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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2008)
big Need a little help with a idea for your neighborhood? The City of Eugene’s Neighborhood Matching Grants program is accepting proposals for community improvement projects such as parks, playgrounds, gardens or events. Your group provides half of the cash/materials/labor and the City will match it. Grant packets are now available at www.eugene-or.gov/matching grants, at City libraries, community centers, and the Atrium Building at 99 W. 10th Ave. Want to learn more? Contact Michael Kinnison, City Neighborhood Services, at 682-5009 or attend an information session at the Downtown library on August 7 or September 9 at 6 p.m.; August 9 or September 13 at 1 p.m. Pete Sorenson Invites You To Sign in for Democracy 2 Stop Sizemore/Mannix Measures 2 2 Support Ballot Measure Statements 2 TUESDAY, AUGUST 12TH 11am-11pm • COSMIC PIZZA • 199 W. 8TH AVE. • EUGENE FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: AJ O’CONNELL 912-0185 Paid for by Pete Sorenson Committee PO Box 10836 Eugene, OR 97440 • www.petesorenson.com letters TO THE EDITOR R.I.P. DAMIEN We want to give a shout-out to our friend and former Eugene resident, Damien L. Winters, who died July 18 at age 35. Damien lived in Eugene for years and touched many people’s lives; he was an adventurous free spirit who met people everywhere he went, and we know there are many in our community who will mourn his passing. Some may have met him when he was selling his glass art at Saturday or Holiday Markets, or when he worked at The French Horn Bakery, or at Onsen Spas renting out hot tubs at night. He enjoyed biking all over town, all of the little cafes and natural food stores, hiking either of the buttes — big or small, and all the wonderful weirdness that is Eugene. It seems that there isn’t a corner of this city that he didn’t touch before he moved to Hood River a few years ago to be closer to its windsurfi ng and snowboarding opportunities. Damien died doing what he loved to do: complex acrobatics on a sailboard in high winds on the Columbia River in the Gorge near The Dalles. He was a good friend to many, and he is very much missed. Josh & Nikki Bonazza Eugene EDITOR’S NOTE: More on Damien Winters’ death can be found at forums.windsurfingmag.com MAKE THE CASE Well, folks, it has come to this: If you want to improve Eugene you’re going to have to demand it. You’re going to have to make your voices heard. You want a park across from the Public Library? Let the city know. Write a letter, make a phone call, raise a little hell. Allow me to be a little politically incorrect for a moment. Eugene, “The World’s Greatest City for The Arts and Outdoors”? You must be kidding. You’ve got to earn it. This is a slogan by the clueless for the clueless. Eugene, at this moment, is on the threshold 4 AUGUST 7, 2008 EUGENE WEEKLY of indelibly stamping itself as possibly the most hick city in Oregon, led by arguably the most obtuse and dysfunctional City Council in the state, and the laughing stock of Portland, Salem, Corvallis and just about any other town or burg. For one thing, the City Council ignores the wishes of the people, who have expressed considerable wisdom in how they would like to see the city shaped. For another, they have adhered to an insider’s coveted agenda, letting the rest of us in on their private deals only after the fact. Invariably, the deals they make are good for the developers, not so good for the public. We are at a crossroads. You can either have what you want; a city you can enjoy and take pride in, or a tired compromise that fi nally stills the voices of reason and hope. It’s up to you Eugene. You want a park across from the Library? Fight for it. Thomas Lincoln Springfi eld REINVESTED PROFITS Your article, “Locals will struggle to pay big bills for hospital” (7/24) did your readers a disservice by confusing the need for a new hospital locally with the much larger problems in our health care system nationally. The need for a new hospital is widely known and undisputed. With one exception, Sacred Heart has a higher occupancy rate than any other hospital in the state. Sacred Heart has been saving for this new hospital for years and has raised $40 million in charitable donations to pay for it. Now we are seeing the profi ts the hospital has accrued over the years — the ones EW is so quick to criticize — being reinvested in the community to build a facility that is long overdue. One difference between a nonprofi t like Sacred Heart and a for- profi t company is that Sacred Heart has no shareholders to pay and instead directs any WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
