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Helen M. Davis For most people, the life of a cop is what we see depicted on TV or in movies. Evil seems to lurk around every corner as villains wait at the ready to commit some heinous crime. Gun fire is commonplace and so is death. In reality, police work can be quite a bit different, especially in a small town like Veneta. Deputy Evan Meyers wears many hats while on the job. Not only does he enforce the law, he also educates, performs welfare checks, serves civil documents, does trainings in ALICE – Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate in the schools, and provides a listening ear to the youngsters he encounters while making regular visits to the skate park. Meyers, who became a deputy seven years ago to fulfill his desire to help others in a position he finds rewarding, says crime in Veneta is “Hit and Miss.” Offenses range from kids stealing candy from Dari Mart or Ray’s to unauthorized use of a motor vehicle to domestic violence and assaults. Not all crimes are reported, and with the small call volume he has compared to other regions, Meyers is able to often prevent crime before it occurs. Part of this proactive approach, as he calls it, is being aware that there are those who live outside Veneta but who come to the city to commit wrongdoings. Meyers also routinely visits the schools to speak, and all area principals have his phone number. He tries to be a presence at the parks as he wants to have a good relationship with area kids and at times, they will come to him to talk about problems at home or at school. He knows the layout of each school so that in the event of an emergency, he will know exactly where to go to render aid. On a routine patrol, Meyers makes a point of driving by the new developments to look for things that might be amiss. It is not unheard of for thieves to siphon diesel from the heavy equipment or steal tools that are left out by workers. He also pays particular attention to Hunter and Houston Roads as speeding is commonplace there. Highway 126 is another place he watches for moving violations. However, he must weigh safety before pulling an offender over and if it is risky for him to turn around to pursue a driver in violation of the law, he will forgo doing so. If there are extenuating circumstances when a driver is pulled over for driving above the speed limit such as the day he pulled an expectant father over who was driving his obviously in labor wife to the hospital, he will let them off with a warning. The top three reasons a driver is stopped in Veneta are speeding, using a cell phone while driving, and not wearing a seat belt. His own safety is also paramount and when Meyers is sent to a dispute, he will ask the dispatcher for the details of whatever weapon might be being brandished so he can be as prepared as possible. If he is on a call and dispatch hasn’t heard from him in a while, the dispatcher will call and check to see if he is okay. A lot goes into a call, and things are always done to make sure the odds are always the best they can be when so often it’s not known just what to expect. As with all law enforcement officers, Meyers wants to be able to go home to his family in the evening safe and sound and to be able to see his 17 month old son grow up. Another part of Meyers’s patrol involves driving by the playing fields on Bolton Hill Road as there used to be problems with people in cars behind them going through stolen goods, though lately this hasn’t been as bad, and the high school, where there are repeated problems with people driving through the grass. Sometimes in the course of a shift, Meyers will encounter the unexpected such as the day he found a 150 lb. pig wandering down Jeans Road. Not knowing what else to do, he put the swine, which had a bit of an attitude, into the back of his cruiser and went off in search of the owner. Fortunately, he was able to facilitate a reunion between owner and pig and all went well. It’s a mixed bag, this patrol of Veneta, and no two days are ever the same. Calls can vary from anything to a suspected impaired driver to a violation of a restraining order to a car with very expired tags. When he begins patrol, Meyer never knows what types of calls he will receive, but he strives to respond to all in the best way possible while holding people accountable for their crimes. Community policing, he calls it, and he does the job well. With Deputy Meyers on the job, Veneta is in good hands.
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Helen M. Davis It began as a day of adventure and camaraderie for the hunters as they traversed the woods near Noti, but it ended in horror with the discovery of the body of Shawn Lee Wilkins last November 20th. It was unknown how long his remains had laid there or how it had come about. An accident? Foul play? People heaved a collective shudder to think that a murderer could be free among them, and doors were checked twice to be certain they were locked. Then, as so often happens, the gruesome find was then shoved aside in people’s memories as life went on. Yesterday, however, Lane County Sheriff’s officials with assistance from the Special Response Team made three arrests in connection with the case they had been quietly investigating when tips led them to a home at the corner of Poodle Creek Road and Highway 126. Timothy Bryce Shafer was taken into custody November 13th, on a charge of 2nd degree murder while his father, Timothy Leon Shafer and Anna Maria Teres Glica were arrested on charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and hindering prosecution. All three were lodged at the Lane County jail after surrendering peaceably to authorities. The Special Response Team had been summoned after sheriff’s officials were made aware of a possible risk. According to Lt. Ryan Welles, the case is ongoing with more details to follow and there is no danger to the community.
