Instead of reaching for a remote to change the television channel, I used to turn the outdoor TV antenna to change the channel as a child. My family was fortunate to receive three over-the-air channels where we lived in Oakland (at least during good weather). Two stations had translators in Oakland, situated on the Heaton family cross at the west side of town: KPIC 12 and KEZI 7. The third TV signal came directly from KOBI's channel 5 transmitter located atop King Mountain east of Glendale.
So, if we wanted to change from KOBI to one of the other two channels, we would physically turn the antenna from the south to the west to receive the optimum picture. Therefore, one can understand how excited and mystified I was when I came home from school one day and found a mysterious black cable leading into the back of our TV set. When I turned on the television, I was surprised to see the number of channels, most of them with crystal clear pictures, coming in on our television set.
The only problem was there were no satellite channels in those days. Everything was over-the-air broadcast signals from local television stations. In order to fill up all 12 channels on the dial (2-13), Clearview Cable TV for a short time broadcast Portland's KOIN on both channels 6 and 8. Considering there were three NBC affiliates and two ABC affiliates on the cable channel line-up, I suppose it didn't seem too strange to have two CBS channels, even if they were from the same television station.
I used to eagerly wait for Friday nights at 8p.m. when Wonder Woman was broadcast on CBS. Unfortuately, the Portland signals were often fuzzy, and I would switch back from channel 6 to channel 8 to see which picture was best. But they were both the same: usually blurry. Clearview Cable TV had their "head-in" site on a hill west of Interstate-5, where the cell phone towers are now located. Because Clearview Cable TV was a small business, they didn't have the money to invest in expensive microwave technology to bring in distant television stations. They had outdoor TV antennas at their head-in site, just like the antennas we had at home. I often envied cable TV viewers in Roseburg, who were part of a microwave system that brought in crystal-clear signals from Portland, Sacramento, and San Francisco television stations.
But I still watched the fuzzy Portland channels offered on our local cable system. Who would want to miss late-night Portland wrestling live on KPTV? It was also during this time that I became an admirer of KOIN news anchor Mike Donahue's professionalism. While watching a CBS program during the evening, Donahue would break in with a news tease for the 11p.m news., often beginning with: "Good evening, it's currently ** degrees in the rose city. Here's..." Donahue finally retired only a couple years ago.
My memory may not be entirely accurate, but I believe Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcast Network was the first satellite channel offered to Sutherlin-Oakland viewers, in addition to two premium movie channels. The channel line-up looked as follows:
CLEARVIEW CABLE TV CHANNEL LINE-UP
SUTHERLIN-OAKLAND, late 1970s
2 KPTV Portland Independent
3 HBO Home Box Office - Premium
4 KPIC Roseburg NBC
5 KOBI Medford ABC
6 KOIN Portland CBS
7 KOAC Corvallis PBS
8 CBN later became the Family channel
9 KEZI Eugene ABC
10 KTVL Medford NBC
11 Weather readings from Sutherlin cable TV office
12 TMC Twenty-Four Hour Movie Channel - Premium
13 KVAL Eugene NBC
As more satellite channels were born, cable television quickly evolved. Because there was poor signal quality from the Portland channels, Clearview decided to drop the snowy Portland channels, and bring in crystal-clear satellite channels. ESPN bumped KOIN on channel 6, and Ted Turner's "Superstation WTBS" bumped KPTV on channel 2. That move did not go over well with the cable TV viewers who faithfully watched CBS soaps and no longer had a CBS station on the cable system. Clearview bowed to public pressure and re-instated KOIN on channel 10, bumping KTVL from Medford, which at this time was changing network affiliations from NBC to CBS. That was the last time I could watch Newscenter 10 for their fruit frost report. (Yes, I'm kidding.)
Channel capacity was an issue and it would be several years before Clearview Cable would invest in the technology, enabling them to offer more than twelve channels. When Eugene finally launched a third network-affiliate television station in 1983, KMTR-TV, Sutherlin-Oakland viewers lost their last access to Portland news as KMTR replaced KOIN on channel 10.
When I look at the current line-up of basic cable TV channels offered today by Charter Communications, I sometimes wonder just how much television has "evolved" over the years. Here's how the basic cable line-up looks today:
2 Home Shopping Network
3 EMPTY
4 KPIC Roseburg CBS
5 KOBI Medford NBC
6 KMTR Eugene NBC
7 QVC Shopping
8 KSYS Medford PBS
9 KEZI Eugene ABC
10 EMPTY
11 KEVU Eugene MyNetwork/formerly UPN
12 CW/KMTR Eugene
13 KLSR Eugene Fox
14 WGN Chicago CW
15 ION
18 CPAN
19 Public Access
20 Telemundo
21 KTVC Roseburg religious/formerly WB
22 Weather
91 TBN Trinity Broadcasting Network, Santa Ana, CA
92 INSP Inspiration, Charlotte, NC
285 THIS/KOBI Medford
292 THIS/KVAL Eugene
Obviously there are more channels and more viewing options today, even on the basic cable TV line-up. But being the news junkie that I am, I miss the access to television news broadcasts from other cities. As the Eugene television stations have become more amateurish in their news broadcasts, I yearn for the days when I could watch a polished newscast from Portland. Today, I can watch WGN's noon news at 10a.m., if I want to hear stories about two women who were raped in Chicago, or where the warming centers will be located as another cold front hits the Great Lakes.
I became so frustrated in 2012 that I actually allowed a DISH satellite representative sign me up, IF he could bring me the Medford television stations instead of the Eugene stations. After consulting with his supervisor he told me he could do that. But then the day came that the installers showed up to set up the dish. They couldn't get a decent signal! There are locust trees all around our house and there was not one spot where DISH could pick up all three of their satellites. They found spots on our property where the dish could pick up two of the satellites, but never all three.
Sigh! I resigned myself to keeping the basic cable. I thought about the possibility of going back to the old days of using an antenna to pick up our television channels. Unfortunately, high definition technology unveiled a new problem on the horizon. Unlike the old analog television signals that could skip over hilltops, high definition television signals required line-of-sight between the television transmitter or translator and the home television antenna. Thus, KOBI was no longer available over-the-air in Oakland. And KPIC had removed their old translator without replacing it. That just leaves ONE television station that we could pick up on an antenna in Oakland: KEZI.
Do I miss the days of "turning the antenna" to change the channel? No. But I do miss the days of being able to hear a Portland news anchor give the temperature in the rose city. Maybe one day I'll be able to trim the locust trees and call back a DISH representative to hook me up with a dish that brings in the Portland stations. Then I'll no longer have to watch 25-year-old recent college graduates mispronouncing words and offering an amateurish newscast from Eugene. Most of the older, more seasoned and more professional reporters and anchors in Eugene have been dismissed, because it's cheaper to pay a college graduate than it is to pay someone with experience.
Cavemen
Grants Pass Cavemen at Oregon Caves, 2006.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Obamacare Eliminates Two-Year Wait For Terminally Ill Patients
Background: This was a letter to the editor published in the public forum of the Roseburg News-Review, Wednesday, November 6th, 2013. I've attempted to avoid entering the fray over Obamacare (the correct name is the Affordable Health Care Act), but the cold, hard truth is that some people will die without some kind of affordable health care coverage. So far, Congress and the President have avoided making the needed reforms to Medicare and Medicaid, leaving "Obamacare" as the next best option.
TWO-YEAR WAIT ISN'T PRACTICAL
I don't believe in socialized medicine. However, I do believe that if someone pays into a system, such as Social Security, there should be some reimbursement if a person is entitled to it. Unfortunately, Social Security Disability allows some people to fall through the cracks, and the Affordable Health Care Act appears to be one solution to fill in those cracks.
Someone who has a terminally ill disease, but is too young to qualify for Medicare, must currently wait two years before Social Security will make the person eligible to receive Medicaid. I paid Social Security taxes for years, assuming that if a tragedy ever befell me, I would be entitled to medical coverage. I was wrong. A person must be "disabled" for two years before Social Security will provide that medical coverage.
As a stage three cancer survivor, I must wait those two years (assuming I live that long) before Medicaid will pay for my chemotherapy treatments. Thank goodness the Affordable Health Care Act will kick in January 1st and allow me to receive lifesaving treatments at an affordable cost.
Monte Muirhead
Oakland
TWO-YEAR WAIT ISN'T PRACTICAL
I don't believe in socialized medicine. However, I do believe that if someone pays into a system, such as Social Security, there should be some reimbursement if a person is entitled to it. Unfortunately, Social Security Disability allows some people to fall through the cracks, and the Affordable Health Care Act appears to be one solution to fill in those cracks.
Someone who has a terminally ill disease, but is too young to qualify for Medicare, must currently wait two years before Social Security will make the person eligible to receive Medicaid. I paid Social Security taxes for years, assuming that if a tragedy ever befell me, I would be entitled to medical coverage. I was wrong. A person must be "disabled" for two years before Social Security will provide that medical coverage.
As a stage three cancer survivor, I must wait those two years (assuming I live that long) before Medicaid will pay for my chemotherapy treatments. Thank goodness the Affordable Health Care Act will kick in January 1st and allow me to receive lifesaving treatments at an affordable cost.
Monte Muirhead
Oakland
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Who Would You Vote For And Why?
Background: There are two topics one isn't supposed to discuss at the dinner table: politics and religion. So if you don't want to hear about politics, skip reading this column. This is a new column, not one that I pulled from my archives.
Some people have stopped me on the street this month, asking if I am running for Douglas County Commissioner next May. Wow! They must have read something that I posted on line, because I haven't discussed the issue anywhere else. I told them that I'm waiting to see how my recovery goes during the next two months, but I will make a decision before the end of February, before the filing deadline.
I got to thinking, whom would I vote for if I don't run? That's an interesting question that's been asked in other races. The first time that I heard it was in a statewide television debate among Oregon's gubernatorial candidates: Democrat Barbara Roberts (who went on to win the election), Republican Dave Frohnmayer, Independent Al Mobley (the conservative Republicans' choice), and a fourth party candidate.
"If you were unable to run for office, which one of your opponents would you vote for, and why? Not giving a reply is not an option." Three of the gubernatorial candidates stumbled and fumbled for a response, without ever answering the question. Roberts, who probably had the advantage of being the last person to answer the question, actually did answer the question. Roberts said she always believed in choices, and unlike her opponents, she would answer the question. A loud cheer of applause erupted from the television studio audience. Roberts then said that if she were unable to run, she would vote for Dave Frohnmayer.
Later in the News-Review pubic forum, one person wrote a letter to the editor blasting Roberts for her response. The letter writer said Roberts' response was "proof" that the Democrats and moderate Republicans were all alike because they would vote for one another. That's one of the things that bothers me about politics: Candidates are dahmed if they do, and they're dahmed if they don't. If one refuses to answer a difficult question, they're perceived as being wishy-washy and not wanting to answer a tough question that might alienate some voters. If one answers a difficult question, their opponents will take that information and distort and twist it against a candidate.
I know from personal experience. During a previous race for Douglas County Commissioner, one Yoncalla rancher wrote a letter to the editor in favor of her candidate. She claimed her candidate was down-to-earth and the three opponents (including myself) were career politicians. Among the statements made by the Yoncalla rancher, she stated her candidate was not using a school board office as a stepping stone to becoming commissioner. Because I was the only candidate who served on a school board, the rancher was obviously attacking my motives for running. What really burned my britches about her letter was the fact that I had first filed for commissioner BEFORE I was elected to the Oakland School Board. The Yoncalla rancher had stated a falsehood about me. Some people apparently haven't read the Bible scripture against bearing false witness against others.
Asking the "Who would you vote for if you weren't running?" question is a good way to discern where a candidate stands on the issues and it also reveals a little bit about the candidate's character. Unfortunately, most candidates are unwilling to answer the question. Just like the Oregon gubernatorial debate failed to elicit a response from three of the four candidates, a similar occurrence happened in Grants Pass in 2006.
While I was employed by KOBI-TV, I was in charge of the television station's Grants Pass news bureau, located inside the Grants Pass Daily Courier newspaper. The newspaper editors invited me to participate as a moderator in a candidates' forum sponsored by the Daily Courier. When I was told that I would be one of the two panelists who would pose questions to the six Josephine County Commissioner candidates, I instantly knew one of the questions that I would ask.
The night of the Josephine County candidates' forum I posed the question to the six county commissioner candidates. Only one of the six candidates answered the question. Interestingly, it was the last person who replied who answered the question (just like Barbara Roberts in the gubernatorial race) and he was one of the top two contenders in the run-off race. It's refreshing to know that candidates who are brave enough to answer the tough questions sometimes DO come out first!
Four candidates have already filed to run for Douglas County Commissioner in the May, 2014 primary, and more candidates are likely to follow before the March filing deadline. With so many candidates to choose from, it would be educational to pose the "Who would you vote for?" question. Such a question wouldn't work in a two-way race, but it would provide some interesting responses with four or more candidates in the mix.
Some people have stopped me on the street this month, asking if I am running for Douglas County Commissioner next May. Wow! They must have read something that I posted on line, because I haven't discussed the issue anywhere else. I told them that I'm waiting to see how my recovery goes during the next two months, but I will make a decision before the end of February, before the filing deadline.
I got to thinking, whom would I vote for if I don't run? That's an interesting question that's been asked in other races. The first time that I heard it was in a statewide television debate among Oregon's gubernatorial candidates: Democrat Barbara Roberts (who went on to win the election), Republican Dave Frohnmayer, Independent Al Mobley (the conservative Republicans' choice), and a fourth party candidate.
"If you were unable to run for office, which one of your opponents would you vote for, and why? Not giving a reply is not an option." Three of the gubernatorial candidates stumbled and fumbled for a response, without ever answering the question. Roberts, who probably had the advantage of being the last person to answer the question, actually did answer the question. Roberts said she always believed in choices, and unlike her opponents, she would answer the question. A loud cheer of applause erupted from the television studio audience. Roberts then said that if she were unable to run, she would vote for Dave Frohnmayer.
Later in the News-Review pubic forum, one person wrote a letter to the editor blasting Roberts for her response. The letter writer said Roberts' response was "proof" that the Democrats and moderate Republicans were all alike because they would vote for one another. That's one of the things that bothers me about politics: Candidates are dahmed if they do, and they're dahmed if they don't. If one refuses to answer a difficult question, they're perceived as being wishy-washy and not wanting to answer a tough question that might alienate some voters. If one answers a difficult question, their opponents will take that information and distort and twist it against a candidate.
I know from personal experience. During a previous race for Douglas County Commissioner, one Yoncalla rancher wrote a letter to the editor in favor of her candidate. She claimed her candidate was down-to-earth and the three opponents (including myself) were career politicians. Among the statements made by the Yoncalla rancher, she stated her candidate was not using a school board office as a stepping stone to becoming commissioner. Because I was the only candidate who served on a school board, the rancher was obviously attacking my motives for running. What really burned my britches about her letter was the fact that I had first filed for commissioner BEFORE I was elected to the Oakland School Board. The Yoncalla rancher had stated a falsehood about me. Some people apparently haven't read the Bible scripture against bearing false witness against others.
Asking the "Who would you vote for if you weren't running?" question is a good way to discern where a candidate stands on the issues and it also reveals a little bit about the candidate's character. Unfortunately, most candidates are unwilling to answer the question. Just like the Oregon gubernatorial debate failed to elicit a response from three of the four candidates, a similar occurrence happened in Grants Pass in 2006.
While I was employed by KOBI-TV, I was in charge of the television station's Grants Pass news bureau, located inside the Grants Pass Daily Courier newspaper. The newspaper editors invited me to participate as a moderator in a candidates' forum sponsored by the Daily Courier. When I was told that I would be one of the two panelists who would pose questions to the six Josephine County Commissioner candidates, I instantly knew one of the questions that I would ask.
The night of the Josephine County candidates' forum I posed the question to the six county commissioner candidates. Only one of the six candidates answered the question. Interestingly, it was the last person who replied who answered the question (just like Barbara Roberts in the gubernatorial race) and he was one of the top two contenders in the run-off race. It's refreshing to know that candidates who are brave enough to answer the tough questions sometimes DO come out first!
Four candidates have already filed to run for Douglas County Commissioner in the May, 2014 primary, and more candidates are likely to follow before the March filing deadline. With so many candidates to choose from, it would be educational to pose the "Who would you vote for?" question. Such a question wouldn't work in a two-way race, but it would provide some interesting responses with four or more candidates in the mix.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Oakland Attorney Threatens To Ban Media From Executive Sessions
Background: This column was originally published June 22, 2007. During the twenty years that I spent working as a reporter/anchor, nothing would make me more alert than when a government agency attempted to suppress the media's legal right to obtain public information. Unfortunately, at least one such incident occurred in my own hometown, which prompted me to write this column.
Well, here we go again. The Oakland City Council is accused of violating Oregon Public Records and Meetings laws, as defined by the Oregon State Attorney General. No, I'm not ashamed to say that I'm from Oakland, unlike some melodramatic folks who quickly distance themselves from being Oakland residents whenever there's a front-page political scandal.
