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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 2021)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION CHANTELLE MEYER , EDITOR | AUGUST 25, 2021 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 | 541-902-3520 | CMEYER @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion The First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibit- ing the free exercise thereof; or abridg- ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peace- ably to assemble, and to petition the Government 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) Phoenix Rising from the Ashes Speech given at the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce Siuslaw Awards on July 22 and submitted to the Siuslaw News by Chamber President/CEO Bettina Hannigan this August T hank you, Florence Area Chamber of Commerce for this award that carries a long tradition of upholding commu- nity service in our region. I also want to recognize all the import- ant work the other candidates are doing to give vital support to chil- dren and adults. Thank you, for your service. Tonight’s theme of a “Phoenix Rising from the Ashes” is certain- ly fitting after many months of isolation and uncertainty. During the pandemic, we’ve had to be flexible, creative and resilient. I’ve lived through some times in our country where we had to navigate hard times and persevere with determination. My father, Prokop Olienyk, came from the old country and spoke only Ukrainian when he arrived at Ellis Island in 1906. He filed for homestead rights and started a farm in North Dakota. He taught himself to read and write English. He became a U.S. citizen. He loved this country and was grateful. Our family survived the dry de- cade of the Dust Bowl, the Depres- sion and 10 successive years of crop failures. Those times were hard. And yet, despite all the weather and economic hardships … every spring when the snows melted and the frost left the ground, I watched my father out in the fields driving a team of horses to plant seeds with the enduring hope for a new harvest of wheat. That to me was a true witness of faith, a symbol of my father’s strong work ethic and enduring belief that with God’s help… we would survive hard times. In 1946, I enlisted in the U.S. Army in World War II, Post-War Japan. I was assigned to Sugamo Prison, 8th army unit. My job was to guard Japan’s top war criminals awaiting trial for crimes against humanity at the Far East Tribunal. When I served in Tokyo at Suga- mo Prison, I was deeply affected Guest Viewpoint By Steve Olienyk On being named the Florence First Citizen by the intense poverty and dev- astation of the Japanese civilians around me. I still remember while escorting a visiting U.S. Senator to view Nagasaki, we stood in silence looking at the deserted landscape left after the atomic bomb. The magnitude of destruction and suf- fering was beyond words. Later, I met with my Army Chap- lain and made a promise that, “If I were to return back home alive, I would dedicate the rest of my life to serving others and try to make things better.” And that is what I have tried to do. When we moved to Florence in 1983, I was impressed by the spirit of the local people. It felt like home. Florence was a place of strong and kind folks. As a banker, it was rewarding to help our cus- tomers who worked hard to build a livelihood and contribute to our economy. After many years of living in Florence, I still see folks helping each other in ways that they can; caring and collaborating in good times and bad. It’s more important than ever that we reach out across genera- tions and work together. Because in today’s tough times, I can as- sure you there’s someone near you who’s hurting. In Florence, when someone needs help, we step up. For me, it was honoring veter- ans on Memorial Day or serving as Chairman of the Board. It was painting a preschool, hosting a stilt walking contest, selling candy for scholarships or serving soup. You speak at the Veteran’s Park for second graders. You cut firewood to donate to families. You move a veteran into assisted living. Or you simply stop and listen when someone needs to talk at the Post Office. Big or small acts of kindness, they are all important. I’d like to thank the Kiwanis Club Membership and Board for this nomination. Around 1995, I prevailed upon the Kiwanis Club to take over the previous flag program I was working on. Back then, I was working alone, putting out 35 flags, and I knew we needed more volunteers. Kiwanis stepped up big time, sold flag sponsorships and recruited volunteers. Today, Ki- wanis displays nearly 550 Ameri- can flags on national holidays. Thank you to Flag Program Co- ordinator Shannon Sheets and our Flag Teams for going “above and beyond.” When the COVID lock- down started, Kiwanis was deter- mined to keep our program run- ning with new safety measures. We wanted citizens to know, that just like our national anthem says, “Our flag was still there!” May the colors of our country’s flags waving on Florence streets remind us that we are all connect- ed to each