LETTERS
Smoke screen
There are small steps that each
of us can take to make life better
for others. A yes vote on Measure
44 is one of those steps.
Cigarette smoking causes
many acute and chronic diseases
that health care providers see. In
Oregon, tobacco costs all of us
about $900 million in health care
and lost productivity annually.
Measure 44 will increase the cig
arette tax from 38 cents per pack
to 68 cents per pack. Ninety per
cent of the $138 million raised
will go to the Oregon Health Plan
and ten percent will go to a cam
paign to discourage smoking, es
pecially directed toward young
people.
The supporters of this measure
include people whose profit from
this is the satisfaction of helping
others to enjoy good health — the
American Cancer Society, Amer
ican Heart Association, Ameri
can Lung Association, state and
county medical societies, etc.
The opposition is the tobacco in
dustry, who know that as the
price of cigarettes goes up, fewer
people will start smoking.
Please join us in voting for
Measure 44 on Nov. 5.
Paula F. Ciesielski, M.D.
Donna Scurlock, M.D.
Eugene
Go recycle
Don’t be fooled by misleading
advertising and money that poi
sons citizen initiatives! The neg
ative advertising that has been
put forth on Measure 37, to ex
pand the Oregon Bottle Bill, has
been confusing many otherwise
devout recyclers and upstanding
intelligent citizens. Do not be
fooled by these negative, anti-re
cycling, anti-environment, anti
community ads sponsored by
Coke, Pepsi and out-of-state in
terests. The bottle bill needs to be
expanded, just look in any public
garbage can, on any street or in
any park. Non-deposit beverages
are not making it into the recy
cling bin.
There is nothing confusing
about the expansion of the Ore
gon Bottle Bill. Any container
covered will be marked as it is
under the current bill: Oregon 5
cent deposit returnable! The only
confusing part of the expansion
measure is the misleading mes
sages being presented by the op
ponents.
Less than 50 percent of the sin
gle-serving beverages on the mar
ket are not covered currently un
der the bottle bill. A no vote on
Measure 37 is a nail in the coffin
of recycling. Vote yes on Measure
37.
Ezra Louthis
Environmental Studies
Reject light rail
All Oregonians are being asked
to pay for a new light rail in Port
land. Those of you outside the
Portland area are being offered
$375 million for your own trans
portation projects, to match the
$375 million going to Portland’s
light rail. What you may not
know is that your $375 million
will actually cost you $584 mil
lion.
This disturbing analysis comes
from the Oregon Transportation
Institute, a private non-profit or
ganization based in Portland.
The high cost is the result of two
factors: lottery bonds earmarked
for transit and road projects must
be repaid with interest, and your
share of the state’s general fund
earmarked for those uses won't
be available to you for education,
criminal justice and other uses.
And, while Portland gets its light
rail money all at once, the rest of
Oregon gets most of its money
over a 10-year period.
In addition to costing you
more than you get, none of the
$375 million must go to fix one
pothole, pave one highway or
build one road. No specific pro
jects are even identified. The
money can be used for Columbia
River dredging and pedestrian or
bike paths. It doesn’t have to be
used for roads at all.
Many experts understand that
the light rail hasn’t reduced traf
fic congestion or air pollution in
Portland. It diverts scarce re
sources away from better transit
alternatives. Now, all Oregonians
are being asked to help pay for
Portland’s transit mistakes.
Steve Buckstein
President
Cascade Policy Institute
Yes on 38
During an Eastern Oregon trip
on Oct. 11 and 12, between the
town of Spray and Fossil Beds
National Monument Headquar
ters, I witnessed on two separate
occasions cows tearing through
the chocolate brown sediment
filled John Day River. I don’t
doubt that there are conscien
tious ranchers like Joan Lathrop
(Oct. 18, ODE] but from my many
trips to Eastern Oregon, I find
more resistance to the sugges
tions and reasoning behind Mea
sure 38 than progressive ac
knowledgement and response to
the problem of degraded water
quality and aquatic habitat. If the
No on 38 members of our human
community had spent as much
time and money on appropriate
ranching practices as they have
against this initiative, they would
have garnered much more empa
thy from the west side ‘burbians.
But they haven’t, so thank you
for voting yes on 38.
Hal Hushbeck
Environmental Studies
Fence alternatives
I don’t like fences and 1 strong
ly support Measure 38. Does this
stance appear contradictory? It’s
not. Despite what opponents
have claimed, Measure 38 does
not force ranchers to build
fences. In fact, fences are not
mentioned anywhere in the text.
Measure 38 does require
ranchers to keep livestock out of
polluted waters if their livestock
contributes to the problem.
Fences are not the only way to
achieve this end. Hedgerows
and/or shaded upland watering
sites are just as effective. In addi
tion, ranchers can comply by de
veloping an approved water
quality plan.
It’s not fences that ranchers
fear. It’s the measure’s enforce
able time lines for taking action
to protect water quality. Here it’s
important to point out that
ranchers are not expected to be
in compliance the day after the
election. In fact, ranchers have
until 2002 to comply if they op
erate in a watershed that supplies
municipal drinking water and
until 2007 for all other waters.
The text of Measure 38 speaks
for itself. I’ve read it and I’m vot
ing yes on 38.
Holly Knight
Eugene
Smith unfair
A popular bumper sticker I’ve
noticed reads: “The Right Wing
has a White Ring to It.” This sen
timent was underscored during
the Tom Bruggere/ Gordon Smith
debate on Oct. 20. Bruggere
pointed out that Smith’s employ
ees were denied health insur
ance. Smith retorted that the
“regular ones” have coverage. It’s
the seasonal workers, predomi
nantly migrant workers of Latino
heritage, who are paid minimal
subsistence wages and receive
zero benefits.
This inequity of benefits may
be because, in Smith’s own
words, he does not regard mi
grant workers as “regular” folks.
So it’s no surprise that Smith
Frozen Foods reaps huge profits
and Gordon Smith can pay him
self $2 million annually. Huge
salaries are not crimes, but when
they are reaped on the backs of
low salary/no-benefits workers,
it’s unconscionable.
Conscience and character do
matter. Tom Bruggere’s record
tells a better tale. Industry maga
zine reports consistently rank
Bruggere’s company at the top of
worker appreciation polls. Brug
gere was a leader in advocating
employer-paid child care.
We need leaders in the U.S.
Senate who value workers and
treat them humanely. It’s not just
good business, it’s the right thing
to do.
Maybe someday the “Right
Wing will do the Right Thing”
for workers, all of them. But until
that day comes, this Republican
is voting for Tom Bruggere.
Carol Berg
Eugene
Little Caesars Pizza
!!!SPECIAL!!!
Sunday, Oct. 27th
ONLY
MEDIUM
PIZZA
with cheese
and pepperoni
No Substitutions. Round pizzas only. Limit 3 pizzas. Valid at this Little Caesar s location onl;y.
Carry out only. No deliveries. Sorry, no rain checks.
You Must Show Valid UO Student Body Card To Receive Special Offer.
WILLAMETTE
Next to Blockbuster Video _ _ 343-3330