I don't mean to sound like an old-timer, but people who move into Oakland should be well aware of the city's tumultuous past and they should feel no obligation to apologize for being Oakland residents whenever there's a controversy. After all, that's just the nature of the rough-and-tumble pioneer town.
Kudos to the Roseburg News-Review for exposing the latest scandal. In fact, I'm going to build up the News-Review quite a bit in this column; I hope it helps make amends for a few of the feathers I ruffled from my April 19th column.
According to an article published in the News-Review, June 13th, the Oakland City Council met in executive session to discus pending litigation. "However, in addition, the council heard a recommendation from Robert Franz, a Springfield attorney hired by the city's insurance carrier, to consider an ordinance prohibiting nepotism and another giving the council hiring and firing authority," stated the June 13th News-Review article.
One quick interjection: A government body MUST discus a proposed ordinance in an open meeting before the ordinance becomes law. I would assume that an attorney of all people, would be familiar with the public nature of government bodies?
Later on in the article, attorney Franz was quoted as saying, "All of the items discussed at the executive session were related to the subject matter for which the meeting was called, and the contents of the meeting are privileged communications pursuant to the attorney-client privilege of the city."
Well, first of all, attorney-client privilege of itself, can NOT be used as a reason to circumvent Oregon Public Meetings Laws. Former Douglas County Legal Counsel Cliff Kennerly attempted such a legal maneuver back in the 1990s, when a controversy erupted over the Douglas County Industrial Development Board.
That board is the recipient of county funds from the Douglas County Commissioners. Because the Douglas County Commissioners created the Industrial Development Board, some news media argued the industrial board was a public body (true), and therefore the board's meetings must abide by Oregon Public Meetings and Records laws.
Kennerly's knee jerk reaction was to refuse the news media access to the board's public financial records, by declaring all documents that come before the Industrial Development Board as being "attorney-client privilege." Because Kennerly's solution was overly broad, and not in compliance with Oregon Public Records and Meetings laws, Douglas County Commissioners decided to re-write some of the Industrial Development Board's bylaws, making the board a private body. (I still question the legality of a public body funneling thousands of dollars to a private board, with no requirement of the private board to tell the pubic how the taxpayer money is spent.)
It's interesting to see Franz, Oakland's insurance carrier's attorney, attempting to pull the same unsuccessful maneuver that Kennerly did years ago. I would be willing to place a small wager with someone as to the outcome of the decision, should the News-Review challenge Franz's actions and seek a ruling from a higher body. Attorney-client privilege is for the purpose of protecting citizens from invasion of privacy or a violation of their legal rights; it's not intended as a tool to allow government bodies to circumvent pubic records laws and to hide public business.
However, the issue that truly concerns me from the June 13th News-Review article, is a statement from Franz, where he said he would "take whatever steps necessary" to bar the News-Review from attending executive sessions of the city and any other city that currently allows the News-Review to participate.
Wow! Here's what Oregon State Attorney General Hardy Myers has to say on the subject, in the December, 2005 issue (the most recent edition) of the Attorney General's Public Records and Meetings Manual, pages 142-143:
"For many years, the common practice of many public bodies was to permit members of the media to attend executive sessions, subject to the understanding that the media representatives would not report certain sensitive matters. The principal purpose of this practice was to provide news representatives the opportunity to obtain, from their attendance at executive sessions, background information that would improve their understanding of final decisions, and consequently, their ability to keep the public better informed.
"The Public Meetings Law now expressly provides that representatives of the news media shall be allowed to attend all executive sessions except in two situations: executive sessions involving deliberations with person designated to carry on labor negotiations, and closed sessions held under ORS 332.061(2) to consider expulsion of an elementary or secondary school student or matters pertaining to a student's confidential medical records ORS 192.660(4)," states the Oregon Attorney General's Public Records and Meetings Manual.
"...news media shall be allowed to attend all executive sessions..." Did you catch the world shall? Not may, but shall. There is no choice. The news media have a legal right to attend executive sessions, unless Franz is on a crusade to overturn the Oregon legislature's statewide reforms from the early 1970s. The issue seems pretty clear-cut to me.
It's somewhat ironic. The Oakland City Council is holding closed-door meetings to discuss the possible dismissal of Police Chief Norm Counts. But before they dismiss their police chief, the city council might first consider dismissing their insurance carrier's attorney. If the Oakland City Council continues to follow his advice, they're likely to end up with multiple lawsuits from multiple sources, not from just the police chief.
It also couldn't hurt if members of the Oakland City Council (all newly-elected this past November) invested $25 to purchase a copy of the Public Records and Meetings Manual from the Oregon state capitol. I try to update my library every four years with a revised copy, and it makes nice bedtime reading!
For that matter, anyone would probably find the book interesting. The address to write for a copy of the manual is: Publications; Department of Justice; 1162 Court Street NE; Salem, Oregon 97301-4096.
Well, here we go again. The Oakland City Council is accused of violating Oregon Public Records and Meetings laws, as defined by the Oregon State Attorney General. No, I'm not ashamed to say that I'm from Oakland, unlike some melodramatic folks who quickly distance themselves from being Oakland residents whenever there's a front-page political scandal.
I don't mean to sound like an old-timer, but people who move into Oakland should be well aware of the city's tumultuous past and they should feel no obligation to apologize for being Oakland residents whenever there's a controversy. After all, that's just the nature of the rough-and-tumble pioneer town.
Kudos to the Roseburg News-Review for exposing the latest scandal. In fact, I'm going to build up the News-Review quite a bit in this column; I hope it helps make amends for a few of the feathers I ruffled from my April 19th column.
According to an article published in the News-Review, June 13th, the Oakland City Council met in executive session to discus pending litigation. "However, in addition, the council heard a recommendation from Robert Franz, a Springfield attorney hired by the city's insurance carrier, to consider an ordinance prohibiting nepotism and another giving the council hiring and firing authority," stated the June 13th News-Review article.
One quick interjection: A government body MUST discus a proposed ordinance in an open meeting before the ordinance becomes law. I would assume that an attorney of all people, would be familiar with the public nature of government bodies?
Later on in the article, attorney Franz was quoted as saying, "All of the items discussed at the executive session were related to the subject matter for which the meeting was called, and the contents of the meeting are privileged communications pursuant to the attorney-client privilege of the city."
Well, first of all, attorney-client privilege of itself, can NOT be used as a reason to circumvent Oregon Public Meetings Laws. Former Douglas County Legal Counsel Cliff Kennerly attempted such a legal maneuver back in the 1990s, when a controversy erupted over the Douglas County Industrial Development Board.
That board is the recipient of county funds from the Douglas County Commissioners. Because the Douglas County Commissioners created the Industrial Development Board, some news media argued the industrial board was a public body (true), and therefore the board's meetings must abide by Oregon Public Meetings and Records laws.
Kennerly's knee jerk reaction was to refuse the news media access to the board's public financial records, by declaring all documents that come before the Industrial Development Board as being "attorney-client privilege." Because Kennerly's solution was overly broad, and not in compliance with Oregon Public Records and Meetings laws, Douglas County Commissioners decided to re-write some of the Industrial Development Board's bylaws, making the board a private body. (I still question the legality of a public body funneling thousands of dollars to a private board, with no requirement of the private board to tell the pubic how the taxpayer money is spent.)
It's interesting to see Franz, Oakland's insurance carrier's attorney, attempting to pull the same unsuccessful maneuver that Kennerly did years ago. I would be willing to place a small wager with someone as to the outcome of the decision, should the News-Review challenge Franz's actions and seek a ruling from a higher body. Attorney-client privilege is for the purpose of protecting citizens from invasion of privacy or a violation of their legal rights; it's not intended as a tool to allow government bodies to circumvent pubic records laws and to hide public business.
However, the issue that truly concerns me from the June 13th News-Review article, is a statement from Franz, where he said he would "take whatever steps necessary" to bar the News-Review from attending executive sessions of the city and any other city that currently allows the News-Review to participate.
Wow! Here's what Oregon State Attorney General Hardy Myers has to say on the subject, in the December, 2005 issue (the most recent edition) of the Attorney General's Public Records and Meetings Manual, pages 142-143:
"For many years, the common practice of many public bodies was to permit members of the media to attend executive sessions, subject to the understanding that the media representatives would not report certain sensitive matters. The principal purpose of this practice was to provide news representatives the opportunity to obtain, from their attendance at executive sessions, background information that would improve their understanding of final decisions, and consequently, their ability to keep the public better informed.
"The Public Meetings Law now expressly provides that representatives of the news media shall be allowed to attend all executive sessions except in two situations: executive sessions involving deliberations with person designated to carry on labor negotiations, and closed sessions held under ORS 332.061(2) to consider expulsion of an elementary or secondary school student or matters pertaining to a student's confidential medical records ORS 192.660(4)," states the Oregon Attorney General's Public Records and Meetings Manual.
"...news media shall be allowed to attend all executive sessions..." Did you catch the world shall? Not may, but shall. There is no choice. The news media have a legal right to attend executive sessions, unless Franz is on a crusade to overturn the Oregon legislature's statewide reforms from the early 1970s. The issue seems pretty clear-cut to me.
It's somewhat ironic. The Oakland City Council is holding closed-door meetings to discuss the possible dismissal of Police Chief Norm Counts. But before they dismiss their police chief, the city council might first consider dismissing their insurance carrier's attorney. If the Oakland City Council continues to follow his advice, they're likely to end up with multiple lawsuits from multiple sources, not from just the police chief.
It also couldn't hurt if members of the Oakland City Council (all newly-elected this past November) invested $25 to purchase a copy of the Public Records and Meetings Manual from the Oregon state capitol. I try to update my library every four years with a revised copy, and it makes nice bedtime reading!
For that matter, anyone would probably find the book interesting. The address to write for a copy of the manual is: Publications; Department of Justice; 1162 Court Street NE; Salem, Oregon 97301-4096.
Then They Came For...(list your favorite county fair activity here)
Background: This column was originally published July 4, 2007. When I previously ran for Douglas County Commissioner, I believed in plain talk and telling people what I thought, not what people necessarily wanted to hear. (Perhaps that explains why so few honest people get elected to public office.) This was a tongue-in-cheek column written about changes at the Douglas County Fair. My intent was not to attack any individual or their opinions, but rather to focus attention on the fact that public apathy is often responsible for unpopular decisions made by the government.
Martin Niemoller (1892-1984) was a pastor who supported Adolph Hitler prior to his taking power in Germany. But in 1933, Niemoller organized the Pastors Emergency League to protect Lutheran pastors from the police.
Niemoller is famous for his "First they came for..." poem that has been translated and re-written in many different versions, used by many people to promote many different causes.
The Douglas County Fair Board's decision to destroy the Umpqua Model Railroaders display later this year, in conjunction with other changes at the fair during the past two decades, prompted me to write my own version of Niemoller's poem. I wanted to give credit where credit is due, because the "First they came for..." concept is not my own.
Keep in mind this is a tongue-in-cheek poem; it's not meant as a criticism against any one individual or any one government administration, being as the changes have spanned several different fair managers. It's only that I sometimes wonder if people stop and realize how many changes have taken place.
FIRST THEY CAME FOR...(at the Douglas County Fair).
First they came for the Child Evangelism Fellowship story house trailer in Umpqua Park and evicted the trailer from the fair...and I never said anything because I wasn't a Christian.
Then they came for organist Verne Reynolds and silenced his music during part of the day, so it wouldn't interfere with newer children's acts...and I never said anything because I didn't listen to old-fogy music.
Then they came for the adult poultry exhibitors by eliminating open-class poultry competition at the fair, and limited it only to 4-H and FFA students...and I never said anything because I didn't like chickens and waterfowl.
Then they came for the press that provided free publicity for the fair, and took the news media parking spaces inside the exhibitors parking lot (first three spaces on the right) and gave them to the Douglas County Commissioners...and I never said anything because I liked politicians more than I liked the "liberal" news media.
Then they came for the beer garden, and evicted it from the grandstands...and I never said anything because I wasn't an alcoholic.,
Then they came for the service club food booths and required them to use cash registers...and I never said anything because I didn't volunteer to work at one of the food booths at the fair.
Then they told the last remaining sit-down foot booth at the fair, the Myrtle Creek Grange, they would have to obtain or rent cash registers, or else the decades-old Grange booth would have to go...and I never said anything because I didn't like roast beef dinners and butterscotch cream pie.
Then they came for the Umpqua Model Railroaders and told them they were no longer welcome at the fair...and I never said anything because anyone who enjoyed model trains must obviously be a juvenile delinquent.
Then they came for (list your favorite item here)...and by that time, there was nobody left to speak up for me.
Martin Niemoller (1892-1984) was a pastor who supported Adolph Hitler prior to his taking power in Germany. But in 1933, Niemoller organized the Pastors Emergency League to protect Lutheran pastors from the police.
Niemoller is famous for his "First they came for..." poem that has been translated and re-written in many different versions, used by many people to promote many different causes.
The Douglas County Fair Board's decision to destroy the Umpqua Model Railroaders display later this year, in conjunction with other changes at the fair during the past two decades, prompted me to write my own version of Niemoller's poem. I wanted to give credit where credit is due, because the "First they came for..." concept is not my own.
Keep in mind this is a tongue-in-cheek poem; it's not meant as a criticism against any one individual or any one government administration, being as the changes have spanned several different fair managers. It's only that I sometimes wonder if people stop and realize how many changes have taken place.
FIRST THEY CAME FOR...(at the Douglas County Fair).
First they came for the Child Evangelism Fellowship story house trailer in Umpqua Park and evicted the trailer from the fair...and I never said anything because I wasn't a Christian.
Then they came for organist Verne Reynolds and silenced his music during part of the day, so it wouldn't interfere with newer children's acts...and I never said anything because I didn't listen to old-fogy music.
Then they came for the adult poultry exhibitors by eliminating open-class poultry competition at the fair, and limited it only to 4-H and FFA students...and I never said anything because I didn't like chickens and waterfowl.
Then they came for the press that provided free publicity for the fair, and took the news media parking spaces inside the exhibitors parking lot (first three spaces on the right) and gave them to the Douglas County Commissioners...and I never said anything because I liked politicians more than I liked the "liberal" news media.
Then they came for the beer garden, and evicted it from the grandstands...and I never said anything because I wasn't an alcoholic.,
Then they came for the service club food booths and required them to use cash registers...and I never said anything because I didn't volunteer to work at one of the food booths at the fair.
Then they told the last remaining sit-down foot booth at the fair, the Myrtle Creek Grange, they would have to obtain or rent cash registers, or else the decades-old Grange booth would have to go...and I never said anything because I didn't like roast beef dinners and butterscotch cream pie.
Then they came for the Umpqua Model Railroaders and told them they were no longer welcome at the fair...and I never said anything because anyone who enjoyed model trains must obviously be a juvenile delinquent.
Then they came for (list your favorite item here)...and by that time, there was nobody left to speak up for me.
Opening Night: No Lipstick For Me; Just Give Me The Pancake Mix
Background: As a founding member of Oakland Community Theater, I've always enjoyed helping out on stage or behind the scenes. The annual melodramas performed in Oakland attract people from around southern Oregon, and I hope to be back on stage one day soon! This column was originally published July 11, 2007, while I served as editor of the Winston Reporter.
I hadn't worn make-up on my face since Thursday, February 8th. When you're a guy, one keeps track of such things.
February 8th was the last on-air day I spent at KOBI-TV: I had concluded Thursday evening with my four-part series on truck driving, the last story that I did at the station. I haven't been subjected to the bright lights of a studio since then; Thus, no need to wear make-up.
However, fortunate for me, I never discarded the unused container of Max Factor "pancake mix" make-up that I had worn at KOBI-TV. I found myself smearing the water-based substance on to my face once again, Thursday evening, June 28, for the dress rehearsal of Oakland Community Theater's (OCT) latest production, The Code of the West.
Over the years, I have heard advice from many make-up consultants: Wear lipstick to accentuate the lips; Use a white shade make-up for the eyelids to set apart deeply-recessed eyeballs; Apply some rouge on the cheek; Use both powder and make-up to provide a more natural look.
No thank you to all of the above. Just give me the "bronze 2, tan 5" shade of Max Factor pancake mix any day, and I'll be content. The News-Review was gracious enough to travel to Oakland and write an article on The Code of the West for their Thursday Currents insert. I was impressed: a reporter, a photographer, and a videographer all showed up to one of our practices! I may have felt awkward wearing pants that were two sizes too big, but at least I could feel comfortable about my make-up!
In past years, I had seen some unfortunate men on the front cover of Currents, who looked like lipstick was the only type of make-up they had used: bright rosy-red lips cast against a pale white face.
Rule number one when applying make-up for men on stage: If you're going to darken the lips by using lipstick, then equally darken (not lighten!) the cheeks and the rest of the face. It doesn't make any sense to darken one part of a man's face that isn't normally colored (the lips), and then lighten the rest of the face. Unless, perhaps, the guy is appearing in drag in the Rocky Horror Picture Show?
