Sign field burning ban ballot measure Hcfor<* they look on the grass seed industry, propo nents of .1 field burninfii ban should have hired a hn guist. not a lawyer bust week. Oregonians Against f ield Burning suf fered If the group can manage to ( in ulate new petitions by the end of this month (no easv task), it will mean an average 4.000 signatures a week The setback is just one more in a long list of delay ing tactics used by the OSC, and is another example of what strong lobbying groups and a money-generating industries can do if they set their minds and dollars on it. During the last legislative session, state Sen. Grattan kerans (D-Kugone) authored a bill to phase out field burning, but met strong opposition from the grass seed industry. Despite support in the legislative and vigor ous tongue-lashings from Kerans. the bill didn’t pass. The ballot measure is a virtual rewrite of Kerens’ bill. It would gradually reduce the current level of 250.000 acres burned annually, to 50.000 by 1995, and also includes other restrictions. The chief sponsors of the measure are kerans. Gov. Noil Goldschmidt and Rep. Ron (’.ease (D-Portland), and it has received support from other lawmakers. The amount of pollution the practice generates, and the po tential for accidents (remember the Interstate 5 tragedy two summers ago?) is just to great. Field burning must go. Not immediately, as some people would like, but a gradual phase-down, as the ballot measure recommends. The five years it will take to scale down the practice will give grass seed farmers plenty of time to develop new ways to clear excess brush from their fields. If you signed the petition before, be on guard for the new one and sign it again. And those who didn't know about the measure, now you know about it. Sign the petition. (iot-b/s Headache Let voters have input on smoking policy Sometimes the best ot intentions i an ig nite ,i eontroversy !nisi week. l.;me County Administrator |im Johnson announced a restriction that will completely lian smoking in all (.minty buildings and vehicles starting I eh f> His intent is applauded; his tactics are not folinson acted after he received a peti tion from countv employees who wanted tougher smoking restric tions in their work pi.ice He acted to promote good health, and cleaner air will indeed be- one result of his decision. The transition toward a utopian vision of a smokeless society continues gradually While many smokers are making modifica tions in their behavior to keep their own const ienc.es i tear, the process is speeded up someu hat w ith an upsu mg in the* number of rules and ordinances here and there. Smoking-designated /ones everywhere shrink and disappear, and more smokers ( boose to quit or at least take their habit out doors The changes occur to the delight of health-conscious individuals. However, many others, non-smokers and smokers alike, view the imposed restrictions with more than a hit of alarm. Johnson’s ban is buoyed with justified health consider.! turns, but more than that is at stake. The fact th.it the ban was announced without a vote of local < itizens. or even the counts employees affected, is reason for concern. As recently .is November 19H8. Or 6(4011 voters jettisoned a similarly strut measure that was intended to ban smoking in commercial areas statewide. The public message was clear: restre lions on smoking may be well-intended hut some are too far-reaching for their own good. The defeat of the 1988 ballot measure in dicated that though Oregonians' sentiments toward smoking may be shifting, personal rights and health issues must he weighed carefully, yet separately. It state voters decided that keeping ( iga rette smoke out of commercial areas was too restrictive, certainly they would agree that the same is true with county buildings and vehii les Kven it they didn't, these areas are owned by the public, and decisions such as smoking bans should be up to a public vote We say bravo to Johnson for moving to keep smoke out of county buildings and ve hii les. but we give him a raspberry for doing so while keeping voters out of the process Letters Salvation I Ills morning I li.nl .in ,mr sunn' vision In it. .1 multi 1 ol Hinl unicorn in <1 fiberglass cowlxiy I1.1l rev isili'il something to nit; which I must sham with every |H'rson alive (.min'd pineapples 1 an save tin- world riii* iinii orn told mi- tli.it it i'\rrvoni' on berth cats a 1 an ol pineapples at exactly tin- same linie. all ol tile world's proli lems w ill just dr\ up and disap pear’ I have spent the enliretv ol today in deep meditation, seeking the true meaning ol my vision l have hecn enlightened that on Monday. May 211 at H a 111 Kastern Standard Time, every single person on this Karth must eat a tan ol pineapple M\ meditation also helped me reali/e what an enormous Inir ilen is on me now . and how dif til ult It w ill he for me to edu 1 ate all the world on the wis dnm of the multi colored 11111 corn I have dec ided that the liest wav for me to spread the news l*age 2 is lii unit- In tin- editors of .ill the world's newspapers .mil ask tinmm lo .till ini' in .111■(1111vi tile |)(i|)ul.ii i' nl tin1 severity nl 111\ i .nisi' I’li',isi' hi'lp ini' I hr salvation nl llic world is .it slake |nilii Slu-non Student Truly skilled I’lisisc Id me i ompliment \inir oped .irlu lc on textbooks (ODE, ).tn '!) Hie ethics nl a professor requiring his her ow n textbook h.is been .in issue tor main dei aites. and has con cerned me since 1 was an un dergraduate more than -(> years ago Sine e vou have raised the topic lii like to offer my opin ion. I think it is not ethii al for a professor to require any text lor which s lie stands to earn any profits l or years, it has dis turhed me that this is a com mon prat lice in most American universities In some way. it is svmptomatu of the wav the teat her stmli'iit rt‘l,ilionshi|) h.is been redui i‘d tu I)i< lion an For Mowing Things Out ot Contest Hughes, it's not .1 matter ot your sexual preference that makes you receive verbal thrashings by others, it's your unprecedented complaints and whining Please do the I 'niver sitv a favor: the next time you want to make a statement have a point to it. Kent Jackson Architecture -Letters Policy_ Letters to the editor must be limited to no more than 250 words, legible, signed and the identification of the writer must be verified when the letter is submit ted. The Enirrald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or style.