|
Living
Out : The Sting Right between the eyes.
Insider
Baseball : Ship of Fools Fifth special session
abundant with absurdities.
Viewpoint
: Pointing Fingers No cover-up in Thurston shooting.
Viewpoint
: Urban Renaissance? Downtown Eugene is back.
Letters:
EW readers sound off.
The
Sting
Right
between the eyes.
I can barely see. My face is a science experiment
demonstrating the histamine response —
swollen from the brows down to where my jaw used to be, leaving only
tiny jack-o-lantern eye triangles and a bridgeless nose. The unidentified
flying insect left no pulsing stinger, no consolation that at least
the perp is worse off than I am. Just a teensy red dot right between
the eyes. A perfect shot by the Annie Oakley of yellow jackets or
hornets or whatever the heck it was.
I had been pruning overgrown shrubs when a sudden
sharp pain in the middle of my forehead alerted me that something
wasn't right. I stood still, like a dog trying to figure out what
happened to the ball you just hid behind your back. Eventually —
and this shows that humans actually are more intelligent than dogs
— I deduced from the loud buzzing sound in my hair that stinging
insects were nearby. Luckily I had the wherewithal to drop my pruners
before I started flailing at my scalp.
 |
| FEELING
SWELL. |
I ran inside, grabbed an ice cube and rubbed it on
the throbbing spot between my eyebrows. If you want to know how to
get an ice cream headache without eating ice cream, ask me!
My face started puffing up like a Jiffy-Pop bag. While
I could still see the phone, I called Ask-a-Nurse. "Keep icing it,"
she told me, stifling a snicker. "Life-threatening allergic reactions
usually happen within the first hour."
By the clock, I was out of the woods. But I kept checking
my pulse anyway. I put on clean underwear just in case I was about
to become the Should-Have-Carried-a-Bee-Sting-Kit poster girl.
Now my vision is framed with pillowy shadows of puffy
flesh. My lower lids are pink mounds making everything look like I'm
seated behind two big bald guys. Goop keeps oozing out of my tear
ducts giving the effect of one of those movies where they show someone's
psychedelic experience by smearing Vaseline on the lens.
My face is so distorted I couldn't pick myself out
of a line-up. The stranger in the mirror looks like a cross between
Margaret Cho and a Cabbage Patch doll. If I were in Beverly Hills
I'd fit right in with all the other bad Botox jobs. But I don't fit
in around here where most people can move their eyebrows.
I'm sure the "Oh my God, what happened to you?" response
must seem original to the person saying it. Call me antisocial. I'd
like to hole up until this passes. But I have to brave the world —
the hardware store part of it anyway. Today is my last chance to exchange
the 120-volt baseboard heater for the 240-volt that we should have
ordered in the first place, but who knew? The high-pitched hum and
orange-red glow tipped us off — and here's another example of
that smarter-than-dogs thing — the heater we'd bought was too
wimpy for the voltage surging through it. Kinda like my face feels
right now.
Should I call and warn them? Do I need to wear a sign
that says "Not my real face?" It's not that I care about looking beautiful
for the heater guys. But I don't want to freak out people. I wish
I could make everyone rent Mask and be reminded that how we
appear isn't the essence of who we are. Then I remember that Mask
boy finds true love with a blind girl. What kind of message does that
send? Can't we open our hearts to people no matter what they look
like?
Thank goodness my Sweetie still sees the real me inside
this distort-o-face. At least she says she does.
Sally
Sheklow has been a part of the Eugene community since 1972 and is a
member of the WYMPROV! comedy troupe. Her column, which began at EW,
also runs in several other newspapers and magazines around the country.
Back to Top
Ship
of Fools
Fifth
special session abundant with absurdities.
Announcer's voice: "Welcome, fans, it's time to
play Beg, Borrow, and Steal'! This is your
opportunity to be legislator for the day. First prize is a week's
cruise with the House speaker, the Senate president and the governor
on the good ship of state, that luxurious launch, the Lame Duck. Speaker
Simmons will wow you with his ability to go around in circles 'til
he runs out of gas; and watch former Navy pilot Derfler launch dirty
missiles at firefighters, the police, teachers, librarians —
any public employee that moves. Then we'll all search the ship and
try to find the governor."
