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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 12, 2012)
NEWS BRIEFS ANTI-PESTICIDE RALLY DRAWS BIG CROWD quest for more coupons continues.” As does the quest to ban the practice of aerial spray, Owen says, starting with a buffer zone around homes and schools. — Stacey M. Hollis A July 7 downtown Eugene rally against aerial spraying of pesticides drew more than 800 people, according to Day Owen, founder of Pitchfork Rebellion. The group, which Owen describes as “a forest dwellers’ support group consisting of people concerned about aerial spraying of pesticides near our homes,” said it is celebrating having conducted the largest anti-pesticide rally in the history of Oregon. Rally-goers heard an impromptu talk by a man who illustrated the lasting impacts of working as a pesticide applicator in the forest industry. He showed the scars on his arms, which had been burned by the harmful chemicals, and described neurological damage he also suffers as a result of his job. To illustrate the issue of pesticide use, Owen conducted a mock trial where three companies — Dow Chemical, Monsanto and Syngenta — were found guilty of “corporate eco-terrorism” and “chemical tresspass on our bodies.” “We let the audience be the jury,” Owen says, and the verdict was unanimous. Other speakers included nurse practitioner Ingrid Edstrom, forester Roy Keene and Triangle Lake residents affected by the pesticide sprays. At the end of the trial, the crowd received “coupons” to fill out and send to Gov. Kitzhaber. “That was a big focus of the event,” Owen says, “calling for the aerial spray ban.” The forms can be found on the back of the June 5 issue of EW. “We still want people to send in the coupons,” he says. “The LOCKOUT CONTINUES FOR HANDY Commissioner Rob Handy remains locked out of his county office with “as far as we know no legal basis,” according to his attorney Lauren Regan. Regan says Handy is still going out and meeting with constituents despite not having access to his county office but “excluding a popular liberal commissioner in this way is problematic.” Fellow Commissioner Faye Stewart excoriated Handy for not being around the office on the July 5 Morning Wakeup Call on KPNW, a conservative radio station (wkly.ws/1bk). Stewart said he has only seen Handy at meetings and a couple times at the front desk. “I would say if you are concerned about communicating you ought to come to the office more,” Stewart told host Bill Lundun. When Lundun asked, “Are you going to be glad when he’s gone?” Stewart said, “Yes,” and went on to accuse Handy of being paranoid. Stewart did not mention that Handy had no access to his office. Handy was locked out after an investigation was launched into donations he had requested to help with his $20,000 settlement over a controversial Seneca Jones timber-funded open meetings lawsuit. Handy says that he happening people ACTIVIST ALERT • Springfield’s Clean Water Gardens Program, which encourages homeowners to install rain gardens, naturescapes, pervious surfaces and rainwater harvesting systems in their landscapes, will be on display from 10 am to 4 pm Friday, July 13, at Roger’s Gardens, 1792 N. 42nd St. in Springfield. For more info, call 726-3695. • A town hall meeting on health care is planned for 6:30 to 8:30 pm Tuesday, July 17, in the main lobby at the Sacred Heart University District, 1255 Hilyard St. in Eugene. The meeting will be hosted by Sen. Lee Beyer and Reps. Phil Barnhart and Paul Holvey, and guest speakers will include Dr. Bruce Goldberg, director of the Oregon Health Authority, and Rocky King, director of the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange. Free parking will be provided in PeaceHealth parking structures and the small lot at 13th and Alder. • The NW Oregon and SW Oregon Regional Forest Practices Committees (RFPC) are planning a joint meeting of the two groups from 9 am to 3 pm Tuesday, July 17, at the USFS Willamette National Forest offices, 3106 Pierce Parkway, Room 145, in Springfield. Public comment will be taken at the beginning of the meeting. The panels advise the Oregon Board of Forestry on current forestry issues and forest management approaches. See http://wkly. ws/1bj for more information. • An online petition to the Eugene City Council supporting a resolution against coal trains passing through Lane County can be found at http://wkly.ws/1bh The council is currently split on whether to support such a resolution. • Plastic bags will be on the agenda of a work session of the Eugene City Council Monday, July 23, and a draft ordinance can be read at www.Eugene-or.gov Corvallis recently became the second city in Oregon to ban single- use plastic bags at grocery check-out stands. Contact the OLCV at 968-8269 or email Ashley@olcv.org checked with the county finance department before asking for donations. Handy has been locked out of his office and his key card has not worked since May. Regan says County Counsel Alex Gardner finally got back to Handy and his attorneys on their questions about Handy’s lack of access on July 9, but “we don’t understand exactly what he was saying.” Gardner told the attorney that County Administrator Liane Richardson has provided Handy with an “alternative office,” but Regan says Handy as not been made aware of any such office, and Richardson has not responded to requests for more information. “It’s been shocking to watch,” Regan says. “I’m sure he’d love to make a big deal of it,” but Handy “wants the attention to be on his work as a county commissioner and not on his issues with the administration,” she says. Attorney Marianne Dugan has been told her public records request to the county will cost $1.6 million. Dugan represents Handy in his case alleging the May 3 emergency meeting with Gardner, Richardson, Stewart and fellow conservatives Sid Leiken and Jay Bozievich violated Oregon’s open meetings statutes. Regan says the way Handy has been treated, as well as the county’s efforts to stymie recent public records requests, call attention to “bad apples within the county administration that have their own personal motives, and are not acting with good ethical behavior.” Not being open with public records is a sign of a county government that “does not have the community’s best interest in mind,” Regan says. — Camilla Mortensen BY PAUL NEEVEL DANA FURGERSON “I’ve always been a writer,” says Dana Furgerson, who was editor of her high school’s literary journal in suburban Lombard, Ill. She was an English major for two years at Northern Illinois, then eloped, ran off to Phoenix, and gave birth to her son Keith Moses, who is now an art teacher in Corvallis. Divorced after five years, she finished an education degree at Arizona State, married Cecil Furgerson and moved to Halfway, Ore., in 1978, for a job as a special ed teacher. “I taught for more than 30 years,” says Furgerson, who stayed on in Halfway for 13 years (10 more than Cecil) before moving to western Oregon. She taught special ed in several area towns, and in Springfield and Eugene schools, until 2002, and later worked with troubled kids in Looking Glass programs until she retired last November. Wherever she has lived, Furgerson has continued to write and to join with other writers in critique groups. “I’ve written five novels,” she says. “This one, Three Boys Living, is the first I’ve published. Each chapter takes the point of view of one of the boys, who interact in a remedial history class.” Furgerson has also self-published Life Without Fiction, a collection of stories. Both books can be found at Amazon.com and at Tsunami Books in Eugene, where Furgerson will deliver a reading at 4 pm Sunday, July 29. Joining her in the photo is her furry friend Hank. Over 30 styles — men’s & women’s Office visits starting at $99 Same Day Appointments Justin Montoya, MD 1410 Oak St, Ste 102 in the Keiper Spine building kjg7hhn7ihmf5R51118*,)"&." '#&3'##(8)' WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM Casual Shorts & Shoes Loads of great looking, practical, town & touring shorts and shoes from Keen, Shimano, Zoic, Endura & Ibex. Choices for carefree transportation. Open 7 Days! facebook: arrivingbybike ÓÇäxÊ7>iÌÌiÊ-ÌÊUÊx{£°{n{°x{£ä qÀÊ££qÇ]Ê->ÌÊ£äqÈ]Ê-ÕÊ£Óqx EUGENE WEEKLY JULY 12, 2012 11
