"Behind the Scenes"

We've been working hard to find out the details of why the Port of Coos Bay no longer has its line of credit to purchase the Coos Bay Rail Line. Bob Larson has been hard at it all week to get comments from the Port or from Umpqua Bank, but both sides are just not willing to talk publicly about what happened.

And thats understandable. To their credit (no pun intended) officials with both sides have at least spoken with us about the sensitivity of the situation, but in very vague terms and only off the record.

Even when we've had the chance to talk with Congressman DeFazio, Rep Hanna or Sen Kruse, the message is: alots going on, its just all very deep behind the scenes.

My take: Sometimes people involved in a highly sensitive situation will talk to us and tell us everything - as long as its off the record. Sometimes they don't. Its fun being in a position to hear it all. And for those of you who think reporters should never go off the record? You'd never last if that was your policy. No one would ever trust you with anything.



Speaking of working behind the scenes...

Don't be fooled by people who think its significant when a third party is asked to investigate a possible criminal case.

Douglas County DA Rick Wesenberg sent this possible interference case involving former Commissioner Kittelman to Jackson County in order to avoid conflict of interest or even the perception of conflict of interest.

Its not because he didn't think it was worthy of his attention or because there is no case.

There may not even be charges filed.

In other, more serious situations like a police shooting or harrassment case, the investigations are always done by an outside entity. That way the jury gets information from someone who does not have a working relationship with anyone involved.



Douglas County takes cases from other places all the time. Its routine.



And in regards to ending up in the news because people know who you are:
Athletes scream about this all the time. Its news when someone famous gets in any kind of trouble at all. Ask every ball player who ever got booked for DUII or domestic assault or speeding. They always say "If my last name were Smith no one would care!"

Thats exactly right. But if you are famous, everyone cares and it is news. Thats the difference between when Mickey Mantle played ball and today. Everybody cares and eyes are everywhere...



And one more thing. If you have had your license suspended and are driving without insurance and get stopped by an OSP trooper...don't try to pull a fast one and claim you don't have a name or birthdate.

The cops can figure out both of those things by the time they book you in jail.

Learning to Blog

Uh-oh. It happened.
Its been a week since my last blog.
Typical, huh?
Get your blog up, go gung-ho for a week or so and then it just becomes 'another thing to do' in a busy day.
Same thing happened with my Facebook page.
I spent two hours on it one Saturday and just kind of go back once-in-a-while.
Some people apparently live every moment online.
Not me.
In fact, if I was thinking ahead a bit this weekend (big if) I would have taken pictures of two of my girls and I at the Sunrise Enterprises auction to post on this blog.
But then, it would have left photographic evidence that my 13 year old was hanging out with a bunch of people trying to figure out how much they would spend on a pallet of leftover John Deere tractor cowlings.
Not her kind of scene.
I did snag a decent desk for said daughter for $5.
I ran into John Sowell, who was excited about buying Gordon Smith's (alleged) credenza from the Capitol building for like 20 bucks.
Well, I'm sure my daughter's desk was once inhabited by a Norm Gershon staffer.

Over the weekend I also was happy to know that my dog, Dottie has found a safe, new home.
She was getting a little anxious at our house. Five people and two other smaller dogs in a 1400 square foot house is a lot of bodies and not a lot of room.
With my increasing schedule and less time to get her out, we came to the decision to find her a new home.
My family said goodbye to her a couple of weeks ago and thanks to a very gracious friend with room at his place, we were able to let her hang out at a wide open ranch until a new home could be found.

Thats where Cheryl Donahoo and the Douglas County Humane Society comes in.
I've gotten to know Cheryl over the years through interviews on the radio about all the great stuff the Humane Society does.
I called her to ask her to put feelers out for a new home for my dog and within a couple of days, we found two or three people who wanted her. Wow!
Dottie is in good hands at a house thats better than what she had here.
She was a Hall of Fame dog for us, but deserved better and thanks to Cheryl and the Humane Society I know Dottie actually is in a better place!