Second prize, by the way, is a two-week cruise;
and third prize forces you to attend a seminar by Jeff Kruse on polling
for "non-essential" services. If you received, at state expense, Jeff's
phony questionnaire, you'll know what I mean. Mark Simmons sent out
a similar meaningless piece of crap, at state expense, asking folks
whether they preferred "groceries or government." Gee golly, Abner,
you're a funny ol' boy — why, I'd rather pay fo' mo' guvment
waste than eat my grits anyday!
Now, here's all you have to do to win. You
either vote for Door #1, which contains the following package already
agreed upon in secret by your own Democratic leader, the Senate president
and the governor:
Ç $100 million more in cuts to education, human services,
and public safety — and remember: We've already cut $650 million.
Ç $150 million more in borrowing, but for the show
we'll call it "bonding."
Ç $305 million in a new one-year-only income tax on
everyone who earns above $12,000, that the voters won't get a chance
to vote on.
Ç $12 million in a slight (0.3 percent) increase in
the corporate income tax.
Ç $46 million per year in a new tax BREAK for the
wealthy — repealing the estate tax.
Or you can vote for Door # 2, which contains another,
very similar package, also already agreed upon in secret by your own
Democratic leader, the Senate president and the governor:
Ç $100 million more in cuts to education, human services,
and public safety.
Ç $150 million more in borrowing, I mean "bonding."
Ç $305 million in a three-year income tax on everyone
who earns above $12,000, but the voters won't get a chance to vote
on it until next February!
Ç $12 million in that slight corporate income tax
increase.
Ç $46 million per year in a new tax BREAK for the
wealthy — you will repeal the estate tax!
Of course, you will be disqualified if you even think
about a more progressive income tax that raises the same amount of
money. We had to shoot a contestant last week who had the temerity
to suggest that, instead of taxing lower-income working people, why
not put in a new 11 percent bracket on income over $100,000 per year.
That would get you $343 million per year. But, since it might spark
class warfare, that contestant is now swimming with the fishes.
I swear to all that is holy, political satire is
dead. It can't match reality. Yesterday, when my Democratic minority
leader was getting her vote count from our caucus on these two packages
— yes, folks, that part of the reality-based fantasy is all
true, this deal was actually struck — she neglected to mention
to me and to others in the caucus that the package contained the estate
tax break for the rich! She told another lobbyist that she wasn't
really sure what was in the package, even though she was out soliciting
votes for it!
Of course, she did mention that Derfler had one condition:
We wouldn't even get a vote on these pathetic puppy-poop tax packages,
unless the House approved the anti-public employee PERS bill (eliminating
PERS in 2004 with nothing in its place — the next thing you
know they'll ask new state employees to buy Enron stock for their
retirement portfolios). And she did mention that Derfler had assurances
from the governor that he would not veto the bill if it got to his
desk! I was so shocked, I called the governor's chief of staff; he
verified the story. Beam me up, Scotty.
Sen.
Tony Corcoran of Cottage Grove represents portions of Lane and Douglas
counties in Senate District 4, which includes the UO area. He can be
reached at corcoran.sen@state.or.us
Back to Top
Pointing
Fingers
No
cover-up in Thurston shooting.
My first reaction after reading Joe Lieberman's
article, "Probable Cause" in EW Aug.
29 was "so what," let it go. Then I read the article a second time.
After my second reading, I decided Lieberman's speculations about
data having been left out and what the police knew or should have
known before the incident begs for a response.
On the matter of data having been left out: I can
assure you that what became known to the Springfield Police Department
during the course of the investigation was documented in police reports
and every report written was included in the investigative file. No
reports were left out. The investigative file, in its entirely, was
presented to the District Attorney's Office. The file remains intact
today. There was no effort or intent to exclude any information reported
to the department or discovered in the course of investigation. The
file is complete.
