Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2019)
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Bull by Bull By Judy Bull Columnist " The late Pulitzer Prize- winning author Russell Baker wrote, <The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists rec- ognize you as a tourist.= To that end, while I was waiting for a train in Germany long years ago, an American act- ing badly asked me if I spoke English, to which I replied, <Nein= all the while with an English edition of Time Magazine opened in my lap. " During this same pil- grimage across the pond, The Eagles had a popular song whose line, <Every form of refuge has its price,= spoke directly to my heart. Looking back, at that point in my life I had taken refuge traipsing around the UK, Scandinavia and Europe for months on end in a 962 VW Bus. The price of my refuge was one of the best investments I have ever made in my life. " Judy Gage, my friend of 50 years, is a Santa Rosa fire survivor, a caregiver to her husband, a loving daughter to her 94-year-old mother, and a horse-lover through and through. When I sent her photos of icicles hanging off my horse Riddle, she sent me a photo of her washing her horse9s feet before sta- bling her for the night. Two very different ways to live the good life. " One of the saddest sounds I know is hearing the whine of a winch doing its job: pulling. Whether it9s a tow truck at the scene of an accident up on the pass or the winch on a large-animal disposal truck, like as not, something has gone terribly wrong. I9ve heard winches on both rigs. That sad, whin- ing sound and the empty space left behind is forever etched on my heart. " When he wasn9t wearing a cowboy hat, Vernon most always had on a snap-down-flat cap which I9m given to don on all cold mornings, while the warm- ing fire heats the house we built together. Though we didn9t literally pound the nails on my log home, we poured over the architectural drawings for hours on end, Vernon having majored in architecture at UC Berkeley before going off to World War II. Making those design decisions together was one of the most rewarding parts of having my home built. Thirty years later, I wouldn9t change a thing. " When I heard a man on Art Wolfe9s Travels to the Edge say, <You gotta wanna be where you are,= I so agreed. He was talking about the rewards for the effort of kayaking the coves of Lake Powell and I thought about the rewards for kayaking the coves of life. 23 EDCO lists region’s largest employers Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) has released the 2019 list of largest Central Oregon employers, complete with breakouts of the top employ- ers in each Central Oregon community. This data, col- lected by EDCO annually for the past 20 years, is the most comprehensive major employer list in Central Oregon. This year, the top 50 private companies collec- tively employ more than 21,000 Central Oregonians, or roughly 21.5 percent of the region9s current total employment of 99,400 as of Q1 2019. St. Charles Health System tops the list again, employing over 4,400 people region-wide. According to Damon Runberg, regional economist at the Oregon Employment Department, 78 percent of Oregon establishments had nine or fewer employees and the average private establish- ment employed 11 people in 2018. <This data shows that although Central Oregon attracts many large employ- ers, we are still a region dominated by smaller busi- nesses,= said Elise Rossman, director of marketing and communications for EDCO. Note: Data for the lists is self-reported and not audited, so are only to be used as an informational guideline. Some businesses chose not to participate in these lists and are therefore excluded. A push to drop nonunanimous jury verdicts By Andrew Selsky Associated Press PORTLAND (AP) 4 After a jury convicted an Oregon man of having sex with a passed-out partygoer, one of the jurors left the court- house and wept. Cash Spencer and three other jurors believed the defendant was innocent, but after a lunch break, one changed her mind. Hours later, another changed her vote to guilty, saying she had to take care of her children and didn9t want to return the next day, according to Spencer. That put the number of guilty votes at 10 4 enough to convict Olan Williams of felony sodomy, condemning him to a mandatory minimum eight years in prison. The vote of Spencer, the only African American on the jury in which the defendant was also black, meant nothing. Oregon is the only state PIZZA in America that allows nonu- nanimous jury convictions. Voters in Louisiana, the only other state that had adopted it, scrapped it in 2018. Now, momentum is build- ing for the same in Oregon, with several lawmakers sponsoring a ballot measure to eliminate an amendment to the state constitution that allows nonunanimous ver- dicts. In addition, a Louisiana case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court could have far-reaching effects in Oregon. <We have evolved, and it9s time for our criminal justice system to reform and to move ahead,= state Sen. James Manning Jr., co-sponsor of a resolution that would put the issue on the ballot in the 2020 election, told The Associated Press. The amendment allowing split-jury verdicts has roots in white nationalism. In 1933, Jacob Silverman, a Portland hotel proprietor • C A L Z O N E • S A L A D • B E E R & W I N E NOW SERVING ! ce Pizza by the Sli Pizza Delivery, too! Made-from-scratch dough g SHULERS’ PIZZERIA www.shulerspizzeria.com 442 E. Hood Ave., Sisters • 541-549-1960 Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. • Sunday 12-7 p.m. with a sketchy past, was on trial for the murder of a small-time crook. Eleven jurors believed he was guilty, but one voted for acquittal. They settled on convicting Silverman, a Jew, of a lesser manslaughter charge. He was sentenced to three years, which caused a stir. Anti-minority sentiment was prevalent in Oregon. The Ku Klux Klan even helped elect a governor a few years earlier. In an edito- rial, the Morning Oregonian newspaper, which cov- ered Silverman9s trial, said the <vast immigration into America from southern and eastern Europe, of people untrained in the jury system, have combined to make the jury of twelve increasingly unwieldy and unsatisfactory.= The Legislature put the issue on the ballot, and vot- ers passed it in 1934, allow- ing 10-2 verdicts for crimes except first-degree murder convictions. GRAPHIC PROVIDED Carpet • Upholstery • Tile Grout • Area Rug• Hardwood Granite & Tile Polishing g Look for us on the Web at BendCarpetCare.com Thank you for your business! LOCAL FOR 24 YEARS! Licensed, Bonded & Insured 541-549-1175 541-815-1208