The Code of the West is the fourth melodrama performed by Oakland Community Theater since 2002. The other three were Rustlers of Red Rock, (the sequel) Rustlers Revenge, and The Scoundrel of Dagger Gulch.
Some of the more seasoned actors (this was my first-ever play since the seventh grade) weren't sure what to expect. One actor said if we pulled in 40 people a night, he'd be happy.
Well, we did much better! In fact, opening night, Friday, June 29, was reportedly a record opening night for the theater group: 97 people purchased tickets to see the melodrama inside the historic Washington School Gymnasium in Oakland. About 60 people came to Saturday's play, and Sunday's matinee (normally a sleeper crowd) was somewhere in the middle of the first two nights! Well over 200 patrons came during the first weekend: All six shows during both weekends each brought in more than 40 people. The stuffed hog's head falling off the wall of the "Red Hawg Saloon" during Saturday night's performance had to be the highlight of all the shows.
I urgently pleaded with other OCT members to move next year's schedule ahead one month to late May and early June. No, that wasn't possible because the school district used the gym for athletic events until the middle of June. So, we would just have to take our chances and endure the sweltering heat that sometimes arrives one month later.
What about the make-up? Fortunately, pancake mix usually doesn't run, unless a person absent-mindedly wipes their brow. However, I'll probably have to purchase another tin of it, if I'm in a production next year. At eight or nine dollars a crack, it ain't cheap, but it's still considerably lower than upscale designer make-up that's pushed by the consultants.
Hey, I just thought of something. KOBI-TV paid for my make-up, since it was a business expense, which means the television station paid for me to wear make-up during The Code of the West!
Does that mean I owe them a refund for the original portion of the make-up tin that I had when I left their employment? As long as they don't find out about it, perhaps it's just as well to "let sleeping dogs lie," as the character Jesse Faultin would say in The Code of the West.
I hadn't worn make-up on my face since Thursday, February 8th. When you're a guy, one keeps track of such things.
February 8th was the last on-air day I spent at KOBI-TV: I had concluded Thursday evening with my four-part series on truck driving, the last story that I did at the station. I haven't been subjected to the bright lights of a studio since then; Thus, no need to wear make-up.
However, fortunate for me, I never discarded the unused container of Max Factor "pancake mix" make-up that I had worn at KOBI-TV. I found myself smearing the water-based substance on to my face once again, Thursday evening, June 28, for the dress rehearsal of Oakland Community Theater's (OCT) latest production, The Code of the West.
Over the years, I have heard advice from many make-up consultants: Wear lipstick to accentuate the lips; Use a white shade make-up for the eyelids to set apart deeply-recessed eyeballs; Apply some rouge on the cheek; Use both powder and make-up to provide a more natural look.
No thank you to all of the above. Just give me the "bronze 2, tan 5" shade of Max Factor pancake mix any day, and I'll be content. The News-Review was gracious enough to travel to Oakland and write an article on The Code of the West for their Thursday Currents insert. I was impressed: a reporter, a photographer, and a videographer all showed up to one of our practices! I may have felt awkward wearing pants that were two sizes too big, but at least I could feel comfortable about my make-up!
In past years, I had seen some unfortunate men on the front cover of Currents, who looked like lipstick was the only type of make-up they had used: bright rosy-red lips cast against a pale white face.
Rule number one when applying make-up for men on stage: If you're going to darken the lips by using lipstick, then equally darken (not lighten!) the cheeks and the rest of the face. It doesn't make any sense to darken one part of a man's face that isn't normally colored (the lips), and then lighten the rest of the face. Unless, perhaps, the guy is appearing in drag in the Rocky Horror Picture Show?
The Code of the West is the fourth melodrama performed by Oakland Community Theater since 2002. The other three were Rustlers of Red Rock, (the sequel) Rustlers Revenge, and The Scoundrel of Dagger Gulch.
Some of the more seasoned actors (this was my first-ever play since the seventh grade) weren't sure what to expect. One actor said if we pulled in 40 people a night, he'd be happy.
Well, we did much better! In fact, opening night, Friday, June 29, was reportedly a record opening night for the theater group: 97 people purchased tickets to see the melodrama inside the historic Washington School Gymnasium in Oakland. About 60 people came to Saturday's play, and Sunday's matinee (normally a sleeper crowd) was somewhere in the middle of the first two nights! Well over 200 patrons came during the first weekend: All six shows during both weekends each brought in more than 40 people. The stuffed hog's head falling off the wall of the "Red Hawg Saloon" during Saturday night's performance had to be the highlight of all the shows.
I urgently pleaded with other OCT members to move next year's schedule ahead one month to late May and early June. No, that wasn't possible because the school district used the gym for athletic events until the middle of June. So, we would just have to take our chances and endure the sweltering heat that sometimes arrives one month later.
What about the make-up? Fortunately, pancake mix usually doesn't run, unless a person absent-mindedly wipes their brow. However, I'll probably have to purchase another tin of it, if I'm in a production next year. At eight or nine dollars a crack, it ain't cheap, but it's still considerably lower than upscale designer make-up that's pushed by the consultants.
Hey, I just thought of something. KOBI-TV paid for my make-up, since it was a business expense, which means the television station paid for me to wear make-up during The Code of the West!
Does that mean I owe them a refund for the original portion of the make-up tin that I had when I left their employment? As long as they don't find out about it, perhaps it's just as well to "let sleeping dogs lie," as the character Jesse Faultin would say in The Code of the West.
All Roads Lead To Rio (when flying to Sao Paulo)
Background: Brazil has been on my mind the past couple weeks since I've recently received Christmas greetings from my Brazilian friends and host family members. This was my last regular weekly newspaper column, published August 1, 2007....not including letters to the editor and guest columns that have since been printed in the Roseburg News-Review. A new airport at Sao Paulo has since been built, alleviating the hazards that are mentioned in this column.
Some would say there's no destination more beautiful than flying into Rio de Janeiro, where Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar) and the Jesus Christ statue high atop Corcovado, overlook the lazy lagoons along the lush, tropical shoreline. It may almost make up for the inconvenience most travelers encounter, because Rio serves as a connecting airport for other cities in south Brazil.
A TAM airlines plane crash two weeks ago at Sao Paulo, Brazil, had a personal impact on me. It will be 24 years ago next week, that I was on board a small commuter jet with dozens of other Rotary foreign exchange students, landing at Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo.
I never did forget the name Congonhas. Although I didn't understand everything I heard in Portuguese during the ten months I lived in Brazil, I did pick up on the fact that Sao Paulo had a small airport.
It was so small that, back in the early 1980s, all international flights either arrived at Galeao airport in Rio de Janeiro, a seven-hour drive to the north, or at Viracopos airport in Campinas, a Portland-sized city about an hour inland from Sao Paulo. But I thought the problem had been solved long ago; the conversations I heard back in 1983-84 led me to believe that a new airport capable of handling larger jets was in the planning stages for Sao Paulo.
That's why the crash of an airbus jet that killed all 186 people on board, and several more on the ground, shocked me last month. The airplane reportedly skidded off the short runway at Congonhas, crossed a busy thoroughfare, and crashed into a fuel depot, bursting into flames.
When I arrived at Congonhas in 1983, Sao Paulo was one of the three largest cities in the world: equal in size to New York City, and smaller only to Tokyo, Japan. I never could understand why I had to spend more than eight hours on a 747 from Miami to Rio, only to be herded across the runway in Rio into a much smaller jet for the final 50-minute flight to Sao Paulo. That would be like riding a jumbo jet from London to Buffalo, New York, and then catching a commuter flight from Buffalo to New York City.
Not only did Rio have half the population of Sao Paulo, but what made the situation even more ironic was the topography of the two cities. Sao Paulo was sprawled out for miles in the desert, on an inland plateau, while Rio was hunched against the mountainous shoreline of a tropical rain forest. Yet Rio had two airports, Galeao for international flights and Santos Dumont for domestic flights, and Sao Paulo had to make do with Congonhas.
Today, the length of the runway at Sao Paulo is even shorter than New York's LaGuardia airport, 6,362 feet compared with 7,033 feet. Before the fatal TAM airlines crash, two airplanes had slipped off the runway during rainy weather just one day earlier.
Some pilots jokingly refer to Congonhas as the "aircraft carrier," because it's so short and surrounded by residential neighborhoods, that pilots are ordered to take off and try to land again if they overshoot the first thousand feet of runway.
I'm sure glad that I didn't know these facts when I landed at Congonhas in 1983! The President of Brazil has now promised the location of a new airport in Sao Paulo will be decided within the next 90 days. I'd call that fast action, considering I was led to believe 24 years ago that the government was already in the process of building a new airport.
Unfortunately, the mayor of Sao Paulo says a new airport would take five-ten years to build and he would instead prefer using eminent domain on nearly landowners, in order to lengthen the existing runway at Congonhas.
I'm still hoping that one day I will be blessed, so that I can return to visit my friends in Brazil. But even if I should stumble into a sudden windfall of money, I'm not sure that I will fly into Congonhas!
Some would say there's no destination more beautiful than flying into Rio de Janeiro, where Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar) and the Jesus Christ statue high atop Corcovado, overlook the lazy lagoons along the lush, tropical shoreline. It may almost make up for the inconvenience most travelers encounter, because Rio serves as a connecting airport for other cities in south Brazil.
A TAM airlines plane crash two weeks ago at Sao Paulo, Brazil, had a personal impact on me. It will be 24 years ago next week, that I was on board a small commuter jet with dozens of other Rotary foreign exchange students, landing at Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo.
I never did forget the name Congonhas. Although I didn't understand everything I heard in Portuguese during the ten months I lived in Brazil, I did pick up on the fact that Sao Paulo had a small airport.
It was so small that, back in the early 1980s, all international flights either arrived at Galeao airport in Rio de Janeiro, a seven-hour drive to the north, or at Viracopos airport in Campinas, a Portland-sized city about an hour inland from Sao Paulo. But I thought the problem had been solved long ago; the conversations I heard back in 1983-84 led me to believe that a new airport capable of handling larger jets was in the planning stages for Sao Paulo.
That's why the crash of an airbus jet that killed all 186 people on board, and several more on the ground, shocked me last month. The airplane reportedly skidded off the short runway at Congonhas, crossed a busy thoroughfare, and crashed into a fuel depot, bursting into flames.
When I arrived at Congonhas in 1983, Sao Paulo was one of the three largest cities in the world: equal in size to New York City, and smaller only to Tokyo, Japan. I never could understand why I had to spend more than eight hours on a 747 from Miami to Rio, only to be herded across the runway in Rio into a much smaller jet for the final 50-minute flight to Sao Paulo. That would be like riding a jumbo jet from London to Buffalo, New York, and then catching a commuter flight from Buffalo to New York City.
Not only did Rio have half the population of Sao Paulo, but what made the situation even more ironic was the topography of the two cities. Sao Paulo was sprawled out for miles in the desert, on an inland plateau, while Rio was hunched against the mountainous shoreline of a tropical rain forest. Yet Rio had two airports, Galeao for international flights and Santos Dumont for domestic flights, and Sao Paulo had to make do with Congonhas.
Today, the length of the runway at Sao Paulo is even shorter than New York's LaGuardia airport, 6,362 feet compared with 7,033 feet. Before the fatal TAM airlines crash, two airplanes had slipped off the runway during rainy weather just one day earlier.
Some pilots jokingly refer to Congonhas as the "aircraft carrier," because it's so short and surrounded by residential neighborhoods, that pilots are ordered to take off and try to land again if they overshoot the first thousand feet of runway.
I'm sure glad that I didn't know these facts when I landed at Congonhas in 1983! The President of Brazil has now promised the location of a new airport in Sao Paulo will be decided within the next 90 days. I'd call that fast action, considering I was led to believe 24 years ago that the government was already in the process of building a new airport.
Unfortunately, the mayor of Sao Paulo says a new airport would take five-ten years to build and he would instead prefer using eminent domain on nearly landowners, in order to lengthen the existing runway at Congonhas.
I'm still hoping that one day I will be blessed, so that I can return to visit my friends in Brazil. But even if I should stumble into a sudden windfall of money, I'm not sure that I will fly into Congonhas!
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Oakland's Fourth Recall Election: Where Did It All Begin?
Background: Oakland has had a reputation for recalls and divisiveness since the 1990s. Much of the problem stems from different political factions trying to micro-manage the city police department. Oakland has since contracted with the Sutherlin Police Department for police services. The good news is there haven't been as many complaints since the Sutherlin Police took over. The bad news is the city is now paying well over $200,000 a year for police service, with NO minimum number of patrol hours written into the contract. The last year that Oakland had its own police force, taxpayers paid over $130,000 a year for a minimum of 80 hours of patrol service each week inside the Oakland city limits.
The following column was originally published July 25, 2007, in the Winston Reporter.
I can remember the movie Four Weddings And A Funeral. But sometimes it's difficult to keep track of the number in Oakland's political history. I think the current count is four recall efforts and two lawsuits (?) in 11 years.
The recent decision by the Oakland City Council to place Police Chief Norm Counts on paid administrative leave for three weeks, has triggered yet another recall effort in Oregon's second-oldest community.
Different issues have prompted the four recall efforts. But the city council's management of the police department has been cited as a primary factor in all four recall attempts.
I can trace the polarization over the police department back to the early 1990s, when the city council at that time was facing difficult decisions involving their police chief. Because the city council took no action to re-instate or terminate the police chief at that time, the growing unrest over months without a decision generated two political factions.
Remnants of those two political factions are still at play in the fourth recall effort more than a decade later.
RECALL 1
During the early 1990s, former Police Chief Dennis Denney had health complications, which prompted his being placed on medical leave. Days went by. Weeks went by. Months went by. Would the city council re-instate Denney to the job? Would the city council post the job opening for a new police chief? The council did neither.
Meanwhile, some critics were alleging a quorum of the council was conducting city business outside the regularly-scheduled meetings. Some residents heard former Mayor Steve Clyde and former City Councilors Tuffy Nelson and Jack Betza discussing city business on a regular basis at Medley Market. During at least one city council meeting, former City Councilor Roberta Carson expressed concern that other members of the council were leaving her and other city officials out of the loop.
During Denney's absence, the Oakland police department carried on under the direction of Acting Chief John Bjerkvig and officer Greg Spencer. Some citizens began to complain the officers were doing their jobs a little too well: Bjerkvig and Spencer were citing people for drug possession; they were issuing citations for vehicle infractions; and they were following minors home at night when teen-agers were out past curfew.
With no police chief to file a complaint with, after months of waiting, upset citizens began to lobby the city council to take action.
After months of impasse, the city council under the direction of newly-elected Mayor Jack Smith finally did take action. The council brought in an officer from outside of the department to become the new police chief: Norm Counts. Bjerkvig and Spencer were dismissed from their positions.
Residents loyal to Bjerkvig and Spencer, who supported their aggressive law enforcement tactics, felt Counts had been hand-picked by a select few citizens with no formal job search. From day one, critics portrayed Counts as "soft on crime," when compared to the previous interim administration.
Critics launched an unsuccessful recall drive against Mayor Jack Smith and others. Bjerkvig and Spencer filed lawsuits against the City of Oakland, over their dismissal from the police force.
RECALL 2
The recall against Mayor Jack Smith was unsuccessful, but during the next election, city planning commission member Paul Tamm defeated Smith at the polls in the race for mayor. Shortly after Tamm took office, Counts publicly criticized the new mayor for slashing the police department budget. In frustration, Counts resigned as police chief, but rescinded his resignation several days later. Tamm and the rest of the council did not accept Counts' rescinding his resignation.
The Oakland City Council conducted several job searches, but couldn't find a candidate for police chief who met their expectations. Some of Tamm's critics believed the council had set too high of a bar for any prospective police chief candidate in Oakland.
Interim Police Chief Lonny Johnson from Warrenton was Oakland's last police chief, before the city council contracted police services from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. During the sheriff's office tenure, some Oakland residents complained about never seeing a police presence in town anymore (too much police presence before, now it was too little); vandalism, including damaged restrooms at Oakland City Park, increased substantially while the sheriff's office served Oakland.
Residents loyal to Chief Counts and a city-run Oakland police department launched their own unsuccessful recall effort against Mayor Tamm.
RECALL 3
Because of the poor service from the sheriff's office, the Oakland City Council, under the direction of Mayor Jim Baird, re-instated a city police department in 2004, and hired Dale Shaw to be their police chief. Shaw was hired at-will for one year; the city council decided to terminate Shaw's employment before the year was over. Shaw had demanded more money to hire an additional officer and to upgrade police equipment. (Sound familiar with Chief Counts' clash with Mayor Tamm before recall 2?)
Without giving any public reasons for their decision, the city council dismissed Shaw in September, 2005. The city council immediately hired Norm Counts to return as Oakland's "new" police chief.
