NEWS BRIEFS
tomography. Pincus said this “cutting edge
technology” provided a much more
“comprehensive view of the interior of the
tree than the city of Eugene’s normal
selection of resources.”
He said, “I believe that sonic
tomography should be a standard tool for
the city for assessing mature street trees. If
the city staff had this technology on hand,
there might be many more happy endings
and greater public understanding when a
tree finally had to be removed.”
Pincus advises anyone looking to save
street trees in Eugene to “insist on or
acquire the best scientific information
available” and, he said, “be persistent.”
— Kendall Fields
ACTIVIST ALERT
• Classified UO workers are
hosting a march through campus to
mark the expiration of their contract.
The Workers’ March for Fairness will
begin at noon Thursday, June 30, at
Oregon Hall on the east side of
campus and will end at the Johnson
Hall
Administration
Building.
Speakers include Melissa Unger of
SEIU and Local 085 President Gary
Malone. “At a time when the Oregon
University System is flush with cash
because of record enrollment and
increased tuition, they continue to
ask their lowest-paid workers to
make increasing sacrifices in the
form of wage and benefit cuts,” says
Brett Moser, SEIU organizer.
• The next Civic Stadium clean-
up party is from 10 am to noon
Saturday, July 2. Bring hand tools,
gloves, sunscreen and water.
Forecast is partly cloudy and 75
degrees — perfect for weeding.
• Local artist Jerry Ross and
friends are seeking $5,000 in
donations to create a movement and
capital campaign to establish a
historic and arts center downtown,
and the group is eyeing the old
downtown post office on lower
Willamette as an anchor. To get
involved, visit www.indiegogo.com/
poem
LANE COUNTY
SPRAY SCHEDULE
• Western Lane County: Rosboro
LLC plans to do aerial spraying of
Sulfomet Extra, Accord XRT and
Chopper near the headwaters of
Swartz Creek and Ferguson Creek.
See notice 2011-781-00405.
• ODOT will be spraying noxious
weeds, grasses and brush on
shoulders, around structures, curves
and intersections on Highway 36
beginning June 26.
• If you have suffered any ill
effects from ODOT spraying, please
let Forestland Dwellers know. We are
encouraging ODOT to mow or
manually manage vegetation in lieu
of spraying.
Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers:
342-8332, www.forestlanddwellers.org
ELF IN THE
COURTS
As the Sundance Film Festival award-
winning film If A Tree Falls: A Story of
the Earth Liberation Front hits theaters
across the country this month, including
Eugene’s Bijou Cinemas, some of the
subjects of the documentary have been
hitting the courts.
Jake Ferguson, who is listed in court
documents as having participated in at
least 14 arsons and acts of destruction
around the Northwest in the name of the
ELF, was originally not sentenced to
federal prison for his crimes. Ferguson’s
cooperation with federal agents, including
wearing a body wire while talking to
fellow participants in ELF activities, led
to the arrest of many of his fellow
ecosaboteurs. Under his plea agreement
at the time, Ferguson pleaded guilty to
only one count of arson and one count of
attempted arson.
On June 27 Ferguson was sentenced to
nearly five years in prison by Lane
County Circuit Judge Charles Zennaché.
Ferguson pleaded guilty to possessing
cocaine; manufacturing, possessing and
selling heroin; and neglecting and
endangering a 4-year-old child, who
according to court records was present in
the home when drugs were being
manufactured and sold. At the time of his
original sentencing in 2007, Ferguson
said he was on methadone and had been
for the past three and half years.
Methadone is a common treatment drug
for heroin addiction.
Ferguson faces federal charges for the
drug crimes as well, and is scheduled to
appear before U.S. District Judge Ann
Aiken — who sentenced all of the Oregon
ELF cases — for a probation revocation
hearing at 9:30 am July 14. He was to
avoid criminal conduct as part of his plea
agreement.
In Washington, ELF defendant Briana
Waters has pleaded guilty to participating
in the $6 million arson at the University
of Washington’s Center for Urban
Horticulture in 2001. She originally
argued that she was innocent, but after a
trial she was convicted and given a six-
year sentence in 2008. The conviction
was overturned due to judicial misconduct
last year, and Waters was released from
prison after serving 37 months pending a
new trial. She pleaded guilty to arson,
conspiracy to use a destructive device,
possessing an unregistered destructive
device and the use of an explosive device
in a crime of violence.
