The Department of Public Safety issued a number of parking citations at last weekend’s Relay for Life at Hayward Field, and a handful of those ticketed say the University should donate the fees to the relay.
Complaining that it is unfair to ticket people at a charity event, some people are even talking about not paying their tickets, said Ricardo Martinez, a mechanical designer with Balzhiser & Hubbard Engineers, a firm that participated in the relay.
“People were rallying to try to raise money for a great cause, and at the end of the event they had to pay out money,” Martinez said. “I think it was just a way of getting extra bucks.”
DPS Director Tom Fitzpatrick said the department has no plans to void the tickets, but encouraged spurned motorists to file a petition at the DPS office adjacent to Earl Hall. Petitions are reviewed by officials outside the department.
“The meters clearly state they are in place and valid Monday through Saturday, and people parking there are subject to being charged,” Fitzpatrick said.
Keith Hubbard, the co-owner of Balzhiser & Hubbard Engineers, received a ticket Saturday and said the University should have exempted people at the relay from parking restrictions.
“There are many events where they have exemptions,” he said. “It seems to me the cancer society ought to be worth one.”
He added that his company, which participated in the relay the past three years, will be back next year.
“It’s an irritant, but for people involved, cancer is far bigger than a ticket,” he said.
The American Cancer Society, which hosted the relay, received no parking complaints and will not object to citations issued to people parked illegally, society spokesman Don Oakerson said
“Everybody was told a meter is a meter, and if you park at a meter you pay,” he said. “I thought we did the best job we ever did this year telling people where to park. But the message only trickles down so far.”
Last year, the society paid a handful of parking citations issued to participants, but there were no plans for similar payment his year, he said.
The Relay for Life is an annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Money goes to cancer treatment, research and prevention programs in Lane County. This year, about $430,000 was raised, topping last year’s $313,000 mark, Oakerson said.
Receipt of parking tickets upsets some Relay for Life participants
Daily Emerald
July 30, 2001
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