As to what the police knew or should have known:
I am quoted in the article as having stated my belief that the Springfield
detective who had taken Kip Kinkel into custody on May 20, 1998 for
Theft I by Receiving (stolen gun) and possession of a firearm in a
public building acted appropriately when he released Kinkel to his
parents instead of lodging him at the then Skipworth Juvenile Facility.
Four years later, I stand by this statement.
When you judge a police officer's actions in any given
incident, you must judge the actions based on the information the
officer had available to him/her and what the officer reasonably believed
to be true at the time of the officer's actions.
Instead, Lieberman is expressing an opinion that is
based on information that even he reports came after the shooting.
The implication the detective should have investigated further or
should have known things that were reported only after the incident
is far-reaching. The detective would not only have had to be omniscient
but clairvoyant as well. We expect a great deal from police officers
but if this is the standard by which we judge police action, there
is no one who could do the job.
Lieberman reports that the student who sold Kinkel
the gun is alleged to have told a Thurston High School "high ranking
staff member" on May 20, 1998 that Kinkel told him several times he
wanted the gun to kill some one and that statement was made in the
presence of the Springfield detective who took Kinkel into custody.
I do not believe such a statement was made in the presence of the
detective or made known to him on that day. As recently as Aug. 26,
2002 a Springfield police detective re-interviewed the former student
who is alleged to have made the statement reported by Lieberman. The
former student denies ever having made such a statement to anyone
and he denies ever telling the detective anything other than Kinkel
wanted the gun because he liked guns. The detective reports the student
told him, "he has never told anyone any other reason why Kinkel wanted
a gun because he knows of no other reason." After four years, this
former student who is at the center of Lieberman's reporting of alleged
statements by Kinkel denies them all. Instead, he confirms the statement
he made to the detective on May 20, 1998 as documented by the detective
in his police report.
I say again, within the context of the fact situation
that existed for the Springfield detective who took Kinkel into
custody on May 20, 1998 and the laws existing at the time the Springfield
detective acted in accordance with existing law, department policy
and procedures.
Further, I contend any police officer working in Lane
County at the time would have made the same decision. Every police
officer who worked during this time knows, given the circumstances,
the nature of the charges and the information known to the detective,
that if the detective had lodged Kinkel into Skipworth on May 20,
the juvenile authorities would have released Kinkel to his parents
the same day just as the detective did. The events of May 21, 1998
would not have been prevented if only the police had lodged Kinkel
instead of releasing him to his parents. Lodging him would have only
delayed his release by a couple hours at most.
To judge the detective's action, or others involved
in the incident on May 20, 1998, in the context of what was learned
in the aftermath of the Thurston tragedy cannot be justified by any
fair standard. I regret that Lieberman and EW have chosen to
do so.
To reduce this very complex situation to its simplest
terms, Kip Kinkel is the only person to blame for the Thurston tragedy
and he is paying for his crimes with life in prison. The rest of us
who responded to the crimes, the victims and the victim's families
are still trying to put the trauma we experienced resulting from Kinkel's
crimes behind us. It would be good if others not involved would let
us do so.
Bill
L. DeForrest is a retired Springfield police chief currently serving
as acting police chief in Junction City.
Back to Top
Urban
Renaissance?
Downtown
Eugene is back.
After two decades of trying to hang on, in the
aftermath of Urban Renewal's destruction
of historic buildings, of retail depression after the department stores
fled to the malls, and of the sensationalized media-driven fear of
a few dozen transient youth and petty drug dealers, downtown —
our town — is starting to recover.
Just look around. There's more energy — and
money — flowing into downtown than anytime in the 13 years I've
lived here.
Our new library is fabulous. The glass and brick structure
conveys both permanence and openness, the light-filled interior's
a place to come together to read or meet. The symmetrical rows of
windows defining its south face make a democratic statement reminiscent
of WPA architecture of the New Deal: Every individual is entitled
to share in the collected wisdom of our world.
