Stop Spraying Toxins

I was pretty disgusted when Eugene Weekly started selling space to Seneca for its slick advertising campaign. Expensive weekly ads featured children, sometimes with Grandma Seneca, amid glowing claims of 40 million trees and counting that they’ve planted. Just how many baby saplings does it take to sequester an equal amount of carbon for the millions of acres that they’ve clearcut over the nearly 70 years that they’ve been “harvesting”?

EW regained an iota of respect from me when it ran a letter on July 16 from Eron King titled “No Deals On Aerial Pesticide Spraying.” Thank you, Ms. King, for speaking out against SB 1602. Clearly you understand that apparently a Senaca grandmother doesn’t have much regard for the grandchildren of rural families. She doesn’t have much concern for future generations who will prefer to have intact forests for all, not just tree farms for her clan.

Seneca’s continuation of the old system of clearcutting huge swaths of land followed by aerial spraying with chemicals that should have been banned decades ago is a blatant slap in the face to my grandmother friends and a smug disregard for our grandchildren.

My legacy will be that I spent my life in service to clean air, clean water and toxin free food. I put in time and money to stop you from your harmful practices.

It’s not too late to up your game! Stop aerial spraying toxins. Paraphrasing Eron King, you are morally obligated to do so.

Bernadette Bourassa

Eugene

Editor’s note: If it makes you feel better, Seneca finds our ongoing news coverage of its logging practices “false and damaging.”

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!