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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News: Happenin' Person: David Helfand FLARES OVER FIELD FLAMES When the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency's Citizen Advisory Committee met on Nov. 28, the hot item on the agenda was grass seed field burning — or rather, whether the committee would protest the LRAPA board's recent decision to ask the Legislature to end the smoky practice in the Willamette Valley. But committee members had a hard time getting that far, instead focusing on the rather existential query, "Why are we here?" Two weeks earlier, the LRAPA board had voted 5-3 in favor of sending a letter to Lane County legislators asking them to work to eliminate grass seed field burning in the Willamette Valley as soon as possible. Field burning season occurs during the months after harvest, from early July to late September, when grass seed farmers torch their fields to remove unwanted straw debris and weeds. The Legislature makes the laws governing field burning, and the Oregon Department of Agriculture enforces them. In 1991, the Legislature passed a law that reduced field burning to about one-sixth the acreage burned in the 1970s. But complaints about the smoke continue. According to ODA Smoke Management Program Manager John Byers, Eugene residents made 537 smoke complaints in 2005 — significantly higher than the average of about 400 per year from Eugene-Springfield residents since 2000. The board members who supported sending the letter, including former Oregon Toxics Alliance Executive Director David Monk, voiced concerns that smoke from field burning was putting vulnerable populations such as children, seniors and people with asthma at increased risk of respiratory illness. "I meet people who say, 'I can't breathe today,' and their eyes are running, and they're coughing," said board member Betty Taylor. "It's not something to be taken lightly." But Springfield resident and LRAPA advisory committee member Gery Vander Meer exhorted the board to take no action against field burning. He emphasized that seed companies in the Willamette Valley can further reduce their own burning through voluntary technology upgrades and cautioned that a ban on field burning could drive away what he called a $600 million-a-year grass seed industry, with adverse impacts on Lane County's economy. But board member Bill Carpenter brushed off that concern. "While it is a profitable industry, it's really no different than taking your garbage and throwing it in the backyard of your neighbor," he said. "If the Legislature passes this, it will force the grass seed producers to find methods to eliminate burning." Board chair Dave Ralston, representing Springfield, sided with Vander Meer. "Our mission is not to stop all pollution. We actually issue permits to allow people to pollute," he noted. "It doesn't seem reasonable to isolate out one industry and punish them for that." The board passed the motion and the letter was sent later that week, leaving some advisory committee members feeling left out. At the committee's Nov. 28 meeting, Vander Meer spearheaded an attempt to send a letter to the board protesting its decision to advocate against field burning. "[T]his action threatens the long standing non-partisan status LRAPA has always maintained," the letter stated. The committee, however, voted 3-6, with one abstention, against sending that letter to the board. At the meeting's conclusion, it was unclear what action, if any, the committee would take. — Kera Abraham TREES FALL FOR PANTIES The mailing of an estimated one million catalogs a day by a lingerie company inspired a protest at the Victoria's Secret store in the Valley River Center (VRC) Nov. 24, but the protesters were met at the door and ordered to leave by mall security guards and a Eugene police officer. A tip or query to the store from an undetermined local broadcast station reportedly foiled the protest.
Members of Cascadia Forest Defenders and the UO's Forest Action planned the noon protest rally. "Some of the protesters were scantily clad in lingerie, some held recycled cardboard chainsaws and cut-out trees, while others held signs," says Josh Schlossberg of the Native Forest Council. Signs read: "How many trees died for your panties?" "A million catalogs a day cut from old growth forests," "You don't have to cut trees to sell your panties," and "Victoria's Dirty Secret: 300 trees a day sent to landfill for catalogs." Schlossberg, a reporter for Forest Voice newspaper, says several of the protesters and bystanders were questioned and threatened with arrest for criminal trespassing, and one protester was banned from the VRC for three years. "The protest had no threat, veiled or intended, and was only meant to send a message in a humorous manner," he says. The groups in the campaign are asking that Victoria's Secret begin using tree-free (hemp/kenaf) or 100 percent recycled paper in their catalogs and simply send out fewer catalogs. Victoria's Secret did not respond to a request for comment by press time, but regarding previous protests at other stores around the country, the company says it has improved its environmental standards, in part due to pressure from organizations. Some catalogs are now printed on 80 percent post-recycled content paper, and the company is planning to use the same paper in all its catalogs. — TJT
