Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon

First: a disclaimer. I am in this movie.

Having said that, I must say that this movie is a foreshadowing of the brilliant work of the writer/director, Peter Richardson, who has gone on to become a premier movie maker (How to Die in Oregon).

As with any excellent documentary, Peter represents both sides of the divide in our little town with skill and clarity. I have friends, family, and acquaintances on both sides of the issue, and all agree that he states their case well.

Furthermore, as with the powerful book American Nations (Carl Woodard), this is a clear explanation of where we have gotten to the polarized state of our current political life.

My grandparents were long-time residents of Philomath and my mother graduated from Philomath High School. The Clemens Foundation provided scholarships to every PHS graduate for many years. When people heard about the scholarships, they started moving their kids into the high school for their last year just so they could get free money. When it was realized that this was happening, the rules changed a little bit, and understandably so.

The Clemens family has done so much for that little community. It's difficult for most people to fully understand how small the community really is if you just watch the documentary and haven't really been there. The Clemens has donated property to build a school, built a nice pool and countless other efforts to better the community.

I don't think it was too much to ask for the school (including an obvious "tree-hugger" superintendent) to fairly recognize the timber industry and its contribution to that community. Teachers like those in the documentary didn't want to 'promote' logging but yet they were the first in line to expect money from a foundation that was started because of it! The Lowther family has every right to stipulate how the foundation funds will be distributed. If the school district didn't want to educate the children about the logging industry, why should the foundation continue to support the school district in the manner it had been all those years? The scholarships haven't stopped completely - they're just not handed out so readily anymore.

I commend Steve Lowther and his family for everything they have done and everything they are doing for their community. They weren't willing to sit idly by and continue to let some of the district staff continue to snub their noses at the industry that provides the money but also expect perpetual handouts from it.

I support the Clemens Foundation!

The film-maker may not use the phrase "fair and balanced", but I will. He did an excellent job of letting the truth speak for itself.

I think the superintendent was wrong to change the name of the team from "Warriors" to "Cadets". What is wrong with the concept of the warrior? Such arrogant politically correct heavy-handedness is disgusting. Other than that, I don't see where he did much wrong.

Somebody said that the foundation had a right to withhold money from students who worked against the foundation's principles and values. My understanding was that the foundation's mission and value was to provide tuition for all students who attended Philomath High. What a noble mission, freely, with no self-serving strings attached, to promote the education of those not as fortunate as you. Is this value not worthy and sufficient in its own right? And even if you don't think so, where is your respect for the person who provided the money for the foundation in the first place? It was Mr. Lowther - a fortunate heir and beneficiary of Rex Clemen's hard work and business success - who undermined these values. While you are enjoying the wealth that you yourself did not earn, Mr. Lowther, could you not at least honor the legacy of the man who did so much for you and others? They were not your toys to pick up and take home. You have only reaped and trampled where others have sown. Shame on you.

I spent the first of what was to be 14 years in Oregon in Philomath. I was a student at Oregon State in Corvallis and arrived too late to find closer housing. Philomath is an awesome little town. You have to have lived in Oregon, I think, to "get" them. I once heard that Oregon was in the top 5 states for churches (religious groups) per capita - it seems true when you drive around the state. Despite that, or because of it, they tend to be pretty liberal on social issues. There is a very strong sense of "what you do in private is your business, so keep it that way", meaning you can pretty much get away with anything as long as you keep it to yourself.

The attitude extends to other areas, leading to comments like "it's his money". However, it wasn't this man's money. He was a trustee, with legal obligations to the trust. He had no right to make changes, especially this radical a change from the original intent.

"Quid-pro-quo" is way,WAY, WAAAYYY off the mark in his summary. The foundation was well within it's rights to pull money from a school that substantially did not stand for the beliefs of the foundation. TANSTAAFL! The money was not "owed" to students that worked against the education foundation's principals and values.

I'm not sure where he gets the idea the students were singled out for persecution by the foundation over the gay and lesbian flier that was redistributed to the community (after it had been plastered all over the school) which contained the names of the students. The students proudly placed their names on the flier themselves.If they did not wish to be identified with gay and lesbian groups they should have remained anonymous instead of placing their names clearly in print.

Congratulations to Mr.Lowther for standing up to a bunch of bullies and following his families principals. The only "lunatic" here is Mr."Quid-pro-quo". Perhaps he should move to San Francisco and pursue some free money for college there.