Category: SHiNA News

From the editor

A busy week and many items to ponder during the rain.

Website difficulties — this site was down temporarily but as you can see it’s now up again.

We hit the airwaves!

At the Eugene City Club last week, a panel of neighborhood representatives spoke about projects the various neighborhood associations have been involved with. Southwest Hills (CDCA), Southeast, Friendly, and other associations all spoke. David Kolb spoke about what we learned from the Crest Drive Street project about the difficulties of communication within neighborhoods. If you would like to hear the program, go to http://klcc.org/post/just-what-do-neighborhood-associations-do

Crime Note

A neighbor writes: “I live in the 600 block of west 31st. Not sure of the exact date (sometime earlier this month) but someone tried to steal our late model Subaru from the driveway. It was premeditated in that they used a Slim Jim type device, but amateur enough the only result was damage to the door, both inside and out. Nothing of value was in the car, hence the supposition the intent was to steal the vehicle. Additional deterrents besides garage lights have since been installed.”

Emergency preparedness news

1) Neighborhood Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Workshop

Talk about improving communication in the event of a disaster as well as during “normal” times and share ideas for using the CERT program to its fullest extent across our neighborhood.

Neighborhood maps and city maps will be available.

Anyone interested in emergency preparedness and safety response in S Eugene is welcome.

• DATE: 2/19/2015 (Thu 5:30PM – 7:30PM)
• LOCATION: Hilyard Community Center, 2580 Hilyard Street
•
For more info and to RSVP, go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e49abab23a7fe3-southeast

2) A neighbor writes: “I noticed there is a Southeast neighborhood emergency prep session at Hilyard about FIRE on 2/28. Will there be a southwest session? or do we attend this one?”

The fire emergency prep session is for anyone living in Southeast or Southwest. So if you’re interested we’d suggest attending this upcoming session. Here are the details reprinted from last week:

Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and Neighborhood Watch programs along with Neighborhood Associations are invited to participate in a Wildfire disaster tabletop exercise being facilitated via the internet at the Hilyard Center in South Eugene. This exercise has been designed specifically for organizations that work to support the disaster caused needs of community and neighborhood residents during and following a disaster. By participating in this exercise, you will be able to assess your organizations existing disaster response capabilities.

This program is free for all participants but pre-registration is required.

Last summer’s wildfires had many of thinking about the potential for wildfire in South Eugene. How would our neighborhood respond if the South Hills caught on fire?
A team of national, regional, state and local agencies and organizations have undertaken an effort to help communities assess their capability to prepare for, respond to and recover from a variety of natural disasters through a series of disaster exercises facilitated via the internet entitled “Formidable Footprint”.

Southeast Neighbors will be conducting a neighborhood wildfire exercise on Saturday, February 28 from 10am to 1pm at the Hilyard Center at 2580 Hilyard St. Join us as we discover our community strengths and weaknesses and help make South Eugene stronger and better prepared for emergencies.

Date/Time
Saturday, February 28, 2015 from 10:00am to 1:00pm

Location
Hilyard Center Main Hall, 2580 Hilyard St

Exercise Registration
This program is free for all participants but pre-registration is required. There are several important reasons to register: Preparing for emergencies is everybody’s business but we tend to put it off. There will be an event at the end of February which might be of use to you.

Prior to the exercise important situational awareness materials will be e-mailed to all registered participants.

Each participant in the exercise will be required to submit an evaluation after the exercise has ended.

Individual exercise Certificates of Participation will only be generated for registered participants.

To register for the exercise, go to
http://www.onxsystem.com/?q=onx/ex/2431.

Location Information

Hilyard Community Center is located in south Eugene at 2580 Hilyard Street across the parking lot from Amazon Pool. Hilyard Community Center houses the City of Eugene’s Adaptive Recreation Program and was designed for maximum accessibility including: wheelchair accessible bathrooms, full kitchen, FM loop systems, large raised print signs and easy access to the outdoors.

Environmental news

An organization called DriveOregon is asking the Oregon Legislature to pass a Clean Car Rebate to lower the cost of electric vehicles for Oregon families. If you would like to join our coalition, please send an email to Zach@driveoregon.org

From the city:

1) First Fridays Event
Communities of Color Network Social

Join Communities of Color Network for an afternoon social on Friday, February 6 at 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM.

Good food, good music and great company await you at this free community event! Check out the collaborative project display: “Stories of Exclusion and Inclusion: Owning our History; Creating our Future”

Event is followed by the BIG 5th Annual Black History Month banquet. For tickets to banquet conact 541-852-9782.

2) LTD Proposes New Routes

Participate in the Annual Route Review

LTD has put together a package that addresses our communities desire to run the buses more often, earlier and later, or to increase coverage to more areas. Please take a minute to review the plan and add your comments!

Take the Survey! Go to LTD.org and click on the survey to submit your comments on the proposed changes.

Or attend an Open House and weigh in:
Open Houses:
Customer Service Center Lobby
February 11 & 12
7:00 – 9:00 a.m.
3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Or attend LTD Board Public Hearings:
March 18, 5:30 p.m. -Eugene Library/Bascom-Tykeson Room
April 6, 5:30 p.m. – Eugene Library/Bascom-Tykeson Room

Of course you can always send your comments to LTD@LTD.org or call LTD at 541-682-6100

3) Eugene Trail Plan – Update

Draft Plan Map and Guidelines will be based on your feedback!

