New West Network

My Page: Joseph Friedrichs

<< Newer articles <<    Author Home     >> Older articles >>

From Boring To Zigzag

As the pioneers trudged west all though years ago they used up city names from Missouri to New Mexico. Eventually the travelers arrived to Oregon where the established settlements and cities. Naturally they had to give these locations names. And some of the names they dubbed are nothing short of great comedy.

The collection is quite profound, these Oregon city names.

And after some serious investigation here’s the list of the ten best city names in Oregon. [more]

This Is Reality, Dear Reader

If you were to ask Kale if he would ever steal a bicycle he’d likely tell you that he wouldn’t. But if you offered him $1,000 in cash he’d probably do it. Who wouldn’t, you know?

Nonetheless, people keep stealing Kale’s bicycles. Kale, 16, is an employee at Newport Market. He does the grunt work there and they pay him for it. During our interview he was picking up bits of dried tangerines and crumpled cigarette butts.

The last time someone stole Kale’s bike they had to rip down a tree with their bare hands. It was a small tree that showed serious potential on this planet.

“That was my transportation,” Kale told me, and he was serious.
[more]

Drunken Loser Or New-Age Prophet?

MISSOULA -- After a hard day of hitchhiking (with a touring bicycle no less) from Glacier National Park to this fine city on the banks of the Clarkfork River, I would have liked nothing better than a calm evening, a cold glass of buttermilk, and perhaps a little acoustic music. But my friend and your provider of news and “insight” to all things Bend, Mr. Joseph Friedrichs, had other ideas.

“Your assignment is to document the evening,” he said. Apparently, some big shindig to knock the collective socks off Missoulians was in the pipeline, and my job was, as the squarest friend Joe has, to be an astute and impartial observer of his drunken meanderings, and those of his closest friends in one of Montana’s largest cities.

I should back up here. First, this statement from Joe comes only occasionally, and usually at the start of something frightfully interesting. The last time he wanted everything documented, we were about to embark on a three day tour of Arcata, Calif., which was without power and in danger of being flooded into nothingness by a torrential New Year’s Eve storm. By the end of the weekend, we had dodged flying branches in the streets while navigating a car through unregulated intersections, been nearly hauled off by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department for a crime we were eventually able to prove we didn’t commit, and I had fallen in love with a noxious weeds expert. [more]

Man Strikes Dogs With Club

Just when you thought it was safe to soak in some rays in the nude, reports of a naked sunbather being harassed by vicious Chihuahuas comes out of Oregon.

The incident occurred near at Sand Island at Rooster Rock State Park. Portions of the island are designated as clothing optional.

How it all went down is very simple: Portland resident Josh Meiller landed his raft, four children and two Chihuahuas at a spot he thought was several hundred feet from the nudist area. When the dogs charged 74-year-old nude sunbather Donald Kenney, of Vancouver, Wash., Kenney beat them and their owner with a collapsible police baton. [more]

Open House At 7 p.m.

Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign opened five field offices throughout Oregon Thursday, including one in downtown Bend. The Obama camp also announced they have plans to open more offices in the near future.

The campaign will hold opening events today in Portland, Beaverton, Oregon City, Eugene and Bend. Tonight’s opening in Bend will go down at 7 p.m. The office is located at 117 N.W. Oregon Ave., with Mayor Bruce Abernethy and Judy Stiegler, candidate for House District 54, as the featured speakers.

And in case you were wondering, yes, Obama’s office is the former Hillary Clinton headquarters in Bend.
[more]

Seven Years And Seven Rules

Carley Spielman was killed in a traffic accident on the outskirts of Missoula July 23, 2001. Not long after the accident her mother discovered a word document tucked away in the files of Carley’s computer. The list contains seven rules Carley, apparently, felt everyone should live by.

I had the pleasure of knowing Carley during her freshman year of college at the University of Montana. Five years ago Carley's mother sent me the list conjured from her daughter's mind.

And 7 years after her death, I would like to share the seven rules Carley Spielman conducted her life by, with you. [more]

Too much too soon?

Although the push for increased amounts of renewable energy continues throughout the West, a recent assessment from a federal power administration finds that demand could be exceeding supply when it comes to wind farms.

It’s likely that developers in this region will triple the amount of wind power by erecting dozens of new wind farms in the coming years. However, the assessment from the Bonneville Power Administration also reveals that unless more power lines are added with the new farms, transmission networks won’t be able to handle so much wind so quickly.

As it stands now, BPA says it has only enough space on the grid for just one-third of the anticipated 4,716 megawatts. [more]

Accident At Sunriver Airstrip

One of the busiest private airport facilities west of the Mississippi River was the site of a fatal plane crash Wednesday afternoon.

Douglas J. Sharratt, 50, the top official of a California high-tech company died when his small aircraft crashed and exploded into a ball of flames when he attempted to land at the Sunriver Resort’s airstrip, located fewer than 30 miles from Bend.

Because the airstrip is surrounded by walking and biking paths, as well as numerous homes, at least several people witnessed the crash and follow-up explosion.

Apparently Sharratt had trouble with the landing, as one woman who captured the incident by photograph reports. [more]

No Money, Mo Problems

Unless money literally starts growing on trees, which could only occur on timber that is federally protected because of an owl and thus proves impossible to cut, several Oregon counties are soon to face absolute extinction.

Staggering statistics raging against both Curry and Josephine counties as a result of the demise of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (not to mention the Endangered Species Act) has left county, state and federal officials scrambling to find a way to save schools, law enforcement agencies and other means of public service in each respective county.

Curry County, tucked away in the far southwestern section of the state, is petering on the brink of extinction. Beginning next month, Curry is set to lose about two-thirds of its $6.1 million general fund.

As my old pal Georgia Nowlin, the newest Curry County commissioner, said last July: “What’s wrong with our county?” [more]

Ten Of Oregon's Finest Warm Water Holes

Although scorching summer days may not seem as the perfect opportunity to soak in one of Oregon’s many natural hot springs, truth is this time of year can provide some of the best soaking settings there are.

The trick to enjoying a summertime soak is to wait until darkness blankets the earth. Evening temperatures are typically perfect soaking weather throughout Oregon. Clear summertime skies offer optimal views of the lands beyond this planet. Then there’s the added feature of not having to go through a mad scramble when exiting the warm waters of a hot spring. Granted, soaking in the winter can be immaculate, but using a stiff towel crusted with ice chunks to dry off is not. It’s also terrible having to put on frozen socks and boots.

In the summer it feels glorious occasionally hopping out of a hot spring and feeling the cool night air. Feel free to do some bending exercises. Enjoy being alive on the planet! [more]

<< Newer articles <<    Author Home     >> Older articles >>