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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2021)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | NOVEMBER 3, 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) 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. Siuslaw News Front Office For Advertising: ext. 318 For Obituaries: ext. 320 Jenna Bartlett Chantelle Meyer Misty Berg Jeanna Petersen Mark Brennan Zac Burtt 541-997-3441 For Classifieds: ext. 320 For Faxes: 541-997-7979 Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 314 Office Manager, ext. 320 Advertising, ext. 325 Lead Reporter, ext. 317 Sports Reporter, ext. 324 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 Submit press releases to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Siuslaw News Office: 148 Maple St./PO Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 LETTERS (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub- missions on these and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community dis- cussion and exchange of perspec- tives.) 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. Pub- lication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Time for People to Pull Together In response to Donna Dob- son’s Letter to the Editor on Oct. 23, which stated “The influence of this administration is reaching across America to tear everything apart,” I suggest she turn off her social media accounts and deal with reality. The world is experiencing the worst pandemic in history while trying to cope with massive wild- fires, devastating floods and rising sea levels. Crops cannot be irri- gated due to low water levels in reservoirs and populations in the southwest are threatened by loom- ing loss of hydroelectric power. It is time for people to pull togeth- er as one and protect the future of our people and our land. The Biden administration backs an infrastructure bill that includes increasing our seaport infrastruc- ture, bringing our aging power grids up to 21st century standards, provide better public transit as well as passenger rail and freight rail and bridge investments. It will invest in clean drinking water and wastewater treatment, wide access to high-speed internet and con- version to clean energy. The Build Back Better bill seeks to pull up the standard of living in this country to a sustainable level by lowering drug prices that are currently two and a half times more expensive than in the rest of the world. It would provide two years of free community college as a path to an associate degree or a four-year college degree, thus providing the country with edu- cated people more ready to take on the jobs realized by the infra- structure act. The tax base would be broadened by working people who would now be realizing an income that can provide for their families. Health care and child support would help keep families in the work force. Historically, stimulus bills have saved our country. The Roosevelt administration passed the New Deal and set a precedent for gov- ernment to participate in econom- ic, health and social affairs. The recent Obama American Recov- ery and Investment Act of 2009 canceled the greatest economic loss since the Great Depression. Affordable Health Care enrolled 15 million people, unemployment Office Hours: Monday to Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday: 8 a.m. to noon Email letters to cmeyer@thesiuslawnews.com numbers dropped from 10% to 4.7% and the country began the longest streak of private sector growth in history while stabiliz- ing the financial system, and the housing market and saving the auto industry. A third critical issue now faces our country, the rise of white na- tionalism and insurrection. The pandemic and global warming misinformation is being used to undermine our democracy and national health using social me- dia conspiracy theories that lead to distrust of government and our institutions of learning. The movement toward authoritarian- ism and white nationalism, led by our former president, a denier of elections and the separation of powers and an admirer of author- itarian world leaders, is indeed frightening. Insurrection requires chaos, fear and hate to fester until it has a life of its own, even at the expense of its own supporters. Republicans will not speak out against the at- tack on our seat of government or support the health protocols that have protected us for a hundred years or more. Now we have Rep. Ken Wyler, Chairman of the House Finance Committee, circulating a 38-page Death Report with abysmally ab- surd conspiracy theories that he read on the internet. We need the stimulus bills to pass. Are we sup- posed to trust someone like Wyley and like-minded Republicans to get our country back on track? — Karen Mahoney Florence Thoughts on Restaurants When my wife and I moved from the San Francisco Bay area to Florence in 2000, we found the perfect small coastal town with a good infrastructure. What we soon learned is that there was an influx of places to eat, from fast food to decent food, but the turn- over was much like a big city. Here today and gone tomorrow. With COVID-19, we have ex- perienced a number of our local eating establishments being closed permanently, closed temporarily for not following COVID protocol or struggling to find employees and vendors to supply the quality level of product they once had. Tourists support our economy and summer is the time when es- tablishments make most of their money. Then, in the fall and win- ter months, they have to rely on locals for support. Some of the turnover has been due to location. A block or two off Bay Street where tourists can’t find you has always been a problem. My wife and I and three other couples would celebrate birth- days by venturing out to eat. From Yachats to Coos Bay, we explored and discovered wonderful places to eat. Yachats has always been special, and there was one building that over the past 20 years has had about five wonderful restaurants, each lasting about two or three years. You would never know what you would find. Coos Bay was also a disappearing area. Find a nice place and the next month it was gone. We recently lost Dairy Queen due to fire, and other places I as- sume because of lack of staffing and COVID. KFC, my favorite fast food place, we lost long ago and never replaced. Morgan’s Country Kitchen that had the best break- fast was lost. We now have Burger King, however. We are still fortunate to have places like Bridgewater, which has the best seafood in town, Wa- terfront Depot, which has always been a mainstay, Lovejoy’s for a bit of England, La Pomodori for Italian and Hukilau for a taste of Hawaii. There are still a few places for outings that have survived. Eat well and stay safe. — Win Jolley Florence To be considered for publication: Letters must address pertinent or timely issues of in- terest 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 day- time phone number and/or email address for verifica- tion. The person who signs the letter must be the actual author. Siuslaw News does not accept anonymous Letters to the Editor. • Siuslaw News will not print form letters, libelous let- ters, business promotions or personal disputes, poetry, open letters, letters espousing religious views without reference to a current issue, or letters considered in poor taste. Letters also may not be part of letter-writing cam- paigns. • 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 let- ters 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-303 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, H-476 Salem, Ore. 97301-4047 Salem, OR 97301 Message Line: PO Box 39000 Florence, OR 503-378-4582 97439 www.oregon.gov/gov 503-986-1409 Email: Rep.BoomerWright@ U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden oregonlegislature.gov 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 Lane County Dist. 1 202-224-5244 | 541-431-0229 Commissioner www.wyden.senate.gov Jay Bozievich U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 | 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.gov U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us Florence City Council & Mayor Joe Henry Florence City Hall, 250 2134 Rayburn HOB Highway 101, Florence, 97439 Washington, DC 20515 541-997-3437 202-225-6416 ci.florence.or.us 541-269-2609 | 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov