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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2022
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Oregon comic book series
highlights emergency readiness
Adam Duvernay
Register-Guard
USA TODAY NETWORK
A new comic book in a series de-
signed to inform teens what they should
during natural disasters and emergen-
cies was released this month, this one
focused on wildfires.
The Oregon Office of Emergency
Management and Dark Horse Comics,
the publisher of titles such as “Hellboy,”
have released the third comic in the
“Without Warning!” series. The comic
was about earthquakes in the 2014 edi-
tion and tsunamis in the 2016 edition.
“Without Waring!: Wildfire” features
its characters hiking and camping in a
Pacific Northwest wilderness area who
are forced to flee for their lives to escape
a quickly moving wildfire, according to
an announcement about the book’s re-
lease. The comic is supposed to teach
readers how to protect themselves, their
loved ones and wildlands when wild-
fires break out.
“The ‘Without Warning!’ comic book
series began because we found that
many public education publications
struggled to resonate with younger au-
diences,” said Althea Rizzo, OEM Geo-
logic Hazards Program coordinator.
“The series has been a huge hit.”
The comic book series originated
with OEM’s Geologic Hazards program,
which works with partners to create
tools and programs to make Oregon
more resilient to disasters, according to
Where to get it
“Without Warning! Wildfire” is
available to read for free at Dark Horse
Digital, OEM’s website and on iOS and
Android apps. It is also available on
Kindle, Comixology, Google Play and
Apple Books.
County emergency management
offices, Clackamas Community
College and Keep Oregon Green offer
the comic’s print edition in English and
Spanish.
the release. The series has distributed
around the Pacific Northwest and has
been adapted for other regions to pro-
mote readiness across the United
States.
The latest issue was produced in
collaboration with OEM, the Oregon
Department of Forestry, Dark Horse
Comics, Clackamas Community Col-
lege and Keep Oregon Green.
“Smokey Bear offers a variety of
educational options for young chil-
dren, but it’s been challenging to find
engaging and creative resources to
talk with teens and young adults about
wildfire prevention,” Kristin Babbs,
president and CEO of the Keep Oregon
Green Association, said in a news re-
lease. “This comic book fills that im-
portant gap.”
Contact reporter Adam Duvernay
at
aduvernay@registerguard.com.
Follow on Twitter @DuvernayOR.
The Oregon
Office of
Emergency
Management
and Dark
Horse Comics
have released
the third
comic in the
“Without
Warning!”
series. The
most recent
edition is
focused on
wildfire
response and
preparedness.
OREGON OFFICE
OF EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT
Steve O’Harra with his collection of political buttons at home in Salem. BRIAN
HAYES / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Salem collectors
maintain tiny, round
pieces of history
Claire Withycombe
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
The button that started Carl Fish-
er’s collection of thousands was a gift.
Nearly 20 years ago, Fisher’s aunt
gave him a simple red button with the
name “MORSE” in white lettering.
It dated from 1972, when Wayne
Morse, the party-shifting Oregon poli-
tician, tried to regain the U.S. Senate
seat after he lost in 1968.
Fisher now estimates his collection
has grown to about 4,000 or 5,000
buttons.
He’s also the organizer of the Ore-
gon chapter of the American Political
Items Collectors, a group for collectors
of political memorabilia.
The Oregon chapter boasts roughly
25 members who pay dues to the na-
tional organization. There are more
people who collect political memora-
bilia but don’t officially belong to the
organization, Fisher said.
Most members focus on buttons. In
so doing, they keep alive what were
supposed to be fleeting trinkets of the
campaign season.
“You can walk into any secondhand
store, antique shop and still find but-
tons from the 1940s,” Fisher said.
“That’s just fascinating, that there were
so many made that you’re still able to
find them all these years later. Because
these are ephemeral. They were meant
to be used and tossed.”
Across the state and country, enthu-
siastic collectors chase down buttons
from the history of American politics,
reaching back to the patenting of the
pin-back button in 1896.
A childhood interest continues
One such collector is Steve O’Harra,
of Salem, whose collection includes
some specimens from the early days of
the button.
O’Hara said he started collecting po-
litical items when he was a freshman, in
1968.
One of his favorite is a gold bug with
wings that flip out to display pictures of
President William McKinley and his
1896 running mate, Garret Hobart.
(They were so-called because McKinley
supported maintaining the gold
standard).
Born in 1952, O’Harra also likes to col-
lect buttons from candidates who ran
See BUTTONS, Page 4A
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