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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2017)
LET TERS FAREWELL ED COLEMAN SOUTH EUGENE DAILY DELIVERY 4:30-8:45PM Mon-Fri 11AM-9:30PM • Sat & Sun 9:30AM-9:30PM BREAKFAST SAT ‘TIL 11:00 SUN. ‘TIL 1:00 80 E. 29Th & Willamette 541-302-6444 BUBBLE TEA • GLUTEN FREE ENTREES DELIVERY AVAILABLE 4:30-8:45PM Open Daily: 11AM-9:30PM 1308 Hilyard • 541-343-0165 Another magnificent, tall fir has been reclaimed by the forest with the passing of University of Oregon Emeritus Professor Edwin Leon Coleman. The University of Oregon and the Eugene community have been enriched by this kind, courageous and remarkable man’s life, service, friendship and example to all people of good will. Thousands of people, colleagues, stu- dents and townspeople alike have been touched by the warmth of this superb Afri- can-American scholar, musician, humani- tarian, and devoted husband and father. As a couple, Ed and Charmaine Coleman just radiated a love for people and an apprecia- tion for each person’s dignity. Ed Coleman loved justice and intel- lectual honesty. He was deeply passionate about civil rights and the need for racial harmony and reconciliation. It is almost unbearable to think of a Eu- gene without Dr. Coleman’s kind advice and outspoken wisdom. If there was ever a glaring injustice at the university or in the community, we could count on Ed’s insightful and independent voice of reason. How much richer are the thousands of us whose lives he touched, whose intel- lects he stirred and to whose sense of jus- tice and fairness he appealed. Ed Coleman epitomized the wonderful tradition of University of Oregon faculty scholarship and civic leadership. He was a thousand-percent UO and Duck loyalist over the decades — always at the games cheering, a timekeeper at Hayward Field Track meets, participating in meetings and events. How we will miss him now. Scott Bartlett Eugene they need to know about economics, sci- ence, nutrition, history, philosophy, litera- ture, how to play well with others, etc. When you get down to it, they need to learn two things: critical thinking and how to learn. The former will allow them to understand the ramifications of their deci- sions and the latter will allow them to learn new skills when the skills they already know have become obsolete. Testing takes your eye off the ball. Gregg Ferry Corvallis TAKING STEPS APOCALYPSE NOW EVERGREEN NUTRITION 15% OFF CBD OIL PRODUCTS IN JANUARY Studies show that CBD oil can be helpful for anxiety & stress. The most affordable CBD on the market, CV Sciences’ CBD oil is non-psychoactive. • Chemical-free CO2 Extracted • Non-GMO • Gluten free SEVERAL NEW OPTIONS ARE NOW AVAILABLE 1653 Willamette Street M-F 9-6 • Sat 10-5 • Sun 11-5 FREE OFF-STREET PARKING 541-485-5100 www.evergreennutrition.com 4 The last time a fascist held this much power, it took most of the world to defeat him and decades to recover from the re- sults of his thuggery. One can’t help but wonder, then, when the modern American Left (sic) will come to realize that marches, stern telephone calls to elected representatives, endless Facebook polemics and angry letters (such as this) will likely not bring down this na- scent totalitarian regime. Is it possible? Yes, to the extent that anything is possible. But likely? Bill Smee Springfield TEACH THEM TO THINK I question that testing is a real indicator of how well a student will do in real life [Dear CAPE 1/19]. I would suggest there is a better metric. Let us take a different number to deter- mine which schools need to improve. Let’s look at taxes paid five years after gradu- ation. After all, we are educating children to be good members of society, and good members pay taxes. Yes, some will still be at university, some will be in the military and maybe five years is not the sweet spot, but that’s not the point. We need to educate our children to be able to cope in an ever-complex envi- ronment, not how to take tests. They need to know how to reconcile a credit card bill, January 26, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com Thanks to Eugene Weekly for reporting on how people are feeling about the next four years and what to do [“Kicking the Trump Funk,” Jan. 19]. This helps answer one of the suggestions, showing us that we are not alone. Of course, there is a step we can all take: Get involved to make sure important safety net programs are not cut back. Alone or together we can call and write our rep- resentatives and senators to fund these pro- grams like SNAP, formerly food stamps, that battles hunger. I volunteer with RESULTS (results.org) and we write letters together at our meet- ings to protect and introduce programs that make a difference. The talk by Prof. Sara Jayaraman, “Food First: Justice, Security and Sovereignty,” was an opportunity to learn more about our economy [“Food Fight: Forked Author Discusses Food In- dustry Labor Issues,” Jan. 19]. Then use this knowledge to inform your elected rep- resentatives. So thanks again to EW for keeping us informed of opportunities to learn and make a difference. Willie Dickerson Snohomish, Wash. GOVERNMENT WAGES We have requested of the Eugene City Council that they provide a minimum wage of $15 an hour for city employees. Today the staff report to the council gave them much detail about how the city was pay- ing to the category of employees they call “temporary,” some of whom have been working for the city more than 20 years. Of these 730 employees, some qualify for federal aid in the form of food stamps be- cause of their low wage. The presentation to the city council was about “raising the current rate” and its financial implications. Concern was indi- cated that other wages of staff with more responsibility would have to be raised, with additional costs. The massive problem of inequality in the country often focuses on those few who have way too much money. And that is probably a problem. But I think the bigger problem is about the many people who have too little. We can help solve that problem by raising the wages of the low- income people. We should be promoting “good jobs” in the city by paying our own employees a decent living wage, at least enough so that they can get off the food stamp rolls. That would be good government policy. City budget committee meetings are coming up soon. Bob Cassidy Eugene TRACKING TOXINS The Department of Environmental Quality is requiring Union Pacific to clean 20 acres of contaminated soil at their Ash- land rail yard of petroleum, arsenic and other chemicals before sale. A 1994 DEQ investigation and subse- quent public health assessment of the Eu- gene UP rail yard by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in 2007 revealed groundwater and crawlspace con- tamination in homes in the Bethel, Train- song and South River Road areas near the rail yard. Volatile organic compounds were found in home crawlspaces; tetrachloroeth- ylene, trichloroethylene, dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride contaminated residen- tial water wells; and creosote, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals, pe-
