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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News: Happening Person: Donnie Sevilla
MAXIMUM DAMAGE This week's shooting rampage at an Amish school in Pennsylvania has added to already shocking statistics. Eugene writer Joseph A. Lieberman, author of The Shooting Game, has studied 30 years of school shooting and says, "Without question, this is the worst fall school season on record: 12 dead and 34 wounded in 25 shooting incidents at or near schools from mid-August up until Oct. 2." Lieberman says each type of shooter has a different motivation, but "all are consciously choosing schools as their staging area. Why a school? Because schools are 'soft targets,' children are the most vulnerable members of society, and the shooter knows he can inflict the maximum psychic and emotional damage upon a community that he feels has rejected or marginalized him." Will we see even more school shootings? Lieberman says the immediate future does not look good. "Government funding for school safety programs was lessened this year and will be cut to zero in 2007, another casualty of the Iraq War and tax cuts for the rich. Ironically, while the Bush administration makes claims that we are safer from international terrorists now, their policies may be inadvertently contributing toward domestic terrorism." — TJT
HAWKINS TREE LOSS Jannah and Mark Loigman loved the view of forest across the cul-de-sac from their house. Jannah watched eagles and hawks nest in the fir and ash trees, perched above the city in the southwest Eugene hills. Mark, as the president of the Krumdieck Park Homeowners Association, made sure that developers would seek the group's approval before cutting trees.
Both were livid when developer Steve Henton had contractors cut nine fir and ash trees on three Videra Drive lots without the association's permission. "We had an agreement, and [Henton] broke it," Jannah said. "We're all heartsick about it." Mark said that the association had been working with Henton for months to hammer out an amenable development plan. "We were in the middle of that process when I came home to find those lots being clearcut," he said. "Obviously it was a shock to us that he was proceeding without permission." Under city rules, the association's architecture committee must approve neighborhood lot changes, Loigman explained. Henton had not gotten that approval, and the association is now considering legal action. But architecture committee chair Rick Trommel is more forgiving. "I was a little bent out of shape by [Henton] not getting permission, but the trees would have ultimately been cut to make place for the houses," he said. He noted that the city doesn't prohibit the developer from removing trees. Henton, for his part, is repentant. He explained that he had ordered the trees cut to create an access path for an excavator. "I got myself in a situation where I simply didn't go through the proper channels," he said quietly. "Not through spite or defiance; [it was] just oversight on my part." Trommel said that the homeowners association will likely ask Henton to make a concession, such as planting trees on the logged lots. But that's little comfort for Mark Loigman, who misses the cluster of trees out his window. "Now what we've got is a view of the city," he said. "I know that development is a reality, but darn it, you wish that people would use some sense and keep some of this natural beauty that Eugene is known for." — Kera Abraham
DARK DAYS IN PRISON More than five years in the state pen have chiseled away at the cheery persona of Jeff "Free" Luers, a radical Eugene environmentalist who was sentenced to almost 23 years in 2001 for torching three SUVs at Romania Chevrolet in protest of gas-guzzling culture. In a Sept. 15 dispatch from the maximum-security Oregon State Penitentiary, Luers describes a locked-down world of "violence, drugs and sexual assaults."
