School board meeting disrupted by anti-maskers

Plus updates on vaccine mandates, EWEB forest

Eugene 4J meeting disrupted by anti-maskers

Last Wednesday the Eugene 4J School Board held its first in-person meeting since the beginning of the pandemic. It also marked the first meeting since the Gov. Brown announced mask mandates inside K-12 schools. To no surprise anti-maskers showed up to protest.

About a couple dozen protested outside and many of them came in when the meeting started. Anti-maskers were unaccepting to hear the benefits of masks or vaccines that many of them would let out a groan when there was a mention of them, not sparing any compassion for parents that spoke of their high risk children or the one parent that spoke about her daughter dying before kindergarten. They got so rowdy that the board suspended the meeting for 10 minutes.

Though there were many people in the room that disapproved of the mask mandate, the majority of those that testified were in favor of it. Among those that spoke was Melissa Graboyes, who is a associate professor of medical history and African history at the University of Oregon and pens the Corona Virus Chronicles. Melissa Graboyes is also the parent and guardian of 4J children and laid out five COVID safety protocol recommendations for schools to implement in addition to masks. According to Graboyes their should be vaccine mandate for all those aged 12 and above, leaving exceptions for medical, philosophical, religious exemptions; increased ventilation; that students be in stable cohorts across all grade levels; distancing as much as possible; and implement a surveillance screening testing program that would allow regular testing of asymptomatic students and staff.

Local Links

  • Gov. Brown announced that she will implement new rules requiring healthcare workers to be vaccinated or face frequent testing. The new rules will go into place Sep. 30. ONA says they stand behind it.

  • PeaceHealth, one of Eugene’s largest employers, announced a similar protocol before Gov. Brown’s order that seeks to have all staff vaccinated by Aug 31.

  • Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals halted EWEB’s tree clearing, but not before they already cut 250 of the 265 trees they intend to cut.

  • Southwest Hills Neighborhood Association board voted to oppose EWEB’s proposed reservoir project on 40th and Patterson

  • Lane County Board of Commissioners approved a $15 minimum for county employees last week.

  • “On Aug. 3, Black Unity returned to Jesse Maine Memorial Park to protest the Springfield Police Department–and the so-called Springfield Neighborhood Watch–hosted ‘National Night Out in your Neighborhood Park.'”

  • Lane County commissioners one step closer to rejecting controversial Oakridge gravel quarry

  • Wang & Christensen contact the DoJ: 19-year-old suspect is arrested in their case

  • Carry It Forward is curating a list of resources for the upcoming heatwave this week.

Upcoming events