Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 2011)
NEWS BRIEFS The Oakridge bear incident didn’t have to happen, Fahy says. He says, “Bears are incredibly responsive to hot wires and it is extremely easy to protect hives with just a few wires around them.” Hot wire fencing is used for horses and other livestock and gives a mild shock to the animal when touched. Brian Wolfer of ODFW was unavailable for comment but in an email to Fahy about the incident, he wrote, “I recommended an electric fence but the landowner was not willing to install one. The landowner was adamant that he wanted the bear removed.” He added, “Due to the damage from the bear, he had the legal right to kill the bear without a permit from ODFW.” As of press time, there are no reports of the bear being caught or killed. — Camilla Mortensen JAPANESE MAYORS SEND MESSAGES The mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have sent letters to local government officials and peace activists as the anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Japan approaches and local events are planned. Both mayors Matsui Kazumi of Hiroshima and Tomihisa Taue of Nagasaki are supporting the Mayors for Peace campaign to eliminate all nuclear weapons in the world by the year 2020. Taue wrote about the bomb that killed 74,000 Nagasaki residents and injured another 75,000. “Nagasaki fell into ruin,” he wrote. “Those who narrowly escaped death were dealt terrible, incurable physical and psychological wounds caused by the after-effects of radiation that they suffer from even today, 66 years later.” Kazumi noted that 4,700 cities in the U.S. and abroad have signed on the Mayors for Peace initiative, and “it is evident that people around the world long for freedom from the threat of nuclear weapons.” Lane County’s Hiroshima-Nagasaki- Fukashima Commemoration will be from 7 to 9:30 pm Saturday, Aug. 6, at Alton Baker Park near the duck pond. A community potluck will be followed by an 8 pm program featuring Japanese Koto music, Taiko drumming, Obon dancing, origami making and a call to action by Mayor Kitty Piercy. The event will close at dusk with the floating of candle lanterns on the duck pond while Koto master Mitsuki Dazai plays traditional Japanese music. The event is free but donations can be made to benefit Japanese tsunami survivors. Contact Michael Carrigan of CALC at 485-1755 or calcpeace@efn.org for more information. CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATONS Last week in Slant we wrote that “Scobert Park is on the agenda of the Whiteaker Community Council at 7 pm Aug. 10,” but we hear the WCC will be meeting at Scobert Park, and the park itself is not on the agenda, though it is likely to be a topic of discussion since one of the shade trees at the park was cut down last week. IT’S ABOUT TIME BY DAVID WAGNER B right summery days inspire us to head outdoors to bask in the aura of abundant, green growth. Most flowers are past their peak of bloom and are setting seeds. Some make juicy berries, some produce capsules that quietly split open when dry. Others are a bit more vigorous in their dispersal. Standing quietly at midday on a hillside of Scots broom when its seed pods are ripe is like listening to a fireworks show. The drying pods gradually build tension between their two valves and when a breaking point is reached, they snap apart with a loud “pop,” sending seeds in all directions. If you are in an area where invasive plants are not to be tolerated, it is a sign that you are too late for broom control this year! RHUS DIVERSILOBA My pole beans are performing as desired, snaking up the POISON OAK poles in right handed spirals. I wonder if all pole beans have right handed spirals, like standard wood screws? As Darwin noted, most species with spiral stems twist in the same way; honey suckle always has a left handed twist, grapes to the right. The wild cucumber tendrils are different because they attach at the tip first, then twist to anchor the stem. To avoid twisting off, they spiral in one direction near the base and then change direction above. Plant watchers need to be aware of the only serious danger of plant study, poison oak. The best cure is learn and keep away: “Leaflets three, leave them be.” David Wagner is botanist who lives and works in Eugene. He teaches moss classes and leads nature walks. He may be reached at fernzenmosses@me.com LANE COUNTY SPRAY SCHEDULE • Weyerhaeuser begins fall spray with aerial applications on 17 units including the Long Tom River and the Lorane Creek areas. Products listed include Polaris AC, Polaris SP, Rodeo, Accord, Milestone VM Plus, Sulfomet Extra, Oust Extra, Garlon 3A, Garlon 4 Ultra. Notice 2011-781-00567 • Weyerhaeuser plans to do ground applications on 29 units across Western Lane County, including the Swartz Creek, Congdon Creek, Fish Creek, Hayes Creek and other Lake Creek areas. Products listed include Polaris AC, Polaris SP, Rodeo, Accord, Milestone VM Plus, Sulfomet Extra, Oust Extra, Garlon 3A, Garlon 4 Ultra. Notices 2011-781-00571 and 2011-781-00572. Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, www.forestlanddwellers.org slant • Lane County commissioners are considering, as we go to press this week, moving the position of county attorney to be under the direct supervision of County Administrator Liane Richardson. Seems like a bad idea. Commissioner Jay Bozievich apparently supports this idea because it will demonstrate trust in the administrator. But our county government was set up with certain checks and balances in power, and this separation is part of that. There are times when the administrator and attorney disagree on their recommendations to the commissioners. Putting the attorney under the administrator’s thumb could quash that sometimes useful independence. • Friends of Eugene’s scathing complaint about the “marred” process in the Envision Eugene industrial lands panel (see News Briefs last week) drew a beat-around-the-bush response from city Planning Director Lisa Gardner last week. The complaint by Kevin Matthews of FoE was directed at an interim report by co-chair Rusty Rexius. Matthews said FoE was concerned that the Rexius report that he described as “short, marred by error, non- consensus, and filed unilaterally by one co-chair” was being “carried forward by city staff as legitimate collaborative work output from the committee.” “At this point, I really don’t have any response” to the complaint, Rexius told us. “The work of our committee is going to be taken up again via the Technical Resource Group, to which (co-chair) Pat Johnston and I will provide our perspectives. Where it goes from there I suppose remains to be seen.” Gardner, who responded too late for last week’s paper, did not address the FoE issues directly, but WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM rather praised the Envision Eugene process and said “it’s not an easy thing to stick with that commitment month after month in what can be a tense, technical meeting format.” She also said, “Being willing to work outside of your area of comfort and revisit long-held assumptions, beliefs and values is challenging.” The Envision Eugene process has been going on now for more than a year (see our cover story 6/17/2010) and it’s good that so many citizens are involved, despite the unwieldy process. This is local democracy in action and participants are getting educated. But we share FoE’s concerns that the committees researching the multiple issues are overloaded with development and sprawl interests, plus city staffers have historically favored development over livability. How do we reach a compromise over proposals to bulldoze and pave even more of our already compromised farm and forest lands while we have low density and underutilized land within our existing urban growth boundary? A parallel can be found here to Congress wrestling with the deficit. In both cases, we will likely end up with a compromise nobody’s happy with, but more significantly, a compromise with negative and unintended consequences over time. • Unconfirmed rumors are circulating that Art Robinson will not be running after all against Congressman Peter DeFazio in 2012. Is he too “damaged” from his last campaign to represent the Tea Party ticket? Robinson-watchers will recognize his face on a recent Onion spoof. He appears as a climatologist. • Where will your teen go to school next fall? The options just expanded with the Network Charter School getting a conditional use permit for the former Temple Beth Israel building at 25th and Portland, off Willamette. “It will be our home for the foreseeable future, if not forever,” says Executive Director Mary Leighton. The school lost its lease downtown last year and Leighton says the months of uncertainty about a permanent home means the school has vacancies for the fall. The free accredited charter school within the 4J School District offers a “unique and stimulating environment” for students in grades 7 through 12. One thing we like about this alternative school is how it integrates small-class-size academics with hands-on experience in other skill- building organizations in the community, such as the Eugene Glass School and Le Petit Gourmet. Kids who are not thriving in traditional classrooms might do better in an alternative learning environment. For questions, call 344-1229 or email info@ networkcharterschool.org • Regarding the debate over “smart meters,” do we believe EWEB officials or those who are raising red flags? (See our News Briefs this week.) These are important issues to examine and we should not ignore the potential hazards, but it appears EWEB is doing its due diligence in researching smart meters to make sure they are safe in our homes and businesses. And while we and our dogs love our friendly EWEB meter readers, that storied career path is destined for the history books. 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 AUGUST 4, 2011 9
