4A |
WEDNESDAY EDITION
| DECEMBER 29, 2021
CHANTELLE MEYER , EDITOR
Opinion
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
| CMEYER @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
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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)
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Copyright 2021 © Siuslaw News
Siuslaw News
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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.)
Lord Bless the Elks
Do you know this? On Christ-
mas Day, we had two vegans and
three traditional eaters, all of us
older.
Of we three traditionals, one
had worked with the Florence
Elks Lodge #1858 two years ago,
and was aware of their Christmas
Day Ministry to the community of
Florence.
Jean went and got three turkey
meals with pumpkin pie, corn
grits, stuffing, sweet potatoes, light
and dark meat, cranberry sauce
and wonderful gravy — with a
biscuit, too! I was so impressed by
the quality and flavor of the meal,
and I have never before accepted a
“benefit meal.”
However, it came this year at the
right time and it was a special gift!
That was our prayer at the table:
“Lord Bless the Elks organization
and all their families.”
— Ralph Ray
Florence
Helping Our Planet
Thank you, Mr. Nichols, for
your Letter to the Editor on Dec.
22 inviting us to share our views
on individual attempts to help our
planet, and ourselves, since there
is no Planet #2. I agree that more
can be accomplished by neighbors
brainstorming than by some re-
cent international efforts.
1. Cut your vehicle’s emissions
by choosing dine-in rather than
sitting in line at a drive-through.
Your neighbors, and your planet,
have to breathe that stuff. Humans
are at the top of the food chain,
but we’re suffering: asthma is on
the increase. Polar Bears swim to
extinction.
2. Take a bag or a bucket with
you when you walk. Pick up the
litter, the fishing line/net, any-
thing that could trap or poison an
animal in the sea or in the landfill.
3. Be mindful of where your
trash ends up. The Florence Mas-
ter Recycle team is ready to help.
Plus, you can attend recycle events
here when they return in 2022.
Locally, St. Vincent de Paul takes
sheet/chunk polystyrene foam
(known by the brand name Sty-
rofoam) and Shipping Solutions
takes the “peanuts.” Florescent
tubes go to hazardous material
collection events.
4. Keep food containers in a tote
bag and take it with you when you
walk into a restaurant. Everyone
in London was doing this in 1980.
A small island nation can teach a
big island nation a lot about wast-
ing resources.
5. If you are no longer towing a
boat, a trailer, or a ton of hay etc.,
do you still need your pick-up?
6. Read labels. Palm oil is a lead-
ing cause of deforestation, always
in someone else’s country.
7. Drug labs in the county pol-
lute private water wells, which
drain to creeks, to rivers, to the
ocean. They pollute neighbor-
hoods. Write a letter.
8. Too many Florence vehicles
need new mufflers. Please ... you
stink.
9. We could return to the days
when we were all looking for
gas-saver vehicles. This one IS po-
litical. Why should OPEC lower
the price of oil for a country full of
wasteful, thoughtless, complain-
ing people? If you don’t need what
they’re selling, you win.
As to costs, well, as I look back
at my personal list, it all looks free
to me. And very little trouble.
Thank you, Mr. Nichols, for
your well-written challenge. I look
forward to more ideas from the
Florence community that I can in-
corporate into my own life.
— Lisa Readel
Florence
Power of Rings
Thank you to Three Rivers Ca-
sino Resort for their generous gift
toward state championship rings
for the Viking football team. I
wholeheartedly endorse these
tokens of dedication, sacrifice,
commitment and success for the
players and coaches.
I would have liked the check to
have read Siuslaw State Champi-
ons. I am a retired teacher and
coach of a “minor sport.”
When I look at my ring, I am re-
minded each time of that look of
accomplishment and pride in the
eyes of my players. Each sport is a
discipline unto itself. The end re-
sult for each is to reach that final
pinnacle of a state championship.
Florence not only won in foot-
ball, but in both Siuslaw Boys and
Girls Cross Country. Thank you
to the Siuslaw News for its report-
ing of these champions and their
success.
We don’t get to go out to see a
cross country meet. We can’t sit
in the stands and cheer. It is an
internal sport where the compe-
tition is against time as much as
other runners. The famous nov-
el title “The Loneliness of the
Long-Distance Runner” sums it
up pretty well. Running does not
require the explosive physical
contact of football, rugby or la-
crosse, yet training is an individ-
ual battle with pain, endurance
and self-discipline. Our young
runners train every bit as hard as
other athletes.
I would like to see our boys
and girls teams get rings as well.
I don’t have to explain to any-
one who has earned a ring what
it means. It is a recognition of
challenges met, obstacles over-
come, adversities conquered and
inspiration to younger athletes.
As Scripture tells us, “all runners
race, but only one wins the prize.
Run so as to obtain it.”
They have. That is the power of
the rings.
— John Ebbe
Florence
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.
Email letters to cmeyer@thesiuslawnews.com
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
Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown
Siuslaw News
DEADLINES FOR DECEMBER
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244 | 541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
Siuslaw News has updated its deadlines for
December to include the winter holidays.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
Dec. 31 Edition
— Special Friday Edition —
General news releases – Tuesday (Dec. 28) noon
Classified line ads – Tuesday 3 p.m.
Legal Notices and Display Ads – Tuesday 3 p.m.
The Siuslaw News office at 128 Maple St. in
Historic Old Town will be closed on Friday.
State Sen. Dick
Anderson (Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-303
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
Email: Sen.DickAnderson@
oregonlegislature.gov
State Rep. Boomer
Wright (Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE, H-476
Salem, OR 97301
160 State Capitol 900 Court St.
PO Box 39000
Salem, Ore. 97301-4047
Florence, OR 97439
Message Line:
503-986-1409
503-378-4582
Email:
Rep.BoomerWright@
www.oregon.gov/gov
oregonlegislature.gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
SN
Office Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. to noon
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
Florence City Hall, 250
Highway 101, Florence, 97439
541-997-3437
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio
ci.florence.or.us
(4th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Dunes City Council
Washington, DC 20515
Dunes City Hall, 82877 Spruce
202-225-6416
St., Westlake, OR 97493
541-269-2609 | 541-465-6732
541-997-3338
dunescityhall.com
www.defazio.house.gov