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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2007)
been set up at Oregon Community Credit Union. A website with photos, a flickr slideshow and remembrances by family and friends can be found at moonwa- ter13.blogspot.com Writers on the site refer to her beauty and kindness and her “radiance, wisdom and vitality.” ‘KEEP OREGON AWESOME’ WELLNESS CENTERED DENTISTRY 300 COUNTRY CLUB RD., STE. 290 • EUGENE, OR 97401 • (541) 868-2008 A Holistic Approach to Dentistry Individual care for individual people At Wellness Centered Dentistry we take the time to find out what is important to you so that together we can design a lifetime strategy for achieving and maintaining a beautiful healthy smile. Call today and experience the extraordinary people and unique setting that only Wellness Centered Dentistry can provide. (541) 868-2008 DR. ROB WHICKER “Because the Mouth Bone is Connected to the Body Bone” She combines a perky Midwestern friend- liness with the kind of idealism you find only in Eugene. U.S. Senate hopeful Candy Neville is making the Democratic race to de- feat incumbent Republican Gordon Smith even more fun. She was the first Democrat to put her name in the hat for the Senate race but remains one of the least known. Until now. Neville officially started her campaign in Eugene the weekend of Nov. 16 with small gatherings at the UO campus and Skinner Butte Park. Even fitness guru-candidate Pavel Goberman had gotten more press than Neville before this week. Goberman pro- claims: “Be Healthy, Get Fit, Be Energized, Vote for Me!” He went before Portland’s City Council to chide them for not taking up his 3-minute fitness workout and to try to persuade them to revoke The Oregonian’s business license for not reporting on him. Neville points out that she’s different from the other candidates, well-known and not. Rather than just talk about replacing politicians like Smith, she says that she wants to get the attention of the people who are in office “right now” who can do some- thing about the war in Iraq. She is indeed different from other Democratic candidates such as experienced state lawmaker Jeff Merkley and hook- wielding lawyer Steve Novick. She admits that some of her ideas “almost sound Pollyanna-ish,” such as her plan to market Oregon’s timber as a “designer label” in order to both save trees and promote indus- try. But, she points out, “People make a lot of money following ideas like that.” It’s part of her plan to “keep Oregon awesome.” Neville describes her work background (including a one time stint as a door-to door pie seller) as entrepreneurial. She has been a real estate agent and developed a small sub- division here. And as wide-eyed as she seems, she’s got the savvy to skirt questions on downtown development, saying, “Eugene and all towns have to grow and prosper.” Neville has no political background in political office and no staff. According to blogger Kari Chisholm on the progressive political website BlueOregon, “she’s not a serious candidate” because she doesn’t have a fundraising account with them. She does have a MySpace page with a “deter- mined” smiley face emoticon and encour- aging messages from her daughter. She also managed to get both the R-G and the Oregonian to cover her recent cam- paign kick-off, which is pretty impressive for what many call a “fringe candidate.” The R-G acknowledges that Neville’s hus- band is an editorial writer for the paper. Mainly what Neville has is a whole lot of optimism and a mission to end the war in Iraq and “stop the rising death tolls.” She’s not a one-issue candidate, she says. She sees health care and mass transit as big issues. In fact, she plans to try to use the bus and trains as much as possible dur- ing her campaign. She’s also interested in education and programs for foster children. “A strong candidate can’t be an ignorant candidate,” she says. Everyone needs to “lift a finger,” says Neville. This mother of three, a former Quaker minister, felt that the current war and possible plans to attack Iran meant it was time to do a little more. “It’s a wonder- ful time to have a campaign,” she says. “People have to be active and have to stand up.”— Camilla Mortensen BY PAUL NEEVEL KARA PENNIMAN “My co-workers wouldn’t recognize me,” says Kara Penniman, by day a social worker at Churchill and South Eugene high schools. “I help kids and families in crisis. It’s what I always wanted to do.” Four nights a week, Penniman transforms into Burnadeath of the Flat Track Furies when the Emerald City Roller Girls work out at the Regional Sports Center in Springfield. Last winter, when Penniman was feeling lonely and low, her sister in Baltimore suggested she look at roller derby. “A group of us saw the Rose City Rollers in Portland, and I was hooked,” she says. “I hadn’t exercised in 20 years.” Emails and a post on Craig’s List drew six people to a first meeting in January. Ten months later, ECRG has grown to 75 mem- bers and three teams, plus an additional 25 newbies or “fresh meat,” according to league founder and President Burnadeath. “Most of us had never played team sports before,” she says. “We like to say, ‘Roller derby saved my soul.’” ECRG’s first public bout, in October, sold out in 30 minutes. The next is set for Feb. 17. Learn how you can be fresh meat at emeraldcityrollergirls.com 12 NOVEMBER 21, 2007
