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53 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, January 28, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 9, 2005 Greyhound bus passenger Armando Ramirez of San Bernardino, Calif., strums his electric guitar while fellow traveler Jon Baker of Eugene sketches his likeness at the American Red Cross shelter set up at the Jackson County Expo Saturday. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Stranded travelers make the best of it By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Eugene resident John Baker used a pencil to draw a sketch of Armando Ramirez of Yakima, Wash., strumming a guitar. Phyllis Escovedo of Fresno, Calif., sat nursing a hot cup to soothe a sore throat. And Frank Solari, 86, of Portland, unshaven and tired, was hoping to get home today in time to attend his brother’s funeral. They were among 118 Greyhound bus passengers whiling away their time Saturday at the American Red Cross shelter at Padgham Pavilion at the Jackson County Expo. The shelter was opened after midnight Friday after buses were turned back at Hugo when Interstate 5 northbound was closed because of hazardous driving conditions. The highway remained closed in both directions for 15 hours. Advertisement Tony Hernandez, emergency services director for the organization’s Rogue Valley chapter, and eight Red Cross disaster volunteers set up the shelter, offering food and hot drinks to the tired travelers. "We’ll be here for people as long as the highway is closed," said Bill Blakely, Red Cross office manager in Grants Pass. Each passenger received a cot, a warm blanket and meals at no charge. Greyhound gave calling cards to those without cell phones to enable them to reach family and friends waiting at their destination. If more space is needed, other shelters can be opened in the area, Blakely said, noting sites would include local schools as well as Southern Oregon University in Ashland. The passengers resumed their northbound journey at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. But the shelter remained available in case the weather turned ugly again Saturday night, according to the Red Cross. Like others who spent much of the night and day at the shelter, Baker, 24, took it in stride. He had been visiting his father, Steven Baker, of Rogue River, when he hopped aboard a Greyhound in Grants Pass bound for his hometown of Eugene Friday night. "I was hoping to get back Saturday to go to work but, low and behold, we had to turn back around after getting about 10 miles north," he said during an interview at the shelter. "So here we are at the Red Cross shelter — waiting," he added. "I’ve pretty much backtracked. I’m farther south than when I started." Baker, who attends college and works with autistic children at a group home, noted his father was stuck at home in deep snow and unable to reach him. "I didn’t bring a camera, so I’ve just been drawing pictures of stuff I’ve been seeing," he said. He opened his notepad to show a drawing of dark forms on dark cots filling the pavilion. "I’m just killing time," said Ramirez, 49, as he strummed the guitar hooked into a small amplifier. He had boarded the bus at San Bernardino, Calif. — east of Los Angeles — around noon Friday. "We can’t do nothing else," he added. "You can’t do nothing about this. So you just try to relax." Colleen Haines, 65, of Baker City, boarded the bus in Arcata, Calif., early Thursday night after visiting her son for Christmas. Her bus headed south to Oakland, on to San Francisco, then to Sacramento rumbling north on Interstate 5. "The snow began at Redding," she said, then added, This is certainly a wonderful way to start the new year." But she was laughing when she looked around at the shelter where she arrived about 1:45 a.m. Saturday. "Believe me, I was glad when they brought us here," she said. "That freeway was a mess. I feel safer here than on the road right now. And they are treating us pretty good here." Sore throat and all, Escovedo, 46, of Fresno was bound for Seattle to visit her daughter and son-in-law. She got on the northbound bus at Fresno at 2:40 a.m. Friday. "I’ve been sick for the past two days," she said. "I’m not feeling so good. I’m originally from Seattle but I’m not used to this weather anymore. Too cold. I can’t handle it." Solari, who left Reno on Friday, is hoping he can reach his destination to attend an older brother’s funeral. Unshaven, he was drinking a cup of coffee. "My brother was 91 and his funeral is tomorrow (Sunday) but I don’t know if I’m going to make it in time," he says. Justin Thomas, 16, of Vancouver, B.C., and his younger brother, Kyle, 14, got on the bus Friday night after visiting their father in Sacramento over the holidays. While he noted they appreciated the shelter, he said he’d rather be home. "Someone’s cell phone over here rang all night," he said. "I wanted to throw something but I didn’t know who it was. "This is way better than sleeping on the floor, outside or on the bus," he added. To pass the time, Justin and two young women, Lea Coonan, 23, of Brisbane, Australia, and Kla Lichti, 21, of Vancouver, B.C., were playing a game called "comic jam" in which they created a string of cartoon squares to tell a story line. Coonan and Lichti got on the bus at Berkeley late Friday afternoon, heading for Portland. They were hoping to get to Portland by Monday to attend a concert by a band called Limp Wrist, which belts out 1980s punk music. "I don’t know if they will make it with the snow" observed Lichti, who was passing the time by reading "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. "But they are playing in Seattle, too. Maybe we’ll go there." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? 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