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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2012)
Comfort on Earth Follow Your Feet to Footwise for Slippers! Downtown Eugene Downtown Corvallis S SHOWN: SH H O OW HOW W N: T THE H E O OHANA HE HANA HA NA L LACE A C E UP ACE AC U P &#SPBEXBZt 48.BEJTPOt AKITA HIGH BOOT AKI AK KI I T A HI K HIG G H BO O OT T 'BDFCPPLDPNGPPUXJTFFVHFOF HOLIDAY COMFORT FOR YOUR FEET .PO4BU4VO 'BDFCPPLDPNGPPUXJTFDPSWBMMJT .PO4BU4VO LET TERS HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS ’Twas the weeks before Christmas, when all through the land, parents were wondering, how it got out of hand? Some were sleepless and worrying, almost sick with their scare, being homeless at Christmas, ’twas too much to bear. The children were sleeping in friends’ borrowed beds, while visions of their own home danced in their heads. And mammas and/or pappas were waiting to hear if they would be one of the Chosen this year. Chosen to receive help from St. Vincent de Paul, to get their own home. “Please let us get that call!” With help from Ms. Piercy, a person who cares, she wants folks in their own homes, that is our mayor. The goal is quite simple and one we can do, give $100 or $20 or even a few. We all need a place we can call our very own, if we each give a little, 40 families can have a home. I don’t know about you, but holidays can make me ill, with the consumer mentality and the resultant bill. I have no real needs for more junk or more stuff; thanks for the reminder that some have it rough! Kids do best in this world when they feel safe and secure, and not when asked to simply endure. So join me and others and make a difference this year, let’s help put to rest many a parents’ fear. Ensure 40 families a home — that is our new goal, and get candy in your stocking and not lumps of coal. Happy Holidays! Phyllis D. Barkhurst Eugene EDITOR’S NOTE: Send checks to St. Vincent de Paul with “A Home for the Holidays” at the bottom, PO Box 24608, Eugene 97402. BUCK-PASSING America needs to invest in jobs that restore public lands replanting forests and protecting them for wilderness, clean water, wildlife habitat, environmentally compatible recreation and limited, sustainable timber. 4 December 13, 2012 • eugeneweekly.com Global warming requires us to build incentives, so that local governments won’t push to damage the forests that clean and cool our air. Federal lands do not pay property taxes. So, in 2000 Congress passed a law to compensate national forest counties — regardless of the rate of timber cutting — with the intent of reducing local pressure to over-cut. That law has expired. The problem now is that federal, state and local taxes provided to county governments have been reduced. Last year, the overall Lane County budget fell from $500 million to $400 million. In response, the Republican majority controlling the Board of Commissioners has decided to release more and more inmates from the jail. Commissioner Leiken’s comments (R-G, 12/04) blame “lack of active management of the federal forests.” This position passes the buck. It’s not a cohesive, long-term strategy. I will be opposing Lane County government’s plans for more budget cuts to public safety and other key programs — public health, children and families, job development come to mind. I applaud efforts in Congress to strengthen national environmental laws that protect and restore federal forests. Responsible stewardship would include continued payments to forested counties, in lieu of taxes — thoroughly and permanently decoupled from timber. Pete Sorenson Lane County Commissioner Eugene CLOSE THE JAIL Seriously, Lane County should stop teasing us with these trickle-out inmate releases and simply go ahead and shut down the jail. That way they could also do away with the courts and police, freeing up all kinds of funds for the next developer who rolls into town promising wonderful things. Let the “free market” deal with public safety. Feel threatened or in trouble, call a corporation! By the way, has anyone noticed how
