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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2018)
• Thumbs up to UO President Michael Schill for joining with Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney to write a powerful op-ed for The Oregonian recently in support of the Dreamers. To quote them, “As presidents of the Oregon State Senate and the University of Oregon, each of us has a unique per- spective on how protecting undocumented children, known as Dreamers, benefits Oregon. These protections create opportunity. They create hope. They create promise for a generation of young people. It is also the right thing to do.” • The news is chilling for our colleagues at The Register-Guard follow- ing the announced sale of the newspaper to GateHouse Media as of March 1. A notice in the RG employee lunchroom says existing employees may or may not receive an offer of employment from GateHouse, which is buying only the assets of the family-owned business. “If you do receive such an offer, please review it carefully, because the offer will be for a job with very different terms and conditions than those under which you currently work,” the notice says. Our guess is that “very different” doesn’t mean “better.” Rumor has it that RG workers get to apply for their old jobs in interviews Feb. 12-14; those who don’t make the cut will be gone by the end of the month. We wish everyone on Chad Drive the very best of luck. • Eugene Weekly is excited to announce we launched our new website this week with a new, clean, graphically appealing (and mobile friendly) look. With the new site at www.eugeneweekly.com, we’ll be hosting signifi- cantly more content on a weekly basis, so keep an eye on our social media feeds for updates. Our comprehensive “What’s Happening” calendar will be even more user-friendly with readers using the online form to submit events. And to encourage readers to use our robust Letters to the Editor section, the site won’t host comments. Send us a letter (letters@eugene- weekly.com) or comment on Facebook. Enjoy! HAPPENING PEOPLE B Y PA U L N E E V E L DANA TESSLER “We moved to Eugene when I was 11,” says Dana Tessler, whose family had pre- viously lived “all over New Jersey.” After attending South Eugene High School, she left for Colorado, planning to establish residency. Instead, she returned to study anthropology at the University of Oregon while working four part-time jobs in food service and bookkeeping. She graduated, then started work as a once-a-month bookkeeper at Rainbow Valley Design and Construction. “I became a partner four years later, in 1993,” she says. “I’m the only woman among nine partners.” She also got pregnant in a relationship that ended and gave birth to a daughter, El- liana, becoming a single mom in 1995. “I raised her and brought her to work,” she says. “She grew up in the construction business.” At age 11, Elliana got sick and spent eight days in the hospital, diag- nosed with type 1 diabetes. “It was earth- shattering,” Tessler says. “Most people don’t understand the impact on daily life, the anxiety and isolation.” Type 1 diabetes treatment requires around-the-clock monitoring of blood sugar levels and injections of insulin. In 2011, Tessler started a parents’ group called Mama I’m Low, offering monthly parent group meetings, peer mentoring, and free recreation opportunities for families with children who have type 1. “I printed fliers to spread the word,” she says. “It caught on after a year or so.” Mama I’m Low gained nonprofit status in 2015 and entered a partnership with the city of Eugene’s Adaptive Recreation Department in 2017. Learn about upcoming meetings and events at mamaimlow.com. Elliana Tessler, a South Eugene grad like her mom, is currently a student in the Family and Human Services Program at the UO. MUSIC • DANCE • FOOD • MARKET • MARTIAL ARTS • KIDS • CRAFTS • GAMING OREGON FEBRUARY 17 & 18, 2018 Lane Events Center, Eugene Sat. 10-7, Sun. 10-6 Adults $6/day, $10 both days, 12 & under FREE Students 13+ get FREE ckets at Oregon Communy Cred Union, see AsianCelebraon.org Presented by the Eugene-Springfield Asian Council eugeneweekly.com • February 8, 2018 9
