SLANT
• The fate of Civic Stadium has stirred a plethora of news stories,
letters and op-eds and we keep looking for perspectives that get little
attention. Jim Watson of Friends of Civic Stadium sent a letter to the
mayor and Eugene City Council this week talking about the
environmental impact of trashing a huge wooden stadium that’s still in
good condition and replacing it with new concrete, steel and pavement.
He also wrote about the social implications of a major soccer facility
with affordable events that everyone could attend, and would attract
our growing Latino population. “Civic Stadium is the kind of place that
will build social bonds by bringing diverse citizens together,” he wrote.
What about the YMCA? Watson notes the Y has other options for
building; Civic Stadium has only one place to be. All good points worthy
of elaboration.
We haven’t heard much talk about how Springfield would relish
being the soccer center of the region. We love our neighbors up the
creek, but hey, Springfield got our hospital and Glenwood (how the
!@#%& did that happen?). Let’s not blow another opportunity. Can
anyone say “public-private partnership”?
He says having fi ve residents serve on the commit-
tee, as required under Oregon law “is to provide an
‘outside’ perspective on the process. It’s important.”
The Budget Committee reviews and approves
the proposed budget, limits levied taxes and tenta-
tively establishes maximum spending amounts each
fund in the county’s budget, according to a recent
press release. The county’s General Fund alone is
facing a possible $5- to $6-million shortfall. Former
budget committee member Scott Bartlett says that
appointees can make a difference on specifi c issues
when they really dig into the budget.
Bartlett, who served on the budget committee
for 16 years periodically between 1986 and 2011,
and was appointed by both liberal and conservative
commissioners, adds, “Budget is policy, and the
priorities in the budget refl ect the majority political
will — in the current case refl ecting a Republican
and highly partisan and right-of-center orientation.”
Sorenson and the county have been sending out
requests for applications to fi ll this vacancy. Ac-
cording to the county press release, “Vacancies on
this committee will not be advertised unless other-
wise requested by the board member whose district
representation has been vacated.”
To apply go to wkly.ws/161, call 682-4203 or go
to the Public Service Building at 125 E. 8th Ave.
— Camilla Mortensen
UO DISC GOLF TEAM
BEST IN THE WEST
Last year at the West Coast College Open in
Monterey, Calif., the UO Disc Golf C lub didn’t win
a match, fi nishing dead last in the tournament. This
time around, it was a different story for a program
that not long ago was struggling for its survival.
Paul Fraser and Cory Higdon both joined in Febru-
ary and have watched the roster quadruple in size.
They were part of a teamwide effort to not only win
a match but also win the open. Despite being deep
and talented, that they had this much success took
them by surprise.
“It surprised us a little bit,” Fraser says. “When
we were driving back, every once in a while Cory
and I, sitting in the front of the van, would be like,
‘We just won that thing. That really just happened.’”
Their win ended the supremacy of host school
CSU Monterey Bay, a team that entered having won
eight of the last nine opens. In the fi rst year of the
match-play format, UO faced off against the jugger-
naut in the fi nal and proved they too were a force to
be reckoned with, prevailing in a playoff. Nonethe-
less, it was still an upset of epic proportions.
“It’s David vs. Goliath, round 2, and David hit
the gym,” Higdon says. David’s win awarded the
team a bye come Nationals in March.
“That was a huge thing for us, earning that bye,”
says Zach Schwartz, club president. “When we went
to the fi nals [of the WCC Open], we just settled into
what was actually going on and decided then that
we had an awesome chance to put our name on the
trophy.”
Higdon, UO’s number-one seed, beat a Monterey
opponent who statistically scores a stroke or two
better on average over 18 holes. The underdog status
continued across the board for all six UO team mem-
bers, but the success is a testament to just how much
the team has improved, grown and come together.
“We went to Monterey and came back a family,”
Higdon says. “There was no power struggle,” added
Fraser.