other as proud citizens of our fine nation. I leave you with the inspiring words from General Douglas Macarthur: “Americans never quit. Duty, honor, country … those are three hallowed words that reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be … what you will be!” May each of your community service projects inspire within you a deep sense of hope, purpose, promise and pride. Thank you, Florence Area Chamber of Commerce for this honor! (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub- missions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community dis- cussion and exchange of perspec- tives.) LETTERS (Editor’s Note: View- point submissions on these and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) Just Do It My wife and I are mem- bers of the Last Resort Players board and I also serve on the FACE board. Both organizations have close ties to the Florence Events Center and have been planning our par- ticipation in the FEC 25th Anniversary celebration. I have reluctantly no- tified our fellow board members that we will not be participating in this event due to the sky- rocketing cases in our zip code over the last couple of weeks. As we are fully vaccinated, we under- stand that a serious prob- lem with breakthrough cases is extremely rare. Our concern is that, in the event either of us be- came an asymptotic case, we could easily pass this virus on to others, par- ticularly the parents of children who themselves might be asymptotic breakthrough cases. Our hospitals have reached near capacity and our healthcare workers are reaching burnout sta- tus. It is high time to meet our responsibilities as a community, county, state and nation and take all necessary actions to win this war against an invis- ible enemy. You know the right thing to do. As the Nike ad says: JUST DO IT! — Kenneth Janowski Florence (Editor’s Note: The Florence Events Center’s anniversary event was ul- timately canceled by the City of Florence on Aug. 23.) Arrival of Cancel Culture? It is on rare occasions that I respond to letters that I see in the Letters to the Editor. Only when I read something as absurd as a recent article by Ms. Spradling (“In Response to an Excruciating Letter,” Aug. 11) has inspired me to do so now. First, it is sad that read- ing articles in the paper are so excruciating and obviously distasteful for her. Has she never learned or heard that , up until now — reading any articles or news — so far, are NOT mandatory? We still have a choice of our reading material and TV viewing — one of our great freedoms in this country. In her critique of Mr. Denton’s letter (July 31), she pointed out 22 lies in his article. Who deter- mined that they were lies? She herself? Something she had read somewhere? Some coverage on the news media, either cable news, social media or ra- dio? These days, it is diffi- cult, if not impossible, to categorize informa- tion we receive through the public media. Each network seems to have their own “take” on hap- penings in our world and very little tolerance for anyone with an opposing viewpoint, which results often in being labeled a “racist.” And then, of course, there are networks that pick and choose which “newsworthy” stories they air, depending on their management polit- ical leanings. As a result, we — the reading, listen- ing and watching public — are free to choose any media that is available for us. I am in my late 80s, and an overall look at this great country of ours at this point in time makes me yearn for “those good ol’ days.” God Bless America! — Sue Hale Florence 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 Chantelle Meyer Front Office For Advertising: ext. 318 Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 314 541-997-3441 For Classifieds: ext. 310 DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news releases, Monday noon; Classified line ads, Monday 10 a.m.; Legal Notices and Display Ads, Friday noon. Saturday Issue—General news releases, Thursday noon; Classified line ads, Thursday 10 a.m.; Legal Notices and Display Ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year, $84; 6-month , $61; 3-month subscription, $37.50; Out of Lane County — 1-year, $107; 6-month, $74; -month subscrip- tion, $50; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year, $65; 6-month, $35; 3-month, $15. Ask about our senior discounts. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com 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 and Guest Viewpoints as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Email letters to cmeyer@thesiuslawnews.com To be considered for publication: Letters must address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large. In addition: • Letters reflect the opinion of the writer. The Siuslaw News cannot verify the accuracy of all statements made in letters. 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All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. The newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publish- er and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria. 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