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News
Briefs: Local Tender |
A Different Voice | R-G
be Fair | Get on the Bus
News:
Carved in Stone: Who's got time for the dead?
News:
Natural Values: East Alton Baker Park to get Kalapuya name.
News:
Moss St. Defender: Crusader Zach Vishanoff takes on Eugene's
Institutions.
Happening
People: Jane DeGidio
LOCAL
TENDER
Some local citizens are gearing up
efforts to begin a campaign to start a local currency in Eugene. Already
in place in cities such as Ithaca, NY, Berkeley, Calif., and Madison,
Wis., the local currency plan (referred to as Ithaca Hours, Madison
Hours, etc.) is put into action when local businesses pay their employees
in the local money for hours worked, and the money can in turn be
used at other local businesses and for local services.
Some businesses pay a combination of local and legal
tender. If enough businesses and service providers sign on to the
local currency plan, a community based on trade and networking evolves.
The benefits are that it keeps the local economy strong and enables
businesses to support each other.
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Slant
* It's damned hot in
the Willamette Valley and our good governor's feeling it more
than the rest. Kitzhaber's getting roasted on all sides for
not going along with our tax-panicked Legislature and signing
off on an inadequate and irresponsible school funding plan.
Who's to blame for this mess? It's certainly
not Kitzhaber; he's only following his well-reasoned opinions
on what's best for Oregon in the long haul. It's easy to blame
the lawmakers, but most of them are new on the job (thanks to
term limits) and don't know how to hash out consensus and provide
effective leadership to get the job done. The blame has to come
back to the people. We obviously don't understand or appreciate
education in this state. If we did, we wouldn't have passed
absurd ballot measures that have squeezed funds for education.
We wouldn't have elected candidates who don't understand the
link between education and prosperity. We wouldn't be blasting
Kitzhaber now for taking a courageous stand for our children.
* So what will it take to get the people
to support education in Oregon? One idea kicking around on the
fringes is to cut the 2002-03 school year short by a month or
so. Teachers' salaries (which are based on hours of instruction)
would be cut and — more dramatically — thousands
of kids would be out on the streets or in daycare in May instead
of June. That would get people's attention.
* Permanent school funding is not a hopeless
idea, and we might not have to resort to such scare tactics
as mentioned above. The Oregon School Employees Association
has what appears to be an effective strategy going, calling
on lawmakers to sign a pledge to not leave the 2003 Legislature
without crafting a plan for "long-term, stable and adequate
funding for public education." We hear dozens of lawmakers are
signing on. It's hard to say "no" to something so basic, and
it gives even die-hard fiscal conservatives a reason and excuse
to compromise. Individuals, businesses and organizations can
also join the pledge campaign. For more information, contact
JoAnn Smith at OSEA at (800) 252-6732 or e-mail joann@osea.org
SLANT
includes short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes compiled
by the EW staff. Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor
at 484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com
|
As the number of participants grows, the currency
model, often called "complementary currency" becomes more complex,
and can even be used for Green investing (see www.transaction.net/money/community/).
In Ithaca, where the program started more than 10 years ago, a local
currency credit union, where Ithaca Hours can even be used toward
mortgages, has formed.
Jon Hain, board president, Madison Hours (http://madisonhours.org
) says it took about eight months to get the plan off the ground in
Madison. The first step is to call a meeting, he says, and "see who
shows up, what skills they have and see if you have enough interest
to get it off the ground."
Ben Cutler, an employee of Genesis Juice and Seth
Cohn, EFN general manager, are spearheading the burdgeoning Eugene
campaign. Cutler says although the plan is merely in the "formative
stages now," he has talked to many people and businesses in the community
and feels there is enough interest to get it going. "It's just a matter
of getting people involved and invested in the idea enough so we can
get a group together to make things happen," he says.
Cohn, who lived in Ithaca when the model was forming
there, says "It's an idea whose time has come."
Hain says to be successful, the project needs: artists
to design the money; business community interest; general community
interest; a directory of participants; fund-raisers to pay for outreach
materials and for the currency printing; dreamers to see the big picture
and last but definitely not least, "uptights to hold everyone to a
schedule and to pay attention to details."
A planning meeting will be held at 6 pm Monday, Aug.
