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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2012)
Emails obtained through a public records request show that while County Administrator Liane Richardson contacted Stewart by phone and Commissioners Sid Leiken and Jay Bozievich by email on the evening of May 2 about scheduling an “emergency meeting” to release documents alleging wrongdoing by Handy, she did not contact Handy or Sorenson until the next day. “There was no contact except for the email that went out around 7:40 am Thursday morning,” Sorenson says. Marianne Dugan, an attorney for Handy, received the emails as part of a public records request she filed after questions arose about the May 3 emergency meeting. She has not yet received all the records she asked for. Under Oregon law there must be justification in the minutes of the meeting for emergency meetings arranged with less than happening people 24 hours’ notice. The minutes of the May 3 meeting have yet to be released, though the minutes of five other meetings of the Lane County Board of Commissioners have appeared on the county website since then. Handy has said the release of the documents was timed to maximize the damage that would be done to him in the May 15 primary election, and that by the time he is cleared of allegations of wrongdoing in asking for donations to offset the $20,000 he must pay as part of the Seneca lawsuit settlement, the election would be over. Handy lost to City Councilor Pat Farr, and Farr will take the North Eugene commission seat in January. Dugan says she is not sure yet how these emails and phone calls between a quorum of commissioners will play out under the Gillespie ruling. — Camilla Mortensen BY PAUL NEEVEL AUGUST SABINI “This is where I meet the kids,” says August Sabini, sharing a bench with Rosa Parks in bronze at the downtown LTD station. “It’s really fun.” An outreach worker for the New Roads Program serving homeless youth, Sabini hits the street on Wednesdays and Saturdays, carrying snacks, socks, condoms and “bathroom cupboard stuff” in his backpack. Raised a Quaker in Skyview Acres, a cooperative community along the Hudson River, Sabini got started in mental health work as a conscientious objector in 1968. He picked up the saxophone around that time and played in bands that toured the Northeast from the 1970s to the ’90s. He worked in a residential treatment center, finished college, married Lesley in ’91, adopted Rose in ’95, and taught English for 10 years to kids of Japanese fathers assigned to NYC. The family moved to Eugene, joining Lesley’s sister, in 2002. “There was no work, so I volunteered at New Roads,” says Sabini, who wound up with a job at New Roads’ Center Point School for kids with mental health issues. “I’ve never worked so hard in my life, but kids got better.” His work these days is varied: “I’ll be cooking tomorrow night at New Roads,” he says. “We serve lunch and breakfast all week.” Catch Sabini on blues sax at the Rooster Jam Tuesday nights at the Black Forest. LOW, LOW RATES ON RV, BOAT AND ATV LOANS. Up to 180-month terms for affordable payments with Northwest Community Credit Union. Because fun has taken a back seat long enough. northwestcommunity.com All loans are subject to approval. Loan terms available may vary depending on amount borrowed, credit history, length of contract, or payment method. NCUA insured. WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM EUGENE WEEKLY JUNE 7, 2012 9
