News Briefs

Three Lane County Young Democrats, Andrew Becker, Steven Coatsworth and Celine Swenson-Harris, are embarking on a “Great American Adventure” Aug. 24 in a well-worn 1989 Honda Civic freshly painted with stars and stripes. The three are traveling cross-country to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

Sizzle Pie, the award-winning gourmet pizza restaurant with two locations in Portland, is rumored to be opening a third restaurant in downtown Eugene. On their website, sizzlepie.com, they write, “We respect the classics, though we’ve added some unique twists. One of our signature pies features a base of locally made Aardvark habanero sauce blended with classic marinara.” Anybody hungry?

National Honeybee Week has local bee enthusiasts abuzz with activity, canvassing neighborhoods, celebrating bees and asking the city of Eugene to stop using pesticides in public parks and other spaces. “We want to educate and empower ourselves to protect the bees because our government is refusing to do so, and that’s at the federal, state and local levels,” Lisa Arkin of Beyond Toxics says.

Drive down Highway 99 through Goshen and you won’t see much: the Land o’ Goshen Tavern, some homes, some cattails and a couple mill sites. It’s a little unclear what the big deal about Goshen is and why some people from Lane County are pushing hard and fast to have the unincorporated town outside Eugene’s urban growth boundary (UGB) rezoned and revamped into an industrial park. 

Canola. It sounds so harmless. Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seed in Philomath says that the name comes from “Canadian oil,” and the moniker was devised after Canadian scientists took a plant called rapeseed and modified it to make it lower in erucic acid and thus a little more edible for animals and humans. Canola is causing a controversy among those who support local foods as well as spurring allegations about biofuels producers and suppliers such as Eugene’s SeQuential Biofuels.

• The annual Eugene/Springfield Pride Celebration will be from noon to 7 pm Saturday, Aug. 11, at Alton Baker Park. Entertainment includes Wetsock, Spin Cycle Squares, Richard Mills, Champagne GaGa and the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Emerald Empire. The event is free but a $5 donation will be asked to help cover expenses. A “Rhapsody Under the Stars” annual coronation event is coming up Aug. 17-19 at Valley River Inn. See Facebook at http://wkly.ws/1c0

• Weyerhaeuser, 988-7502, is hiring Oregon Forest Management Services, 520-5941, to ground spray 81 acres near Ritchie Creek with Polaris SP, Forestry Garlon XRT, Capstone and/or Polaris AC. See ODF notice 2012-771-00610.

• Weyerhaeuser, 746-4600, plans to ground spray nine acres near Norris Creek with Polaris SP, Polaris AC, Accord XRT, Sulfomet XP, Metcel VMF, Sulfomet Extra, Transline, MSO and/or non-ionic surfactant. See ODF notice 2012-781-00575.

• Conservation biologist, author and homesteader Guy McPherson, Ph.D, will speak at 7 pm Friday, Aug. 3, at the CoHo Ecovillage Common House, 1975 SE Crystal Lake Dr. in Corvallis. He will speak on peak oil and climate change, their impact on the availability of food and water, and “how individuals and communities can build local food production and ensure an adequate food supply.” Sponsored by Resilience Network. Visit guymcpherson.com or email grm@ag.arizona.edu 

Logging on Oregon’s O&C lands has been a source of controversy for years, with some arguing that the trees should be cut to generate funding for Lane and other historically timber-based counties, and others saying the days of chopping down the ecosystem to pay for county services need to end.

• Seneca Jones, 461-6245, is hiring Western Helicopter, (503) 538-9469, to aerially apply Glyphosate, Imazapyr, Metsulfuron Methyl with additives Methylated Seed Oil, Syl-Tac and/or Sylgard 309 on 47 acres near Coyote Creek and the same chemicals on 67 and 116 acres near Camas Swale. See ODF notice 2012-781-00547.

• Weyerhaeuser, 746-2511, plans to ground spray 42 acres near Parsons Creek with a long list of chemicals. See ODF notice 2012-771-00593.

Clearcuts, thinning, retention, regeneration … forestry jargon aplenty was flying on July 29 when nearly 30 people gathered to tour the Long Tom forest 20 miles west of Eugene, and to see some of these forest management terms actually applied within the same landscape.

For about a century the Tour de France has showcased some the best scenery France has to offer as cyclists battle through small villages, pastures and mountains. This year Lane County is hosting its very own inaugural Tour de Lane Aug. 3-5 with rides kicking off from Richardson Park in Junction City. This non-competitive cycling festival will provide participants with a number of rides of varying lengths and difficulty.