Eugene Weekly : News : 08.10.06

News Briefs: Rally for Roadless | Secret Justice | Death to UO Nutria | Hearing for Jeff Hogg | Pride Eyes R-G Policy | Lane County Herbicide Spray Schedule | Corrections/Clarifications |

Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes

News:

Working Hard for Our Place


Teens and adults partner to bring teen center to reality.

Happening Person: Melanie Sicotte

RALLY FOR ROADLESS

Laurel Sutherlin dangles from a bridge to prevent logging trucks from crossing. Photo by Rolf Skar.

Activists rallied for the protection of public roadless forests in front of the Siskiyou-Rogue River National Forest headquarters in Medford on Aug. 7, the day that Silver Creek Timber Co. began logging the Mike's Gulch roadless area bordering the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. About 100 protesters attended the rally, many of them holding Oregon state flags to symbolize their feeling that the federal government is running over the state.

"The crowd was really energetic," said Chandra LeGue of the Oregon Natural Resources Council. "It was a great mixture of old and young, showing the cross-section of people who care about the issue from all over the state."

The logging of Mike's Gulch marks the first roadless area cutting since the adoption of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protected the nation's 58.5 million roadless public acres. In 2005, the Bush Administration repealed that rule and replaced it with one that leaves logging and mining decisions up to Forest Service administrators who, environmentalists complain, are notoriously eager to "get the cut out."

In allowing the logging of Mike's Gulch and the nearby Blackberry roadless area, the Forest Service is breaking its pledge to give governors time to file petitions to prevent roadless logging. Kulongoski's staff is working on such a petition, due in November, and he has joined with the governors of Washington, California and New Mexico in a lawsuit challenging the repeal of the 2001 roadless rule.

Rally Speaker Lesley Adams recounted a conversation with U.S. Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, a primary architect of forest policy for the Bush administration. She asked what happened to the promise that logging would not begin while the governors' petitions moved forward. His reported response: "There are always exceptions to the rule."

Activists are arrested at a rally for roadless protections in Medford Aug. 7 Photo by Lesley Adams.

Rally attendees wore T-shirts saying "Roadless is Priceless" and held potted trees to represent the natural regeneration already occurring in the Biscuit fire areas. After a short march, several activists sat down on the road in front of the Forest Service office in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. Police arrested eleven people and charged them with disorderly conduct.

One of those arrested was Kate Ritley, who said, "I have been working to stop this day from coming by talking to the public. The last thing left I can do is to sit in front of this door and send a direct message to the American people." Also arrested was Tony Silvaggio, who added: "This is just the start of something bigger."

On the morning of Aug. 8, protesters blockaded the bridge that logging trucks must pass over to get to Mike's Gulch. Laurel Sutherlin, an activist with The Oxygen Collective, dangled for seven hours from a small tree lashed horizontally to the bridge so that if vehicles passed over, his platform would fall into the rocky river. Around 10:30 am police arrested Sutherlin, charging him with disorderly conduct and interfering with an agricultural operation.

The federal judge hearing the four-state joint lawsuit has not yet issued an injunction to temporarily halt the roadless logging, but protestors said they are still hoping it will happen.

SECRET JUSTICE

After six alleged eco-arsonists pleaded guilty last month, the judge in the case took the unusual step of quickly ordering all the documents and transcripts of the public hearings sealed.

On Aug. 2 attorneys for one of the seven remaining defendants headed for trial told the judge, "not so fast." In a motion, the attorneys for Daniel McGowan asked federal Judge Ann Aiken to unseal the documents, citing the Constitution and centuries of tradition and precedent for open trials.

"Our nation inherited England's ancient tradition of open, public proceedings," attorneys Amanda Lee and Jeff Robinson wrote. "Among the many justifications for ensuring public access to court records are maintaining the public's confidence in the fairness and independence of the judiciary and the criminal justice system."

While select reporters at The Oregonian and The Register-Guard were tipped off to the plea hearings, the attorneys said they were not notified by the court or prosecutors, weren't able to attend and were denied the transcripts and documents.

The attorneys cited numerous case precedents to support their argument that sealing the court records violates constitutional rights to open information and a fair and open trial under the First and Sixth Amendments. Many of the cases cited were brought by newspapers seeking public information.

Judge Aiken sealed the documents without stating her reasons. The attorneys for McGowan argued that the judge should have held a hearing on sealing the documents and sealed them only if she could find a compelling, factual and unavoidable need to do so.

"There is neither logic nor fairness" in effectively closing a proceeding to other defense attorneys that was open to the media and public, the attorneys argue. In some cases, prosecutors move to seal plea agreements to protect witnesses and ongoing investigations, the attorneys noted. But the government made no such argument in these cases, and it's already widely known through the media and prosecutor statements that the plea agreements required defendants to testify against other defendants, according to the motion.

The media reported on what was said at the plea hearings, but, the attorneys note, "The documents may contain material that was not revealed in open court." — Alan Pittman

DEATH TO UO NUTRIA

A string of emails circulating this week complain that UO employees are trapping and killing nutria at the Urban Garden near Millrace Drive. And while some residents might say "good riddance" to the large and snarling rodents, animal lovers are decrying the practice as appalling and outrageous.

An email sent by Kerry Barwell to UO President Dave Frohnmayer said, "I witnessed a horrible act of useless cruelty by one of your staff members. I have seen the 'Havahart' traps in the garden area and just assumed that the UO, being part of a passionate community, was only trapping and releasing. Boy was I wrong! The trap had caught nutria, a harmless rodent that eats vegetation. He drove a metal stake through the trap and the animal's head."