Residents loyal to Shaw were upset with the council's decision, and even more appalled the council brought back a former controversial police chief, and launched a recall drive against Baird and two city councilors. (Sound familiar with the reasons for recalls 2 and 4?) But, unlike the first two recall elections, this recall drive was successful and all three officials were recalled from office.
Shaw filed a lawsuit against the city over the condition of his dismissal. (Sound familiar with the outcome of the acting police chief's dismissal before recall 1?) The two remaining city councilors, Myra Weber and Jackie McCarty, could not agree on whom to replace the ousted mayor and two councilors. Oakland city government continued with only a two-member council until the November, 2006 election.
RECALL 4
All four Oakland city councilors and the Oakland mayor were new to office in 2007. Within six months after taking office, the new council placed Police Chief Norm Counts on paid administrative leave. Among the degrading things that occurred, the council ordered Counts to remove his badge and uniform (NOT all of his clothes, as some people inferred when this column was originally written) at a public city council meeting.
Residents loyal to Counts said the newly-elected council had an agenda to get rid of Counts from day one. In July, 2007, critics began collecting signatures to place Oakland's fourth recall (in recent history) on the upcoming September ballot. The mayor and three of the four city councilors are named in the recall effort.
[2013 Note: This recall was unsuccessful. In an interesting twist, Mayor Nanci Staples was challenged by City Councilor Bette Keehley in a future election, and Keehley defeated Staples for mayor. The reasons for the clash in the new city council were never publicly reported. Although, at one council meeting I did witness Mayor Staples chiding Councilor Keehley, because Keehley had removed the FAX machine from the police department and given it to the public works department without obtaining permission or first consulting the rest of the council. Allies in Oakland are fluid; tomorrow, they can become adversaries.]
EPILOG
As a lifelong Oakland resident, the only opinion that I offer publicly is that I agree with the majority of Oakland residents who have previously said in a city-wide election poll on police services....they prefer the personalized service of having their own police department. Perhaps I've seen too many episodes of the Andy Griffith show.
The only time that I become concerned and voice an opinion, is when a city council does something that jeopardizes the stability of Oakland's city police department.
It doesn't matter if they're a "pro-Counts" or an "anti-Counts" council. The bottom line for me is that a city council should be responsible enough to have a contingency plan in place, before they dismiss their police chief and order the reserve officers to hand in their badges.
In other words, the city council should have a police chief who can supervise reserve police officers, and not jeopardize the citizens' safety by bringing in a chief who can not/will not supervise reserve officers. Such a decision can ring the death bell of a small-town police department.
The other random element in the current recall effort, is the city insurance carrier's attorney, who condoned the city council's discussion of proposed ordinances dealing with nepotism and other subjects in closed session. It's difficult to fault the current council for discussing public business in closed meetings, when they were only following their attorney's advice, while conducting meetings in violation of Oregon Public Meetings Laws.
But that's just my opinion and analysis, from someone who has lived in Oakland during all four recall efforts, and who has sat in on some of the past executive sessions. If I could only write about what I've heard in the executive sessions, Oakland's political history might have charted a different course! But unlike some elected officials, I take my ethical responsibilities as a journalist seriously, and I would never willingly violate Oregon's Public Meetings Laws.
The following column was originally published July 25, 2007, in the Winston Reporter.
I can remember the movie Four Weddings And A Funeral. But sometimes it's difficult to keep track of the number in Oakland's political history. I think the current count is four recall efforts and two lawsuits (?) in 11 years.
The recent decision by the Oakland City Council to place Police Chief Norm Counts on paid administrative leave for three weeks, has triggered yet another recall effort in Oregon's second-oldest community.
Different issues have prompted the four recall efforts. But the city council's management of the police department has been cited as a primary factor in all four recall attempts.
I can trace the polarization over the police department back to the early 1990s, when the city council at that time was facing difficult decisions involving their police chief. Because the city council took no action to re-instate or terminate the police chief at that time, the growing unrest over months without a decision generated two political factions.
Remnants of those two political factions are still at play in the fourth recall effort more than a decade later.
RECALL 1
During the early 1990s, former Police Chief Dennis Denney had health complications, which prompted his being placed on medical leave. Days went by. Weeks went by. Months went by. Would the city council re-instate Denney to the job? Would the city council post the job opening for a new police chief? The council did neither.
Meanwhile, some critics were alleging a quorum of the council was conducting city business outside the regularly-scheduled meetings. Some residents heard former Mayor Steve Clyde and former City Councilors Tuffy Nelson and Jack Betza discussing city business on a regular basis at Medley Market. During at least one city council meeting, former City Councilor Roberta Carson expressed concern that other members of the council were leaving her and other city officials out of the loop.
During Denney's absence, the Oakland police department carried on under the direction of Acting Chief John Bjerkvig and officer Greg Spencer. Some citizens began to complain the officers were doing their jobs a little too well: Bjerkvig and Spencer were citing people for drug possession; they were issuing citations for vehicle infractions; and they were following minors home at night when teen-agers were out past curfew.
With no police chief to file a complaint with, after months of waiting, upset citizens began to lobby the city council to take action.
After months of impasse, the city council under the direction of newly-elected Mayor Jack Smith finally did take action. The council brought in an officer from outside of the department to become the new police chief: Norm Counts. Bjerkvig and Spencer were dismissed from their positions.
Residents loyal to Bjerkvig and Spencer, who supported their aggressive law enforcement tactics, felt Counts had been hand-picked by a select few citizens with no formal job search. From day one, critics portrayed Counts as "soft on crime," when compared to the previous interim administration.
Critics launched an unsuccessful recall drive against Mayor Jack Smith and others. Bjerkvig and Spencer filed lawsuits against the City of Oakland, over their dismissal from the police force.
RECALL 2
The recall against Mayor Jack Smith was unsuccessful, but during the next election, city planning commission member Paul Tamm defeated Smith at the polls in the race for mayor. Shortly after Tamm took office, Counts publicly criticized the new mayor for slashing the police department budget. In frustration, Counts resigned as police chief, but rescinded his resignation several days later. Tamm and the rest of the council did not accept Counts' rescinding his resignation.
The Oakland City Council conducted several job searches, but couldn't find a candidate for police chief who met their expectations. Some of Tamm's critics believed the council had set too high of a bar for any prospective police chief candidate in Oakland.
Interim Police Chief Lonny Johnson from Warrenton was Oakland's last police chief, before the city council contracted police services from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. During the sheriff's office tenure, some Oakland residents complained about never seeing a police presence in town anymore (too much police presence before, now it was too little); vandalism, including damaged restrooms at Oakland City Park, increased substantially while the sheriff's office served Oakland.
Residents loyal to Chief Counts and a city-run Oakland police department launched their own unsuccessful recall effort against Mayor Tamm.
RECALL 3
Because of the poor service from the sheriff's office, the Oakland City Council, under the direction of Mayor Jim Baird, re-instated a city police department in 2004, and hired Dale Shaw to be their police chief. Shaw was hired at-will for one year; the city council decided to terminate Shaw's employment before the year was over. Shaw had demanded more money to hire an additional officer and to upgrade police equipment. (Sound familiar with Chief Counts' clash with Mayor Tamm before recall 2?)
Without giving any public reasons for their decision, the city council dismissed Shaw in September, 2005. The city council immediately hired Norm Counts to return as Oakland's "new" police chief.
Residents loyal to Shaw were upset with the council's decision, and even more appalled the council brought back a former controversial police chief, and launched a recall drive against Baird and two city councilors. (Sound familiar with the reasons for recalls 2 and 4?) But, unlike the first two recall elections, this recall drive was successful and all three officials were recalled from office.
Shaw filed a lawsuit against the city over the condition of his dismissal. (Sound familiar with the outcome of the acting police chief's dismissal before recall 1?) The two remaining city councilors, Myra Weber and Jackie McCarty, could not agree on whom to replace the ousted mayor and two councilors. Oakland city government continued with only a two-member council until the November, 2006 election.
RECALL 4
All four Oakland city councilors and the Oakland mayor were new to office in 2007. Within six months after taking office, the new council placed Police Chief Norm Counts on paid administrative leave. Among the degrading things that occurred, the council ordered Counts to remove his badge and uniform (NOT all of his clothes, as some people inferred when this column was originally written) at a public city council meeting.
Residents loyal to Counts said the newly-elected council had an agenda to get rid of Counts from day one. In July, 2007, critics began collecting signatures to place Oakland's fourth recall (in recent history) on the upcoming September ballot. The mayor and three of the four city councilors are named in the recall effort.
[2013 Note: This recall was unsuccessful. In an interesting twist, Mayor Nanci Staples was challenged by City Councilor Bette Keehley in a future election, and Keehley defeated Staples for mayor. The reasons for the clash in the new city council were never publicly reported. Although, at one council meeting I did witness Mayor Staples chiding Councilor Keehley, because Keehley had removed the FAX machine from the police department and given it to the public works department without obtaining permission or first consulting the rest of the council. Allies in Oakland are fluid; tomorrow, they can become adversaries.]
EPILOG
As a lifelong Oakland resident, the only opinion that I offer publicly is that I agree with the majority of Oakland residents who have previously said in a city-wide election poll on police services....they prefer the personalized service of having their own police department. Perhaps I've seen too many episodes of the Andy Griffith show.
The only time that I become concerned and voice an opinion, is when a city council does something that jeopardizes the stability of Oakland's city police department.
It doesn't matter if they're a "pro-Counts" or an "anti-Counts" council. The bottom line for me is that a city council should be responsible enough to have a contingency plan in place, before they dismiss their police chief and order the reserve officers to hand in their badges.
In other words, the city council should have a police chief who can supervise reserve police officers, and not jeopardize the citizens' safety by bringing in a chief who can not/will not supervise reserve officers. Such a decision can ring the death bell of a small-town police department.
The other random element in the current recall effort, is the city insurance carrier's attorney, who condoned the city council's discussion of proposed ordinances dealing with nepotism and other subjects in closed session. It's difficult to fault the current council for discussing public business in closed meetings, when they were only following their attorney's advice, while conducting meetings in violation of Oregon Public Meetings Laws.
But that's just my opinion and analysis, from someone who has lived in Oakland during all four recall efforts, and who has sat in on some of the past executive sessions. If I could only write about what I've heard in the executive sessions, Oakland's political history might have charted a different course! But unlike some elected officials, I take my ethical responsibilities as a journalist seriously, and I would never willingly violate Oregon's Public Meetings Laws.
Is it pop, soda, or cola? GRIT uncovers the truth
Background: This column was originally published in the Winston Reporter, March 15, 2007. Because my UO alumnus classmate John Sowell this past week posted his own informal survey on Facebook, about the subject of pop versus cola, I thought this was a good time to re-post this column.
When I visited my late Aunt Ann in Riverside, California I told her I was going down to the neighborhood 7-11 to get a pop. Her confused reply was, "Now where did you hear that from?" Apparently, she may have been thinking that my father, who grew up in Pennsylvania and later lived in southern California, hadn't done a good enough job of teaching me the correct terminology for referencing a sugar-laden, carbonated beverage.
But an article in the March/April 2007 issue GRIT re-assured me I wasn't the only one who called a pop a pop. A professor with the department cartography and geography at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, and one of his students, conducted an informal internet survey to chart the dividing lines in the soft drink debate. According to their research, a broad swath of the country agrees with me. States in the Pacific Northwest, the Mid-West, and the Great Lakes region all say pop.
California, Arizona, southern Florida, and pockets in the Mid-West and eastern states all say soda. Texas, New Mexico, and a large section of the deep South say Coke. Just as people use the trademark names Xerox and Band-Aid to refer to other brands of photocopies and bandages, apparently some people say they want a Coke when they actually want a 7-up. Sill, other people who live in the southeastern U.S. call soft drinks by a different name.
The soft drink debate is the type of quirky article one will find in the GRIT newspaper. Oops, excuse me, magazine. I still don don't know what to call the 125-year-old publication. The issue that features the soft drink debate looks more like the type of magazine one would find at the local check-out stand. It's a magazine, with 100 glossy pages of color photos and advertisements for products like gorilla glue and tractor equipment.
If I didn't enjoy GRIT "magazine" so much, I would be upset with the nationwide publication. That's because it hasn't been a magazine for 125 years. In fact, until just a couple years ago, GRIT was printed in newspaper format.
When I delivered GRIT as a teen-ager, it was a weekly newspaper. Unlike any other weekly publication, ambitious youth would mail in their application to become a GRIT boy (or girl). The company would mail a bundle of newspapers from their Pennsylvania offices to the carrier's home address. Grit carriers would go door-to-door in their communities one evening a week, delivering and collecting money for the paper. Carriers kept a few cents from each paper sold for their commission and mailed the balance back to GRIT.
I lost track of GRIT until I visited my late aunt's home in Coquille. She had piles of GRITs and another newspaper I had never heard of before, CAPPER'S. GRIT was still a newspaper, but it was no longer delivered door-to-door on a weekly basis. The Topeka, Kansas-based semi-monthly (every other month) publication was now delivered by the postal service.
This past year I ran across the "new and improved" GRIT. Still based in Topeka, still published every other month, GRIT had evolved into a magazine. No complaints from me, except their inaccurate slogan that proclaims "America's Rural Lifestyle Magazine For 125 Years."
The modern generation of readers may believe it's been a magazine for more than a century, but I know better. GRIT will always be a newspaper to me. And a Coke will always be a pop, regardless of what others may choose to call it.
When I visited my late Aunt Ann in Riverside, California I told her I was going down to the neighborhood 7-11 to get a pop. Her confused reply was, "Now where did you hear that from?" Apparently, she may have been thinking that my father, who grew up in Pennsylvania and later lived in southern California, hadn't done a good enough job of teaching me the correct terminology for referencing a sugar-laden, carbonated beverage.
But an article in the March/April 2007 issue GRIT re-assured me I wasn't the only one who called a pop a pop. A professor with the department cartography and geography at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, and one of his students, conducted an informal internet survey to chart the dividing lines in the soft drink debate. According to their research, a broad swath of the country agrees with me. States in the Pacific Northwest, the Mid-West, and the Great Lakes region all say pop.
California, Arizona, southern Florida, and pockets in the Mid-West and eastern states all say soda. Texas, New Mexico, and a large section of the deep South say Coke. Just as people use the trademark names Xerox and Band-Aid to refer to other brands of photocopies and bandages, apparently some people say they want a Coke when they actually want a 7-up. Sill, other people who live in the southeastern U.S. call soft drinks by a different name.
The soft drink debate is the type of quirky article one will find in the GRIT newspaper. Oops, excuse me, magazine. I still don don't know what to call the 125-year-old publication. The issue that features the soft drink debate looks more like the type of magazine one would find at the local check-out stand. It's a magazine, with 100 glossy pages of color photos and advertisements for products like gorilla glue and tractor equipment.
If I didn't enjoy GRIT "magazine" so much, I would be upset with the nationwide publication. That's because it hasn't been a magazine for 125 years. In fact, until just a couple years ago, GRIT was printed in newspaper format.
When I delivered GRIT as a teen-ager, it was a weekly newspaper. Unlike any other weekly publication, ambitious youth would mail in their application to become a GRIT boy (or girl). The company would mail a bundle of newspapers from their Pennsylvania offices to the carrier's home address. Grit carriers would go door-to-door in their communities one evening a week, delivering and collecting money for the paper. Carriers kept a few cents from each paper sold for their commission and mailed the balance back to GRIT.
I lost track of GRIT until I visited my late aunt's home in Coquille. She had piles of GRITs and another newspaper I had never heard of before, CAPPER'S. GRIT was still a newspaper, but it was no longer delivered door-to-door on a weekly basis. The Topeka, Kansas-based semi-monthly (every other month) publication was now delivered by the postal service.
This past year I ran across the "new and improved" GRIT. Still based in Topeka, still published every other month, GRIT had evolved into a magazine. No complaints from me, except their inaccurate slogan that proclaims "America's Rural Lifestyle Magazine For 125 Years."
The modern generation of readers may believe it's been a magazine for more than a century, but I know better. GRIT will always be a newspaper to me. And a Coke will always be a pop, regardless of what others may choose to call it.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Adult Shop At Rice Hill
Background: Oakland High School alumnus Paul Tollefson told me that he burst out laughing when he read portions of this column, when it was originally published in the early 2000s. When I write about a serious or controversial subject, I will sometimes infuse humor into my column to try and diffuse any tension that my writing may arouse.
The 1990s were a turbulent time in Southern Oregon, with the emergence of numerous adult-oriented businesses in rural communities. I covered these events as they unfolded, while I was working at KOBI-TV, KPIC-TV, and KCBY-TV. Many people were upset with adult businesses opening for the first time in their communities. But in retrospect, it appears that most of them went out of business after a short stay in isolated spots: Cave Junction, Sunny Valley, Glendale, and Cowgirls in Roseburg. One exception: This column was written when the Adult Shop at Rice Hill first opened, a business that did stay around and remains open today.