A year ago the City of Eugene Parks and Open Space Division held a kick-off meeting for the Eugene Trails Plan – a plan to help guide and coordinate Eugene Parks and Open Space decisions about soft-surface trails. After a hiatus due to a number of factors including limited staffing resources and focus on implementing new trail construction efforts, this winter the project has kicked back into gear:

• A consultant has been hired to assist, Jeff Krueger of JK Environments;
•
• A second survey is being conducted by Oregon State University, and;
•
• A draft plan map and guidelines are being prepared based on input from citizens, local trail advocates and organizations, and city staff;

• The second public meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, February 26th, 6-8PM. Meeting details will be shared in a follow up email soon, but please set aside that time and date if possible so you’ll be able to attend.

During the hiatus, we have continued progress on a number of trail related projects including:
•
• The Dillard Connector Trail. This new section of the Ridgeline Trail was completed in October, a beautiful and much safer shared-use segment connecting the Fox Hollow Trailhead to the Dillard East Trailhead through park land, replacing the former route along the shoulder of Dillard Rd.
•
• The Spencer Butte Summit Trail project. Contractor’s bids are due this week for a reroute of the very heavily used trail from the treeline to the summit. This reroute will provide a much clearer and safer experience while also reducing negative impacts to the sensitive habitat on the rocky top. The project is expected to be complete by the end of this summer.
•
• Skinner Butte Columns Trail. This renovation of a badly eroded trail section above the rock climbing columns in Skinner Butte Park also has a contract out for bidding, with construction expected to be complete by the beginning of summer.
•
• Wild Iris Ridge connector. This new mile-long segment of the Ridgeline Trail will create an additional trailhead and looped trail connection through Wild Iris Ridge in SW Eugene. The alignment is currently being refined, with construction expected to be complete by the end of this summer.

Finally, and most importantly, the City is welcoming feedback and asking that community please take the second survey. On our behalf, Oregon State University is conducting this survey based on the recent statewide trails survey done for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, but shorter and focused on soft-surface trails in Eugene (including use of waterways by non-motorized craft). It only should take about 10 minutes.

Please take the survey and then send it to anyone you think might have an interest in Eugene’s Trails. Your responses needed – and the results will be presented at the upcoming meeting.

4) Oregon Asian Festival
February 14-15, Lane Events Center

Bring family, friends, and loved-ones to the two-day Asian cultural heritage festival, the Oregon Asian Celebration, on Feb. 14 and 15, at the Lane Events Center. Enjoy cultural performances, music, fine art, children and youth activities, as well as demonstrations of crafts, cooking, and martial arts.

Celebrate Valentines’ weekend with special activities such as the canoodle-noodle eating contest and more. Visitors can tempt their taste buds with exotic and traditional cuisine of different Asian countries, and spend time strolling through the Asian Marketplace for special souvenirs, trinkets, and keepsakes.

The doors at the Lane Events Center open at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 14 and 15, and close at 7 p.m. on Saturday, and 6 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $6 for one day; $10 for two days; and free for children ages 12 and under. Tickets are available for pre-sale at all Oregon Community Credit Union branch locations or at the door on event day. The event is produced by the Eugene-Springfield Asian Council. For an up-to-date schedule of activities and events, visit http://www.AsianCelebration.org.

5) Good things happen to people who share!
Point2Point introduces CarpoolKarma

Point2point at Lane Transit District, Cherriots Rideshare, and Cascades West Rideshare are pleased to introduce Carpool Karma, a regional carpool incentive program set for Feb. 1 – May 1, 2015.

Carpool Karma has been developed to help Willamette Valley commuters explore their carpooling options and will reward carpoolers with great prizes and good karma. Prizes include free drinks at Dutch Bros, Fred Meyer gift cards, iPads, weekend getaways, and more!

To get started, simply register at DriveLessConnect.com (the Oregon Department of Transportation’s free statewide ridematching database), then complete a pre-survey (link below) and log a minimum of two days of carpool activity each week throughout the campaign to be eligible for weekly prizes.

Whether you are an experienced carpooler, or are just starting out, Carpool Karma is for you!

No carpool partner? No worries, we can help! Just create a ridematch trip in the Drive Less Connect database to view your potential partners. Contact them directly through the database. Your personal information remains private. You determine how much of your information is visible to others. From Woodburn to Springfield, there are thousands of people looking for a carpool partner just like you! Transportation options mean good karma for your community, your wallet, and the planet.

For more information and to get started, visit DriveLessConnect.com/carpool-karma and let the good karma begin!

From the editor

The Eugene Weekly section on Happening People this week features our own Dan and Barbara Gleason, bird experts and artists extraordinaires, for their efforts to improve care of and education about our avian residents and visitors. Congratulations to the Gleasons! You can seek advice at their Wildbirds Unlimited store on south Willamette, across from Tsunami Books.