Luers writes that on Sept. 9, OSP prisoners brutally beat a guard, the climax of built-up tension between the powerful and the powerless. "[W]hen the guards ordered everyone on the yard to lie prone no one did," Luers writes. "And when the guns were turned on us a chorus of fuck-you was sounded." The beaten guard was taken to the hospital and a 22-hour lockdown was imposed on the prisoners. The next night, Luers writes, an inmate rumored to be a snitch was stabbed. The day after that, a fight erupted in the chow hall. On Sept. 13, Luers watched a man die right in front of his cell. "He took his last gurgled breath less than 10 feet from me and then his heart stopped beating," Luers writes. "They left him lying in front of my cell for five hours." The man, a convicted child molester, had been strangled, the perpetrator(s) still unknown. "This is prison," Luers writes. "I shower next to serial killers and sexual predators … I can watch a man get stabbed in the neck and keep eating. I can pretend to not see a man lying helpless in his own blood … And I can watch a man die and be completely unmoved. "Would someone please tell me how this is supposed to make me a better person? Can someone please tell me how locking away more than two million people into places like this is going to stop crime? Is there anyone out there who can convince me we are this planet's most evolved creatures?" Luers, who won "Best Activist" in EW's 2005 reader's poll, spent several weeks in solitary confinement over the summer and recently lost all of his contact visits for a year. His attorney filed an appeal in January 2002 and the Oregon Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in November 2005, but the judge has not yet issued an opinion. — Kera Abraham
GRANT BAILS ABUSE CLINIC Like a CPR rescue breath, a federal grant came just in time to save the Lane County Domestic Violence Clinic from financial collapse. But without a more stable funding source, the clinic's long-term future is uncertain. The clinic, a joint venture of the UO law school, Lane County Legal Aid and Advocacy Center, Sexual Assault Support Services and WomenSpace, had been largely funded by the U.S. Department of Justice's Legal Assistance to Victims program since its founding in 1999. But when the federal grant fell through in early 2005, clinic leaders scrambled for cash. The Oregon Law Foundation came through with bridge funding, but it wasn't enough for the long term. UO law professor Merle Weiner, one of the clinic's founders, guesses that the 2005 federal grant fell through because grantors misunderstood the clinic's attempt to become an in-house service at the UO. "We were going through an organizational change, and I think we didn't reflect that in our grant application," she said. So clinic leaders tried for a federal grant again this year, making it clear that the UO would receive almost none of the money. They breathed a collective sigh of relief when the $250,000 federal grant came through, enough to support the clinic for two years. But it's only a short-term fix. Even with the largest legal staff of any domestic violence clinic in Oregon, more than 400 clients per year and attorneys dedicated to rural and Latina outreach, the Lane County clinic turns away about half of its prospective clients for lack of resources. "We're kinda filled up," Weiner said. But she stressed that the services are critical: Studies show that free legal help for victims prevents domestic violence through protective court orders. "It's really the only service that has decreased the likelihood that a woman will be battered," Weiner said. The UO is closely linked to the clinic but offers more in-kind than cash resources. Three law professors dedicate time to the clinic, more than 90 law students have received academic credit for working there, and UO staff help with fundraising and web support. But the university doesn't provide steady funding, as it does for several other law clinics. Despite the law school's tight budget, the UO faculty recently voted to give Weiner a stipend to buoy her work with the clinic. "Now I can do this without feeling really resentful that the university is not supporting it," Weiner said. And, for now, the clinic's staff and clients can exhale. — Kera Abraham
LIFT EVERY VOICE "I remember footage of church services where Martin Luther King would speak, and I wasn't sure what he was saying, but all of the sudden they would break into song," says Carol Melia, a kid at the time of the Civil Rights Movement. "Everyone would be galvanized, go from that song and from their heart, their soul, go out and make a change." Melia, a singer-songwriter, is the interim director of the Eugene Peace Choir and the organizer of a historical-choral event: the Community Alliance of Lane County (CALC)'s 40th birthday party on Saturday, Oct. 7. From spoken-word artist Iana Mathews-Harris to CISCAP organizer Scott Miksch, from political folksinger Mark Ross (who has played with Pete Seeger and Malvina Reynolds and is a buddy of Utah Phillips) to the Peace Choir itself, the show is meant to celebrate songs of protest and resistance. "Music is in our bones, in our DNA, in our ancestry," Melia says. "When we share these songs as a community, magic happens." Slug Queen SlugRetha, a silent auction and ice cream from Prince Puckler's round out the event, which begins at 7 pm at the First United Methodist Church and runs $3-$10 on a sliding scale. For more information, contact CALC at 485-1755. — Suzi Steffen
THE POWER OF DIALOGUE The Eugene Middle East Peace Group is planning a town hall meeting on "Contemporary Issues in the Middle East: Where Do We Go from Here?" from 7 to 9 pm Tuesday, Oct. 10 at the Campbell Senior Center, 155 High St. The event is free and open to the public. The meeting will open with speakers from different backgrounds presenting their perspectives on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. After brief statements, those in attendance will be asked to share their concerns on the topic. Three members of Eugene Middle East Peace Group, Gary Reiss, Ibrahim Hamide and Mimi Dvorson, will facilitate the meeting.