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Helen M. Davis When the reader boards went up last month along Territorial, on Lawrence Road and on Clear Lake Road near Alvadore Road, motorists heaved a collective moan at the news that a mile and a half stretch of Clear Lake would be closed for a month. What was the county going to do that was making this necessary? Would it really be just for a month? These questions were on the minds of everyone who has to travel Clear Lake Road with regularity. For some, the closure no doubt brought back memories of the early 2000’s when Clear Lake was closed along the same stretch while the dam was rebuilt and for those who were here in 1993, it may even have brought to mind the massive repaving and rebuilding of Clear Lake Road from Territorial to Greenhill Road. In this case, however, the project is not quite so ambitious. According to Devin Ashbridge, Public Information Officer for Lane County Public Works, this closure, is a result of work needing to be done on the bridge that crosses the Long Tom River by Kirk Road. The concrete, Ashbridge says, is beginning to fail so workers are hydroblasting it off of the deck. Once done with this step, a new structural concrete overlay will be put on the bridge and the ends will be paved to facilitate a smooth transition to the remainder of the roadway. Work is scheduled to wrap up and the road reopened on November 16th. Ashbridge says that while the majority of the task is expected to be completed at that time, motorists may see “spot work” here and there that should not have much of an impact on their commute to and from Eugene. In the interim, those who travel Clear Lake will have to continue to take the detour down Territorial to Franklin Road to Alvadore Road to Clear Lake, adding approximately 10 minutes to their commute. It will be a welcome site when the reader boards are towed away, the barricades are removed, and the road is reopened. But, for all the inconvenience of having to drive out of the way, a new, safer bridge is definitely worth it.  by
Helen M. Davis To those who drive by enroute to home or some other destination, the skatepark in Veneta seems innocuous enough. Kids can be seen on skateboards and scooters as they zoom up and down the dips and curves or wait their turn to do so. Meanwhile, still more kids can be seen at the small playground next to it enjoying the swings and the monkey bars, and often a game is in progress at the basketball court. It all seems like innocent fun, a great way for the youngsters of Veneta to spend their time. But take a closer look and listen and you will learn differently. For starters, garbage tends to be strewn about the premises as kids refuse to pick up after themselves. This refuse ranges from cans and bottles to fast food wrappers, melted candy and whatnot. Trash receptacles are available, but not utilized, and several weeks ago, things reached a point where the park was closed for two days as the city not only cleaned up the mess but tried to send a message to area youth about the need to take care of the park. There were some instances of kids jumping the fence to get in anyway, but when caught these young offenders were compliant as they were expelled from park premises. Kyle Shaver, Veneta Public Works Director, said the city wanted to give the kids something to think about as attempts to get them to pick up their rubbish has resulted in discourteous behavior and officials being told to “F_ _ _ off!” by members of a group of kids who range in age from 12 – 16 years old. This, naturally, has been met with displeasure and Shaver admits to finding it difficult to understand how those who use the park can be so indifferent. “I would have loved something like this when I was a kid growing up here,” he says. Problems haven’t been just with detritus carpeting park grounds however, but also with bullying, disrespect, and vulgar language being tossed about like beach balls on a windy day, according to posts from distressed parents and even grandparents on Facebook. A young man with disabilities visited the park with his support worker and after wandering off and leaving his skateboard by the bowl, returned to find it broken into three pieces. The perpetrator was never identified, and the young man’s parents were distressed to have their son, who is faced with so many struggles just in day-to-day life, be treated in such a hurtful manner while having his personal property destroyed for no discernible reason. Lane County Sheriff’s deputies have also gotten involved at the skate park after a number of fights have taken place both at the skate park itself and at the city park at the end of Broadway. These fisticuffs have been filmed and uploaded onto social media. Due to the presence of a “cinematographer” at these melees police suspect that these altercations have been planned rather than just a flaring of tempers. The offenders in these cases have been mostly middle school aged but there have been some instances of high school students engaging in fighting as well. Ware states that those caught have been and will be “trespassed” for a year and if they are caught on park property, the parents of the offending youth will receive a fine of $350 and will have to appear in court for failure to supervise their child. Eventually, says Ware, the skate park may have to close permanently if the violence does not cease. So, what can be done to make the parks a place for all to enjoy? First, there needs to be respect, which should be modeled in the home. Those who utilize the park need to value the feelings of others, adults, and other youngsters alike, something that sadly, seems to be missing so much in society these days. The responsible parties also need to know that there will be consequences for their actions. If they must answer for their wrongdoings, then they might be more hesitant to engage in the transgressions that have been taking place. Perhaps there should be some sort of supervision to keep the patrons of the park in line. Something needs to happen soon, or a community asset is going to be lost and those who do behave will find themselves being punished right along with those who don’t seem to know how to or even care about engaging in civility. People shouldn’t have to forbid their children from going to the skatepark because the behavior is so bad and yet, this very thing has happened, and it saddens parents to have to make this decision in order to keep their children safe. The Veneta skate park was created to give kids a safe place to enjoy themselves and engage in a fun activity, but its days could well be numbered. Should the closing of the park become necessary, there will be one less way for kids to spend their time in small town Veneta, but there may be no other option if behavior doesn’t change for the better. In that case, the words of “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell - “You don’ t know what you’ve got till it’s gone,” - will ring very true.  by