Our January meeting gathering on the 18th brought neighbors together to vote and approve the new charter, the name change, and our approval of the new borders. The official enactment of these changes will happen through the city Council sometime in the next months. But we will begin using the new name in our internal communications starting with this newsletter. Gradually we will change over the websites. For the moment the official Web site remains crestdriveca.com, and the nextdoor site is still named Crest Drive, but that will be changing as we negotiate with the nextdoor company.

City Councilor Betty Taylor attended the meeting and spoke about what was coming up soon before the city Council: the multiple property tax exemption, the expansion of the urban growth boundary, and the library financing proposal. If you have an opinion you want to express about these issues, get them to the Council by email or mail soon.

She also urged that if neighbors want to bring issues before the city Council (for instance, the little roundabout on Lincoln and Crest), working through the neighborhood organization increases the impact on the Council.

The meeting discussed Rest Haven. The owner of the cemetery, Tim Wiper, has proposed changing the designation of the land in the Metro Plan from “parks and open space” to “low density residential” – the land is already zoned “R-1” — the lowest density residential zone. Hower the Metro plan overlay designation controls usage. Changing the designation will allow future development on the site. Such development will be coming, but what form it would take is unclear at the moment. Any development proposals will go through the usual conditional use permit discussions with chances for public comment. Neighbors expressed their concern about preserving the forested slopes on the edges of the property along Braeburn.

The meeting also featured and spirited discussion about what topics what concerns the Association should be taking up in the coming year. You can find the full minutes of the meeting at crestdriveca.com — click the button in the top bar.

This weekend the annual Green Home and Garden Show is open in the event center at the fairgrounds on 13th. See http://www.eugenehomeshow.com/GoodEarthHomeShowOverview.html for details.

EMERGENCIES…

Preparing for emergencies is on everyone’s mind, but we tend to put it off.

Our Association is hoping to encourage small local groups to organize themselves as local teams for their block or two, to help prepare. This would also enable us to get to know our neighbors better and to know the strengths and weaknesses of our local areas should outside help be unavailable during a serious emergency.

In this connection, there will be an event at the end of February:

Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and Neighborhood Watch programs along with Neighborhood Associations are invited to participate in a Wildfire disaster tabletop exercise being facilitated via the internet at the Hilyard Center in South Eugene. This exercise has been designed specifically for organizations that work to support the disaster caused needs of community and neighborhood residents during and following a disaster. By participating in this exercise, you will be able to assess your organizations existing disaster response capabilities.

This program is free for all participants but pre-registration is required.

Last summer’s wildfires had many of thinking about the potential for wildfire in South Eugene. How would our neighborhood respond if the South Hills caught on fire?
A team of national, regional, state and local agencies and organizations have undertaken an effort to help communities assess their capability to prepare for, respond to and recover from a variety of natural disasters through a series of disaster exercises facilitated via the internet entitled “Formidable Footprint”.

Southeast Neighbors will be conducting a neighborhood wildfire exercise on Saturday, February 28 from 10am to 1pm at the Hilyard Center at 2580 Hilyard St. Join us as we discover our community strengths and weaknesses and help make South Eugene stronger and better prepared for emergencies.

Date/Time
Saturday, February 28, 2015 from 10:00am to 1:00pm

Location
Hilyard Center Main Hall, 2580 Hilyard St

Exercise Registration
This program is free for all participants but pre-registration is required. There are several important reasons to register: Preparing for emergencies is everybody’s business but we tend to put it off. There will be an event at the end of February which might be of use to you.

Prior to the exercise important situational awareness materials will be e-mailed to all registered participants.

Each participant in the exercise will be required to submit an evaluation after the exercise has ended.

Individual exercise Certificates of Participation will only be generated for registered participants.

To register for the exercise, go to
http://www.onxsystem.com/?q=onx/ex/2431.

Location Information

Hilyard Community Center is located in south Eugene at 2580 Hilyard Street across the parking lot from Amazon Pool. Hilyard Community Center houses the City of Eugene’s Adaptive Recreation Program and was designed for maximum accessibility including: wheelchair accessible bathrooms, full kitchen, FM loop systems, large raised print signs and easy access to the outdoors.

Repair2Reuse Cafe’s
on Jan 30

Lane County will host the Repair2ReUse Cafe’s with the first one to be held at MECCA, January 30 and at other locations in the following months.

Currently there is a need for a repairer of modern sewing machines for January and a need for folks who have skills with consumer electronics for February.

From the editor

There are daffodil bulb shoots peeking up in our garden. We take this as an encouraging sign.

The text of our new charter is available at crestdriveca.com. Click on the menu item in the banner at the top of the page.

This week we have crime notes, an exciting film opportunity for teens, and a number of city announcements.

Crime notes

Mail theft spree continues; two neighbors write:

The co-housing neighborhood on Tiara (south of 29th between Adams and McLean) also had one of their two group postal mailboxes crowbarred open on 12/29/14. Whatever mail not picked up by residents was stolen. The installation was destroyed and unusable. It is now repaired.

The upper section of McLean Blvd experienced mail theft over the holidays. The post office notified me that my box had experienced a theft.

