The Philomath Express from Philomath, Oregon • A4

A4 Wednesday, April 8, 2015 www.philomathexpress.com Send letters to the editor: By mail to the Philomath Express, P.O. Box 338, Philomath, OR 97370 By email to brad.fuqua@philomathexpress.com By fax to 541-758-9505 Publisher: Jeff General manager: Mike Editor: Brad One of the reasons we thought this would be the perfect time to start a weekly newspaper in Philomath was the ines- capable sense that really good things are starting to happen in this town. The latest proof of that is on the front page of Express: Soft Star Shoes, a longtime Corvallis business, is rehabilitating the old Phil-O-Rama skating rink at 914 Main St. A year or so from now, Soft employees will be making the custom shoes that are the stock in trade in that building. And for the Phil-O- Rama building long noted for the rainbow on its facade it will be the start of another chapter in its long history.

There many roller rinks in the mid- valley any more, and the Phil-O-Rama had a decent run: The rink opened in 1950 and closed in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Since then, the build- ing has been used as a flea market when the rainbow was painted on it) and as the offices for the ARC non- profit agency. But it has stood vacant for two decades, until Tricia Salcido, the CEO of Soft Star, took a look at the building and saw its potential. like knowing going to have movement and foot-related activ- ity here she told a reporter a reference to the roller- rink days. guessing that she also saw plenty of move- ment in Philomath as well, and that she liked what she saw.

Alan Ayres, a business- man, property owner and one-man work crew, is working to rehab the struc- ture. When the work is done, the 20 or so workers will move into their new home. Visitors will be able to watch as shoes are made, and Philomath will have another anchor business. And the rainbow? Ayres says he plans to figure out a way to reuse that as well. only fitting: That rainbow watched over Philomath during some tough times.

It seems only fair it should get a chance to shine again, in full glory, now that good things are happening all through the town. Soft Star gives lift to Philomath ANDY CRIPE, Philomath ExPrEss Soft Star Shoes co-owner Tricia Salcido stands behind the skate counter at the old skating rink in Philomath. Once the building is renovated, Soft Star Shoes will move into the building. Before we start today, a word of caution: Despite the arrest of a suspect in last fire at South Albany High School, there still is much we know about the case and the sus- pect, 28-year-old Zachary Lee Burghart. But some of what we know so far: Burghart is accused of tossing a lit cigarette into a Dumpster situated near a wall of the cafeteria building.

Flames from the Dumpster quickly climbed the walls of the building. It take long for fire to claim the entire building. The blaze was so intense that none of the 70 firefighters on the scene entered the building to fight it, fear- ful that the building had become so unstable that it would collapse. Shortly thereafter, prosecutors say, he started a fire in propane tanks attached to a travel trailer parked at a residence near the school; the resulting explosion destroyed the travel trailer and damaged a residence. At the time of Wednes- fires, Burghart was on probation for crimes related to a string of arsons that hit the Scio area last fall.

He confessed to the arsons, and was convicted of second- degree arson and three counts of first-degree crim- inal mischief. He received a suspended sentence of 18 months along with five years of supervised proba- tion, a relatively light sen- tence but one that prosecu- tors and a defense attorney agreed was justified in part because Burghart had no criminal history. Also, Burghart, a veteran of the Navy, suffers from post-traumatic stress dis- order. He was injured and declared disabled while in the service, his defense attorney said in November. (It may be important to note that, despite the PTSD diagnosis, Burghart was able to participate in his defense in the November court proceeding.) As a condition of his sen- tence, Burghart was ordered to report to Linn County Mental Health and to follow any recommendations of the agency; as far as report- ers were able to determine last week, he did report to Linn County Mental Health and was referred to the Veterans Administration for follow-up treatment.

These details just add layers of tragedy on top of the devastation caused by the South Albany High School fire. We cannot say with any certainty to what degree mental illness fueled these actions last week, but all the indications point at least to some connection. Looking at the ruins of the South Albany cafeteria building, it can be dif- ficult to imagine any good emerging from this horrific event. But maybe there is this: Maybe this can help us cast a spotlight on the issue of mental health in the community. Maybe it can help drive a discussion of what we can do better in the future.

Maybe nothing we could have done to prevent the events of last week. But it would be foolish for us to wait for the next tragedy and wonder, all over again, if there was some other path we could have taken. Fire highlights mental-health issues DAVID PATTON, albany DEmocrat-hEralD An excavator removes metal roofing from the demolished cafeteria building last week at South Albany High School. The Bend Bulletin The real problem with transparency and ethics laws the laws. how people in government follow them or The intent of the laws is clear.

The public should be able to easily find out what its govern- ment is doing. In general, that is what happens. But there are people who try to evade the law, apply it incon- sistently or stonewall requests for informa- tion. Gov. Kate Brown has three proposed bills to get at some of these issues.