GROWING UP GREEN The Whiteaker School site may once again come alive with the buzz of children learning. Head Start volunteer John Sundquist proposes to develop the former elementary school grounds into a "science and nutrition garden," but discussions with Head Start management are still in their early stages. Sundquist's proposal includes landscaped recreation areas where preschool children can safely explore and develop motor skills, as well as garden installations to teach children of all ages about the natural world as it relates to the production of food. Head Start sites in Washington and Idaho have constructed similar "fun garden" projects. According to Sundquist, it is never too early to introduce real science into the learning environments of young children. "They'll need biology to deal with the problems they'll run into in the future," he wrote by email, "including resource depletion, habitat degradation, diminishing food, fiber and seed stocks, overpopulation, global warming, toxic contamination, antibiotic resistance and emerging diseases." Sunquist also proposes compost piles and worm bins to emphasize the importance of the "five Ms": microbes, moisture, minerals, mulch and mycelium. And in time, he would like to expand the garden's planned activities to include theatrical opportunities for youngsters. "Eventually," he wrote, "the kids will be looking through microscopes at the creatures they used to portray." Annie Soto, executive director of Head Start of Lane County, emphasizes that the proposal is still a "germinating" idea and "not a happening thing yet." Sundquist states that planning in cooperation with interested community players is the next step for the gardens. He hopes once the planning is complete, the funding will materialize from a number of local and national sources interested in early childhood education, science education, gardening and eco-tourism. — Adrienne van der Valk
STANDING UP AGAINST HATE City of Eugene councilors and mayor have distributed a letter calling for action in response to an "alarming amount" of hate graffiti found painted along the bike path and at various locations around Amazon Park, South Eugene High School and the YMCA in mid-November. The graffiti targeted Asian-Americans, gays, immigrants and Jews. "These acts attempted to intimidate all people of color, religious and sexual minorities," reads the statement. "Hate against any community impacts us all. These despicable criminal acts are being aggressively investigated with the ultimate purpose of bringing those responsible to justice. Our record of success in prosecuting those who commit hate crimes in Eugene is a very good one and we will work hard to ensure that record continues." The statement is signed by Mayor Piercy and Councilors Solomon, Ortiz and Kelly, along with Carmen Urbina of the Human Rights Commission and Mo Young of Back2Back, a program of Community Alliance of Lane County. The statement calls on all residents to be the "eyes and ears" of the community and report all activities to police or the Sheriff's Department and to call the Stop Hate Campaign at 607-8077 or email report_hate@yahoo.com
Lane County Herbicide Spray Schedule • In comparison with the 74,468* acres within Lane County designated to receive aerial or ground applications of herbicides in 2006, according to Oregon Department of Forestry notifications filed between Jan. 1 – Sept. 30, the three counties to the north of Lane had the following totals: Lincoln, 24,577 acres; Benton, 16,545 acres; Linn, 65,914 acres. Visit www.forestlanddwellers.orgfor details on locations, land owners and operators of these herbicide applications. *Revised total is for herbicides only (86,284 acres total for all chemicals). Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers 342-8332
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS • A photo of an Ethiopian girl in our Art in the Galleries listings Nov. 16 was submitted to EW without a photo credit. We heard from the photographer, UO student Anni Brown-Skiles, who tells us the photo was taken at an orphanage in Addis Ababa, where she worked last summer with Adoption Advocates International. The photo is part of a display at the Adell McMillan Gallery through Nov. 30. • In "Flames of Dissent" Pt. III last week, the October 1998 arson at Vail Mountain ski resort was erroneously dated to 1999. Although a communiqué was sent to the North American ELF Press Office after the 2001 Romania arson, that action was not explicitly claimed by ELF. • The photo accompanying the article "Close to Home" (11/16) was incorrectly credited to Lisa Warnes. That photo, as well as the uncredited photo accompanying the news brief "Bridging the Trail" (9/28), should have been credited to Kevin Matthews/Artifice Images.
DAVID HELFAND
Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, folk harper David Helfand got his start in music as a drummer in fourth grade. He picked up the guitar in high school. During five years in Ithaca, N.Y., where he earned a degree in recreation therapy from Cortland College, Helfand was one half of the Impressionistic Folk Duet. "I played Celtic harp, guitar, and mandolin," he says. "Ever since, I've played a merger of acoustic and electronic space music." When he moved to Eugene in 1987, Helfand founded the electronic/acoustic group Mythic Sky and toured Northwest music fests for nine years. More recently he has performed in Israel and England. Check out his CD recordings and upcoming concerts at davidhelfand.com. Since his arrival in Oregon, Helfand has worked as a special-ed job trainer for the 4J School District. In 1999 he co-founded the ACCORD Music Mentorship program that provides free lessons and instruments to at-risk kids. This fall he inaugurated a music program for adults with developmental disabilities at the Hilyard Community Center.
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