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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 2014)
Eugene-based Charlie Tebbutt is one of the attorneys in the case. He says that from the beginning BNSF has been saying that the case is frivolous, “despite the fact that they have admitted that they discharge 30 tons of coal during every train shipment, admitted that to a federal agency and admitted they are responsible for the coal.” In 2011, the Surface Transportation Board found that coal dust emissions from the open- top railcars affect the rail beds and that BNSF could take steps to suppress the dust. BNSF issued new rules later that year requiring the coal be loaded in a bread-loaf shape and be sprayed with a surfactant to abate the dust. But Tebbutt says the surfactant blows off and becomes a pollutant as well as aggregates the coal products into large chunks that also blow off the cars and land in waterways. Tebbutt says the case now moves to the discovery phase, where the plaintiffs fi nd out who all the owners of the rail cars are and start getting the studies BNSF has done about how much coal it loses during shipment. He says the end result is that BNSF is going to have to cover the trains. — Camilla Mortensen POMP AND FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES Students: If you think homework and tests are the albatross around your neck, just wait for student loans to come due. To make that as painless as possible, LCC is holding its 15th annual “How to Pay for College ... In One Day!” Saturday, Jan. 11. The event is free and open to all. “A lot of times students talk themselves out of applying for scholarships,” says Jackie Bryson, an LCC career and scholarship advisor, “but in this workshop you’ll see that every- one can apply to scholarships and anyone can receive scholarships.” She says that she’s seen students leave school debt free because they’ve put time into their scholarships, which can pay off to the tune of $200 an hour. Workshops at the event cover fi nding scholarships, writing effective applications and help with the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). A college funding session will also be held in Spanish. Hannah Achepohl attended the “How to Pay for College” event two years ago, and she’s earned two associates degrees and six certifi cations without having to take out any student loans. “There are tons of scholarships out there for people,” she says. “People think, ‘They’re never going to give a scholarship to me. I don’t deserve it.’ But there are so many unclaimed scholarships out there.” Setting aside the time is the fi rst step Achepohl says, and she advises students to be very organized and very persistent. “It takes a lot of work and sometimes you have to fi ll out copi- ous amounts of paper work,” she says. “But isn’t it better to have two entire college degrees paid for, not having to take out a student loan and being able to work just part-time during school?” Bryson encourages students to bring their 2012 tax returns and/or 2013 fi nancial records and says students should always fi le their FAFSAs in the fi rst three weeks of January if pos- sible. “There are more grants available early than later on,” she says. According to The Institute for College Access and Success’s “Student Debt and the Class of 2012,” 60 percent of Oregon college graduates left school with debt averaging $26,639. “How to Pay for College” runs 8:30 am to 2:30 pm Jan. 11, at LCC’s Center for Meet- ing and Learning, Building 19, Room 100, Main Campus. Lane students register with CRN 33916; community members call 463-6100. A full schedule is available at wkly.ws/1o3. — Shannon Finnell SLANT • No shock that Fred Meyer came in first in a revenue analysis of three proposals for the Civic Stadium site, up for sale or lease by Eugene School District 4J. The analysis got a big headline in the daily rag (slow news day), but it was pretty predictable. Yes, Fred Meyer has more money to spend, but the question is what will give the most long-term benefits to the community — we’re going to say a place for people to exercise rather than another big corporate store to shop in. Good thing revenue is only half the final scoring points; 4J also calculated additional benefits to schools and community (20 points each) and saving the stadium (10 points). It’s irksome that saving the stadium was only allocated 10 points, particularly since a refurbished stadium has the potential to make Eugene a Northwest soccer center. It’s hard to attach a dollar value and community benefit to that potential, but we urge the school board and administration to try. (We hear Springfield is looking at building a soccer stadium as an economic driver.) Ideally, when it makes its final decision, 4J will hack some points off the Fred Meyer proposal for its likely obstacles: a dragged-out fight over rezoning, potential lawsuits and many thousands of pissed-off Eugeneans if the historic stadium falls and is replaced with a shopping center. • This week in unnecessary censorship: Junction City artist Linda Cunningham is making some people very uncomfortable — a task that many (Lucian Freud, Pablo Picasso, Banksy) would argue is the job of the artist. But Springfield’s Emerald Art Center (EAC) executive board members — Chris Mackay, Gladys Bacon-Rust, Dottie Chase, Bonnie Sandland, Merrilea Jones — have banned Cunningham’s mixed-media piece from a non-juried show. “School Days” features Dick and Jane storybook images juxtaposed with bullet casings — a commentary on the Sandy Hook shootings of Dec. 14, 2012. Hearing of the censorship, local artist Jud Turner canceled his upcoming March show at EAC, and others may follow. “Censorship, in general, I don’t think is OK in the arts,” Turner tells EW. “It doesn’t push any of the buttons of being obscene, gross, violent or controversial ... It’s a piece of art that comments on something that is really, really relevant today, which is gun violence.” Turner fears that because some of his work uses political, religious and sexually provocative images, his art could be banned as well. He adds that by not allowing the public to see the work, the board “really underestimates the intelligence of the viewer.” Our country fetishizes guns and violence while leading the world in school shootings, so it’s time to get a little uncomfortable and confront gun issues. Here’s hoping some other local gallery or venue will display “School Days” and facilitate a real conversation about threats to public safety. • Free Snowden. • Eugeneans continued to be generous this past holiday season, and some results are coming in. Mayor Kitty Piercy’s Home for the Holidays campaign, in collaboration with St. Vinnie’s, is nearing its $40,000 goal this winter to help 40 families with the resources they need to get into rental housing. The annual Caldera Songwriter Friends packed Tsunami Books Dec. 20 and local music lovers donated $700 in cash and two carloads of coats, hats, blankets, socks and sleeping bags for those who live outdoors, according to songwriter Beth Wood’s newsletter. And of course thousands of people in Lane County contributed time, energy and money to help bring some relief to our growing population of disadvantaged residents. 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 New Year’s Resolution… They’re All Bold. Learn another language! But Only One Will Take the Gold. For 17 years the Yamada Language Center has offered small group instruction in less commonly taught languages. Winter 2014 course offerings include : Gulf Arabic, Chinese (3 levels), Dutch, Hindi-Urdu, Khmer, Lushootseed (online), Persian, Romanian, and Turkish. Find out who wins the Bold Steps Award at the State of the City Event January 8, 2014. Does your business have what it takes? Interested? Orientation is Jan. 9 th , 5:30-7:00. Variable Credit: 1-3 hours, P/NP. Non-credit option also available. Look for LT 199 on classes.uoregon.edu. Yamada Language Center Pacific 121, 346-4319; http://babel.uoregon.edu flstudy@uoregon.edu eugeneweekly.com • January 9, 2014 9
