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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1995)
EDITORIAL Van project could offer drunks a ride Ii was announced recently that the old. brown Saferido van has boon rotirod after years of transporting women at night. However, the vehicle will continue to be a famil iar sight around the University, as it will soon ferry home intoxicated students safely . Call it the drunk bus or Safe Drunk, but despite the jokes by detractors, the idea is an excellent one, It has the potential to save lives. The issue is not whether drinking is right or wrong or whether additional steps need to Ih» taken against minors wno drink. I he tact in thoro will always be some college students, regardless of age, who will choose to drink and get intoxicated. Some thing needs to be done to ensure that they can get home safely when they are drunk A van to drive the Avan to drive the intoxicated would provide yet another way for drunks to get home safely, rather than becoming a grue some statistic the next morning. intoxicated wonto pro- ~— ........ vide yet another way for drunks to get home safely, rather than Ixxomtng a gruesome statistic the next morning. Tak ing into account the number of students who frequent i(>< .li drinking e-,t:»blishn .is \% *-i; as th>.se attend ing parties on the weekend, it s not difficult to imagine the potential demand for a program like this. Drunk driving is a national tragedy, and intoxicated people have no business behind the wheel of a car. Thou sands of people have been killed by drunken drivers. Even those who have had a few drinks and feel comfortable behind the wheel shouldn't be driving However, having a drunk person walk or bike home aren’t necessarily smart alternatives, either. Intoxicated people are less able to defend themselves and are more likely to get disoriented on the way home than their solier counterparts. The last thing that the community needs is for drunk pedestrians to get hit by intoxicated drivers. A number of safe options are available to drunks desir ing to go home. The intoxicated can call a taxi, have a sober friend drive them or take tho bus. They also can decide to sloop tho night wherever they are — a potential inconvenience to some, but a much more pleasant prospect than winding up injured or dead from n pre ventable collision The van will be another option for those who need safe and reliable transportation home. The success of the pro gram, much like that of Saferido, will depend on how well-known the program is and whether people take the time to use it. Promotion of the program will be key in determining whether transportation for the intoxicated will succeed as a project. It also might work to a broader goal of making people feel comfortable in admitting that they are too drunk to get home without help. Students need to know that resources are available to help them when they need to leave a party or a bar intoxicated. Their lives might depend on it. Oregon Daily Emerald ► 0 UOI 31** t<X4Nt OftfCONV*) TK« CkwQon O§0f «* pufcfestf'HKj da*?y Morwtoiy RhfOugh f »xlat <fc*tng fft* tcboo* » ®» «#xJ T uOKtey and Thurftdfty <Ju»wxj wwn* by tNi Oagon Ow»y t i^aUd f\**t»***r»9 Co, l«c . *l **• U*wa**ay o# C>«gc*v I Dragon Th« t "oraku.**>*ivm tofMptndanOy o< *N) t>w«w»rty w«h oftpi* * Sot« 300 oMJ*» t «t> Urwon *TX} <« a rr^tvOV Oi ih# A.fctOC’Xtad Pf»a* T N® f m+r wkJ <• p**v«N» proparty Th# uofcwrM 'amovai or u*a o* popart <* proaocvlaO« by il«r tdftor irvChiaf K*v Solo Mtugng Edttor EdHort#i tdlto# Hvw» Art Edncx E<mo> Thorn Lori Boferwa*' Nows Editor Sports Editor Sopp*#m#ot» Editor Night Editor Q»» MnO TntU Noal Marrrtl A*aociato Editor* Iaana i Kfmrntfm. Siudm* liovymmaor 4c«*rt«*. Wtwcwan* fdaaa* Community, Tc«*n, Snxdt, M>gr>#r £ dUdm AjWvo.»lr*#ert T**w» Sun Sim* Atoury Amy Ct*umtxj. P«< Oafy Am, l CW*y»<!. Pw» fonlana. Ciay** form*'. CSntt0(ts» f o* Mat! Qarton. Gary Ur at* Jo* Haraood Km Henry Tt*w» Kaarn*,. SAarwwn KAMI. Adam Kstcftar. Su.’ann* Mart*. Mar* IrteTyr*. !'»*«> MmAjra Han Akwtn,* Mata** Mortgorrmy. *mr Mom, KomloW. CaA**n Pormj Sherry Ran**. Kale Saboum. PM Van Sc*w Saan Sm* Ken #>u. Qr»V' Amyl 0*n*r*l Manager Judy IA«} Advarttelng Ouacior Mat* WaAar Production Manager MkJkM Rom Adv*rtl*log Anna Amador Ana* Bor gam Marco Chmg tony for Em H**h*. N<o<* Marirvarti J*r*n>, Maton, Sam" *Mch«* Tom Mffnrtia** Keryny Wmas Ctaa*in*d ff*C*y Mattvyi M»uv*r Ky*o Den* Jo* Sedan Dlltrtbutlon John Long, f*r*nc RlAocii. Hegn» ?*uonA Buefnee* *an*y Cartsen*. Snoarvr*y Jud, Conno*, Production Oeh*a Mc.CoM; Production CbonAnaro* Snarma Alai** Tara Gau*r*y Brad Jo**, J*nn.