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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News: News: News: Happening Person: Annemarie Hirsch
SPASARO DEFENDS HIS RECORD AT DEA A pro-marijuana legalization website is saying Oregon House District 11 candidate Michael Spasaro was suspended and demoted by the Drug Enforcement Agency during his DEA career in Turkey for "misuse of office." The site also accuses Spasaro of confiscating marijuana plants from the home of an Oregon quadriplegic who had a state license to grow and possess medical pot, then threatening to seize the entire property if the person continued growing marijuana. The website (www.onlinepot.org/legal/dirtylaundry.htm) includes semi-legible copies of 1995 DEA letters with some names blacked out, outlining the allegations and calling for Spasaro's suspension and demotion. One sentence under the heading "misuse of office" reads, "This specification is based on your … with INS in an attempt to have them investigate … the ex-husband of your girlfriend." Spasaro says the letter on the Internet "does not exist. There was a letter in my personal file that was a 'proposal of discipline,' that contained allegations but was expunged because the allegations were false. Somehow someone got a copy of the original document and that is what you see on the Internet." Spasaro says that when he was the resident agent in charge of DEA in Instanbul, "the Turkish police brought a young lady to me whose daughter was kidnapped and believed to be in the U.S. They asked for my help and I helped the young mother find her daughter. At the time this young mother was not my girlfriend but this was how we met. On June 24, 1995, four years later, we were married."
"The outcome of the investigation led to a reprimand," he says, "and I agreed to take a voluntary down grade from resident agent in charge to a senior investigator. This was basically the same money, just a different title … The purposed suspension and demotion was rescinded. I never broke any laws or lied to anyone. All I did was help a scared mother get her kidnapped daughter back again." Regarding the pot raid accusations, Spasaro says he did accompany local police in an Oregon marijuana raid in 2002 and seized 12 plants from a disabled person. "DEA policy and direction from the Department of Justice requires that any DEA [agent] seeing marijuana must seize the drug even if the person has a state license to possess the drug," he says. "At no time did I threaten anyone with seizing their property." Spasaro, a Republican, is challenging incumbent Democrat Phil Barnhart in the House District 11 race. — TJT
POLITICAL ACTS NOT TO MISS Three political celebrities will soon make appearances in Eugene: Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry; former Sen. Max Cleland, Vietnam war hero and Kerry supporter; and Michael Moore, progressive documentarian and political rabble-rouser. Heinz Kerry will appear at a rally at 12:45 pm Thursday, Oct. 7 at the McDonald Theatre downtown to talk about health care and the economy. The event is free, but seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 11 am. Details on Cleland's visit were sketchy at press time, but he is expected to be at the Vets' Club at 16th and Willamette Friday evening for debate watching and discussion afterward. Michael Moore will stop in Eugene on as part of his "Slacker Uprising!" tour. His show will include a monologue, interaction with the audience, and surprise guests. The event, sponsored by the UO Cultural Forum, will be held at the Lane Event Center at the Fairgrounds at noon on Monday, Oct. 18. Tickets are $5 and will go on sale for students on Oct. 11 at 9 am through the UO Ticket Office (cash only, limit four tickets per person). Tickets go on sale for the public at 9 am Oct. 13 through the UO Ticket Office, or charge by phone at 346-4363.
