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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News: News: News: Happening Person: ECO-WARRIOR JEFFREY LUERS
The case of environmental activist Jeffrey "Free" Luers has drawn the attention of activists both locally and worldwide since he was imprisoned in 2000, and every year protests and other events mark the anniversary of his imprisonment. This year's Day of Solidarity with Luers, the "Jeff Luers 7th Anniversary Event," includes music, a showing of the documentary How I Became an Eco-Warrior and presentations on "green scare" sentencing hearings and Luers' appeal. The event is at 7 pm Wednesday, June 13 at Cozmic Pizza. $5 suggested donation. Earlier this year the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed Luers' 22-year, eight-month sentence for setting fire to three SUVs at the Joe Romania Chevrolet dealership and attempted arson at the Tyree Oil depot. The court upheld the 2001 charges, but overruled the merger of some of his arson convictions. Luers will get a new sentence with a possible 10-12 year reduction. Jeffrey Luers' supporters at www.freefreenow.org find his original sentence harsh, pointing out that no people were harmed and damages were moderate – less than $50,000. Supporters claim his political views and not his actions were on trial. "We believe that Jeff received such a drastic sentence because of the political nature of the action he took," reads a statement on the Jeff Luers Support Group webpage. They point out that more severe crimes result in shorter sentences. Prosecutors viewed Luers as an eco-terrorist who lacks remorse and whose crimes could have led to more severe damage and even loss of life. Luers' co-defendant, Craig "Critter" Marshall, pleaded guilty to charges related to the Romania fire and was released on parole after serving four and a half years. — Erin Rokita
BUTTE BOMBERS Bombing down a steep hill at 50 mph in the dark on a bicycle sized for a 5-year-old may sound crazy. But not if you're Josh Dallman, 27. "It's a total rush," says Dallman of screaming along inches from the ground. Dallman and a handful of friends have started a fledgling "Eugene Bomb aka U-Bomb" mini-bike club in Eugene to pursue the "extreme" downhill sport (www.eugenebomb.com). They're not totally nuts. They wear full motorcycle helmets, gloves and some pads. They go late at night and favor quiet streets to avoid traffic, and they scope the pavement for hazards such as potholes and uneven pavement. Dead-end Cleveland Street in southwest Eugene is a favorite with an "unbelievable drop," Dallman said. But the website, complete with maps and ratings of the best bombs, also lists 30th Avenue and Willamette Street down from Spencer Butte. There are accidents. Dallman's friend hit a "gnarly" hole going 35 mph and broke his foot. "The pothole gobbled him up," Dallman said. He said he heard that an earlier group of hill bombers near Laurelwood Golf Course disbanded after a rider broke a limb. Dallman said he developed his bombing first in Portland, where a "Zoobomb" group uses the Max train as a chairlift to bomb a hill down from the Portland Zoo. On June 17, Dallman said he and a friend (the one with the healing foot) plan to bike 100 miles to Portland on their tiny bikes and then join a 100 mile Zoobomb century there of 8 to 14 hours of hill bombing. Dallman says he does worry about speeding tickets in Eugene. The police "have definitely checked us out, but they've never harassed us," he said. The group tries to be courteous to neighbors on the quiet residential streets to avoid complaints, he said. "Safety third is our slogan," Dallman said. The first two rules being "bomb and bomb," he said. But Dallman said, "We try to be pretty safe, because we're going 50 mph." He laughed, "We take it pretty seriously, it's definitely a religious experience when you go down." — Alan Pittman
'FIXING' MEASURE 37 The Oregon Legislature is preparing to refer to voters in the fall a measure that would scale back rural development under Measure 37, according to Jim Just of the Goal One Coalition, a statewide land-use watchdog group with an office in Eugene (www.goal1.org)."While Republicans and property rights groups are vociferously opposed to the 'fix,' in reality the voters would once again be asked to endorse an extreme and radical regulatory takings measure," says Just. "But this time, if ratified, Democrats and progressive forces would own it." Just says one of the overlooked provisions of the "fix" is the complete exemption of farm and forest practices from the 10 percent (25 percent over five years) "loss-of-value threshold that triggers compensation." This means, he says, that "it will be impossible in Oregon to address global warming by regulating farm and forest practices to increase or maximize CO2 sequestration or by limiting energy-guzzling, emissions-spewing development patterns." Republicans in Salem have advocated leaving Measure 37 alone. On the Democratic side of the aisle, discussion has centered on whether to try to repair inequities in the legislation and reduce its environmental impact, or simply send the entire measure back to the voters, gambling that it will be overturned.
