WAVELENGTHS

League of Women Voters of Lincoln County, Oregon October 2016

“The League of Women Voters of Oregon is a grassroots, non-partisan political organization which encourages the informed and active participation of citi-zens in government in order to build better communities statewide.

Visit our web page at www.lwvlincolncounty.org

LWVLC Board of Directors

President Jean Cowan

Vice President Open

Secretary Joan Haffner

Treasurer Jack Kistler

Committee Chairs

Voter Services Ruth Kistler

Membership Marilyn Podesta

October & November meetings

It’s fall and time to get back to our regular meet-ing schedule! Please note that there is one change from last year in that meetings will be held on the second Thursday of the month, still at the Newport Public Library, beginning at 11:45 am.

The October meeting will be on October 13 and, as mentioned elsewhere, we will review the statewide ballot measures and the League’s official position on each (as determined by the LWVOR Board after recommendations were provided by the Action Committee.)

In addition, we will be talking about our No-vember Voter Service efforts, distribution of the LWVOR Voters Guide, final details for the upcoming public forums, and updated infor-mation from the County Clerk & Sheriff about the impacts of the Motor Voter Law and the ability of incarcerated individuals to cast bal-lots. Jack will be ready to kick off our Fruit Sale with the distribution of sales packets!!

The next meeting will be on November 10 and the topic is “Gun Safety.” We will host speak-ers from Ceasefire Oregon. Look forward to more detail about the organization and its ef-forts in the November newsletter.

December Luncheon Alert It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is rapidly approaching and many of us are reluc-tant to leave summer behind. However, it is time to be thinking about our annual Decem-ber luncheon. The festive event will be held on December 8 at the Sylvia Beach Hotel. Jean is working to confirm a speaker and Marilyn is conferring with the chef on menu selections. Hold that date on your calendars and stay tuned for more information – and re-member that this is an excellent time to bring a guest/prospective new member!!

WAVE LENGTHS 2 October 2016

Short Autobiog from Georgia Roelof

I spent my whole life on the East Coast, Westchester County, NY. Graduated from col-lege with a degree in Music Education (didn’t use it ‘til 2002). Married Jay in 1964, had 2 sons, Gerrit (a policeman in Salem) and Jim (works for HP, lives in Eugene).

My work included administrative assistant at a construction company and program assistant at a maximum security prison for women, where I helped those willing to work hard achieve a Bachelor’s Degree. I also taught handbells at a private girls’ school for 10 years.

Since moving to Lincoln City in 2013, I start-ed a handbell choir at the Congregational Church.

I hope that through LWV I can encourage oth-ers to get involved in the election process. Specifically, to increase voter registration and provide objective information to all voters.

Invitation for articles By Jack Kistler, publisher

Do you have an article or opinion piece for Wavelengths? We have always accepted arti-cles, but we have become aware that there have been no guidelines on what they should be about or how big (or small) they should be. So here goes:

1. The subject of the article can be anything related to the League or a bio of a member of the League.

2. The size of an article should aim for: a half column (150 to 200 words); or a full column (300 to 400 words). If the subject matter justi-fies, which should be rare, then a full page ar-ticle could be between 600 and 700 words. Don’t worry about getting an article “exactly” to size. I will fit them together and adjust line spacing as needed.

3. All articles in the Wavelengths will be con-verted to “Times New Roman” font at font size 14. Don’t let this worry you as I will al-ways do this conversion.

4. All articles will be reviewed and edited by the Wavelengths editing staff (Ruth and me). Don’t be overly concerned about spelling, grammar, syntax, or excess content. I use “spellcheck” ruthlessly, am a reasonably good grammarian, and have no trouble with simpli-fying content while retaining meaning.

Fruit Sale Fundraiser It’s time for our annual fruit sale fundraiser. Jack Kistler is again coordinating this sale. We will be purchasing from River Royal in Texas jointly with the Corvallis and Eugene Leagues. We will have grapefruit and oranges available in the following combinations and prices:

Texas Red Grapefruit 20 lb. box $22.00 Texas Navel Oranges 20 lb. box $23.00 Mixed Grapefruit & Oranges 20 lb. box $25.00 Packets with posters and order forms will be available for members to pick up at our Octo-ber 13 meeting, and will be mailed to those not attending. Orders can be submitted until No-vember 15. We expect the fruit to be delivered in early December. We’ll notify sellers of the time and place to pick up their orders and will be glad to arrange delivery for sellers unable to do so themselves.