The team suffered a letdown this past Sunday in
Cottage Grove, losing by three strokes to Central Or-
egon. Part of an ongoing tournament, this match was
structured like Nationals, with two rounds of singles
and a round of doubles. Despite the loss, the team
is still in good position and is rightfully setting the
bar high.
“We are the best team on the West Coast,” Hig-
don says. “And in March we have another chance to
prove that.” — Nick Poust
• It looks like rock and gravel from Parvin Butte is going to start
moving out to the coast. Neighbors out on Green Hill Road tell us they
are seeing permits posted and work going on at the Lost Creek Rock
products multimodal transfer station. Parvin breaks our hearts a little
— it’s hard to wrap our minds around why the McDougal brothers and
Greg Demers would level a scenic butte in the center of a small town.
Not only are residents of Dexter dealing with explosions and rock
crushing in their small, rural community, they also have to deal with
trucks and traffic. There’s no sign so far that Lane County is going to do
anything about all the noise and problems or fix what the county says
is poorly worded language in the county code. What are the chances
the McDougals and Demers are going to be better neighbors out on
Green Hill than they have been to Parvin homeowners? Slim to none.
• John Nichols and Bob McChesney, authors of the new book
Dollarocracy, shouted out a rousing call to action Nov. 14 to a full
house in the law school on the UO campus. It’s necessary to amend
the U.S. Constitution to get the money out of politics, the two
progressives argued, and 16 states already are demanding the
change. We agree, but while chasing that structural change,
progressives better beat the money on the local level in every little
election.
• Kudos to the City Club of Portland for putting out gutsy proposals
to get rid of what their research panel calls Oregon’s “Frankentax,” our
flawed and unfair property tax system. As summarized by The
Oregonian: Repeal Measures 5 and 47/50; replace with base levies,
adjusted annually for inflation and population changes; apply property
to a rolling average of real market values; create a task force to develop
recommendations to re-establish local control over K-12
funding; eliminate exemptions of property from tax bases; improve
equity and efficiency of property tax administration.
• It’s probably too early to book your tickets to Texas for the Final
Four, but the Oregon men’s basketball team looks very promising. The
Ducks can score points fast. Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis,
Johnathan Loyd, Joe Young, Jason Calliste and Mike Moser have all
demonstrated they can hit three-pointers and ring up 30 points in a
hurry. Refs are calling games closer this year, so Oregon’s guards
should be able to drive and dish to many good shooters. Coach Dana
Altman will have to keep all these scorers happy and find enough
rebounding to keep the Ducks in high gear. Watch the Ducks take on
San Francisco at 5 pm Sunday, Nov. 24, at Matthew Knight Arena.
• We hear Eugene City Councilor Betty Taylor was re-elected to the
National League of Cities Board for another two-year term. She was
also re-appointed to the University Communities Council Steering
Committee. Taylor represents Eugene well on national panels. Makes
us look good, makes us proud.
lighten up
BY RAFAEL ALDAVE
POLLUTION UPDATE
The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a proposed settlement of a Clean Air Act and Emergency Planning
and Community Right-to-Know Act case that the DOJ filed against Dillard-based Oregon Door Company. The case
alleges illegal emissions of the hazardous air pollutant toluene, as well as recordkeeping and reporting violations.
The proposed settlement would require Oregon Door to pay a civil penalty of $50,000, and also includes various
terms related to future compliance. The DOJ is taking comments on the proposed settlement through Nov. 25. For
more information visit goo.gl/62vKj3. — Doug Quirke/Oregon Clean Water Action Project
The latest addition to the endangered
species list is a climate-change denier who
lives in the Philippines.
SLANT INCLUDES SHORT OPINION PIECES, OBSERVATIONS AND RUMOR-CHASING NOTES
COMPILED BY THE EW STAFF. HEARD ANY GOOD RUMORS LATELY?
CONTACT TED TAYLOR AT 484-0519, EDITOR@EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
eugeneweekly.com • November 21, 2013
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