26, at the EFN offices on the Broadway Mall. Bring ideas and food.
— Aria Seligmann
A
DIFFERENT VOICE
The Eugene-based Native Forest Council (NFC)
reports that it settled its lawsuit in Lane County Circuit Court Aug.
7 against the Oregon Forest Industries Council (OFIC), a pro-logging
organization. The suit stemmed from the OFIC publishing a magazine
The Forest Voice two years ago. NFC has been publishing Forest
Voice since 1989 (www.forestcouncil.org/).
In the settlement, NFC retains the name of Forest
Voice, but OFIC was spared $10,000 in penalties that the plaintiffs
sought.
"OFIC's cancellation of its trademark means that Native
Forest Council has vindicated its exclusive right to publish and use
the name," says NFC President Tim Hermach. "The timber industry's
attempt to take our name and silence the Forest Voice has finally
ended."
"It was classic David vs. Goliath," says Hermach.
"We're grassroots; they have deep corporate pockets. I pasted up the
first Forest Voice by hand in my garage back in the '80s. We've
worked hard and slowly built it up to what it is today: a national
publication. Then they go and print thousands of pro-logging Forest
Voices. We got our name back, but I wouldn't say we won. They've
tarnished our reputation and taken part of the name recognition we've
spent more than a decade building."
Tim Wigley, president of OFIC, was not available for
comment at press time. The newsletter on the trade association's site
(www.ofic.com) is now called The Voice.
— Ted Taylor
R-G
BE FAIR
The Eugene Newspaper Guild and Teamsters
Local 206 will be picketing at the Lane County Fair Sunday, Aug. 18.
That day is the officially designated "Register-Guard Family Day,"
and R-G employees have planned the protest to urge the R-G
to be "fair" to its own family and bargain with the union. The Guild
represents R-G journalists, and Teamsters Local 206 represents
workers at the R-G's distribution center.
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WEBSITINGS
Nile
Virus Resource Guide
www.npic.orst.edu
The National Pesticide Information Center is
a collaboration between OSU and the Environmental Protection
Agency and features a new West Nile Virus Resource Guide in
addition to info on pesticides and toxicology.
Save
Money on Gas
www.oregongasprices.com
This clever and interactive site tracks
gasoline prices at various reporting service stations around
the state, including Eugene. The idea is that comparison shopping
will drive gas prices down.
Revolt
Against the Empire
home.earthlink.net/~alto/boycott_doc.html
Jon Rappoport's site about how to boycott corporations
that deal in pesticides, drugs, GE foods, unhealthy products
and other travesties of modern civilization.
Election
2004 Predictions
www.votewithavengeance.com
Wisconsin gov candidate Kathleen Falk's analysis
of the current political climate in the U.S. and her predictions
on which candidates have a fighting chance for the U.S. presidency.
SLANT
includes short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes compiled
by the EW staff. Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor
at 484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com
|
Aug. 18 marks the 1,205th day that members of the
Guild have worked without a contract. The R-G has been found
in violation of federal labor law 15 times and the 150 workers in
the Guild have not had a contract since April 30, 1999. The company
has also been found guilty of numerous labor violations with its distribution
center employees. The company has appealed all of its labor violation
rulings.
From 11:30 am to 1:30 pm Sunday, Guild and Teamsters
members, as well as local labor supporters, will distribute "R-G Be
Fair" fliers and balloons.
GET
ON THE BUS
An energetic grassroots campaign to elect
a progressive majority in the Oregon House is under way, and volunteers
are needed. The Oregon Bus Project, with the help of Sen. Ron Wyden
and Rep. David Wu, is asking Eugene volunteers to gather in Washington
County on Aug. 17 to canvass for candidates Aron Carleson, Chuck Riley,
and Jeff Barker. Each Washington County progressive has a strong chance
of winning, and if all three do, the victories will tilt the Legislature
toward a progressive majority for the first time in a decade, says
local organizer James Mattiace.
Local volunteers will gather at the South Eugene High
School parking lot at 9:30 am Saturday, Aug. 17 and ride in vans or
their own cars to Hillsboro for lunch at Century High School (2000
SW 234th Ave.), where the day's activities will be planned. After,
volunteers will embark on an intensive canvassing campaign. Oregon
Bus Project organizers hope to recruit 150 volunteers for the cause.
