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new volunteers. Other highlights for 2008 include the activities of three volunteer teams. Twenty-two Seniors on
<br />Patrol Team volunteers spent nearly 6,000 hours patrolling streets, bike paths and parks, providing a theft-from-
<br />vehicle prevention service, issuing warnings and citations to violators of signed disabled parking spaces, assisting
<br />with traffic calming efforts and digitally photographing serialized and valuable property for Eugene residents.
<br />Members of this team also recovered 45 stolen vehicles and conducted vacation checks at the homes of 108
<br />Eugene residents. Ten Huckleberry Patrol Team volunteers located, digitally photographed, and removed 622
<br />graffiti tags in the midtown area. Nineteen Squad Car Maintenance Team volunteers spent 4,445 hours shuttling
<br />police cars needing mechanical work to and from Fleet Maintenance (1,237 times), washing cars inside and out
<br />(849 times), inventorying and restocking trunks (521 times), performing minor repairs (319 times) and changing
<br />tires (57 times).
<br />For more information, contact Volunteers in Policing Program Manager, Carrie Chouinard, at 682-5355 or
<br />carrie.f.chouinard@ci.eugene.or.us.
<br />
<br />Oregon Reads: Author Lauren Kessler at Public Library
<br />In honor of Oregon’s 150th birthday this year, the Oregon Library Association is encouraging everyone in the state
<br />to read one book: "Stubborn Twig" by Eugene author Lauren Kessler. The Eugene Public Library and Springfield
<br />Public Library will co-host a free, illustrated talk by Kessler on First Friday, February
<br />6, 6:00 p.m., at the downtown Eugene Public Library. A widely published writer,
<br />Kessler has won Oregon Book Awards for both "Stubborn Twig" and "Dancing with
<br />Rose: Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer’s." She also directs the graduate
<br />program in literary nonfiction at the University of Oregon. “Stubborn Twig” tells the
<br />true story of three generations of a Japanese American family in Oregon, beginning
<br />in 1903 when Masuo Yasui arrived "with big dreams and empty pockets." It's
<br />a classic American tale of immigrants making their way in a new land, a journey
<br />overflowing with both perils and promise. Masuo Yasui worked on the railroads, in a
<br />cannery, and as a houseboy. Eventually, he and his wife owned a successful
<br />orchard. As he broke the color barrier in the local business community, his
<br />American-born children broke it in school, scouts, and sports, excelling in most
<br />everything they tried. Yet none of their accomplishments could shield them from the
<br />sometimes intense racism that scarred their formative years. For the Yasuis' first-
<br />born son, the constraints and contradictions of being both Japanese and American
<br />led to tragedy, while his seven brothers and sisters steadfastly pursued the American
<br />Dream. One became Oregon's first Japanese-American lawyer. Two became
<br />surgeons. The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, changed their lives completely and forever. Forced
<br />by the U.S. government from their homes with only what they could carry, and interned in vast inland "camps"
<br />during WWII, the family was shamed and broken. Still the Yasuis endured, as immigrants always have, to claim
<br />their place in this diverse nation. For more information about Oregon Reads events statewide, visit
<br />OregonReads2009.org. For more information about Kessler's February 6 talk, contact the Eugene Public Library at
<br />682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library.
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<br />2008 LRCS Annual Report and Division Videos Available Online
<br />The Library, Recreation and Cultural Services 2008 Annual Report is now available. The report recaps the year’s
<br />highlights for the department, including its involvement in the Olympic Trials, implementation of the Cultural Policy
<br />Report and a record number of check-outs at the Eugene Public Library. The
<br />16-page document emphasizes how LRCS enriches lives through the
<br />outcomes of the programs, events and services it offers. A long list of these
<br />outcomes is on the back cover. In an introductory letter, LRCS Executive
<br />Director Renee Grube presents the department’s Strategy for Mission
<br />Alignment which articulates how the needs of individuals direct the City
<br />Council’s vision which, in turn, guides the department’s mission and creates
<br />community. The annual report also contains a variety of interesting statistical
<br />information about the department, including budget sources, number of
<br />employees, and significant division statistics such at the number of visits to
<br />the library (1.5 million), attendance at Recreation events (650,000), and
<br />number of Hult Center attendees (230,000). Spotlight articles feature patrons
<br />and staff from each division, and photos and narrative briefly recount each
<br />division’s accomplishments for the year. While the LRCS annual report is
<br />routinely posted online, this year LRCS is printing only a small quantity of
<br />paper copies to encourage those who have computer access to read the
<br />
<br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
<br />January 29, 2009
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