Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2021)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 CHANTELLE MEYER , EDITOR | 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) Slow Down During Salmon Season (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.) We have even been verbally abused small children, while trying to ride after asking boaters to slow down. out the huge wake these speeding Some of the guide companies are the boats cause. We understand that the salmon worst offenders. I called one of the guide outfits and nicely asked them fishing season brings revenue to the to slow down in front of our docks. area and that these fishermen are We live on the Siuslaw River and I was rudely told, “No, we don’t have trying to feed their families or make every year during salmon season to slow down because you don’t have a living. We hope they do well. But, we have to sacrifice the use why does it have to be at the of our private dock because cost of the residents that live Guest Viewpoint of a few unruly, inconsider- on the river or boaters that ate, disrespectful and selfish By Mitchell A. Sloan and Mary K. Hayes are using the river? fishermen. They go by our We are not asking for the Siuslaw River Residents docks at full throttle with boaters to stop fishing or do- no thought of the damage it ing business on the Siuslaw is doing to our docks, the embank- six or more boats on your dock.” And River, just show some consideration ment, wildlife habitat and other then I was hung up on. and respect for those of us that live boats. The majority of these fishermen on and/or use the river. Why can’t I’ve been knocked off my feet on come to the Siuslaw River area for everyone share this river in a friend- my dock because of the violent mo- a short period of time as guests of ly and civil manner? Are we waiting tion caused by the speeding boats. the area and should show some re- for someone to get killed or serious- Also, two bolts have been sheared spect to those of us that call this area ly injured until the river is made safe off of my boat lift. A neighbor had home. for everyone? his dock pole snapped in half and We understand that this is a feder- Most of them do. The fishermen another neighbor had his tie down that don’t act like they own the river al waterway that was once used for cleats ripped out of his boat house and should not be allowed to act like logging, but it is now used for recre- while they were attached to his boat. they do. The Lane County Sheriff ’s ation and fishing. Something must Yes, docks are designed to move Department is patrolling the river be done to make the river safe and with the flow of the water, but they (thank you for that) but it does not enjoyable for everyone. As it stands, are not designed to take excessive seem to make a difference. it is not a safe river to be on or en- abuse. We keep our dock main- We have personally witnessed a joy from your dock during salmon tained but still have damage from canoe get capsized by a speeding season. There are plenty of stretches these boaters. boat, other residents of the river on the river where you can increase We have spoken to a number of yelling at boats to slow down while you speed without disrupting other. We want to thank those boaters boaters and the general response is, their families — some with small “We can do whatever we want be- children — try to enjoy their docks that are showing respect and con- cause there is no law that says we and other boaters getting tossed sideration and slowing down in can’t.” around like dolls, again some with front of our docks and other boats. I Stand with Western Lane Ambulance District I had the honor of serving on the Board of Directors of Siuslaw Fire and Rescue (SVFR) for the previous four years. Although my governance responsibility did not cover Western Lane Ambulance District (WLAD), I grew to great- ly appreciate the level of skill these first responders provided, and with such amazing commitment and love for our community. There has been discussion re- garding the salaries of the WLAD Paramedics and EMTs. I really do not want to debate whether they are overpaid. What I am willing to debate is the value proposi- tion WLAD provides and what it means to this community. Most people know that we are predominantly a retirement com- munity. This is evidenced by our median age of 61 (compared to 35 in Eugene). From an econom- ic standpoint, Florence’s two main industries are Tourism and Wealth Transfer (retirees moving to Flor- ence). Both require a solid and quality hospital and first-respond- er infrastructure to sustain and grow our local economy. Fortunately, we have this in Peace Harbor Medical Center, SVFR and WLAD. I believe Florence’s abili- ty to economically thrive rests on the quality of services provide by these organizations. Our community needs both in- dustries and we should do whatev- er is necessary to protect and sup- port them. A large portion of our residents above our community’s median age have moved here, pur- chased homes and spend money locally that create jobs. They have done this because they know that when an emergency happens and they were to call 911, quality care will arrive promptly. Quality and reliability are the factors that save lives and what sustains Florence and the sur- rounding Western Lane County region. During my four years on the SVFR board, my fellow board members and I received countless letters and cards from local citi- zens, thanking the two districts for saving their loved one’s life, exhib- 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 97439 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. Authors should ensure any information is ac- curate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay, and include sources where possible. • Letters have a suggested 300-word limit and may be edited for grammar and clarity. • Authors must sign their full name and include their street address (only city will be printed), as well as a daytime phone number and/or email address for verifi- cation. The person who signs the letter must be the ac- tual author. Siuslaw News does not accept anonymous Letters to the Editor. • Siuslaw News will not print form letters, libelous letters, business promotions or personal disputes, poet- ry, open letters, letters espousing religious views with- out reference to a current issue, or letters considered in poor taste. Letters also may not be part of letter-writing campaigns. • Writers are limited to one published letter every two weeks. To submit to the Siuslaw News: Emailed submissions are preferred. 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. LETTERS (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submis- sions on these and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) USPS# 497-660 iting local kindness and love and, above all, for being top-notch first responders; validating why they feel secure and love living here. I do not know if the staff of WLAD are overpaid compared to the alternative operating models. I suppose it is possible consider- ing what it would cost to run a for-profit private ambulance ser- vice. However, if they are overpaid compared to their direct peers, then the value we receive in ex- change for the cost as taxpayers is worth it. I am a firm believer in “you get what you pay for.” Could these services be provided for less cost? Probably. Would you want to save a few dollars in exchange for the risk of lesser quality and reliabili- ty? The answer should be no. I stand with Western Lane Am- bulance District as they are cur- rently organized and encourage you to do the same. I am proud to see the dollars on my property tax statement go to support their levy. And when it comes up for renew- al, I will vote to support it within the blink of an eye. — Ron Green Florence 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