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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2024)
letters I visit the Eugene Public Library on a weekly basis. On my last visit, there was a young girl walking from the li- brary with her family, carrying a stack of books taller than her. I asked why she alone was carrying all the books, and she proudly exclaimed with a bright smile, “Because they are all for me!” Joy of books, what could be better? However, currently our public library is under siege by the Eugene City Coun- cil, which has cut the library budget considerably. It has had to curtail new purchases and has cut staff. The library serves so many purposes, providing not only books but movies, audio books, meeting spaces, a teen center, chil- dren’s programs, various equipment, wifi “hot spots,” art, internet access, creative events and online services, etc. It provides equal opportunities with no charge for all of our city’s diverse citi- zens. So why are we losing library services while the City Council asks us to vote for a bond measure for a baseball stadium which will charge us just to enter it? I will not ever consider voting yes on a stadi- um bond measure until the city provides adequate funding for our public library. The library provides an educated citi- zenry which is sorely needed. Tricia Hedin Eugene WARNES FOR WARD 2 Matt Keating is running for re-elec- tion in Ward 2, my home for 40 years. I have sent letters and emails with con- cerns and questions on Ward 2 and general city related issues. I have never received any reply. This is a departure from past councilors, especially Betty Taylor. Lisa Warnes is running for this position and has an endorsement from Taylor. I hope others in Ward 2 will join me in supporting Warnes. We need someone like Taylor again. Don French Eugene ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION I watched the March 15 City Club meeting for the Eugene mayor candi- dates. As usual, I was disappointed with the softball questions and vague re- sponses. The only specific question that was asked was about the proposed base- ball stadium bond issue that the City Council has put on the May ballot. None of the three candidates gave a clear an- swer. Shanaé Joyce-Stringer and Stefan Strek were skeptical but didn't take a clear firm stand. Kaarin Knudson simply didn't answer the question, even when asked again in a follow-up question. I wish the question had been, “If you were mayor and had to break a tie vote when the City Council decided to put the baseball stadium on the May ballot, E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M BY MATT JONES ©2023 JONESIN’ CROSSWORDS (EDITOR@JONESINCROSSWORDS.COM) Across how would you have voted, yes or no?” What I've learned from my few chances to ask questions of our lead- ers or candidates is that you have to be short and very specific in your question, and even then you may not get an an- swer. Candidates often avoid specifics and see a question as an opportunity to make a speech, instead of ANSWERING THE DAMN QUESTION. I don't see Strek as a mayor. I would vote for either Knudson or Joyce- Stringer, but I could not tell you what either will do as mayor. And that's usu- ally the case when people run for local government offices. Once elected they do as they please, and we're stuck with them for four years. Lynn Porter Eugene 1. Jesting sort 4. China, long ago (as seen in an airline name) 10. “Blueberries for ___” (award-winning kids’ book) 13. Chicken ___ king 14. Max for tax calculation 15. Bird that’s not native to Tasmania 16. Radio personality who’s good at archery? 18. With “The,” 1970s musical Oz remake 19. Scorched 20. Notable time period 21. Bionicles maker 22. “Return of the Jedi” princess 23. Actor who’s good at pressing clothes? 26. July in Marseille 27. Pilot-licensing org. 28. Show grief 29. Cardinals’ cap initials 30. ___ nous (confidentially) 33. Ceremony performed by a mohel 36. Actress/TV host who’s good at economics? 39. “SNL” alum Horatio 40. Search site with an exclamation point 41. N, S, E, or W 43. Talk trash about 45. Write-___ (some nominees) 46. Number of three-letter chemical elements 47. Blues rocker who’s good at hauling stuff? 52. Prefix for drama 53. “Roots” author Haley 54. “Anchorman” anchorman Burgundy ‘WE’ HAVE QUESTIONS We (as in the royal “we”) appreciate the Weekly being a watchdog over all the public entities over the years. But we do wonder what the heck happened to all that money disappearing from your own bank accounts and who is responsible for it. Understandably, we know you can’t talk about an investigation in process, but a mention every week would go a long way to ensuring our trust in the paper. Thank you for reporting on this. We hope the person(s) who seemingly stole several hundred thousands of dollars from the paper is justly tried and re- ported on. Merrie M (Kim) Kelly Eugene Editor’s Note: Indeed, it’s hard to report on an open investigation — and hard on us as a paper to not report on an important topic that doesn’t get enough attention, like embezzlement. We will be publishing an update in an upcoming is- sue. A VOTE