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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2021)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | FEBRUARY 20, 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 We are all part of the solution to homelessness Statements in past letters, us- ing the language of “transients, “these people,” “catering to this minority,” are very sad to me. What happened to the human heart that anyone would con- sider “these people” as separate from you and I? I am one of the lucky ones. I am not living in a tent city or under a tarp. That gives me the opportunity to lend a hand to another who has not been so lucky. If you have been blessed with food, shelter, heat, safety and wealth, why not help the situation rather than ask the Mayor to please get “these tran- sients” out of our sight? Not all under a tarp want to be there. There are families, sin- gle moms with kids, as well as children out there alone, veter- ans and people needing medical help and none of the systems in place are working due to the pandemic. Why would our country treat our veterans this way? Why would some religious folks turn their faces away from those in need? What happened to help- ing those who are hungry, cold, unclothed, unsheltered? Then there is the issue of why the warming center opens only when temperatures drop below 32 degrees. Have you ever had to live outside in these torrential downpours and storms we have here regularly? No one can stay warm and dry under those conditions. We are talking about human beings, our fellow men and women, who need socks and underwear but have no way of affording them. What is wrong with this pic- ture? Not one of us has the right to look down on another who is less fortunate. We are all God’s children. We and the City of Florence are not in alignment with core principles of love for one an- other, caring for each other and lending a helping hand. Hey, maybe we the people of Florence could help by renting a dumpster for people and a port- a-potty. Maybe if the lucky ones who have money would start investing in humanity, we really could fix this mess? This world needs all of us; stop turning your face away. —Lynne Ann Kogut Florence Recycling more than about the deposit refund First, I want to share my sym- pathy with any loss of recycle reimbursement funds and the extra effort it sometimes takes to find locations to recycle. Life just doesn’t always treat us fair. I’ve been real lucky since I’ve always viewed recycling as a small price I could pay for help- ing the planet not be so over- loaded by the garbage we create, expecting it to absorbed with- out causing any damage. I do hope people look at a multitude of policy positions when making their political de- cisions and not just the incon- venience and revenue loss of recycling. Our community needs every thoughtful vote for moving for- ward into a clean and healthy future. —Judy Kinsman Florence Why I love Florence I recently had the fortune of listening to an interview on KXCR (one of the best commu- nity radio stations I’ve ever had the fortune to live near) with two City of Florence employees talking about all the opportuni- ties they had made available for this community. I was very impressed. An hour later, I was out at a favorite eatery, drinking a beer under cover while I watched four city workers put up the lo- cal icon: the post with wooden arrows pointing in all directions marking off the mileage to ev- ery other Florence in the world. It was during what I would call, for the coast, a soaking rain. I worked outside every day for 30 years, so I know exactly what they were going through. I was impressed. Which is my point: I doubt there is one of us that’s hap- py with politics these days, but there’s so many dedicated folks out there who do amazing things for little money and even less thanks. To the people who serve us, who look out for us, who pro- tect us, who deal with our sew- age — please accept my humble thanks. Florence is lucky to have you. I love Florence, you love Flor- ence, we all love Florence —Edward Gunderson 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