Eugene weekly., June 14, 2018, Page 7, Image 7

around the track to the finish line.’”
Lewis then ran around the track, continuing to get cheers
from onlookers and even ending up on the big screen. He
ran into “10 to 15 security people” near the finish line, he
says, but dodged around them to get past. He then exited
the gates.
There he ran into two UO police officers he describes
as “a little pushy.”
Lewis was arrested on the misdemeanor charges of
interfering with police, disorderly conduct and criminal
trespassing at a sporting event. He spent a day in jail
before he was released without being given a reason for
the release, he says.
Lewis talked to EW in anticipation of his court
appearance on Tuesday, June 12. “I’m pleading not guilty
and already have an attorney,” he said.
Jim Watson is a volunteer official at Hayward Field.
He says he witnessed Lewis’ run around the track and
was standing near Vin Lananna, UO’s associate athletic
director, when it happened.
“I work at the finish line on the outside of the track,”
Watson says. “I saw this guy, Tim [Lewis], running around
on the infield with a T-shirt on.”
“He didn’t seem confrontational,” Watson says. “He
seemed like he was having a great time. He was enjoying
the attention and sending the message. He went by and
went out the gate. Nobody bothered him.”
“When I turned back around I saw Vin Lananna and
his face was beet red. He got out his phone and started
screaming in it,” he says. “It sounded like he said something
like, ‘Get that guy.’”
Watson says he couldn’t hear for sure what Lananna
said.
“In my opinion, that reaction to arrest him indicates that
they’re worried about protests like that,” Watson says. “I
think Tim in a way exposed them from doing something
playful like that and them overreacting.”
Liz Carter is a part of the East Grandstand Supporters.
TIM LEWIS
She was at Hayward Field on Monday, June 11, when
workers began dismantling the East Grandstand. The East
Grandstand Supporters are talking to attorneys, she says.
Carter says she spoke with the Oregon State Historic
Preservation Office on Monday morning and confirmed
that the UO has not completed the designated process of
consultation with the preservation office before beginning
construction.
Ian Johnson, associate deputy state historic preservation
officer, confirms this, but adds that there are no penalties
for not following that process.
“The Oregon Revised Statute 358.653 is a state law
without administrative rules,” Johnson says. That law, he
says, obligates state agencies and political subdivisions
of the state — including UO — to consult with historic
preservation in order to avoid any inadvertent impacts to
historic properties for which they are responsible.
The UO “is currently in the process of negotiating a
memorandum of agreement that states [Hayward Field's]
historic background,” he says.
Though all public entities, including UO, are supposed
to comply with that law, there are no “penalties at this time
for non-compliance,” the law’s fact sheet states.
Johnson says even though this state law doesn’t hold
any penalties, UO still “has to comply with local laws and
permits.”
A demolition permit is on file with the city for Hayward
Field, so UO is complying with the city.
“Hayward Field and the East Grandstand has a lot of
history,” Lewis says. He says Nike founder Phil Knight
received a lot of his vision to start Nike from Hayward.
“Prefontaine was the first big athlete to wear Nike,” Lewis
says.
“You should respect where you came from,” he says.
“And Phil Knight isn’t doing that.”
The upcoming demolition and construction of the new
facility are “destroying the magic that is Hayward Field,”
Lewis says. “There’s not going to be any magic left.” ■
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