The New Generations Film Fest will encourage students to use the latest technology to create films about their own situation and issues here in the city.

Love Where You Live! It’s free and open to all Eugene middle school and high school students.

Create an original video featuring a neighborhood highlight, project or problem you want to resolve.

Go solo or form a team of up to three partners to assist you in your quest!

Here is a great opportunity for neighborhood involvement. Please share with the middle and high school students in your life.

Here is more detail from one of the organizers:

Hi, my name is Nathan Yeh and I’m a middle school student in Eugene. I am here to talk to you about the New Generations Film Festival, a film making competition for middle and high school students.

Do you want more young people involved in your neighborhood association? Would you like to find a way to get them thinking about their communities? Are you looking for a way to connect with students who may already be interested in their neighborhoods?

If so – you’re going to want to get involved in the New Generations Film Festival today!

The purpose of the film festival is to give students a place to have their voices heard on issues in our community.The theme this year is “Love Where You Live,” to get students thinking about and involved in their neighborhoods. Films should be about a neighborhood highlight, project o problem they want to solve.

I wanted to create a project that would get students thinking about their community and involved with their neighborhood associations because I have a lot of fun doing things with Harlow.

I’m currently working with the City of Eugene’s Youth to Make it Happen program at the Petersen Barn to do this – but I really want neighborhood associations involved. I’m currently looking for a few people who want to get involved with following up with potential sponsors, general organizing and 1-2 judges.

If any of this sound like something you’d like to do, you can email me at newgenerationsff@gmail.com or nathanhyeh@yahoo.com

My ultimate goal, if it’s successful this year, is to continue this next year with a new theme – but continuing to link back to neighborhoods and community involvement.

Thank you, Nathan Yeh

Video submissions must be received by Monday, April 27, 2015.
Want more information? Send to newgenerationff@gmail.com

Notes from the city

1) Martin Luther King Jr. Day
March, Events all day Monday, Jan 19

Each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the City of Eugene Human Rights Commission recognizes an individual in our community for their contribution in the area of human rights and race relations.

Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day by joining the march that begins with a rally at 9 AM located in the PK Park parking area (parking for event in Serbu Youth Center), The march begins at 10 AM at PK Park and down MLK Blvd over the Ferry Street Bridge and ends at the Shedd Institute. Following the march is the community event where the MLK Jr. Community Leadership Award winner will be announced by members of the Human Rights Commission.

Reserve your tickets to see Holly Robinson-Peete, keynote presenter, at Lane Community College Monday, Jan 19 at 6:30 PM. Ms. Robinson-Peete is an accomplished actress, author, talk show host, activist and philanthropist. Contact evansg@lanecc.edu for ticket information.

2) Consolidated Plan Community Survey

City of Eugene / City of Springfield

The Cities of Eugene and Springfield are developing the 2015 Consolidated Plan, plan which provides an assessment of local housing, homelessness, and community development needs and establishes a five-year strategic plan for use of federal funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The goals of this plan are defined by HUD and designed to address the needs of low- and moderate-income residents to:

• Provide decent, safe, and affordable housing
• Create suitable living environments
• Expand economic opportunities

In order to make this plan meaningful in this community, we are seeking your input to help determine how these broad goals will be accomplished here. The information obtained from a survey (that should take approximately 10 minutes to complete) is critical for us to help us in that determination.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CWJH3VM

In order to assure your input can be incorporated in the report, please respond by January 23.

3) Urban Growth Boundary

Take the Recommendation Survey

The UGB Recommendation is out for public review. How our city grows affects us all – what do you think of the four areas recommended for UGB expansion for jobs, parks, schools, and single family homes?

• Clear Lake: 3,000 Jobs, Community Park, and School
• Santa Clara: 35 Acre Community Park
• Bailey Hill/Gimpl Hill: 135 Homes
• Bloomberg/McVay: 400 Homes
•
Take our survey to add your voice to the discussion. Surveys completed by January 22 allow us to prepare a survey summary for the City Council’s January 28th work session on this topic.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/UGBrec

You can also attend the City Council Public Forum on January 20 at 7:30 pm in Harris Hall, 125 E. 8th Ave, or email comments to envisioneugene@ci.eugene.or.us.

4) One-on-One Job Hunting Help
Assistance available at the Downtown Library

New at the Downtown Eugene Public Library: One-on-One Job-Hunting Help. At these sessions, job-hunters will get individual, expert advice and assistance to address specific questions and concerns.

Employment counselors can help participants find employment opportunities, complete applications, write online and traditional resumes, learn and practice interview techniques, or explore new job or career directions.

Sign up in advance for individual 30-minute appointments by calling 541-682-5450. Appointments will be available between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22; Thursday, Feb. 12; and Thursday, Feb. 26.

“One-on-One Job-Hunting Help” is provided through a partnership of the Eugene Public Library, Prosperity Program of Goodwill Industries of Lane and South Coast Counties, and United Way of Lane County. For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450 or http://www.eugene-or.gov/library.

If you follow the link in the ribbon above, you will find a draft of the proposed charter for the Association currently known as the Crest Drive Citizens Association.