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To report or not to report. That is the question facing every journalist when it comes to adult-oriented businesses. Arguably, the first business to come to an area is always news. It's new. It's different. It's novel. People want to know what's going on.
But what about the second or third ones to open up shop? If reporters fail to acknowledge their presence, people often criticize the "liberal" media for being part of a conspiracy to undermine American morals. By turning our heads, we're silently supporting adult businesses.
On the other hand, if journalists are always announcing where the latest sex-peddler is located, then we're promoting the industry by giving adult businesses what they want the most: free publicity. The "liberal" media is cursed either way.
The Adult Shop at Rice Hill is at least the eighth sex-oriented business to open in Douglas County during the past decade alone. However, it's making the news because of its unusual location: in the middle of nowhere along the interstate freeway at Rice Hill.
I sympathize with the local residents who are protesting its arrival. More than a year ago, the owner submitted a business license for an entirely different enterprise. Then, without telling anyone, the owner converted the store overnight into an adult-only enterprise. After obtaining the proper business licenses, which he should have done in the first place, the Adult Shop owner from Lane County is now promoting the sex industry in the heart of rural Douglas County.
The owner's smoke and mirrors routine is somewhat reminiscent of Randy's Tropical Express & Tea Lounge that operated just over a year ago on Northeast Stephens street outside the Roseburg city limits. Originally, Randy opened up a type of adolescent game hall for local youth to spend their time after school.
Several months later, Randy claimed he couldn't make a go of that venture. Out went the games, and in came the strippers. Seven female dancers and four male dancers legally performed for anyone over the age of 18. By not selling alcohol, Randy bypassed the age 21 restriction normally observed by adult nightclubs.
Prior to the 1990s, the adult business trade just wasn't promoted in public the way that it is today. However, there was still a presence. Ever since my first memories, I remember driving down Highway 99 and seeing the "Gifts & Gags" sign across from Driftwood Market in Sutherlin. I always wondered what the combination home/business sold. Undoubtedly, "Gifts & Gags" meant that they sold itching powder and magic cards. It wasn't until after they closed years later that somebody told me the older lady who ran the business in her home sold adult wares.
But those "backroom" businesses seem to have given way to flashy Adult Shop stores that stick their huge signs next to you as you drive by. As I previously mentioned in another column, Oregon has very loose restrictions on adult-oriented businesses. In the 1980s, the Oregon Supreme Court re-affirmed (?) that Oregon's founding pioneers did not recognize the word "obscenity" when writing the state's constitution.
For the residents of Rice Hill, there's very little they can do to shut down the Adult Shop, short of getting a constitutional amendment passed in Oregon. There's also the possibility that state lawmakers could possibly write legislation clamping down on adult-oriented businesses.
I admire the spirit of local residents. During the past two Saturdays, they've picketed the Adult Shop on Saturday morning. I'm somewhat amused with the time they've chosen for their protest. People who stay out late Friday night are usually sleeping off a hangover during that time.
If the Rice Hill picketers (Note: Since this column was written, former KOBI-TV News Director Dan Acklen educated me about the use of the word picket. There is no such thing as "picketers." People who protest a cause by holding picket signs are correctly referred to as "pickets.") truly want to be effective, they might consult their neighbors to the south in Glendale. When the Swan Song Inn opened in the late 1990s with female strippers in downtown Glendale, residents camped out in front of the business during the evenings.
Day after day, week after week, month after month, several different Glendale citizens each day brought their lawn chairs and silently held picket signs next to the sidewalk by the Swan Song Inn entrance. The owner mysteriously closed his business overnight after more than a year. I don't know if the protestors had any impact on his decision to close, but it gives one pause to wonder.
During the course of my broadcasting career, I've talked with the owners of numerous adult businesses. While reporting on the adult clubs openings in downtown Medford, I was shocked to discover the owner of a Medford strip club was a former graduate of Sutherlin High School whom I had competed against in FFA competitions.
But whether they're in Medford or Roseburg, all of the adult business owners I've encountered have told me the same thing: bad publicity is good publicity. They never want to appear on camera. I guess they're afraid of being lynched if they're recognized in public. But they all flourish on the attention they receive.
That's the primary reason adult-oriented businesses are no longer front page news stories. The business's arrival, if it's worth mentioning at all, is relegated to a less prominent spot inside the newspaper. Or for television journalists, who used to write a two-minute long "package" story with sound bites from different people, it's now a quick forty-second "v/o" (video only) story with no sound bites.
If it's any consolation, there is a glimmer of good news for Rice Hill residents and others upset with what appears to be a proliferation of adult-oriented businesses in Douglas County. Less than half of them (three) have been successful business ventures lasting more than a year: Roseburg's Cowgirls nightclub, Filled With Fun bookstore, and the new Adult Shop at Rice Hill.
The other adult-oriented businesses (five) have come and gone in a very short time: Swan Song Inn at Glendale, John's Sports Bar on SE Stephens street, an adult book store that briefly opened next to Cowgirls, Randy's Teahouse, and the infamous Angels Lingerie where Safeway now stands. The (figurative) jury's still out on the Why Not Tavern at Yoncalla that periodically brings in professional male exotic dance troupes for a one-night only performance.
Apparently, there's a limit as to what Douglas County residents will tolerate, or afford to pay, the adult business trade. And, if Rice Hill residents want to be successful in causing one more adult business to fail in Douglas County....they might consider erecting a church next door to the Adult Shop. That might have more of a long-term effect than holding a couple of Saturday morning protests.
The 1990s were a turbulent time in Southern Oregon, with the emergence of numerous adult-oriented businesses in rural communities. I covered these events as they unfolded, while I was working at KOBI-TV, KPIC-TV, and KCBY-TV. Many people were upset with adult businesses opening for the first time in their communities. But in retrospect, it appears that most of them went out of business after a short stay in isolated spots: Cave Junction, Sunny Valley, Glendale, and Cowgirls in Roseburg. One exception: This column was written when the Adult Shop at Rice Hill first opened, a business that did stay around and remains open today.
-----------------------------------------------------
To report or not to report. That is the question facing every journalist when it comes to adult-oriented businesses. Arguably, the first business to come to an area is always news. It's new. It's different. It's novel. People want to know what's going on.
But what about the second or third ones to open up shop? If reporters fail to acknowledge their presence, people often criticize the "liberal" media for being part of a conspiracy to undermine American morals. By turning our heads, we're silently supporting adult businesses.
On the other hand, if journalists are always announcing where the latest sex-peddler is located, then we're promoting the industry by giving adult businesses what they want the most: free publicity. The "liberal" media is cursed either way.
The Adult Shop at Rice Hill is at least the eighth sex-oriented business to open in Douglas County during the past decade alone. However, it's making the news because of its unusual location: in the middle of nowhere along the interstate freeway at Rice Hill.
I sympathize with the local residents who are protesting its arrival. More than a year ago, the owner submitted a business license for an entirely different enterprise. Then, without telling anyone, the owner converted the store overnight into an adult-only enterprise. After obtaining the proper business licenses, which he should have done in the first place, the Adult Shop owner from Lane County is now promoting the sex industry in the heart of rural Douglas County.
The owner's smoke and mirrors routine is somewhat reminiscent of Randy's Tropical Express & Tea Lounge that operated just over a year ago on Northeast Stephens street outside the Roseburg city limits. Originally, Randy opened up a type of adolescent game hall for local youth to spend their time after school.
Several months later, Randy claimed he couldn't make a go of that venture. Out went the games, and in came the strippers. Seven female dancers and four male dancers legally performed for anyone over the age of 18. By not selling alcohol, Randy bypassed the age 21 restriction normally observed by adult nightclubs.
Prior to the 1990s, the adult business trade just wasn't promoted in public the way that it is today. However, there was still a presence. Ever since my first memories, I remember driving down Highway 99 and seeing the "Gifts & Gags" sign across from Driftwood Market in Sutherlin. I always wondered what the combination home/business sold. Undoubtedly, "Gifts & Gags" meant that they sold itching powder and magic cards. It wasn't until after they closed years later that somebody told me the older lady who ran the business in her home sold adult wares.
But those "backroom" businesses seem to have given way to flashy Adult Shop stores that stick their huge signs next to you as you drive by. As I previously mentioned in another column, Oregon has very loose restrictions on adult-oriented businesses. In the 1980s, the Oregon Supreme Court re-affirmed (?) that Oregon's founding pioneers did not recognize the word "obscenity" when writing the state's constitution.
For the residents of Rice Hill, there's very little they can do to shut down the Adult Shop, short of getting a constitutional amendment passed in Oregon. There's also the possibility that state lawmakers could possibly write legislation clamping down on adult-oriented businesses.
I admire the spirit of local residents. During the past two Saturdays, they've picketed the Adult Shop on Saturday morning. I'm somewhat amused with the time they've chosen for their protest. People who stay out late Friday night are usually sleeping off a hangover during that time.
If the Rice Hill picketers (Note: Since this column was written, former KOBI-TV News Director Dan Acklen educated me about the use of the word picket. There is no such thing as "picketers." People who protest a cause by holding picket signs are correctly referred to as "pickets.") truly want to be effective, they might consult their neighbors to the south in Glendale. When the Swan Song Inn opened in the late 1990s with female strippers in downtown Glendale, residents camped out in front of the business during the evenings.
Day after day, week after week, month after month, several different Glendale citizens each day brought their lawn chairs and silently held picket signs next to the sidewalk by the Swan Song Inn entrance. The owner mysteriously closed his business overnight after more than a year. I don't know if the protestors had any impact on his decision to close, but it gives one pause to wonder.
During the course of my broadcasting career, I've talked with the owners of numerous adult businesses. While reporting on the adult clubs openings in downtown Medford, I was shocked to discover the owner of a Medford strip club was a former graduate of Sutherlin High School whom I had competed against in FFA competitions.
But whether they're in Medford or Roseburg, all of the adult business owners I've encountered have told me the same thing: bad publicity is good publicity. They never want to appear on camera. I guess they're afraid of being lynched if they're recognized in public. But they all flourish on the attention they receive.
That's the primary reason adult-oriented businesses are no longer front page news stories. The business's arrival, if it's worth mentioning at all, is relegated to a less prominent spot inside the newspaper. Or for television journalists, who used to write a two-minute long "package" story with sound bites from different people, it's now a quick forty-second "v/o" (video only) story with no sound bites.
If it's any consolation, there is a glimmer of good news for Rice Hill residents and others upset with what appears to be a proliferation of adult-oriented businesses in Douglas County. Less than half of them (three) have been successful business ventures lasting more than a year: Roseburg's Cowgirls nightclub, Filled With Fun bookstore, and the new Adult Shop at Rice Hill.
The other adult-oriented businesses (five) have come and gone in a very short time: Swan Song Inn at Glendale, John's Sports Bar on SE Stephens street, an adult book store that briefly opened next to Cowgirls, Randy's Teahouse, and the infamous Angels Lingerie where Safeway now stands. The (figurative) jury's still out on the Why Not Tavern at Yoncalla that periodically brings in professional male exotic dance troupes for a one-night only performance.
Apparently, there's a limit as to what Douglas County residents will tolerate, or afford to pay, the adult business trade. And, if Rice Hill residents want to be successful in causing one more adult business to fail in Douglas County....they might consider erecting a church next door to the Adult Shop. That might have more of a long-term effect than holding a couple of Saturday morning protests.
How Tall Is Too Tall?
Background: The information in this column is woefully outdated, because it was published ten years ago, and it seems like they're always breaking a "world's tallest skyscraper" record every other year. I was intrigued that Oregon's tallest structure at one point was KVAL-TV's 700-plus foot tower on Eugene's Blanton Heights (according to KLSR-TV General Manager John Mielke). However, even that record was soon broken by a new television/radio tower built in Portland's west hills.
It must be a privilege for a country to have the world's tallest building. Nowadays, such a distinction rarely lasts more than a few years, before some other country builds a taller one yet.
That thought was going through my mind last month, as plans were unveiled to build the world's tallest building on the former site of the World Trade Center in New York City. The so-called "Freedom Tower" will rise 1,776 feet above the Manhattan skyline, once completed later this decade.
The Freedom Tower will have a circular appearance with a spire at the top, which is supposed to evoke images of the nearby Statue of Liberty. By comparison, the twin World Trade Center towers were 1,368/1,362 feet tall, and the 1,250-foot Empire State Building is the next tallest building on the New York skyline.
To put all of this in perspective, I consulted my 1,001 Skyscrapers book that I purchased from Ingram Books. Admittedly, I am somewhat hesitant to quote information from this source, as it was copyrighted in 2,000. Three years have already gone by. In the ever-competitive world of skyscrapers, who knows how much of it is already outdated?
For example, the Shanghai World Financial Center tower is scheduled for completion in 2004 (or maybe it's already finished?). The 1,509-foot tower will be the world's tallest structure. This unique building will actually have a hole cut out of the top floors, so that the building kind of looks like an erect bottle-cap opener.
But poor China can only claim that building as the world's tallest for five years, until the New York Freedom Tower is finished. Currently, the world's tallest building(s) are the twin 1,476-foot Petronas Towers in Malaysia, having held that title since only 1997.
Gone are the days when a building could hold the "world's tallest" title for several decades. The 1,454-foot Sears Tower in Chicago held that title for twenty-two years before giving it up in 1996. Apparently the West Coast of the United States never got in on the "my building is taller than your building" contest. The tallest one west of the Mississippi is Los Angeles' First Interstate Bank (Wells Fargo) tower built in 1990, measuring in at a mere 1,018 feet tall.
Here in Oregon, one becomes even more hard-pressed to find a skyscraper that we can proudly display to the world. In fact, this state's tallest structures aren't even skyscrapers....they're broadcast transmission towers. If one is in Eugene and looks south toward the Blanton Heights ridge, you will see a group of towers, or "antenna farm" in the south hills. The tallest one is the 700-foot KVAL-TV tower, which is Oregon's tallest structure.
Also in that same antenna farm, when it was built in 1990, the 650-foot KLSR-TV tower was the second-tallest structure in Oregon. The next highest structures were the 500-foot television towers in Portland's west hills. During the past decade, Portland has erected or extended broadcast towers that exceed 600 feet.
As previously mentioned, I'm hesitant to quote any figures as fact, because people are constantly building taller buildings and towers every year. One of the reasons that some people live in Oregon is because we don't have skylines dotted with tall buildings that reach the sky.
It must be a privilege for a country to have the world's tallest building. Nowadays, such a distinction rarely lasts more than a few years, before some other country builds a taller one yet.
That thought was going through my mind last month, as plans were unveiled to build the world's tallest building on the former site of the World Trade Center in New York City. The so-called "Freedom Tower" will rise 1,776 feet above the Manhattan skyline, once completed later this decade.
The Freedom Tower will have a circular appearance with a spire at the top, which is supposed to evoke images of the nearby Statue of Liberty. By comparison, the twin World Trade Center towers were 1,368/1,362 feet tall, and the 1,250-foot Empire State Building is the next tallest building on the New York skyline.
To put all of this in perspective, I consulted my 1,001 Skyscrapers book that I purchased from Ingram Books. Admittedly, I am somewhat hesitant to quote information from this source, as it was copyrighted in 2,000. Three years have already gone by. In the ever-competitive world of skyscrapers, who knows how much of it is already outdated?
For example, the Shanghai World Financial Center tower is scheduled for completion in 2004 (or maybe it's already finished?). The 1,509-foot tower will be the world's tallest structure. This unique building will actually have a hole cut out of the top floors, so that the building kind of looks like an erect bottle-cap opener.
But poor China can only claim that building as the world's tallest for five years, until the New York Freedom Tower is finished. Currently, the world's tallest building(s) are the twin 1,476-foot Petronas Towers in Malaysia, having held that title since only 1997.
Gone are the days when a building could hold the "world's tallest" title for several decades. The 1,454-foot Sears Tower in Chicago held that title for twenty-two years before giving it up in 1996. Apparently the West Coast of the United States never got in on the "my building is taller than your building" contest. The tallest one west of the Mississippi is Los Angeles' First Interstate Bank (Wells Fargo) tower built in 1990, measuring in at a mere 1,018 feet tall.
Here in Oregon, one becomes even more hard-pressed to find a skyscraper that we can proudly display to the world. In fact, this state's tallest structures aren't even skyscrapers....they're broadcast transmission towers. If one is in Eugene and looks south toward the Blanton Heights ridge, you will see a group of towers, or "antenna farm" in the south hills. The tallest one is the 700-foot KVAL-TV tower, which is Oregon's tallest structure.
Also in that same antenna farm, when it was built in 1990, the 650-foot KLSR-TV tower was the second-tallest structure in Oregon. The next highest structures were the 500-foot television towers in Portland's west hills. During the past decade, Portland has erected or extended broadcast towers that exceed 600 feet.
As previously mentioned, I'm hesitant to quote any figures as fact, because people are constantly building taller buildings and towers every year. One of the reasons that some people live in Oregon is because we don't have skylines dotted with tall buildings that reach the sky.
