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
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