Barwell engaged in a conversation with the trapper, and said, "He proceeded to tell me that they are an invasive species that digs up and eats carrots and beets (which means their crime is eating) so the university made the decision to kill them, as opposed to putting up a one-foot fence to keep them out."

Pauline Austin of the UO Office of Public and Media Relations confirmed that, "In general, the university does not trap or kill nutria. One department on campus does kill nutria, which is a non-native, very destructive species." She said the Urban Farm staff have tried "several strategies," including fences, without success. — TJT

HEARING FOR JEFF HOGG

Summer has sucked for Jeff Hogg, a nursing student who has been in jail since May 18. He hasn't been charged with any crime, but he was held in contempt of court by Judge Michael Hogan after refusing to testify to a federal grand jury. The feds wanted information about defendants in Operation Backfire, the string of arrests for acts of eco-sabotage that occurred over the past decade, but Hogg wouldn't talk.

Jeff Hogg

Before entering the courthouse in May, Hogg made a brief statement to supporters, who were not allowed to watch the contempt proceedings. "I am being forced to choose between betraying social change movements or going to jail without committing a crime," he said. "It's not a fun choice to make, and it makes you question everything you believe in. … But I won't be coerced by the government to give up my principles."

Hogg has now spent three months in jail — first in Lane County, then in Grants Pass — and he wants out before his planned release on Sept. 30. His attorney, Paul Loney, filed a motion for his immediate release, arguing that since Hogg will never cooperate with the grand jury, there is no coercive value for keeping him in jail. His detention becomes punitive while he has not been found guilty of anything, Loney argues.

"Mr. Hogg has made it clear that he will not cooperate," Loney said after the May court proceedings. "This is a misuse of the grand jury system. The founding fathers never intended it to be used by the government to prepare their case for trial."

According to a press release from the local Civil Rights Outreach Committee (CROC), Hogg has been "very bored" in jail and has been denied his nursing textbooks. He has not seen his friends or supporters since he was taken into custody.

The federal court will hear the motion for Hogg's release at 11:15 am on Aug. 15 at the Federal Courthouse in Eugene. Supporters will rally for Hogg outside the courthouse beginning at 11 am. — Kera Abraham

PRIDE EYES R-G POLICY

The 15th annual Eugene-Springfield Pride celebration is from noon to 8 pm Saturday, Aug. 12 at Alton Baker Park. The gathering is billed as the largest gathering of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer folk to happen locally this year. Some 2,000 celebrants are expected to show up for live music, a business/organization expo, food, drink and a celebration.

EQuality Network is the main stage sponsor for Pride this year, and will be using its volunteers, in large part, to focus on The Register-Guard's policy of rejecting birth announcements for gay couples, which remains unchanged, says EQ chair Todd Simmons. "We remain mystified why, in this community after all these months of conversations and actions, the R-G has not yet modified its policy. There's now a civil rights complaint under investigation with the state Bureau of Labor and Industries, and the paper claims it can't move on this with that hanging over its head. But the easiest way to make the complaint go away would be to change the policy."

Pride organizers chose a more serious theme this year: "PRIDE, Not Prejudice," a reflection of the serious issues facing the GLBTQ community locally, across Oregon and nationally.

"Our community has faced a number of challenges over the past year, including negative actions on same-sex marriage and families, and politicians trying to make gains at our expense," says Jeremiah Megowan, coordinator of event. "Our theme this year is both a statement of principle and a rallying cry for the tens of thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people who work here, raise families here and call the Eugene/Springfield area home." —TJT

Lane County Herbicide Spray Schedule

• Roseburg Resources (935-2507) will ground spray 13,840 feet of roadside with triclopyr ester and glyphosate near Lorane Section 8, Township 20 S, Range 5 W next to Fawn Creek tributary; and 2,000 feet of roadside in Section 18, Township 17 S, Range 8 W near Deadwood adjacent to Hwy 36. (For more info, call the West Lane ODF office at 935-2283 and reference application #781-50932.)

• Western Helicopter Services (503) 538-9459, working for Craig Royce (942-8015), will aerial spray imazapyr, sulfometuron, glyphosate, metsulfuron, and triclopyr on 50 acres in Section 13 of Township 18 S, Range 6 W near Lorane around the West Fork of Coyote Creek tributaries. For more info, call the West Lane ODF office at 935-2283 and reference application #781-50814.

CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS

• In last week's cover story on swimming holes, the statement that Wildish has a discharge point in the McKenzie River next to Armitage Park was incorrect due to an error on the DEQ Lasar database. Wildish has a permit to dispose of wastewater into a sand and gravel pit on their property just south of the river, where the water is meant to filter through the ground before reaching the river. The company is not allowed to discharge into the river.

• In Mary O'Brien's "Natural Resistance" column last week, the book she references, A Primate's Memoir, is about baboons, not chimpanzees.

MELANIE SICOTTE

In 1982, the Whiteaker area's newly formed Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation established the East Blair Housing Cooperative, Oregon's first low-income housing co-op, with 22 varied living units in 10 buildings. Maintenance, membership and money are handled by committees, important issues get every member's vote at monthly meetings. An L.A. native who moved to Eugene in '91 after college at UCSB, business manager Melanie Sicotte has served as EBHC's only paid employee since 1994. "Everyone here is my boss. It's a part-time job but a full-time commitment," she says. "My basic duty is to do the accounts day-to-day. I'm also an advisor. I do research and know the Oregon statutes. I like being a resource." She credits her partner, Marq Bauman, for his patience and his job at Symantec. Four years after she started at EBHC, Sicotte was recruited for the same position at the Students' Cooperative Association, a campus-area housing co-op that dates back to 1936. "Melanie is the backbone of both co-ops," reports EBHC member Ken Rosemarin.