Ed. note:

For the next few weeks, I will be sending these announcements out on Thursdays instead of Wednesdays. I will be tabling for the Lincoln County Climate Change Adaptation Project at the Waldport Farmers’ Market, which takes place on Wednesdays. Vicki Osis and I are the only two volunteers so far, and we could use more help, as the Market is open until 6 p.m. Give me a call at 541 563 3615 if you can do a shift. We’re still setting things up and hope to start next Wednesday.

--Joanne Cvar cvar@peak.org

Cindy receives enthusiastic welcome to Lincoln County

Approximately 70 people turned out at the Atonement Lutheran Church on Monday night to welcome Cindy Sheehan and Veterans for Justice Gordon Sturrock and Malcolm Chaddock to Newport. The food tables were loaded with delicious eats, and after supper we listened as representatives from local groups shared their stories of activism for peace and justice, filmed by the vets to be collected on Sheehan’s Soapbox blog (see below) along with the stories of other communities gathered from their Road Trip along the West Coast of Oregon and California. Drummers from Oceana Family Literary Center livened up the event, which also included films from this year’s Newport Peace Village and from the Canoe Project.

            Sheehan wrapped up the evening with her own inspiring stories of loss and commitment to changing the system that has brought constant wars and suffering to so many of the peoples of the world. Her concept of Creating Revolutionary Communities challenges each of us to help bring about this change for sustainable community through caring for and cooperation with our neighbors. A revolution in values is called for if humanity is to survive.

                        Thanks to all who worked hard to make this event a success, and special thanks to Atonement Lutheran Church for their generosity in sharing their Fellowship Hall with our Welcoming Community.

--Joanne Cvar cvar@peak.org

Message from the Road Trip

Hey all! Thanks so much for showing up and telling us about the radical stuff going on in Lincoln County!  What a great turnout! I've gotten only three videos up so far and only from our Eugene events. Here are the links if you're interested.
Potato Leaf Project:  http://youtu.be/0gijVkJsP90
Urban Chicken farming: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QQsiKR27tM
Bring Recycling: http://vimeo.com/28089147

See http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com/2011/01/re-creating-revolutionary-communities.html for updates of the films as the Revolutionary Community Road Trip continues.

--Gordon Sturrock gs@squadron13.com

Lincoln County Democratic Central Committee meets tonight

Lincoln County Democrats will meet at 7 p.m. tonight, Wednesday August 24, at Central Lincoln PUD to discuss the 5th congressional district and anticipated

challenges of the 2012 general elections.

            Frank Dixon, Vice Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon, has responded to our request to come on down to the beach and address a snarly vocal crowd yearning to make the tea baggers blush.

            Central Lincoln PUD is located at 2129 North Coast Highway in Newport (across US 101 from Safeway.) Meetings of the Lincoln County Democratic Central Committee are free and open to the public.

            For more information, call Chair Dan Beck at 541-994-4694, or 

go to the group’s website, www.lcdcc.org.

The Glass Pumpkin Patch  

Oregon's Second Annual “Glass Pumpkin Patch” will be hosted by Bill Hunt, Kelp Forest Gallery and Ocean Beaches Glass on Sept. 3 and 4, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Kelp Forest Gallery, 1738 North coast Hwy in Newport. Approximately 1,000 hand-blown glass pumpkins in many colors and sizes will be on sale, created by Patrick Cahill, born and raised locally in the Oregon Coastal area. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Food Share of Lincoln County.

  --Nancy Smith, executive director Food Share of Lincoln County
541.265.8578  

http://www.foodsharelincolncounty.org/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-Share-of-Lincoln-County/171833151439

Coast Conference marks 40 years of conservation work

This year’s 28th annual Coast Conference, taking place in Newport on Saturday, Sept. 17, has a special significance.  It is also the 40th anniversary celebration of its sponsoring group, the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition. 