I wish more people would use services like those offered by Cheryl and her friends instead of turning dogs loose or putting them down.

30 Days to Oregon Baseball!

I attended a meeting at the University of Oregon yesterday to nail down details of how the Duck Baseball schedule will lay out. We talked over the pre-game show, equipment needs and the plan for the broadcasts themselves.

I will be doing 15 of the first 17 games solo, including the first four in Morgana California February 20-22. (There is a Saturday doubleheader).

After we took care of those details, Jerry and I were given a tour of the new ballpark.

This is a (bad) shot of the light standard in right field as it went up yesterday.

Wow!

There will be four of these just behind the outfield wall.

The lines are down and the mounds were being installed as we watched. They use transits and lasers to make sure the distances are perfect.

This is home plate, with the batting cage in place - just waiting for the first batting practice session. Thats not real grass. Thats not actual dirt, either. Looks good, eh?
There will be alot of seating right behind home plate. That low wall (and some netting) will be all that seperates the crowd from the field.

Finally, this first season will have temporary bleachers for the fans.

This tiny pic is looking down the left field line.
That black post will hold the wire that the netting hangs on.

The scaffolds to the right are the first base stands. They go up quite high.

I guess the press facility will be up there, too.

I can't believe how fortunate I am to be part of this endeavour.

Both Jerry and I feel the same way.

After our tour, we both just had to stand there and look at the field and shake our heads at how big this is. How many times have you seen a program pop up right out of thin air?

I want the season to start tomorrow, but I'll bet these workers (and the team) would like more time to prepare.

Its gonna get here soon.

Behind the Scenes of the First Cit's Banquet

Of Toilet Paper and Proud Parents....

Turnout was solid and the crowd was lively at last night's First Citizens Banquet.
It is a big honor for me to be part of the show.
Norm Gershon is a fun guy to be around, especially during his rants about losing all of his 60's ideals.

It was my idea to tackle Costco in the open, but Norm came up with the idea of bringing toilet paper.
We weren't sure if we should go there, but then Norm added Joyce to the mix and I think that whole thing came off well. My favorite moment all night was the warm applause Joyce received from the audience when she introduced herself.
She admitted to being a bit worried about the whole bit, but after it was over, I think the whole thing meant alot to her.

Somebody snagged the TP during dinner. Dangit. We were gonna have alot more fun with that gag during the rest of the program....Oh well, it's probably better that way.

If it wasn't for that scene with Joyce Morgan, my favorite moment of the night would have been when all five Future First Citizens (all girls!, btw) were standing on the podium and Norm asked their parents to stand.
Holy cow! Just thinking about that again brings the waterworks.
Those girls are all going to be successful and when I see that whole thing on DVD later, the segment with their video interviews will fire me up again!!!
Congratulations to Lauren Terry, the Future First Citizen.
Lauren also won Junior Miss last year. I also have emceed that big event and have gotten to know her a little bit. Well deserved Lauren!

Finally, congratulations to Roberta Hall and Bob Ragon.
I cannot believe Bob took time in his speech to dig me. Lifetime achievement award, thousands of people to thank and he teases me about the Ducks. Wow.

Out by 8:39! Thats gotta be a record.

And now the exciting conclusion to....

You Make The Call: The Barbershop Battle!
When we left our story, Brian was squaring off with a man who had to walk past him into a barbershop where Brian thought he had already established his place in line.

Oh, Brian was on the phone.

(Yes, but I was talking to my mom.)

And hadn't actually gone inside yet.

(But I was there five minutes before him.)

When it came time for one of us to get into the chair, the fellow looked at me and asked (rather bluntly) "Did you set foot inside this barbershop before I did?"

I said I didn't come inside because I was on the phone, but that I was clearly there before him.

He said "Then logically, I should go first."

He took off his hat and sat in the chair.

By then, I had already decided that if the guy wanted to go first so badly it wasn't worth a fight.