At 5:30 pm, a reception will be held at McMenamins
Cornelius Pass Roadhouse in Hillsboro (4045 NW Cornelius Pass Road)
with Wyden, Wu, Washington County leaders and others. A suggested
$25 donation is requested, but volunteer canvassers will get in free.
Interested volunteers should e-mail eugenestation@hotmail.com,
call 914-0293, or just show up at 9:30 am at SEHS.
Back to Top
Carved
in Stone
Who's
got time for the dead?
BY NATE PUCKETT
A gravesite in the Eugene Masonic Cemetery
has no one buried underneath. It has been purchased in advance, with
birthdates chiseled into the red granite, waiting for a second set
of numbers.
The owners of the site, Joseph and Libby Bottero,
live a few hundred yards away. When they die, they do not want
to be buried. They want to be cremated and their ashes scattered —
the headstone will serve only as a memorial, not a marker. It has
names and numbers and a few symbols, which are already in place.
An outline of a mountain range — the Three Sisters,
seen from the east, where Joseph grew up on a ranch — spans
most of the stone. There is a sun and a moon. There is a big Star
of David in the center, and a fir tree on the right. And on the left
… wait ... no, it couldn't be. Still, the question will not
die:
Are those pot leaves? On a grave? Carved in
stone?
In most towns, this would be a silly question. But
this is Eugene, baby — and among the myriad ways people choose
to live around here, marijuana hardly qualifies as the Path Less Traveled.
Putting it on a headstone, though, next to your name and dates
— that's hard-core.
 |
| JOSEPH
AND REBECCA BOTTERO HAVE ALREADY LEFT THEIR MARK IN EUGENE'S MANY-STORIED
MASONIC CEMETERY. |
From this one, still-sort-of-silly question, a wealth
of information has surfaced about the Eugene Masonic Cemetery and
the people memorialized there. More history is packed into this spot
than any other 10 acres in town. And it's a beautiful site, made exponentially
more so by the ongoing efforts of many.
But first: Are those pot leaves? On a grave?
"One could make that mistake," says Joseph Bottero.
"They're Japanese maple," says Libby Bottero.
Why Japanese maple?
"They're very lovely. We also have a Japanese daughter-in-law,"
she says. "And we've both done some environmental work."
"Have you ever smoked Japanese maple?" I ask
them.
No, not really. I didn't really ask them that. That
would be awful. These Botteros, they're nice people, and they suffered
enough just touring the cemetery with me. If someone showed up at
your house and wanted you to walk over to your own grave so you could
answer questions about death and pot and then pose for a picture (sitting
on top of the aforementioned grave), well, you would probably not
be as nice as they were.
If, however, you wanted to know more about the town
you live in, 25th Avenue and University Street is where you would
start. You would look up, up, up into the tree-covered hills, and
you would enter the Eugene Masonic Cemetery.
Look: John Whiteaker, Oregon's first governor,
is buried there. What would he think of the Eugene neighborhood —
notorious for heroin and the poverty that accompanies it — that
currently bears his name? Would he stick around long enough to catch
a show at Sam Bond's Garage, to see some of the better points the
Whiteaker has to offer? Or would the dreadlocks scare him off?
Would you buy him a drink, knowing "Honest John" Whiteaker
didn't serve a second term because of his pro-slavery views? Or would
you tell him to take a hike down Blair Boulevard — named for
Prior F. Blair, one of the area's first settlers, who is buried a
few yards downhill from Whiteaker?
Watch your step crossing the path: There's the grave
of Maude Kerns, who was crazy enough to choose a career over marriage.
A grand and famous career, incidentally — her paintings are
included in the Guggenheim Museum's permanent collection, and she
was exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris and Japan
while alive. By the time she was in her early 30s (1907) she had two
university degrees and professional training in art education. Over
time, she would donate piles of money to the UO, along with the Maude
Kerns Art Center, currently located at 15th and Villard.
Why, some Eugene residents may wonder, would
you want to visit such a place? Who's got time for the dead when the
living require so much attention? So there are names of buildings,
and streets, and they congregate at an old cemetery — so what?
