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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News: News: News: News: Happening Person: Sue Burgess BURNING SMOKES OUT CITIZENS Was there a tickle in the back of your throat last week? Field burning season began as scheduled after the Fourth of July and the first burn of the season went amiss.
The temperatures were heading up to 100 degrees last Tuesday when the smoke from a 55-acre field burn south of Harrisburg made its way into the lungs of Eugene residents. The smoke blew out in the afternoon, but when winds shifted, it returned to the valley that evening. According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), conditions were "optimal" at 11:40 am when the farmer's burn was set. But the burn should have been set with "rapid ignition." Instead, it began to smudge. Rather than blow out over the Coast Range as planned, the smoke headed to Eugene. ODA and Lane Regional Air Regulation Authority (LRAPA) promptly received a large number of complaints. An email from Kathy Coba of the ODA blames the hundreds of complaints on "heightened awareness" of the issue "because of the legislation and debate on field burning." "If this is the agency in charge of the program, we are all in trouble. They allowed a burn knowing this was to be the hottest day of the year. How incredibly stupid," says Charlie Tebbutt of the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC), one of the groups working to end field burning in Oregon. Data collected on the LRAPA website from the day of the burn shows a spike over 10 parts per million (ppm) in the fine particulate matter at Amazon Park and at the downtown air quality monitoring stations. A study by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare says that increases over 10 ppm in fine particulate matter result in a significant increase in strokes. Information from the Idaho report was sent by WELC to Oregon's Environmental Quality Commission, which is currently being asked to end field burning due to the health issues it causes for Oregonians. Oregon Toxics Alliance and WELC will have a community meeting to discuss the effects of field burning and a possible lawsuit to stop burning at 7 pm on July 19 in the EWEB Community Room, 500 E. 4th Avenue, Eugene. For more information call 465-8860 or go to the www.oregontoxics.org website. — Camilla Mortensen
ROLLING DOWNTOWN Plans to redevelop downtown Eugene with massive public subsidies are rolling forward with limited vocal opposition. Councilor Bonny Bettman said she was "disappointed" that more opponents didn't turn out for a July 16 public hearing before the council concerning part of the about $40 million in subsidies for developers. "There's really no awareness of what is going on," Bettman said. "I can't even describe how big of a mistake the city is making here," she said. "It's a monumental misappropriation of public tax dollars." Some of the subsidy for the high-end chain stores and their developers will come from federal funds dedicated to alleviating poverty. "We're basically diverting that money from low-income needy people and giving it to speculators downtown like Connor-Woolley," Bettman said. Tom Connor and Don Woolley own most of the redevelopment area and will profit from "overinflated land prices" they want the city to pay, Bettman said. Bettman said the city's argument that the spending is appropriate because the chain stores will provide poor people with retail jobs makes no sense. "They're basically boasting there's going to be these low-income service jobs available." Councilor Bettman also questions why the city should subsidize national chains, including a corporate arthouse theater, against local businesses. "How is the Bijou going to be able to continue to compete with a heavily publicly subsidized theater?" —Alan Pittman
RELAY FOR LIFE Hundreds of local community members will take to the track July 27 to fight against cancer. Teams of people will gather for the Eugene-Springfield Relay for Life and walk the track for a solid 24 hours. The walkers will support survivors and family members and friends of those who lost their lives to cancer. The goal is to have team members walking the entire time. For local resident Kenny Gates, this marks the ninth year that his team will walk for a cure. In 1994 Gates and his wife lost their 10-year-old son Zachary Raymond to a rare form of brain cancer called glio fribroma. Shortly after their loss, they formed Zach's team to raise cancer awareness and support for finding a cure. "We also, as always, walk for all who have battled or are battling this cruel disease," Gates said. The event will honor survivors during the Survivors Lap and will remember those whose lives were claimed by cancer during the Luminaria Ceremony. Cancer is currently the second leading cause of death in the U.S. It is exceeded only by heart disease. In Oregon, the American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates there will be 18,630 new cancer cases in 2007. The ACS further predicts 7,370 statewide cancer deaths this year. This year more than 23 countries will host Relay for Life events, drawing worldwide attention to cancer awareness. The local event is sponsored by ACS's Eugene-Springfield chapter and is an "overnight activity that mobilizes communities across the country to celebrate survivorship, remember those who lost their lives to cancer and raise money for the fight against cancer." The Eugene-Springfield Relay for Life is planned to begin at noon on Friday, July 27, at LCC. For more information about the relay, see www.cancer.org — Erin Rokita
TRAINSONG'S POLLUTION PURGATORY Union Pacific took one step closer to heeding public concerns about a railroad pollution plume at a meeting last Thursday.
