letters
TO THE EDITOR
A BAD DREAM
Where or where did democracy go in
Eugene? Wasn't three times voting against
a police station enough to let the city know
the public does not support spending money
on a new police building? I guess we only
have two City Council members, Betty
Taylor and George Brown, who believe that
it is important to represent the voters.
We really don't mean it when we say
we want the downtown revitalized. This is
all a bad dream. Thank you Alan Pittman
for this very informative but discouraging
article (7/30), and along with the Camilla
Mortensen article about Seneca and more
smog for Eugene, one could almost think
about moving.
Ruth Duemler
Eugene
MOVING DAY
A few days ago, as I prepared to move
back to Portland after eight years in Eugene,
I discovered yet another indicator of this
town's economic distress. At two-thirty in
the morning, I posted an ad on Craig's List
asking for up to fi ve people to work for three
hours to load heavy boxes, furniture, and
other items into a truck. Five hours later, I
received my fi rst call in response to the ad,
then another call every few minutes. By the
end of the day, I had received 71 calls and
seven email messages, for a $30 job! The
next day, the calls continued, until I deleted
the ad. I selected the fi rst fi ve callers and,
when they showed up four days later for the
job, it turned out that they ranged in age
from 53 to 63. Very sad.
Matteo Luccio
Eugene
DOG GONE IT
In response to the article "No Dogs
Allowed" in your last issue (7/30):
It took me two months to fi nd a place
in Eugene that would rent to me with my
large dog. But now, a few weeks later, I am
beginning to understand. The economy and
its repercussions aside, I have a beef with
dog owners and understand why landlords
might.
4 AUGUST 13, 2009
EUGENE WEEKLY
I walk my dog every day and meet lots of
dogs. The problem? Only one in 10 seems to
have any training or manners. Nine out of 10
dogs we see bark uncontrollably, snarl and
growl. If I see a dog down the block, even
on a leash, I cross the street. Now, I might
be biased — I have been training dogs for 14
years — but I think all dog owners should
be training and socializing their dog. If you
don’t know how, fi nd someone who does.
You have a responsibility to your dog and
your community. And just because your
dog is the size of a Dixie cup doesn’t mean
it’s cute if it has a conniption fi t every time
someone walks by.
Kudos to you if your dog is the one in
10 — I salute you. To everyone else, fi nd a
trainer or keep your dog at home. Knowing
how poorly most of these dogs behave when
the owner is standing three feet away, I can
only imagine what they do in their owner’s
absence. I can’t really fault the landlords of
Eugene for refusing residency. I only feel
sorry for the good dogs whose reputations
have been tarnished.
Taralynn Carter
Eugene
A NEW JOB SECTOR
As you mentioned in “Demystifying
Oregon’s High Jobless Ranking” (8/6)
Oregon should take advantage of the
federal recovery package. The potential
for new jobs fl owing into Oregon is huge
— especially green jobs. We can create
a new job sector in Oregon, one that isn’t
dependent on seasonal work and can create
jobs in rural communities.
Right now Congress is considering a
bill that can put three million Americans
to work — including Oregonians. The
American Clean Energy and Security
Act of 2009 is a game-shifting piece of
legislation. Not only will it create new jobs,
it is a huge investment in renewable energy
and energy effi ciency. This translates to a
dramatic reduction in our global warming
pollution. What we need is a total economic
transformation and this bill will put us on
the right track.
No surprise Big Oil and Dirty Coal
are fi ghting hard to make sure that doesn’t
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