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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Newsletter - 10/19/07EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER October 18, 2007 City of Eugene 777 Pearl Street, Room 105 Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793 (541) 682-5010 (541) 682-5414 (FAX) www.eugene-or.gov IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION OREGON BUSINESS MAGAZINE TOUR OF EUGENE EUGENE FIREFIGHTERS PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL TERRORISM DRILL FAMILY FIESTAS AT LIBRARY CELEBRATE DIA DE LOS MUERTOS/DAY OF THE DEAD ORPA HONORS EUGENE’S “ARTS FOR ALL” PROGRAM FREE “FUN NIGHT” GROWS IN POPULARITY AROUND THE CITY Oregon Business Magazine Tour of Eugene th On September 13, Oregon Business Magazine’s 25 Anniversary Tour came to Eugene. Sustainable practices, green building and other business innovations unique to the Eugene community were highlighted. The tour started at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field with a welcome from Chamber of Commerce President Dave Hauser and remarks from Frances Dyke, Vice President of Finance at the University of Oregon, Greg Erwin, Chair of the Eugene ’08 Steering Committee, and Julia Brim-Edwards from Nike. The delegation then toured the University on bikes provided by Junk be Gone and Blue Heron, stopping at the Lillis Business Complex, one of Eugene’s newest and most earth-friendly buildings. At Lillis, Mayor Kitty Piercy gave an overview of her Sustainable Business Initiative, and Dean James Bean spoke about the Lillis building's features as well as the Lundquist College of Business' offerings. From Lillis, the tour walked to Sacred Heart Medical Center’s Hilyard Campus where the program director, a clinical director, and a fourth year medical student spoke about the area’s first satellite site for the Medical Education Collaborative. Next, the delegation hopped on the EmX bound for downtown with LTD General Manager, Mark Pangborn – a highlight of the day. From downtown, the tour loaded into a fleet of City hybrid automobiles and headed for Skinner Butte for lunch and a bird’s eye tour of downtown given by Downtown Eugene, Inc. Director, Russ Brink. Delegates continued in the hybrids for a tour of the West Eugene Enterprise Zone, hosted by Jack Roberts, of Lane Metro Partnership, and Bob Warren, of Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, with stops at Invitrogen and Hynix. In the evening, tour delegates attended a social networking event at Lavelle in Fifth Street Public Market with representatives from Eugene’s business community. Eugene’s tour organizers presented Oregon Business with an honorary award for the work they do to promote Oregon’s industries. Read what Oregon Business magazine had to say about the day by going to www.oregonbusiness.com/tour and clicking on "Tour Blog." The tour ended on September 28. For more information, contact Amanda Nobel, Community Development Division Loan Analyst, at 682-5535 or via e-mail (amanda.r.nobel@ci.eugene.or.us). EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 October 18, 2007 Eugene Firefighters Participate in National Terrorism Drill The Southern Region Team of Oregon's Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) program, including a complement from Eugene Fire & EMS, responded to Portland Tuesday as part of FEMA's national antiterrorism exercise, called "TOPOFF" 4 (short for "top officials"). The local firefighters were among 35 team members that also included responders from Springfield, Salem, Corvallis, and Albany. The Portland scenario simulated the detonation of a radioactive "dirty" bomb at the site of Portland's Steel Bridge, resulting in massive casualties, an extremely hazardous rescue environment, and transportation obstacles. Once on-scene, the Southern Region Team was directed to a rescue site, where they performed a safety assessment, conducted a search for victims, and then deployed rescue teams to extricate victims from the rubble caused by the explosion. Initial indications from FEMA evaluators were that the Southern Team exceeded expectations in all three performance areas. Drills of this type serve to validate the high level of readiness maintained by the area's urban rescue force and the effectiveness of ongoing training for those individuals. They also demonstrate and reinforce the ability of responders from different agencies to interact and perform effectively as a unit. Because of the exercise, team members were able to identify potential refinements in the logistics of interagency deployment to the operational staging area. Participating agencies will be reimbursed by the Department of Homeland Security for the time spent taking part in the TOPOFF exercise. For more information, please contact Joe Zaludek, deputy chief of Special Operations, at 682-7103. Family Fiestas at Library Celebrate Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead í Kids and their families are invited to celebrate Da de los Muertos/Day of the Dead with Bilingual Family Fiestas at the Eugene Public Library this month. Family Fiestas feature stories and sing-alongs in Spanish and English, plus mask-making, snacks, and new friends. Join the fun 11:00 - noon, on Saturday, October 20, at the Downtown Library. Come early to catch bilingual Family Music Time with Jessie Marquez at 10:15, too! Or, join in on Saturday, October 27, 11:00 - noon, with the Family Fiesta at the Bethel Branch, 1990 Echo Hollow Road. For more information, call the Eugene Public Library at 682-8316 or visit www.eugene-or.gov/library. ORPA Honors Eugene’s “Arts for All” Program Oregon Recreation and Parks Association (ORPA) has awarded the SPRINT (Section for Programming Interest) 2007 Programming Award to the City of Eugene’s “Arts for All Program,” coordinated by Patty Prather. “Arts for All” offers individuals of all abilities an opportunity for creative expression of the arts. Adaptive art tools are designed so that participants with limited movement or lack of fine motor skills can create group murals, design and paint original tee-shirts, create painted wrapping paper and much more. The Adaptive Recreation Program teaches educators, parents and group leaders how to use the equipment and lends the tools to schools, hospitals, residential care facilities, civic groups, service clubs or arts and cultural agencies. For more information, contact Patty Prather, 682-6365. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 October 18, 2007 Free “Fun Night” Grows in Popularity The First Friday Fun Night at Petersen Barn Community Center, held on October 5, was a huge success, drawing 167 people – nearly three times as many as at previous Fun Nights. The age of participants ranged from 1 to 70 years. The free event included a vegetarian or meat taco salad served from 5:30 – 7 p.m. After dinner, board games and crafts were set out for the children and parents to play or work together. The event was publicized through Bethel elementary and middle schools and was posted on the Pete Barn reader board. The next First Friday Fun Night at Pete Barn will be held on November 2. For information, contact Anya Steinbruck, 682-5521. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 October 18, 2007