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.