Dues are due League dues were due on October 1st. Have you paid your dues this year? If you are not sure, contact Jack Kistler at jackkistler@charter.net or 541-574-8145

WAVE LENGTHS 3 October 2016

Calendar of events

Oct 6 1:30 PM Umpqua Bank, Newport Board meeting.

Oct 9 2:00 PM Newport PAC Celebration of Women

Oct 13 11:30 AM Newport Public Library General meeting

Oct 13 7:00 PM Yachats 501 building Yachats candidate forum

Oct 19 6:30 PM Hallmark Resort in Newport Lincoln County election forum

Nov 3 1:30 PM Umpqua Bank, Newport Board meeting (if needed)

Nov 10 11:30 AM Newport Public Library General Meeting: Gun Safety

Dec 8 TBA Sylvia Beach Hotel December Luncheon

LWVLC visited the Gerdemann Botanical Gardens on September 29, 2016

WAVE LENGTHS 4 October 2016

LWVOR Positions on November Ballot Measures During its last board meeting, the LWVOR board took the recommendations of the Action Commit-tee and approved the following positions.

Ballot Measure 94: Support – The Oregon Elimination of Mandatory Judicial Retirement Age Amendment, would eliminate the requirement that judges retire at the age of 70. It would also author-ize or require the retirement of judges with a physical or mental disability or any other cause render-ing judges incapable of performing their judicial duties. Action felt that the forced retirement age was age discrimination, against League positions.

Ballot Measure 95: Support – The Oregon Public University Diversification of Investments Amend-ment would amend Section 6 of Article XI of the Oregon Constitution to allow public state universi-ties to invest in equities. This would allow universities to allow growth through investments other than patents. University Boards will have public meetings, so they meet our positions on being trans-parent, accountable.

Ballot Measure 96: Neutral - Amends Constitution, dedicates lottery funding for veterans’ support services. Because this is another carve-out of the lottery funds, and because it amends the constitu-tion, the League has concerns. But, these monies are likely needed for veteran’s services.

Ballot Measure 97: Support - increases certain corporate taxes by establishing a 2.5 percent tax on corporate gross sales that exceed $25 million. Specifically, it would establish a minimum tax of $30,000 plus 2.5 percent of gross sales that exceed $25 million. LWVOR’s position that says, “A tax system that recognizes the individual's responsibility for government services by providing for broad sharing of the tax burden.” Oregon has faced a consistent revenue shortage for the past 25 years. While Oregon’s economy has grown, voters have placed limits on the state’s ability to impose new taxes, which has caused inadequate funding of schools and public services. In addition, Oregon faces a budget shortfall of $1.35 billion in the upcoming budget period. That is a substantial gap, amount-ing to about 6 percent of the state budget. According to Oregon's Legislative Revenue Office, the measure would raise more than $6 billion each budget biennium. This measure effectively replaces losses from Measure 5. Although this measure is somewhat regressive, since it is a statute, the legis-lature can always correct it later without the 3/5ths vote required from both houses for a tax increase.

We cannot ignore the needs for K-12 schools, human services, the elderly and public safety. Without this additional revenue, we will again see cuts to the services the public needs and wants.

Ballot Measure 98: Neutral – requires that the Oregon State Legislature fund dropout-prevention, ca-reer and college readiness programs in Oregon high schools. It would require that the legislature pro-vide at least $800 per student initially and adjusted annually for inflation and population growth. LWVOR supports comprehensive K-12 funding, which is why we support M97, but if M97 does not pass, this measure will likely reduce funding for early childhood education, an area where LWVOR has increased our voice in support.

Ballot Measure 99: Neutral - creates an "Outdoor School Education Fund," sourced from state lottery proceeds, to support outdoor school programs. The outdoor school initiative seeks to designate about $22 million in state lottery funds for outdoor education for all fifth and sixth graders in Oregon. This outdoor education involves a stay at a camp for a few nights while learning about science. This is a worthy program but we cannot afford more carve-outs of Lottery Funds. We fully expect that the Legislature would provide this funding if M97 passes.

Ballot Measure 100: Neutral - This measure supports prohibiting the sale of products and parts of 12 types of endangered animals in Oregon: rhino, cheetah, tiger, sea turtle, lion, elephant, whale, shark, pangolin, jaguar, ray, and leopard. We have an LWVUS position on ecosystem protections and this measure would probably not cost Oregon (except ODFW is responsible for enforcing). However, we have no strong positions on this issue.

