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A bunch of agencies pitched in to help Wilsonville cops buy four Automatic External Defibrillators. The AEDS can mean the difference between life and death if someone’s having an emergency heart problem.
While the machines are pricey (about $1,400 a piece), countless people are saved every year by the zappers.
While the reason behind the Amber Alert system is terrifying and tragic (the nationwide network was founded after the fatal kidnap of Amber Hagerman 12 years ago), theit is POSITIVE news to be found as we celebrate National AMBER Alert Awareness Day.
Thanks to this instant alert system, more than 400 kids are home safe (12 in Oregon alone).
400.
AMBER alerts are designed to go out over TV and Radio broadcasts, but cops are also keeping pace with technology and now you can check alerts online or have them sent directly to your cell phone, your pager or your e-mail.
When you’re trying to make a point, it’s common to . . . fudge a little bit on the actual size of the issue.
“I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse.” (My guess is, by the time you got to the flank you’d be ready for a doggy bag)
“It was the funniest thing EVER.” (Really? In your entire lifetime, that was the most humor you’ve ever encountered?)
But the Meyer Memorial Trust is NOT exagerating when they say they’re donating truckloads of food to the Oregon Food Bank. 17 Truck loads to be exact (or $500K whichever you prefer).
The Trust says the donation was specifically timed to come AFTER the holidays to remind everyone that we don’t pack need away with the tinsel and tree ornaments. Organizers say the gift is also a challenge of sorts as they hope to see the community match the 17 U-Hauls worth of tuna, chili, stew and canned veggies.
Interesting fact: Though the Meyer Memorial Trust was founded in honor of Fred G. Meyer, it is NOT associated with the Fred Meyer chain of retail stores.
Three U of O professors have been named Fulbright scholars this year. Their fabulous prize includes lecturing and researching abroad. plus a month’s supply of Rice A Roni and a Glidden Wondermop.
Lori Kruckenberg of the Musicology department is off in germany, Geography Professor Lise Nelson is in Mexico and Anthropology professor Phillip Scher is in Barbados.
Hmm, three months in Germany, Mexico and Barbados on someone else’s dime. Nicely done. Makes me want to be a professor of the hula and get a Fulbright Scholarship to study the dance’s history in Maui.
In a similar move to that reported earlier regarding WOU, the University of Oregon is taking a sledgehammer to its own piggy bank. The Ducks are offering up $340 grand in extra financial aid this spring thanks to cuts by state grants.
But like a pit boss in the craps pit, this isn’t a constantly running faucet. Leaders warn that these funds are the last band aid in the box. We have to heel the wound that is underfunding (funds were cut due to the recent economic downturn) or else we’re going to wind up with an infection of financial-aid-loss. (how’s THAT for a brilliant analogy 
).
You may have heard about the recent Robot Robbery in Aloha . . . a Physics Professor at Portland State left Mr. Robot in his car overnight, only to have it looted (no, we don’t know if the robot took off on it’s own searching for “input” as Johnny 5 would say in the acclaimed Short Circuit flicks . . . although he COULD have pulled a WALL-E and gone after some stray trash . . . .).
At any rate, the bot vanished a week ago but was recovered earlier today, floating in Commonwealth Lake in one piece. The Propeller Quadrover which looks like a heavy-duty ATV costs about $5 grand to replace.
Western Oregon is picking up the slack on financial aid. The Oregon Opportunity Grant has decided to slash available funds because former students aren’t repaying their own bills (kinda like stiffing your younger brother with the check for lunch). But students won’t feel the shift. The University opened its wallet to cover the difference.
New episode posted here . . . give it a lesson. we meant, give it a listen
Here’s a tip. If you are in court facing felony charges for burglary and graffiti, and the judge offers to let you off the hook as long as you stop tagging innocent people’s property, put down the spray can and take up another form of public artistic expression. Like chalk drawing on the sidewalk.
Otherwise you’ll wind up like Erik Rhay’s in Eugene. Rhay’s insists he is not a “real criminal” but he’ll still be spending five years in a “real prison.” He was busted for burglary and vandalism a year ago but the judge gave him leniency with his sentence, provided he stop tagging local businesses (victims estimate that Rhay’s work has cost tens of thousands of dollars in damage over the years).
Well, attorneys proved that Rhay just couldn’t stop with the aerosol can assault and so a judge sent him packing for five years.
How’d they catch him? He failed to appear in court as part of his parole. When cops went to his house they found boxes of spray paint and photos of recent tags.
Genius.
Reports are coming out of Sports Illustrated of a warning from the Portland Trail Blazers to other teams: Don’t mess with us.
And this isn’t on-court trash talk either. It all ties back to former squad member Darius Miles. Miles has microfracture surgery a few years back and doctors said his knee injury was career-ending. If that’s the case, the Blazers are still on the hook to pay his salary, but they can remove Miles from the roster and his 2-year, $18-million pay check doesn’t count against the Blazers Salary Cap. Which they did.
Here’s where things get sticky. If Miles plays in a total of ten games during that time for another team, then that 18-million goes BACK under the BLAZERS salary cap, limiting their options for the next two seasons in terms of which players they can attract.
This season, Miles has played in a handful of games for the Celtics and the Grizzlies meaning that if he takes the court just twice more, the Blazers lose their 18-million points of wiggle room.
While it may be great strategy for another team to put Miles on the floor for two nights to handicap the Blazers in 2009 and 2010, it’s also poor sportsmanship and kinda crummy when you consider that the Blazers have done everything you want a team to do the past few years (community involvement, role models on and off the court, solid young team playing well, big fan base).
So as a pre-emptive strike, team Pres Larry Miller REPORTEDLY sent a warning e-mail to the other teams that essentially says “if you sign Darius just to mess with our cap space, we’ll see your butt in court!”
Nice to see the Blazers getting aggressive