PUZZLED ABOUT STATE BALLOT MEASURES? Several of the more controversial state ballot measures on the Nov. 2 ballot will be discussed in a public meeting at 7 pm Thursday, Oct. 14 at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 477 East 40th in Eugene. Presenters will represent the Campaign against Measure 36, the League of Woman Voters, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO), 1000 Friends of Oregon, and the Social Concerns Committee of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church in Eugene. The UU committee is recommending "no" votes on measures 35, 36, 37 and 38, and EMO concurs with UU except on Measure 36, the constitutional amendment that bans gay marriage. EMO was unable to reach consensus on 36, saying "After a lengthy discernment process, the board recognizes that there is a diversity of theological understandings when considering a definition of marriage and how it is to be understood in religious and legal context." Regarding Measure 35, limiting damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, EMO concluded that "capping damage awards would not necessarily lead to lower rates, or reduce the number of doctors who are leaving the practice of medicine." On Measure 37, forcing government to pay owners or to override restrictions when certain use restrictions reduce property value, EMO says "Oregon's land use laws have given us a beautiful state that we enjoy each time we visit our mountains, beaches and farmland. Without our land use restrictions and zoning laws, we could lose our unique beauty and become just another thoughtlessly overdeveloped state." Measure 38, forcing the dissolution of the State Accident Insurance Fund (SAIF), gets a thumbs down from EMO. The board says "The greater public good regarding SAIF would be to permit its continuation with changes in management or operation to ensure workers compensation insurance rates stay affordable." EMO's "2004 Guide to the Ballot Measures" can be found at www.emoregon.organd information on Measure 37 from 1000 Friends of Oregon can be found at www.friends.org
LAW SCHOLAR REFLECTS ON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY David Caron, director of international legal studies at UC-Berkeley, will be speaking about "The United States and the Laws of Power: Looking Back on the Bush Administration and U.S. Foreign Policy,". at a lecture that is free and open to the public. The event will be at 7 pm Thursday, Oct. 14 at the Knight Law Center, Room 175, 1515 Agate St. Caron's scholarship focuses on public and private international dispute resolution, the U.N., and the law of the sea. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Bringing New Law to Ocean Waters (2004). Caron's writings cover a spectrum of topics from global environmental change to international tribunals. His review of U.S. policy in Iraq is informed by his previous work on claims arising out of the first Gulf War. "The U.S. has sought unilateral actions in pursuit of national interests, which it perceives as best protected by the preservation of our discretion," he says. "In doing so, [the Bush administration] has alienated longtime allies and belittled the value of cooperation." Professor Caron has been invited to the UO as a distinguished speaker by the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics (see www.morsechair.uoregon.edu).
EUGENE TO HOST REGIONAL BIONEERS CONFERENCE In 1990, journalist and community activist Ken Ausubel founded the Bioneers Conference to bring together what he calls "brilliant social and scientific pathfinders" — people who looked to nature for integrated solutions to problems in human health and the environment. The idea behind the gathering, writes Ausubel in the introduction to Ecological Medicine, is "that none of us is immune to the assault of environmental harms compromising our health and that we cannot ultimately solve our personal health problems without cleaning up the environment." Fifteen years after its founding, the Bioneers Conference
reached capacity at its location in Marin, Calif., and organizers decided
to expand the event. This year, the conference will be held simultaneously
at 15 centers across the nation. Eugene will host the Northwest conference
at the Lane Center for Meaning and Learning from The Oregon Bioneers Conference will feature 17 local speakers — from permaculturist Jan Spencer to drummer Jill Sager to dialogue facilitator Tree Bressen — and 15 plenary speakers, whose live presentations will be beamed in by satellite from Marin. The plenary speakers include renowned thought-leaders such as environmental economist Amory Lovins, who will discuss energy security; journalist Amy Goodman, who will speak on independent media at a critical political crossroads; and author Michael Lerner, who will address the connections between personal and planetary healing. Other conference highlights include a film festival, a youth open mic, and an inter-generational dialogue. Art teacher Jeremy Olsen and social service program developer Sherisa Aguirre, who met at the Bioneers 2002 Conference, put together the proposal to bring the event to Eugene. "Our intention when we proposed it was to bring a grounded, heart-centered approach to activism to the Northwest," says Olsen. Bioneers organizers chose Eugene as a conference host, says Aguirre, because of the city's activist reputation. "Eugene has a record of people standing up for what they believe in," she says. "That said, we're often estranged in those efforts, and this offers us an opportunity to share what we've been doing with the community, and to work together to generate new solutions." The event will integrate innovative concepts in science, agriculture, spirituality, social justice and art to create holistic solutions for healing. "Bioneers offers many portals into the mysterious. Whether we're talking about art or gardens, it offers a way into a source that imparts wisdom, regardless of the discipline," says Aguirre. The conference costs $100 for three days. Youth scholarships and work-trade are available. For more information or to register, visit www.bioneers.orgor www.bridgingworldsnw.org— Kera Abraham
Imagine you have a lovely house on a quiet tree-lined street. You've spent thousands of dollars and countless weekends improving your home, the biggest investment your family owns. A nice grandmother lives next door who likes to bake your children cookies. Sadly, she dies and a greedy nephew inherits her historic house. To cash in, he quickly tears it down and builds a McDonald's. The drive through is right next to your bedroom window.
