Future of Rasor Park concerns locals
■ ARENA: Area residents
are concerned the city's
proposed soccer facility
will rum the ecosystem
By llaiiaaa Lnbnhn
Many in I he River Road com
munity oppo*e a city plan to
build an indoor ana <** la. iliiy ai
fiaaor Park becaute it li one of
iha only remaining large open
•para* left in the area
Several year* ago. the city of
Kugene began looking at Raa.il
Park, a grant\ meadow along the
Wlllamirtte River about a half a
mile from th* Chamber* Sirwi
(joiuwrtar. m m p»itentlal tile for
an indoor arena becau** of (be
dlktance to the neat neareti
facility in Salem
Hut <tom« cttiten* who live
around Hava Pari have mid the
facility would over populate ihe
area and depredate it* natural
beauty
In November IW4, tha city
identified Ihe jwri m a |M*enliat
•tie fur a propael imlonr mem
facility After a capability atudy.
the city found the vile to be eco
nomically featible
The city then pf»* ended to get
a gnwmway permit, which pro
lect* the green land near Ihe
river, and latar aaked for an
analyti* of alternative tile* for
ihe tttciM facility In ihuae find
tog* an alternative *tt# waa
found to tie a belter chon * than
Rator Park However. ta»t Fntmi
ary. the hearing* official granted
a greenway permit to build at
the park
(In March 4. the River Road
(immunity *tgned an appeal
again*! the U»e of the tile The
community i» wailing for the
Fomm Planning (nmmiumn to
make a ruling on the appeal and
tha Eugene City Council, which
haa the power lo art on the (can
mission’* ruling
Members of (be community
said they felt the placement of a
soccer facility in Kasor Park is
inappropriate They said the
area sbuuld be cherished, pre
served, enhanced and restored,
not cluttered and polluted with
a large, unattractive metal ware
house, a large paved parking kit
and increased automobile leaf
fie.
Be* ky Riley, the head of
Friends of Kasor Park Commune
ty. said the park is an open
space and should remain open
'll is a unique ecosystem on
the river and should stay that
way,” Riley said
The community claims the
soccer facility would increase
Ira flic and create safety prob
lem* It would also increase
notse, night-time lighting and
litter around the facility, they
said, and home property value*
and the value of tile park would
decrease
The community suggested
that rather than tearing up the
park, the city should look for a
plate that already has a paved
parking lot They suggested the
fairground*, constructing a
dome over Auixert Stadium or
use of the proposed private fascii
iiy in Springfield
Jim Johnson, director of
Uhrary Recreation and Cultural
Services, said the fairground*
would he an appropriate site,
hut the city would nave to get
approval from the fairgrounds’
board of directors
Doming Autien Stadium, on
the other hand, would be anuth
ft paMfbiltty. but it would cost
more money than the city ha*
planned tor the protect, fohnson
•aid
He said the problem with the
proposed cite to Springfield w*»
that there isn't a guarantee that
the facility would be there for
ever. where** the facility at
Rasor Put would
Itartucr* heller, < *n council
woman, said thi* facility would
be a grwil opportunity be people
to play roarer alt year around
"Not only it It a recreational
facility, but tt i* an excellent
nm matronal opportunity for kid*
and adulu.*' Keller *aid
She <u*id the new facility
would save the current soccer
field* because during the win
ter. people can't play on the
field* because it tear* them up
"Thi* lot will be c hanging, but
we will use !«•* than 20 percent
of the site — including the park
mg lot.* Keller said “It wit! still
remain a* park land and it wilt
link to a bike path Thi* facility
can carve the whole city *
As a member, ! *m involved
in making decisions on all
aspects of the bookstore
with a dynamic team made up of a
good cross section of tbe University.
I bc*e decision-making and personal
skill* that i am learning s ill be a great
asset to me in tbe future.
Chr» tncMon
UNIVERSITY
OP OISCON
Mat* Than A Buukalta*
i
*
1
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ODE Classifieds...
Worth Looking Into!
Sex offenders are raising 1
area residents’ concerns
■ FORUM: Police are no!
required to inform
neighbors when
criminals move m
By Mm Etttmada
Springfield resident Shaw
im Tallerday remember* (he
October day whan bar 15
y«ar old daughter was
harassed by a convicted sex
offender as she walked to her
I friend's house by herself
"The one lime she decided
to walk without her pepper
spray was the day she dacid
«d to walk by herself." Taller
day said "He kept on coming
and craning and try ing to talk
bet into getting into his car If
she had pepper sprayed him.
she would've been tit# one in
trouble — not him “
Tallerday and her family
immediately took action
against the man. who lived
fust two block* from their
home
Tallerday wrote an anony
mous letter to the offender
She passed out flier* inform
ing her neighbors that a sex
offender lived near them
Because of ihe pressure from
his neighbors, the offender
moved out of the area fust
two weeks ago
However. Tallerday- and a
group of Springfield resi
dents vented their frustration
during a public forum on
Tuesday mghl with a (usttce
system they said was too lax
on sex offenders and gave
them too few legal tools to
protect themselves and their
children
"Were providing them
with more service* than I get,
and they can tom around and
hurl us.* Tallerday said.
"These people can pick up
on my daughter and get thrtt
ten tat tom fmm that It's fro*
(rating to rmaltce that we have
the law* {on one stdai and
the moral* loo the other I “
The number of wt offend
era <n the state and county,
recited by |eff Collin* a
parole anti probation officer
with the Oregon Department
of Corrections, alarmed the
residents
In Lan* County alone,
about 300 sex offenders live
in the Eugene Springfield
are# “under strict supervi
sion," he said. Statewide,
3.000 sex offenders are on
parole Oregon's prisons hold
2.000 sex offenders, and
within an average of six
years, 08 percent of them are
released.
"The reality is that when
I hey coma out. they have to
live in our cities." Collin*
said. "I can't put them out in
the countryside near the coy
ote* in Dexter The bottom
line is. they are free,"
Coupled with a strict bat
tery of parole regulations that
severely limit the movement
of convicted *«s offender*
within a community, the best
way for residents to protect
themselves is to become
informed
"Then you tell your kids,
in the same way you tell
them not to stick their Anger
In a light stx.ket. you also tell
them not lo talk to strangers."
Collins said.
Under current Oregon law.
authorities are not required to
inform the residents of a
neighborhood if a sex offend
er is living in their midst But
this does not prevent resi
dents from taking steps such
a* distributing fliers warning
their neighbors of potential
problems. Collin* saui
If you’ve had
Chlamydia is »he most common
unprotected
sevoally transmitted disease m
sex, you are
the United States today. One m
at risk for
fifty men is infected and shows
chlamydia.
no symptoms of the disease.