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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2004)
‘GENTLE GIANT’ JUDGE EDWIN ALLEN REMEMBERED The death of a legendary Lane County judge brought together the conflicting ele- ments of the courtroom, lawyers and judges, and their families for a moving tribute June 30 in St. Mary’s Episcopal church. Retired from Lane County Circuit Court in 1994, the Hon. Edwin Allen died on June 24 at the age of 78. He grew up in Wendling in rural Lane County and attended the UO for both his undergrad- uate and law de- grees. Two of his former law clerks, attorney Michael Fox and U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken, both com- mented that Judge Allen did not suffer the unprepared gladly. “He was every unprepared lawyer’s nightmare,” as Fox put it, “but at the end of the day, you knew you would win or lose your case for the right reason.” Judge Aiken called him a judge “who kept the playing field even,” in the end “a gentle giant.” In a written tribute to her father, Portland attorney Mary Beth Allen described him: “He loved the law and his life as a judge but was never far from his roots. His honesty, sense of justice and civic responsibility, and loyalty to friends and family were forged in the tight- knit community of a company logging town. He loved to describe himself as just a boy from Wendling, and kept in touch with child- hood friends until the end.” The service closed with songs by Cole Porter. — AJ PEG MORTON RETURNS FROM FEDERAL PRISON Eugene peace activist Peg Morton is back in Eugene after serving three months in fed- eral prison following her arrest for an act of non-violent civil disobedience at the former Army School of the Americas. She and fellow prisoner Leisa Barnes ar- rived home by train the afternoon of July 6. Morton, 73, was in- carcerated with 250 other women at a low-security facility at Camp Parks in Dublin, Calif., and kept a journal of her experiences there. “How do we live to- gether without explod- ing or dissolving?” she wrote. “I am amazed by the strength, the wisdom, compassion, flexibility, healthy assertiveness and humor of many of these women. I am chal- lenged and taught: ‘You learn to sleep through anything — bright lights, noise.’ With laughter, talk and lights on a woman will turn away, cover herself up, and go to sleep.” “Women kid each other mercilessly,” she wrote. “They goad me to utter a swear word. I do, and they pounce, laughing. Swearing is rampant, a part of the lingo of many.” Morton said health services at the prison are “abominable.” She wrote, “A woman with high blood pressure is out of her pills, for days and days, suffering from a severe headache. Another fails to receive a regular, • Let’s take a break from our customary ranting and righteous indignation and rec- ognize what a stupendous summer it’s turning out to be in Eugene. Time to get out of the house and do stuff. The ongoing Bach Festival is stunning this year, even sans Quasthoff. Art and the Vineyard/Freedom Festival was a marvelous community event, pumping fistfulls of cash into the hands of struggling artists. The Oregon Country Fair this coming weekend is evolving past its hippy schtick to become an unparalleled cultural, artistic and educational extravaganza. The Hempfest in Blue River the following weekend should be a blast, and Springfield’s Filbert Festival is returning Aug. 6-8 at Island Park. The coast is gorgeous and the mountains are beckoning. Let’s soak it all up. • One local artist and craftsperson missing this year from Art and the Vineyard and the Oregon Country Fair is Chris Gum, 51, who died June 30. Friends of the Springfield potter tell us he was an exceptional artist who sold his creations at numerous Northwest craft fairs and his “creative touch and sharp opinions will truly be missed by those who knew him and those who appreciated his sense of color and form.” Major Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. • A promising breakfast conversation has been happening monthly in Eugene for the past year. Brought together by the Metro Partnership and 1000 Friends of Oregon, Jack Roberts and Rob Zako, 16 citizens of often deeply conflicting politi- cal perspectives are talking to each other and even reaching consensus about thorny local issues. First product was a letter to the mayor and council asking that the city move forward on lands inventories to develop high-quality land use plan- ning and bring certainty to landowners. Specifically, this means supporting inven- tories on commercial and industrial lands and completing the long overdue natural resources study. Next discussion? Maybe transportation, including the West Eugene Parkway, or housing trends, including the shortage of low-cost housing, or elitism in Eugene, or some other contentious topic. Participants, who are on their own and not representing any organizations or employers, are: Rob Bennett, Jim Croteau, Rick Duncan, Pat Fagan, David Funk, Gerry Gaydos, Sandy Halonen, Anita 8 JULY 8, 2004 medically ordered test, for months. A joke goes around: You can tell how long a woman has been in by the number of teeth she has lost. They just pull teeth rather than fill them.” Morton will give a report on her experi- ences at 7 pm Tuesday, July 13 at Harris Hall. — TJT Riverfront Research Park. Opponents have voiced concerns that the road would damage the riverfront area by further cutting off downtown from the river, and enabling the construction of large commercial buildings and parking lots in a natural area that should be preserved for parkland (see EW news story 6/24 and follow-up news brief 7/1). COUNCIL TO GATHER INPUT ON RIVERFRONT HEMPFEST FINDS NEW LOCATION UP THE CREEK A public hearing on plans for a new road along the Willamette River to serve the pro- posed new hospital site near EWEB has been scheduled for 7:30 pm Monday, July 12 at the City Council Chambers. The new road is proposed for the north side of the railroad tracks west from the Hempfest organizers have found a new location for their annual free shindig in cele- bration of the much-maligned plant. The sec- ond annual Emerald Empire Hempfest com- ing up the weekend of July 17-18 will be held at Bittersweet Campground at milepost 43 on McKenzie Highway near Blue River. Johnson, Steve Korth, Kevin Matthews, Bob O’Brien, Kitty Piercy, Rusty Rexius, Jack Roberts, John VanLandingham, and Rob Zako. • John Edwards as Kerry’s running mate? Excellent choice. Edwards is an eloquent populist with humble roots, and he’s a trial lawyer not afraid to take on big corpo- rations. The choice also shows that Kerry, unlike Bush, doesn’t need an old war- horse like Cheney to pull his strings and cover his butt. • Readers tell us Robert Moore Information in Portland is conducting a telephone poll of Eugene residents. Questions? What is the most important issue facing Eugene? How would you rank issues in terms of importance: quality of schools; city services; affordable housing; economic development; WEP and the environment? How would you rate the following people: Nancy Nathanson, Jeff Miller, Jack Roberts, Bonny Bettman, Jan Clements, Kitty Piercy and Jim Torrey? It asks “Who did you vote for in the May mayoral primary?” And “In the November mayoral election with only Kitty Piercy list- ed but the names above as possible write-ins, who would you vote for?” The survey asks about the influence of possible mayoral candidate endorsers, such as the Lane County Home Builders Association and Friends of Eugene (which doesn’t do endorse- ments). And the survey asks slanted questions about candidate positions, such as increasing regulation and the cost of doing business; maintaining the UGB and increasing the cost of housing, stopping the WEP, using public funds to support urban development, etc. Who’s behind this spendy survey? Somebody with bucks to burn eyeing a write-in campaign in November. • The Pentagon is busy extending enlistments, recalling former active troops and mobi- lizing more National Guard units and reservists. Is a return to the draft next? It would be political disaster for Bush and Congress to reinstate conscription before the November elections. But if Bush/Cheney are re-elected in November (“Four More Wars” would be a good GOP campaign slogan), then we have something to worry about. SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and rumor-chasing notes compiled by the EW staff. Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at 484-0519,
