A Eugene political group called the Sustainable Forestry Network (SFN) is sponsoring a ballot initiative to ban clear-cutting in the state of Oregon.
If they obtain 80,000 signatures by July 1, then the Oregon Forest Restoration Initiative will appear on the November ballot. This bill moves to prevent clearcutting on public and private lands as well as stop the use of toxic herbicides and pesticides in foresting.
SFN Director and Lane County Commissioner candidate Gary Kutcher is leading the charge with passion. He fears continued clearcutting will destroy the rest of Oregon’s old growth forests.
“The ecosystem is something that nourishes us spiritually," Kutcher said, "and to see it be destroyed indiscriminately is tragic, it’s like watching war.”
Opinions on clearcutting are as diverse as the forests themselves. Bill Moore of Seneca Jones Timber Company said that the practice of clear-cutting a sustainable and economical method of harvesting timber. He also said it reflects the real phases of forest growth.
The deadline to file to run for Eugene City Council and two Eugene Water and Electric Board seats is Thursday, and so far only three of the six races on the May 18 primary ballot have drawn more than one candidate, according to the city recorder's office.
Candidates first file a prospective petition, then circulate the petition to gather 25 signatures from registered voters in the ward.
Candidates have until March 4 to complete their filing and petition for city office, according to the Eugene city recorder's Web site.
The Oregon Secretary of State and Lane County Elections indicate candidates for state and county office have until March 9 to file for the primary election.
The May 18 ballot will also ask Lane County voters to choose County Commissioners and decide on a local option tax that would support 4-H and the Lane County Extension Service.
And in the headline race, Oregon Republicans and Democrats will select their parties' candidates for governor of Oregon.
Oregon Senator Frank Morse will be speaking at the annual banquet of Northwest Christian University’s Friends of the Library at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 5. in the Banquet Room of Burke-Griffeth Hall on the NCU campus.
Senator Morse, a 1966 graduate of Northwest Christian and current member of the NCU Board of Trustees, will be speaking on “Words for Life: Personal Reflections.”
For further information about this event, contact Steve Silver, director of NCU’s Kellenberger Library (541-684-7237); or Carol Webster, current president of the Friends of the Library (541-689-0723).
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Community Alliance of Lane County (CALC), and Lane County Veterans for Peace will hold an event in Eugene to draw attention to the 1,000th U.S soldier killed in Afghanistan.
The event will be at the Old Federal Building Wednesday, February 24, from 4-5:30 pm, and will feature the reading of the names of Oregon soldiers who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Mayor Kitty Piercy's One-on-One public session for February will be on Tuesday, February 23, from 5:00-6:00 p.m., at The Kiva, 125 West 11th Avenue. George Brown, City Councilor for Ward 1, will join Mayor Piercy to speak personally with community members.
The sessions are an opportunity for any resident of Eugene to speak individually with their mayor on any topic of concern. Mayor Piercy holds the meeting in a different neighborhood each month, in an ongoing effort to make participation in civic matters more accessible for interested residents.
Locations and times of future sessions will be publicized in advance and may be confirmed by contacting the City Manager's Office, 682-5010.
On Tuesday night, Eugene Water & Electric Board commissioners met in closed session with human resources staff and a recruiting consultant to narrow the field of nine prospective general manager candidates to a handful of finalists.
The board chose four finalists.
The successful candidate will replace Randy Berggren, general manager of EWEB for the past 20 years. Berggren will retire on May 1 after spending 24 years with the utility.
Finalists include:
Bradley Evans. Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska. Evans serves as chief executive officer of the Chugach Electric Association, a cooperative based in Anchorage. Evans has served in various capacities at Chugach since 1988, including stints as a transmission planning engineer and senior vice president of energy supply. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Roger James Gray. Hometown: Alamo, Calif. Gray started a management consulting firm in 2004 after retiring from San Francisco-based Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
In downtown Eugene Wednesday, former Lane County Commissioner Jerry Rust announced plans to run for Lane County's west district position on the County Commission, which represents Florence, Veneta, Junction City and the surrounding areas.
Rust served as South Eugene's commissioner for 20 years from 1977 to 1997.
In his campaign, he says he'll make public safety and health his top priorities. He also pledges to solve lane county's budget problems.
LCC wants to build its new downtown center at the former Sears store site. The 80,000 square foot facility would house energy management and "green jobs" programs relocated from the main LCC campus. The LCC Small Business Development Center Network would move in -- and even student housing may be in the mix.
Winner of two Pulitzer Prizes and a National Book Award
Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress
Sunday, February 7, 2:00
Eugene Public Library, Downtown
FREE
Eugene Public Library will host a reading and talk by W.S. Merwin, one of the most acclaimed and widely-read poets in the United States, on Sunday, February 7, at 2:00 at the Downtown Library. The winner of two Pulitzer Prizes and a National Book Award, he is also a translator and an outspoken environmentalist and pacifist. Admission is free.
Supporters of the Oregon State University Extension Service are preparing to launch a campaign in support of Measure 20-158, a five-year local option tax that would help stabilize funding for Extension’s Lane County programs.
The Save Lane Extension campaign will kick off at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12, in the Colonial Inn Room of the Vet’s Club, 1626 Willamette Street, Eugene.
Revenue raised by Measure 20-158 would re-establish local funding for Extension educational programs, office operations and support staff in Lane County. It also would provide the required matching funds for state and federal dollars that maintain Extension faculty positions in Lane County. Measure 20-158 will appear on the May 18 ballot.
