Vol. 78, No. 159
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Friday, June 3, 1977
Veto may
stop big
field fire
By TOM JACKSON
Of the Emerald
SALEM — The House Committee on
State Government Operations voted 5-3
Thursday to pass a controversial field burn
ing bill, making no amendments to the bill
as it was passed by the Senate last month.
As the bill now stands, 235,000 acres of
grass seed fields in the Willamette Valley
would be allowed to be burned this summer
with no scheduled reduction over future
years. The bill, if passed by the House and
approved by the governor will reverse a
1975 legislative decision to phase down
field burning. The 1975 plan called for
95.000 acres to be burned this summer and
no more than 50,000 acres per year after
1977.
Amendments to the bill had been pre
sented to the committee Wednesday by
Rep. Van Vliet, R-Corvallis, and Brad Mor
ris, R-Medford. The amendments were ac
cepted by the committee Wednesday but
there was not enough support to send the
bill to the house floor.
The amendments called for a reduction in
the total number of acres to be burned this
summer and also called for a 12-year
phase-down plan. Under the proposal
195.000 acres would have been burned this
summer, with 15,000 acre reductions per
year until 1969, when 15,000 acres would
have been allowed to be burned.
On Thursday, the amendments were de
leted and the bill approved. A key vote in the
decision was house speaker Phil Lang,
D-Portland. Lang had voted in favor of the
amendments Wednesday, but changed his
vote Thursday. Lang had previously voted
against a mot ton to delete the amendments
and a motion to send the bills out of commit
tee. Lang’s vote Thursday gave the bill the
support it needed to be sent to the house.
Explaining his change of mind Thursday,
Lang said he's anxious to “get the field
burning issue out of the way.” He explained
that he had voted not to send the bill to the
floor Wednesday in the hope that the com
mittee would amend the bill.
He reiterated his stand, that there should
be no acreage limitation in the law and that
field burning should be strongly supervised
by the Environmental Quality Commission.
Lang said that with a set limitation in the
state statute, “someone will be back to
change the law next session. I'm sick and
tired of the issue of field burning.”
Committee member Rep. Nancie
Fadeley, D-Eugene, disagreed. She said
“the issue can’t be handled administra
tively. Field burning must be regulated and
phased down by the Legislature.”
How the bill will fare on the house floor is
undear. But one thing is certain: Gov. Bob
Straub has said he will veto the bill at its
present acreage level. In addition, Lang
said he believes the governor's veto will be
sustained by the Legislature.
If the house rejects the bill or if Straub
vetos it, the Legislature will probably de
velop another bill or amend SB 535 to take a
different approach to the field burning
issue. What that approach will be remains
to be seen.
■ '• \ K* -«v.
Japanese
print-makers
show wares
“Horiguchi Daigaku, Poet” is the
title of the woodblock above. The
color original of this piece, along
with some 35 others by Sekino
Jun’ichiro, one of Japan’s
foremost contemporary print
makers, will be shown beginning
Monday at the University’s
Museum of Art. The exhibition,
which is in conjunction with the
Asian Studies on the Pacific
Coast (ASPAC) Conference ‘77,
will last until the end of June. A
reception for Jun’ichiro will be
held Saturday, June 18 at the
Museum of Art, with the ASPAC
dinner following.
Straub to address graduates, dignitaries
Some 2,200 candidates for bac
calaureate and advanced degrees are elig
ible for spring term graduation convocation
on Sunday, June 12.
Gov. Bob Straub will address graduates
at the 2:30 commencement exercises to be
held at Hayward Field or McArthur Court in
case of inclement weather. Straub has not
announced the topic of his address.
The University’s 1977 Distinguished
Service Awards (DSA) will honor three per
sons during the ceremonies. Linus Pauling,
a two-time Nobel Prize-winning scientist of
Stanford University; Eric Allen Jr., an
Oregon journalist and editor of the
Medford-Mail Tribune and John Yeon, a
Portland architect, will receive the awards.
This year 41 persons were nominated by
students, faculty and outside persons, to
recognize individuals who have made sig
nificant contributions to the cultural de
velopment in the state or nation.
These honorary awards have been given
for 21 years and, according to Keith
Richard, University Archivist, they were first
given when honorary doctorates were dis
continued. The basic requirement for the
DSA is that nominees cannot be active fa
culty members.
Nobel winner Pauling earned his B.A.
degree from Oregon State University and
received his doctorate at the California In
stitute of Technology. His first major scien
tific contribution described the nature of
chemical bonding.
In 1951 Pauling and colleague Robert
Corey announced the discovery of the
structure of several types of protein
molecules. The discovery marked the first
time the atomic structure of a molecule had
been obtained and thoroughly described.
In 1954 he received the Nobel Prize in
chemistry for his discoveries of chemical
bonding and molecular structures.
Pauling’s later public appeals for restraint in
nuclear testing made him a controversial
figure. In 1958 he organized a petition urg
ing the United Nations to call a halt to the
testing erf nuclear weapons. Four years
later, his efforts on behalf of nuclear control
were honored with the Nobel Prize for
Peace. A partial nuclear test ban went into
effect the day the prize was presented.
Pauling will be unable to attend gradua
tion ceremonies.
DSA recipient Allen also contributed to
public understanding of vital issues. As
editor and editorial page editor of the Med
ford Mail-Tribune, he has earned accolades
from community groups and colleagues for
his editorial leadership.
In 1975 he was awarded the First
Amendment Award by the Society of
Newspaper Journalists for his efforts to re
peal a law to inspect police records in
Oregon.
Allen is an alumnus of Reed College and
the University of Oregon. The University’s
School of Journalism bears Allen’s father’s
name as the first dean of the journalism
school.
Yom Kippur conflict resolved
The first day of fall registration for
1977 will land on the Jewish holiday,
Yom Kippur. However, Registrar Les
Turner says Jewish students can still
celebrate the holiday without missing
their turn at registration.
Jewish students who wish to observe
Yom Kippur may pick up their registra
tion materials on the day before regular
registration on Sept. 21. Jewish stu
dents must give written notice to the
Jewish Student Union if they plan to
miss regular registration. The notices
must be submitted before this term is
completed.
The Jewish Student Union is located
at the Koinonia center, 1414 Kincaid.