The Night The Police Raided Angels
Background: I was producing/anchoring KPIC's 11p.m. news the night that Roseburg police raided a relatively unknown "gentlemen's club" along a busy Roseburg thoroughfare. When Roseburg Police Lt. Les Bergmann dropped off a police video for KPIC to use on our newscast, it was already the talk of the town as to what had transpired on the police radio during the sting operation. The sting at Angels occurred in the late 1990s, but this column was written several years later, when the man who was convicted was appealing his prison sentence.
A Sutherlin man now serving a six-year sentence for promoting live sex shows wants to be released early from prison. Thirty-two year-old Charles Ciancanelli operated Angels Lingerie inside a two-story warehouse where the NE Stephens street Safeway is now located.
I still remember the night that police raided the adult establishment. I was at KPIC monitoring the police scanner that evening. A police supervisor radioed one of the officers at the scene, asking if he was free to respond to another call. "Not yet," responded the Roseburg officer. "I'm tied up at Angels right now."
If I ever compile a list of witty remarks overheard on emergency radio frequencies, that innocent comment will be near the top of the list.
Angels Lingerie was one of those businesses that you didn't know was there, until you stepped inside the door. There were no outside markings on the 50-year-old warehouse. Even though I worked in the media, I didn't even know about Angels' presence until shortly before the bust.
Ciancanelli has always maintained that he never did anything illegal. He's appealed his case over the years all the way to the Oregon Supreme Court. The basis of his argument is rooted in the Oregon state constitution, which presumably says there is no such thing as obscenity in Oregon.
The argument upheld by justices in the 1980s goes something like this: The pioneers who settled Oregon were a robust group of people who were accustomed to a challenging life and different community standards than elsewhere in the United States. Because early Oregonians were desensitized to what people elsewhere may consider crude, obscenity does not exist in Oregon.
Because the Oregon state constitution does not recognize obscenity, many types of conduct that are considered illegal in other states have protection here in the Beaver state. Ciancanelli's lawyer this year is carrying that same torch. Robin Jones says there is no law in Oregon against masturbation or sexual intercourse.
That's true. But there are laws in effect against "lewd conduct," "indecent exposure," "contributing to the delinquency of a minor," among other crimes now on the books in Oregon. Many Americans have already thrown out the Ten Commandments as a moral standard for conducting themselves. But regardless of whether one believes in God or is a devout atheist, most people still believe acts of sexual intercourse are degrading to women.
The government has not (yet) declared masturbation or sexual intercourse illegal, because individuals have the right to do what they want in the privacy of their own bedrooms, However, it is illegal to be naked in public or have sex in public (unless you live in San Francisco or Ashland).
Charles Ciancanelli crossed that line when he allowed undercover police officers to pay for a sex show in which two women had sexual intercourse. The courts should require Ciancanelli to finish serving his six-year sentence before being allowed to return to Sutherlin.
After all, we don't want any more police officers to waste their time being tied up in these types of adult businesses.
A Sutherlin man now serving a six-year sentence for promoting live sex shows wants to be released early from prison. Thirty-two year-old Charles Ciancanelli operated Angels Lingerie inside a two-story warehouse where the NE Stephens street Safeway is now located.
I still remember the night that police raided the adult establishment. I was at KPIC monitoring the police scanner that evening. A police supervisor radioed one of the officers at the scene, asking if he was free to respond to another call. "Not yet," responded the Roseburg officer. "I'm tied up at Angels right now."
If I ever compile a list of witty remarks overheard on emergency radio frequencies, that innocent comment will be near the top of the list.
Angels Lingerie was one of those businesses that you didn't know was there, until you stepped inside the door. There were no outside markings on the 50-year-old warehouse. Even though I worked in the media, I didn't even know about Angels' presence until shortly before the bust.
Ciancanelli has always maintained that he never did anything illegal. He's appealed his case over the years all the way to the Oregon Supreme Court. The basis of his argument is rooted in the Oregon state constitution, which presumably says there is no such thing as obscenity in Oregon.
The argument upheld by justices in the 1980s goes something like this: The pioneers who settled Oregon were a robust group of people who were accustomed to a challenging life and different community standards than elsewhere in the United States. Because early Oregonians were desensitized to what people elsewhere may consider crude, obscenity does not exist in Oregon.
Because the Oregon state constitution does not recognize obscenity, many types of conduct that are considered illegal in other states have protection here in the Beaver state. Ciancanelli's lawyer this year is carrying that same torch. Robin Jones says there is no law in Oregon against masturbation or sexual intercourse.
That's true. But there are laws in effect against "lewd conduct," "indecent exposure," "contributing to the delinquency of a minor," among other crimes now on the books in Oregon. Many Americans have already thrown out the Ten Commandments as a moral standard for conducting themselves. But regardless of whether one believes in God or is a devout atheist, most people still believe acts of sexual intercourse are degrading to women.
The government has not (yet) declared masturbation or sexual intercourse illegal, because individuals have the right to do what they want in the privacy of their own bedrooms, However, it is illegal to be naked in public or have sex in public (unless you live in San Francisco or Ashland).
Charles Ciancanelli crossed that line when he allowed undercover police officers to pay for a sex show in which two women had sexual intercourse. The courts should require Ciancanelli to finish serving his six-year sentence before being allowed to return to Sutherlin.
After all, we don't want any more police officers to waste their time being tied up in these types of adult businesses.
Friday, November 22, 2013
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN STATEMENT OF INTENT
Background:
No final decision had yet been made whether I will file to run for Douglas County Commisioner in 2014. What prompted my decision to contemplate the idea, was that several people have encouraged me to run, and have offered to pay for my filing fee and Voters Pamphlet statement. It takes about $500 to file with the Douglas County Clerk, obtain photographs, and issue a statement in the Voters Pamphlet.
Physically and mentally, I am prepared for such a challenge. My chemotherapy will end in February, and I won't be able to resume full-time teaching until Fall, 2014. Running for Douglas County Commissioner during the May, 2014 primary would be at a perfect time in my life.
However, there are financial issues to consider. I will be paying off my medical debts for quite some time, so I wouldn't be able to put any of my own money into running a campaign. I would be entirely dependent on donations...which means I probably wouldn't be able to pay for the thousands of campaign yard signs that some of the more well-greased political candidates can afford. But for me, running for political office has never been about how much money one has to spend. It's been about informing the public of the issues, and hopefully convincing the public that you're (i.e., ME) the right person for the job.
I'm printing this STATEMENT OF INTENT right now, so that if I do decide to run within the next few months, there won't be any misconceptions about why I'm running at this particular time.
STATEMENT OF INTENT
Monte Muirhead for Douglas County Commissioner
P.O. Box 401
Oakland, Oregon 97462
I was sitting in a campaign booth at the North Douglas County Fair in Drain one summer, when a longtime political observer of the Douglas County Republican party told me that every election is different. How true that is.
I have previously run for office in partisan races and non-partisan races with an incumbent. But this election in 2014 will be the FIRST time that I've run in a non-partisan race in an open election, where no incumbent is seeking re-election.
In the past, it's been difficult for someone to be elected Douglas County Commissioenr without seeking political campaign contributions from PACS and special interest groups. The 2002 election was especially noteworthy. Statewide PACS from outside Douglas County were pumping money into the Douglas County Commissioner's race. It was a foregone conclusion that the Republican candidate who raised the most money (or close to it) would win the May primary, and breeze to victory in a November landslide general election.
I didn't believe that a candidate for a simple county office should have to spend more than one hundred thousand dollars to win the election. Many Douglas County voters apparently agreed with me. Even though I spent a "paltry" $4,000 during the May primary election, I came in third in a four-way race where all three of my opponents had each spent tens of thousands of dollars more than I did.
This past decade, Douglas County voters decided to change the way in how their county commisioners become elected. The Douglas County Commissioner's race is now non-partisan, which means the two candidates who receive the most votes during the May primary, regardless of which party they're affiliated with, advance to the November general election. AND, more importantly, ALL of the candidates' names now appear on ALL of the May ballots, not just the ballots of their respective political party.
I've always felt that I've had strong support from different parties, but most people never had the chance to vote for me, because my name never appeared on more than half of the ballots. That is why I'm deciding to run again. The current commissioner, Joe Laurance, has decided to step down from office, so this will be my first election, where my name will appear on all of the ballots, AND it will be an open playing field without any advantage for an incumbent.
Will this translate into an election victory for me? That remains to be seen. As my friend at Drain correctly pointed out, "each election is different." That's why it is invigorating for me to run for office in 2014. Abraham Lincoln ran for office and failed several times before he was elected to Congress. I will post my campaign platform on my blog, when/if a decision is made to run for Douglas County Commissioner in 2014.
No final decision had yet been made whether I will file to run for Douglas County Commisioner in 2014. What prompted my decision to contemplate the idea, was that several people have encouraged me to run, and have offered to pay for my filing fee and Voters Pamphlet statement. It takes about $500 to file with the Douglas County Clerk, obtain photographs, and issue a statement in the Voters Pamphlet.
Physically and mentally, I am prepared for such a challenge. My chemotherapy will end in February, and I won't be able to resume full-time teaching until Fall, 2014. Running for Douglas County Commissioner during the May, 2014 primary would be at a perfect time in my life.
However, there are financial issues to consider. I will be paying off my medical debts for quite some time, so I wouldn't be able to put any of my own money into running a campaign. I would be entirely dependent on donations...which means I probably wouldn't be able to pay for the thousands of campaign yard signs that some of the more well-greased political candidates can afford. But for me, running for political office has never been about how much money one has to spend. It's been about informing the public of the issues, and hopefully convincing the public that you're (i.e., ME) the right person for the job.
I'm printing this STATEMENT OF INTENT right now, so that if I do decide to run within the next few months, there won't be any misconceptions about why I'm running at this particular time.
STATEMENT OF INTENT
Monte Muirhead for Douglas County Commissioner
P.O. Box 401
Oakland, Oregon 97462
I was sitting in a campaign booth at the North Douglas County Fair in Drain one summer, when a longtime political observer of the Douglas County Republican party told me that every election is different. How true that is.
I have previously run for office in partisan races and non-partisan races with an incumbent. But this election in 2014 will be the FIRST time that I've run in a non-partisan race in an open election, where no incumbent is seeking re-election.
In the past, it's been difficult for someone to be elected Douglas County Commissioenr without seeking political campaign contributions from PACS and special interest groups. The 2002 election was especially noteworthy. Statewide PACS from outside Douglas County were pumping money into the Douglas County Commissioner's race. It was a foregone conclusion that the Republican candidate who raised the most money (or close to it) would win the May primary, and breeze to victory in a November landslide general election.
I didn't believe that a candidate for a simple county office should have to spend more than one hundred thousand dollars to win the election. Many Douglas County voters apparently agreed with me. Even though I spent a "paltry" $4,000 during the May primary election, I came in third in a four-way race where all three of my opponents had each spent tens of thousands of dollars more than I did.
This past decade, Douglas County voters decided to change the way in how their county commisioners become elected. The Douglas County Commissioner's race is now non-partisan, which means the two candidates who receive the most votes during the May primary, regardless of which party they're affiliated with, advance to the November general election. AND, more importantly, ALL of the candidates' names now appear on ALL of the May ballots, not just the ballots of their respective political party.
I've always felt that I've had strong support from different parties, but most people never had the chance to vote for me, because my name never appeared on more than half of the ballots. That is why I'm deciding to run again. The current commissioner, Joe Laurance, has decided to step down from office, so this will be my first election, where my name will appear on all of the ballots, AND it will be an open playing field without any advantage for an incumbent.
Will this translate into an election victory for me? That remains to be seen. As my friend at Drain correctly pointed out, "each election is different." That's why it is invigorating for me to run for office in 2014. Abraham Lincoln ran for office and failed several times before he was elected to Congress. I will post my campaign platform on my blog, when/if a decision is made to run for Douglas County Commissioner in 2014.
The Twelve Days Of Christmas
Background: While I was anchoring the 11p.m. news on KPIC-TV one evening in the 1990s, I made the following faux pas. But learning from one's mistakes can open up new possibilities, as did this one. Afterwards, I did several news stories at KPIC-TV, KOBI-TV, and KMTR-TV, based on what I learned from Bob Robins.
Years ago, I made the mistake of saying December 25th marks the end of the Christmas holiday season. Former Oakland school district music teacher Robert Robins quickly pointed out to me my error.
For millions of Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, and other Protestant denominations around the world, December 25th marks the BEGINNING of the Christmas season. While some folks may mistakenly believe the "Twelve days of Christmas" amounts to nothing more than song featuring a partridge in a pear tree...the origin of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" is actually a religious reference to December 25th through January sixth, the day of the epiphany.
It's easy for the average "un"churched person to become confused or misled. All around us we see evidence that people can't wait to dispense with the Christmas season. Many Christmas trees are hastily dismantled on the 25th, and quickly taken to the garbage dump the next day. But at the Robins' household in Roseburg...as well as numerous other homes that still recognize the true origins of Christmas...the Christmas trees are not decorated until December 24th and 25th.
Catholics and some Protestants map out the days of the year in accordance with Jesus Christ's lifespan on earth. December 25th obviously commemorates Christ's birth. Several months later, Easter commemorates when Christ was killed some 30 years later and arose from the dead.
That's why Christmas trees, holiday ornaments, the nativity creche, and other religious symbols remain visible in some households through January sixth. The "Twelve Days of Christmas" celebrates a period of time between Christ's birth, and the time spent by shepherds and wisemen traveling a long distance to see the baby.
I found the Robins' living room Christmas display especially interesting. They would move the nativity symbols each day during the twelve days of Christmas, to recognize the passage of time. For example, the wisemen and shepherds who were not present at Christ's birth, would be placed on the opposite side of the living room on December 25th. As the twelve days of Christmas progressed, the Robins would move the figures closer to the nativity manger, until everyone was present at the manger on January sixth.
Different people have different religious beliefs, which is why I'm not bothered (too much) to see people in a rush to throw away their Christmas trees and take down their lights on December 25th. But I do have to ask myself what motivates some people to "steal" a religous observance like the twelve days of Christmas, and turn it into something completely different for personal gain.
I'm referring to businesses that exploit the holiday season with sales gimmicks like the "Twelve Days of Christmas" promotion, and conduct it BEFORE December 25th. This year, the Roseburg Town Center held such a sale December 1st-12th.
I fully understand the need to lure customers into the stores. A majority of businesses make HALF their yearly sales during the Christmas season alone. But if I were a business owner, I don't think I would be desperate enough to alienate God-fearing customers by mocking one of their religious observances.
I would encourage downtown Roseburg merchants to display a manger scene in their stores, IF they're going to conduct a "Twelve Days of Christmas" celebration. I realize that would alienate the local Jewish community and atheists who don't celebrate Christmas. But if a business is going to observe a religious ritual like the twelve days of Christmas during the holidays, it would be nice if they would do it in a respectful manner.
Otherwise, why not have a "Twenty-five days of Christmas" sale from December first through December 25th? You wouldn't be breaking any religious taboos with such a sale...and you might actually sell more merchandise by having a sale that lasts twice as long!
Years ago, I made the mistake of saying December 25th marks the end of the Christmas holiday season. Former Oakland school district music teacher Robert Robins quickly pointed out to me my error.
For millions of Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, and other Protestant denominations around the world, December 25th marks the BEGINNING of the Christmas season. While some folks may mistakenly believe the "Twelve days of Christmas" amounts to nothing more than song featuring a partridge in a pear tree...the origin of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" is actually a religious reference to December 25th through January sixth, the day of the epiphany.
It's easy for the average "un"churched person to become confused or misled. All around us we see evidence that people can't wait to dispense with the Christmas season. Many Christmas trees are hastily dismantled on the 25th, and quickly taken to the garbage dump the next day. But at the Robins' household in Roseburg...as well as numerous other homes that still recognize the true origins of Christmas...the Christmas trees are not decorated until December 24th and 25th.
Catholics and some Protestants map out the days of the year in accordance with Jesus Christ's lifespan on earth. December 25th obviously commemorates Christ's birth. Several months later, Easter commemorates when Christ was killed some 30 years later and arose from the dead.
That's why Christmas trees, holiday ornaments, the nativity creche, and other religious symbols remain visible in some households through January sixth. The "Twelve Days of Christmas" celebrates a period of time between Christ's birth, and the time spent by shepherds and wisemen traveling a long distance to see the baby.
I found the Robins' living room Christmas display especially interesting. They would move the nativity symbols each day during the twelve days of Christmas, to recognize the passage of time. For example, the wisemen and shepherds who were not present at Christ's birth, would be placed on the opposite side of the living room on December 25th. As the twelve days of Christmas progressed, the Robins would move the figures closer to the nativity manger, until everyone was present at the manger on January sixth.
Different people have different religious beliefs, which is why I'm not bothered (too much) to see people in a rush to throw away their Christmas trees and take down their lights on December 25th. But I do have to ask myself what motivates some people to "steal" a religous observance like the twelve days of Christmas, and turn it into something completely different for personal gain.