The charter includes the new name and a description of the new boundaries. We will propose this draft for a vote on Sunday’s meeting. It includes changes suggested by city staff, and is ready for our vote.

You might ask what is the difference between a charter and bylaws? The charter is what defines the organization and must be approved by the city Council. The bylaws specify concrete procedures which carry out the definitions in the charter; these are more variable and can be changed by vote of the Association.

From the editor

We would like to remind you once again of our meeting on Sunday, January 18, 2-4 pm in the house at Morse Family Farm Park, just uphill from the dog park. We will vote on our new charter, name, and borders.

The proposed text for the new charter will be posted HERE ib crestdriveca.com, on Tuesday. Charters and bylaws are hardly exciting reading, but they do sketch our our purposes and the ways we hope to fulfill them.

When your attention returns to mundane things after Monday’s game in Texas, you might want to take a look, then come to our gathering next Sunday to discuss and vote. We will also be looking for your suggestions and ideas about what we should be doing in the next 12 months to help the neighborhood.

One thing we both certainly be doing is responding to the plan at Rest Haven to redesignate their vacant land for Low Density Residential. This has been a goal of the Envision Eugene process, but Rest Haven is maneuvering to do this on its own time and in its own way.

There are issues with any Rest Haven residential development: especially the potential environmental and economic effects on existing homes located near the edge of the Rest Haven property, on Braeburn and other streets. There are also traffic congestion worries.

Crime note

We learned recently that The Prospect Park Apartments on Chambers St. suffered two major break-ins on group mailboxes over the holidays.

From the city

1) Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Free Events – Monday, January 19

Each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the City of Eugene Human Rights Commission recognizes an individual in our community for their contribution in the area of human rights and race relations.

Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day by joining the march that begins with a rally at 9 AM located in the PK Park parking area (parking for event in Serbu Youth Center), The march begins at 10 AM at PK Park and down MLK Blvd over the Ferry Street Bridge and ends at the Shedd Institute. Following the march is the community event where the MLK Jr. Community Leadership Award winner will be announced by members of the Human Rights Commission.

2) One-on-One Job Hunting Help

Assistance available at the Downtown Library

New at the Downtown Eugene Public Library: One-on-One Job-Hunting Help. At these sessions, job-hunters will get individual, expert advice and assistance to address specific questions and concerns.

Employment counselors can help participants find employment opportunities, complete applications, write online and traditional resumes, learn and practice interview techniques, or explore new job or career directions.

Sign up in advance for individual 30-minute appointments by calling 541-682-5450. Appointments will be available between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22; Thursday, Feb. 12; and Thursday, Feb. 26.

“One-on-One Job-Hunting Help” is provided through a partnership of the Eugene Public Library, Prosperity Program of Goodwill Industries of Lane and South Coast Counties, and United Way of Lane County. For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450 or http://www.eugene-or.gov/library.

3) Urban Growth Boundary Expansion Moving Forward

After almost five years of community visioning, technical analysis, and public input, the Envision Eugene Planning has presented the preliminary UGB recommendation for adding land to Eugene for jobs, parks, schools, and single family homes.

Through the end of January you can view the details of the recommendation and submit your comments through the On-line Open House at http://www.envisioneugene.org.

1 January 13th, 4-6 pm will be an in-person open house in the Atrium lobby at 99 West 10th Avenue.

2 January 20th, 7:30 pm will be a City Council public forum at Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue.

Air quality reminder

With the onset of colder weather, fireplace and woodstove usage increases dramatically in Lane county. Lane County has a home wood heating advisory program that lets people know when air quality is becoming unhealthy and informs them if burning is allowed.

• GREEN air quality is good and burning is allowed

• YELLOW air quality is deteriorating and burning is cautioned against

• RED air quality is poor and burning is prohibited

Check before you burn.

The daily Air Quality Advisory is posted:
• on the web at lrapa.org
• on the LRAPA hotline (541) 746-(HEAT)
• In the Register Guard on the weather page

Please be aware of how thick your smoke is. It can’t exceed 40% opacity. The thicker the smoke, the higher the opacity. Keep the thickness and density of your smoke low. Air quality in South Eugene during winter months is usually the worst inside Eugene city limits and could cause health problems we can help prevent.

To register a complaint, please call 541-726-1930. Visit http://www.lrapa.org for more information.

From the editor

We have had a series of what would be warm winter days at your editor’s old home in Maine. Now it’s going to get warmer, but our new year holiday was bright and clear.

Happy New Year to all. This is the year of the Sheep in the Chinese astrological cycle. (Chinese New Year is in February but Japan starts its new year on January 1, so all your sheep can celebrate early.)

Let me remind you that our meeting coming up on January 18, Sunday, at Morse Family Farm, 2-4 pm, will be to discuss your ideas about what we should be doing in the next year, plus a vote on our new charter, new name, and new board. If we have information about developments at Rest Haven will bring that also.

One of the things that’s the neighborhood association hopes to work on in the coming year is joint planning for response to disasters such as big storms or earthquakes or big fires. We need methods for finding out the right information and getting people to set up their own home disaster preparation. But it’s also important to have us aware of resources and dangers in the immediate several blocks around their houses. Eugene has been involved in the statewide Map Your Neighborhood program and in the excellent CERT training, and now we have a neew resource from the city of Los Angeles.