Helen M. Davis Sixteen years ago, Marie Pickett had a dream. How nice it would be if there was a place where those who call the Fern Ridge area home could come to experience the fruits and vegetables produced in the region and the crafts created by talented artisans. Thus was the genesis of the Veneta’s Farmer’s Market in 2007. The farmer’s market started out small with its first inception in the parking lot at Veneta Elementary School. After that, it was held in the parking lot next to Our Daily Bread before moving to Luther Lane and then down Broadway to set up for business on a parcel of land next to “the attic building” where the food trucks are currently leasing. This location worked well, and the market grew. Eventually, Heather Blake began to volunteer with the market, performing set-up and running a consignment booth. It wasn’t long before she was asked to manage the market and she agreed, though she had to take a step back when her other job required her to work on Saturdays and now serves as the market’s Board Secretary which sees her managing the market’s website and Facebook page among other various duties. When the attic building and the city became enmeshed in negotiations for the land the market was on, the market moved across the street to another empty parcel where it remained until St. Vincent de Paul began to talk of breaking ground on a new retail store next to the Service Center. All possibilities for a new site were looked at and discussed, and it was decided that the market would return to its old locale on Luther Lane. While at the St. Vincent de Paul site, Blake, who worked with the Veneta Chamber of Commerce, began managing a pop-up retail district under her business Fern Ridge Events, that combined with the farmer’s market to showcase new businesses, the first three being Grateful Graphics, Aida’s Food Company and Bella’s Luv Bar Butter. Seven businesses operated out of small sheds the following year, but things came to a screeching halt with the arrival of COVID. This year has seen a number of new farmers join the market to sell their goods with an average, according to Blake, of 19 vendors a week and 350 shoppers. Late in 2018, the market became a program of the Fern Ridge Community Action Network, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. This was done in order to not only increase community programming in the Fern Ridge area, but also to enable the market to increase its nutrition assistance programs, do more to aid in the economic development of the market’s vendors, and develop a sustainable future so the market can be a vital part of the community for many more years. To help those in need, the Veneta Farmer’s Market works with SNAP – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – by allowing people to present their card and obtain a matching food box for up to $20. The card can also be used to purchase bread, meat, eggs, honey, and drinks such as lemonade and iced tea after the card is used to purchase tokens. The Veneta Farmer’s Market has also been doing a program for kids. Those 12 and under can get a token worth $5 to spend on fruits and vegetables for themselves and feel a sense of pride in doing their own shopping. Previously, the age limit was 15, but this was lowered because the market was spending more money than it was making. Blake says the market has a number of new people on the board this year and it is hoped that the market can grow. She would love to have a place on site or near the site for storage and dreams of finding a location where the market can be indoors and operate year-round. While in the past the market operated simultaneously with the Harvest Festival, this year it was decided that since they had just moved back to Luther Lane, it would be best not to join the festival and create confusion. Blake also has several other irons in the proverbial fire including Music in the Park, which performs at the amphitheater at the park on Broadway from June through October on the second Thursday of the month. Blake says there have been a variety of genres performed such as Bluegrass, a youth group performing 50’s-60’s music replete with a lead singer who sounded like Elvis, and a trio who performed on guitar, mandolin, piano and violin. Only 45 people attended the first Music in the Park, says Blake, but one of the last concerts saw 74 people enjoying themselves listening to the music on a warm summer evening. If she can, Blake would like to bring this indoors, too. From the time of its inception, the Veneta Farmer’s Market has been a vital part of the community for farmers and shoppers alike. It has given those who do not have a garden a chance to enjoy consuming fresh fruits and vegetables and take part in the from farm to table movement. It has also given children the opportunity to see where food comes from, that it doesn’t just appear on the shelves of a grocery store, and it has brought like-minded people together to share in a bounty that has been cultivated through hard work and dedication. With any luck and with a lot of perseverance, the market will be around for a very long time and another reason the Fern Ridge area can be proud to call this place home. |
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