HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Newsletter - 11/18/04EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
November 18, 2004
City of Eugene
777 Pearl Street, Room 105
Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793
(541) 682-5010
(541) 682-5414 (FAX)
www.ci.eugene.or, us
CITY EMPLOYEE EARNS COUNTY "TRASHBUSTER" AWARD
EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION'S 5TM ANNUAL AUTHORS AND ARTISTS FAIR
CHRISTMAS FROM DUBLIN WITH "THE THREE IRISH TENORS"
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS! - DECEMBER FIRST FRIDAY AT THE DOWNTOWN LIBRARY
STREAM TEAM VOLUNTEERS OF ALL AGES RESTORE HABITAT ACROSS THE CITY
OREGON TRACK CLUB WORKING TOGETHER TO RENOVATE PREFONTAINE TRAIL
City Employee Earns County "Trashbuster" Award
Each year Lane County government recognizes individuals, governments, and businesses for significant
recycling, reuse, or waste prevention achievement. On Wednesday, November 10, Anne Donahue,
Compost Specialist, became the second City employee to earn the distinction of "Lane County
Trashbuster."
Anne has worked with the Planning and Development Department's Solid Waste and Recycling Program
for the past six years. Anne's responsibilities include teaching residents how to compost on-site
effectively and promoting the City's yard debris collection service. Organic materials make up just over
50% of the 120,000 tons of garbage put into the landfill by Eugene residents and businesses each year.
Anne also works with schools and businesses in Eugene. She managed the installation of all eight in-
vessel composters that are operational in Eugene, and is responsible for the certification of eleven
"green schools" in the Eugene and Bethel School districts, as well as a grant program that focuses strictly
on school waste prevention programs. Anne's most recent work involves the implementation of a pilot
program which will offer food discards collection to over 1,500 customers in Eugene.
For her efforts, Anne was recognized at a Board of County Commissioners meeting and received a
glass plaque manufactured by another Eugene "Trashbuster," the Aurora Glass Foundry at St. Vincent
DePaul. Awards were also presented to Agnes Stewart Middle School of Springfield, Rapid Re-Fill Ink,
of Eugene, and Zachory Zakon, of Eugene. For more information, contact Alex Cuyler, recycling
analyst, at 682-6830, or by email at alex.d.cuyler@ci.eugene.or, us.
Eugene Public Librar~ Foundation's 5th Annual Authors and Artists Fair
Mark your calendar and double your pleasure! Join in the merriment at the Eugene Public Library
Foundation's 5th Annual Authors and Artists Fair, Saturday, December 4, from 7 - 10 p.m., filling all
three floors of the Downtown Library. Come and help kick off the Library's 100 Years celebration!
The annual Authors and Artists Fair, a delightful evening showcasing a treasure-trove of terrific gifts by
authors and artists, has quickly become a community tradition for the holiday season. Enjoy delicious
locally-made wines, desserts, and chocolates, meet notable and up-and-coming authors and artists, and
discover wonderful gifts, including unique works of art and the latest releases by local authors. Visit with
friends and acquaintances while browsing for gifts in a festive atmosphere. Hourly raffle drawings will
add to the fun, with exciting prizes available including a McKenzie River float/fishing trip, a luxury golf
resort package, a winery tour with bed-and-breakfast stay, and much more.
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November 18, 2004
Unique this year will be the display and auction of 100, one-of-a-kind banners, each individually created
by a local artist to commemorate 100 Years of the Eugene Public Library. Don't miss the inspirational
sight of all 100 banners together--a panorama of visions in a wide range of media and styles. Come bid
on your favorites for yourself or for gifts.
The annual Authors and Artists Fair is a fundraiser to benefit the Eugene Public Library Foundation,
whose mission is to develop advocates, funding, and resources to provide high quality and sustainable
services for the Eugene Public Library.
This event, sponsored by the Eugene Public Library Foundation and Eugene Public Library, is free and
open to the public. For more information, please call the Eugene Public Library Foundation at 682-5338.
Christmas from Dublin with "The Three Irish Tenors"
Treat yourself to a gift from the Emerald Isles on Tuesday, November 23, when the Hult Center presents
Christmas from Dublin starring "The Three Irish Tenors." Since its first performance, the trio has sung to
packed houses throughout Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United
States, captivating audiences with their delightful Irish charm.
Christmas from Dublin was born when three friends met over a few
pints of Guinness in McSorley's Pub in Dublin to talk about forming
"The Three Irish Tenors." With a wealth of diverse talents, energy,
optimism and an infectious sense of humor, the show features Ciaran
Nagle and Brian Dunphy from Riverdance, The Show and Anthony
Norton from La Scala Milan. Joining the three tenors will be an
ensemble of musicians as well as The Three Irish Divas: Jacqueline
Whelan, Danna Davis, and Ellen McEIroy.
Glide into the holidays with an Irish Christmas full of the songs, carols,
warmth and charm that endear the Emerald Isle to the rest of the
world. Showtime is 8 p.m. For more information, contact the Hult
Center Ticket Office at 541-682-5000.