I had already let it go.

So when he got done and paid and left (without another word to me or the barber) the fun really began.


It was fine that I wasn't ahead of the guy anymore, but this whole episode begs the question:

What did I have to do to establish my place in line to get a haircut?

Sit in the place and talk to my mom?

Walk in, check in with the barber and then step outside?

Hang up and not talk on my phone or take a call while I waited? (There were four guys waiting ahead of me)

I was clearly living in a Barbershop Etiquitte 101 class.
I expected Cosmo Kramer to appear at any moment.

He didn't.

But a couple more guys came in and sat down.
One was an older fella. The other was the deputy and is appearing in People magazine in a weight loss challenge.

Because I wanted to know what I did wrong, I presented the (fascinating) story to them.

The old timer said I was right not to have pushed it with the guy and the deputy said the other guy should have gone first. The older man agreed.

I was 0-for-2.

Since then, every single person has said he should have gone first.

Well, next time I'm in that situation, I'll do things differently.

I'll tackle anyone who walks past me while I'm on the phone.

43 Days to Baseball...Behind the Scenes of the First Citizens Banquet...You Make the Call

43 Days to Baseball
The Oregon Ducks open their first baseball season in 28 years in 43 days (Feb 20 at St Mary's of California) in case anyone is counting.

Behind the Scenes of the First Citizens Banquet
I have once again been asked to host the First Citizens Banquet. In my opinion, thats as close as I will ever get to being the First Citizen, and it means almost as much to me.
Norm Gershon and I will co-emcee the big show.
What a cool night. Long, but cool.
The only thing an emcee is judged on for an event like the First Cit is: What time did everyone get out of there.
I hope everyone else's speeches are short so Norm and I look good at the end.

You Make the Call
So I finally got to my favorite (and only) barbershop for a haircut.
As I approached the door, my mom called me on my cell phone, so I stood outside and chatted with her for a few minutes. While I am talking, a fellow walks right past me, goes inside and sits down.
I finished my call, went in and sat down next to him.
Which one of us should have gotten to go first when the chair opened up?

Send me a comment and I'll post the results and later, I'll relay what happened.

Happy New Year!

The new year started off with a bang on Monday with the swearing-in of Susan Morgan as Douglas County Commissioner.

For a guy who has had to physically force himself to walk into the Douglas County Courthouse from time to time, going through the doors this morning was remarkably easy.

From what I found inside the courthouse, it seems others had the same experience.

Light-hearted laughter greeted me as I crested the small set of stairs and turned right towards the Commissioners' meeting room.

That hasn't happened in years.

And, by the way, that is not a cheap shot at the outgoing regime.

Its a fact.

Even on days when good things happened, people were a bit reluctant to let loose.
No matter which side they happened to be on.

I remember covering the Commissioners with Joyce Morgan, Mike Winters and Doug Robertson. I remember being welcomed - and being able to get a quote from any of the three about anything.

Maybe I'm becoming jaded, but I don't think it will ever go back to the way it was.
Because it can also be a bad thing for all three Commissioners are too friendly with the press.
What if I have to request a public record from one of the current three Commissioners?
What if I have to play hardball to see if the public trust is being threatened?

I know what will happen.

I'll have complete cooperation - as long as there is nothing to hide.
And why should a county commissioner hide something? If their ideas, proposals or actions are above board, they should stand up to whatever scrutiny I can generate.

Would any of the current three commissioners have the audacity to try to pull something over on the county, deny it AND attempt to carry on as if nothing happened?

I hope not.

This is not just about the Board of Commissioners.
If anyone representing an agency I have a good working relationship with (DSCO, Roseburg Police, the DA's Office) tried to take advantage of our comraderie while pulling a fast one on the people - and I caught wind of it - I would do the same thing I have done in the past.

Shine light on it.

If the exposure kills it - or brings more scrutiny - I've done my job.

Whether we stay friends or not.