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’
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300 COUNTRY CLUB RD., STE. 290 • EUGENE, OR 97401 • (541) 868-2008
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to Dentistry
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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.
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(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