Lookout PM: 4J razes popular playground

Welcome to the weekend, Eugene and Springfield,

Some neighbors with kids are miffed that 4J school district razed a playground at the Arts and Technology Academy middle school. The district said it would have cost too much to maintain the play structures.
An Elmira man charged with recording people without their knowledge in a nude shower area at the Oregon Country Fair pleaded not guilty today.
After receiving a carved cedar flute as a gift, a local arborist ended up founding a music festival centered on the Native American instrument. You can check it out this weekend at Island Park in Springfield.
We heard from a number of people asking what happened around 29th and Willamette this morning, where firetrucks and police had blocked the road. Reporter Jaime Adam reports a fire broke out in an apartment. Firefighters contained it to one room and also rescued a small dog named Taquito. There were no serious injuries, human or canine.
Who out there drives a car with at least 300,000 miles on it? Reporter Lilly St. Angelo wants to hear from you for a possible story: lillyst@lookoutlocal.com
Water safety has been in the news lately, and Jasmine Saboorian put together a list of organizations that still have summer swim lessons coming up — for both kids and adults.

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DAILY DIGEST

4J razes popular middle school playground, citing maintenance costs

By Lilly St. Angelo

Some neighbors of Arts and Technology Academy who visited often with their young children are upset and wish school officials had communicated their plans.

With the gift of a flute, so began a successful Springfield music festival

By Annie Aguiar

The three-day flute festival in Springfield has become the preeminent flute festival in the Pacific Northwest. It all started with an Eastern red cedar.