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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2016)
LET TERS used by the USDA as a dumping ground for surplus meat and dairy commodities. It is neither a surprise nor a coincidence that one-third of our children have become overweight or obese. Such dietary mistakes at an early age become lifelong addictions, raising the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Then came President Obama’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, requiring double the servings of fruits and vegetables, more whole grains, less sodium and fat, and no meat for breakfast. The guidelines are supported by 86 percent of Americans. Most U.S. school districts now offer vegetarian options. More than 120 schools, including the entire school districts of Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Oakland, Philadelphia and San Diego, have implemented Meatless Monday. Some schools have dropped meat from their menu altogether. As parents, we need to involve our own children and school cafeteria managers in promoting healthy, plant-based foods in our own schools. Going online and searching for “vegetarian options in schools” provides lots of good resources. Elijah Hennison Eugene MURAL MUSINGS Erasure, my first thought, of a magical mural. My second: I like the new convivial mural on the east wall of Cowfish Dance Club, as noted in EW’s ArtsHound [8/18], by a Brazilian art collective. The former mural on that wall, prior to the city’s latest commission, was designed and painted by six teen women with the inestimable Kari Johnson as mentor. The artists, Ariel Burkhart Services, Ariel Michaels, Courtney Cammarota, Heather Shershin, Jasmine Tager and Rita Van Allen, participated in 2000 in the ArtWall project of Lane Arts Council. Backstage Dance then occupied the rented building and permission for the mural was granted by building owner Jenova Land Company. Kari was one of five lead artists involved in the ArtWall project who worked with 40 youth artists on multiple projects over a six-month period. As mural artist Heather Shershin said at the time, “We worked together, operated as a collective the whole time, from the meetings to the actual painting itself.” From collective art to collective art, from dance to dance, from local to global. Erasure, yes. Emergence, we hope. In any event, today: Remembrance. Douglas Beauchamp Eugene UNJUST SYSTEM Donald Trump paints a dystopian and depressing view of life in the black ghettos, and in some ways he is right. President Obama was not able to do much to help black communities because anything he advocated would have been blocked as racist (against whites) by the Republicans who controlled Congress. But is it true that Democrats, who were elected to run these cities, caused the problems? That was put to the test in Michigan, where the elected representatives of 13 majority black cities, including Detroit, were replaced by emergency managers appointed by Rick Snyder, the Republican governor. They disenfranchised half of the black people in Michigan. Those cities did have major problems due to the collapse of the auto industry, white flight, the loss of their tax base and loss of revenue sharing. The emergency managers only made matters worse. Their penny-wise-but- pound-foolish, short-sighted efforts resulted in the lead poisoning of thousands of children in Flint, and they still haven’t fixed the problems they caused. So now Donald Trump blames Democrats for all of these problems and promises to fix everything, but he has little understanding of the underlying causes, or any idea how to help blacks that are victimized by an unjust criminal justice system, or any idea how to pay for the needed changes. It is good that Trump is finally recognizing that blacks and Latinos have problems, but what is he going to do about it? Republicans would make everything worse. Jerry Brule Eugene PATRIOTIC DONALD After reading the excellent letter by Joshua Welch [Letters, 8/18], I was inspired to ask: Why don’t the liberal media give Donald Trump more praise for his patriotism? In 1968, he declined to go into the military due to the presence of bone spurs in his heels. Can you imagine how many pairs of combat boots he would have cut to shreds with those heel spurs? Combat boots do not come cheap, and he must have saved U.S. taxpayers a lot of money. Ronald Blanton Eugene SMART KIDS This is the 25th year for SMART (Start Making A Reader Today) and we are in need of many more volunteers to share the love of reading with young school children throughout the state of Oregon. We read with students in grade K-3. As a volunteer, you would be matched to read with the same SMART kid every week throughout the school year. Each SMART kid reads for half an hour, one- on-one with their reader and generally, on a regular day, you would read with two different students. Not only do readers get to develop a great relationship with their SMART kids, they get to share the magic of books. If you’d like to join us, please go to our website — getSMARToregon.org — to register to volunteer. If you don’t have computer access, you may call the SMART office at 541-726-3302. After you have registered, a background check is completed and then, at the end of September, your contact information will be given to a site coordinator for a school near you so they can contact you to schedule you to start reading with your adorable SMART kids. Barbara George César E. Chávez Elementary SMART Site Coordinator Eugene Are you a single father in Lane County? If so, find out how you can receive up to $150 by participating in our research study * . For details visit http://bit.ly/ftcscreen ® *Research study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, grant #2R44HD075499. irisEd OREGON TRAIL LIVE™ Live the dream... or die of dysentery. Saturday, September 17th, 2016 Children & Family Teams: 12pm Adult & Sponsor Teams: 2pm 10 Challenges - Live Music - Awards - BBQ - Saloon - Fun for All Ages Circle your wagons and get ready to make the trip out west! Hunt for game, ford the river, and more in this live-action event. Team Registrations are open now at willametteheritage.org Willamette Heritage Center | 1313 Mill St SE | Salem, OR 97301 | 503.585.7012 | info@willametteheritage.org 6 September 1, 2016 • eugeneweekly.com Presented by