Residents were pleased to learn the railroad will test 30 additional homes for toxic vapor contamination as opposed to the original six, but many agree the scope of testing and cleanup should be expanded even further. "It seems clear that the intent of the railroad is to downplay the potential hazards and financial impacts of their pollution," said Becky Riley. Riley is a longtime northwest Eugene resident and board member of the Railroad Pollution Coalition (RPC), a grassroots volunteer group of members from neighborhoods adjacent to the railyard and from the Oregon Toxics Alliance. Riley said the railroad should be more forthcoming about the potential health risks and "should compensate residents for lost property value." RPC wants the railroad to improve communication with area residents, including notifying renters and property owners of test results in a timely manner and developing a system to inform new residents about solvent contamination. Conducting more comprehensive tests to determine the full extent of contamination and more aggressively cleaning up the pollution should, in RPC's view, be on the railroad's list of priorities. What's more, residents in the River Road neighborhood over the solvent plume also have a right to be protected from contamination, Riley said. "I am not entirely convinced that the potential for crawl space contamination in River Road should be dismissed, at least not for every property, and not without more justification," she commented in response to the state Superfund Health Investigation Program's health assessment completed in May. If vapor intrusion is of less concern in River Road, then the reasons "should be explained in the report, preferably with data to back up the reasoning," Riley said. SHINE's health report concluded that crawlspace vapor contamination in many Trainsong homes presents a "public health hazard." River Road was originally included in the report, but SHINE later declared this a mistake. Parts of the River Road neighborhood are, however, over the groundwater contamination plume. According to Riley, before "dismissing potential risks of vapor intrusion in River Road," more evidence is needed — Erin Rokita For more background on railyard pollution, see EW’s 3/24/05 cover story: www.eugeneweekly.com/2005/03/24/coverstory.html, and 6/7/07 news story: www.eugeneweekly.com/2007/06/07/news3.html.
HEMPFEST A HempFest once threatened with closure by the cops will be held again in Washington-Jefferson Park this weekend. The Emerald Empire HempFest was first held in 2003. Eugene police alleged that marijuana dealing was happening and objected to the event happening the next year. Organizers met with city officials and agreed to a strict no-tolerance drug policy (including for medical marijuana patients) for the HempFest as a condition for it continuing, according to an event press release. The free HempFest, July 20-22, will include music, speakers and food and Hemp product vendors. It's 4:20 (of course) pm to 10 pm Friday, noon to 10 pm Saturday and noon to 8 pm Sunday. Organizers point out the park is named after George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, two early hemp farmers. WAR DEAD Since the U.S. invasion began on March 20, 2003 (July 5 numbers in parentheses): • 3,618 U.S. troops killed* (3,583) • 26,558 U.S. troops injured* • 287 Coalition troops killed* (281) • 411 contractors killed** (404) • 73,611 Iraqi civilians killed*** (73,120) • $444 billion cost of war ($439.7 billion)**** * through July 17, 2007; source: icasualties.org ** partial estimate; source: icasualties.org *** highest estimate; source: iraqbodycount.org ****source: costofwar.com
Lane Area Herbicide Spray Schedule • Weyerhaeuser - South Valley (744-4600) will aerially spray 258 acres with Garlon 4, XRT, Accord, Arsenal, Transline, Oust XP, Xtra, Chopper, and Escort herbicides plus Methylated Seed Oil, Support, Induce, and Activator 90 adjuvants near Long Tom River in Low Pass and near Post Creek in Blachly starting August 15th. • Washburn Contract Services (503-831-1593) will spray roadsides with 2,4-D LV6, Oust, Escort, Glyphosate, and Milestone herbicides for Freres Timber (503-859-2121) starting July 25th. Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, www.forestlanddwellers.org
SUE BURGESS
As a kid growing up in Eugene, Sue Burgess learned to raise dogs through the 4-H dog program. "Then I got into the 4-H guide dog program," she says. "I raised guide dog puppies in '72, '74, and '76." After graduation from Willamette High, Burgess studied dog grooming at a local school. "I thought I would do it for a while, till I figured out what I really wanted," she says. Since then, she has groomed dogs for vets and pet stores, owned a pet store, and worked as an independent dog groomer for the past 22 years, sharing space with fellow groomer Sheila Brown. In 2000, with her two kids nearly grown, Burgess contacted Guide Dogs for the Blind (guidedogs.com) and again began to raise guide dog puppies. "It's a big commitment," she says. "They're with you 24/7, at the store, the bank, everywhere." Her current guide-dog puppy, Prego, arrived from Guide Dogs breeders at eight weeks old last December. "I keep them 14 months," she says. "They go on to guide-dog college to learn harness work. My first puppy, Falstaff, is now in Arizona, Noah's in Georgia, and Benny will graduate tomorrow."
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