I'm referring to businesses that exploit the holiday season with sales gimmicks like the "Twelve Days of Christmas" promotion, and conduct it BEFORE December 25th. This year, the Roseburg Town Center held such a sale December 1st-12th.
I fully understand the need to lure customers into the stores. A majority of businesses make HALF their yearly sales during the Christmas season alone. But if I were a business owner, I don't think I would be desperate enough to alienate God-fearing customers by mocking one of their religious observances.
I would encourage downtown Roseburg merchants to display a manger scene in their stores, IF they're going to conduct a "Twelve Days of Christmas" celebration. I realize that would alienate the local Jewish community and atheists who don't celebrate Christmas. But if a business is going to observe a religious ritual like the twelve days of Christmas during the holidays, it would be nice if they would do it in a respectful manner.
Otherwise, why not have a "Twenty-five days of Christmas" sale from December first through December 25th? You wouldn't be breaking any religious taboos with such a sale...and you might actually sell more merchandise by having a sale that lasts twice as long!
Friday, October 25, 2013
Politicial Expressions: What They Say vs. What They Really Mean
Background: Because candidates are now filing to run for office in the upcoming 2014 elections, I figured this was a good time to dig out one of my columns on political expressions.
In fact, I would consider this one of my "top ten" columns, based on feedback that I received from people when it was originally printed in the newspaper. During the next couple months, I'm going to try and dig out my other "top ten" columns and post them on this blog. They are columns that people took the time to stop me on the street afterwards, and tell me the column made them laugh or chuckle in some fashion.
Coming on the heels of the longest legislative session in Oregon history, many political candidates are now gearing up for next year's elections: the May 2004 primary and the November 2004 general election.
In order to help the public stay well-informed, I've compiled the following list of expressions that you're likely to hear coming from the mouths of political candidates during the next twelve months. Accompanying the quotes is an interpreation of what's actually being said.
It's always dangerous to put something in print, because one's critics may someday dig up something you've said and distort one's message out of context. So, let me just say this is done tongue in cheek. If you see a shred of truth in what's printed below, that's great. Otherwise, take it for what it's worth: one political pundit's observations.
INCUMBENTS---
* "It's important to vote for me because I work as a team player with the other elected officials."
What they're really saying: "I go along with what the other bureaucrats are doing and do what they tell me to do."
* "I'm the candidate with the most experience at working in government."
What they're really saying: "It's important to keep bureaucrats in office, because the average person isn't capable of understanding the complexities of running the government."
* "I've got some unfinished business that I would like to see completed."
What they're really saying: "I've been unable to accomplish my goals in the 24 years I've been in office, so you might as well keep re-electing me to see if I'm ever successful."
* "It's important to put families first families first, make sure we have adequate police protection, and a well-funded school system to prepare our children for our future."
What they're really saying: "I like to say things that sound nice and get me votes, without actually explaining how I'm going to accomplish those nice goals. I'll be happy to kiss your baby if there's a camera nearby."
NEW CANDIDATES---
* "It's important to vote for me becaue we need some new blood in office."
What they're really saying: "I think the incumbent stinks, but I'm afraid to say what I really feel because I don't want anybody to accuse me of negative campaigning."
* "It's time for a change."
What they're really saying: "The incumbent has had his/her turn getting rich from the taxpayer slopping trough. Now it's my turn to be slopped."
UNIQUE TO DOUGLAS COUNTY CANDIDATES---
(Note: Douglas County Commissioner elections have changed to non-partisan races since this column was originally printed.)
* "I'm the Republican candidate."
What they're really saying: "I'm the candidate who is going to win the race."
* "I'm the Democrat candidate."
What they're really saying: "I'm the token candidate who threw my name into the ring at the last moment, just ot make sure our party's name was on the ballot."
* "I'm the Independent candidate."
What they're really saying: "I'm the candidate who has a bone to pick with how Douglas County government is run, but I can't get nominated by either one of the major parties."
* "I'm the candidate who is for private property rights."
What they're really saying: "I'm the candidate who wants to see prime farm pastureland torn up and replaced with building developments. My goal is to make the I-5 corridor through Douglas County one brig strip mall."
* "I've turned campaigning into a full-time job meeting the local voters."
What they're really saying: "I'm independently wealthy, so I don't have to worry about working a regular job while I schmooze the local voters."
In fact, I would consider this one of my "top ten" columns, based on feedback that I received from people when it was originally printed in the newspaper. During the next couple months, I'm going to try and dig out my other "top ten" columns and post them on this blog. They are columns that people took the time to stop me on the street afterwards, and tell me the column made them laugh or chuckle in some fashion.
Coming on the heels of the longest legislative session in Oregon history, many political candidates are now gearing up for next year's elections: the May 2004 primary and the November 2004 general election.
In order to help the public stay well-informed, I've compiled the following list of expressions that you're likely to hear coming from the mouths of political candidates during the next twelve months. Accompanying the quotes is an interpreation of what's actually being said.
It's always dangerous to put something in print, because one's critics may someday dig up something you've said and distort one's message out of context. So, let me just say this is done tongue in cheek. If you see a shred of truth in what's printed below, that's great. Otherwise, take it for what it's worth: one political pundit's observations.
INCUMBENTS---
* "It's important to vote for me because I work as a team player with the other elected officials."
What they're really saying: "I go along with what the other bureaucrats are doing and do what they tell me to do."
* "I'm the candidate with the most experience at working in government."
What they're really saying: "It's important to keep bureaucrats in office, because the average person isn't capable of understanding the complexities of running the government."
* "I've got some unfinished business that I would like to see completed."
What they're really saying: "I've been unable to accomplish my goals in the 24 years I've been in office, so you might as well keep re-electing me to see if I'm ever successful."
* "It's important to put families first families first, make sure we have adequate police protection, and a well-funded school system to prepare our children for our future."
What they're really saying: "I like to say things that sound nice and get me votes, without actually explaining how I'm going to accomplish those nice goals. I'll be happy to kiss your baby if there's a camera nearby."
NEW CANDIDATES---
* "It's important to vote for me becaue we need some new blood in office."
What they're really saying: "I think the incumbent stinks, but I'm afraid to say what I really feel because I don't want anybody to accuse me of negative campaigning."
* "It's time for a change."
What they're really saying: "The incumbent has had his/her turn getting rich from the taxpayer slopping trough. Now it's my turn to be slopped."
UNIQUE TO DOUGLAS COUNTY CANDIDATES---
(Note: Douglas County Commissioner elections have changed to non-partisan races since this column was originally printed.)
* "I'm the Republican candidate."
What they're really saying: "I'm the candidate who is going to win the race."
* "I'm the Democrat candidate."
What they're really saying: "I'm the token candidate who threw my name into the ring at the last moment, just ot make sure our party's name was on the ballot."
* "I'm the Independent candidate."
What they're really saying: "I'm the candidate who has a bone to pick with how Douglas County government is run, but I can't get nominated by either one of the major parties."
* "I'm the candidate who is for private property rights."
What they're really saying: "I'm the candidate who wants to see prime farm pastureland torn up and replaced with building developments. My goal is to make the I-5 corridor through Douglas County one brig strip mall."
* "I've turned campaigning into a full-time job meeting the local voters."
What they're really saying: "I'm independently wealthy, so I don't have to worry about working a regular job while I schmooze the local voters."
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Wally World Video Closes After 30 Years
Background: Until now, I've posted columns that were previously published in the newspaper. This column is my first "new" contribution to the Monte Muirhead blog.
Wally World Video in Sutherlin will close the day before Thanksgiving. Beginning December 1st, they're going to sell everything in the store. The owner told me that with more people using Netflix and Redbox, it's becoming impossible for "brick-and-mortar" movie stores to remain in business. How sad!
I cut short two months my year-long stay in Brazil so that I could return home early for my American high school graduation. In Brazil, they don't have yearbooks, proms, or other senior-type festivities associated with the United States, so I was yearning to return to Oakland and share some of those activities before it was too late. I actually got my photo in the Oakland High School yearbook, because I was asked to give the benediction (or was it the invocation?) at graduation! I admit that I threw the audience into somewhat of a state of confusion when I began giving the same benediction in Portuguese after I gave it in English. Some people didn't know whether to sit down or remain standing. I hope the crowd didn't think I was speaking in tongues. :)
Back to WALLY WORLD VIDEO: I was excited and felt privilged when I was invited to attend a sleep-over with some other senior guys...Paul Wallman, Brent Parker, James Bird and myself...at a "barn" loft on Paul's parents' property. Some of us went over to Sutherlin to pick up some pizzas. I remember that Brent was chagrined to find pineapple had been added to one-half of one of the Canadian Bacon pizzas. I guess this was before the "Hawaiian" style of pizza had caught on in popularity..??..
We also went to Sutherlin to pick up some videos at WALLY WORLD VIDEO, which had just opened the year before (1983) inside a cramped building at the NE corner of Central Avenue and North Comstock street in Sutherlin. I selected Friday the 13th, Part Two. I didn't necessarily enjoy horror movies. However, during the ten months that I spent in Brazil, I did see my first horror flicks: The Shining and The Exorcist (o Exorcista in Portuguese). I was desperate to hear something in English, so I was forced to watch whatever American movies were playing at the theaters in Ribeirao Preto. I still remember that when I went to see the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again with some Brazilian friends, they couldn't believe that I actually LISTENED to the movie in English, instead of reading the Portuguese sub-titles like everyone else in the theater.
While Friday the 13th, Part Two, was playing during our sleepover at Paul Wallman's house, we stopped the movie for some reason. Perhaps I was going for another piece of Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza, I don't know. Anyway, we happened to stop the movie at a climactic point: It was where a teen-age boy was walking on his hands, upside-down in the hallway, and he comes across Jason. The boy sees a pair of feet on the floor, and he looks up in time to see the hockey-masked evildoer holding an axe, ready to bring it down between the boy's upright legs.
At this point, the movie was paused (back in the days of VHS tape). Brent Parker let out a cry of exclamation, because he knew what was going to happen during the next few seconds of the movie. Or perhaps he cried out because he'd accidentally bitten into a piece of pineapple, I'm not sure. I don't remember much else about our sleep-over at Paul Wallman's barn loft, except that it was one of the last times I had to enjoy a recreational experience with my classmates. And WALLY WORLD VIDEO helped contribute to that fond memory. :)
REEL-TO-REEL VIDEO in Sutherlin closed its doors, and tanning bed, earlier this year after its owner passed away. Come Demember 1st, 2013, WALLY WORLD VIDEO will close its doors and tanning bed after a 30-year-run. This will leave only one video store left in Sutherlin, Galaxy Video. And NO public tanning beds. Another era is coming to a close.
Wally World Video in Sutherlin will close the day before Thanksgiving. Beginning December 1st, they're going to sell everything in the store. The owner told me that with more people using Netflix and Redbox, it's becoming impossible for "brick-and-mortar" movie stores to remain in business. How sad!
I cut short two months my year-long stay in Brazil so that I could return home early for my American high school graduation. In Brazil, they don't have yearbooks, proms, or other senior-type festivities associated with the United States, so I was yearning to return to Oakland and share some of those activities before it was too late. I actually got my photo in the Oakland High School yearbook, because I was asked to give the benediction (or was it the invocation?) at graduation! I admit that I threw the audience into somewhat of a state of confusion when I began giving the same benediction in Portuguese after I gave it in English. Some people didn't know whether to sit down or remain standing. I hope the crowd didn't think I was speaking in tongues. :)
Back to WALLY WORLD VIDEO: I was excited and felt privilged when I was invited to attend a sleep-over with some other senior guys...Paul Wallman, Brent Parker, James Bird and myself...at a "barn" loft on Paul's parents' property. Some of us went over to Sutherlin to pick up some pizzas. I remember that Brent was chagrined to find pineapple had been added to one-half of one of the Canadian Bacon pizzas. I guess this was before the "Hawaiian" style of pizza had caught on in popularity..??..
We also went to Sutherlin to pick up some videos at WALLY WORLD VIDEO, which had just opened the year before (1983) inside a cramped building at the NE corner of Central Avenue and North Comstock street in Sutherlin. I selected Friday the 13th, Part Two. I didn't necessarily enjoy horror movies. However, during the ten months that I spent in Brazil, I did see my first horror flicks: The Shining and The Exorcist (o Exorcista in Portuguese). I was desperate to hear something in English, so I was forced to watch whatever American movies were playing at the theaters in Ribeirao Preto. I still remember that when I went to see the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again with some Brazilian friends, they couldn't believe that I actually LISTENED to the movie in English, instead of reading the Portuguese sub-titles like everyone else in the theater.
While Friday the 13th, Part Two, was playing during our sleepover at Paul Wallman's house, we stopped the movie for some reason. Perhaps I was going for another piece of Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza, I don't know. Anyway, we happened to stop the movie at a climactic point: It was where a teen-age boy was walking on his hands, upside-down in the hallway, and he comes across Jason. The boy sees a pair of feet on the floor, and he looks up in time to see the hockey-masked evildoer holding an axe, ready to bring it down between the boy's upright legs.
At this point, the movie was paused (back in the days of VHS tape). Brent Parker let out a cry of exclamation, because he knew what was going to happen during the next few seconds of the movie. Or perhaps he cried out because he'd accidentally bitten into a piece of pineapple, I'm not sure. I don't remember much else about our sleep-over at Paul Wallman's barn loft, except that it was one of the last times I had to enjoy a recreational experience with my classmates. And WALLY WORLD VIDEO helped contribute to that fond memory. :)
REEL-TO-REEL VIDEO in Sutherlin closed its doors, and tanning bed, earlier this year after its owner passed away. Come Demember 1st, 2013, WALLY WORLD VIDEO will close its doors and tanning bed after a 30-year-run. This will leave only one video store left in Sutherlin, Galaxy Video. And NO public tanning beds. Another era is coming to a close.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Halloween 2003
Background: I don't know why Halloween has a fascination for me, expect for the fact that I "appreciate" having it as a holiday in the United States, when it's not observed elsewhere in the world. In Brazil, it's known as "Dia das bruches" (Day of the witches), but there are no activities held like there are in the U.S.
This isn't one of my better columns, but it seemed only approprate to post this as one of my first entries, considering it's the ten-year anniversary since this column initially appeared in Sutherlin's North County News.
Halloween marks the beginning of when an endless stream of holiday deocrations come out of storage, and take their places greeting the public through the winter months. A small bust of Darth Vader has guarded our front door each Halloween since 1981. His eyes and light saber flicker a variety of colors, as three Christmas lights inside blink one and off. Well, at least it seemed cool when I purchased it my freshman year during ana FFA trip to the PI convention in Portland. Not bad for a $5.00 investment that still works after twenty years!
But Halloween just isn't what it used to be. (Forgive the Andy Rooney sarcasm.) Christmas used to be the only time when people decorated their houses with lights. That was before the greeting card companies and other merchandisers created a demand for Halloween lights. (At least my Darth Vader was a handmade decoration, not a mass-produced item.)
In my Halloween heydey, we'd set aside a day to spread out newspapers on the floor, pull out the gushy insides of a pumpkin, and carve jack-o-lanterns. House decorations included one-dimensional store-bought cut-outs of skeletons, witches, black cats, and scarecrows. BORING!
Today, people no longer need get their hands dirty with pumpkin slime. We now have Halloween lights to string around the house. And an artificial lighted pumplin eliminates the muss-n-fuss of carving your own.
But don't let me sound critical of others. I perfectly understand why jack-o-lanterns are gradually becoming extinct. Our family lost plenty of pumpkins over the years. No matter how close we put the jack-o-lanterns next to the front door, they'd inevitably disappear. We'd discover their remains the following morning, strewn over several blocks in front of our house.
Usually, the pumpkin bandits escaped without punishment. But occasionally justice would prevail. Such as the year when some genius unleashed a large pumpkin down high school hill (Fifth Street). The unrestrained gourd gained momentum rolling down two blocks of street before crashing into a car. Fortunately, the Oakland City Police were nearby and cited the juvenile for destruction of property.
Yes indeed, Oakland used to be a happening place Halloween night. As many as six Oakland City Police officers and reserves would patrol the streets in three different vehicles. One year, my older brother and his friend grabbed two pillowcases and solicited candy from every house in town before returning with their stash. Sixty-five or seventy trick-or-treaters would come to our house begging for candy. This year, only fifteen came to our door.
A few years back, I thought Halloween in Oakland needed a gimmick to revitalize trick-or-treating interest among children. So one year I answered the door with a pet red-tail draped around my neck. But after waiting 30-45 minutes between visits by trick-or-treaters, even my snake got bored with the (in)action.
Perhaps a different kind of candy would bring trick-or-treaters on the run? No more of those boring snickers bars or cheap candy necklaces to hand out. After sorting through the Oriental Trading Company Halloween candy catalog, I found just the thing: bottle caps and candy corn! Who could resist those long-forgotten candies?
