TO THE EDITOR
would prove there’s still hope for sanity and
justice in these troubling times.
Mike Kessler
Eugene
MINDLESS QUEST
Councilor Zelenka (cover story, 2/15)
thinks the EPD owes the community an expla-
nation for the Lara/Magaña fiasco.
Everyone knows the “explanation,” but
nobody has the backbone to speak up. Both of-
ficers were hired primarily for their ethnicity
to bring more “diversity” to the department.
This despite a questionable background in at
least one of the cases.
The city’s mindless quest for diversity
trumped qualifications. Diversity turned into
perversity, which was apparently regularly
overlooked. The city paid a heavy price, finan-
cially and otherwise.
I have no doubt that EPD’s diversity goals
can be achieved with qualified candidates who
are willing to be held to the same high stan-
dards as anyone else. In most businesses,
heads would have rolled in the HR depart-
ment.
Jerry Ritter
Rural Springfield
FROM A LUMBER BARONESS
Ralph Wombat (Letters, 2/8), do I have to
teach you everything? At least get your facts
right if you are going to crab.
Umpqua Bank is owned 4 percent by insid-
ers, 5 percent owners, 52 percent by institu-
tions and in mutual funds, and 44 percent di-
rectly by individuals like you and me. How
did I get this information? This is public infor-
mation; I accessed the data through Yahoo’s fi-
nance portal. So what urban legend website
are you getting your facts from?
When you write that the bank is owned by
the clearcutting lumber baron, who are you re-
ferring to or what are you alluding to? A 4 per-
cent ownership split among a group of indi-
viduals does not mean a controlling interest.
Or does holding some Umpqua Bank stock
make me a lumber baroness? Well, I own a
couple of acres that I’ve been re-foresting. If
that, plus owning Umpqua Bank stock, makes
me a lumber baroness, I accept the title.
Joy Olgyay
Rural Crow
SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
On Feb. 22, EW published a letter from Hal
Hermanson opposing a rezoning proposal that
my wife and I have submitted for 240 acres of
land in Peaceful Valley.
This former Rosboro land was the subject
of a huge protest by neighbors in 2004.
Rosboro tried to spray chemicals in order to
control weeds around the seedlings. My wife
and I have committed to sustainable forestry
using mulch mats instead of chemicals. We
have installed more mulch mats than any pri-
vate forestland owner in Lane County.
We have also put 160 acres of the land into
conservation. We have signed and recorded
declarations that preclude commercial
forestry in these areas.
Sustainable forestry is hard work. We need
to tend to the mulch mats and cut back inva-
sive vegetation like Scotch broom and
Himalayan blackberries. We would be in a
better position to undertake this work if we
lived on the property.
We have applied to build a single residence
on the 240-acre property. Mr. Hermanson
wants us to live on a portion of the property we
have devoted to a state-certified Wildlife
Habitat Conservation and Management Zone.
That part of the property has taller trees and a
seasoned creek.
We think it would make more sense to
build our house in another area — a flat part of
our property that Rosboro clearcut in 2004.
Most of the neighbors who own adjacent land
agree with us. In fact, 40 people in the neigh-
borhood have indicated that they support our
proposal.
Our residence on the property will facili-
tate our sustainable forestry. Living off-site is
easy for foresters who use chemicals, but we
have committed to the more labor-intensive
sustainable approach, and we need to live on
the property to do the work.
Tom Lininger
Eugene
PREOCCUPIED WITH SEX
If you are a family person and have chil-
dren and you want to read EW, then I suggest
that you get your copy from the stand, when
the kids aren’t watching. Then you hide it.
When the kids are in bed, you take it out and
read it.
If you are a parent or guardian, and you
have reading-age children in the home, then
you don’t want EW lying around. It’s just fur-
ther reinforcement of sexuality as a material
indulgence and pastime. You ever wonder
why the TV, movies, magazines, etc. are so
filled with sexuality? Why, it’s a culture! It
makes money, and it’s a great distraction!
What might people be interested in if they
weren’t so preoccupied with sex?
I, for one, want my child to learn about the
sacredness of sexuality. That the highest ex-
pression of sexuality combined with love ex-
presses tenderness, compassion and can be
very pleasurable, as well as make beautiful ba-
bies. Teachers in the community take heed:
Assigning children to read articles from EW is
inappropriate and not conducive to their
healthy well being!
I’m sad that EW can’t make a stand against
porn or be righteous leaders of influence in our
community. The “Savage Love” column, the
escort services (prostitution is illegal! hello!),
the provocative ads and some of the personals
are degrading to human beings as spiritual be-
MARCH 1, 2007 5