FROM PIT TO SHINING PIT
A free guided tour of downtown Eugene areas near West Broadway being considered for redevelopment is planned to begin at 5:30 pm Friday, June 15, starting outside the Eugene Public Library. The "Pit to Pit Walk" is sponsored by Citizens for Public Accountability (CPA) and will include discussion of the two excavated lots known locally as the Sears Pit across from the library and Aster's Hole on Willamette. The tour is expected to draw architects, designers, city representatives, business people and interested citizens. Public participation and input are encouraged. The walk "will provide a lively, informal venue for talking about factors in downtown redevelopment such as public space, retail mix and local business, housing options and affordability, historic preservation, and sustainability," according to a statement from CPA. For more information or to get on the CPA e-mail list, contact cpasc@lists.opn.org
WAR STATS Iraq War statistics as of June 4 include 3,495 U.S. military deaths, 111 U.S. military suicides, 25,242 U.S. military wounded, 398 military contractor deaths and 64,776 to 70,934 Iraqi civilian deaths due to warfare. Cost of the war is calculated at $431.7 billion. Sources are www.IraqBodyCount.org and icasualties.org and CostOfWar.com EW TAKES 18 AWARDS Eugene Weekly won a record 18 regional and state Excellence in Journalism awards for stories published in 2006, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) announced June 2 in Vancouver, Wash. EW won nine awards in the Northwest region SPJ contest for alternative newsweeklies and nine awards in the Greater Oregon SPJ contest for non-daily newspapers. Kera Abraham won two awards in the Northwest contest and four awards in the Oregon contest. In the Northwest competition, she won a first place government reporting award for "An Unwelcome No," about the prosecution of a woman who spoke out at a Dick Cheney rally. She also won a first place social issues journalism award for "Flames of Dissent," a series on environmental arsonists. In the Oregon contest, Abraham won a second place news feature award for "Flames of Dissent." She won three third place awards including: comprehensive coverage in "The Battle of Biscuit," about salvage logging; a profile of Charles Gray, "Peace Through Poverty"; and for science and health reporting for "Skeeter Heater: Mosquitoes Adapt to Global Warming." Alan Pittman won four awards in the Northwest contest. He won a first place environmental journalism award for "Boom! Who are the Real Terrorists?" and a first place business reporting award for "Which Way on Broadway." He won a second place award for investigative reporting for "Besmirched: Files Show How EPD Failed to Stop Magaña," and he won a third place education reporting award for "Deadbeat Legislature." In the Oregon non-daily contest, Pittman won a third place investigative reporting award for "Besmirched." Suzi Steffen won three awards in the Northwest contest. She won a third place education reporting award for "School de Verano," a third place criticism award for "This Thing Called Infamous" and a business journalism honorable mention for "Labor's Day." In the Oregon non-daily contest Steffen also won a second place arts and criticism award for her "This Thing Called Infamous" film review. EW also won three other Oregon non-daily contest awards. Todd Cooper won a second place, page one design award for "Doomed to Demo." Jason Blair won a third place arts and criticism award for "The Time of No Time," a book review of The Road. The EW editorial and art departments also won a third place award for general excellence. Lane County Herbicide Spray Schedule Near Mohawk High School and Walterville schools: Weyerhaeuser Company (741-5211) will be spraying roadsides with 2,4-D LV6, Garlon 4 and 3A, Milestone, Accord, Escort XP, Chopper herbicides plus Hasten, Competitor, Induce and R-11 adjuvants on 10 miles of roads near Cartwright, Lane, Taylor and McKenzie River tributaries starting June 11 (No. 771-55545, 55546, and 55547). Call Jeft Yost at Weyerhaeuser, or Tim Meehan at Oregon Department of Forestry at 726-3588. Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, www.forestlanddwellers.org
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS • In our Summer Guide May 31, the 4th of July Freedom Festival at Alton Baker Park was incorrectly listed as free. Admission is $6 for adults and $1 for children 6-11 years old. • Our April 26 Chow listed an outdated location for the Boba Bubble mobile tea cart. The cart, operated by Colin Albi, a South Eugene High School student, is now located at Sunrise Oriental Market on 29th near Willamette. • In our May 31 visual arts story on an exhibit of UO MFA candidates' work, one of the artist's names was incorrect. Patience Wyman created "nullus titulus."
CHERYL LEMMER
A native of Roselle, N.J., Cheryl Lemmer studied dance for two years at Ramapo College in her home state before heading west to Arizona at age 19. She ultimately found Eugene and completed a UO degree in dance in 1980. She also married John Lemmer and had a daughter, Jesse, in 1981. Since the mid-1980s, Lemmer has taught dance, from ballet to hip hop, and exercise classes all over town. "I've taught part-time at LCC for 20 years," she notes. "I do Pilates here at In Shape and at the Pilates Center. I try to learn what's new and teach the latest." For 17 years, Lemmer has assisted her UO classmate Cindy Zreliak with the ZAPP Dance Company, a group that performs at local benefit events and goes on tour during the summer. "It's a family affair," she says: Jesse joined ZAPP when she was 8 and continued until she was 25, and John designs and builds the sets. Verna Reidy of Eugene is a regular in Lemmer's Saturday morning aerobic dance class at In Shape. "Her exuberance and talent are infectious," Reidy says. "My life would not be the same without her classes." |
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