TWO WHEELS ARE BETTER Eugene area businesses are once again participating in the city's annual Commute Challenge to encourage people to leave their cars at home and walk, bike, bus, kayak, skip or carpool to work. The challenge week is Oct. 9-13 and participating businesses such as Eugene Weekly will report to the city Oct. 11 on the number of employees using alternative transportation. An awards luncheon is Friday, Oct. 13 honoring businesses with the highest percentage of employees participating in size categories. Individual prizes will also be given. For information call Cindy at 682-5285. The Commute Challenge coincides with the city's Walking and Biking Summit from 8:30 am to 1 pm Saturday, Oct. 7 at the UO's EMU. The free summit, including a free breakfast and lunch, is the kick-off event of a new strategic walking and biking planning process for the city of Eugene. For more information, visit www.eugene-or.gov/walkbike "The goal of the summit is to get community residents excited and interested in the planning process while also gathering some useful information about areas of the walking and biking infrastructure that could use some improvement," says David Roth, transportation planning technician with Public Works Engineering. "In addition to facilities improvement, we would also like to find out what else can be done to make Eugene a better place for walking and biking." Lane County Herbicide Spray Schedule Near Lorane Grade School: Guistina Land & Timber (345-2301) will ground spray Glyphosate near Hawley, Crow, Turkey Run, Camas Swale, and Rebel Creeks starting Oct. 4 (#781-51125). Oregon Forest Management Services (896-3757) will ground spray Razor for Guistina on 176 acres near Fox Hollow and Camas Swale Roads (#781-51126). Kester Family Trust (942-9264) will contract aerial spraying on 91 acres and ground spraying on 130 acres with Oust Extra near Hawley Creek and S. Fork of Siuslaw starting Oct. 16 (#781-51130). Weyerhaeuser Company (744-4600) is ground spraying Arsenal AC, Chopper, and Garlon 4 on 157 acres (#781-51140). Near Deadwood: L& B Reforestation (929-2840) is ground spraying Oust Extra for Thompson Tree Farm (929-6849) near Panther Creek (#781-51113). Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, www.forestlanddwellers.org
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS Last week's cover featured a small photo of two Fender's blue butterflies, and the same photo ran in our Outdoors issue May 5. The unidentified photographer is Matthew Benotsch, Willamette Valley stewardship coordinator for the Eugene office of The Nature Conservancy of Oregon.
DONNIE SEVILLA
"I saw the people change the course of the government," says Donnie Sevilla, who grew up in San Francisco during the 1960s. "I was a child of that generation." After 15 years as a timber faller in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Sevilla moved into construction as Silicon Valley ate the "tomato capital of the world." In 1990, he relocated to 10 acres just outside Cottage Grove, "I moved to Oregon and I'm glad I did," he says. "Eugene is one of the enlightened places on Earth." An avid radio fan since age 14, when he built a Scott radio kit, Sevilla enlisted Aprovecho (his local appropriate-tech non-profit) to sponsor a low-power FM station. After a two-year wait for FCC approval and another year to assemble used broadcasting equipment, station KSOW-LP (Real Rural Radio, 106.7 FM, ksow.org) went on air in late 2004 from a studio in Sevilla's home. KSOW has an eight-mile broadcast radius and a 24-hour schedule of public-affairs and music programs. "We have 15 programmers, all volunteers," says Sevilla. "I'm the station manager and chief janitor." |
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