FOR NEW EMS STADIUM My favorite movie of all time is Field of Dreams. I’m not even a baseball fanatic! At the end of the movie all the improb- abilities materialize. Kevin Costner gets to interact with his father, the ghosts get a field, Costner’s field and the play- ers are finally visible to his brother-in- law, Costner’s farm is saved, the writer finds a topic, Costner’s daughter is saved from choking to death. People by the thousands are coming to the field. It’s a wonderful conclusion. I’ll always be amazed and awestruck at the way a grassroots campaign saved Civic Stadium against overwhelming odds. The improbability of saving the stadium was in doubt for seven years. It was a wonderful outcome. Maybe it’s the fact that baseball brings people togeth- er whether Republican, Democrat, Inde- pendent, Mormon, Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Caucasian, Colored, Latino, Asian, Boy-scouts, Girl Scouts, cheerleaders, athletes, handicapped and all the oth- ers, no matter what their lifestyle. The “One, Please” --no room for any more. 8. Starting lineups 9. The Beatles’ “___ Blues” 10. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” setting 11. Fernando’s friend 12. Largest island of the Philippines 14. It’s a blast 17. ___ minute 21. Scales of the zodiac 23. 1998 Wimbledon champ Novotna 24. Food package date, informally Down 25. Yokels, in Australian slang 1. Sings like a bird 27. Andre the Giant’s role in 2. Montreal CFLers “The Princess Bride” 3. English actress Wilde of “Carrie” and “Wonder Woman 31. Irish actor Stephen 32. Body of morals 1984” 34. Companion that’s great 4. ___ au vin (French dish) for apartments (and won’t 5. Kwik-E-Mart owner run off) 6. Director Lars von ___ 35. They’re found in the 7. Le ___ (French seaport) epidermis 37. Alphabetical listing 38. Sound the horn 42. Phrase on tote bags and plastic containers 44. Try hard 47. Michelangelo masterpiece 48. Bypass a vowel 49. Auctioned autos, often 50. “Rise of the ___” (PlayStation game coming out on March 22) 51. Mom’s brother 52. ___ de los Muertos 55. ___-Therese, Quebec 57. To see, in Tijuana 58. “That’s disgusting” 59. Pt. of CBS 55. Colts’ fathers 56. Big wheel 57. Rapper/actor who’s good at holding together documents? 60. Vow words 61. Curse-inducing stare 62. Graceful shade tree 63. ___ Moines, Iowa 64. Picks up for another year 65. “The Waste Land” author’s monogram ANSWERS TO LAST PUZZLE LIBRARY OVER BASEBALL STADIUM Jonesin’ Crossword Emeralds, folks, do more than just play baseball. I don’t understand the mystique, but it’s there. Good things just happen. All I know is that the baseball field will be built. I hope I’m the one who gets to throw out the first pitch at our new field. Joe R. Blakely Eugene BRING BACK LEADERS FROM THE PAST Like many in the community, I can recall a time when it seemed like there were leaders we could go to and trust. Three people stand out. The first was Margaret Nichols, a 4J superinten- dent whose tenure was cut short during the middle of her life due to cancer. It was such a loss, and I wonder what her thoughts would be on the state of edu- cation these days had she survived. The second person who stood out for me was Fern Ridge's school superinten- dent, Pat Burke, who led a difficult transi- tion after Measure 5 — the approval of a 1990 property tax limitation instrument that attempted to keep the increasing costs associated with the state’s grow- ing economy and rising population in alignment. Unfortunately, it wasn't the answer but slowed the effects. The third person who has stood out as a top figurehead in the environmen- tal community is former Lane County's South Eugene commissioner, Jerry Rust, who was the longest serving commis- sioner of 20 years, until his successor, Pete Sorenson, surpassed that record. Should any reader who wasn't around during Eugene's golden era be interested in knowing more about these important influencers who made a dif- ference, Google their names (although, Burke generally wasn't noticed by the local media and harder to find. The West Lane News provided coverage up until its closure in the early 2000s.) Still, all three are noteworthy and merit being on a future Lane County- Eugene Hall of Fame. David Wilde Portland SOCIALISM WILL SOLVE THE WAR IN EUGENE There was recent talk in Eugene Weekly of the percentage of homeless people being on drugs, and another let- ter supporting the legalization of drugs to help people here with their PTSD. What PTSD, I wonder. Try living in Ukraine, then you can talk about hav- ing PTSD. Is there a war going on here I haven’t heard about? I know the war that is going on here. It’s the war Karl Marx was talking about, the war of the rich against the poor. Let’s face it, USA, more brain dam- age is not going to solve that war, only socialism will. Of course, here we have the famous blue-shirts that came in and stole the country by means of gunpowder (there was no PTSD among the Native Ameri- cans), erecting their brutal dictatorship of capital and jails. Yes, that causes a lot of PTSD. Unless the United States falls in step with the rest of the world regard- M A R C H 2 1 , 2 0 2 4 3
