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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Newsletter - 08/10/06 EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER August 10, 2006 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 PRESCHOOLERS SAFER THANKS TO EPD’S SAFETY TOWN EUGENE MEDICS LEARN LATEST AIRWAY MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES NEW STATE LAW CHANGES SPEED ZONES NEAR SCHOOLS RECREATION SERVICES DIVISION OFFERS SURF CAMP/OOLIGANS ON THE OREGON COAST MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL IS “SOUL OF THE CITY” AROUND THE CITY Preschoolers Safer Thanks to EPD's Safety Town More than 50 children are scheduled to graduate from the Eugene Police Department's Safety Town program on Friday, August 11, in a ceremony running from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. The 56 pre-kindergarteners will have spent two weeks with Eugene Police personnel and guest speakers, learning about how to protect themselves against dangers present in everyday situations. The Safety Town program teaches life-saving lessons on pedestrian, bicycle, vehicle passenger, school bus, poison, basic fire, water, playground, and home safety. Teaching tools include a child-sized town complete with streets, crosswalks, stop signs and traffic signals. A highlight of this year's program was a visit from the crew of the Eugene Fire Department's Engine 7, who showed the kids their fire engine and taught about fire safety. During the program, participating children also get to explore a police car, police motorcycle, and school bus. Safety Town is a nationally recognized, comprehensive program that introduces young children to safety awareness and accident prevention through hands-on safety education. The Eugene Police Department partners with the Eugene Kiwanis Club to offer this two-week safety education program each summer. For more information, please contact Kerry Delf, Eugene Police Department, 682-5197. Eugene Medics Learn Latest Airway Management Techniques Proper airway management is fundamental to emergency medical treatment, and is the focus of this month's Medical Class of the Quarter at the Fire & EMS Department. All line staff are taking the three- hour course, which is taught by Paramedic Monica Hull and EMS Training Coordinator Karen Anderson. Hull and Anderson recently received specialized training which prepared them to educate firefighters and medics in Eugene in response to changes in airway management protocols and medications that reflect the state-of-the-art in this critical lifesaving area. The class involves both lecture and skill stations, and is being presented over several sessions in order to allow on-duty personnel to attend without negatively affecting emergency response coverage. Continuing medical training is offered to Fire & EMS staff on a year-round basis. For more information, please contact Karen Anderson at 682-7134. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 August 10, 2006 New State Law Changes Speed Zones Near Schools Public Works Traffic Operations has completed upgrades for school speed zones in compliance with the new sate House Bill 2840. Prior to this bill, motorists had to maintain a 20 mph speed rate adjacent to schools seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Passed by the State legislature in 2005, the new bill changes the speed limit to 20 mph on school days only and during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is expected that this new law will be more easily recognized and interpreted by motorists. For more information, contact Tom Larsen, traffic engineer, at 682-4959 or Tom.C.Larsen@ci.eugene.or.us. Recreation Services Division Offers Surf Camp/Ooligans on the Oregon Coast What's an Ooligan? Outdoor Recreation Programmer Roger Bailey reports that the Recreation Services Division's first ever Surf Camp for ages 14 and up was offered in July at Otter Rock on the Oregon Coast. “We camped at South Beach State Park. In addition to surfing, we visited an old lighthouse, old town Newport and joined in interactive naturalist presentations. If you’re thinking ‘surf's up, dude’, guess what? Nobody really talks like that. In Oregon the question seems to be ‘how did you stay warm?’ Well, the ocean water is warmer than the McKenzie and with a full wetsuit, it's just like surfing off the Hawaiian coast—well not exactly, but it sure is fun.” Assets were built all week as surfers learned about ocean safety, marine biology, haunted lighthouses, how to support your surf partner, and how to take care of yourself. Outdoor Program staff gave group and individual lessons, and coached, cheered on, and surfed alongside young surfers. Roger added, “And the Ooligans—they’re a small fish related to the surf smelt, which was an important food source for natives and early settlers. We could see their shimmering sides as they darted around in the surf with us.” Anyone interested in experiencing this one-of-a-kind sport for all abilities should check out the Fall Recreation guide. For more information, contact Roger Bailey at 682-6323. Multicultural Festival is “Soul of the City” Enjoy a fun-filled evening with the family at the Multicultural Festival, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, August 11, at the City of Eugene’s Sheldon Community Center and Park, 2445 Willakenzie Road. The festival is free and presented by Eugene Library, Recreation and Cultural Services. The theme of this year’s festival is “Soul of the City.” Announcements and performances on the main stage at the festival will be sign-language-interpreted for persons with hearing impairments. The event includes music by The Vipers, featuring Deb Cleveland, which is part of the Cultural Services’ Summer Concerts in the Park series. A writing contest asks youth ages 12-19 to answer the question: What is the “soul of the city?” At the Creative KidZone presented by Recreation Services, kids can create cultural crafts, play games, dunk a staff member, have their faces painted and participate in portable ropes course challenges. At the Library Services’ cultural crafts booth, children can make colorful maracas (from recycled toilet paper tubes w/rice or beans), and castanets (with cardstock and bottle caps) or tap, jingle and drum a “Musical Clothes Line” of objects made from recycled cans and household objects. The booth will also include a display of books and CDs featuring percussion and rhythm instruments from around the world. Youth and families can kick off the event with a recreational swim from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. at nearby Sheldon Pool, then enjoy the activities, information booths, craft vendors and food booths at the festival. For more information, contact Recreation Programmer Kim McManus at 682-6343. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 August 10, 2006