Ridiculous, you say, Oregon's zoning and land use laws would never allow that to happen. Not if Measure 37 passes. In the name of property rights, the measure could throw out much of the regulations governing how property is developed in this state. "Ballot Measure 37 is institutionalized anarchy," Eugene City Councilor Bonny Bettman said at a 7-1 vote last week against the measure. "If it passes it will destroy the desirability of the state of Oregon as a place to live, do business and recreate." If you think such a radical measure would never pass, think again. It already has. Despite opposition from nearly every top elected official and newspaper editorial board in the state, Measure 7 passed by a 54 percent margin in 2000. The courts threw out Measure 7 on a technicality. Measure 37 is very similar, except for changes to make it immune from a similar legal challenge. Here's how Measure 37 works. Basically, landowners who don't like a regulation could invoke the measure to force the government to drop the rule or pay them compensation. The measure targets most environmental, zoning and land-use rules that keep Oregon livable, beautiful and clean. There are a few exemptions including regulations regarding public nuisances, health and safety, federal requirements and pornography. The measure also exempts regulations in place before owners, or their extended family going back two generations, acquired the property. Working out exactly what Measure 37 means will require legions of lawyers if it passes. Vague but key parts of the measure have left the state Attorney General's Office scratching heads. In a July 19 memo, DOJ says the public health and safety exemption is open to "significant dispute and uncertainty" in its application. Whether it will be cities or the state that will get to decide to pay or waive state regulations and with state or city money is another "extremely significant internal ambiguity" in the measure, the memo says. The city of Eugene's attorney Glen Klein points to other legal uncertainties such as a property owner suing a neighboring property owner for using Measure 37 to build an eyesore next door that decreases neighboring property values. Another question is whether cities could require Measure 37 users to submit independent assessments of property values and details of which regulations have effected them. All the uncertainty makes one thing certain — lawyers will cash in. The city had three of its high-priced private attorneys in the room when the council voted to oppose the measure. The state estimates that the measure will cost state government up to $44 million and local governments up to $300 million per year to implement. And that's before lawsuit costs and paying any claims. The state Administrative Services Department says it can't estimate how much paying the claims would cost. The state Department of Land Conservation and Development, the main target of Measure 37, did take a stab at a claims cost estimate in a July memo. If laws protecting Oregon's people and nature from unlivable, ugly and destructive urban sprawl and traffic snarl weren't waived, DLCD estimated the state's taxpayers would have to pay landowners and developers $2.2 billion through 2007 with about another $700 million a year after that. The bill could come from a huge tax increase or from radically cutting the state budget. For example, cutting state school funding almost in half could pay the $2.2 billion bill to developers. And that's only the state's tab. Local government taxpayers could have to pay even more. The League of Oregon Cities estimates that Measure 37 could cost local government taxpayers $3.8 billion per year. Administering the flood of Measure 37 claims could cost up to an additional $830 million per year. If local governments waived claims to save money, they could still have to pay for extending expensive roads and other infrastructure to serve otherwise unpermitted edge development, according to the League. If Eugene's share of that bill is proportionate to its population, local taxpayers here could end up with an annual bill of $185 million a year in claims and administrative costs. That's the equivalent of about two years worth of city property tax revenues.