Justin Solondz, Waters’ former
boyfriend and another defendant in the
ELF arson cases, is expected to be
returned later this summer to the U.S.
from China where he has been serving a
three-year sentence for drug charges.
According to the plea documents, Waters
has agreed to testify against him. Her
sentencing was set for Sept. 23, but that is
subject to change. Three other alleged
ELF ecosaboteurs have never been caught
by the FBI: Joseph Dibee, Rebecca Rubin
and Josephine Sunshine Overaker.
— Camilla Mortensen
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
slant
• Two tough and splendid Oregon women, both with UO degrees, died this spring,
leaving the state legal profession forever indebted to them. Helen Frye, 80, died
April 22 after a career that started with an English degree from the UO and ended
with her serving as Oregon’s first female federal judge. Betty Roberts, 88, passed
June 25 after a remarkable record as the only woman in the 1968 Oregon Senate,
serving in the Court of Appeals, and finally accepting an appointment from
Republican Gov. Vic Atiyeh to sit as the first woman on the Oregon Supreme Court.
Not all the male judges joyfully accepted either Judge Frye or Judge Roberts into
their club. These women were way ahead of their time. Now the presiding judge of
the U.S. District Court is Ann Aiken of Eugene. Two women, one of them Martha
Walters of Eugene, sit on the Oregon Supreme Court. Judge Mary Ann Bearden
presides over Lane County courts, which are nearly equal male-female. We want to
send bouquets to the families of Helen Frye and Betty Roberts — they helped their
matriarchs blaze hard-earned history.
• The Fourth of July for most people these days is all about a long weekend of
beer, barbecue and fireworks, and we are admonished to “have a safe holiday” and
“keep your pets safe.” We tend to forget that this date honors a very unsafe time
in our history, an era of uprising against a powerful ruling elite who were out of
touch with the people. The Fourth of July should revive the spirit of revolution (this
time without the muskets, cannon balls and flying body parts, please) to bring our
government and society into the 21st century. War is old-fashioned and
counterproductive. Corporate domination of elections is obsolete and undemocratic.
Ignoring environmental devastation is so 20th century. Oppressing immigrants and
the disadvantaged among us is not only outdated but damned expensive in the
long haul. The best way to celebrate our freedom is to actively ensure our freedom
doesn’t slip away in these unsafe times. Beer, barbecue, fireworks, revolution!
• Musical chairs on campus? We’ve heard complaints about community groups
getting booted out of Agate Hall by July 1 to make room for the School of
Journalism and Communication during Allen Hall’s renovation. The UO tells us
displaced community groups are being offered other places on campus, but last we
heard the Eugene Swing Dance Club is having trouble finding a suitable new
location to rent after 15 years at Agate Hall, and club members are petitioning UO
President Lariviere to stop the eviction. Work has already started on the J-school
and won’t be done until late 2012. It’s great that the UO shares its facilities, and
we hope everyone finds a home during the unsettling construction. Have some
unused space to lend or rent? Contact the UO facilities folks or send a note to the
Swing Dance Club prez at eugenejean@gmail.com
• If you missed the premiere of Hot Coffee on HBO June 27, you can still catch it in
the next few weeks on HBO and on-demand cable. Susan Saladoff, a respected
Ashland trial lawyer, left her practice to put together this documentary starting
with the famous case against McDonald’s by the 79-year-old woman scalded by
coffee and including other personal injury stories. You probably already have an
opinion on this case, but take a look at the documentary and you might share
Saladoff’s rage at how we have been duped by corporate America.
• We hear Bach Festival attendance is starting out great in Eugene and Portland
with a bunch of sold-out performances. If you snooze you lose, whether you’re
nodding off in the audience (unlikely this season) or waiting too long to get tickets.
Find ticket updates at http://wkly.ws/12r
• Run, Amelie, run! Admittedly, we have heard Amelie Rousseau speak only once,
at the City Club of Eugene June 24, but that was enough to persuade us she should
stay in politics in Oregon. As ASUO student body president in 2010-11, she was
responsible for a budget of $13 million in student fees. She helped organize the
registration of 6,000 students to vote. She was part of the effort to start a
sustainability center in the UO. She told her much older audience that we should
educate students to know more about what goes on around them in their
community. She was articulate about the big issues facing higher ed and the UO in
this state. She comes from Portland. Sounds like one of those super young
Oregonians we need to help move us along.
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 JUNE 30, 2011 9