For starters, there are few places in town that feel
less dead than the Masonic Cemetery. Anyone expecting a grim and sobering
experience needs to find some different dead people. Massive firs
and pines provide shade in the summer and dryness during the rainy
season. More than 80 species of plant have been identified at the
site, from Nootka rose to sword fern to calypso orchid.
More importantly, you don't need to take a stack of
books or a history professor with you to get a sense of the people
who shaped Eugene. Informative displays are scattered throughout,
complete with pictures of the dead and buried. A self-guided walking
tour begins at the northwest corner of the cemetery. And the grounds
are maintained well enough to make sure you see what you're supposed
to.
None of this just happened. Residents of south Eugene
remember an entirely different place, overgrown with ivy and blackberry,
home to the homeless, detoured after dark. Once a junked car was found
buried in the underbrush. Without funds or attention, the cemetery
languished.
"We took a derelict site," says Kay Holbo, former
president of the Eugene Masonic Cemetery Association, "and turned
it into an urban amenity." The association, formed in 1994, is a non-profit
group dedicated to restoring and maintaining the cemetery —
including the Hope Abbey Mausoleum, a "shabby building" in Holbo's
words, but unlike any other in Oregon.
A rare example of the "Egyptian Revival" motif, the
mausoleum was built to act as a kind of apartment building for the
dead. Designed by Ellis Fuller Lawrence (namesake of the UO's Lawrence
Hall), the building was completed in 1914. At the dedication ceremony,
a time capsule was placed in the building, not to be opened until
the year 2914. No funds were slated for maintenance — since
hailed as a "modern wonder," the mausoleum was said not to require
any.
No one, it seems, can accuse Eugene of pessimism.
"We've got a ways to go, restoring it," says Holbo,
laughing at the notion that maintenance wouldn't be necessary. (The
EMCA spent $20,000 on the ceiling alone.) "But eventually, it will
look like an old building that's been well cared for."
When asked why she would bother with such a project,
Holbo takes a look around the cemetery to which she and others have
devoted such care. Among other responsibilities, Holbo acted as executive
editor for the book Full of Life: The History and Character of
Eugene's Masonic Cemetery, which contains much of the information
in this article (but keeps mum on the Bottero pot-no-it's-maple gravestone
issue).
"My payback is seeing people walk through here, enjoying
themselves, and knowing it wasn't always like that," she says. "I'm
very interested in landscapes ... the change that's taken place here
is so rewarding."
Back to Top
Natural
Values
East
Alton Baker Park to get Kalapuya name.
BY
MARY MEREDITH DREW
Rarely if ever is the general public invited
to participate in a traditional Kalapuya ceremony. On Sept. 7, however,
local Kalapuya people will commemorate the renaming of East Alton
Baker Park as Whilamut Natural Area of Alton Baker Park. Kalapuya
elder Esther Stutzman's daughter and son-in-law will sing a century-old
song that has never been heard outside the family. The public is invited
to join in the ceremony commemorating this historic occasion.
More than 15,000 Kalapuya people lived in the area
between Oregon City and Roseburg, from the Coast Range to the Cascades,
for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived. Despite this
fact, Stutzman reported during a panel presentation in 1998, not one
geographical site in Oregon had yet been named with a Kalapuya word.
It was as if they had never been here.
Charlotte Behm, current president of the Citizen Planning
Committee for the Whilamut Natural Area (CPC), was in the audience
that night. Behm introduced herself to Stutzman as a new member of
the CPC (then known as the Citizen Planning Committee for East Alton
Baker Park) and, according to Stutzman, said "Let's do something about
this."
Behm brought up the idea of developing a relationship
between the committee and the Kalapuya at her first CPC meeting. David
Sonnichsen, another new member and now vice-chair, volunteered to
go with her and speak with Stutzman. Several meetings later, Stutzman
spoke with the entire committee, and they began working on the idea
of naming specific sites within the park using Kalapuya words. Stutzman
walked through the park with the group, offering Kalapuya words that
might describe places the committee pointed out. Some of the words
are now printed on the map at the informational kiosk near the boat
launch area.
 |
|
ESTHER
STUTZMAN IN CEREMONIAL KALAPUYA DRESS.
|
One word on the list stood out: Whilamut (pronounced
wheel-a-moot) is a Kalapuya word that translates as "where the river
ripples and runs fast." Although it bears a striking resemblance to
"Willamette," opinions differ on whether the two words have been linked
linguistically. But when Behm asked Sonnichsen which word on the list
seemed to describe the entire park area, they agreed that Whilamut
was the word. The campaign to rename East Alton Baker Park began in
earnest. After months of discussion, and another presentation by Stutzman,
the CPC voted unanimously on March 5, 2001 to rename the entire park.
