Eugene weekly., August 01, 2013, Page 9, Image 9

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suspension at Jan. 31, 2014, to force the council to work
more quickly to fi nish the ordinance. But others, includ-
ing Councilor Chris Pryor, urged councilors to focus on
the best possible outcome instead of the worst and to try to
fi nish before the July expiration date that staff suggested.
The City Council voted 5-1 to set the date in July 2014,
with Clark in the minority and Councilors Greg Evans and
Alan Zelenka absent. — Shannon Finnell
SPONSORS GETS NEW
HOUSE FOR NEW START
Sponsors’ women’s program has not only hired a
new director, but it is also about to get a third house
specifically designed for women with children. Spon-
sors aims at reducing recidivism by providing services
to help men and women transition back into the com-
munity from jail and prison.
Running since December 1993, Sponsors’ women’s
program currently consists of two houses offering 21
beds and varied services to women with criminal histo-
ries. They are part of the 11 buildings on five sites that
make up all Sponsors programs. This new program,
“Reuniting in a Supportive Environment,” is the first
of its kind in Oregon.
“What we do is a small investment in their suc-
cess,” says Paul Solomon, Sponsors executive director.
Among other things, Sponsors provides employment
services, education services and mentoring.
Molly Buchanan spent three months in the women’s
program. She describes the experience as amazing. “I
SLANT
• Police Chief Pete Kerns has likely sprouted a few new
gray hairs from the recent sexual harassment and abuse
conviction of officer Stefan Zeltvay and, not long ago, a
scandal involving gross mismanagement of EPD’s evidence
lockers. Kerns has been proactive in damage control in both
cases, much more so than any of his predecessors in the chief
job. But we are left wondering what other bad behavior has
been going on for years in the cop shop? We have not
forgotten the infamous Roger Magaña and Juan Lara rape and
abuse cases a decade ago. The two bad cops were sent to
prison and about $5 million was paid out to victims, but the
department never got around to investigating other police
officers up and down the ranks who had heard numerous
complaints about these bad boys’ criminal activities and did
little or nothing about it. Magaña’s sexual crime spree in
uniform went on for six years, with an estimated 40 victims.
Nobody who knew or suspected Magaña’s behavior was fired,
disciplined or even denied promotion. Kerns, a lieutenant at
the time, was one of the officers who reportedly dismissed
one victim’s accusations as unfounded (see our July 15,
2004, story at wkly.ws/1it).
Cops are notorious for backing each other no matter what,
but transparency and accountability must trump loyalty,
particularly when justice is thwarted and taxpayers are
picking up the bills. We think Kerns gets it now, but do the
hundreds of rank-and-file officers at EPD get it, or are we going
to see more scandals popping up every year to two to erode
the public’s confidence in those sworn to protect and serve?
• The homeless in Eugene lack more than a place to live;
they lack medical care and sometimes even basic civil rights.
The Civil Liberties Defense Center has long stepped up to fight
for the rights of protesters and the dispossessed, and this
week the small but strong nonprofit got some good news for a
homeless man, Mark Kemp, who was allegedly mistreated
and had his medical needs neglected by the Lane County Jail.
The Lane County Commission voted to settle with Kemp, the
CLDC and attorneys in the case Marianne Dugan and Lauren
Regan for $500,000. As a result of the settlement, the jail will
also be modifying its procedures. Sounds like a lot of cash
have a huge gratitude towards the program,” she says.
“Without them, I’m not sure I would have made it.”
After only three weeks in the women’s program she
found a job at a local café. Now she lives outside of the
Sponsors house in her own apartment. “The staff there
is extremely supportive and encouraging,” she says.
Kelley Story, who joined as women’s program di-
rector in May, is bringing more than 20 years of experi-
ence to Sponsors. She is responsible for the daily oper-
ations of the house, and part of her job is to go through
applications, organize meetings every week and facili-
tate job interviews for the women in the house.
She explains that women have different needs than
men and very specific ones: Some of them have chil-
dren or are fighting for custody.
The new house will be specifically designed for par-
enting, with five additional rooms for women with one
or two children. This will be the first program in Or-
egon designed especially for the needs of women with
children with a focus on educational programs.
“When we’re helping women, it’s not only to transi-
tion back to the community, but also to be good parents
to their kids,” Solomon says. Studies from Cambridge
University’s Institute of Criminology have shown a
link between having a convicted parent and criminal or
antisocial behavior in teenagers.
With 90 percent of the money raised, the con-
struction of the house will start shortly. The ground-
breaking ceremony takes place on Aug. 1. Solomon
expects the house to be ready before the end of the
year, a nice present for Sponsors’ 40th anniversary.
— Laetitia Béraud
from a cash-strapped county? It’s a drop in the bucket for what
the homeless and mentally ill go through in this county, and
according to the judge in the case, a jury verdict might have
been a million dollars or more.
• Oregonians deserve an explanation of why Rudy Crew
was hired as our education “czar” under Gov. Kitzhaber’s
dubious new plan for total top-down control of education in
this state. A continuing parade of stories in The Oregonian
blast Crew, his salary of $280,000 a year, $30,000 for moving
costs from California, seven major trips out of state in less than
four months of his hire and bailing after a year in Oregon. So
who hired him when Superintendent Nancy Golden of
Springfield, now the interim chief, was right here? We hardly
knew Rudy, but we did know her.
