Think Oregon

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Sound Off: Animal Trapping

In Oregon, it is legal to trap foxes, coyotes, raccoons and other fur-bearing animals for game. The regulations around trapping remain a vestige of pioneer days. For example, trapping is allowed on public lands as long as the trap is set more than fifty feet from a public trail or 300 feet from trailheads and campgrounds. A trapper is required by law to check what has walked into his trap only once in two days. In November, measure 97, which would restrict trapping, is on the ballot. We reached out to both sides of this debate, but the Oregon Trappers Association declined to comment.  Wally Sykes Founder, TrapFree Oregon ALTHOUGH MOST OREGONIANS AREN’T AWARE, trapping in Oregon is a stark, brutal reality. About 800 fur trappers (.0002 percent of the state population) kill more than 20,000 animals annually using leghold traps, neck snares and Conibear body-gripping traps. The latter two are…

new musicians, oregon musicians, oregon artists

The New Nashville

It seemed like a simple idea: Pick our favorite of-the-moment Oregon bands and tell their stories.

MansionbyJack

Pittock Mansion

Henry Pittock arrived in Oregon via wagon train in 1853 at just 19 years old. In 1860, as payment for back wages, he became owner of The Oregonian and subsequently married his wife, Georgiana. So began a life of entrepreneurism for Pittock and one of philanthropy for Georgiana. In 1914, the grand home designed for the Pittocks by Oregon architect Edward Foulkes was completed, and eleven family members moved into the mansion that overlooks Portland and Mt. Hood from the city’s northwestern hills. By the early 1960s, the home lay vacant. The City of Portland bought the property for $225,000 and has since restored the home to its original grandeur. Stroll the lush gardens, take in the views and tour the museum daily. pittockmansion.org

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Mixing up the Medium

For artist Kathy Deggendorfer, relationships fuel her art. Her illustrative style captures moments, but each vibrantly painted scene is the culmination of connections. Currently, she is working on a commissioned piece destined for the grand entryway of St. Charles Cancer Center in Bend, slated to open June 15. The panoramic landscape will span the Cascade Range with Mt. Bachelor and Mt. Jefferson standing as monumental markers. Deggendorfer’s art is her bridge between exploration and community. She prepared for the St. Charles piece by scouting the space in the cancer center and then began knocking on doors of people who owned homes with mountain views, hoping she could sketch from there.   ” alt=”” /> photo by Tambi Lane She set out looking for beautiful farm country on her Illinois trip. Instead, she discovered vast tracts of land leased to corporate interests, heavily sprayed by fertilizer trucks and watered by the…

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Fighting Discrimination

Oregon currently recognizes same-sex marriages from other states but, because of a 2004 ballot initiative from the Defense of Marriage Coalition, gay marriages are not legally performed in Oregon. In November, voters will get a shot at overturning that with a new ballot measure from Oregon United for Marriage. This fall will also see at least one ballot measure that will seek to reduce the basic rights of people who are gay, bisexual and transgender in the name of religion. Here, Mike Marshall of Oregon United for Marriage addresses that. 

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WILL Leather Goods

I went to Hollywood to pursue my dream of becoming an actor with an audition for One Flew Over Cuckoos Nest. That didn’t happen.

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Dakine 2.0

A 24-year-old robert burns grabs his backpack and snowboard and throws it in the back of his truck. Ten inches of fresh powder. Hood River is at its best in March and again in summer, when he rips up the Gorge on his windsurfer. He tears a new strip of duct tape and mended the pants he’s had on life support for the past six years. A two-shot Americano at Ground Coffee will get him to the first chair at Mt. Hood for a few runs. Forty days on the mountain and, likely, a little late for work, again. Well. In a couple more years, he’ll get a real job, new board pants and maybe even a Dakine Builder’s Pack with a chainsaw pocket for trail work on Whoopdee. No hurry though, as Burns is merely a fictional character representing a key demographic of Dakine, a Hood River-based outdoor gear…