City vows to recruit minority firefighters.

Byline: CITY BEAT/EUGENE By Edward Russo The Register-Guard

The latest group of Eugene firefighters-in-training prompted the City Council to ask whether more could be done to attract local minorities and women to the department.

The answer from Fire Chief Tom Tallon and City Manager Dennis Taylor: Yes.

The firefighter trainees are 10 white men, only four of whom are from the Eugene area.

Councilors met with Tallon and Taylor on Wednesday to discuss plans to put a fire engine and firefighting crew back at the Valley River Fire Station in north Eugene. Before too long, councilors started asking about the department's efforts to hire minorities and women.

Of the department's 173 firefighters, eight are women. Of the 165 male firefighters, 11 are ethnic minorities - five Native American, four Hispanic, one African-American and one Asian.

Tallon said that the department could do a better job of hiring more minorities and women, as well as more people from the Eugene area. The department regularly seeks employees from outside Eugene because the city does not produce enough qualified applicants, he said. To be a Eugene firefighter, job candidates must be emergency medical technicians.

Councilors and Mayor Kitty Piercy said they would like to see more African-American, Latino and women firefighters.

Tallon said African-American and Latino leaders share the same goal, but the cost of attending Lane Community College to earn an emergency medical technician degree can be prohibitive for some.

"I have not done all that I can do," Tallon said. "And I recommit myself" to recruiting more minorities and women.

Taylor, the city manager, said that being a firefighter is a "great career," with good pay and benefits.

He said city officials will begin recruiting efforts in area high schools to try to interest young people in taking the appropriate courses at the community college.

That prompted City Councilor Betty Taylor to say that during a recent kindergarten graduation that she'd attended, several youngsters said they wanted to be police officers or firefighters when they grew up.

"So you can start recruiting them," she said.

Park face lift

It's time for southwest Eugene residents to see how city parks planners responded to their ideas about renovating Acorn Park.

Residents near the park, at West 15th Avenue and Buck Street, are invited to the park from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to see a revised plan, including a moved play area and basketball court, more sidewalks, park furniture and landscaping.

After seeing preliminary plans from parks officials on June 1, residents commented on the improvements.

The city has $140,000 in federal community development funds, which it can use to renovate the park. Some work could be done this summer.

The revised plan and comment sheet are available on the Web at www.ci.eugene.or.us/ parks/acorn.

To share ideas, call 682-4914 or e-mail Carolyn.j.weiss@ci .eugene.or.us by July 1.

Edward Russo can be reached at 338-2359 or [e-mail].