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Christie did his student teaching at South Eugene's International High School and was into his first year of teaching English and journalism at Clatskanie High near Astoria. At a memorial gathering held at PU's Eugene campus, friends, former classmates and students spoke of the influence that Christie and his family had on them. Stories were exchanged from his days as a "punk rock Republican," to his unusual but effective ways of reaching students with his love of art, music, and literature. Family friend Patric Miller said at the memorial: "Explaining Robert to someone is not easy, because he was truly a paradox in this modern, or as he would call it, post-modern world. He was a punk rock drummer and songwriter, with a commitment to living the life of Ozzie and Harriet in the 1950s. Everything he held up as being right in the world was from that decade of family values and simplicity. He held as sacred the clothes, the music, the ideal family of 2.5 kids, and Dad coming home from a day at work and talking about the kids and the box scores of the hometown baseball team. "I asked him once why he revered the 1950s. Without a beat, he said, 'the clothes and cars were cooler, and people didn't have a clue how bad things really were.' There was always a sense of sadness and cynicism just under the surface of his personality, that I am sure came from the fact that anyone as intelligent as he was knew that the human race was doomed. So, rather than spend his time writing protest music and marching in the streets, he instead lost himself, and did his best to get everyone he came in contact with, to lose themselves, in great literature, box scores and a snappy crease in their trousers. "There was simplicity of character and rhyme in the lyrics he wrote, with an edge that bit you, if you weren't paying attention." "Watching him grow as a student and teacher, but even more important as a husband and a father, was gratifying, as well as an education in how to live life. Robert didn't just live life, he made life. Everything he did was done with purpose and with a commitment to something he held sacred. "The last time I saw him was on graduation day at Pacific University. I was struck by his exuberant, unbounded joy. On this day, the punk rock smirk was gone. In its place, a genuine smile of joy completely dominated his appearance and gave way to the knowledge that he was starting on a new adventure, a new career with a new audience. When we shook hands that day, I was genuinely proud of what he had accomplished, and was envious of the kids who were going to be in his classes in the future." Jefferson Public Radio (JPR) will broadcast its news and information service on the KRVM AM 1280 station. Current programming includes NPR, BBC, and Pacifica news feeds as well as "A Prairie Home Companion" with Garrison Keillor, national and Oregon talk shows, and programs on computers, medical issues and parenting. In exchange for broadcasting in Eugene, JPR will pay for the operation and maintenance of the AM station 4 saving 4J about $30,000 a year. JPR will collect underwriting and membership revenue from the station which last year amounted to about $3,000, according to a memo from 4J Superintendent George Russell. The agreement allows 4J to continue to broadcast school board meetings and sporting events. Broadcasts from Spencer Butte Middle School will move to the KRVM-FM station. JPR is a non-profit operating with student staffing on the campus of Southern Oregon University. The station has 675,000 potential listeners in a large swath of southern Oregon reaching from Roseburg to Coos Bay and down to Eureka, Calif. The station's mission statement includes support for the arts, citizen participation in government, tolerance for diverse viewpoints and programming for minority populations. 4 AP Traffic
Comes Home The founder of Lindesmith is Ethan Nadelmann, author of Cops Across Border: The Internationalization of U.S. Criminal Law Enforcement (1993) and editor of Psychoactive Drugs and Harm Reduction: From Faith to Science (1993). He has a doctorate from Harvard in political science and a masters in international relations from the London School of Economics. Lindesmith recently presented a one-day conference in San Francisco with the S.F. Medical Society on "The State of Ecstasy: The Medicine, Science and Culture of MDMA" Participating experts included sociologists, biologists, social workers, law enforcement and many others. Conference sponsors included the S.F. Department of Public Health, the D.A.'s office, The Wheeler Center for Neurobiology of Addiction, and the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics. Nadelmann, who has appeared on "Geraldo" and in Newsweek, said that "Traffic could be the Dead Man Walking of drug policy reform." He said the movie has stirred up dialogue about the war on drugs and that he hoped the website "will take that dialogue one step further by letting people know that there are alternatives that rely more on common sense, science, public health and human rights." 4 LW Greens
Gathering The rapidly growing party, which began last year with 1,100 members in Oregon, now numbers more than 6,000. Pacific Green Party co-chair Xander Patterson says, "We are on the map and we are on the move!" At the convention, members will present their visions of what Pacific Green Party priorities should be and how best to achieve them. Issues on the agenda include campaign finance reform, voter registration, proportional representation, land use, energy and transportation. The Pacific Green Party statewide convention will be on Feb. 24 and 25 at Agate Hall. For more information, call 607-8093 or visit the Pacific Green Party website at www.pacificgreens.org
The Walk for Farmworker Justice, scheduled for June 18-24, is an effort to encourage NORPAC, the largest grower-owned processing cooperative in the west, and other members of the farming industry to recognize the farmworkers union Piñeros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) as a legitimate representative of Oregon farmworkers. Marion Malcolm, a local activist involved in the statewide planning of the walk, says, "As members of religious communities, labor unions and human rights groups, we believe it is imperative that farmworkers attain the right to organize and bargain collectively without fear of reprisal by their employers." The walk will pass NORPAC fields and labor camps and will include meetings with farmworkers. A spaghetti dinner benefiting the Walk for Farmworker Justice is from 5 to 8 pm Feb. 25 at Central Presbyterian Church. The dinner includes live music by Irene Farrera, a dessert sale and silent auction. There is a $5-$20 suggested donation. For more information about the dinner or the walk, call 607-8097. Also on the plate this week is a dinner to benefit victims of the recent earthquake in India. Urmi Boyd, a Eugene resident whose hometown of Ahmedaba was heavily damaged by the earthquake in Bhuj, has organized the benefit with the help of the Association for Communal Harmony in Asia in Portland. The evening will feature a slideshow of before and after the earthquake, emphasizing the needs of the victims. Boyd reports that her family is fine, but is still sleeping in cars because they're afraid to go back inside because of aftershocks. Proceeds from the dinner will go directly to the American Red Cross efforts in India and to the Hindu temple, Swaminarayan Sanstha. Boyd credits the temple with helping to put concerned Eugene residents in touch with family members in India after the earthquake. The India Earthquake Relief fund-raiser is at 5:30 pm Feb. 24 at Oak Hill School. The evening includes a no-host dinner by Taste of India with entrees priced at $5.95 to $6.95, live music by Troupe Americanistan and others, and speakers from the Association of Communal Harmony in Asia and the American Red Cross. Tickets are $10, sold at the event.
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