Eugene weekly., March 29, 2012, Page 6, Image 6

EMX SURVEY:
MIND THE GAPS
One result of LTD’s public opinion survey on the
proposed EmX extension to West 11th Avenue was about as
surprising to the bus agency as spring rain in Eugene. Other
responses were more informative.
The least surprising result to LTD, according to Director
of Planning and Development Tom Schwetz, was that
Eugeneans are split about 50-50 on whether they support or
oppose the bus rapid transit extension. “What we were
interested in was why,” Schwetz told EW.
The 16-minute survey of likely voters, conducted by
Portland’s DHM Research, gathered opinions on important
issues in Eugene, transportation project priorities and
reasons to support or oppose the EmX extension.
Schwetz said that one of the most interesting results of
the opinion survey was that some of the results directly
contradicted lesser-known facts about the EmX, especially
where cost and construction are concerned. “I think that a
lot of the people who strongly oppose it don’t know a lot
about the project,” he said.
When voters who opposed the project were asked about
reasons to oppose the extension, 36 percent cited a waste of
money or that it was too expensive.
“Too expensive in what way?” Schwetz asked. LTD
received a $75 million Small Starts grant from the Federal
Transit Administration specifically for the extension, and
LTD expects matching funds from the state, as well. If LTD
doesn’t use the grant money for the extension, it would go
back to the FTA, to be used for a similar project in a
different city.
Another perception that Schwetz said LTD needs to
educate the public about is the impact of the construction on
happening people
the West 11th corridor. Schwetz said that LTD was told that
most of the work could be done at night, in five-block
sections for two weeks each, limiting the interruptions to
businesses and to traffic.
Schwetz said it’s important to take advantage of the
opportunity to use the Small Starts grant money to plan
ahead for an even higher population and greater need for
transportation as even more multi-family housing fills in
along the West 11th corridor. He said the EmX extension
will offer “more efficient service in a congested corridor,”
and if Eugene passes on the grant, “there is no doubt in my
mind that it would get used in some other part of the
country.”
“The preponderance of evidence says this is a good
investment to make,” Schwetz said. “Let’s make this an
evidence-based decision and look at it.”
— Shannon Finnell
GETTING THE
JUMP ON IPM
Next time you start to reach for a can of pesticide to get
rid of ants or weeds, think of the children — and how
Oregon’s public schools are managing their pests.
Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP)
Environmental Health Associate Aimee Code says that
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can actually be defined
in many ways, but she likes to approach it by calling it an
attempt to get rid of pests while using the bare minimum of
pesticides.
“It’s going to have an emphasis on significantly reduceing
pesticide use, making a real difference in schools to improve
the health of children,” Code says. She says that the best
implementation of IPM is progressive and verifiable, and
doesn’t allow for the approach that “pesticides equals pest
control.”
Complete Integrated Pest Management is coming to all
Oregon schools, by law, in July 2012, but some schools
have a jump on the concept. Clear Lake Elementary, in the
Bethel School District, is an Oregon Green School and
Born in Portland, Sandy Tilcock moved
to Nampa, Idaho, when she was 6. “I was
the first in my family to go to college,”
says Tilcock, who majored in math at
the College of Idaho in Caldwell and
returned to Oregon as a graduate
teaching fellow at OSU. “After two years,
I dropped out and started exploring art.”
She met and married Patrick Tilcock,
and they moved to Eugene in 1973 for
his studies at the UO School of Music.
“Our intent was to stay three years,” she
notes. Tilcock started out in calligraphy
and co-founded the Valley Calligraphers’
Guild, but later focused on bookbinding
and sold hand-bound books at the Fifth
Street Public Market. She won a
fellowship for book arts at the University
of Alabama, where she learned
letterpress printing. When she returned
with an MFA in 1987, she acquired a
small Vandercook printing press and
launched Lone Goose Press, working in
collaboration with writers and artists to
produce limited-edition broadsides and
books. In 2006, LGP moved from a
rented space in the Whiteaker to a new
studio in the Tilcocks’ back yard. “It has
allowed me to get involved in the
neighborhood,” says Tilcock, currently in
her second year as chair of Laurel Hill
Valley Citizens, a neighborhood
association. An exhibit of her
collaborations, titled “It’s Not About
Me,” is on view at the Jacobs Gallery at
the Hult from March 30 through May 12.
EUGENE WEEKLY
ANIMAL FUNDING
STILL IN LIMBO
Put your money where your local shelter is — because
Lane County and the city of Eugene are not. They have been
citing budget cuts and chopping funding to Lane County
Animal Services (LCAS) and proposing instead an as-of-yet
to be determined new way of dealing with the area’s
homeless pets.
“LCAS has one of the highest live release rates in the
BY PAUL NEEVEL
SANDY TILCOCK
6 MARCH 29, 2012
started working with NCAP to reduce its pesticide use early.
“Folks just have to be mindful of how can we set
ourselves up for problems where we can do a lot of
prevention,” says Principal John Luhman.
Clear Lake used to have a fruit fly problem in its
compost. Rather than spraying the compost with pesticides
or living with the pests, the school consulted NCAP and
worked together to find a solution. “They needed to increase
the heat and the nitrogen content and carbon content,” Code
says. An alfalfa boost solved the problem without exposing
children to neurotoxins.
Even mice and ants can be addressed without pesticides,
Code says. A lot of that work can be done via prevention.
“Clutter is one of the biggest issues,” Code says. Working
with teachers to cut down clutter and store projects safely
helps, she says.
Preventing mice from entering the building makes a big
difference, too. “If you can stick a pencil underneath a door,
then mice can get in it,” Code says. Working with building
managers to install door sweeps and grating in problem
areas can eliminate an ongoing mouse problem.
Code says that calling for reduced pesticide use doesn’t
remove that option completely, and she hopes that parents
will be engaged with the new policy. “What are their
concerns? What information do they want to know? We
want to create that bridge between those communities.”
To consult NCAP about working on IPM, see wkly.
ws/187
— Shannon Finnell
LANE AREA SPRAY SCHEDULE
• Roseburg Resources (541) 935-2507: aerial
Clopyralid, Hexazinone and Mesulfuron Methyl in
the Coast Range on 36 acres above Nelson
Mountain Road (2012-781-00193).
• Freres Timber (503-859-2121): aerial by
Applebee Aviation (503-647-0404), Metsulfuron
Methyl and Hexazinone on 160 acres in the Coast
Range above Swartz Creek (2012-781-00207).
• Giustina Land and Timber Co (541-345-
2301):
Clopyralid,
Hexazinone
and/or
Sulfometuron Methyl on 30 acres near Coyote
Creek (T19S R04W S21) and Clopyralid,
Hexazinone and Sulfometuron Methyl, Triclopyr
Ester on 27 acres near Rebel Creek (2012-781-
00205).
• Weyerhaeuser Springfield (541-988-7502):
many chemicals and additives on 75 acres near
Parsons Creek and on 20 acres near Ritchie,
Haugen and Forest Creek (2012-771-00243 and
2012-771-00252).
• Roseburg Resources (541-935-2507):
Clopyralid, Hexazinone and Metsulfuron Methyl in
the Coast Range on 18 acres above Highway 36
(2012-781-00195).
• Nicholas Sumich (541-927-6177): Garlon 4 on
20 acres near Triangle Lake(2012-781-00181).
Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, www.for-
estlanddwellers.org
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