Eugene weekly., November 27, 2013, Page 13, Image 13

HOUSING MEETS METH EXPOSURE
Sites of former meth labs are known for their toxicity, but the risk doesn’t end
with labs. The Oregon Health Authority says that homes once occupied by heavy
meth users can be contaminated, too, and must be cleaned carefully.
Brett Sherry, program manager for healthy homes and schools at OHA, works
to clean up illegal drug manufacturing sites, but he says residues could be present
where people have simply used meth. “Primarily with the use piece, somebody
is smoking methamphetamine, it volatilizes, it goes up into the air and it kind of
settles out and sticks to surfaces,” he says.
Oregon’s standard of clean
up is very conservative when
it comes to drug labs, Sherry
says, because of the worst-case
scenario of a child crawling on
the fl oor and putting its hands
in its mouth. “That hand-to-
mouth behavior can pick up a
lot of meth residues and that
child could ingest enough of
that methamphetamine to have
BRETT SHERRY, PROGRAM MANAGER
OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY
a dose of meth,” he says.
Sherry says that people who
suspect their dwellings are
contaminated with meth could hire a cleanup service to test for it, which he rec-
ommends, or purchase home test kits, either the “yes-no” pregnancy-test style or
one in which samples are sent in for analysis.
When companies decontaminate a home, Sherry says they use a methodical
procedure in which they repeatedly wash and rinse the ceiling, then the walls,
then the fl oors, backing out to avoid cross-contamination.
A list of contractors licensed to clean up drug labs in Oregon is avail-
able at wkly.ws/1mk. There is no licensing requirement for sites of meth use.
— Shannon Finnell
‘ That hand-to-mouth behavior
can pick up a lot of meth
residues and that child could
ingest enough of that
methamphetamine to have a
dose of meth.’
FALLEN LEAVES
CREATE HAZARDS
FOR BICYCLISTS
Fall is in full swing, which means there are piles of leaves accumulating all
around the city — in yards, on sidewalks and, unfortunately, in piles that congest
bike lanes. Bicyclists are at risk when traveling over slippery piles or swerving
into lanes of vehicular travel to avoid the piles. Property owners are liable for
any damage resulting from improper leaf placement. Just a few years ago, Public
Works Maintenance Operations Manager Jim McLaughlin asked Ken Kato, who
works in the InfoGraphics Lab and the Department of Geography at UO, and
Marc Schlossberg, from the Public Planning, Policy and Management Depart-
ment, to help design a mobile phone app that would make it possible for citizens
to report problems. Kato and Schlossberg had designed GPS-based apps before
and, in 2012, released iBikeEugene.
The mobile app allows bicyclists, walkers and drivers to send reports of traffi c
obstructions to the city. Kato says the most valuable part of the mobile app is that
it sends the information directly to the city’s data system. This cuts out the need
for someone to manually enter the information into a system and then dispatch
someone to clean up the obstruction, which accelerates the entire process.
EW gave it a test run. On Nov. 10, we reported piles on 14th Avenue at Hilyard
Street, on 5th Avenue at Lincoln Street and on 18th Avenue at Van Buren Street.
The app asked for a description of the obstruction, a picture for easy identifi ca-
tion and our contact information. We suspected the leaves had been sitting in
those piles for more than just a few days by their black, wilted appearance. Some-
time within the next three days, the piles were gone. These collections could have
been prompted by our reports or by the city’s scheduled leaf collection program
that started on Nov. 12.
This leaf collection program was created in the 1960s as a means for fl ood
control. According to its website, citizens are asked to wait until the weekend
immediately prior to collection to put their leaves in the street. Often a parking
lane exists right next to the curb, providing an ideal location for leaf piles prior
to collection. But in areas without a lane for parking, leaves are often left directly
in bike or traffi c lanes.
Collection started on Nov. 12. The fi rst round for the Central Zone of Eugene
lasted until the 15th. The fi rst round for the south, west and north sides started on
Nov. 18 and will continue through Dec. 20. A second round of collections begins
on Dec. 23 and will last until Jan. 24.
