news briefs
ing to the Friends of
Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah
and the Youth in Nature
Partnership.
The Friends of Buford
Park have a solution to
indoors-induced illness —
they’re going to help kids
get over their “nature-defi-
cit disorder” by getting
them back outside at
Mount Pisgah, rain or
shine, according the group’s executive
director, Chris Orsinger.
Orsinger says the events are inspired by
Richard Louv’s 2005 book, Last Child in
the Woods, which first put forth the idea of
nature-deficit disorder. Since the book’s
publication, a “leave no child inside”
movement has started to get kids back
playing in the outdoors (the ubiquitous
outdoor toy, the stick, was just initiated
into the Toy Hall of Fame, after all).
A study published by the Archives of
Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine has
researchers theorizing that staying indoors
could lead to increased rates of autism.
The study showed a link between children
who live in areas of high precipitation, like
Oregon, and high autism rates. Counties
west of the Cascades have four times as
much rain as the east side, and autism rates
on the west side are twice as high.
The researchers have not determined
what about rain could lead to autism in
kids, but one speculation is that the rain
could bring down chemicals in the atmo-
sphere that could trigger the condition in
“genetically vulnerable,” kids. Another
theory is that the large amount of rainfall
keeps kids inside and in front of the televi-
happening people
slant
A hillside of winter
oaks at Buford Park
sion, which means they get less vitamin D
and are exposed to more indoor chemi-
cals.
If you want to know more about getting
kids into the outdoors and “nature-deficit
disorder,” come hear Martin LeBlanc’s
talk “Why leave no child inside?” at the
Friends of Buford Park’s 17th Annual Fall
Celebration, at 7 pm Thursday, Nov. 20, at
The Shedd’s Jaqua Hall. LeBlanc will
discuss how the physical, intellectual,
emotional and spiritual benefits for chil-
dren of playing outdoors. LeBlanc is one
of the founding members of the Children
and Nature Network, which works with
people and programs to get kids off the
sofa and into the woods.
Then on Saturday, Nov. 22, round up
the kids and bring them over to Mt. Pisgah
Arboretum’s White Oak Pavilion at Buford
Park between 10 am and 2 pm for hay-
rides, horse rides, campfire cooking,
nature crafts, and map and compass trea-
sure hunts. Both events are free and open
to the public though it costs $2 to park at
Mt. Pisgah. — Camilla Mortensen
BY PAUL NEEVEL
• The Register-Guard continues to beat up on Mayor Kitty Piercy after
the election with a Sunday news story and sour grapes editorial that talk
about Piercy riding Obama’s popularity to victory, the city is still divided,
she has damage to overcome, “lessons to learn,” she needs to admit that
Jim Torrey’s supporters “may be right,” etc. — enough crap to fill every
trash can in Eugene’s dog parks.
The daily fails to comprehend that Torrey’s half a million dollar cam-
paign has been a hugely divisive force in this community. His six-month-
long misleading campaign, with the help of the R-G, pitted north Eugene
against south Eugene. He falsely accused the mayor of doing nothing for
the local economy, being anti-business, not supporting the police, not fixing
roads and alienating other cities in Lane County.
Piercy’s victory is all the sweeter in that she survived a massive
onslaught of negative campaigning, lame reporting and negative editorials.
In the end, a majority of Eugeneans saw through the deceptions. Voters
picked the candidate who is focused on quality of life issues and a sustain-
able economy.
• Eugene voters Nov. 4 overwhelmingly approved solidifying Eugene’s inde-
pendent police auditor, and outgoing Councilor Bonny Bettman has been
busy drafting a dozen code amendments. The election affected the charter
language; the proposed amendments deal with the details of how the char-
ter will be implemented. The changes primarily assure unfettered access so
the auditor can do her job. Monday’s vote on the amendments was 4-4 with
Mayor Piercy breaking the tie. She would probably have preferred a 5-3 or
6-2 vote, but breaking ties on an ideologically split council is what
Eugeneans elected her to do. Jim Torrey did it many times during his eight
years as mayor.
The four city councilors who are objecting to these common-sense
amendments need to step back and listen to their constituents. The charter
measure passed by two-thirds of the vote, indicating strong support for the
independent auditor in every ward.
• We expect Rob Handy to be declared the victor this week in his very
close race to unseat County Commissioner Bobby Green. Handy is leading
by 200 votes as we go to press. What will happen with Commissioner
Handy as a progressive swing vote? We’re hoping to see better protection
of our county’s resource lands, transportation planning with peak oil and
bicycles in mind, a shift in public safety priorities from punishment to pre-
vention, and more progressive taxation. We also expect north Eugene to
get a more accessible commissioner. Green had a reputation for not return-
ing phone calls and not showing up for community events.
• The perfect encore to the emotion of election week moved much of the
audience in Beall Hall to tears last Sunday afternoon. Jeffrey Kahane, the
brilliant pianist who is one of the Bach Festival’s most popular soloists, per-
formed music by Mendelssohn and Schubert, ending with
Rachmaninoff. Returning to the stage for his single encore, Kahane gave
the audience his own tender and emotional improvisation of “America the
Beautiful.” How wonderful that our country is so deserving of this tribute
this November.
• This election has seen the Bus Project rise to power in Oregon as a cre-
ative force for getting young people excited and involved in political work.
Jefferson Smith’s innovative leadership getting out the vote with the Bus
Project and his successful bid for a seat on the Legislature show he has a
big future in Oregon politics. The Oregon Bus Project registered 23,000
new voters this year, increasing the Oregon youth electorate by 7 percent.
Bus trips all over the state this fall knocked on 60,000 doors, including
thousands in Eugene.
UO FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES STUDENTS
“Since 2004, our students have logged over 253,080 hours of field work,” says Kelly
Warren, field study coordinator for the UO College of Education’s degree program in
Family and Human Services. “That has an economic impact of more than $3 million,
based on $13 an hour.” The FHS program is designed for students considering careers
with community service or government agencies, in fields such as social welfare, drug
and alcohol treatment, recreation and special education. Students enter the FHS pro-
gram in their junior year, after they have completed the basic course requirements for
graduation. In addition to professional coursework, they serve three internships, one
per term, with local agencies. As seniors, they choose one of those agencies for an
extended year-long internship. “FHS is unique in giving undergrads the experience of
internships in the community,” says senior Linda Cathey, who worked in the Southern
California movie industry before moving to Eugene in search of a new career in 2004.
“This year, I’m working with fourth and fifth-graders at Adams School. Last year, I also
worked at Head Start and at Senior and Disabled Services.”
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
• Enrollments at the UO are going up with the downturn in the economy,
but Lane County and the city of Eugene are making it harder for commut-
ing students to get to school. LTD is discussing cutting several routes to
the UO campus, and Eugene just raised the parking meter fees around the
UO to a dollar an hour. In an ideal world, we’d all walk and bike, but com-
muters need to get to school somehow.
• Oregon TV stations have made untold millions on eight months of presi-
dential and Senate campaigns, and local TV stations have also raked it in
on the mayoral and County Commission races, all coming at a time when
national and local ad revenues have been slipping. What will next year look
like? Don’t be surprised to see more layoffs and cutbacks in broadcast
newsrooms. On the up side, we no longer have to suffer through endless
and repetitive back-to-back political ads. Gotta love the mute button.
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, editor@eugeneweekly.com
EUGENE WEEKLY NOVEMBER 13, 2008 9