Carolyn Weiss, park planner for the city of Eugene,
says that the park is being called a natural area to recognize its
special nature as a habitat restoration area, "a place where we need
to be sensitive to the land around us." It is a section of the park
dedicated to passive recreational use — walking, bicycling,
and nature appreciation, in contrast to the picnic shelters, stadiums,
and amphitheater of the western part of Alton Baker Park. Sonnichsen
says the park is unique in that "it's a natural area, an area of open
space, operated with natural values, in the center of an urban area."
Sonnichsen says many cities have large parks, but there are almost
no parks managed for natural values in urban cores anywhere in the
world. As our area grows, he says, the park's value as open, natural
space will grow.
"The fact that it's on the principal river running
through the state, and now has a name that sounds very much like the
name of the river, but a name that predates the Euro-American naming
of the river, is just wonderful," Sonnichsen said.
Carolyn and Rebecca Gershow from Willamalane Parks
are working together to complete plans for a related project called
"Talking Stones." This idea also came about through the relationship
between Stutzman and the CPC. Stones carved with identifying Kalapuya
words and their translations will be placed at 11 to 13 selected sites
along the river, as a subtle interpretative element. One of the words
to be engraved is "GA-ACH-LI," which translates into English as "peaceful
and daylight." Stones will be completed and placed at a later date.
People involved with the project say they are excited
and gratified with the outcome of four years of hard work and collaboration
between Eugene and Springfield, and between the CPC and the Kalapuya.
But none are happier than Stutzman. When I asked her how she feels
about the upcoming naming ceremony, she said, "My grandkids that live
here in Eugene and Springfield can go to Whilamut and say 'this place
was named for my people,' and they can be proud of that, and maybe
they won't need to fight the battles that we have been fighting. Trying
to carry on our heritage — that's what it's all about."
The
traditional Kalapuya naming ceremony of the Whilamut Natural Area of
Alton Baker Park will take place at 10 am Sept. 7 at the Springfield
entrance to Alton Baker Park, just south of the intersection of D and
Aspen Streets. The ceremony participants ask that no recording of the
song or drumming be done. Still photos are OK. No drugs or alcohol,
and no one under the influence, please.
Back to Top
Moss
St. Defender
Crusader
Zach Vishanoff takes on Eugene's institutions.
BY
JACQUELYN LEWIS
The Moss Street Defender is not a comic
book hero. Instead of a red cape, he wears faded army pants and a
black T-shirt. He doesn't have a trusty sidekick, and the closest
thing he has to a batmobile is a shiny black bicycle. But if he were
a superhero, plastic would be his kryptonite.
"Things that are plastic are usually not good. Things
that are made of rock, wood, and sometimes metal are," he says. "When
plastic took over, there was something that happened during that time
where a lot of people lost their aesthetic."
Better known as Zachary Vishanoff, the 32-year-old
newspaper courier fights against his own brand of evil nemeses every
day. "The good fight does win," he says.
 |
| ZACH
VISHANOFF |
For the last few years, Vishanoff's "good fight" has
been aimed at stopping the UO from expanding into the Moss Street
neighborhood east of campus. Vishanoff, along with the Fairmount Neighborhood
Association (FNA), disagrees with the UO's plans to build new childcare
center — consolidating several existing UO's childcare centers
— on the corner of East 17th Avenue and Moss Street. The FNA
claims that the UO's plan for the center violates an agreement stated
in the Fairmount-UO Special Area Study more than 20 years ago.
Vishanoff also hopes to deter the UO from carrying
out any future plans to build single-student housing in that area.
