City Council Newsletter - 05/24/07

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First place finishers from the Eugene meets qualified for the state final meet on June 16 at Marist High School that will feature nearly 500 athletes from around Oregon. A Pacific Northwest team selected from event winners in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, Idaho, Montana and Alaska will compete in the North American Finals in Hershey, Pennsylvania later this summer. Trip expenses for the young athletes are paid for by Hershey’s Corporation. For more information, contact Program Supervisor and Hershey’s Games State Co-Chair, Kim McManus at 682-6343. Eugene and Springfield Collaborate for High-Rise Training The tallest building in Eugene was the site of a unique training exercise last week. The Eugene Fire & EMS Department and Springfield Fire and Life Safety Department held a joint high-rise training drill at the 18-story Ya-Po-Ah Terrace apartments in downtown Eugene. This large-scale drill gave both departments a realistic opportunity to experience some of the challenges emergency response crews can expect when working in high-rise buildings. For example, since elevators are not available in a fire situation, one of the challenges emergency response crews face is getting themselves and their gear up several flights of stairs, which is extremely physically demanding. This needs to be accomplished despite the likely potential of the building occupants trying to exit the structure. Firefighting crews finished the training exercise by spraying water off of the building's rooftop. The goal was to make the exercise as realistic as possible, without actually evacuating the residents of the retirement community. It was a huge success, and more than 25 firefighters between the two departments participated in the training session. For more information, please contact Acting Deputy Chief Operations Randy DeWitt at 682-7130. Eugene Airport to Gain Another Daily Flight to Los Angeles Delta Air Lines will be adding a daily flight between Eugene and Los Angeles beginning July 1. Delta Connection carrier ExpressJet Airlines will operate the new route using 50-passenger Embraer 145 regional jets. The flights will feature upgraded in-flight entertainment with more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio and redesigned, memory foam leather seating with no middle seats. “The industry is rebounding a little bit and looking at service needs,” said Tim Doll, Eugene Airport manager. “Luckily, we’re able to add these additional flights and make it more convenient for travelers.” The flight will leave the Eugene Airport at 12:30 p.m., arriving in Los Angeles at 2:25 p.m. The return flight is scheduled for 9:50 a.m. from Los Angeles, arriving in Eugene at 12:05 p.m. For more information, contact Cathryn Stephens, marketing and administration supervisor, at 682-5430, cathryn.e.stephens@ci.eugene.or.us. Guided Tour of Wild Iris Ridge Restoration Project On Tuesday, May 29, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., Parks and Open Space Natural Resources Coordinator Lauri Mullen and Natural Resource Maintenance Crew Leader Jesse Cary Hobbs will be taking community members on a guided tour of restoration efforts at Wild Iris Ridge, along the Ridgeline in southeast Eugene. The tour is being presented by the Long Tom Watershed Council, which received two grants from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board to help with restoration efforts in Wild Iris Ridge. Wild Iris Ridge is a 123-acre parcel owned by the City of Eugene, and was purchased in 2003 for habitat preservation and community open space. It is estimated that less than 1 percent of upland prairie and oak savannah habitat remains in the Willamette Valley from pre-European settlement. As many as 200 species depend on this habitat for their survival. The City of Eugene is helping to restore the area by removing invasive species such as scotch broom and planting native wild flowers. Guests will be shown what is being done in the area, while learning more about techniques used and lessons learned. Councilors interested in attending may contact the Long Tom Watershed at 683-6949 or EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 May 24, 2007