LET TERS
who doesn’t have a history of resigning offi ce
in anger because of offense taken at something
that a fellow offi ce holder said.
That would seem to narrow down the
choice considerably.
Jerry Ritter
Springfi eld
ENABLING THE HOMELESS
The Lane County Parks Advisory
Committee, the Homeless Coalition and
St. Vincent de Paul have presented a plan
to eliminate vandalism in parks and give
the homeless with RVs and campers a safe
place to park and live.
VIEWPOINT
The plan is to utilize homeless people
with RVs and campers as “hosts.” In ex-
change for parking, power and water hook-
ups they will provide supervision of the
area. If there is a crime committed the hosts
will not intervene, but instead must call it
in to the sheriff’s offi ce or park department.
When I read this article I was appalled
and quite frankly disappointed. St. Vincent
de Paul already has a program in place
where homeless people with RVs and camp-
ers can park overnight. These programs are
set up to help get the homeless back on their
feet while they look for jobs. If the county
creates these jobs then there is no incentive
PLAN MAKES SENSE
Providing a legal space to help shelter
the homeless while keeping Lane County
parks fl awless over the off seasons is
exactly what the Lane County Parks
Committee, the Homeless Coalition and
St. Vincent de Paul plan to do.
During the off seasons the 10 full-time
employees struggle to check up on and
maintain some of the 73 parks that are in
our county; therefore, they get robbed and
vandalized often. The three organizations
came up with a solution to let select
homeless people with RVs become park
hosts in order to provide security for the
facilities. As park hosts, their duties are to
report any crimes that accrue to the police
and maintain a well-kept RV. In return they
are provided with power, water, sewer and
a free, legal place to stay.
BY GRAHAM LEWIS
Occupy Anniversary
I
n the week before Oct. 15, 2011, word spread faster than anyone in Eugene
expected. We knew something terribly wrong had been developing in America,
but it took a Canadian activist group, Adbusters, to rivet attention on Wall Street
— Ground Zero for the economic meltdown. Would our government expose and
bring to justice the perpetrators who gambled on thousands of real estate loans
going bad? No, even their “offi cial” lip service was feeble. Those conniving
speculators were rewarded with seven-fi gure returns while elderly couples and
young families lost everything.
To join the throng and clog the street at the world’s fi nancial
nerve center was an exciting prospect, but as protesters settled in
Zuccotti Park, Occupy groups sprang up all over the country. When
fi rebrand UO students threw together preparation for an Occupy
Eugene, a hundred of us locals showed up in the rain on Oct. 4 to
help birth a movement.
We had seen the many thousands of Egyptians fi lling Tahrir
Square and, as in New York, we were ready to take to our streets.
A bunch of us had caravanned to Portland a week earlier and taken
over downtown with a General Assembly at the waterfront and a
massive march through the inner city. Now it was our chance in
Eugene to show the world we could make our voices heard decrying
America’s horrendous domestic injustices. Fierce anticipation was
building.
Gathering downtown on that Saturday and spilling out of the Wayne Morse Free
Speech Plaza, it wasn’t apparent how many we were until crossing the Ferry Street
Bridge. There it spread, a seemingly endless stream of humanity ahead and behind.
Were you there? Wasn’t it a thrill? We were chatting like old friends because
we all had something in common: We’d been paying attention. We were mad as hell,
and we weren’t going to take it any more! Even the children knew something very
important was happening. Spontaneous chants grew from one voice to many. We
Employment First —
Success begins with you!
This is George. He has many interests including cooking, gardening
and bowling with his Special Olympics bowling team. George has
worked at LCC for several years. Recently George was hired by KBS.
He now provides contracted housekeeping services at Macy’s Department Store. George
says “it’s been a great experience, never a dull moment, keeps me on my toes. I like the
variety and the people are great and friendly.” His supervisor Pat says that George is
“doing better than I expected, he’s eager to please and fun to be around. We are planning
to teach him everything we can.” George is just one example of a great worker looking for
an opportunity to work. Hiring people with disabilities is not only the right thing to do, it
is good for business; lower absentee rates, tax benefits and dependable employees.
Contact LCC Specialized Support Services for more information.
Patty Parks, Lane Community College, 541-463-5099 or parksp@lanecc.edu
Employment First is a statewide initiative to help create opportunities for adults with
developmental disabilities to secure appropriate and meaningful employment.
Funded by a grant from the Oregon Department of Human Services, Developmental Disabilities Services
6
to go out and get a real “paying” job and
move on. Who assumes workers compensa-
tion liability for these workers?
How are these people being vetted? More
importantly, how is this being paid for? I am
concerned there is too much risk fi nancially
and legally from this new program.
Christopher Lay
Eugene
October 11, 2012 • eugeneweekly.com
recognized friends and neighbors and, for all those people, could only wave, smile
and share thumbs ups.
I struck up a conversation with an interesting older gentleman who resembled a
retired professor. “You look like you should be famous! Are you an inventor?”
“Today, we’re all inventing a nation,” he replied. “All over again. I’ve wanted
this for a very long time.”
“Me too. I’m sick of feeling like Chicken Little hollering into a vacuum. Maybe
now people do realize the sky is falling and we can come together — do something
huge!”
“Yes, it will take all of us . High time to turn off our televisions and get together
in our living rooms and churches and town squares. Find that common denominator
that unites us. It’s there: the vision of the future we want so bad for
generations to come!”
“I was there eight days ago at the birth of Occupy Portland,” I
had to proudly share. “We completely fi lled Pioneer Square. Talk
about awesome, this was the ultimate epitome of awesome! When
people really come together in a common purpose, you can smell
and taste it — see it in their eyes. It’s happening again today. This
is our chance now in Lane County to put aside our differences and
egos — to reclaim democracy for ‘We the People’ once again.”
“It won’t be easy,” he replied. “I was there in Berkeley in the
’60s. It took a long time to stop that war.” He paused to remember.
“But we were damned determined!”
Were you there that day at the Big March of 2011? Wouldn’t
it be great to all reunite and rekindle that fi re? Oct. 15 will be the
one-year anniversary of the Big March, and Occupy Eugene is
throwing a party to celebrate what we have accomplished, and to chart a course for
the coming year. Even if you weren’t part of that march, you’ll be welcome. There
will be great food all day and live music in the evening plus videos from the OE
crew who have been producing a series of very stimulating “Occupy TV” programs
on Community Television, Channel 29. Please come by. The world needs us! ■
Graham Lewis is a UO grad, political activist and semi-retired graphic artist and writer living in Eugene and
Yachats. He serves with the Occupy Eugene Media Group and We the People.
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