Celebratinq lO0 Years!- December First Friday at the Downtown Library
The Downtown Library is open until 9 p.m. the first Friday of each month, offering a variety of programs
that feature music, authors, artists, and other cultural events. Please join the fun next Friday, December
3, for the following events:
6:30: Divish women's a cappella group
"Divisi" means divided musical parts that come together to make harmony! This award-winning, 11-
woman a cappella group, based at the University of Oregon, blends voices to delight audiences with
favorite songs by artists including Alanis Morisette, Mariah Carey, Joni Mitchell, and The Turtles.
6:45:100 Banners for 100 Years
Join the First Friday ArtWalk and enjoy 100 one-of-a-kind banners, each individually created by a local
artist to commemorate 100 Years of the Eugene Public Library. Enjoy refreshments and conversation at
the Artist's Reception while taking in the impressive sight of all 100 banners together. The banners will
be on view at the Downtown Library until December 15. They will be auctioned off to benefit the Eugene
Public Library Foundation, on Saturday, December 4 at the Authors and Artists Fair.
7:30: Maura Conlon-Mclvor: author reading
Portland author Maura Conlon-Mclvor, daughter of a Hoover-era FBI agent, reads from her witty,
poignant coming-of-age memoir FBI Girl: How I Learned to Crack My Father's Code. Determined to
connect, young Maura took Nancy Drew as her role model -- and as she grew, unraveled the mystery of
family ties.
As described by Publishers Weekly, "Conlon-Mclvor was a Hoover-era FBI agent's daughter, and her
diverting memoir tells her story from birth to adolescence while depicting her father as a man so taciturn
that she became convinced his every word was code for something else. As a kid, determined to
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November 18, 2004
decipher his character and the other silences around her, the author cast herself in an ongoing dream life
as a Nancy Drew-type agent." Adds Beverly Donofrio, author of Riding in Cars with Boys, "FBI Girl is
touching and funny, inspiring and tragic, enlightening and sad. I closed the book with tears in my eyes
and admiration in my heart for the girl Maura Conlon was and the writer she became."
First Friday at the Library is located at the Eugene Downtown Public Library, 100 West 10th Avenue, and
is sponsored by the Library, the Friends of the Eugene Public Library, and the Eugene Public Library
Foundation. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please call Library Director
Connie Bennett at 682-5363.
Stream Team Volunteers of Ail Ages Restore Habitat Across the City
Twenty-one Eugene Stream Team volunteers, ranging in age
from 9 to 66, helped plant several hundred camas bulbs,
saxifrage and other native wet prairie species near Lamb's
Cottage in Skinner Butte Park this past weekend. All the plants
that were used for Saturday's project were salvaged by many
different groups of volunteers over the last two years or grown
out from seed at the program's volunteer-run nursery. Last year,
Stream Team volunteers pulled ivy off nearby Skinner Butte.
This year volunteers helped create new wet prairie habitat by
planting native wildflowers (see photo at right).
"The planting was done with much care and the survival rate --
as with all volunteer plantings -- is expected to be very high,"
says Stream Team Coordinator Lorna Baldwin. "Please make a
point to visit this wonderful native wet prairie this spring."
Stream Team volunteers have also completed construction of
two 10 by 12-feet storage sheds at the new Native Plant Nursery
at Alton Baker Park and planted hundreds of riparian plants on
the banks of Amazon Creek this month. The new native plant
nursery is expected to open soon. Volunteers are welcome to
join other Stream Team volunteer tending to native plants to be
used in restoration projects across the city. Work at the nursery includes up-potting, watering and
weeding.
Stream Team provides the opportunity for members of the community, from elementary-age children to
college students to older adults, to do hands-on environmental work, restoring and caring for the city's
waterways and natural areas. For more information about Stream Team, call Lorna Baldwin at 682-4850.
City and Oreqon Track Club Workinq Together to Renovate PreFontaine Trail
The City, working in conjunction with the
Oregon Track Club Masters, recently
completed the renovation of the nearly one-
mile green loop of the PreFontaine Trail,
one of the more popular segments of the
trail because it is lighted. After conducting
research into the most effective and durable
trail maintenance for the heavily used trail,
the City is now creating a raised gravel base
for the trail and top dressing the base with
bark. Nearly 290 tons of quarry rock was
used to complete the last segment of the
green loop, and volunteers from Oregon
Track Club finished the job by laying bark on
the top layer of the trail. In total, close to a
mile of Pre's Trail has been improved.
There are still three miles of worn trail to go.
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November 18, 2004
"The deterioration of the trail surface has accelerated due to a 10-fold increase in the use of the trail over
the last few years," says Bill Brigmon, parks maintenance volunteer (pictured above on the recently
renovated trail). "In the past, the life expectancy of the bark top dressing was several years, but now it is
less than two years." In addition, Brigmon explains, the bark and gravel are costly, and the new gravel
base requires a substantial amount of gravel.
For more than a decade, Oregon Track Club has helped pay for and lay the bark for Pre's Trail, but
unfortunately, due to the increased needs of the trail, funds are beginning to dwindle. Now, the group
and the City are looking to extend the partnership to all trail users, including runners, joggers, people
walking the trail, high school track programs, run organizers, and dog owners, in order to develop a long-
term solution to the trail's ongoing maintenance needs. For more information about Pre's Trail
maintenance, call Rob Hallett, turf and grounds supervisor, at 682-4935.
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November 18, 2004