Letters in the Editor's Mailbag.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Ivy taking over

Stop English ivy from spreading. The ivy's berries are eaten by birds and then seeds are spread, sometimes on native plants. Ivy has killed native plants, then wild animals have gotten very hungry and sometimes died. So stop the ivy.

NATHAN ENGELMANN, Age 8 Eugene

Another 'evil axis'

Why are the Taliban and Osama bin Laden trying so hard to destroy the United States? They could just sit back and let our own "evil axis" (Enron, Arthur Andersen and other greedy executives of megacorporations) destroy us from within.

It is hard to determine which of these has destroyed more lives.

DeANNA CONLEY Cottage Grove 

Historical roots matter

We join the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office in applauding our neighbors Ev Smith, Sally Smith, Nancy McFadden and Al Urquhart for their commitment to historic preservation. Their work to create a South University Historic District "exemplifies the best in historic preservation efforts," according to James Hamrick of the state office.

With an initial poll showing a 4-to-1 majority favoring the historic district, these four, with volunteer support from a broad spectrum of neighborhood residents, embarked upon what became a three-year project to research the history of homes and to inform property owners about the proposal. More than 100 neighbors contributed time or money to the project.

Public hearings, organized and advertised through the South University Neighborhood Association, took place at Edison, our neighborhood school, with city officials available to answer questions about the proposal. Volunteers went door-to-door to distribute packets of information and to ask for help from homeowners in collecting information about their houses. Property owners received letters from the state asking for their formal input.

Clearly, this process was lengthy and fully open.

There are currently some 10,000 historic districts throughout the United States. It is gratifying to see that people across the country appreciate the need for a connection to their history and are preserving areas that otherwise would become unrecognizable to future generations. We hope our historic district comes to fruition, because roots do matter.

How can we see where we're going if we have no record as to where we've been?

MICHAEL J. REIDY,

VIRGINIA L. HENDRICKSON

and 23 co-signers Eugene

For democracy's sake

As a native south Eugene resident who also has lived and worked in diverse areas of the county, I would like to weigh in on the debate over how Eugene elects city councilors.

To be blunt, voters of the no-growth persuasion tend to cluster together in politically nondiverse neighborhoods, which gives them the advantage under Eugene's current ward system over their more diversely dispersed opposition. No informed and honest observer of the town questions that reality.

The debate should be over whether the system should be adjusted for democracy's sake, not over who's right about growth. The original American experiment in representational governance attempted to mitigate through various checks and balances the tyranny of both the majority and the minority.

The Democratic Party of Jefferson and Madison was founded championing the belief that the common man has the intelligence and the integrity to handle his own affairs - and should not be subject to the unrepresentative control of the moneyed and educated elite.

Personally, I believe that Eugene residents north of the river and west of Chambers Street can be trusted not to be duped or paid to destroy their city should they be released from the gentle guidance of those neighborhoods whose wetlands and hillsides have already been developed.

On the local level, there are many options for coming as close to the ideal of one person, one vote, as possible. Democracy is not about taking partisan advantage - but politics is.

WILLIAM DiMARCO Junction City

Shallow roots

How incredibly fitting it is that the state Legislature is deciding on the fate of education during the time when a severe windstorm hits Eugene and surrounding areas. Many trees toppled - most with shallow roots.

That's what we're giving our children: shallow root systems.

We're taking shortcuts with our children and not allowing them the full nourishment.

I think a few legislators forgot to read the poem on the wall of their kindergarten classroom: "Hold hands; stick together; look before you cross the street; and remember the seed in the little paper cup, first the roots grow down and then the plant grows up."

LIZ WILLIAMS Eugene

LETTERS LOG

Letters received in past week: 149

Letters published: 61

What's on readers' minds: The hottest Mailbag topic during the past week was Eugene Sand & Gravel's efforts to locate a new mining operation off River Road north of Santa Clara. We received 23 letters on Eugene Sand; 12 on the Eugene Water & Electric Board's plans to raise power rates; nine on the Feb. 7 windstorm; and six each on the West Eugene Parkway, Enron and abortion.

- The Register-Guard

CAPTION(S):

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