Due process is a right given by the 5th
Amendment in the U.S. Constitution, stat-
ing that “No person shall be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of
law.” ICE is ignoring this right, which every
single person has, citizen or non-citizen.
They are deporting people back to their
country of origin without giving them a
chance to a lawyer or fair court. Something
needs to be done about this. The admin-
istration needs to be held accountable.
The administration that supposedly loves
the Constitution is constantly violating it
and ignoring it in front of us and nothing
is being done.
Ulises Demian Rivera Garcia
Eugene
Protect Watersheds, EWEB
We, the chief petitioners of Measure
20-373, are deeply troubled by EWEB Board
member John Barofsky’s resolution oppos-
ing Lane County’s watershed protection
ballot measure.
Barofsky has stated that he researched
our measure and spoke with members of
the community. However, neither he nor
any other EWEB Board member contacted
the Measure 20-373 campaign or the chief
petitioners to discuss the substance, intent
or implications of the proposed law. This
is particularly concerning given that our
campaign is not diffi cult to contact. We
maintain a public website with a “Contact
Us” page, and the contact information
for all chief petitioners is readily avail-
able online.
As a public body entrusted with stew-
ardship of our region’s water resources,
the EWEB Board has an obligation to
conduct thorough and balanced due dili-
gence before taking positions on matters
of such importance. Failing to engage
directly with the authors of a watershed
protection measure falls short of what the
public expects from its elected offi cials.
We strongly believe that codifying
increased rights and protections for Lane
County watersheds will enhance the long-
term health of these ecosystems and all
life that depends on clean water. Measure
20-373 is aligned with the fundamental
mission of EWEB: protecting watersheds
and providing safe, clean drinking water
for its customers.
We invite the EWEB Board to contact us.
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EXISTENTIAL ANGST
So Much for
‘No Child Left Behind’
America is now into its 25th year of the
educational era launched in 2002 under the
federal No Child Left Behind law. Its stated
intention was equity for all students, but its
eff ect has been the opposite. Kids in public
school continue to face a narrowed curric-
ulum, lockstep teaching, and over-testing.
The joy of learning has been forgotten for
students and teachers alike.
The pendulum can be pushed toward
a better place if the public demands a
rethinking of this top-down, standardized,
one-size-fi ts-all mentality.
The Community Alliance for Public
Education (CAPE) is holding a commu-
nity forum to discuss a more balanced,
more engaging public school experience
on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 5:30 pm - 6:45 pm,
at the Springfi eld Public Library’s large
conference room. Springfi eld parents can
learn more about this issue, ask questions,
and talk about their kids’ K-5 education.
Parents in Eugene: What about your
kids? Are they getting taught enough
science, geography, history, art, health,
civics? What about parents in Bethel: Are
you satisfi ed with your children’s educa-
tion? Please join us.
Larry Lewin
Eugene
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters
on all topics and will print as many as
space allows, with priority given to timely
local issues for print. Find more letters at
EugeneWeekly.com. Limit length to 250
words and include your address and
phone number for our fi les. The deadline
is 9 am Monday for Thursday publication.
EMAIL TO
LETTERS@EUGENEWEEKLY.COM.
&
Hope despite generations
of troubled times
VIEWPOINT BY VICTORIA KOCH
I
t’s been a diffi cult time lately for many families all over the world.
As a retired teacher and simply an older human being, I love talking
with young people. And believe me, they are talking!
My current anxiety increases as I listen to them. Their talk can
be deeply dark and hopeless. They think the Baby Boom generation,
of which I am one, had life easier with housing, necessities and college tuition.
Everything was aff ordable and job opportunities were abundant.
I am a person who has to have at least some hope during troubled times.
I can’t disagree with what our youth are going through and I often want to
apologize to them for how our world has become. But I also believe our history
has always been fi lled with what I want to call “existential angst.”
We have come through dark periods before and we will come through them
again. This will only happen when the older and younger generations learn to
listen to each other and work together. We both have to make our voices heard.
Many Baby Boomers are children of World War II parents who, like my Dad,
fought against the Nazis and Fascists in Europe. It didn’t serve my German
heritage Dad to soldier on the European and African front battle lines. My
childhood was not easy. We were poor and my at-home mother also had to
fi nd work. I was the fi rst to go to college, but I worked my way through, even
with cheaper tuition. I lived abroad when there was East and West Germany
and I experienced the results of World War II fi rsthand.
It wasn’t a piece of cake for us Boomers. The Vietnam War took its toll. I
lost a high school friend to this war. Protests similar to today were ongoing.
We lived through quite a few terrible presidents, Richard Nixon, George Bush
and Ronald Reagan. We lived through the assassinations of Medgar Evers,
President John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and the
beloved Beatle John Lennon. Then there was the 9/11 New York World Trade
Center catastrophe and the Iraq War, etc. It is hard enough just being human
without all our self-caused disasters!
As I have grown up, I have naively believed we might not have wars by now.
“Imagine all the people Livin’ life in peace.”
But I am seeing that we human beings are pretty stupid. We are destroying
ourselves, and we are destroying Mother Earth. Yes, why do we continue to
create the anxiety we are living through and when will we ever learn? Boom-
ers, Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha.
Let’s come together! “Imagine all the people/ Sharing all the world.”
Victoria Koch is a mother, a retired teacher, a writer, a gardener and a lover of the positive
human spirit.
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January 22, 2026
SHOWCASE YOUR BUSINESS OR HOME SERVICE
Come thrift with us!
We are available to meet, answer questions,
and address any concerns you may have
regarding Measure 20-373. Constructive
dialogue is essential when decisions aff ect-
ing our shared water future are at stake.
Kunu Bearchum, Eron King
and Michelle Holman
Eugene, Blachly and Deadwood
3