• The nonprofit Nobel Peace Laureate Project will hold its
annual “Inspirer of Peace” Award Gala from 1 to 3 pm
Saturday, Aug. 19, at Nobel Estate Urban, 560 Commercial
St. Honored at the event will be Dr. John Alcott, Terry
McDonald and Tsunami Books (Scott Landfield) for their
dedication to peace education. The $25 entry will go to
support the project’s ongoing work. Call 541-285-3309.
• The Aug. 12 attack on counterprotesters in
Charlottesville, Virginia, has us and others across
the country reeling. One woman was killed, 19 people
were injured and two law enforcement officers died
in a helicopter crash related to the “Unite the Right”
rally. How do you respond to such hate? For some
with anger, for others, by showing love and support
to our fellow humans. In this photo, Jack Klonoski, age 2, a nascent Oregonian activist, military brat and son
of a former Eugenean, stands protesting with a heart outside the Virginia office of Richard Spencer, one of the
white supremacist organizers of the rally. For a wrenching on-the-street view of what happened in Charlottes-
ville, check out Vice’s “Charlottesville: Race and Terror” on YouTube.
• Speaking of Charlottesville, a reader pointed out that Dino Costa, a Portland shock jock, called for people
to run over protesters back in June. We wrote about it on our blog and asked Costa for comment in the wake
of the deaths this past weekend. As of press time, Costa has not responded. But the Portland Timbers soccer
team and the University of Oregon Ducks, both of which have ties to the sports radio station, quickly de-
nounced the remarks and said they would review their contracts with the station. Free speech is in the First
Amendment, but words have consequences. Read the story online at eugeneweekly.com.
• Here’s some good news. Congressman Peter DeFazio reports that more people have contacted his office
since the beginning of the Trump administration than ever before. By June, his office had received more mail and
calls than all of last year. This is participatory democracy, maybe the only way out of this bad time in America.
• Also in good news, we got great response to last week’s Pride issue, including actress Sara Ramirez
(known for playing Callie Torres on Grey’s Anatomy) tweeting our bisexual erasure story far and wide. Despite
45’s moves against transgender and other LGBTQ+ people, support for them continues to grow, as it should.
• Pope Francis, we hear, has directed the faithful to pray for “better appreciation” of the Earth this
month due to his growing concern about climate change. This, alongside his encyclical on climate change
that he handed our commander in chief during his Vatican visit, leads us to applaud the commander of the
faithful. The Vatican is also promoting a hashtag, #BeautyOfCreation, for photos of nature. Pope Francis is
ahead of the game on social media and the environment alike. The ball is in your court, Trump.
• Many Eugene residents have gotten into the habit of bringing their own bags to grocery stores, but
what sort of bags are we handing those friendly and hard-working checkers? Customers show up with all
sorts of bags, backpacks and boxes, but we’ve heard some horror stories. Stained, damp and smelly bags
with holes. Bags covered with pet hair. One checker tells us of being handed a bag with a pair of panties in
the bottom. “Don’t worry,” the customer told her. “They’re clean.” Another checker reportedly contracted a bad
case of poison oak on her hands from a dirty grocery bag. It’s great that we are keeping hundreds of thou-
sands of plastic bags out of the landfill, but will we soon be seeing checkers wearing haz-mat suits?
• Animal advocacy and rights organizations and local
businesses are raising money to try to lower the costs
for spaying and neutering pit bulls down to $10. Luv-
able Dog Rescue is pledging $1,500 a month to a vouch-
er program with the Willamette Animal Guild (WAG) and
its clinic. Luvable, which has previously donated to
Pro-Bone-O and Stop Pet Overpopulation Today (SPOT),
is seeking an additional $1,500 a month from the com-
munity so that $3,000 a month will be available for the
vouchers. Edgewater Fine Furnishings has already con-
tributed. Find information on any of the local groups’
websites or call 541-520-0295.
• Discount Motorcycle Parts in west Eugene appears to
be doing well under new ownership that began in March.
Mike and Shery Wellington are using social media to pro-
mote special events at the shop. The Skinners Legacy
Ride has been set for Sept. 17 in memory of Steve and
Annette Skinner, founders and former DMP owners who
died in a car crash in August 2016. Suggested donation
of $10 will support the Eugene Mission.
• Eugene-based electric car maker Arcimoto has gone
public. The company says, “For the first time, early
adopters, brand believers and members of the general
public — not just accredited investors — will be able to
own equity in Arcimoto.” Go to arcimoto.com/invest for
more info.
POLLUTION UPDATE
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) sent Tom Hunton (president of Huntons’ Sure
Crop Farm Service, Inc.) a warning letter on July 18
for placing wastes in a location where they were likely
to escape or be carried into waters of the state. DEQ
sent the warning letter in follow up to a May site visit
that was prompted by a complaint about Sure Crop’s
facility on Milliron Road in Junction City. During the
site visit, DEQ observed wastes in a stormwater ditch
next to Sure Crop, along with numerous hoses going to
the ditch from a farm tank on the site. DEQ character-
ized the situation as posing “a significant risk of envi-
ronmental harm” and indicated that it had “significant
concerns” about the situation. DEQ stated in its letter
that it would refrain from referring the matter for formal
enforcement if various corrective actions were taken.
— Doug Quirke/Oregon Clean Water Action Project
Cottage Theatre presents:
2017
Comical Russian tales
infused with American wit
August 11—27
By Neil Simon
and Anton Chekhov
Directed by Kory Weimer
$25 Adult, $15 Youth (6-18)
700 Village Drive • Cottage Grove • www.cottagetheatre.org • 541-942-8001
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A ugust 17, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com