            The event will feature a number of speakers in the Newport Performing Arts Center.  But it will also feature a tour of the new NOAA Pacific operations center, a cruise on Yaquina Bay and an evening bonfire on the beach.  Registration is now open on the group’s website, http://oregonshores.org/.  Oregon Shores is also encouraging conference participants to begin their day by picking up beach debris as part of SOLV’s Fall Beach Clean-Up.

            The main portion of the conference begins at 11 a.m. in the Performing Arts Center.  The morning portion will include the Oregon Shores general members’ meeting and an historical overview of the group’s 40-year-long efforts to preserve the coastal environment.  A buffet lunch in the PAC’s lobby will be catered by Local Ocean, a Newport business which supports a local, sustainable fishing industry. 

            Afternoon speakers begin at 1:15.  They will be led by Oregon State University historian William Robbins, who will discuss the ways in which civilization has changed the coastal landscape over the past two centuries.  Robbins, author of Landscapes of Promise:  The Oregon Story, 1800-1940, and Landscapes of Conflict:  The Oregon Story, 1940-2000, has explored the interaction between human beings and our region’s environment during a long and distinguished career.

            Other speakers include Oregon Shores board member Al Solomon, a retired forest ecologist whose final position was as head of the U.S. Forest Service’s climate research team, who will discuss coming climate change and its likely impacts on the Oregon coast, and Steve Adams, managing director of the Climate Leadership Initiative, associated with Willamette University, who will explore the topic of preparedness and adaptation to climate change.  Geologist George Priest of the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries will describe the recent Japanese earthquake and the impacts we might see in Oregon if a comparable event took place here.

            The conference will also feature a 5:30 p.m. dinner cruise of Yaquina Bay with Marine Discovery Tours.  Participants will learn about estuarine ecology from the on-board naturalist and gain insights into how climate change may affect the bay, all while enjoying food and drink.  Festivities will wind up with a bonfire at 7 p.m.

            Cost of the conference is $25 for members, $35 for non-members. The cruise, a fund-raiser for Oregon Shores, is $75 for members, $100 for non-members (including membership).  The NOAA tour and bonfire are free.

            For more information about the conference, contact Pat Wolter, (503) 647-2012; pcwolter@comcast.net.

Reminders:

“Many Backgrounds, Many Stories, One American Spirit”

In preparation for Hispanic Heritage Month, Let There Be Arts (LTBA) and Oceana Family Literacy are hosting a Family Art Night on Wednesday, August 31, from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Lincoln City Cultural Center, 540 NE Hwy. 101 in Lincoln City. The purpose is to generate artwork specific to Latin American cultures that will be displayed in various places throughout the community during Hispanic Heritage Month in September and October. The evening will feature several instructors leading a variety of art projects for all ages. This year’s theme is “Many Backgrounds, Many Stories, One American Spirit.”  The public is invited to attend. 

The kick-off celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month in Lincoln City will be held Friday, September 16, at Taft Elementary School, starting at 6:00 p.m. 

For more information, call LTBA Director Kaline Klaas, 503-812-7813, kklaas@lettherebearts.com or Oceana Family Literacy Director Vickie Meneses, 541-921-1865.

Cape Perpetua field trip set

Join Oregon Shores and others in the Our Ocean coalition on Saturday, Aug. 27, for a free tour of the marine reserve site recommended by the Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) for Cape Perpetua.

            The tour will include presentations from scientists, a hike to enjoy spectacular ocean views, a lunch featuring delicious local seafood, and a chance to visit with others who love the coast and value its protection.

            So, join us in this outdoor celebration of a beautiful, important ecological area on the Oregon coast and to learn how you can engage in the next steps. The tour is free, but you must RSVP. Transportation from inland communities, as well as from other points along the coast, is available. 

To RSVP for the trip, visit http://ouroregonocean.org/tourRSVP_2011SummerTrips.html, and if you have  questions, contact Oregon Shores' Ocean Program Director Robin Hartmann at (541) 817-2275 or robin@oregonshores.org.

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed.  Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nation’s ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. 

            We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.

Frederick Douglass, 1852