Here’s their description:

“Disaster Prep Toolkit! We never think a disaster will strike our neighborhood or at least we hope it won’t! However, it is not a question of if one will happen, but when. The City of Los Angeles and its partner agencies have created a plan and resource kit to help their community be ready to help. This comprehensive plan can easily be tweaked to fit in your neighborhood! Neighbors should be prepared to help themselves and each other in the event of a disaster for several days to weeks depending on the size of the disaster.

Take the first step to getting your neighborhood in a better position to prepare and bounce back from disaster by downloading the City of Los Angeles 5 Steps to Neighborhood Preparedness Toolkit. Included within this comprehensive resource set you will find a Just in Time Training Video (13 minutes); a Toolkit Overview (in English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese and Large Print); and a 5-Steps Guide to build a neighborhood disaster plan for your neighborhood (also in several languages); and a Training Facilitators Guide as a resource for those active in the organizing of a meeting. A Neighoborhood Survey to help assess special skills and special needs is also available as a resource to help with Neighborhood Preparedness.”

A zombie apocalypse might be exciting but it’s more practical to worry about fires, earthquakes, windstorms, and other disasters which could cut communications and make it impossible for larger first response organizations to reach us. Think about helping out!

Our Association is looking for people who would be willing to organize small response teams in their immediate block or so. If you are concerned about the safety of you and your neighbors, and willing to take a lead, email David dkolb@bates.edu and we will set up a meeting for those who want to help the neighborhood prepare for the unknown.

Crime note

A neighbor writes: “I’ve noticed a couple of guys (together) riding their bikes past my house and I’ve watched them as they scope out each and every yard that they pass.”

Notice from the county government:

With the onset of colder weather, fireplace and woodstove usage increases dramatically in Lane County. This results in large quantities of particulate matter being released into the local air shed. The current smoke levels are especially high in our neighborhood. A “RED” advisory is currently in place, indicating that air quality is poor and burning is prohibited. Pellets stoves may be used if they produce are no visible emissions. Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) is forecasting unhealthy air quality levels for Oakridge and Eugene/Springfield over the next few days as high pressure dominates the region and air stagnation continues.
Help improve air quality in South Eugene by following these tips from LRAPA.
• Use dry, seasoned wood. Split it, cover it, and give it a year!
• Do not burn illegal fuel. Including: garbage, plastics, treated wood, paints and chemicals, and anything else that emits dense smoke or bad odors.
• Burn small, hot fires. Don’t add too much fuel at once.
• Limit use of the damper. Dampering wastes wood, produces air pollution, accumulates creosote, and yields very little heat.
• Step outside and check the chimney or flue. If you can see smoke, your fire may need more air.
• Check before you burn. You can burn on “GREEN” days and with caution on “YELLOW” days. Burning on “RED” days will result in a fine of up to $500.
To find out if it is OK to burn, call 541-746-HEAT(4328) or visit http://www.lrapa.org.

Development proposal

Project Description: Create cluster housing subdivision from five existing tax lots, reconfiguring property lines and church parking lot
Project Location: 2809 Friendly St.
Tax Lot: 18-03-06-33-10400, 10401, 10500,10700, & 10800
Neighborhood: Crest Drive Citizens Association

Land Use Application: http://www.eugene-or.gov/luappstracking
Building Permit Application:www.eugene-or.gov/buildingpermits (Select “Search Building Permits”)

Three requests from the city for volunteers to help out

1) Egan Warming Center Volunteer Opportunities

The Egan Memorial Warming Center is a coalition of community members representing service providers, religious congregations, nonprofit support agencies, social activist communities and local government who have come together to ensure that homeless people in Lane County have a warm and safe place to sleep when temperatures drop below 30 degrees between November 15th and March 31st.

Please take a moment and consider how you and/or your organization or business can get involved this winter season. To help in a shelter this winter, please complete an online Volunteer Application today.

Deciding to activate is a complex and uncertain business. Churches, volunteers, and support agencies need to be notified that Egan will be on standby 48 hours in advance. Egan volunteer coordinators have to make a decision based on the best forecasts we have 24 hours in advance for activation. Activation information is available on the website or volunteers can text the word “Activate” to 292929 for text alerts (standard data and messaging rates may apply).

Providing decent housing to everyone, all the time is a desperate social problem. Egan’s small contribution to that problem is providing emergency shelter when severe cold threatens lives. If you have suggestions on improving the protocol or data used to make a decision please send us an e-mail. (eganwarmingcenterseugene@gmail.com).

2) Point in Time Homeless Count

Please join volunteers for this point in time homeless count. It’s safe and provides our community an opportunity to count and help assess needs for those living on the street or in shelters.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015. Training will be provided on Thursday, January 22 or right before your volunteer shift begins.

Contact Lane County Human Services at 541-682-4615 or 541-682-4629; or email to hsc.info@co.lane.or.us

3) Repair2ReUse Cafe’s Coming to Lane County!

Lane County will host the Repair2ReUse Cafe’s with the first one to be held at MECCA, January 30 and the second at NextStep on February 27. Cafes will be planned for each month of 2015.