But a different kind of candy didn't bring them on the run either. This year in desperation, I found the perfect novelty item to hand out Halloween night: plastic glow-in-the-dark handcuffs! Future years will determine whether a novelty toy will increase the number of trick-or-treaters at our door. But I doubt it.
Going from sixty-five to fifteen trick-or-treaters during the past twenty years, people can read what they want to from statistics. Perhaps fewer children are soliciting candy from strangers, because they're having to do just that....go to the doors of strangers. I believe fewer people know their neighbors and "who's who" in their community than in years past.
Or, as an offshoot of that, perhaps children are finding safer things to do Halloween even? Numerous churches host harvest festivals that feature free treats without the tricks. And some local schools now host Halloween activities during the early evening. I'm still trying to figure out why some believe it's unconstitutional to have Halloween or Christmas parties during shcool schools, but it's perfectly legal to have school-sanctioned holiday acitivites on public property during the evening. But that's a topic for another column.
Or perhaps Darth Vader is just scaring too many youngsters away. But don't worry; Darth will always have a place on the windowsill!
This isn't one of my better columns, but it seemed only approprate to post this as one of my first entries, considering it's the ten-year anniversary since this column initially appeared in Sutherlin's North County News.
Halloween marks the beginning of when an endless stream of holiday deocrations come out of storage, and take their places greeting the public through the winter months. A small bust of Darth Vader has guarded our front door each Halloween since 1981. His eyes and light saber flicker a variety of colors, as three Christmas lights inside blink one and off. Well, at least it seemed cool when I purchased it my freshman year during ana FFA trip to the PI convention in Portland. Not bad for a $5.00 investment that still works after twenty years!
But Halloween just isn't what it used to be. (Forgive the Andy Rooney sarcasm.) Christmas used to be the only time when people decorated their houses with lights. That was before the greeting card companies and other merchandisers created a demand for Halloween lights. (At least my Darth Vader was a handmade decoration, not a mass-produced item.)
In my Halloween heydey, we'd set aside a day to spread out newspapers on the floor, pull out the gushy insides of a pumpkin, and carve jack-o-lanterns. House decorations included one-dimensional store-bought cut-outs of skeletons, witches, black cats, and scarecrows. BORING!
Today, people no longer need get their hands dirty with pumpkin slime. We now have Halloween lights to string around the house. And an artificial lighted pumplin eliminates the muss-n-fuss of carving your own.
But don't let me sound critical of others. I perfectly understand why jack-o-lanterns are gradually becoming extinct. Our family lost plenty of pumpkins over the years. No matter how close we put the jack-o-lanterns next to the front door, they'd inevitably disappear. We'd discover their remains the following morning, strewn over several blocks in front of our house.
Usually, the pumpkin bandits escaped without punishment. But occasionally justice would prevail. Such as the year when some genius unleashed a large pumpkin down high school hill (Fifth Street). The unrestrained gourd gained momentum rolling down two blocks of street before crashing into a car. Fortunately, the Oakland City Police were nearby and cited the juvenile for destruction of property.
Yes indeed, Oakland used to be a happening place Halloween night. As many as six Oakland City Police officers and reserves would patrol the streets in three different vehicles. One year, my older brother and his friend grabbed two pillowcases and solicited candy from every house in town before returning with their stash. Sixty-five or seventy trick-or-treaters would come to our house begging for candy. This year, only fifteen came to our door.
A few years back, I thought Halloween in Oakland needed a gimmick to revitalize trick-or-treating interest among children. So one year I answered the door with a pet red-tail draped around my neck. But after waiting 30-45 minutes between visits by trick-or-treaters, even my snake got bored with the (in)action.
Perhaps a different kind of candy would bring trick-or-treaters on the run? No more of those boring snickers bars or cheap candy necklaces to hand out. After sorting through the Oriental Trading Company Halloween candy catalog, I found just the thing: bottle caps and candy corn! Who could resist those long-forgotten candies?
But a different kind of candy didn't bring them on the run either. This year in desperation, I found the perfect novelty item to hand out Halloween night: plastic glow-in-the-dark handcuffs! Future years will determine whether a novelty toy will increase the number of trick-or-treaters at our door. But I doubt it.
Going from sixty-five to fifteen trick-or-treaters during the past twenty years, people can read what they want to from statistics. Perhaps fewer children are soliciting candy from strangers, because they're having to do just that....go to the doors of strangers. I believe fewer people know their neighbors and "who's who" in their community than in years past.
Or, as an offshoot of that, perhaps children are finding safer things to do Halloween even? Numerous churches host harvest festivals that feature free treats without the tricks. And some local schools now host Halloween activities during the early evening. I'm still trying to figure out why some believe it's unconstitutional to have Halloween or Christmas parties during shcool schools, but it's perfectly legal to have school-sanctioned holiday acitivites on public property during the evening. But that's a topic for another column.
Or perhaps Darth Vader is just scaring too many youngsters away. But don't worry; Darth will always have a place on the windowsill!
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Remembering Oakland School District Field Trips
Background: This isn't an "official" blog entry. However, I don't have time to transcribe a regular column entry this week (I'm still using public internet facilities for another couple weeks), and because I didn't want anyone to think I had forgotten about my blog, here is some mindless rambling.
My nostalgia about the 24-hour barn prompted one of my Facebook friends to reflect on a sixth grade field trip to the local bowling alley in Sutherlin (another building where my father had done some sign painting). MY sixth grade class never went to the bowling alley (that I remember), but I do proudly remember all but one of yearly field trips, while attending Washington Elementary School and Lincoln Junior High school in Oakland...
First Grade Field Trip: we did walking field trips in town down to the Oakland Fire Department and to visit postmaster Val Davis at the Oakland Post Office.
Second Grade Field Trip: we rode the "Blue Goose" steam engine passenger train at Cottage Grove out to Dorena Lake.
Third Grade Field Trip: (?) We visited the electrical power facilities up the North Umpqua River at Toketee.
Fourth Grade Field Trip: We traveled to Springfield to see the "Freedom Train" and an afternoon tour at Williams Bakery in Eugene. Perhaps the biggest highlight was visiting McDonalds' at 1417 Villard Street in Eugene (where I would later work as a swing manager while I was in college), because Roseburg/Douglas County didn't yet have a McDonalds' in 1976!
Fifth Grade Field Trip was a three-day jaunt to visit various Portland landmarks (remember the Organ Grinder Pizza Parlor on 82nd street?).
Sixth Grade: FORESTRY EXPO TOUR next to the Glide disposal site.
Seventh Grade: (?).
Eighth Grade: We visited the state capitol in Salem AND and a springtime field trip to visit the "new" Roseburg Valley Mall (we were desperate to get out of class!).
My nostalgia about the 24-hour barn prompted one of my Facebook friends to reflect on a sixth grade field trip to the local bowling alley in Sutherlin (another building where my father had done some sign painting). MY sixth grade class never went to the bowling alley (that I remember), but I do proudly remember all but one of yearly field trips, while attending Washington Elementary School and Lincoln Junior High school in Oakland...
First Grade Field Trip: we did walking field trips in town down to the Oakland Fire Department and to visit postmaster Val Davis at the Oakland Post Office.
Second Grade Field Trip: we rode the "Blue Goose" steam engine passenger train at Cottage Grove out to Dorena Lake.
Third Grade Field Trip: (?) We visited the electrical power facilities up the North Umpqua River at Toketee.
Fourth Grade Field Trip: We traveled to Springfield to see the "Freedom Train" and an afternoon tour at Williams Bakery in Eugene. Perhaps the biggest highlight was visiting McDonalds' at 1417 Villard Street in Eugene (where I would later work as a swing manager while I was in college), because Roseburg/Douglas County didn't yet have a McDonalds' in 1976!
Fifth Grade Field Trip was a three-day jaunt to visit various Portland landmarks (remember the Organ Grinder Pizza Parlor on 82nd street?).
Sixth Grade: FORESTRY EXPO TOUR next to the Glide disposal site.
Seventh Grade: (?).
Eighth Grade: We visited the state capitol in Salem AND and a springtime field trip to visit the "new" Roseburg Valley Mall (we were desperate to get out of class!).
Thursday, October 3, 2013
24-Hour Barn Shuts Its Doors
Background: Originally published in the North County News about 10 years ago, after the 24-hour barn was painted over.
In the summer, of 2002, Roseburg resident Pete Nightingale paid tribute to a Sutherlin landmark. Here is an excerpt from his comments that appeared in the News-Review's Public Forum:
"...I have driven tractor trailer rigs for the past 15 years and I've covered most of the continental United States. Sutherlin is the only town I have ever seen to be graced with the likes of a 24-hour barn....
...When I come through Sutherlin, it serves as a landmark that I am almost home. It makes me feel warm inside to be able to see that building...
...That barn could be a national treasure, yet we have all taken it for granted simply because we live here, see it every day and don't assume it to be anything much...
...Now a street has been cut into the hill behind the barn and houses are being built. The barn will probably be torn down because people don't want to live next to a barn. Hey, the barn was there first. If you don't want to live by a barn, don't have your houses built there, but leave my barn alone!...
...My 24-hour barn - the only one I'll ever see in my lifetime - will have been torn down for the sake of progress..."
Nightingales's fears came to pass a couple of months ago. The 24-hour barn wasn't torn down, but it was painted over.
Shortly after Nightingales's letter was printed last year, I gave him a call. Nightingale told me he had talked with the owner of the barn, who assured him there were no plans to remove the 24-hour barn.
I guess the owner didn't want to risk having any protesters chain themselves to the barn, if he announced his remodeling plans in advance. Paint brushes would be no match against the fervor of 24-hour barn groupies clamoring around the structure one last time.
The 24-hour barn's colorful history dates back to the early 1970s. I remember the date well. Because I was born in 1966, and I was old enough to remember when my father, Milo Muirhead, painted the lettering on the barn. And I remember my mother got some free fuirts and begetables out of the deal.
The original sign contained three lines: "Farmers Market - Next Exit - 24 Hours." Several years after the sign came up, a four-by-eight piece of plywood containing part of the sign came down, leaving "24 Hours" all by itself on the barn. The owner at that time never bothered to have the barn re-painted.
My father gold me the wind had blown down the board, because it disappeared after the area had an unusually strong windstorm. However, one former owner said Lady Bird Johnson's clean highway policies from the 1960s, forced the removal of the sign in the 1970s.
Regardless of how it happened, the "24-hour" barn stood alone more than twenty-five years. Every time I'd drive by the barn, I'd always chuckle to myself, wondering what passers-by who didn't remember Farmer Market would think of "the barn that never closes." (2011 side note: One of my cohorts in the graduate program at the University of Oregon School of Education shocked me one day when she told me she thought the barn was racist, because some of her friends believed 24 hours was a warning sign and a holdover from days when people of a certain color had so many hours to leave the town!)
Farmers Market was located next to the former 4-Winds diner (not West Winds restaurant) at the south Sutherlin exit. An espresso stand and mobile home sale lot now occupy the same space. (2013 side note: Those businesses are now gone, too.) The Martin family initially opened their "Sutherlin Farms" produce stand on their Bingo Lane property off Nonpariel Road east of Sutherlin. My father even drove their egg truck a couple time up to the Willamette Valley, delivering Sutherlin Farms' fresh eggs to other retailers.
After glowing success with that venture, the Martins opened Farmers, Market, a completely enclosed 24-hour grocery store. The main building contained common household items and a bulk grain room off to the side. The enclosed, open-air structure in front of the main building contained gravel-floor aisles of locally-grown produce.
Long before fountain drinks became popular, Farmers Market was a great place to visit when one got the midnight munchies. And, you didn't always feel like they were robbing you with over-priced items like most 24-hour convenience stores of today. Long after the Martin family left the area, the 24-hour barn somehow kept Farmers Market alive.
I am sad to see the 24-hour barn disappear. It was one of the last visible signs of my late father's sign-painting days in Douglas County (1960-1991). His only other remaining sign work still standing is the Mohr Well Drilling barn at Wilbur, and the treated three-dimensional "B-O-W-L" plywood leers attached to the former Westwood Lanes bowling alley in Sutherlin. (2013 side note: That bowling alley is gone now, too, replaced by a McDonald's and a shopping plaza with a Dutch Bros. coffee stand).
Those signs will probably soon disappear as well. Progress forces change upon all of us. But in case the Sutherlin Tourism Committee ever runs out of ideas on how to spend its money, may I suggest erecting another 24-hour barn? If a truck driver from Roseburg found solace from the structure, I wonder how many other I-5 travelers looked forward to visiting Sutherlin, because we were the only place in the United States with a barn that never closes?
In the summer, of 2002, Roseburg resident Pete Nightingale paid tribute to a Sutherlin landmark. Here is an excerpt from his comments that appeared in the News-Review's Public Forum:
"...I have driven tractor trailer rigs for the past 15 years and I've covered most of the continental United States. Sutherlin is the only town I have ever seen to be graced with the likes of a 24-hour barn....
...When I come through Sutherlin, it serves as a landmark that I am almost home. It makes me feel warm inside to be able to see that building...
...That barn could be a national treasure, yet we have all taken it for granted simply because we live here, see it every day and don't assume it to be anything much...
...Now a street has been cut into the hill behind the barn and houses are being built. The barn will probably be torn down because people don't want to live next to a barn. Hey, the barn was there first. If you don't want to live by a barn, don't have your houses built there, but leave my barn alone!...
...My 24-hour barn - the only one I'll ever see in my lifetime - will have been torn down for the sake of progress..."
Nightingales's fears came to pass a couple of months ago. The 24-hour barn wasn't torn down, but it was painted over.
Shortly after Nightingales's letter was printed last year, I gave him a call. Nightingale told me he had talked with the owner of the barn, who assured him there were no plans to remove the 24-hour barn.
I guess the owner didn't want to risk having any protesters chain themselves to the barn, if he announced his remodeling plans in advance. Paint brushes would be no match against the fervor of 24-hour barn groupies clamoring around the structure one last time.
The 24-hour barn's colorful history dates back to the early 1970s. I remember the date well. Because I was born in 1966, and I was old enough to remember when my father, Milo Muirhead, painted the lettering on the barn. And I remember my mother got some free fuirts and begetables out of the deal.
The original sign contained three lines: "Farmers Market - Next Exit - 24 Hours." Several years after the sign came up, a four-by-eight piece of plywood containing part of the sign came down, leaving "24 Hours" all by itself on the barn. The owner at that time never bothered to have the barn re-painted.
My father gold me the wind had blown down the board, because it disappeared after the area had an unusually strong windstorm. However, one former owner said Lady Bird Johnson's clean highway policies from the 1960s, forced the removal of the sign in the 1970s.
Regardless of how it happened, the "24-hour" barn stood alone more than twenty-five years. Every time I'd drive by the barn, I'd always chuckle to myself, wondering what passers-by who didn't remember Farmer Market would think of "the barn that never closes." (2011 side note: One of my cohorts in the graduate program at the University of Oregon School of Education shocked me one day when she told me she thought the barn was racist, because some of her friends believed 24 hours was a warning sign and a holdover from days when people of a certain color had so many hours to leave the town!)
Farmers Market was located next to the former 4-Winds diner (not West Winds restaurant) at the south Sutherlin exit. An espresso stand and mobile home sale lot now occupy the same space. (2013 side note: Those businesses are now gone, too.) The Martin family initially opened their "Sutherlin Farms" produce stand on their Bingo Lane property off Nonpariel Road east of Sutherlin. My father even drove their egg truck a couple time up to the Willamette Valley, delivering Sutherlin Farms' fresh eggs to other retailers.
After glowing success with that venture, the Martins opened Farmers, Market, a completely enclosed 24-hour grocery store. The main building contained common household items and a bulk grain room off to the side. The enclosed, open-air structure in front of the main building contained gravel-floor aisles of locally-grown produce.
Long before fountain drinks became popular, Farmers Market was a great place to visit when one got the midnight munchies. And, you didn't always feel like they were robbing you with over-priced items like most 24-hour convenience stores of today. Long after the Martin family left the area, the 24-hour barn somehow kept Farmers Market alive.
I am sad to see the 24-hour barn disappear. It was one of the last visible signs of my late father's sign-painting days in Douglas County (1960-1991). His only other remaining sign work still standing is the Mohr Well Drilling barn at Wilbur, and the treated three-dimensional "B-O-W-L" plywood leers attached to the former Westwood Lanes bowling alley in Sutherlin. (2013 side note: That bowling alley is gone now, too, replaced by a McDonald's and a shopping plaza with a Dutch Bros. coffee stand).
Those signs will probably soon disappear as well. Progress forces change upon all of us. But in case the Sutherlin Tourism Committee ever runs out of ideas on how to spend its money, may I suggest erecting another 24-hour barn? If a truck driver from Roseburg found solace from the structure, I wonder how many other I-5 travelers looked forward to visiting Sutherlin, because we were the only place in the United States with a barn that never closes?
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