*ar ftoland. Clayton Y*« Nrmtmm BuairwM Oft vc • mtn M*-55I2 Dittpiay AdvartffttftQ Advarttatng >4^3712 MMM3 £ VOUR NEW De05WENESS /5 SHOWING RESULTS. □ VOUQ Poll /VUTAB€AS ARE WAV UP AND IP 7HE ELATION WERE HELD 7D0Ay VWD EASU.V W/N 7WE PREs/D£ncv. *** -OImml M tty ty+'c .mi . r~yL JSts Bur a tor of rm£m ARE Moving M£ R>£ M> ■ OPINION Firefighter deaths shock small community Rmkoca Muuutt Rob Johnson was an accountant who took his summon off to fight fires Jon Kelso was about to warn an engineering degree. And Tanii Bickett had )ust bought a house with her fiancA. Johnson. Kelso and Bickett were among nine Oregon fire fighters who worst trapped and died in a Colorado wildfire last summer. These young men and women grew up in smalt com munities such as Burns, t-ehanon and Roseburg. and they attended Oregon colleges. One of them. Kathi Bock, was a psy chology major at the University Their love for protecting nature and taking risks brought them to my hometown. Prineville. to be members of the elite Hotshot crew. In a small community where no one goes unnoticed, their deaths were a painful shock. If you didn’t know someone who died, you knew family members and friends whose lives were imme diately scarred with pain. The week they died was the week of our annual Crooked River Koundup If* usually Prinevillo's grandest ©vent of the year — the only time that local motels fill up But at the rodeo parade, when members of the U.S. Forest Service led nine rid erless horses symbolizing the fallen firefighters through Third Street. the town grew silent. Even former Gov. Barbara Roberts couldn't hold back tears that afternoon when she spoke at a memorial service at my high school footliall stadium No one was untouched by this tragedy. No one could understand how nine young, brave individuals ( ould to si* Uiiir lives in what nt first seemed to lie a routine fire. As an intern for the newspa per tn nearby Bend, I was chal lenged to find out more about these individuals 1 was assigned to call some of the sur viving family member* to find out who they were, what they had accomplished and what made them special enough to be included among the highest i.al il>er of firefighters in the Forest Service. Nervous because 1 was rub bing elbows with reporters from People magazine. The New York Times and other national media and saddened because I felt the suffering of an entire community, I quickly realized the importance of my assign ment . I talked to one father. Gene fohnson of Kosehurg who had two sons. Rob and Tony, bat tling the Colorado blaze Rob died but Tony made it home. Gene Johnson c ried when he talked about Rob's iong list of accomplishments and his caring nature 1 couldn't even begin to understand how much pain he was experiencing But after talking to him and other relatives, his ton became much more than just a name on the deceased list lie was an out door enthusiast, an intelligent CPA. a fraternity brother, a soc cer player and a leader He stood out among hi* peers. But so did the rest of the dead firefighters — that's why they were chosen for the elite Hotshot crew that was sent to the most dangerous fires For w««b after the deadly blaze, thousands of blue ribbons attached to car antennas, shrubs and shirts served as a sobering reminder of our town’s mourn ing. Flags across the nation were flown at half-mast for 14 davs — one day each for the nine Prineville firefighters and for the five other firefighters from Col orado. Idaho and Montana w ho also died on Storm King Moun tain. It was impossible to drive through Prineville or any of the ’ neighboring communities with out feeling a loss. Firefighters from across the >tate went to the nine funerals. Some of the families held memorial services in amphithe aters and high school auditori ums to accommodate hundreds of mourners. After Bonnie Holt !>y's funeral in Redmond, more than 100 oars followed the hearse to Prineville where she was laid to rest. Just as the town was starting in heal, a report of the incident released late in the summer deepened wounds. According to some media, the report seemed lo blame the firefighters for their deaths Escape routes were planned in case the fire explod ed but the firefighters didn’t use them. The report also tailed the firefighters cocky and overconfi dent. according to the media. For survivors suffering an incredible loss, that report was a somber reminder of the tragedy. It left families and friends with more questions unanswered. It seemed even more impossible to make sense of the accident. After all, aren't firefighters sup posed to 1h) confident? Last week the Occupational Health and Safety Administra tion cited the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management for procedure violations that contributed to the firefighters' deaths. The administration's investigation found that "plain indifference" toward the health and safety of employees from management is to blame for the accident. Firefighters weren't given adequate safety zones, escape routes, weather forecasts and information on expected fire behavior. i m giao mat mis tragedy wasn't forgotten and hopefully the families of victims can find some relief Someone has to take responsibility to make sure this never happens again Nine lives was a terrible price for my com munity to pay. Rebecca Merritt is the news editor for the Emerald.