The library is one of Oregon's greenest buildings,
thanks to efforts of the Eugene Eco-Building Guild, designers, and
city staff to minimize toxics, use native and recycled materials,
and to maximize energy efficiency. What better place to put into practice
the Sustainability Principles passed by the City Council in 2000?
It's ironic that while Salem has been in gridlock,
with "no new taxes" and "cut government spending" dominating the talk-radio
and legislative hot-air waves, much of downtown's new vitality is
being led by the public and non-profit sectors.
The DeFazio pedestrian bridge, the new LTD station,
a new federal courthouse and cannery district, the upcoming restoration
of the train station, a pedestrian-oriented re-opened Broadway, the
library — none would be possible without public tax dollars,
citizen input, and some talented people working in the Planning Department
and other agencies.
And three cheers for the non-profits! (and those arts
venues that might as well be non-profits because the margin is so
thin). There are now more than 60 downtown art and music venues. Next
to long-time treasures like the WOW Hall there's the newly renovated
McDonald Theatre and the Baptist Church reborn as the Shedd Center,
giving a new home to classical music performance.
St. Vincent De Paul is building a mixed-use, affordable
housing project to help fill a gap left since urban renewal took out
single-room occupancy hotels in the 1970s. And there are the non-profits
in the historic Farmer's Union building — groups like the McKenzie
River Gathering Foundation, Eugene PeaceWorks, and the Green Party
— who've contributed much to our local civic culture.
Downtowns thrive on diversity. I don't mean
just once-a-year pageants or ethnic restaurants, but the real diversity
of different social classes, races, genders, ethnicities, ages, and
sexualities coming together and challenging us to face who we are
as a larger society. For downtown to be authentic, it needs glamour
as well as grit.
You can walk into the Kiva to buy organic vegetables
and ask a young woman with spiked hair where the flax seed oil is,
then walk two blocks to the DAC, work-out, and then ponder the locker
room scene where naked middle-aged men fraternize while watching the
stock market on TV and scratching their backs. Both businesses are
run by folks who know exactly what they are about; they're quintessential
examples of the many downtown businesses who've been serving Eugene
for years. Let's return the favor.
Let's honor our multicultural history. When
we restore the train station, let's build a monument to the Chinese
laborers who built the railroad through Eugene in 1871 when, my friend
Doug Card points out, newspaper accounts said there were "more Chinese
living in tents in downtown Eugene than white men."
When we install Bus Rapid Transit, let's dedicate
it to Wiley Griffon, who Card notes was both Eugene's first black
resident and Eugene's first operator (circa 1880s) of a public transit
system — a mule-powered street car that ran from Skinner's Butte
up Willamette, then over 11th Ave. to Villard Hall at UO. Apparently
Griffon was 100 years ahead of his time.
Let's honor the Kalapuya, who have been here more
than a thousand years and who were stewards of the beautiful oak savannah
ecology of the Willamette Valley long before white settlement —
and of a landscape that was a major attraction to the original whites
who settled towns like Eugene.
Ultimately, the health and vitality of downtown will
be nothing more nor less than a reflection of Eugene's history and
overall health as a community. May we take care and prosper.
Greg
McLauchlan is a UO sociology professor who writes about social justice
and urban livability issues.
Back to Top
OUR
DISEASE
I appreciate anything a writer can do to
help me understand the fathomless mystery that was the Kip Kinkel
school shootings. I still endure a deep human ache over the dark and
incomplete puzzle: How could a boy go so wrong in our caring community?
The quotes Joseph Lieberman (8/29) uses are not really
damning. As a retired 30-year veteran teacher at the high school level,
I can attest to the violent threats students are heard to utter all
too often. As far back as 1989, I heard the captain of the football
team say out loud in a normal tone in my French classroom to the girl
next to him, "Shut up or I'll rape you." I was speechless at such
casually violent words.
Our young people may hear of rape, murder, blowing
up of adversaries, torture and worse, many times a day in their modes
of entertainment; they are numbed to the real meaning of such words.
