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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2011)
letters TO THE EDITOR FUND LCAS It is very sad that every time govern- mental budget cutting is mentioned, home- less people and homeless animals, the most vulnerable of us, suddenly leap to the top of the list. Lane County Animal Services has made tremendous progress in improving care for homeless pets. Adoptions, spay/neuter, foster program, cat program, volunteer program, vet, behaviorist and vet tech — to name a few. It is the responsibility of cities and counties to protect their animals as well as their people, and all these improvements ultimately do both. We cannot afford to lose what we have gained from so much effort and ingenuity. Taking funds from LCAS to give to other programs makes no sense. We have, and we need, a caring animal shelter that helps all adoptable and treatable animals and that is answerable to the citizens. We must not “cheap out” or push the responsibility onto people not directly answerable to our citizens. Rita Castillo Springfi eld RETHINK THE UGB I have an occasional ironic LOL moment while reading EW, and your page four last week (8/18) was a side-splitter. Two contrasting pieces told the deeply confused story of our community. On the left is Dan Armstrong’s view of how our society might improve if we localized food production, while Julie Bonaduce’s letter on the right describes her awful experience of the abusive crowd in my neighborhood (the Whit). How could it ever be possible for more of us to grow our food if we are confi ned to tiny little yards inside the urban growth bound- ary? Surrounded by large trees, my yard grows nothing but piles of leaves and spi- ders, not to mention the tremendous amounts of cat shit and fl ies. Armstong makes it sound as if local farmers or consumers are not do- ing enough, when in fact we fi nd terrifi c or- ganic produce all year long at every farmer’s market, in every natural foods store and now even in conventional supermarkets. Arm- stong asks the question of how we “relocal- ize” and his answer is to reverse the trend of building sprawling suburban neighborhoods. What a crock of shit. The obvious answer to both the problem of more people taking responsibility for their food and of overcrowding in our dense urban neighborhoods, is to rethink the urban growth boundary (UGB). Fifty years ago, limiting residential construction to the inside of an artifi cial ring around urban areas was a good idea. Now however, we have too many people in too small a space. They cannot garden; they cannot breathe; they spend too much of their income on housing because it is artifi cially limited, and they are elbowing each other in the face as evidenced by the social problems and misbehaviors that continuously wrack my neighborhood. Stand on the corner of 4th and Blair for an hour or attend a supercharged public meeting about something utterly daft if you really don’t get this. I want nothing more than to move to a sprawling suburban neighborhood where 4 SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 EUGENE WEEKLY I have fewer neighbors and some garden space to nourish my soul. Obviously, those who still stand and shout about the UGB live outside of it, and absolutely do not want the “burnt-out assholes” Bonaduce describes as neighbors out in the county where they live. LOL. Den Ramsey Eugene MAKE IT FREE Once again, the Eugene Celebration blocks off a large chunk of downtown streets and sidewalks to all but those able and willing to pay $12-$15 per person. I grew up in a city where we had a similar downtown festival every summer — eclectic parade, several stages of music, vendors, food carts — and it was all free, open to everyone. It was truly a celebration of the city and its residents. Whereas the EC is exclusive rather than inclusive. It’s not for you if you’re one of the 10 percent who are unemployed, or the much greater number who are underemployed or otherwise fi nancially struggling these days. It’s not much of a celebration for businesses in the EC zone who see most of their patrons shut out (apparently without compensation from the city for lost revenues). And it’s just a hassle for anyone trying to get to their downtown workplace, or the bus station, or the Saturday Market during this weekend. There’s a lot of talk these days about revitalizing downtown; maybe we should start with a celebration that welcomes everyone to see what downtown has to offer, rather than putting up blockades to keep them away. Kate Winter Eugene ROGUES BOWL Oregon football will take part in its fi rst-ever early season Bowl Game it its opener this Saturday (9/3) against LSU. It is the “Rogues Bowl” in Dallas, Texas (aka Cowboys Classic). Do not confuse it with the traditional Rose Bowl in Pasadena at season’s end. Without having played a game, both teams have the type of players to justify starting this new Bowl Game. Their rosters are cluttered with players who have been arrested in the past year, or who are accused of having been recruited illegally. It would have been embarrassing for ei- ther school to play this game at home. Dal- las provides a big city venue more consistent with two teams of lawbreakers, neither of which can expect to emerge a “winner.” George Beres Eugene NO BOVINE BLISS As an animal rights advocate, I was happy to read (cover story, 8/18) of the good fortune of the cows in Jon Bansen’s dairy. Their lives are so much better (and longer) than those of the great majority of dairy cows. However, I’d like to point out a few reasons that make it unlikely that true bliss (bovine, that is) can be achieved even by dairy farmers willing to go to Jon Bansen’s lengths. 