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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2014)
• Supreme Court journalist and author Garrett Epps is back in Eugene this week to speak about his new book, American Justice 2014: Nine Clashing Visions on the Supreme Court. Epps will speak at 4:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Knight Law Center Wayne Morse Commons. Epps is a former UO law professor who now teaches at the University of Baltimore School of Law. He covers the Supreme Court for The Atlantic and contributes to The American Prospect. See waynemorsecenter.uo.edu. • All About Parvin, an episodic series by Eugene videographer Tim Lewis documenting the mining of Parvin Butte and the community it affects, has its Eugene debut 6:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 6, at First Christian Church, 1166 Oak St. The event is $10, sliding scale, and food and refreshments will follow. • Eugene’s sick leave ordinance administrative rules are being developed. A series of public meetings are being held and the last will be from 6 to 8:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Eugene Public Library. See eugene-or.gov/sickleave for more information. • “Experiencing Inequity in Law Enforcement” is the topic at City Club of Eugene at noon Friday, Nov. 7, at the Downtown Athletic Club, 999 Willamette St. Speakers include Linda Hamilton, president of Blacks in Government, Jim Stauffer of the ACLU and Juan Carlos Valle, president of the United Latin American Citizens of Lane County. $5 for non-members. See cityclubofeugene.org. The following week, Nov. 14, local police chiefs and the county sheriff will talk about “Achieving Equity in Law Enforcement.” • The 11th annual Close the SOA! benefit concert will be at 7 pm Friday, Nov. 7, at Wellsprings Friends School, 3590 W. 18th Ave., featuring folksinger Tom Rawson and the Eugene Peace Choir. Suggested donation is $5 to $15, but no one will be turned away. Sponsored by Latin America Solidarity Committee of Eugene. For more information about School of the Americas (SOA) and an upcoming vigil at Fort Benning Nov. 21-23, see soaw.org. • Auschwitz survivor Eva Kor, along with her twin sister, was subjected to Nazi medical experiments by Dr. Josef Mengle at the age of 10. She will speak on “Forgiveness, the Triumph of the Human Spirit” at a gathering that begins at 6:30 pm Saturday, Nov. 8, at Columbia 150 on the UO campus. Kor founded the CANDLES Holocaust museum in Indiana where she now lives. The lecture is sponsored by PeaceJam Northwest and the Division of Student Life at UO. $5 for non- students. • Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah is planning its 25th annual Fall Celebration & Anniversary Angel Fundraiser from 5 to 7 pm Sunday, Nov. 9, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 13th and Chambers. Reservations at bufordpark.org or call 344-8350. Organizers say the event includes “food, drink, music, stories, friends and fun.” When the allegations of impropriety with Inkster’s pay surfaced in the summer of 2013, the county hired Greg Olson of USO Consulting and Investigation to look into Inkster, and he concluded that she was “untruthful.” But according to the bar’s letter, “the board later conducted a full independent audit” of Inkster, and it “concluded that [Inkster] did not act fraudulently and that the board chair Former county administrator Liane Inkster (previ- and vice chair knew and approved of the changes in [her] ously Richardson) was fired by Lane County more than compensation.” a year ago, but questions from her uneasy departure still Leiken and Bozievich call the mention of the audit “cu- linger, most recently due to a letter from the Oregon State rious” in their statement. Bar (OSB) clearing her in “No audit was done of a disciplinary investiga- Ms. Inkster’s misdeeds,” tion. they write. The commis- The bar’s investiga- sioners also note that nei- tion is the third investi- ther Olson’s investigation gation — or possibly the nor an investigation by an fourth, according to the — K AT E R I WA L S H , O S B M E D I A R E L AT I O N S outside district attorney letter — into Inkster’s ac- “concluded any involve- tions. Commissioners Sid ment or justification” for Leiken and Jay Bozievich Inkster’s selling more of her time management “by any responded to EW’s inquiry about the letter with a statement member of the Board of Commissioners.” asking that the investigation be reopened. OSB’s probe The bar’s letter primarily notes an interview with Ink- stemmed from an article in the R-G after Inkster nominated ster, but Kateri Walsh, director of OSB media relations, herself for a position on the bar’s Disciplinary Board. tells EW the attorney who conducted the investigation re- Inkster wasn’t fired at all; she left after a “contractual viewed both Olson’s and the DA’s reports. dispute,” the bar’s letter to Inkster says. The April 22 letter, The bar concluded that it was plausible Inkster did not recently obtained by EW, also says that the County Com- remember an email telling her she had sold too much sick mission’s then-chair (Leiken) and vice chair (Bozievich) time when the investigator asked her about it, and cited the “knew and approved” of the changes in Inkster’s com- district attorney’s decision not to file charges. Leiken and