They are just drafts and so they will likely be altered, but they do have a lot of the right stuff as a start- ing point. One draft bill provides greater clarity that the which is broadly defined to include spouses and more is a public official. That was an issue in questions raised about for- mer Gov. John fiancee, Cylvia Hayes. That bill also attempts to draw a bright line prohibit- ing some state elected offi- cials from receiving money for speaking engagements.

There is a loophole. Food, beverage, lodging and travel expenses can be lavish rewards in and of themselves. Those are permitted compensation in the draft bill with no limit. As long as that compensa- tion is promptly disclosed, it should be enough to keep most public officials in line. A second draft bill expands the state ethics commission to nine mem- bers from seven, diluting the ability to choose who is on the commis- sion.

The secretary of state, trea- surer, attor- ney general and com- missioner of labor and industries would all get appoint- ments under the bill. The third bill directs the secretary of state to review the practices of state agen- cies when it comes to public records. There can be a lot of variation in cost and the amount of time it takes to get records. The cost can be so high as to effectively wall off the public from public information. And the delays in getting records can be so long that the records lose their relevance.

If these three bills pass in their current form, Oregon government could be a bit more transparent and ethical. But it relies on the people in government to obey the spirit of the laws. (Published April 2 in the Bend Bulletin and distributed through The Associated Press.) Public officials still can evade transparency rules proposals could be useful There is a loophole. Food, beverage, lodging and travel expenses can be lavish rewards in and of themselves. Those are permitted compensation in the draft bill with no limit.

The Oregonian Should Ken a Great be Oregon state book? Maybe the way in which Ken writing elevates rivers and rain into primal char- acters that makes his 1964 novel a Great resonate with so many readers. Maybe the similarity Oregonians see between the fictional Stamper give a mantra and the heroic stubbornness hardwired into the independent culture. The reasons are as varied as the popular fans. But based on comments to a recent Live editorial, most read- ers appeared to agree that novel about a log- ging family bucking a union strike in a coastal Oregon town would best fill the role of an Oregon state book. Not that anyone is actually pushing for an offi- cial state book the way that legislators have anointed, for instance, an official state microbe.

The idea to solicit nominations stemmed from a recent editorial board discussion after Mississippi legislators introduced a bill to make the Bible their offi- cial state book. According to many read- ers, the idea was a bad one how can you pick just one book from a state that has produced dozens of worthy contenders? A commenter under the name bendbrilliance argued that do this right, you need three urg- ing titles for fiction, nonfic- tion and poetry and divided for time period as well. other words, books are dif- ferent than birds and rocks. So I say no to designating a state book. Just enjoy them At the very least, read- contributions make for an impressive anthology of recommended reading on a wide range of topics.

The titles and their subjects reflect the many cultures, themes and personalities of a state that, admittedly, cannot be defined by a single book. Readers highlighted the familiar and the obscure: Craig Beverly and and John They named Bernard New the of the Lewis and Clark and Ursula K. Left Hand of The list includes Terence Arrow In The Earth: General Joel Palmer and the Indians of Don Katherine David Shet- and Joe Giant There were, of course, less-than-serious suggestions that com- mented more on the state of Oregon politics than on its literary tradition, such as John Kennedy Confederacy of and Karl Marx and Friedrich of the Communist But in the end, as flawed as the quest might be, we were in search of a single book that conveyed something universal about Oregon. And commenter Christopher Lord, a native Oregonian from Astoria who is a local author as well, rose to the challenge with this bit of introspective lit crit: a Great is in a class by itself, a grandiloquent impression- istic tour de force of its time with our prejudices, faults, and human limitations all on display. But the language is magnificent, from its opening lines that beckon Dickensian colon acts as a full stop to command our attention for all that follows.

Digressive? Flawed? Of course it is, in the same way that Huckle- berry Finn and Moby Dick are flawed. But it is THE great Oregon novel, still read widely and discussed fifty years after publication and almost certainly des- tined to be read a hundred years from now. Every great book shows its age and the limitations of its time but I will defend this great crazy novel, and apparently one of the horrible gay tree-hugging progressives described below that leans so far to the left that a wonder I can stand at all. What Kesey captures of a world that has changed is in itself enough of a rea- son to read, debate, and fulminate at the horrors of past; that serves as a jumping off point for how we sustain the beauty of Oregon that no one has captured better than Kesey in this We would add one other reason to compelling argument. The book appar- ently possesses a unifying force that draws impas- sioned fans from across the political spectrum and bridges the urban-rural divide often apparent in comments on news and opinion sites.

When else would some of these com- menters who even agree on their criticism of the editorial board as ultraconservative or hope- lessly liberal find com- mon ground? And that is really what the humble goal of a state book or state anything for that matter should be: The ability to shine a light on the similarities that bind us, for a time, before our entrenched divisions and rivalries set in once again. (Published April 1 in The Orego- nian and distributed through The Associated Press.) Is THE Oregon state book?.