Graffiti pits authorities against taggers
Local authorities cite graffiti
as a problem, causing $3000
of damage to the University
since last summer
Caron Alarab
Safety/Crime/Transportation Reporter
It sits on benches, marks fences
and adorns empty wall space
throughout Eugene, only to be
cleaned or covered within hours. But
the biggest problem with graffiti is
not what it stains or where it ap
pears: it is the cost and manpower
required to clean it.
In response to the crime’s contin
ued prominence, the Department of
Public Safety and the Eugene Police
Department cross-reference graffiti
reports during ongoing investiga
tions and use a task force, a hot line
and new cleaning supplies to handle
Eugene’s two graffiti “hot spots” —
the campus and Downtown areas.
“About one percent of cases in
volve gang members from other
states,” EPD Detective Julie Smith
said. “But for the most part, they’re
just straight taggers.”
In 2002, EPD reported 1,391 in
stances of graffiti and the City of Eu
gene Public Works Department report
ed an average of 200 graffiti abatement
calls a month. Since the first of the
year, DPS has received more than 38
graffiti reports on and around campus,
which Smith said is most likely due to
drier weather conditions.
“We see more incidents when
paint is less likely to run due to
rain,” she said.
Since July, University Facilities
Services has spent approximately
#3,031 on graffiti clean-up out of
about #13,000 in total vandalism
costs.
“It’s a very expensive problem,”
University Facilities Services
spokesman Tim King said.
University junior Tom Harder said
he appreciates artistic efforts made by
taggers, but he agrees with officials
when it comes to those who just want
to get their names out there.
“It’s dirty, and it pollutes the city
everywhere,” he said.
Harder did say, however, that he is
aware of the beauty that graffiti can
bring to cities, having had a friend
who got paid to paint murals on
buildings in Colorado.
“I consider it an extreme sport —
a leisurely activity,” he added.
Though typically associated with
spray paint, Smith said graffiti con
sists of markings made with any
thing from permanent markers and
bingo pens to acid etching tech
niques. And although local stores sell
spray paint for only a couple of dol
lars a can, Smith said young
shoplifters are occasionally caught
with such tagging essentials.
In response to local concerns and
related crimes, EPD established the
Graffiti Task Force a year ago to help
reduce incidents citywide. The task
force — which includes active re
porting and prevention from the city
of Eugene, the Public Works depart
ment, business owners and commu
nity members — works with correc
tion offices and the courts to
determine more appropriate sen
tences for suspects who are appre
hended as well as restitution for vic
tims, Smith said. One of the biggest
motivations for immediate response
is to prevent other individuals from
adding to the initial artwork.
“Before we know it, the whole
wall is covered,” Smith said of past
incidents.
In order to provide more incentive
for community members to report
graffiti, EPD offers a 24-hour hotline
and a possible cash reward — typi
cally about $50 — for tips that lead
to arrests, Smith said. Although they
don’t offer money, DPS and Facilities
Services have purchased newer,
more efficient cleaning materials to
handle campus graffiti.
And for Dale Fish, a Facilities Ser
vices employee hired to quickly re
spond to campus maintenance calls,
the environmentally safe cleaning so
lutions make his day more breathable.
“We’ve seen a small rise in inci
dents since Christmas, and this
product makes my job a lot easier,”
he said.
To help the city and local business
es with the costs of graffiti abatement,
Forrest Paint Company donates buck
ets of paint — in universal “battleship
gray” — to the cause. Despite local
generosity toward covering up the
problem, Graffiti Task Force member
and Downtown property owner John
Brown said he would rather see more
untainted wall-space as opposed to
unattractive gray spots on buildings
citywide.
As part of a Rotary Club of Eugene
project implemented three years
ago, the Public Works department
used a grant to create graffiti art
walls in Eugene to provide designat
ed outlets for artists. Brown, a Ro
tary Club member, said the walls are
no longer implemented because
they drew more graffiti to adjacent
buildings than to the walls.
