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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2021)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | JANUARY 27, 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; Display classified ads, Friday noon. 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. LETTERS Facts are stubborn Sandy Davidson’s letter of Jan. 23 (“Glad Trump Didn’t Concede Election”) to the Siuslaw News ex- pressed suspicion of fraudulent activity in the recent presidential election and calls for federal inves- tigation on behalf of Mr. Trump. Several facts seem relevant: 1) The Constitution places the responsibility on each state for de- termining how its electoral votes will be cast. There is no oversight from other states nor from the fed- eral government. The only role of the federal gov- ernment is ceremonial and is limit- ed to counting electoral votes and announcing the winner. That’s con- sistent with the federal system and historically reflects preservation of states’ rights. 2) There were indeed allegations of fraudulent activities in the 2020 election, all of them dubious. Every challenge was investigated and sub- sequently invalidated by state elec- tion authorities and judicial review, including the Supreme Court. Many overthrown charges of fraud came from states with Re- publican administrations, and in the same election Republicans gained seats in the House of Rep- resentatives. The election was fair. 3) While Mr. Trump held more campaign events than President Biden, critical thinking does not take that as evidence that Mr. Trump won the election. The same comparison could be made to the 2016 election, in which Hillary Clinton, with fewer campaign ral- lies, won the popular vote by three million votes. Sadly, she still failed to win the presidency. As John Adams said, “Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” —Jim White Florence Letter to Editor should go national Regarding the “Clear Difference In How Political Parties Respond” letter to the editor in the Jan. 23, edition submitted by Patty Harri- son: I would hope she can take time to send her letter to every major newspaper in the country. It was well put. Everyone should give what she said some careful thought. —Madelyne Barnett Florence Council committee selection needed more in-depth discussion I watched the interviews of the new Florence City Council mem- ber applicants, then watched the next meeting, which was discus- sion to determine the choices. I expected to hear transparency and an in-depth council discussion on each candidate’s credentials and how they would complement the council. I heard only one member dis- cuss, in-depth, one applicant and their possible contributions. I think the choices would have better served our community had there been an open discussion among the council about each can- didate. Diversity and experience could have contributed to our city council. Maggie Baggon brought much to her interview and also received 2,209 votes. The voting community seems to have provided the council with di- rection. —Lyn Hackelman Florence No duty to help homeless, but charity should be your guide Society has no duty to help drug addicts, petty criminals or the mentally unstable. Many times, these people have chosen this path. Recently, to the great dismay of many, homeless will no longer cow- er and hide in the shadows. They seem to be numerous enough to buck society’s disapproval and defy enforcement. I have seen the en- campment folks disapprove of. What I noticed was the few children inside those tents being pressed between the hopeless state of vagrancy, and the anger of those whom would judge them unwant- ed. I hope that those repulsed by the view of homeless people would consider themselves peering out of a tent, suffering from whatever ailment — whether self-induced or not. Consider socks are a most sought after item on a homeless persons list, and Walmart — which grossed $524 billion last year — cannot spare a pair. The depths of a depression brought on Social Security to pro- vide for those whom fail to provide for themselves but, somehow, that is lost for these souls. These va- grants will remain, for all to see, at their intersection — collecting “stuff ” as people do. As I wrote in a previous Letter to the Editor, we have no duty to help. But faith, hope and charity may be your guide. Next time you drive by, consider providing them some socks, as was pointed out in a recent opinion let- ter. Don’t forget to give them a few pair in child sizes as well. —Bill Shepard Mapleton We need to declare what is true and what isn’t Letter writer Tony Cavarno challenged Siuslaw News readers to respond to his Jan.16 opinion (“Trump’s Troopers”) that the re- cent presidential election had been rigged, that Trump had won. I offer these excerpts from a 2018 article written by Christian pastor and author John Pavlovitz: I think it’s time to stop saying that we need to understand these people. I think we do understand them: We understand that they have dug in their heels so deeply, they Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com will not be moved by anything — not facts or data or truth or their own eyes. If adults are that fragile in the face of reality that willing to deny country and humanity simply be- cause they’re offended ... their dis- positions aren’t really a burden the rest of us should or could bear. Since they people will not be moved, the rest of us need to move together. We don’t need to convince or coddle or win over hatred, and we don’t need to outdo it either. We need to outnumber it. We need to outlast it. We need to outlove it. We need to outvote it.” To this I add: We need to declare always what is true and what is not. —Harold Titus Florence Why should restaurants follow the laws, right? “Cheating is defined as acting dishonestly in order to specifically gain an advantage over the oppo- nent.” I read that sentence by Siuslaw News columnist Lloyd Little re- cently (referencing sports), and I thought of the restaurants here in town that are breaking the law in order to gain a competitive advan- tage over other restaurants that are following the law. I wondered why our Chamber of Commerce isn’t standing up for those other businesses, many of whom have worked hard and spent money to be creative to keep their businesses going — Off Bay Street Bistro, Jerry’s Place, Nosh and City Lights come to mind as businesses that have been innovative in offer- ing services that allow them to stay in business and also keep our com- munity safe. I wonder if our mayor and city council are familiar with the “bro- ken windows” theory? If we invite people to our town to break a law they don’t agree with, perhaps they won’t stop with dining in. Maybe they’ll feel free to drive 60 miles per hour on our streets? After all, they’re in a hurry. Why should they be inconvenienced for our safety? Maybe they won’t stop at our crosswalks; if people are afraid of being hit by cars, they should just stay home. Perhaps they will have their campfires during the dry sea- son; if they start a forest fire, oh well. They can just go somewhere else on vacation next year. And I was alarmed to hear that armed “militia” are volunteering to “guard” at least one of these scoff- law restaurants. So if a state patrol- man comes to enforce the man- date, will the “militia men” shoot or confront him? What happened to supporting our police? If my home is in violation of a city code I don’t agree with, should I threaten to fight with the code enforcement officer who comes to my house? Is this really the world we want to live in, to see our children and grandchildren grow up in? — Donna Mlinek Florence 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. 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
