B International Night packs the EMU
Ballroom with a sellout crowd.
Sports
Both men’s and women’s track and field
teams leap over the Huskies at Hayward.
Page9
http://www.dailyemerald.com
Monday, April 15,2002
Since 1 900
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 103, Issue 129
Friends, family commemorate professor’s life
Thomas Patterson Emerald
Marjory Smith, a longtime friend of the late Professor Walter Martin, views
photographs and mementos documenting Martin’s life.
■Those who gather to remember
sociology professor Walter Martin
mention his hard work, character,
modesty and storytelling ability
By Serena Markstrom
Oregon Daily Emerald
Walter Martin’s longtime friend and so
ciology colleague Ben Johnson stepped to
the podium as ambient harp music and
muted conversations wound into silence.
“Today we are here to remember the
life of Walter Tilford Martin,” Johnson
said to the group of family and friends
who gathered Sunday in Gerlinger
Lounge to celebrate Martin’s life. He
died March 13 at age 84.
In 1939, he married Rena Elizabeth
Buckley in Seattle. Martin’s family was not
particularly interested in higher education,
but his wife encouraged him to pursue it.
At the time, Martin was interested in
social work, but when he enrolled as a
graduate student at the University of
Washington in March 1945, he found
the social work program didn’t begin
until fall. He approached a sociology
professor, who offered him a job as a
research assistant.
“He got hooked,” Johnson said.
“That’s how he became a sociologist. ”
Martin moved to Oregon and began
teaching at the University in 1947 for an
annual salary of $3,000. He served as a
visiting professor throughout the Unit
ed States and in Australia and Kenya,
and he retired from the University in
1979. He was chairman of the sociology
department from 1957 to 1968. His in
terests were in human ecology, demog
raphy and criminology.
“He had a distinguished career,” John
son said. “But he wasn’t a one-track man.”
Wood sculpting, non-professional writ
ing and gardening also held his interest,
and he was a dedicated family man. He
wrote genealogies of his side of the family
as well as his wife’s. He often made an ef
fort to get his whole family into the out
doors for camping and hiking trips.
David Martin, one of Martin’s four
children, spoke of his father’s hardwork
ing character and his storytelling ability.
“When he came to visit us, he expect
ed to be given a saw, a shovel or a paint
brush,” David Martin, who lives in Re
dondo Beach, Calif., said. “I had a
feeling when (my parents) left it was be
cause we ran out of chores.”
He said his father would rewrite fairy
Turn to Memorial, page 7
Lax taxpayers need not fear—last-minute help is here
■Today is the last day to file taxes and extensions
without penalty, but post offices in Eugene are offering
evening assistance and Web sites are available now
By Brad Schmidt
Oregon Daily Emerald
In life, so the saying goes, the only things that are certain
are death and taxes. Despite knowing this, there always
seems to be a mad scramble to finish tax returns in time for
the April 15 deadline each year.
Today marks the last day students can file 2001 federal and
state tax returns without filing for an extension or incurring
penalties. To be considered on time, tax returns must be post
marked with today’s date.
Students who have put off filing their forms are in good
company: The Internal Revenue Service reported earlier this
month that there are an estimated 65 million people yet to
file returns — almost half of the total 130 million returns they
anticipate receiving this year.
“I just put things off until the last minute,” said sophomore
Bret Schricker, who said he waited to file until today. “Plus,
it’s not exactly a fun thing to do.”
While the Internal Revenue Service may never get every
one to believe that filling out tax forms is fun, it has made sev
eral changes in tax laws this year in an attempt to make it eas
ier for taxpayers to file. Students may qualify for a tax rate
reduction credit if they did not receive a rebate check from
the federal government last year.
The Oregon Department of Revenue has also taken steps to
ease the confusion associated with taxes. At
www.steps2cash.org, students can follow five steps to see if
they’ll be receiving a state refund. For students who don’t
owe any money, there’s not much of a penalty for filing taxes
late. But in order to receive a refund, a return must be filed.
For federal taxes, most students qualify for the shortest and
easiest form, Form 1040EZ. The form is available at any post
Turn to Taxes, page 8
Adam Jones Emerald
Possibly one of the least favored days of the year Is April 15, also known as ‘Tax Day.’ For those who procrastinate calculating
their income taxes, it’s a day of numbers and forms. Later on, it becomes a day of lines and waiting.
Late
drop-off
sites
■ Eugene Main
Post Office,
520 Willamette St.,
from 8:30 a.m. to 9
p.m. today; last
mail collection
at midnight. Call
341-3636
for more info.
■ Gateway Post
Office, 3148
Gateway St.,
open 9 a.m. to 9
p.m. today; last
mail collection
at midnight. Call
341-3649
for more info.
Eugene voters will face $ 19-6 million library levy in May primary
■ Ballot Measure 20-58, referred
by Eugene’s City Council, would
raise the average homeowner’s
property taxes $80 per year
By Kalis Ellis
Oregon Daily Emerald
Eugene voters may experience d6ja vu
when they enter the voting booths in May.
Ballot Measure 20-58 will give voters
another opportunity to decide on a li
brary local option levy during the pri
mary election, and if passed, it will in
crease property taxes — with the
average household paying an additional
$39 to $80 per year.
The Eugene City Council, under rec
ommendations from the Mayor’s Library
Improvement Committee, voted on Feb.
25 to place a renewed library levy on the
May ballot. The renewal is a 48 percent
increase from the original levy passed
four years ago.
“The council’s vote was unani
mous,” said Eugene financial director
Sue Cutsogeorge.
The cost increase could pose a problem
for voters. With a stagnant economy, Eu
geneans might be hesitant to pass another
levy. Eugene Public Library Services di
rector Connie Bennett said the increase
could hinder the measure’s success, but
she expects strong public support.
“In this economic climate, the cost
could be a factor,” Bennett said. “But I
think we have worked hard to uphold the
promise we made four years ago. I think
people recognize that in the long run, $80
a year for an entire family is not that much
for the services this levy will provide.”
Bennett said the committee gave great
consideration to the current economic
Turn to Library levy, page 7
2002
Elections
Part of an
occasional series
Tuesday
Voters are asked to
spend $8.6 million
on upgrading fire
facilities.