“To taggers, it’s a form of expres
sion,” he added. “But to the commu
nity, it’s a game.”
University junior Jake Haworth
said he remembers using the walls
but doesn’t recall there being an ex
cessive amount of art on neighboring
buildings. Having been perfecting his
graffiti skills since he was 14, Ha
worth said it takes dedication and a
lot of practice to become impressive,
which he said explains the large
Flight
continued from page 1
North American Harvard T-6, a World
War II-era combat training plane.
The professor’s love of flight was in
grained in him as a child in Oostende,
Belgium. His father served in the Bel
gian Army Air Corps, and many of his
friends followed suit. In 1960, when
he was 22 years old, Lamon left his na
tive country to pursue flight training
in the Canadian Air Force.
Now, Lamon flies in the Civil Air
Patrol, a search and rescue auxiliary
of the U.S. Air Force, and at air
shows. In 1990, he founded the
“Heritage Flight” to honor pilots who
have trained in Canada. His plane
represents NATO in the group, and
two others represent Canada and
the British Commonwealth.
Next term will mark Lamon’s last
after 31 years at the University. He
said he is looking forward to full re
tirement because he will have more
time to fly. Lamon said when he fi
nally got his wings in 1963, it was
one of the biggest thrills of his life.
“It was emotionally more satisfy
ing than getting a Ph.D.he said. “It
was easier, too.”
However, his thrills were over by
the year’s end. Lamon was barred
from flying in the Canadian Air
Force because of developing eye
problems. With the advise of a men
tor in the Belgian Air Force, he
moved to the United States to con
tinue his education. During the next
decade, he attended school in Cali
fornia and eventually earned a doc
torate in mathematics education
from the University of California at
Berkeley. In 1963, Lamon was mar
ried in San Francisco, which gave
him a chance to remain in the Unit
ed States and become a citizen four
years later. He was not able to fly
again until 1978, when he passed
civilian pilot vision examinations.
Lamon then taught math at San
Francisco high schools and at the Uni
versity of California at Santa Barbara.
The teacher came to Eugene in
1972, and became an assistant pro
fessor at the University’s College of
Education. However, he had no close
friends in the department.
Lamon said his strongest friend
ships have been with his second
wife, Mary Ann Lamon, to whom he
has been married for almost 20
years; fellow Eugene pilot Ron
Bowker and his German shepherd
Precious, whom he refers to as his
“best four-legged friend.”
William Lamon and Bowker met
more than 20 years ago because the
Mark McCambridge Emerald
Although graffiti, seen here in Eugene's industrial district, is sometimes viewed
as artistic expression, clean-up efforts have cost the city thousands of dollars.
number of hurried or sloppy tags
made by amateurs.
“Graffiti means a lot to the-people
who do it,” he said. “It’s not done to
fuck society over _-i— they’re just
walls. And sometimes it’s really nice
to look at.”
Contact the reporter
atcaronalarab@dailyemerald.com.
two rented adjacent airplane hang
ers at the Eugene Airport.
“It’s the love of aviation that put
us together,” Bowker said. “It’s a
brotherhood of people.”
The two have breakfast every
morning at a bagel and coffee shop,
and William Lamon said Bowker is
the only friend besides his wife who
he can always count on.
“Everyday we sit here and bullshit
— if I don’t, I miss it,” Lamon said.
William Lamon said his wife is his
best friend because she has always
supported him—his flying included.
Mary Ann Loman said the same,
adding that while she sometimes
worries about bad weather or a plane
malfunction, she never worries
about his flying capabilities.
While life was smooth sailing in
the sky, his career changed course
on the ground. In 1992, the College
of Education dropped its teacher
education program and let go most
of the program’s staff, William La
mon included.
The flier became an assistant to
the University vice provost, and held
the position — where he traveled
around the country recruiting stu
dents — until he retired in 1998.
Since then, he has taught several
courses on the history of flight.
“I have an enormous affinity for
aviation,” he said.
Contact the reporter
atromangokhman@dailyemerald.com.
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