Check the website for dates and times for upcoming events as they are confirmed. Currently there is a need for a repairer of modern sewing machines for January and a need for folks who have skills with consumer electronics for February.

Shortly there will be a need appliance repair volunteers (March/April) bike repair volunteers (March/April) and garden tool shaper-uppers April/May. Other types of volunteering for the cafes include: greet attendees, staff information table, distribute interest/ability survey, share enthusiasm for featured topics of the cafes.

Repair2ReUse Cafes will be an important feature of Master Recycler booth outreach in 2015. Contact Kelly Bell, Lane County Master Recycler Program, for more information (541) 682-2059 or kelly.bell@co.lane.or.us

You may be wondering what’s been going on with this website…? Very little, it would seem. But the truth is out there; read on and you will know all.

The next few months will bring changes in our association. At the January 18 meeting, which we hope many people will attend, we will vote on a new charter for the organization, which clarifies our purposes and procedures, and introduces a new name (Southwest Hills Neighborhood Association) and new borders (we will then include the area west of Willamette and south of 39th and 40th Ave., which currently is in Southeast Neighbors).

At the January meeting, we will discuss plans for the coming year, including a number of social events, our spring gardening fair, our summer picnic, and we will ask members what issues and projects we should be working on in the coming in 2015.

We will also bring what news we can about recent moves by Rest Haven. We have received word that Rest Haven Cemetery wants to seek a redesignation for their land south of the cemetery. This would allow the city to include that land in the Envision Eugene inventory of land available for housing. What is unclear is whether anything further is being planned. It’s possible that Rest Haven wants to reactivate an old development plan that had gone through most of the stages for approval, or perhaps they want to create a new plan. It’s also possible that they’re not planning to do anything for the moment, but the change in designation would open the door for future plans. They are scheduling a meeting for neighbors; the date isn’t set but is likely to be on January 14, a few days before our general gathering.

What with all that’s coming up, I thought it would be helpful to clarify our communication methods:

Here is a summary of ways to reach us:

The fastest way to spread word and get feedback is to join our nextdoor.com page and post there.

The best way to get items into our email newsletter is to send them to dkolb@bates.edu.

The best way to get an item before our board for possible action by the association is to email Juan Carlos Valle, valleconsulting@hotmail.com, or David Kolb, dkolb@bates.edu.

Here is a summary of ways to stay informed about what’s up:

By email

Our weekly email newsletter is our most up-to-date and wide reaching means of communication — currently 337 subscribers. Sign up by using the form located on the right side of the crestdriveca.com webpage. We hope to put the texts of email newsletters (sometimes after a delay) at crestdriveca.com and also at nextdoor.com.

On the web:

crestdriveca.com — The Crest Drive Citizens Association has used this website as its official web home. However, the Neighborhood Leaders Council has a plan to produce a system that each neighborhood association can use to maintain their websites more elegantly, with useful links to other neighborhood associations. Because we knew this was in the works, we have been neglecting this website. However the new system will be delayed (surprise!) until next summer.

So we will begin more regular postings to crestdriveca.com. (You’re reading the first one now.)
Although this site has a facility for comments, whenever we enable that facility then we get flooded with spam comments generated by robots trying to sell items. Moderating these comments takes a lot of time, so we encourage those of you wishing to raise issues for discussion to use our nextdoor.com site.

Our nextdoor.com site — the nextdoor site has 110 members — The advantage of the nextdoor site is that it allows discussion and comments. It is available to people within our defined area, ***AND we have recently redefined that area to include the those living west of Willamette and south of 39/40th Aves.*** That area currently belongs to the Southeast Neighbors Association however it will likely be transferred to the Crest Drive Association early in the new year. We wanted to make it available now for people living there to join the next-door.com site for discussions about Rest Haven.

We have a Facebook page and a Twitter account, and though not many people use or follow them, they are available for comments.

By printed mail

Our postcards — a postcard should be going out soon about our winter meeting plans.

Our printed newsletters — paper newsletters have become more expensive but we will be sending out a winter issue in a month or so.

A touch of holiday cheer
We haven’t heard any new crime reports this week.

2015 approaches. We hope you had a good holiday season so far, and that you’re looking forward to creative and unexpected adventures in the coming year. As Yogi Berra is reported to have said, planning is difficult especially about the future. The one thing you can be sure about is that many things will remain the same and many things will change but you can’t know which those will be, so keep an open mind, eyes and ears. Nurture the tender shoots of spring and novelty.

From the Editor

Our association is moving into social media age. We have had for many years this Web site, crestdriveca.com, but we haven’t used it lately except to post there a form for signing up to our email list. Plans are afoot to replace this as part of a larger web site s ystem for all neighborhood associations. Stay tuned!

But that’s not all! We also have a Facebook page, which you can reach if you use Facebook; just search for Crest Drive Citizens Association,. We will be putting announcements there as well.

Then there is our site at Nextdoor.com, which provides a forum for discussion and announcements. You can sign up with this site if you live within the neighborhood. Our security people say that it is as secure as other social media sites, which is to say good but not perfect. They say they do not store the data you provide to show you reside in the neighborhood.

