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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2005)
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CLEANJEAN'S COIN-OP LAUNDRY Chairman Drix Rixmann and board member Marie Valle pint at community pavement art Friday afternoon on 13th Avenue near Pearl Street. Tim Bobosky | Photo editor West University Neighbors bring 'soul' to community The association's projects include reopening a park and incorporating art in the alley paving project BY NICHOLAS WILBUR NEWS REPORTER An estimated 60 percent of West University neighborhood residents are students, according to West University Neighbors Chairman Drix Rixmann, and six of the nine association board members are students, including ASUO President Adam Walsh. Active neighbors are currently “put ting soul back in the neighborhood,” Rixmann said, by involving the com munity in reopening a park, personal izing alleys and putting names and dates on newly-paved sidewalks. “It’s here, it’s local, and people can really make a difference,” Rixmann said. “We want to let (students) know that this is their neighborhood; for 40 years this is theirs. You’re told your whole life ‘don’t talk to strangers,’ but these are your neighbors and when we get together for these things, everybody really has a fun time. ” WUN was started by 92-year resi dent Charlotte Lemon. “She called us the Neighbors be cause we’re not an association, we’re neighbors,” Rixmann said. After several years without holding meetings or events, University students started the group up again in fall 2003. “The board works well when we have sophisticated representation of students,” WUN Chairwoman Debo rah Healey said at a meeting on July 28. City Councilor David Kelly, who rep resents West University neighborhood along with five others, also encouraged student involvement. “It’s a great way for neighbors to get to know each other and work togeth er,” Kelly said. “A larger percentage of residents are students, and that brings a lot of energy. But it also creates chal lenges for sustainability because stu dents often come and go. ” “Thinking back to my own days as a student, I wasn’t just a part of the col lege, but I was part of the community. Getting involved in (neighborhood as sociations) can do that, and students can make a difference,” Kelly said. In a recent walk through parts of the West University neighborhood, Rix mann pointed to all the details of the area that he says usually go unnoticed. Old sidewalks are still engraved with street names and dates, ancient trees tower over entire blocks without much recognition and houses still stand from the early part of last century. “There’s even an old stable on Mill Alley,” Rixmann said. “We found a horse shoe when they started paving this alley... see, this place has soul! ” Rixmann sees himself as a sort of neighborhood representative and vol unteer. He helps organize neighbor hood events, he keeps sidewalks safe by trimming invading bushes and sometimes he picks up trash. “Some days I pick up trash, some I don’t, because, you know, you don’t see empty cases of Keystone Light in the ‘burbs,” Rixmann said. RecenUy, the biggest topic for WUN has been the negotiations to reopen West University Neighborhood Park, on 14th Avenue between Hilyard and Patterson streets, after it was closed down about 10 years ago because of high criminal activity. The main prob lem with the park is visibility. It is a dark “pocket park,” deep enough for criminal activity to go unnoticed while also providing an alternative escape route for criminals through the alley at the back. Bob and Leslie Quinney own the property on the comer of 14th Avenue and Hilyard Street and are looking to put up an apartment building in place of the white house that sits there now. At the last WUN meeting at the Glen wood Restaurant on July 28 the Bob Quinney proposed a land-swap where the corner of 14th Avenue and Hilyard Street would be traded for alley access at the back of the park. It will lose depth if the deal goes through, but it will increase visibility and eliminate many of the problems that West Uni versity residents and EPD Officer Randy Ellis are concerned about. The city currently charges park trespassers $500 or up to 30 days in jail. At the meeting, WUN board mem bers voted on a draft to send to the City of Eugene that states, “The West Uni versity Neighbors Board supports the WUN, page 20A ioorrs vum Restaurant and Lounge Authentic Chinese Cuisine Fresh, Quality Ingredients 947 Franklin Blvd. (near UO) • 343-4480 Individual, Family Style, Banquets to 100, Take Out Tues.-Thurs. 11-10:30, Fri. 11-11 Sat. 12-11, Sun. 11:30-10 022605 I-1 Haircuts $15 with coupon Regularly $20 Walk-ins or appointments 561 E. 13th Ave. 485-4422 Expires 8/31/05