pensation that led to the termination of her job with Lane Bozievich say the DA did not file charges because Inkster County. had agreed to pay the money back and had already been Inkster had lobbied to raise her salary terminated by the county. from $152,345 to $175,656 at a time when the commis- Walsh says that the “Disciplinary Counsel’s office will sion was asking taxpayers to approve a county jail levy. take a look at the file and if it appears that there was evi- When that request came to light, and the proposed raises dence that did not get a thorough review, we will likely for her and County Counsel Stephen Dingle were tabled, either re-evaluate the matter, or take it to the State Profes- Inkster then made changes to her take-home pay. sional Responsibility Review for consideration.” According to OSB’s letter, written by Assistant Disci- Neither the county nor the other media covering the fu- plinary Counsel Mary Cooper, the board “wanted, for po- ror over Inkster’s nomination to the disciplinary board last litical reasons, to delay discussions” of a raise. Inkster told March apparently asked for a copy of the April 22 letter Cooper she followed a suggestion from a commissioner dismissing the complaint. Walsh says, “We never received to sell back some of her sick leave time (what the county a complaint regarding Inkster from the commission or any- calls “time management”) and convert the money to cash. one in Lane County.” She adds, “We opened the investiga- Inkster sold far more than the county allows. tion ourselves based on media reports,” and OSB typically After another employee questioned the changes and copies complainants on progress in a disciplinary investi- hired an attorney, “the board began to back away from its gation. — Camilla Mortensen involvement in the situation,” the letter says. EX-COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CLEARED, BUT LEIKEN AND BOZIEVICH OBJECT ‘ We never received a complaint regarding Inkster from the commission or anyone in Lane County.’ • The ACLU Civil Conversation series presents a discussion on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as a threat to civil liberties. Numerous municipalities have formally opposed the new sections. Colin Farnsworth of People Against National Defense Authorization Act (PANDA Oregon) will explain how local officials can prohibit NDAA’s application in Oregon. The free talk is from 5:30 to 6:45 pm Monday, Nov. 10, at the Eugene Public Library. Food and drinks allowed. Contact lanechapter@aclu-or.org. IT’S ABOUT TIME B Y D AV I D WA G N E R T • Author Chris Dixon will speak on “Talking Across Today’s Transformative Movements” at 1 pm Monday, Nov. 10, at the LCC Longhouse on the main campus. Dixon is author of Another Politics. Contact Stan Taylor of the Lane Peace Center at taylors@lanecc.edu. • The Climate Action Plan Task Force is hosting the second Corvallis Climate Action Plan public forum from 7 to 8:30 pm Wednesday, Nov. 12, in the main meeting room of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 N.W. Monroe Ave. Topics for discussion will include land use and transportation, urban natural resources and buildings and energy. See corvalliscap.org for more information. • The No Industrial Pisgah group has launched an online petition to the city of Springfield to save the rural Seavey Loop area and its small farms from industrial zoning. More than 660 people have signed the petition as of Monday, Nov. 3, and organizers are hoping for a total of 2,000. Find the petition at wkly.ws/1u8. The group is also planning a public fast from dawn to dusk at Springfield City Hall Nov. 14-15, led by a Japanese Buddhist order. 8 November 6, 2014 • eugeneweekly.com EUROPEAN BITTERCRESS, CARDAMINE HIRSUTA he extended summer dry spell has turned into a warm rainy period. No frost yet, nor even any really cold nights, although the average first frost date is long past. It means the leaves on the bigleaf maples haven’t been triggered to produce the golden color seen in most years. Instead, the dry leaves just turn brown and fall off while the rest are still green. The tar spot fungus doesn’t have its usual green halo on a golden background because its spores are maturing early, sustained by the whole green leaf. Our nasturtiums are going crazy this fall, sprawling vigorously over the garden beds where the cucumbers used to grow. The cucumbers, like the zucchini, succumbed to mildew soon after the rains began. It is not often that the nasturtiums aren’t taken down by aphids at the end of the summer. The late warm season allows us to enjoy little, edible bouquets that last a few days inside. The flock of turkeys I wrote about back in August is now miles away from its nesting grounds in our neighborhood. This flock is readily identifiable by the solitary albino in it. At least one of the flock is wandering about on its own. The sounds of different waterfowl tell us the winter migrants are starting to take up residence in Delta Ponds. Winter annuals are flourishing. The chickweed is a delicious, welcome sight. Bittercress, earliest of our garden weeds, says we had better start pulling rosettes before the new year begins. David Wagner is a botanist who has lived in Eugene for more than 30 years. He teaches moss classes and leads nature walks. He may be reached at fernzenmosses@ me.com.