• Raise the national minimum wage? Businesses and
industries that rely on paying the lowest possible wages and
no benefits in order to maintain their profit margins are
lobbying against raising the minimum wage, but they don’t
recognize that our economy is driven in large part by consumer
spending. If low-wage workers can’t afford to buy goods and
services, all businesses suffer. Henry Ford was one of the first
to grasp this concept. He raised the wages he paid to auto
workers so they could afford to buy his cars. A social justice
component is also evident. Our current tax structure favors the
wealthy and poor people face fewer opportunities to plug into
our economy and advance themselves. The real impact on
business? A Huffington Post story this week cites a University
of Kansas study that calculates that McDonald’s could double
its food service workers’ salaries and a Big Mac would only
cost consumers an extra 68 cents to maintain company
profits. See wkly.ws/1iw.
• Good times at the Lane County Fair this past week and
we appreciate all the enthusiasm for the bands and musicians
who performed as part of our Next Big Thing music contest on
the Community Stage. Judges were there and our semi-
finalists, Sol Seed and The Crescendo Show, will play Aug. 24
at the Eugene Celebration EW/KRVM Broadway Stage. The
winner will be announced after their performances.
FOOD for Lane County had its big food drive Sunday at the
fair and we hear the effort brought in a much-needed 27,576
pounds of food, easily surpassing last year’s 21,336 and the
year before’s 14,429 total pounds.
SLANT INCLUDES SHORT OPINION PIECES, OBSERVATIONS AND RUMOR-CHASING NOTES COMPILED BY THE EW
W STAFF. HEARD ANY GOOD RUMORS LATELY?
CONTACT TED TAYLOR AT 484-0519, EDITOR@EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
A tour of Eugene bicycle industries is being planned
as part of this weekend’s Blackberry bRamble
celebration. The tour begins from 9 am to noon Friday,
Aug. 2, at Rolf Prima, 150 Shelton McMurphy Blvd.,
followed by noon to 2 pm at Bike Friday, 3364 W. 11th
Ave., followed by 2 to 4 pm at Co-Motion, 4765 Pacific
Ave. Rides and celebration events continue all weekend.
Email hughes97405@gmail.com or see eugenegears.
org/bramble.
Big Wildlife, Spencer Lennard’s enviro group known
for its work on protecting endangered carnivores in the
West, has joined Eugene-based Cascadia Wildlands,
one of Oregon’s most active enviro organizations.
“Spencer will finally have the support system and
infrastructure he needs and deserves to go forward with
his current efforts,” says Bob Ferris, executive director
for Cascadia. “And Cascadia Wildlands will have
someone on staff to look after those predators in
Cascadia that are not getting the attention they deserve.”
See cascwild.org.
Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore at 12010 Oak Patch
Road has a clever promotion that got our attention. One
of our staffers donated some lumber and a week later
found a flyer on his front door saying “Nice Door! Can We
Have It?” The flyer notes that “Someone in your
neighborhood recently made a donation to the ReStore”
and goes on to list items that will be accepted, and
offers a phone number for pick-up service, along with a
discount coupon. ReStore used to handle mostly
building supplies donated by contractors, but the
volunteer-staffed nonprofit has been expanding its
furniture and appliance inventory. Call 344-4809.
As a follow-up to last week’s Biz Beat blurb on biking
to pubs, we hear local pubs are ordering dozens of bike
racks from CAT, the Eugene nonprofit Center for
Appropriate Transport. Falling Sky and Hop Valley are
adding racks but other pubs are seeing customers
“getting creative” in finding places to lock up their bikes.
“The Hop Valley partners scouted out the Portland pubs
and based on what they saw ordered racks for 72
bikes,” says Jan VanderTuin, executive director of CAT.
See catoregon.org.
Claim 52 Brewing at 1030 Tyinn St. is hosting an
event for Oregon League of Conservation Voters from 4
to 8 pm Friday, Aug. 2, and the following Friday, Aug. 9,
with 50 percent of proceeds from beer sales and 25
percent of proceeds from merchandise sales going to
OLCV. See olcv.org/lanebusinessspotlight for future
fundraisers at other restaurants and pubs.
KNRQ at 97.9 on the FM dial is moving its frequency
to 103.7 FM as of July 28, according to Al Scott, Cumulus
Eugene’s market operations manager. The station has
an alternative rock format and its DJs and programs will
continue unchanged.
The city of Eugene is calling on local artists to design
and fabricate an award for The Mayor’s Bold Steps
Award, given annually to Eugene-based businesses
operating sustainably. The award will be passed from
winner to winner each year. Deadline is 2 pm Friday, Aug.
2, for proposals submitted online through Dropbox. Call
682-5224 or email ethan.a.nelson@ci.eugene.or.us.
The Clothes Horse resale store located near campus
for the past 21 years will relocate Thursday, Aug. 1, to
13th and Pearl, taking over the building formerly
occupied by Boardsports. Owners Ann Hathaway and
Julia Martin say the new space is larger, more updated
and has free parking. The business buys, sells and
trades clothing, jewelry, shoes and purses from noon to
6 pm Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 pm Sunday.
Call 345-5099.
St. Vincent de Paul had its grand opening of the
Stellar Apartments July 30. The 54 affordable
apartments at 1535 City View were designed by
Bergsund DeLaney Architecture and planned and built
by Meili Construction. The site is part of the city’s
Landbanking for Affordable Housing Program and the
project has been designed to achieve Earth Advantage
certification, which includes energy efficiency, nontoxic
materials and finishes and sustainable landscaping.
Four of the units are set aside for the Veterans Living
Independently Following Treatment (VetLIFT) program.
eugeneweekly.com • A ugust 1, 2013
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