School and public safety officials should not be made
to carry the total blame for oversight, without our looking at more
subtle culprits. Who kept Kip's records from being passed from middle
to high school? Who is responsible for arrest records not being on
file locally? How has it come to be that teachers have more students
to try to treat as individuals and less time to follow through with
anecdotal reports, home phone calls, conferences with counselors,
etc., due to the tremendous load of record-keeping in the name of
"accountability" that today passes for teaching? Who is responsible
for creating such a situation? Perhaps all of us? And who continues
— even after Jonesboro and Paducah and Pearl and Springfield
and Littleton — to reap great financial rewards from such lurid
"entertainment?"
My heart continues to ache for a society that doesn't
see the extent of our disease. Am I alone in intuiting underlying
causes held in common by the staggering events of Thurston, Enron
and 9/11? Our system is breaking down and devouring itself as we sleep
on oblivious. Pogo was right: "We have met the enemy and he is us."
Indeed.
Julie Rogers
Eugene
STOP
WAR CRAP
Jimmy D. Carter was right on target in his
"Viewpoint" (8/29). However, he didn't examine the root cause of war
and other gross violence/dominion, and he offered no solution. The
root cause is cultural, ethnic and religious patriarchy.
Patriarchy is evident in the sick violence perpetrated
by both sides in the Israeli/Palestinian war and in the coming (though
I hope not) Bush/Hussein war, which the peace-loving of us must stop
by any means appropriate.
Fighting wars is silly, deadly, immoral and destructive
to the environment. War is caused by patriarchy and by other unearned
gross dominions. Gross unearned dominions are a red flag that indicate
a lack of democracy and an excess of violence. The prime example of
unearned dominion is George W. Bush.
Warfare can be ended by general, complete and simultaneous
disarmament of all nations as inspected by the U.N. Any nation that
decides to reject disarmament and inspection would be shunned and
otherwise isolated from the truly civilized world until the light
of decency becomes obvious to them, too. This would be accomplished
with goodness and without gross sanctions or bombing.
Real men who are really human should have stopped
this war crap long ago. All of us who are not warmongers need to stop
the warmongers soon or the Big Money Warmongers will keep on killing
forever (or until sense replaces nonsense in the leadership). No more
Daddy Warbucks coming out of the Bushes or the bin Ladens!
Bob Saxton
Eugene
OUR
CHILDREN
As I read the article (8/29) about
the newest development of the Kip Kinkel case, I was interested and
quite cynical.
If we can find someone to point a finger at and say
this terrible thing would not have happened if a) someone in charge
were smart enough to know Kip was serious or b) a certain person acted
appropriately, or c) someone else wasn't so dysfunctional, or d) a
certain person did his job right, etc., then we don't have to look
at ourselves and say what did we do or not do as a society or culture
to contribute to the circumstances.
Pointing fingers will not answer the question: How
many other kids (our children) are just barely keeping it together,
leading tormented, stressed inner lives?
Maybe I should stop right here, begging you to take
only a few minutes to think about these questions. But in my great
wisdom I will start a sermon. Fund our schools. Fund our
children. If it takes a village to raise a child (which it does)
can we not give them a fighting chance? Give the teachers enough money
so they can breathe and have smaller classrooms so they have the time
to know each kid personally and catch problems and have the time to
deal with them. They need tutors — art, PE, vocational and other
alternative programs — so every child can find a place where
he or she can fit in and feel good, instead of wandering the streets
looking for something to do.
And if this speech doesn't reach you, try economics.
Happy, cared-for children don't generally turn into juvenile delinquents.
You will not have to fear having your house or person invaded. You
will not have to pay for children spending a lifetime in jail!
Lisa Stein
Eugene
WHERE'S
THE JUSTICE?
Given the current enormous arbitrary power
of the law enforcement industry, I hesitate to write this letter.
