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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2017)
NEWS B Y M AT T H E W D E N I S HERBICIDE BAN SIGNATURES FILED Lane County ordinance would ban aerial herbicide spraying C • On Saturday, Oct. 14, you can attend a four hour intensive training from the Civil Liberties Defense Center. The training will impart knowledge and skills that will increase the security of individuals and political activist groups — a must for everyone fighting for a better world in these times, CLDC says. Learn about asserting your rights, how to combat state repression of your movement, as well as digital security for activists and best practices for private communications. There will also be a section on legal observing and copwatching. The training is 1-5 pm Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1685 W. 13th Avenue. Michelle Holman said. “[This law] says that we have a right to clean water, clean air, we have that right and we are going to defend it,” The timber industry’s stance against regulation rep- resents a reluctance to risk a steady revenue stream. A ban on pesticide spray would require major change — abandoning herbicide application on Lane County lands as well as shifting production and harvest strategies. Successful business models in neighboring states, however, suggest that private firms can maintain profit- ommunity Rights Lane County and the Freedom From Aerial Herbicide Alliance handed over about 15,000 signatures calling for the ban of aerial herbicide spraying by timber corporations to the Lane County Clerk’s Office on Friday, Sept. 29. Timber companies apply aerial herbicides to eliminate brush and any tree growth other than groves of single- species, cash-producing trees — primarily Douglas fir. Opponents argue that aerial spray can contaminate the air • The 2017 commUNITY Yoga Celebration, a mini yoga, holistic living and sustainability celebration, runs 10 am to 6 pm Saturday, Oct. 14, at 1685 W. 13th Avenue. There will be food, live music, raffles and guided meditations. The event is a fundraiser for McKenzie River Trust. ‘We the people, when the government and the corporations don’t listen to us, we quit talking to them and start to talking to one another,’ • Beyond Toxics is hosting a Resilient Forestry Tour 1:30 to 3:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 14. The tour includes a walk through Shady Creek Forest, about 45 minutes west of Eugene. Carpools leave from the Lane County Historical Museum, 740 W. 13th Avenue, at 12:30 pm. — COMMUNITY RIGHTS ORGANIZER MICHELLE HOLMAN LANE COUNTY SPRAY INFORMATION able operations even with more-stringent regulations. For Community Rights Lane County (CLRC), deliv- ery of these signatures represents a larger push asserting “the right to protect our communities,” according to com- mittee member Rob Dickinson. A separate ballot proposal, the Lane County Self- Government Charter Amendment, would grant citizens the power to write and pass laws. In order to qualify for the May 15 election, CLRC still needs to collect about another 3,000 signatures by March to qualify for ballot inclusion. Soggy participants stepped in from the rain and crowded into the small waiting room at the Lane County Clerk’s Elections Office as Dickinson delivered the three stacks of signature lists. To follow, the activists joined arms and voices and sang a rendition of “America the Beautiful" to clerk administrators. and water, harming human health. If the office verifies at least 11,000 of the signatures, then voters in Lane County’s May 15 primary election ballot will decide whether to impose the spraying ban. Proponents expect significant opposition from the timber industry. While advocates say the majority of Oregonians support such a ban, the timber industry has a powerful lobby in the state Legislature. In 2015, for example, the industry blocked SB 613, a bill that would have required formal proposals with the state Forestry Department before the application of aerial pesticide and controlled burns on private lands. Stymied at the state level, environmental groups such as Commu- nity Rights Lane County have turned to voter initiatives. “We the people, when the government and the corpo- rations don’t listen to us, we quit talking to them and start to talking to one another,” Community Rights organizer 4 $ Spa and Sauna Rentals Compiled by Gary Hale, Forestland Dwellers, 541-342-8332, forest- landdwellers.org. WATERPROOF SHOES NOW IN STOCK! HOT TUB & SAUNA RENTALS with this coupon 541-744- Weyerhaeuser Company, 4600, plans to hire Highlander Forestry, LLC, 541-973- 8301, to spray 145.8 acres on 4 general areas near Siuslaw River Rd and Gowdyville Rd with imazapyr, glyphosate, triclopyr with ester, aminopyralid and Metsulfuron methyl, clopyralid, Forest Crop Oil, W.E.B. Oil, Brush & Basal Oil, Crop Oil Concentrate and/or MSO Concentrate. See ODF notification 2017-781- 11905, call Brian Peterson at 935-2283 with questions. shoe·a·holic OFF 1883 Garden Ave. , Eugene (one block North of Franklin Blvd.) Call for Reservations 345-9048 | www.onsenspas.com © iStockphoto.com/Craig W. Walsh Lane County plans to begin spraying roadsides near guardrails. If you live along a Lane County maintained road and have questions, especially if you do not know if your Lane County No Spray Area registration is active, contact Pamela Reber at 541-682-8521 or pamela. reber@co.lane.or.us. 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