SPECULATORS CASH IN While taxpayers are left holding the bag, developers, land speculators and timber barons stand to make millions. Measure 37 could make cheap farm and timber land outside urban growth boundaries explode in value if subdivisions, strip malls and big box stores are allowed. Big land owners could also extort millions by threatening ugly or environmentally damaging development. With so much money up for grabs, the timber barons and land speculators have pumped big bucks into the pro Measure 37 campaign. The pro-37 PAC reported a half million dollars in contributions by Sept. 23 — mostly in big checks from timber and development interests. Local Timber Baron Aaron Jones's timber company gave $65,000, the single largest contribution. Local land speculator John Musumeci's Arlie company gave $25,000. Timber baron and land speculator Donna Woolley gave $25,000. Veneta land speculator Greg Demers gave $15,000. The Gonyea and Giustina families also have major local land speculation and development interests and gave $10,000 and $20,000 respectively. But David Hunnicutt, leader of the pro-37 campaign, says support for the measure goes far beyond wealthy special interests. The state's land use system "has had devastating impacts on thousands of property owners in this state." Threats of McDonald's built on residential streets are "bogeymen" that the free market wouldn't support, Hunnicutt says. Supporters say the measure is a matter of basic fairness. "If it's for the public benefit, then the entire taxpaying public should pay for it," says Eugene City Councilor Jennifer Solomon, a 37 supporter and granddaughter of local timber baron Stub Stewart. Opponents say 37 is unfair and strikes at the basic rules that have allowed people to live with each other for the common good since civilization first started. "At base, this is breaking the agreement of a civilized society," says Councilor David Kelly. Societies have always sought to balance private and public good, Kelly says, "this cuts that to shreds." Since few people want their bedroom window next to a hog rendering plant or a fast food drive-through window, cities have long created zoning rules to restrict what can be built where, 37 opponents point out. Few people want ugly urban sprawl and traffic jams, so there are rules to protect citizens against that too. Supporters of such planning say the rules actually create and protect far more property value than they destroy. A house next to a noisy bar isn't worth as much. Few people want to buy homes in an ugly, unlivable, polluted city. Governments already compensate owners for taking property for a public purpose — such as a new road — but not if regulations just diminish property values. If the Federal Reserve changes it's monetary rules raising interest rates, home owners everywhere will see their property values plummet dramatically. But there's no talk of government compensation. Measure 37 would make Oregon perhaps the first place anywhere where governments must compensate property owners for such a wide range of regulation. Even many staunch critics of property regulation say that's too radical. City Councilor George Poling says he supports the idea of compensating property owners for decreased values, but "I think 37 goes too far." Conservative business groups and farm bureaus across the state have joined environmentalists and planning supporters to oppose 37. The opponent PAC has raised more than twice as much money, mostly in smaller contributions. But Measure 7 had a similar coalition opposed to it and still passed. Tim Raphael, director of the anti-Measure 37 campaign, says he thinks his group is doing better this time in urging voters to "take a closer look" beyond a misleading ballot title calling for forgoing regulation or paying for reduced property value. "It's unfair, arbitrary and ultimately quite costly to taxpayers," Raphael says. Raphael says the polls are moving in the right direction even before the opposition campaign has gone into full swing. Unlike in 2000, this ballot is relatively uncrowded by state measures, making 37 harder to slip through, he says. Although, Raphael admits the presidential race could drown out some of the no on 37 messages. Hunnicutt says polls show Measure 37 ahead and the initiative's chances are even better this time because of anger that Measure 7 was overturned in the courts. "Once people have voted for something, they don't like to be asked again." If the takings measure passes again, the courts might provide a backstop. Some lawyers have questioned whether the unfairness of the measure would survive an equal protection challenge. Porn shops could also argue that exempting them violates free speech. But Raphael says he's not counting on the courts. "We've got to beat this at the ballot box."
Working
the Crowd If you've left your house in the last month you've probably seen them. Maybe you caught a glimpse of one working the crowd at the Saturday Market. They might have walked up to your table while you were having a drink at a local bar. Or maybe they approached you while you were waiting in line to get into a concert. "Are you registered to vote?" they ask. They are the canvassers working for the New Voters Project (NVP), a nonpartisan group registering voters with a focus on 18- to 24-year-olds. They spend their days talking to total strangers in public places, outside of small businesses and even in the parking lots of some of huge national companies such as Wal-Mart. But you probably won't see them at Fred Meyer, Albertson's, Safeway, the Oakway Center or the Valley River Mall. That's because those companies won't let them on their property. "We're nonpartisan," said 31-year-old Sura Cox, who has been canvassing since June. "We're not pushing any issue. We're not trying to sway anyone. We're providing a public service and giving people access to their right to vote." Unfortunately it's a little more complicated than that. Some companies turn away groups such as the New Voters Project to avoid legal battles and controversy. In the 1980s and 1990s the Oregon Supreme Court issued a series of decisions allowing people to gather signatures on private