I must, however, support local attorney Daniel Stotter's
call (R-G, 9/4) for an official sanction of Lane County District
Attorney Doug Harcleroad. Harcleroad's arrogant public criticism of
Circuit Court Judge Ted Carp clearly indicates contempt of court,
and it calls into question once again Harcleroad's judgment, impartiality,
and basic fairness.
Examples: the secret tape recording of a Catholic
priest administering a sacrament to a defendant leading to international
notoriety and a substantial settlement; subsequent taping of two ministers'
conversations with defendant Kip Kinkel; the out-of-court settlement
to a former prosecutor for gender discrimination and harassment; the
wrongful murder convictions of two young men and another hefty settlement;
Harcleroad's astounding decision not to prosecute the planned vigilante
execution of 22-year old unarmed drug dealer Shawn Carlson; his refusal
to prosecute the man who killed Jacob Fogus, a young Native American,
in questionable circumstances; his exoneration of a police officer
who killed an unarmed suspect; his discrimination against alternative
media reporters; his relentless prosecution of cancer-sickened Norm
Majors for cultivating medical marijuana; his refusal to honor the
vote mandating that proceeds from civil forfeiture drug cases go to
drug-treatment programs.
And while a young political activist serves almost
23 years for destroying three SUVs, Harcleroad plea-bargains a 25-year
sentence for a young man who helped to incapacitate, kidnap and bury
his mother alive. And so on.
The district attorney sets the tone for the entire
justice system. Where's the justice?
Jerome Garger
Eugene
STARTING
A WAR
President Richard Nixon famously said: "Watch
what I do, not what I say." If the U.S. attacks Iraq, other nations
will surely watch what we do.
If the U.S. can attack Iraq on the speculation that
it might one day acquire weapons of mass destruction, why can't India
attack Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons today? The U.S. government
estimates that nuclear war between India and Pakistan would immediately
kill 12 million people — and many more as the long-term radiological
effects take their toll.
Starting a war with Iraq is simple. The consequences
are not.
Carrie Jahde
Eugene
DAMAGE
DONE
To say the least, I am very disappointed
in the lack of reporting the R-G did about the Bush protest
in Portland. For such a big event that was happening in our area,
I was surprised the R-G had to use an Associated Press article
to cover this local event. If the R-G had sent up their own
reporter, they would have realized that the AP article was full of
fallacies, misleading statements and exaggerations.
The first inaccuracy was "Protesters threw things
at the police … Riot police wearing helmets then walked into
the area, pushing activists with their batons. Some activists fell.
Police then fired canisters of pepper spray at the protesters." As
someone who was mediating with police on the front lines of the barricade,
I will let you know that this is not entirely what happened.
As a march for the protest wound its way around downtown
Portland, the march was stopped at a barricade in front of the Hilton
Hotel, where Bush and his cronies were dining. At this point, the
peaceful protest began with chanting and questions to donors who were
mainly on the other side of the barrier (no one "jostled" the donors
as the article reports). Then a few police (not in riot gear) came
to the barricade and stared down a few younger, peaceful, anarchist-looking
people. Without warning from the officers and without provocation
from the protesters, an officer then opened fire with pepper spray
on the protesters and a photographer — which, incidentally,
was the picture used in the AP story.
With my water bottle in hand, I went over to help
flush out the poison from their eyes. While I was aiding them, I too
was sprayed. It was not until this point that, as a natural reaction
to being attacked that some protesters (a very small minority) threw
objects at the police in self-defense. No rocks were thrown, only
plastic water bottles.
As pepper spray was being released on the crowd, riot
police came in and opened fire on the already-confused crowd with
rubber bullets and pepper spray canisters. This created a panic as
dozens of blind protesters ran around aimlessly, only hearing screams
and the sound of the automatic gunfire of rubber bullets.
I have never been so afraid of my government and police
force as I was that afternoon. The needless violence that occurred
from this peaceful protest has been twisted and turned around once
again by the media. I hope I have been able to shed some light on
the truth, and maybe next time the R-G can send up their own
reporters. That way, I won't have to write another letter like this
and try to justify some damage that has already occurred.
Stuart Diehl
Eugene
EW
ADS — EGADS!
