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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2021)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | JANUARY 23, 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 Office: 148 Maple St./PO Box 10 Florence, OR 87439 LETTERS Free speech shouldn’t include lies in print I cannot begin to express the level of disappointment I had when I saw that this newspaper chose to publish the letter from Tony Cavarno (“Trumps Troop- ers,” Jan. 16). The disinformation that is the basis of that letter is the same dis- information that led to the insur- rection on our Capital on Jan. 6. This is not a matter of opinion. There is no evidence for the claims of election fraud. Trump and company lost 64 court cases as of Jan. 13 because there was no evidence to support the claims of election fraud. Part of the reason we were in the position of state capitals and D.C. having to be protected by National Guard is because media has been unwilling to call out the lies and not give them a platform. The ones that believe these lies are not going to change their minds. It is the responsibility of media and those of us who sup- port small ‘d’ democracy to not allow the propaganda that these lies promulgate to flourish. Everyone has the right to speak their opinion but that does not mean they are free of the conse- quences of that speech. —Maria Cruz Florence Clear difference in how political parties respond When the election was stolen in 2016, there was no storming of the Capitol, no threats of violence against the speaker of the house, no threats of hanging the Vice President. I think that very clearly shows the difference between the two current political parties in the United States of America. Democrats peacefully accepted the Electoral College vote when the popular vote very clearly wanted Hillary Clinton to be our president. We were heartbroken and confused how that could happen, but we obeyed the laws and norms of our country and hoped and prayed that the man would rise above his need for personal power and adulation and consider the country before his own desires. Sadly, that was not to be. I understand that there are those in our society who are still under the spell of Trump but thankfully the majority of our nation saw through the lies, de- ceit and greed, voting instead to preserve our democracy from a dictator. It is totally on the shoulders of the losing party to choose how they move forward. One can suck it up and grudgingly move for- ward, as Democrats have done for the past fur years, or continue to loot, burn and violate the laws and regulations put in place by the ruling party. The choice is up to you. —Patty Harrison Florence Moved here for quiet streets, not annexation As retired people, we recently bought and moved to Idylewood in Florence for the fresh ocean air and quiet streets for walking in order to maintain good health and hopefully prolong life. We enjoy the pristine beauty of the beach and trees and the priva- cy the latter affords. Thank you Bruce Hadley and others for presenting our situ- ation so clearly. Does Florence really want to loose the unique beauty and quality afforded here and become like any other city? I trust our mayor and city council will take heed and oppose annexation. If not, and we be- come part of the city, our friends and co-residents will certainly know how to vote in the next city election. —Warren and Nancy Stewart Florence Insurrection is insurrection In the Jan. 16 edition of the Siuslaw News, Tony Cavarno’s Letter to the Editor “Trump’s Troopers” was published. I have no idea where Mr. Ca- varno gets his news or opinions, but they are not based on reality. To quote him: “There appears to be plenty of evidence regarding the fraud that went on to cheat the president out of his reelection” and “One would have to be blind to believe other- wise.” My retort: It was proved beyond a doubt that if one had open eyes and a mind that they would realize that Biden won the election hands down. I assume that Mr. Cavarno served in our military services and holds the Stars and Stripes as the symbol of the United States. On Jan. 6, an insurrection oc- curred on our Capitol Building instigated by then-President Trump. On top of the Capitol Building where the Stars and Stripes flew it was replaced by a Trump flag. Insurrection is insurrection and by any other term it is still insurrection. —Win Jolley Florence Another name for ‘Troopers’ is ‘terrorists’ Is it politically incorrect to call the invaders at the D.C. Capitol on Jan. 6 “Trump’s Terrorists?” Are there those that support Trump that are not in favor of the insurrection? If so, please speak out and give a rationale for their unAmerican activities. All rational minds want to know what you call them. All those criminals who want- ed to take away our democracy will have the benefit of a paid-for federal attorney if they cannot af- ford one. Then, they will understand what democracy is. —Joanne Leggio Florence Glad Trump didn’t concede election I am glad that the President did not concede. It is not about over- turning the election, it is about proving to the American people that only legal votes were count- ed and that every legal vote was counted. One becomes suspicious of fraudulent activity when one views the security video from the State Farm arena in Georgia showing [what appears to be] containers of ballots brought out from under a table after elec- tion spotters were told no more counting was to take place; and when testimony alleges improper activity in four states; and when an analysis of voting machines shows that they [may] have been connected to the internet and may have been hacked. This all becomes more suspi- cious when Biden, who did min- imal campaigning, supposedly won with more votes than Barack Obama did in 2008 — and more than a man who had multiple ral- lies which hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic supporters attend- ed during a pandemic. Have you noticed that no one has disputed that D.J. Trump re- ceived over 74 million votes? The reported fraudulent elec- tion activities should all be inves- tigated by the federal authorities and verified or disputed appro- priately. Then the process laid out in the U.S. Constitution should be followed. A public analysis of the process is taking place which has not oc- curred in recent history. A system that shows a fair and honest elec- tion must be in place. In my opin- ion, appropriately verifying the results of this election is a good thing. —Sandy Davidson 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 WHERE TO WRITE President Joseph Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 TTY/TDD: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 Email: Sen.DickAnderson@ oregonlegislature.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown State Rep. Boomer Wright (Dist. 9) State Sen. Dick Anderson (Dist. 5) 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. 900 Court St. NE Salem, Ore. 97301-4047 Salem, OR 97301 Message Line: 503-986-1409 503-378-4582 Email: Rep.BoomerWright@ www.oregon.gov/gov oregonlegislature.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 Lane County Dist. 1 Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 | 541-465-6750 Florence City Council www.merkley.senate.gov & Mayor Joe Henry Florence City Hall, 250 U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio Highway 101, Florence, 97439 (4th Dist.) 541-997-3437 2134 Rayburn HOB ci.florence.or.us Washington, DC 20515 Email comments to Florence 202-225-6416 City Recorder Kelli Weese at 541-269-2609 | 541-465-6732 kelli.weese@ci.florence.or.us www.defazio.house.gov