But that’s still not all! We have now a Twitter account @CrestDriveCA, and we encourage you to follow it. This will be a place for brief announcements and questions. We will be tweeting some content of our own out on the Twitter account but also re-tweeting items of local interest from other sources. Also, you can tweet questions to @CrestDriveCA and get responses from us and other neighbors.

We are working to develop these new media communication so that we can involve more people in discussions for the good of the neighborhood. If you have ideas about other social media methods or projects we should undertake, please let us know by contacting dkolb@bates.edu.

This is the email message sent out this week.

From the Editor Our association is moving into social media age. We have had for many years a Web site, crestdriveca.com, but we haven’t used it lately except to post there a form for signing up to our email list. We have also occasionally posted new on that Web site, which has the form of a blog.  Starting next week we will begin putting copies of these email weekly messages also on the Web site.   But that’s not all! We also have a Facebook page, which you can reach if you use Facebook; just search for Crest Drive Citizens Association,. We will be putting announcements there as well.   But that’s still not all! We have now a Twitter account @CrestDriveCA, and we encourage you to follow it. This will be a place for brief announcements and questions. We will be tweeting some content of our own out on the Twitter account but also re-tweeting items of local interest from other sources. Also, you can tweet questions to @CrestDriveCA and get responses from us and other neighbors.   We are working to develop these new media communication so that we can involve more people in discussions for the good of the neighborhood. If you have ideas about other social media methods or projects we should undertake, please let us know by contacting dkolb@bates.edu.   Development News   The city informs us that the proposal to redesignate the Resthaven property (bounded by Willamette, 39th, Brae Burn) is moving to the next step, a hearing before the Planning Commission. Owners within 500 feet of the property should receive a public hearing notice shortly with all of the details of the hearing, which is scheduled for November 19th at 6 pm at Harris Hall (125 East 8th).   The Resthaven property is included as one of five areas under consideration to be re-designated to accommodate single family housing inside the existing Urban Growth Boundary. This step would make the property’s land use designation (future land use) match the zoning (R-1). It would not affect the already approved Conditional Use Permit or the vested application for Controlled Income and Rent housing.   Your testimony is appreciated and needed, and Terry Harding ((541) 682-5635; Terri.L.Harding@ci.eugene.or.us) is happy to answer questions if you have them after reviewing your notice and additional materials that will be posted on the city’s website by next Monday.     Street Work Update   Willamette Street (19th Ave. to 23rd Ave.):  Street and utility work will continue this week.  Northbound Willamette is closed.  Through traffic can use 24th Avenue to Amazon Parkway. Southbound Willamette is closed during day time work hours.  Through traffic may use 18th Avenue to Amazon Parkway.  Southbound Willamette is open after work hours.  Watch for construction traffic. 18th Avenue (Chambers St. to Washington St.):  Contractor is scheduled for permanent striping this week.  Drivers should watch for lane closures or lane shifts throughout the length of the project.   Budget News   The remaining workshops for discussing ways to cut city expenses are open to the public and will be from 6-8 p.m. The dates and locations are: Wednesday, October 23 Sheldon High School Thursday, October 24  North Eugene High School Tuesday, October 29  Willamette High School Wednesday, October 30 Churchill High School   Recycling News   As part of a statewide effort aimed at reducing the risk of household medicines being misused, abused, accidentally consumed by children, or improperly disposed in a manner that threatens water quality, Drug Take-Back boxes have been placed at secure locations including at Eugene Police, 300 Country Club Road. There are also boxes in Springfield and Lane County.   In addition to the threat of abuse or misuse, flushing expired or unwanted household medicines down sinks or toilets raises the risk of pharmaceuticals getting into water supplies. The public can clean out their medicine cabinets and take unwanted or expired prescription or over-the-counter medicines, drugs that are no longer used, medicines from deceased family members, pet medicines, and any unknown tablets or capsules and dispose of them safely in the box.       Park News   Morse Farm has had several neighbors express concern about a padlock that was placed on the SW corner gate of the park, near the upper field and Crest heading south. The person in charge of the Farm did not place it there, nor did the City, but she has submitted a request for the City to remove it.

Our postcards and printed newsletters are sent to all the residents of the city-defined Crest neighborhood, about 2500 homes. But printed materials take time to produce and can only be sent out a few times a year.

The Crest Drive Citizens Association also publishes a weekly e-mail newsletter. This is sent out to 314 people, about 12% of the homes in the neighborhood.

Funding for paper mail notices and newsletters is likely to dry up in the next year or so. So email will be a major communication channel for the neighborhood.

Also, with the fast pace of developments on the crime and city planning and development scenes, it would be good if we could expand our e-mail list so that more people could get announcements and news more promptly. Consider adding your name to the list, and If you know people who should be on the list, please encourage them to sign up.

You can sign up by filling out the short form on our web page, www.crestdriveca.com. You can also email dkolb@bates.edu. You can unsubscribe from our list at any time by using the Manage Your Subscription link at the bottom of the weekly message.

Also: we’re now on Facebook at “Crest Drive Citizens Association” and on Twitter at CrestDriveCA.

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