The Shedd Institute
www.theshedd.org - 541.434.7000
Oregon Festival of American Music 2017
The Sweetest Melody
Giants of the Classic Songbook
August 2-12 - The Shedd
If I Were A Bell
Chuck Redd,
director
Loesser & Coleman Thu, Aug 3, 8:00p
crisis; as a result, millions of unwanted
animals are destroyed every year as
“surplus.”
This selfish desire to possess animals
and receive love from them causes
immeasurable suffering, which results
from manipulating their breeding, selling
or giving them away casually and depriving
them of the opportunity to engage in their
natural behavior. They are restricted to
human homes, where they must obey
commands and can only eat, drink, and
even urinate when humans allow them to.
Because domesticated animals retain
many of their basic instincts and drives
— but are not able to survive on their
own in the wild — dogs, cats, or birds,
whose strongest desire is to be free, must
be confined to houses, yards, or cages for
their own safety.
I do not oppose kind people who
share their lives and homes with animal
companions whom they love, treat well,
and care for properly. What I want is
for the population of dogs and cats to be
reduced through spaying and neutering and
for people to adopt animals (preferably two
so that they can keep each other company
when their human companions aren’t
home) from pounds or animal shelters
— never from pet stores or breeders —
thereby reducing suffering in the world.
Curtis Taylor
Eugene
LOCAL SPRAY BAN ALIVE
AND WELL
“Happening People” (7/20) featured
local entrepreneur and environmental
activist, Shawn Donnille. He was quoted as
saying, “I was chief petitioner for a ballot
initiative to ban aerial spraying that almost
made the ballot. We’ll revisit it next year.”
The ban he is referring to was a
statewide aerial spray ban that did not
proceed through the qualification process.
As a signature gatherer for Lane County’s
Freedom from Aerial Herbicide Spraying
Bill of Rights, I want to clarify that our
initiative is a separate endeavor and is
indeed, alive and well, targeting the May
2018 ballot. Check the website for more
info: freedomfromaerialherbicides.org
Michelle Holman
Deadwood
A FAIR QUESTION
When we went to the Lane County Fair
last week and last year we were shown
where to park by elderly men on horseback
with pistols and sheriff’s shirts and badges.
Of all the life-and-death need and all the
charities in Lane County, it’s inexplicable
why the Sheriff’s Mounted Posse would be
the beneficiary of the $5 parking fee at the
fair.
Outside the crafts exhibit we
encountered deputies looking much more
like soldiers than police officers standing
aside the sheriff’s 10-ton REVA armored
personnel carrier with two machine gun
turrets on top, a gift from the U.S. military
to Lane County. It can withstand hand
grenades and IEDs and has ten firing ports
to protect and serve the people of Lane
County. Families were posing for pictures
in front of the Iraq War surplus urban tank
and in the back of a sheriff’s patrol car.
We passed multiple vendors with
banners and shirts celebrating machine
guns with threatening messages. Poor
Marilyn Monroe. Her ubiquitous smiling
image was for sale Photoshopped with her
holding pistols. A few feet away recruiters
for the Marine Corps were talking to young
fairgoers.
As we left, it was women on horseback
— each with a revolver on her hip – who
directed us towards the exit.
Stephen Dear
Elmira
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and
will print as many as space allows, with priority given to
timely local issues. Please limit length to 200 words and
include your address and phone number for our files.
Email to letters@eugeneweekly.com, fax to 484-4044 or
mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
Star Dust The Great Craftsmen
Jesse Cloninger,
director
Fri Aug 4, 1:30p - Thu Aug 10, 8:00p
August 2-12 - The Shedd
They All Lauged
Shirley Andress,
director
Ira
Gershwin
Fri Aug 4, 8:00p - Fri Aug 11, 1:30p
Lorenz Hart
My FunnyValentine
Siri Vik,
director
Sat Aug 5, 1:30p - Fri Aug 11, 8:00p
eugeneweekly.com • A ugust 3, 2017
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