to realize there’s a different reason I whisper when it comes to explaining where I was in relation to where I am now. It’s a whisper rooted in thankfulness. It’s the whisper that escapes you the mo- ment after realizing how close you came to being in a serious accident. Or when the gas attendant asks if you want to use your .50-cent gas re- ward when you thought you only had 20. my life: Everything I thought I knew wasn’t nearly as important as how I’d come to know myself thanks to the life I was experiencing in ularly as the gains in my career began costing something far more important: Time with my family. So when, in 1998, the opportunity was presented to begin a From the Editor's Desk new career as a journal- Ned Hickson ist, my beloved Oregon changed my life for the when I moved back as Oregon. second time. a 37-year-old with my Returning home at Come this Thanksgiv- own family. the end of that summer, ing, despite the chal- In the first instance, I still remember step- lenges and disappoint- it was culture shock ping out of the car and ments we’re all facing just short of defibrilla- onto our dirt driveway due to the pandemic, tion as I went from the in a new pair of Nikes, these are the things I’ll concrete jungle of Los realizing how those be thinking about and Angeles to the black- shoes — and that life — quietly giving thanks berry hillsides along just didn’t fit anymore. for as our small fami- the North Fork of the This is home, I whis- ly of four, rather than Siuslaw River. Instead pered. (Mostly because our extended family, of riding my Schwinn I didn’t want my parents gathers around a dinner to school and spending to hear and know they table that — if not for afternoons running had been right. I was Oregon’s surreptitious around the streets in my still a teenager, after all.) intervention in my life Nikes, I was canoeing The lessons learned — I may not be sitting over a flooded dike to and perspectives gained at today. meet my school bus and from life as an Ore- On behalf of everyone returning home to stack gonian were things I at the Siuslaw News, we wood or dig post holes. carried with me after wish all of you a very Usually in mud boots. graduating from Siu- happy Thanksgiving I didn’t like Oregon slaw High School and and many reasons to be because it was the becoming a regional thankful. opposite of everything chef in Atlanta for the Not the least of which I’d known. It wasn’t next 10 years. is the family we all share until returning that But during all of that as fellow Oregonians summer to visit family time, the thought of and neighbors within in L.A. that I realized returning to Oregon the Siuslaw Valley. something that changed stayed with me, partic- 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 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