We are in complete agreement with the letters
"Ads Cause Harm" (8/15) and similar ones that have appeared in EW.
The salacious ads detract from the other message EW attemps
to bring to the public's attention, which to us, make EW's
voice an important one. Perhaps EW can downplay the ads instead
of providing this service to folks who have difficulty distinguishing
between deeper love and physical sex.
By simply not reading that part of EW, we have
no problem. But the ready availability of titillating material devalues
what else EW has to say, especially in the eyes of first-time
readers and those who disagree with EW's articles.
John Saemann
Eugene
UNFAIR
PRACTICES
What we won't do for our almighty football
god! We spend $90 million on a structure that only adds to the inconvenience,
confusion and traffic congestion. We don't really stop and think about
what we could have done with that kind of money, such as in the education
department maybe! We willingly put up with the unconstitutional elimination
of competition at Autzen Stadium, which forces us to pay $8 for a
hamburger that isn't really any good, not to mention the absurd amount
for admission in the first place.
And then we allow the powers that be, whoever they
are, to make contracts for their food booths to help, which are so
unfair that profits to the all great god are insured; the help either
makes almost nothing after tremendous effort, or in many cases, loses
the money they thought they were working so hard to get. Organizations
are suckered into providing labor for food booths on the supposition
of making money for a worthy cause — but the amount of profit
compared to the horrendous labor input means little, if any, real
profit for the good cause. Worse yet, because of the system used by
the powers that be to calculate profit and inventory, the worthy cause
can actually find itself in the hole after a hard day's work, owing
the powers that be more money than they made.
If it was anything but a football game, we'd immediately
and loudly protest the unfair business practices, the scams, the sweatshop
mentality and the absurd prices forced upon us by the monopoly.
But we don't seem to notice or care. We have placed
ourselves at the feet of our great idol and we are willingly and blindly
prepared to make any sacrifice for our god.
Stuart Banister
Eugene
WORKING
CLASS ACT
My girlfriend and I attended the Labor Day
picnic at Jasper State Park. This well-organized event for the working
man or woman is opened to the public and it is fun.
They are down-to-earth people. These good union folks
provided food, games and prizes for all the kids and school supplies
for those who needed them.
I know there are those who thumb their noses at unions.
But without them, we wouldn't have weekends or days off, 40-hour work
weeks, overtime pay, benefit packages, workers' compensation and safe,
fair workplaces. Many people lost their very lives and others faced
ruin standing up for workers' rights in our country's story.
This November, I hope you will carefully weigh ballot
measures and candidates that support the working class — but
you have to vote. Take charge of your life.
Greg Hume
Creswell
GREAT
DIVIDE
As I observe all the controversy surrounding
the construction of the West Eugene Parkway, I have to wonder what
its proponents are thinking. Having recently arrived from Boston,
I believe there is a lesson to be learned from that city's experience
with an expressway built in the mid-1950s.
The road went through many of the city's thriving
neighborhoods with disastrous results. Now, in order to reunite these
separated neighborhoods, Boston is engaged in the largest road-building
project in history, popularly known as the "Big Dig." The old expressway
is being replaced by a road that runs 120 feet underground, below
the city. In addition to bringing the neighborhoods together, it will
provide 27 acres of new green space, and it will reduce the carbon
monoxide emissions by 15 percent from their current levels, while
carrying 245,000 vehicles a day.
However, the lesson has been a very costly one to
learn. Thus far, the construction cost has been $14.6 billion, and
the completion date is two years away. Let's look at Boston and not
make the fatal mistake of building a road that will divide our city
and, at the same time, destroy 50 acres of precious, irrecoverable
wetlands.
Please, Eugene, don't repeat the costly error Boston
made back in the '50s. Instead, let's learn from it and profit from
their vision.
Dorothy Quirk
Eugene
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics
and will print as many as space allows. Please limit length to 250 words,
keep submissions to once a month, and include your address and phone
number. E-mail to editor@eugeneweekly.com,
fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
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