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Home My WebLink About04/14/11 - City Council Newsletter EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER April 14, 2011 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 CITY AND UNIVERSITY JOIN FORCES IN CELEBRATION OF ARBOR DAY GLITTERARY WORD FESTIVAL FOR FAMILIES AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY HELLO SUMMER! NEW RECREATION GUIDE AVAILABLE NOW NEWSLETTER INCLUDES LABEL CAUTIONS, EARTH DAY EVENTS AND CREEK IMPROVEMENTS AROUND THE CITY City and University Join Forces in Celebration of Arbor Day On Saturday, April 9, over 55 community members gathered at West University Park to celebrate Arbor Day and the University of Oregon’s (UO) Student Day of Service in Campus Neighborhoods. Robin Holmes, UO vice president for Student Affairs, welcomed student volunteers, Adopt-A-Park volunteers from the UO accounting fraternity Beta Alpha Psi, Eugene Tree Foundation members, and West University neighbors in a joint celebration and work party. Mayor Kitty Piercy accepted nd Eugene’s 32 consecutive Tree City USA award from Dave Lorenz, Western Lane District Forester. Tree City USA, a program of the National Arbor Day Foundation, sponsored by the Oregon Department of Forestry, recognizes cities that have developed programs that plant and care for trees. After two Oregon white oaks were planted adjacent to the park, nd Mayor Piercy and Robin Holmes (UO VP for Student Affairs) join UO students in receiving the City’s 32 Eugene Tree Foundation Tree City USA Award from Dave Lorenz, ODF’s Western Lane District Forester. [Photo by Greg Giesy] members and Eugene Parks and Open Space staff led volunteers in the planting of 15 street trees in the surrounding blocks, and the weeding and mulching of the native plant beds in the park. Another 25 students and neighbors completed service projects at University Park and Hendricks Park. For more information, contact Mark Snyder at 541-682-4819. Glitterary Word Festival for Families at Eugene Public Library Kids, teens, and family will join in the fun at the annual Glitterary Word Festival on Saturday, April 30, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Downtown Eugene Public Library. It’s an all-ages play-day inspired by the 2011 theme, "Food: May the Fork Be with You." The event is co-sponsored by the Young Writers Association (YWA) and the Eugene Public Library. Admission is free. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 April 14, 2011 From 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., winners of YWA's creative writing contest will read their works, followed by a light luncheon reception. At 12:30 p.m., kids and teens are invited to bring an adult along for a multi-age writing workshop with Oregon’s Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen. Between 2 and 4 p.m., participants are encouraged to drop in for a wide variety of hands-on activities, including book-making, crafting pop-ups, and more. “Instant writing contests” will be held at 3:00 p.m. for elementary-age kids and at 3:30 p.m. for teens. All ages can explore, imagine, and create with the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, MECCA, Marie Livie, Judith Hankin, and more. Paulann Petersen will be there to chat and sign books. A few blocks down the street at KLCC radio station’s studio, participants can make a professional recording of their writing on CD. The Glitterary Word Festival is co-sponsored by the Young Writers Association and the Eugene Public Library, and made possible in part by a grant from the Lane Arts Council with support from the City of Eugene Cultural Services Division. For more information, call the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-8316 or visit www.eugene-or.gov/library. New Summer Recreation Guide Available Now The City of Eugene’s Summer Recreation Guide will start arriving in resident’s mailboxes this week and includes hundreds of fun things to do this summer. For many Eugene residents, this could be the last guide they receive by mail. The 92-page Summer Recreation Guide includes listings for 108 summer camps, information on Recreation’s free playground program and Fun For All, as well as lots of fun activities, including sailing, rafting, kayaking, surfing, hiking, day trips, swimming and classes in everything from pottery to skateboarding. The guide also includes listings for events such as the We Are Bethel Celebration, Whiteaker Neighborhood River Festival, as well as the line-up for free Summer in the City events, including Wednesday downtown activities, movies and concerts in the parks, skateboard competitions, and more. Registration for most activities is underway now online at www.eugene-or.gov/recenroll. Beginning this fall, Recreation Services will print nearly 70 percent fewer guides and send an email notice that the new guide is available online instead of mailing it to thousands of residents. Most Recreation patrons without an email address on file will continue to get a paper guide in the mail. For more information about this change, and to get the guide, go to www.eugene-or.gov/recguidefaq. The Summer Guide is available at all City of Eugene community centers and pools, and all branches of the Eugene Public Library, and many other community locations. For more information, call 541-682-5333. Newsletter Includes Label Cautions, Earth Day Events and Creek Improvements As new growth emerges with warmer spring weather, so does the influx of insect friends and foes. Determining the best way to deal with these insects is not always easy. There are countless chemical products designed to eliminate pesky bugs and insects – and many come with some unintended consequences. The latest issue of Stormwater Connections explores the world of labels, toxic tolerance, the meaning of signal words on labels and proper application when dealing with garden pests. A second article on the education page for children highlights the importance of our pollinating friends and how their numbers are diminishing because of toxins in our environment. Other informative topics include mulching basics and specifics on types of mulch, how much to use and the benefits – including water retention for plants. Readers who want to know more about raising backyard chickens can learn about proper care and maintenance of chickens while keeping the environment in mind. . Demonstration garden will add a water feature here EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 April 14, 2011 Two articles of interest included are also: one about a massive willow planting project along Amazon Creek and th another on progress on the demonstration garden in Alton Baker Park. Citizens interested in participating in the 13 annual Earth Day Celebration at the EWEB Plaza or lending a hand at the First Annual Ridgeline Celebration Day will find more details about each event. The focus of the Stormwater Connections newsletter is educating and informing community members about stormwater pollution and ways to protect the local waterways. Articles in Stormwater Connections typically address seasonal or current issues and include one page of interest for younger citizens. Copies of the newsletter are now available electronically at www.eugene-or.gov/happyrivers, and paper copies have been placed in the City Manager’s Office. Eugene residents can also expect to receive the newsletter delivered via mail next week. For more information or additional copies of the newsletter, contact Kathy Eva, public information specialist for the Stormwater Management Program, at 541-682-2739 or Kathy.a.eva@ci.eugene.or.us. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 April 14, 2011