32 rescued horses find new homes.

Byline: COUNTY BEAT By Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

Happy news from the Lane County Animal Regulation Authority: All 32 of the horses put up for adoption after their rescue from a farm near Junction City last month have been placed, picked up by their new owners and trucked to new barns and pastures from Douglas County to Washington state.

LCARA manager Mike Wellington said one more mare - named Buttons - remains to be adopted after receiving some additional medical treatment. One stallion among the 34-member herd could not be saved and had to be euthanized.

All in all, "it was a textbook example of how things should go," Wellington said. "I couldn't be happier."

The upbeat ending came thanks to generous donations from the public to cover veterinary and farrier bills, hay, grain and adoption fees of $175 per horse - as well as the generosity of a Marcola area couple who opened their ranch to the entire herd. The county recovered all of the costs of rescuing, treating and placing the horses, Wellington said.

It will monitor the progress of the horses for the next year to make sure their new owners care for them properly and they recover from the effects of their abuse.

The 80-year-old woman who neglected the herd has accepted a plea agreement that includes five years of probation and close supervision of her treatment of the few animals remaining in her care, Wellington said. They include a couple head of cattle and a llama.

Voters' pamphlet

offers wide audience

A quick read of the voters' pamphlet shows five statements about varying ballot measures submitted by Commissioner Peter Sorenson at a cost of $500 apiece.

Sorenson says he used campaign funds to get his message out, at a cost far lower than sending a mailer to the homes of individual constituents.

"For $2,500, I can reach all the constituents in my district, all the residents of Lane County and all the voters in the state," he said. "It's a really cost-effective way of getting a message to people."

If constituents wonder why he sent out a recent letter asking for political contributions even though he's running unopposed in the Nov. 2 election, it's because "the ongoing costs of a campaign never end," Sorenson said. "Even an unopposed candidate has costs - you don't get a break on printing or mailing or signs because you're unopposed. You can't take anything, such as the possibility of a write-in campaign, for granted. You have to run a campaign whether there's anyone besides you on the ballot or not."

Board steers clear

of parkway obligation

Thanks but no thanks, the county commissioners said to the state Department of Transportation this week. The commissioners don't want to get involved in discussions about who will ultimately pay to maintain the first leg of the controversial West Eugene Parkway - assuming it ever gets built at all.

By a 3-to-2 vote, the commissioners said they won't sign a memorandum of understanding, along with the city of Eugene and ODOT, to begin talking about who eventually might take jurisdiction over the the first phase of the long-proposed highway. Plans have been in the works since the 1970s for a road to bypass Eugene's West 11th Avenue and connect to Highway 126 west of the city.

"I don't want to pay for it, and I don't want to maintain it," Commissioner Bill Dwyer said. "I have nothing against the West Eugene Parkway - if the city of Eugene wants to build it, wonderful. If I drive out that way, I'll be happy to get out of the traffic."

Commissioners Don Hampton and Peter Sorenson agreed, saying responsibility for the first phases of the proposed project belong to the state and Eugene and the county should stay out of the talks, lest they get pulled into something they don't want. Commissioners Bobby Green and Anna Morrison disagreed, preferring to keep the county at the table even if it doesn't intend to help foot the bill.

Plans for the parkway have been hampered for years by the existence of wetlands along the route and citizen opposition to more freeway development, although voters have supported its construction.

But assuming Eugene and the state go ahead with the project, the county may not be able to avoid future negotiations for related highway development. An intergovernmental agreement dating to the 1970s says future phases may fall under county maintenance responsibility.

"If they build it, then we'll talk about that," Dwyer said.

Randi Bjornstad can be reached at 338-2321 or [e-mail].