WAVE LENGTHS 5 October 2016

Thank You from Sandpiper Village

On September 3, LWVLC members Marilyn Podesta, Ellen Bristow, and Ruth Kistler drove to Waldport to count ballots at the Sandpiper Village Homeowners’ Association Annual Meeting. We received this thank you note:

Dear League Ladies,

Thank you so much for helping us this year with ballot counts. What you do provides con-fidence among our HOA owners that there is no bias in the election process.

Please accept this check as mileage reimburse-ment for the service you are providing. We look forward to seeing you all again.

Linda Keehn, Treasurer

Election Forums In addition to the Ballot Measure and Candi-date Forum that has been scheduled in New-port, the League has received a request from the mayoral candidates in Yachats to hold a fo-rum there too. The board has agreed, so we will host two forums during the month of Oc-tober!

The Yachats event is scheduled on Thursday, October 13, beginning at 7:00 pm, and will take place in the 501 building (the former bank building next door to the Commons). Because Yachats is now part of House District 9, the candidates for State Representative for that district will also be included. The incumbent, Rep. Caddy McKeown (D), and her challeng-er, Teri Grier (R), have confirmed their attend-ance. Guy Rosinbaum (L) has been invited, but has not confirmed at this time. We will al-so hear from the two candidates for Yachats Mayor, Gerald Stanley and John Moore; as well as the individuals seeking the two availa-ble seats on the Yachats City Council, Max Glenn and Jim Tooke.

The following week, on Wednesday, October 19, a forum will be held in Newport at the Hallmark Resort, beginning at 6:30 pm. That evening we will hear from the candidates for Senator, 5th District: Sen. Arnie Roblan (D/WF) and his challenger, Dick Anderson (R/I). Dan Souza (L) has also been invited, but has not confirmed at this time. Following that presentation, we will hear from Rep. David Gomberg (D/I), who is seeking reelection in House District 10. His challenger, Thomas Donohue (R), has not yet responded.

At the Newport Forum, we will round out the evening with a review of the statewide Ballot Measures which will be decided in November. A complete list of the measures, with LWVOR positions on them, is included in this newslet-ter and will be on our agenda for our regular October meeting, also on October 13.

President Jean Cowan will facilitate both fo-rums. Our thanks go to Joan Haffner for ar-ranging the Yachats forum. The Hallmark Re-

NOW Celebration of Women NOW will hold its annual “Celebration of Women” at the PAC on Sunday October 9, from 2-4 pm. Thanks to Mar ta West and Sandy Straus for volunteering to handle a ta-ble of League information and invitations to join us. This is always an interesting and en-joyable afternoon and Nancy Mead also prom-ises great music! Everyone is invited to par-ticipate.

sort will provide snacks for the Newport fo-rum, but League members are requested to help with the refreshments at the Yachats event. Please give Joan a call (541-547-4736) if you can contribute a plate of cookies or oth-er goodies! (Make October 13 a full day of LWV activities!!)

Sad Note – Gertie Schramm League members are saddened to hear of the passing of Gertie Schramm. Our friend Gertie passed away in her sleep on Satur-day morning, September 24th. She was 94. At this time, no service is expected.

League of Women Voters of Lincoln County P. O. Box 1648 Newport, OR 97365

Membership Form Name____________________________________ Phone___________________ E-Mail________________________ Address__________________________________________ City______________________________ Zip_________

League of Women Voters of Lincoln County

For information call Marilyn Podesta Membership Chair, 541-765-4422

Individual Household Low income: Individual Household Annual Membership Dues (Circle one.) $60 $90 $40 $60 ___I am a new member

___I am renewing my membership Membership dues are due on October 1.

___I am interested in working with the League.

___Please call me.

I wish to make a contribution to LWV Lincoln County in addition to my dues $______________

Total Member Dues and contribution Make check out to: LWV of Lincoln County $______________ I wish to contribute to the LWV of Oregon (Separate Check Required. Make $______________ check out to “LWVOR”. ) Only contributions to LWVOR are tax deductible. These contributions assist LWVLC’s Voter Service activities and education projects. (Tax deductible Contributions to LWVOR must be on a check separate from payment of dues and LWVLC contributions.) Total Enclosed: $______________ Please mail to: LWVLC P. O. Box 1648, Newport, OR 97365