1) It can hardly be denied that one of the most pleasurable aspect of a cow’s life is nurturing her calf. Yet this is a pleasure denied by the dairy industry (completely denied, I believe). This must be hard for cow and calf and leads to my next reason. 2) What is the fate of male calves? I feel certain that Jon Bansen does not make his male calves into veal calves, but what does he do with them? And if they are castrated to become steers, is this procedure done with anesthetic? This is not the usual case. 3) Steers are slaughtered and even old dairy cows who can no longer bear calves can hardly expect to live to an advanced age, so perhaps your writer should have described this aspect of dairy cattle’s lives. How humanely is the slaughter handled in Jon Bansen’s dairy? 4) Finally (and not a reason), are there no organic dairy farms closer than Monmouth that practice humane treatment similar to Jon Bansen’s? We really need to know the whole story of dairy cattle’s lives. Alice Pueschner Eugene LOCAL DISC GOLF For years, disc golfers of Eugene have had only one local nine hole course where they can play disc golf in town. Most disc golfers drive a 40-plus mile round trip journey to golf at Dexter Lake, causing undue expense, pollution and time expenditure. Both courses are over populated due to the popularity of disc golf. Please see http://wkly.ws/13m for more information regarding America’s fastest growing sport. The city of Eugene currently has a plan to install an 18-hole disc golf in Alton Baker Park. After a very successful test period and feedback process, one elite minority group of runners has both the city and newspaper discussing a reconsideration of this des- perately needed disc golf course. Disc golf is a sport that is played by the young and old, males and females, ethnically and eco- nomically diverse people and beyond. It is extremely affordable, healthy and great for the family. The people of Eugene should not have to spend $8-$10 on gas to drive and pollute their way to Dexter in order to put money into their economy when they could be supporting local and riding our bi- cycles to play this most wonderful game. If you support diversity, the environment and healthy activities for both adults and chil- dren, I implore you to please write or call the mayor and your councilor and ask them to to please support the current plan, as is, to install this course in Alton Baker Park. Contact the city’s Parks and Open Spaces Division and/or the Eugene Disc Golf Club to get a fair and balanced opinion regarding this important decision. Disc golfers have been trying and waiting for years to get a local 18-hole course and with your help and support, we may fi nally be able to realize our dream. Mat Beecher Eugene A LITTLE LOVE Did everyone see the hundreds of foreclosures listed in the R-G newspaper recently? Over half were because of health care costs and over 80 percent had health insurance. There will soon be more families on the street in Eugene and I hope we can fi nd in our hearts a place for them to stay during our cold winter rains. Instead, I understand more cuts in the county and city budgets are coming for the few services we provide. Maybe we could understand their plight by reading the newspaper written by the homeless, The Oregon Vagabond. Every month this last year David Gerber, a UO graduate with a masters in public administration, has gathered the writings of Eugene’s homeless to express their hopes and dreams and gain a better understanding how they live in our community. I was interested in Gaylord Otis Dodge’s call for a “Civil Defense Homeless Day” to prepare for any disaster. It would have everyone live at least one day homeless and “would condition even the most powerful and wealthy folks to communicate better with people who routinely cope with poverty.” Donate a dollar to a homeless vender downtown at Saturday Market and read their life stories. All souls need love and compassion and a lot of understanding and support during these diffi cult times. Ruth Duemler Eugene THE SELFISH RICH I praise Hugh Massengill’s lead Aug. 18 letter, “We Struggle On.” It makes me think that the very rich who spend more WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
