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Home My WebLink About09/24/09 - City Council Newsletter EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER September 24, 2009 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 THOUSANDS ENJOY FREE FUN FOR ALL NEW LIGHTING INSTALLED FOR SORENG THEATER AND HORN LOBBY EUGENE AREA REGIONAL FIBER CONSORTIUM RECEIVES AWARD ISD HOLDS PUBLIC SURPLUS EQUIPMENT SALE EUGENE FIRE & EMS REPRESENTED AT FALLEN FIREFIGHTER MEMORIALS CITY RECEIVES STATE AND LOCAL RECOGNITION FOR NATURAL RESOURCES WORK LUIS ALBERTO URREA: BESTSELLING AUTHOR TO SPEAK AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY AROUND THE CITY Thousands Enjoy Free Fun For All The City’s free playground program, Fun For All, drew nearly 14,600 children and youth attendees over the summer, a seven-percent increase over 2008. Recreation Services coordinated the program weekdays from June 29 – August 28 at eight parks around the city and two days a week at two additional parks. Free lunches were provided by Food for Lane County at seven of the parks; other sites offered a small snack. Fun For All offers organized activities for children age 7-15 (children under seven-years-old may attend if accompanied by someone at least 15-years-old). The theme this year was “Hook your Wagon to the Time Dragon,” which capitalized on Oregon’s sesquicentennial year. Each week focused on a different period, from the 1900s to the year 3000. Activities included high energy games from different time periods, roving story tellers and roving artists. For more information, call Anya Steinbruck at 682-5521. New Lighting Installed for Soreng Theater and Horn Lobby Facilities Services and Hult Center staff have created a redesign of the lighting system for the Soreng Theater and its Horn Lobby (the small lobby area to the right on the lower floor). The lighting systems were installed more than 25 years ago and a redesign to improve the efficiency and effectiveness was long overdue. The new lighting will illuminate the audience areas and simultaneously provide drama and magic to the Horn Lobby. This new enhancement allows the Hult Center to rent the Horn Lobby for receptions and other events, which has not been possible because it was simply too dark. The new lighting will also save energy and utility expenses will be lowered. This photo shows one of the challenges of the old lighting system - the need for scaffolding to reach the highest EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 September 24, 2009 ceiling areas in the theater. For more information, contact Billie Moser at 682-8380. Eugene Area Regional Fiber Consortium Receives Award The City of Eugene has been a member of the Regional Fiber Consortium/Fiber South Consortium since 1999. The consortium is an intergovernmental organization formed under ORS 190 which owns and manages a fiber asset along an intra-Oregon route and is staffed by Milo Mecham, Lane Council of Governments. Pam Berrian, Information Services Division, is the City’s designated member. The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) announced the recipients of its 2009 Community Broadband Awards. From a large number of entries from across the United States, the Regional Fiber Consortium received an Honorable Mention in the Broadband Organization category. All awards are based on the extraordinary efforts, achievements, and innovation in community-based approaches to broadband which distinguish themselves in the effort to ensure that more communities benefit from new technology. For more information, contact Pam Berrian at 682-5590 or pam.c.berrian@ci.eugene.or.us. ISD Holds Public Surplus Equipment Sale On Saturday, September 19, 2009, the Information Services Division held a public surplus equipment sale. The sale was advertised on the City website, Craig’s List and in a print ad in the Register-Guard. Public reaction to the sale was very favorable. Sales totaled $3,336. Items not sold were donated to Next Step for refurbishing or recycling. Items sold included older monitors, PCs, cabling and other items no longer used at the City. The money will go to support the internal 611 Fund, which provides computer equipment, software, maintenance, help support, telephone services and network infrastructure and security to City employees. The sale demonstrates the department’s commitment to be as efficient as possible in a challenging budget environment. For more information, contact Patricia Scarci at 682-5661 or patricia.a.scarci@ci.eugene.or.us. Eugene Fire & EMS Represented at Fallen Firefighter Memorials Across the country and throughout the world, many memorials have been built to honor the men and women firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty or simply to honor the job firefighters perform every day. On September 17, Cody, Eugene’s Official Fire Safety Dalmatian, joined members of the fire service, families of the fallen and fellow Oregonians at the State’s Fallen Firefighter Memorial for an annual ceremony to honor and remember those from this state who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Cody will soon travel to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, to participate in the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial Weekend. Families who have lost a loved one in the line of duty will gather to grieve, honor and remember. The weekend ends with a ceremony and unveiling of the names of the previous year’s fallen on the memorial plaque. During the many weekend events, Cody will be available to provide his services of soft spots to pet, a fuzzy ear to listen or to scratch, a cold nose and a wet kiss to let families know they are not alone and their beloved heroes will not be forgotten. Thanks are given to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation for sponsoring Cody’s participation in this event. It is an honor to have him there to represent those who have been lost fighting fires, and all firefighters. To keep up with Cody, follow him on Twitter (CodyFever) and become a fan on Facebook (Cody, Official Fire Safety Dalmatian). For more information, please contact Deputy Fire Marshal Amy Linder at 682-8428. City Receives State and Local Recognition for Natural Resources Work This month, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) Salmon and Trout Enhancement Program recognized the City of Eugene’s work to benefit salmon populations through its enhancement work at Delta Ponds. Realizing that volunteers could play an important role in the restoration of native stocks of salmon, steelhead, and trout, the Oregon Legislature created the ODFW’s Salmon and Trout Enhancement Project in 1981. The Delta Ponds enhancement project was approved as a Salmon Trout Enhancement Project in 2006, following several years of collaboration between City staff and ODFW fisheries biologists. The City was also given an award this month by the Long Tom Watershed Council at the watershed council’s annual meeting and celebration. The council gave an award to the City of Eugene in the category of “Sustaining EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 September 24, 2009 Public Entity” for the City’s decade-long technical, organizational, and financial assistance. The watershed council’s mission is to enhance water quality along the Long Tom Watershed, of which Amazon Creek is a part. For more information, contact Natural Resources Manager Eric Wold at 682-4842 or eric.n.wold@ci.eugene.or.us. Luis Alberto Urrea: Best-Selling Author to Speak at Eugene Public Library Acclaimed author Luis Alberto Urrea will give a free talk at the Downtown Eugene Public Library on Friday, October 2, at 6:00 p.m. Signed books for purchase will be available courtesy of the University of Oregon Duck Store/Bookstore. Born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and American mother, Urrea (pronounced "oo- ray-ah") is a prolific writer whose work is informed by his bicultural life. Among many honors, he has been named to the Latino Literature Hall of Fame. His memoir “Nobody's Son: Notes from an American Life” won an American Book Award. “The Devil’s Highway,” his nonfiction account of a group of Mexican immigrants lost in the Arizona desert, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a best-seller. Urrea’s historical novel, “The Hummingbird's Daughter,” was also a best-seller, as well as a favorite of critics and book groups nationwide. Urrea is an award-winning poet and essayist, and a professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. His new novel, “Into the Beautiful North,” is “a lush, rollicking novel of quests, self-discovery, and romance” featuring a “21st-century female Don Quixote” (BookList). Both serious and hilarious, it tells the story of 19-year- old, Nayeli, and her determination to save her beloved Mexican village. Nearly all the local men have left to find work in El Norte, and drug lords are threatening to take over. When Nayeli sees the old movie The Magnificent Seven, inspiration strikes. She rounds up a posse of friends for a dangerous mission: to cross the U.S. border and bring the men back. The Seattle Times called the book “a wondrous yarn in the hands of a terrific storyteller.” According to The Miami Herald, “ Urrea has turned a usually disturbing subject into a book that keeps a smile on your face is a tribute to his storytelling." For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 September 24, 2009