Page 32 RAIN July/August 1984 Wilderness Conference The eleventh Northwest Wilderness Conference, titled "Our Unfinished Work," was held at Seattle Center April 27 to 29, and commemorated the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Wilderness Act. The conference, which was videotaped by volunteers, was the first since the tenth biennial conference held in 1974. Speakers included Gaylord Nelson, Chairman of the Wilderness Society; author and journalist Michael Frome; Brock Evans, National Audubon Society vice-president; and David Brower, Chairman and founder of Friends of the Earth. The conference featured films, including academy-award winner "The Last Redwoods," as well as round-table discussions on topics ranging from timber-sale economics and roadless areas to desert wilderness. Peace & Life Work Pacific Life Line (PLL) is a Northwest peace organization founded in March 1983 by a group of educators and artists in Oregon and Washington. PLL, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to seeking nonmilitary solutions to human problems, is currently working on two projects. First, it is sponsoring a peace walk called Life Plus, World Tour for Peace and Reconciliation. The participants are scheduled to leave Seattle in August 1984 and to cross the U.S. by November. Life Plus participants also plan to go to Western Europe and eventually the Middle East. The intention behind the world tour is to awaken people to alternative approaches to problems. The participants will bring a 12-step program for nonmilitary settlement of conflicts. PLL's second project is to establish Pacific Life Education Centers in various Oregon and Washington communities. The centers will serve as peace education and training offices, community meeting houses, and resource facilities. They will house peace libraries, coordinate regional activities, and manage a Northwest speakers bureau. The fundamental credo of PLL is that peace work is life work. PLL engages in transcultural and consciousness-raising educational activities and defines its approach as anthropological, as well as merely political. It considers political questions within the larger perspective of human needs and aspirations, rather than within limited ideological frameworks. In Corvallis (Oregon) and vicinity, PLL has been working since December to convert a 20-foot bus into a combination peace bookmobile and traveling forum, to serve the smaller communities of Lane, Linn, and Benton counties. During the summer, the vehicle will operate out of the Pacific Life Education Center planned for Eugene, Oregon. For more information, contact PLL, PO Box 2049, Corvallis, OR 97339. . —David Sparenberg David Sparenberg is the project director of Pacific Life Line. Neighborhood Recycling The city of Olympia is experimenting with a neighborhood recycling- collection system. It has purchased mobile dumpsters and added compartments for depositing tin, glass, newspapers, and aluminum. Neighborhood associations will hand out reminders to residents about the schedule and the location of the dumpsters. Those assisting the city with promotion and operation of the program will be paid the money generated from the sale of recyclables. Steve Barger, coordinator of the Citizens' Advisory Committee on Recycling, said the city council recognizes the long-term economic benefits of backing the recycling plan. After researching curbside pick-up programs, it decided to start with a weekend collection system—complemented by educational radio and newspaper spots—and eventually move to a city-wide collection service. Details from Steve Barger, 1617 Sylvester Street, Olympia, WA 98501. Neighborhood Mediation Your next-door neighbor's dog barks incessantly, keeping you up all hours of the night, and harasses you when you walk past the house. All personal attempts at resolving the problem and amending relations fail. What do you do? You could call the police, or even take the neighbor to court. But think about this alternative: Call your neighborhood mediation center and request a mediation hearing to work out a solution to the problem. Now in its fifth year, the Neighborhood Mediation Center of Northeast Portland provides such an alternative. With a staff of several mediation specialists and volunteers who are trained to be impartial intermediaries, the center has met with much success. Its conciliation and mediation services are available free to Portland residents who have disagreements. Most problems handled at the center involve minor civil disputes; complaints include property damage, trespassing, animal control problems, littering, and noise. When the center is contacted about a dispute, a staff mediation specialist contacts the complainant and determines if the issue is one that can be handled by volunteers. If the case is accepted and both sides agree to a hearing, a volunteer is assigned to try to resolve the dispute in a meeting lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to eight hours. The objective is to arrive at a written settlement signed by each person involved. Approximately 90% of the cases are settled without further mediation or police action. Neighborhood Mediation Center, 4815 NE 7th Avenue, Portland, OR 97211; 503/284- 2829.
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