HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Newsletter - 03/23/06RoadR
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
March 23, 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
RIVER ROAD HISTORY UNVEILED
CITY STAFF TO PRESENT PROGRAM ON ETHICS AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE
FIRST FRIDAY GUITAR CONCERT AT THE LIBRARY
A CAPELLA GROUPS AWED BY HULT CENTER
REGISTRATION BEGINS FOR SPRING/SUMMER RECREATION PROGRAMS
AROUND THE CITY
River Road History Unveiled
On the evening of Monday, March 20, over 150
people attended the River Road Community
Organization’s (RRCO) monthly meeting for the debut
of the River Road History Project (RRHP), and release
of the document “Eugene’s Historic River Road.”
Ken Guzowski, senior planner and lead staff person
for the RRHP, outlined the scope of the project and
presented a color slide show. The slide show
highlighted River Road’s history through historic maps
and photos as well as photos of various historic
resources that exist today, some of which date back to
th
the 19 century. The slide show helped to explain the
parceling of land from the 640-acre donation land
Rob Handy speaks with Don Dickerson whose family goes
claims of the 1850s to the ten-acre truck farms of the
back four generations in the River Road area.
1920’s, and subsequently the residential subdivisions
th
that characterize every decade of the 20 century.
Complimentary copies of the newly produced “Eugene’s Historic River Road” were made available at the
meeting.
“By assimilating our history, residents can better understand what is important to preserve and articulate
what this community should look and feel like as growth continues” says Rob Handy, chair of the RRCO.
For more information, contact Planning and Development staff Ken Guzowski, 682-5562, for the River
Road History Project or Steve Norris, 682-5009, for the River Road Community Organization.
City Staff to Present Program on Ethics at National Conference
City of Eugene Library Director Connie Bennett, Library Public Services Manager Rob Everett, and
Performance and Development Manager Denise Smith have been selected as presenters at the national
Public Library Association (PLA) conference in Boston in March. The 2006 conference is expected to be
the largest ever, bringing together more than 6,500 professionals from across the U.S. to share ideas
and information on strengthening public libraries and their contributions to communities.
Eugene’s presentation, “Values Based Decision Making: A Tool for Organizational Change,” was
developed from a series of interactive staff trainings held at the City in the past year. Addressing some
of the common challenges of providing excellent customer service in a regulated government context,
the sessions provided a forum for exploring how to best put City policy into action. Trainers led staff in
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
March 23, 2006
small group exercises to identify and evaluate real-life situations that present ethical choices. A
particular focus was "right vs. right" choices; those circumstances in which a decision must be made
between two legitimate rights or worthy goals.
According to Bennett, “We believed this topic was important to address. But we didn’t expect to hear
feedback like ‘this is the best training we’ve ever done!’ Staff members reported that these meetings
helped clarify City policy, and helped them better translate rules on paper into the complex context of
everyday service to the public.” The PLA presentation will provide public library administrators with
guidance for conducting this type of training, and will emphasize the positive effects on organizational
culture of engaging staff in ethics discussions. For more information, contact Connie Bennett at the
Eugene Public Library, 682-5363
First Friday Guitar Concert at the Library
Celebrate National Library Week with a free, entertaining, and
informative concert by internationally known guitarist Craig
Einhorn, at the First Friday @ the Downtown Library event at
6:00 p.m. on April 7.
Einhorn shares the rich repertoire and history of the guitar in a
delightful concert ranging from classical music to popular Latin
styles. He holds a Masters degree in music performance with
extensive study of music history and teaches classical guitar at
Lane Community College.
Einhorn tours throughout the United States, including
performances with symphonies, on radio and television, and in
an ongoing collaboration with Mason Williams. His CDs,
available for sale at First Friday, include “In with the Old, In with
the New,” “Obras,” “Live at the Old Siskiyou Barn,” “I’m
Packing” (with Grammy Award-winning Shandi Sinnamon), and “Choros.” For more information, contact
Eugene Public Library at 682-5450.
A Capella Groups Awed by Hult Center
The International Championship of Collegiate A Capella
Quarterfinals was held at the Hult Center on March 4.
Hosted by Divisi, the women’s a capella group from the
University of Oregon, the event was a tremendous
success. Five groups from the western division of
ICCA competed and were judged by three local experts.
Outspoken, from OSU, advanced to the semifinals at
Stanford University. The finals will be held in New
York. Divisi member Suzie Day noted, “I actually have
to admit that my favorite moment was when the groups
arrived and first thing after entering Silva Hall, they
created a traffic jam right inside the door because they
were looking up at the ceiling and were ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing.’ Almost all of us are used to performing in
high schools or smaller theaters, so this was a real treat.”
The Divisi women were a little nervous at making the leap from South Eugene High School auditorium
(maximum seating capacity 800) to Silva Concert Hall; however, the move turned out to be a great
success. The event sold over 1,100 tickets. Said Ms. Day, “That’s the most we’ve ever made at any gig
and made everything well worth it. The whole night was just amazing and everyone loved it.” In fact,
Divisi has been negotiating to hold the ICCA semifinals here next year – and is considering entering the
competition themselves.
This event met the Cultural Services Division mission to provide a broad selection of performances and
events by local and non-local artists and companies and to actively seek new patrons and develop future
audiences. For more information, contact Theresa Sizemore, Hult Center Administration at 682-5242.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
March 23, 2006
Registration Begins for Spring/Summer Recreation Programs
Recreation Services mailed 65,000 spring and summer Recreation Guides to Eugene
households this week. The guide describes hundreds of programs, classes, and
events – including dozens of summer camps – for children, teens, adults, individuals
with disabilities, and seniors, all provided from April 1 through August 31.
In 2005, more than 385,000 individuals attended Recreation Services activities in
spring and summer. Fees for the programs vary; many are at low or no cost.
Individuals can register in person at City community centers and swimming pools or
sign up on the City’s website through RecEnroll. For more information, call
682-5333.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
March 23, 2006