property. Then came Measure 9 in 2000, a highly controversial, anti-gay measure sponsored by the Oregon Citizens Alliance. "They (people collecting signatures for Measure 9) were very aggressive and just plopped themselves down in front of our stores," said Bridget Flanagan, director of public affairs for Safeway in Oregon and southwest Washington. "We literally ended up having fist fights in front of our stores … and just getting hammered by our customers." So they went to court. "We were trying to get a court ruling on whether or not we had to allow these people on our property," she said. The courts protected the private property rights of Safeway and other grocery stores, ruling over and over again that the area outside the stores is private property. That means those companies don't have to allow people to collect signatures for ballot measures or even register voters. "It is our long-standing policy that we do not allow petitioning on our property," wrote Mary Loftin, vice president of public affairs for Fred Meyer stores in an e-mail. "We have fought many legal challenges over the years to maintain this policy and establish our private property rights. This is important to Fred Meyer because our customers come to us for the purpose of shopping and we do not believe our stores should be used for political purposes. Our customers should not have to walk a gantlet of aggressive petitioners and supporters of often highly controversial issues in order to shop at our stores." NVP canvassers have been kicked out of dozens of locations in Eugene including Safeway, Fred Meyer, Albertson's, Oakway Center and Valley River Mall. In other cities in Oregon security guards have even threatened to arrest canvassers. Steve Korth, director of development for McKay Investment Company, the development that owns Oakway Center, said members of NVP have never officially contacted them. Oakway Center doesn't have a specific policy and he said that if groups such as NVP can get permission from individual businesses, the next step is to contact the management company. Barker said he's contacted Oakway center repeatedly. "If they get the business' approval then we usually go along with it," he said. Representatives from Valley River Center did not return EW's phone calls. Justin Barker, 22, is the NVP canvas director for Eugene. "These businesses are basically crushing the rights of the people in this country," he said. At locations where they're not allowed, NVP canvassers go low-profile — guerrilla canvassing they call it. "I just said forget it, I'm not dealing with these people. We're just going to go to these places and we're going to stay mobile. … Officially I guess you could say we're trespassing but I'm willing to trespass for democracy. We're not breaking the law. We're registering voters. Forget these corporations that are trying to push us around." After more than three months of guerrilla canvassing, Cox is a pro. "We tell our canvassers to go into places where they're technically not allowed," she said. "We stay mobile. We approach people where we can, sometimes in their cars. And if we're asked to leave, we're very polite. We say thank you and we leave. That's what we've had to resort to. Every day we go places people tell us we can't go." But both Loftin (Fred Meyer) and Flanagan (Safeway) said that if they let one political group canvas on the property, it could erode the legal ground they're currently standing on. "While nonpartisan voter registration might seem different from more provocative political activities, case law is unclear on this distinction in some of the states where Fred Meyer has stores," Loftin wrote. "For this reason, Fred Meyer does not allow any form of political activity on its property, including voter registration." The NVP argues that the stores could legally make an exception. "Any private property owner can make any exception it wants," said Dan Meek, a Portland-based public interest attorney. But Dave Fidanque, the executive director of the ACLU of Oregon, said it's still complicated. "Because the law has gone back and forth on this over the last 20 years, conservative lawyers are going to take the position that there shouldn't be any political activity at all," he said. "And when I say conservative, I mean cautious. There are definitely five or six ways to look at this issue legally and constitutionally." That hasn't kept some major corporations, including Wal-Mart and Starbucks, from allowing NVP canvassers on their property. With Wal-Mart it's a corporate-wide policy and with Starbucks, it's up to the individual manager at each location. "We're working with the New Voters Project in Oregon, Iowa, Nevada and other states as well," said Delia Garcia, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Wal-Mart deals with groups on a case-by-case basis and in the last few months, Garcia said she's processed about 300 requests from different groups to conduct voter registration and signature collection on Wal-Mart property. "I've really got to hand it to them (the NVP) for being so well-organized," she said. "They've been great to work with in all of our stores." That hasn't been the case with all the groups she's allowed onto Wal-Mart property. "We've had complaints about other groups that have been very aggressive and difficult to work with," she said. As of Monday, Oct. 4, NVP canvassers had registered 30,308 people in Oregon. More than half of those people were registered by canvassers working the streets, coffee shops, fairs and public spaces in Eugene. Nationwide the NVP has registered more than 280,000 people. "It would have been great if we had their support," said Barker, referring to the companies that won't let them canvass. "Then maybe we could have registered 20,000 people (in Eugene)."
'Tell
Your Friends to Vote!' Howard Dean, once the Democratic front-runner in the presidential race, hasn't slowed down since losing his party's nomination to John Kerry. After disbanding the Dean for America campaign, the former Vermont governor founded Democracy for America, a PAC that encourages "ordinary Americans" to run for public office. He has also been actively campaigning for Kerry.