He says his ideal outcome would involve the UO maintaining the neighborhood
as a historic district, building compatible structures closer to the
school and manipulating traffic patterns to minimize the effect on
people nearby. He wants students and community members to be involved
in decisions surrounding the neighborhood, playing what he calls "a
pivotal role in their own destiny."
Vishanoff says Moss Street points to a larger human
rights problem for the UO. "But the university can be healed," he
says. Christopher Ramey, director and architect for university planning,
was unavailable to respond to Vishanoff's comments.
Peering from beneath a pair of big black sunglasses
and a baseball cap, Vishanoff arrives for a meeting armed with a leather
backpack brimming with legal documents, old e-mails, newspaper articles
and videotapes.
"This encompasses my every waking moment," he says.
"My goal is to sit each and every person down. I have the time to
talk to everybody. I'm obligated to future generations to get out
the information so they're not pushed through the cracks."
However, Vishanoff says he is just a painter who never
planned to become an activist. "I intended to paint every second of
the rest of my life, and this is an interruption. But without awareness,
all the good things to paint could disappear," he says.
Like one of his paintings, Vishanoff's life has been
colorful. He was born in Santa Barbara, Calif. "My parents brought
me to Oregon in a hippie van," he says, "and later it burned down
at a gas station."
Vishanoff's parents divorced when he was 11, and he
lived in Japan on and off for five years. He describes this experience
as "the most fascinating time of my life."
"It's a culture I admire. Japan has a small-towniness
and honesty that this country doesn't have," he says, "and it's a
challenge to rise to that level." His only complaint is that most
of Japan's power comes from nuclear plants, a fact he describes as
"nerve-wracking."
Vishanoff laughs as he recounts the time he was evicted
from university dorms back in the U.S. for playing loud music and
"being a bit of an upstart."
"But now I'm giving back," he says. "Maybe I can be
a positive factor."
Jeff Osanka, former FNA president and current board
member, says Vishanoff is already a positive factor. Osanka says,
"It's tough to single any one person out in the process. It's not
one person speaking out, it's groups and groups of people," but he
admits Vishanoff plays an important role as an activist. "Zach's strength
is in finding people and talking to folks nobody else is talking to,'
he says. "He's been able to bring them out, because unfortunately
there's a lot of fear out there."
Vishanoff says the most important things in his life
are "painting, existing in human-based space and justice." His face
lights up when he talks about President Clinton's impeachment. He
likes C-Span and hates news stories that end in "a fuzzy, warm, happy
way." He loves Star Wars and restoring old Schwinn bicycles.
When asked to describe himself, he says, "In terms
of livability, I'm an extremist. There's no compromise. But I'm also
into common sense and want people to have the facts."
Vishanoff also champions many other causes. He is
concerned about rising pollution levels. He led an unsuccessful campaign
to recall City Councilor Bonny Bettman for her role in trying to negotiate
an expanded site for Sacred Heart Medical Center downtown. He has
also spoken against the LTD's Breeze program that runs through campus,
claiming it ruins the UO's park-like atmosphere. He is trying to save
a tree scheduled for cutting on Ferry Street. He wants to put a trolley
in the courthouse neighborhood. Vishanoff's "to-do" list is daunting.
He looks up from the mountain of papers spread before
him on the table. "Frankly," he says, " I've been a bit pissed off."
Back
to Top
 |
Jane
DeGidio
After 33 years in the UO administration
— most recently as associate vice provost for student academic
affairs — Jane DeGidio retired earlier this summer. Last week
she hopped a plane for the United Arab Emirates, where she will spend
three years at Zayed University, a women's school with campuses in
Abu Dhabi and Dubai. "My position will be the equivalent of dean of
students," she reports. "The sheik wants women to be trained as leaders."
As a high school student at St. Margaret's Academy in Minneapolis,
DeGidio served on the citywide Catholic Interracial Council. "That
experience shaped my career," she says. "Since then I've been passionate
about race, gender and class." During her college years at the University
of Minnesota, she also taught ballet to kids in inner-city schools.
DeGidio moved to Eugene in 1969 and found employment as assistant
dean of students. She developed policies and programs to benefit women,
ethnic minorities, and older students during her years at the university.
"I don't have a passive attitude about helping — you have to
be active," she notes. "I really care about social issues that affect
students." — Paul Neevel
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