For up-to-date details on leaf collection, guidelines and maps, visit eugene-or.
gov/leaf. — Carolina Reid
SLANT
• We keep saying this and it’s worth repeating. Civic Stadium and the 10 acres it sits on are
important to the character of this community. In the depth of the Great Depression, citizens of
Eugene voted to help build the stadium, along with the support of the Chamber of Commerce, the
WPA, the wood products industry and others. The unemployment rate was nearly 25 percent. Now,
in better times — at the end of the Great Recession — we have a chance to restore what is still
a solid structure, a tribute to Oregon’s big trees, for sport, music and fun — and use the rest of
the property for the YMCA or parkland or something else. Seldom does historical preservation
offer such an opportunity. We’ve already lost too much of our history.
• Speaking of Civic, we hear the Friends of Civic Stadium now has more than $200,000 in its
escrow account to pay for the “preservation and rehabilitation” of the stadium. The funds will be
used only if the property is acquired by the city or a nonprofit organization for use as a public
sports and entertainment venue. Donors will get their money back if the stadium is demolished.
Want to contribute? See friendsofcivicstadium.org or mail a check to Friends of Civic Stadium,
P.O. Box 50622, Eugene 97405.
• As we go to press, gas prices are down so holiday travelers might be more likely to hit the
roads. Also poised to hit Oregon’s roads are megaloads of oil extraction equipment heading for
the Canadian tar sands. With trainloads of oil and of coal heading west for export and megaloads
of tar sands equipment heading east and north to be used in the massive open pit mines of the
tar sands, Oregon is more and more starting to look like a fossil fuel gateway. Is that the legacy
we want for our state? Earlier this year we wrote about the scenic drive you can take through
John Day and Prairie City; now that little highway is being overwhelmed with equipment and
transport vehicles as long as a football field. Climate change activists are spending their holiday
week in Eastern Oregon protesting and documenting the megaloads and any damage they do.
Maybe this Thanksgiving weekend is a good time to reflect on what we can do to burn fewer fossil
fuels and let politicians know Oregon should not be the gateway to fossil fuel burning hell.
• The Oregon League of Conservation Voters had its Environmental Scorecard roll-out party
last week at Hop Valley Brewing and some of OLCV’s Portland office folks came down to talk to a
standing-room-only crowd about our local representatives in the Legislature and how they fared
on contested enviro issues. We wrote about the scores in this column Oct. 31. The folks Lane
County sends to Salem are ranked higher than most, and newly elected Rep. John Lively of
Springfield earned a 94 percent on his first evaluation. What we like about the OLCV is that it
provides a degree of accountability that would otherwise be lacking in our political process. The
Scorecard not only tracks voting records but OLCV also pays attention to the bills (and there are
many of them) that affect land use, air and water quality, energy and agriculture. See olcv.org.
Seeing the relatively high scores racked up by state reps and senators in our part of the
valley makes us wonder how we ended up with such a backward County Commission. The local
chapter of the OLCV will not be doing a Lane County Scorecard this year, but it’s pretty easy to tell
where the Tea Party commissioners stand on land use and basic issues of clean air and clean
water.
• Interesting neighbors filled the parking lot at the Fairgrounds Saturday, Nov. 23. Holiday
Market and the adjoining Farmers Market opened their indoor holiday season, and next door the
gun show was the draw. Different crowds, you think!
• We’ve written about the new paved trail along the Willamette River from Dorris Ranch in
Springfield east to Clearwater Park and we finally got around to checking it out this past Sunday.
Despite the chilly weather, this 4-mile path along the river and through the woods was busy with
a friendly mix of bundled-up walkers, runners, cyclists, baby strollers, kids and dogs. Nice
parking areas at both ends of the trail with maps, benches and even public toilets. This public-
private partnership is a treasure for Springfield and hey, Eugeneans don’t need a passport to join
the parade. Access Dorris Ranch by car or bike from South 2nd Street.
• Oregon freshman Edward Cheserek just won the NCAA cross country championship —
something no Oregon Duck has ever done. That’s right. Steve Prefontaine, Alberto Salazar, Galen
Rupp and all the other Oregon running greats never matched Cheserek’s audacious feat. Running in
cold, windy, muddy conditions in Indiana, Cheserek blew past the senior defending champion to win
the 10K race by 18 seconds. Oregon has the best track fans in the country, and this spring they get
to watch national champion Cheserek run at Hayward Field wearing an Oregon jersey. It should be
quite a show!
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 27, 2013
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