On Friday, Oct. 1, Dean visited the UO as part of his tour of Northwest universities. Emphasizing the importance of both Oregon and youth in the presidential election, Dean encouraged students to register to vote — and to vote for Kerry. According to Jeree Anderson, county co-chair for Democracy for America, Dean is "at Kerry's disposal" for the presidential campaign. Dean's support is critical, says Anderson, because he motivates politically disengaged progressives. "Dean brought life to the Democratic Party. He inspired people to volunteer who had never before taken an interest in politics," said Anderson. At the Erb Memorial Union amphitheater on the UO campus, Dean spoke to a supportive crowd of more than 1,000 students and staff. Several dozen people held Kerry-Edwards signs, and one small cluster held Bush-Cheney signs. Dean criticized the president's war on terrorism, saying that Bush lied about the connection between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein. "The most important thing for any president is for their word to be good," he said. "John Kerry will tell the truth to the American people." Dean said that Kerry will bring home the American troops in Iraq and reconstruct international alliances. Hitting a nerve with the young crowd, Dean said that he thinks Bush will reinstate the draft if re-elected. He added that Bush wants to cut Pell grants for students. "Voting gets you a D: barely passing. You need to run for office, because we need your help," Dean told the crowd. Dean also blasted Bush's environmental record. "I want a president who will stand up for the environment once in awhile instead of selling it out to his friends at Halliburton," he said, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd. One of the most dismal legacies of the Bush administration, said Dean, is the current federal deficit. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Bush took office with a national surplus of $236 billion — the biggest surplus in U.S. history. By the end of 2003, the nation was $375 billion in the red — the biggest deficit in U.S. history. "I want a president who can manage money. You cannot trust Republicans with your money," said Dean. "If it takes a liberal to balance the budget, we better have a Democrat in the White House!" By contrast, said Dean, Kerry will roll back tax cuts for the rich and cut taxes for the middle class. Dean complained that "right-wing radicals" have taken over the country. "We can't afford to keep going in the direction we're going in," he said, citing declines in jobs and the crisis in health care. "Never again will we permit a group of radicals to take over the greatest country on Earth." Dean then veered away from partisanship, saying that 95 percent of people in this country want the same things: jobs, economic security, good public education, and better international relations. Bush, he said, is failing on all of those counts. "We need to give George W. Bush the one-way ticket back to Crawford, Texas, that he so richly deserves," he said. Driving home the idea that young people can swing the election, Dean offered this parting advice to students: "Vote, vote, vote, vote, vote! And tell your friends, VOTE!" Chris Halverson, events coordinator for College Democrats — the group that had arranged Dean's visit — said that Dean's speech inspired traditionally apathetic students. "He was the guy that energized the youth vote more than some of the other candidates," said Halverson. "He's a straight speaker. He's sort of the John McCain of the Democrats." After leaving Eugene, Dean headed to Corvallis and Portland to address students at OSU and PSU. Speaking with EW by telephone en route to Corvallis, Dean said that Kerry is clearly a stronger environmental candidate than Bush. "The environment is a huge issue for Kerry," he said, "and George Bush hates environmental legislation." Dean praised Kerry's renewable energy program, which calls for the U.S. to supply 20 percent of its energy needs with renewable sources by 2020. Asked if he feels confident that Kerry will win the presidency, Dean replied, "I'd be a lot more confident if I knew that a lot of young people would vote." The Lane County chapter of Democracy for America meets the first Wednesday of every month. For more info, visit www.democracyforamerica.com
ANNEMARIE HIRSCH
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School
nurse Annemarie Hirsch shows off the five furry finger puppets she uses
to help grade-schoolers with their vaccinations. One of two RNs with
the Bethel School District, Hirsch divides her time between Danebo,
Fairfield, and Malabon Elementary, Cascade Middle, Willamette High,
and Calapooya Alternative High Schools. "I try to go to each school
one day a week," she says. "I'm really busy." Hirsch grew up just outside
Oslo, Norway, then moved, at age 18, to a commune near Crow. She got
a nursing degree from LCC in 1980 and worked in several departments
at Sacred Heart before returning to school for a bachelors and certification
as a school nurse. She started work for the Bethel District in 1998.
"I work with students and families who have health issues," Hirsch says.
"I'm an advocate for students in terms of getting medical care." She
also trains school staff to care for students with health problems or
severe disabilities. "Each year I do a special public health project,"
she adds. "Last year it was asthma management — 10 percent of
kids have asthma. This year I'm targeting the obesity epidemic."
