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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2021)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | APRIL 21, 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. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Siuslaw News Office: 148 Maple St./PO Box 10 Florence, OR 87439 Florence Earth Day Committee Proclamation (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub- missions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) To the citizens of the City of Flor- ence for Earth Day, April 22, 2021: WHEREAS, when life around the world returns to normal, we have the ability to make a difference in every industry, Restore Our Earth focus- es on natural processes, emerging green technologies and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems, and WHEREAS, Restore Our Earth encompasses goals and actions in- cluding reforestation, regenerative agriculture and sustainable food, plastic cleanups, climate literacy, and citizen science, and WHEREAS we have the ability to make lasting changes by cutting and capturing carbon, restoring the health and resilience of our planet and people, and Guest Viewpoint Florence Earth Day Committee Submitted by Tina Haydel WHEREAS more than 1 billion people in 192 countries now par- ticipate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic ob- servance in the world, and WHEREAS Restoration is imper- ative to fighting climate change and making the Earth a safer, healthier, and more equitable place to live for all its inhabitants THEREFORE WE, the Florence Earth Day Committee and the un- dersigned Florence Area Residents, proclaim April 22, 2021, as Earth Day throughout Florence and en- courage all to use Earth Day and ev- ery day to celebrate and protect the earth and its inhabitants. Florence Earth Day Committee Florence Climate Emergency Cam- paign: Florence Indivisible, Flor- ence Area Democratic Club, Elders Climate Action-Oregon — Leonora Kent, Ivy Meadow, Ray and Beverly Sherrill, Rick and Darlene Norwood, Meris Robison and Julie Ellis. LETTERS What the heck is wrong with us? With all the recent and past horror of mass shootings comes the call for action on guns. It happens every time there is an- other horrendous incident. To be honest, I have no earth- ly idea just what can be done effectively to stop this carnage. There are nearly 400 million guns in this country, and they are not going away. What I real- ly want to know is why we, as a nation, kill so many people with guns? Aside from those countries at war, or engaged in the industry of supplying our appetite for il- licit drugs, we are the gun vio- lence capital of the world. The combined populations of Sweden, France, Spain, Norway, Poland, Germany and the Unit- ed Kingdom roughly equals the population of the United States. Yet the total average number of gun deaths per year in all of these countries is approximately 3,800. The total right here at home? More than 39,000! What the heck is wrong with us? —Jimmie Zinn Florence society. The Lane Educational Ser- vice District (ESD) is the part of our public school system that works with all 16 Lane County districts to provide all students with access to special services, including career exploration and early college credits. By sharing and pooling re- sources, we keep the cost low — a win-win for all children and the adults in charge. On May 18, we’ll have the chance to continue growing the best parts of our system by re-electing Rose Wilde to the Lane ESD board. Rose is highly respected for her strong com- mitment to the job of a board member for the past eight years, and for six years as member of the Lane County Budget Com- mittee. Rose Wilde was born in ru- ral Lane County. She comes to Florence often to work with partners and community lead- ers. Our children and youth are fortunate to have such a dedi- cated advocate. —Karin Radtke Florence A voice for our youth School board needs experienced educator The brilliant concept of pub- lic education is that it creates opportunities for all our young people. Ask any American cit- izen, and you will hear stories of grandparents who arrived not speaking a word of English, but who thrived and succeeded thanks to a public school; or of a disabled child who had access to a broad education and was able as an adult to contribute to As a long-time citizen of Flor- ence, I am proud to support Maureen Miltenberger for Siu- slaw School Board Position 4. Maureen is a career educa- tor, administrator and public servant who understands every child deserves a well-rounded education; she sees the big pic- ture and is committed to getting parents and students involved in decision making processes. Maureen is no stranger to working with people from all backgrounds — the haves and the have nots. Maureen’s voice and actions are grounded in inclusivity to help each student fulfill his, her or their potential. For these reasons, I will be voting for Maureen Miltenberg- er. —Sally Wantz Florence When is enough gun violence enough? After a string of mass shoot- ings over the last several weeks that is still continuing, we have seen at least four more mass shootings since April 15. In In- diana, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Texas. Where is the outrage? When is enough, enough? Most mass shooters use AR- 15-like guns as their weapon of choice. These weapons of war are built for combat and are de- signed to kill as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. A homeowner does not need a weapon of war to protect him- self or herself; a hunter does not need a weapon of war to shoot wildlife. We have lost 12,398 souls to gun violence in 2021 as I write this. The odds are good this number will increase by the time this letter is published — and still, Congress does noth- ing. We need an assault weapon ban, a license to own a gun, and a requirement for every gun to be registered. —Marybeth Marenco 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
