B Y C AT H E R I N A S AVAT T E R E
• The PROM benefiting KindTree —
Autism Rock’s Friends and Family Camp
is 7 pm Saturday, May 21, at the Vet’s Club
Ballroom. The PROM features The Joanne
Broh Band with Paula Vaden and Teressa
Cunningham and special MC is SLUG
Queen Markalo Parkalo as well as a raffle,
costume contest, limbo and more. Tickets
are $15 presale at kindtree.org, or $18 at
the door.
• Global Community Conversation with
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide
Fellow Kristina Sabova (above):
“Challenging Coal in Central Europe,” 6
pm Wednesday, May 25, ELAW, 1412
Pearl Street. Call 541-687-8454 for info
and to RSVP; FREE.
• In recognition of Mental Health
Awareness month, WellMama of Lane
County and Women’s Care is holding
perinatal mental health trainings.
“Postpartum depression and other
perinatal mood disorders can be difficult
for providers to recognize,” says Ahavah
Oblak, executive director of WellMama.
“Many women suffer in silence, scared to
reach out to their family, partner, friends
and practitioners.” A “Perinatal Mental
Health Training” with Dr. Wendy
Davis, executive director of Postpartum
Support International is 8 am to 4 pm May
26 and “is designed for nurses, social
workers, therapists, midwives, doulas,
nurse practitioners, physicians assistants,
health workers and anyone seeking to
learn more about pregnancy and
postpartum depression and anxiety
support.” An evening session, “Clinical
Considerations for Perinatal Mental Health”
with Dr. Nicole Cirino, M.D. and Marc Zola,
LMFT, LFC, is from 5:30 pm to 9 pm and is
oriented towards “OBGYNs, primary care
physicians,
nurse
practitioners,
psychiatrists, pediatricians, midwives and
physician assistants.” To find out more or
to register, go to wellmamaoregon.com/20
16perinatalprovidertraining. For more
information, call Oblak of WellMama at
541-441-2614. CME credits available.
• Windermere Real Estate is hosting
its Lane County Spring Benefit Concert,
featuring Hit Machine (playing hits from all
eras) with a portion of the proceeds to
benefit Habitat for Humanity’s
Springfield/Eugene chapter. The concert
is 8 pm (doors at 7 pm) Thursday, May 26,
at Venue 252, 252 Lawrence Street,
Eugene. Purchase tickets in advance for
$20 at windermerebenefit.eventbrite.
com, $25 door. Call 541-484-2022 for
more information.
8
May 19, 2016 • eugeneweekly.com
PROTESTERS MARCH IN FRONT OF
SHELL AND TESORO REFINERIES
PHOTO: CATHERINA SAVATTERE
‘BREAK FREE OF FOSSIL FUELS’
ACTIVISTS ARRESTED
A
The tracks are vital to both Shell and Tesoro. The refineries re-
bout 50 Lane County residents made the trek north the
ceive crude oil by train from North Dakota and the central United
weekend of May 13-15 to join thousands more activists
States. Oil trains bringing oil from North Dakota are so lucrative that
in 350.org’s Break Free Pacific Northwest weekend of
Shell is pushing for more train infrastructure to be built to allow more
action against the Shell and Tesoro refineries and the cli-
oil to be processed each day.
mate change-causing fossil fuel industry. Another 50 or
Crude oil brought in by trains to these specific refineries, com-
so of the 2,000 protesters were arrested.
bined with what is received from pipes and ships, brings processing
As part of a chain of actions taking place worldwide May 2016,
up to 3.8 million gallons per day for Tesoro and 5.7 million gallons
the activists took to kayaks on the sea as “kayaktavists” to block
per day for Shell. Some of these millions of gallons of processed oil
oil deliveries by ship, they slept in tents on the railroad tracks to
are then put on trains that trav-
prevent deliveries by train,
el down through Oregon and
marched with multitudes
California for distribution.
outside the refineries to show
“It really doesn’t matter if
solidarity and worked behind
you’re from Lane County, if
the scenes to keep all the
you’re from the UK, if you’re
actions running smoothly.
from South Africa — it’s all
Saturday, May 14, was the
relevant and important to
Indigenous People’s Day of
us because it’s a big picture
Action, called “It’s in Our
— BETZI HITZ, 350 EUGENE
thing,” said Kiran Ooman,
Hands,” including coastal
Eugene native and plaintiff in
tribal communities feeling
the Our Children’s Trust case,
the brunt of climate change
as he stood next to his tent on
impacts.
the railroad tracks. “We all
“It’s all about pushing the
need to be moving away from fossil fuels. We need to focus and come
envelope here. We work through the channels that are trying to
together because we’re strongest when we’re a group.”
make things better, and it doesn’t work,” Eugenean Betzi Hitz ex-
“We live in an environment that’s not in the heat zone so to speak
plained. “The time is so short for turning this around that we must
do this. Everybody out here feels that way, or they wouldn’t be out
— we’re not in the middle of the drought, the famine; we’re not hav-
here — thousands of people.”
ing our island flooded. It’s real easy to just sit back and go buy some
Hitz is part of 350.org’s Eugene branch and drove up with fel-
stuff,” Hitz noted as she looked out at the green hills of Anacortes
low volunteer Aloha Heart to work as a jail support team. When 52
and thought of her Willamette Valley home. “This state is amazing. It
of the train track campers were arrested around 5 am Sunday, May
makes this kind of action more impactful when you’re in an environ-
15, after occupying the tracks and blocking oil all weekend, Hitz
ment that’s so amazing. I think a lot about what we’re losing if people
and Heart acted as outside liaisons for the arrestees.
just don’t wake up.”
‘It’s all about pushing
the envelope here.’