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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 2021)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | JANUARY 2, 2021 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 2021 © 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 LETTERS Need a new Congress No matter which political party you are in, it’s time to vote for some- one else. I don’t know who that would be but it is clear the management we currently have doesn’t deserve their fat pay checks or their long list of benefits. Just before Christmas, Congress passed a 5,583 page COVID Relief package coupled with an Omnibus spending authorization. Of course the congressmen and women had less than four hours to read the 5,583 pages of the proposed bills — but what the heck, it’s time to go home for Christmas and it’s only $2.3 tril- lion ($2,300,000,000,000) of taxpayer money and debt for our children and grandchildren to pay back. No worries right? We all know there is a great deal of pain and suffering that has result- ing from the COVID-19 pandemic. American citizens face high unem- ployment, bankruptcies of small businesses forced to close, food in- security and increased homelessness along with mental stress and loss of education for our kids. So, let’s take a look a quick look at some of what our good congress men and women are spending our money on: $15 million to Pakistan for democracy programs, $10 mil- lion to Pakistan for gender programs, $135 million to Burma, $453 million to Ukraine, $700 million to Sudan, $40 million to the Kennedy Center (which is currently closed), $86 mil- lion to Cambodia, $130 million to Nepal, $1.4 billion to Egypt for mili- tary assistance ... These are just a few of the items being funded in these two bills. Two trillion, three hundred billion dollars may not be a lot of money for the federal government and some of these expenditures may have merit. But let’s look at this another way. These extra expenditures add up to $27,204,000,000 billion. If this amount was redirected to out-of- work restaurant workers and own- ers, 5,440,800 of them could receive $5,000 a piece. But Congress sent the money else- where without even reading the bill as drafted. Next time we get to vote, let’s get some new blood in there that will at least consider what’s good for those in our county that need help and put them before the needs of Pakistan, the Kennedy Center and Egypt. —David R. Davis Florence Beaudreau for City Council I am writing in support of Jo Beau- dreau to fill the currently vacant po- sition on the Florence City Council, a term expiring Dec. 31, 2022. My support is due in part to the fact that Beaudreau’s recent cam- paign for mayor was both positive and outgoing, and also gracefully free from any muckraking. She re- ceived an impressive of 2,748 votes (49 percent) from the total 5,624 vot- ers in the mayoral race. It is highly likely that her appointment to the vacant position would be strongly favored by those 2,748 Florence resi- dents who voted for her. In addition, Beaudreau is a local business owner who is actively in- volved in our community in many ways, including as a Chamber of Commerce member, Chamber of Commerce Beautification and Re- vitalization Team Member (Banner Chair), Chair of the Florence Events Center Gallery Committee, founding member and vice-chair of the City of Florence Public Arts Committee, just to name a few. She also is involved with The Ford Family Foundation’s Ford Institute for Community Building, and with the Rural Development Initiatives. These community activities offer Beaudreau very broad access to in- formation and learning. They also offer opportunities for her to share in building community awareness to enhance what we have here in Flor- ence and also to strengthen each oth- er in all aspects of our lives. Beaudreau’s small-town rural background, as well as her experi- ences living in other diverse areas, are a benefit in terms of having pro- vided the tools, ideas, and passion to help her as an advocate for all the people of Florence. I have enjoyed a quite happy life in Florence since moving here in No- vember 2013, but now have become aware of an increasing divisiveness in our lovely city. Jo Beaudreau will bring her strong commitment to inclusiveness, team- work, positivity, compassion, and fair leadership to the city council table. She also will be a role model to encourage other council members to bring their best cooperative efforts to the table as well. —Ann Lathrop Florence Please stop complaining about protecting each other (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.) My heart is hurting. Two weeks ago on my 41st birthday, I found out that my parents, who live in an assisted living facility up in the Portland area, had just tested positive for coronavi- rus. They don’t go anywhere. They don’t have visitors besides an occasional masked, socially distant patio visit by one or two of their three daughters and a handful of grandkids. I haven’t had a visit with my par- ents since February that wasn’t out in the cold or through a window. They haven’t had much of a visit with their newest granddaughter who was born this past May — and at this rate, my father never will. He’s laying in a bed dying three hours away from me and I’m now faced with the decision of either choosing to go see him (which their facility will allow with strict restric- tions) and then isolating myself for two weeks when I get home — or not going and living with the fact that I chose not to see my father in his last days. I will also add that, if I choose to go see him, it also means I will have to cancel two weeks of appointments I have scheduled with my clients. In ad- dition, my partner will have to either rely on his parents, who live hours away, for childcare, or take those two weeks off to care for our children. I would also have to rent a motel room for those two weeks of quar- antine since I cannot isolate from my children (one of which has asthma) because our house is small. In addition to that, I would miss my son’s 10th birthday and the holidays with my partner and children this Guest Viewpoint By Quinn Gates Florence year. I’ve chosen not to go see my father. It’s been a really hard decision for me and makes me cry every time I think about it. Sadly, my situation isn’t unique. I’m not looking for pity or condolences. My father would likely not make it to next Christmas even if he hadn’t got- ten COVID-19. I’m not writing this to try to convince anyone to wear a mask to protect those around them or to follow the guidelines set by the CDC or our own governor. I’m writing this for one reason spe- cifically: to ask everyone to stop com- plaining. For as hard as it is to put on my own mask for an 8-plus hour shift knowing that I’ve chosen to forgo seeing my fa- ther as he lays dying so that I can stay home and fix my clients’ hair so they look good for their holiday — hearing them complain about a simple piece of cloth or paper mask on their face for the duration of their appointment makes me want to scream. So please, stop complaining. Nobody likes wearing these masks. Nobody likes having to stay away from their loved ones, especially during the holidays. Everybody is ex- periencing the same coronavirus fatigue, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. So, the next time you are in line at the grocery store, talking to your bank teller or sitting down for your haircut, please remember that we are all in the same boat and let’s try to stop being so negative and start being a bit more hopeful — especially since we now have a vaccine on the way. Coronavirus has touched many of our lives and altered them in some- way. Let’s try to remember that a lot of people are hurting and need more positivity in their lives right now. So, put on your mask and smile at the checker next time you go to the grocery store. It’s not just your mouth that smiles; eyes smile too. Maybe even thank them for the of- ten thankless job they are doing. Spread some love. We all need some more love these days. 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. 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