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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 2003)
JAMIE HOOPER Chris Moran, Mr. January, had to have his bag lowered digitally. LONG TOM CALENDAR FROM ‘POLE TO POLE’ The much-publicized Men of the Long Tom Grange Calendar (see our cover photo this week) is quickly selling out two printings of 10,000 each and is inspiring both a book and screenplay. The book, by volunteer calendar publicist Danuta Pfeiffer, will tell some tales of the cal- endar’s production, many of which have not been covered by local media. For example, “Mr. January’s picture didn’t quite cut it be- cause his tackle bag was too high and his buns showed. (The only one with a crack showing!) So Jamie [Hooper, the photogra- pher] digitally lowered the tackle box to cover any offense,” says Pfeiffer. Cleve Dumdi, husband of former Lane County Commissioner Ellie Dumdi, tried to sneak into his photo shoot wearing shorts, says Pfeiffer, but “Ellie made him take them off.” Local humorist Leigh Anne Jasheway is reportedly working on a screenplay regard- ing the “shameless” calendar, its production and the controversy it raised in Junction City. The calendar is a fund-raiser for local schools and is expected to gross at least $200,000 for the school district. Net pro- ceeds will be announced. Meanwhile, the calendar is getting broad distribution. “The calendar hangs in the McMurdo Station in Antactica to a house in North Pole, Alaska, and is featured in a Polish men’s magazine,” says Pfeiffer. “So I like to say we’re covered from Pole to Pole to Pole!” A final celebration honoring those in- volved in the calendar is scheduled for 6 pm at the Shadow Hills Country Club. For more information on the calendar, book- signing events and ordering, visit http://bandsounds.com/grangecalendar/ or call 998-2828. — Ted Taylor BY PAUL NEEVEL KAT DELIOSIO & THERESA DEULING Raised on a farm near Mabel Lake in the Okanogan Valley of British Columbia, 22- year-old Theresa Deuling got her early education in a one- room schoolhouse. Kat Deliosio, 24, grew up in Wyckoff, N.J., in the shadow of New York City. Each is consider- ing a career in midwifery. “Both of us are doulas,” Deuling explains, “women who help women have children.” Deliosio and Deuling are serving as volunteers at the St John Bosco House in Eugene, where they offer hospitality and care 24/7 to homeless young women and their children. In return, they get room and board plus a small stipend. Donations cover the rent. “We have space for four women at a time,” says Deuling. “At present we have three.” The Bosco House is one of 185 Catholic Worker communities, each committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, and hospitality for the forsaken. “We each found it by way of the Catholic Worker website,” says Deliosio, who drove across the country in October. “I’d never been West.” Deuling arrived at the Bosco House in September. “I’ve made a year commitment,” she says. “There’s a desperate need for people to do this kind of work.” WOULD MANNIX’S PLAN SHORTEN SCHOOL YEAR? Republican Kevin Mannix’s plan to bal- ance the state budget represents a $450 million hit to public schools, which could re- sult in shortening the school year by 30 days, according to a state- ment from Oregon House Democratic Leader Jeff Merkley of Portland. Mannix “This is smoke and mirrors, plain and simple,” Merkley said in a memo to his House Democratic colleagues dated Dec. 9. While Mannix reportedly proposes freez- ing compensation for all state workers, he’s really talking about public school teachers, Merkley said. “But [Mannix] ignores the fact that teachers’ contracts are already in place. Thus, his ‘savings’ can come only by cutting classrooms and schools — a callous disre- gard for Oregon’s schoolchildren.” A cut of $450 million to schools is equiv- alent to shortening the school year by 30 days, Merkley figures. Mannix also proposes to “save” $150 mil- lion in PERS costs, but Merkley said the cur- rent appropriation to K-12 schools has al- ready accounted for reduced PERS rates. “To save an additional $150 million would re- quire deep cuts to school programs,” Merkley said. Mannix’s proposal to lower academic standards and eliminate testing could jeopar- dize $400 million in federal aid to Oregon schools under the No Child Left Behind Program, Merkley warned. “A reckless rewrite of state education policy during a spe- cial session could jeopardize hundreds of millions in federal help to K-12 education in Oregon,” Merkley said. HOW ARCATA BUCKED THE CHAIN INVASION In the summer of 2002, the city of Arcata, Calif., population 16,700, said no more cor- porate chain restaurants could open there. No more McDonald’s, Wendy’s or more Carl’s Jrs. Paul Cienfuegos, activist and chair of the City of Arcata Committee on Democracy & Corporations which helped pass the ordi- nance, is coming to Eugene next week shar- ing strategies for restoring democratic au- thority over corporations, taking back the media, and invigorating democratic processes. He will speak at 7 pm Friday, Jan. 9 at Pacific 123 at the UO. His media work- shop is from 2 to 5 pm Saturday, Jan. 10 in Columbia 44. He will also be in Corvallis leading a community forum from 1:30 to 5:30 pm Sunday, Jan, 11.at the Oddfellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd. In Eugene, Cienfuegos will describe the techniques used by citizens in Arcata to limit the power of large corporations in their local economy and government. Cienfuegos co- authored a 1998 ballot initiative that led to the creation of the first ever governmental committee mandated to rein in corporate rule. Because of this initiative, the city held two town hall meetings on the topic of democracy and corporations, attended by 5 percent of the voting population. Cienfuegos is touring the state in hopes of inspiring similar actions in Oregon communities. “The sky’s the limit in what we can ac- complish in the future,” says Cienfuegos, speaking of the Committee’s current push to pass a resolution abolishing corporate per- sonhood, the legal precedent granting corpo- rations the same rights as living people. The Campaign Finance Reform Initiative, the Justice Not War Coalition, and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee are sponsoring the events. For more information call 465- 1299. A-CAROLING THEY WENT A crowd of Christmas carolers that grew to 85 at its peak converged downtown Christmas Eve to protest the city’s new Ordinance 20303, which limits the right to free expression. The ordinance, which was passed by the City Council with Councilors David Kelly and Betty Taylor dissenting, requires groups of 25 or more people to have a permit to be downtown. (see EW 12/18 news briefs.) Organizers of different groups came to- gether to form the Coalition for Free DECEMBER 31, 2003 5
