User:Valfontis/Archive 25

Randolph, Oregon
Looks pretty good to me, thank you for writing this article. I was meaning to do it, but you've done much better than I could have done. I think there's nothing at Randolph except swamp now. I'm working on a series of articles on Coquille River and Coos Bay steamboats, keep your eye out for more ghost towns.Mtsmallwood (talk) 15:52, 21 July 2014 (UTC)
 * Note: Hobsonville, Oregon. Valfontis (talk) 03:38, 26 September 2014 (UTC)

Thanks
for the welcome :) HamSalad (talk) 08:18, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

Oregon Wild book references/cleanup
Hello, I'm a long time contributor, mostly vandal reversions (thousands), but not very good at citing references/writing articles. Can you glance at the Further reading section of the Oregon Wild article and if the references are done correctly, remove the cleanup tag that you placed there? Thanks -- &mdash; Gaff ταλκ 21:48, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Sorry I didn't get back to you--I've been quite busy--but as you see I thought your fixes looked great (thanks for using templates!). And thanks for filling in some redlinks! P.S. I'm rather fond of Pollinators. If you think about it, they really are pollinating Oregon! Cheers, Valfontis (talk) 03:29, 26 September 2014 (UTC)

Sharon Anderson
Can you offer some guidance? Oregon physician Sharon Anderson meets criteria for inclusion on WP. She served as among other things the first female president of the American Society of Nephrology as well as chairs of Medicine at OHSU and Portland VA and is widely published. The article name space Sharon Anderson is currently occupied by an also-ran, semi-notable (?) possibly failed politician. Is there some way to "claim" the namespace for the physician or do I need to make a disambiguation page, then use page Sharon Anderson (physician)? thanks &mdash; Gaff ταλκ 16:03, 26 September 2014 (UTC)
 * The rule is WP:PRIMARYTOPIC. Check that out and if you think you can still make a case for the physician being primary (it sounds like you can--I haven't looked at the politician page but also-rans usually aren't notable--see: WP:POLITICIAN), let me know and I can help with the page move. Do you have a draft ready? Valfontis (talk) 00:57, 27 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I did work to confirm meets WP:Primarytopic by doing google search Sharon Anderson with &pws=0 at end of string, to disable personal google results.  There is very, very little on the Minnesota politician. I'll get a draft ready and let you know.  &mdash; Gaff  ταλκ 02:07, 27 September 2014 (UTC)

Sculptures
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about sculptures in Salem! :) I plan to create a list for Salem once I have finished with Portland. You will find some Salem sculptures here, and by all means, do feel free to create articles for any works, if you wish. I've enjoyed creating several short articles for Portland sculptures the past few days. I still need to get to Salem and do a walking tour! Another Believer  ( Talk ) 14:51, 30 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I'm thinking more along the lines of filling in some NRHP articles but yeah, with luck I'll have more time to edit soon and give tours too! Valfontis (talk) 16:35, 30 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Just in case you are interested, the list of outdoor sculptures in Salem surveyed by Smithsonian is complete. I can't really find a list from a Salem equivalent of Portland's Regional Arts & Culture Council. --- Another Believer ( Talk ) 05:07, 3 November 2014 (UTC)
 * That's because Salem has no culture, silly. :) Valfontis (talk) 12:14, 3 November 2014 (UTC)
 * P.S. I have pics of Guidance of Youth--it's a good story there--it's what our city bought instead of a Rodin. Yeah. Valfontis (talk) 12:16, 3 November 2014 (UTC)


 * Shame there are not detailed listings for public art available like there are for works in the RACC collection. They give info about the artist, dimensions, sometimes direct quotes, etc., and make it much easier to get articles started. I've enjoyed creating two dozen or so articles for Portland works with listings by both Smithsonian and RACC. Was hoping to do the same for Salem and some other Oregon cities. Doesn't hurt to have the list of works regardless. Looks like we need one for Guidance of Youth, though! --- Another Believer ( Talk ) 16:21, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Generic Conflict of Interest criticism
RE: the Joel Skousen Wiki article The criticism was that this article about me was too positive and therefore not neutral. As the subject of the article (which I did not write nor commission), I choose to add more balance by adding the conspiratorial issues to which I am known for nationally which are indeed controversial. Your generic caution about conflict of interest is well taken, but in this case, I choose to add things which were not necessarily favorable, and thus added balance to the article in conformance with Wiki standards. Since it was under threat of deletion, I could not wait for someone else to respond.

Joel Skousen — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.135.146.223 (talk) 03:47, 23 October 2014 (UTC)
 * User:Joelskousen (User:207.135.146.223). No worries, I just noticed your username matched the article when scrolling through my watchlist. I send the generic message in any case like that. I didn't have time to look at the edits and I'm not saying you did anything wrong, I just like COI editors to be aware of the guidelines as many COI people misuse Wikipedia. Feel free to contact someone who is more active on the site or who has actually edited the article about you if you need further assistance. Cheers, Valfontis (talk) 14:33, 23 October 2014 (UTC)

Thank you for the Invitation
Thank you for the invite to join the Wikipedia Project:Oregon. I did not know it existed. I have added that to my Talk page. Looking forward to being a part of the group.

As part of my history internship here at Northwest Christian University (NCU) in Eugene, Oregon, I have been asked by the Director of the Kellenberger Library to write a number of articles related to NCU. I have written five so far, three of which have been created. I have also edited another four. I am also working on articles for The Oregon Encyclopedia sponsored by the Oregon Historical Society.

I am a full-time faculty member at NCU (title is Professor of Quantitative Analysis) and working on a BA in History (will finish in May 2015). One of the benefits of being an employee at NCU is the ability to take classes tuition free. I have been doing so one class a semester for six years now. My capstone paper is on Mission, or St. Paul, Landing on the Willamette River one mile west of St. Paul, Oregon. Looking forward to finishing both degree and paper.

Tbergquist (talk) 21:55, 6 November 2014 (UTC)


 * Hi, I'm a friend of Valfontis and noticed your comment here. I've done a good deal of work with professors and academics, helping them find a good fit with Wikipedia. You might be interested in the 6 week self-paced Wikipedia course I developed -- the materials are all online, see WP:WIKISOO. (The self-paced version is a bit incomplete, but I think you'll find there are a number of useful materials in there.) Please let me know if there's any way I can help you find your way here. You can use my talk page, or reach me via http://wikistrategies.net/contact -Pete (talk) 00:30, 7 November 2014 (UTC)


 * Hi, nice to have you aboard! I saw some of your articles and tidied them up a bit. I'm from Eugene so it's always nice to see some non-UO local history. I'm also fascinated by the French-Canadian settlement era and Willamette-related topics (like disappeared small towns ala Willamette Landings) so I'll be happy to see you expand on those topics. I'll just mention a couple caveats, be sure if someone asked you to write about certain topics, that you are sure the topics are notable and be sure to read up on conflict of interest (I think you've done fine so far). You may also notice some humor about WikiProject Oregon's sort of rivalry with the Oregon Encyclopedia, but fear not, it is all in good fun and I personally use OE for a reference all the time (except when I find errors in it!). It's nice to have a collaborator in both camps! WikiProject Oregon isn't as active as it once was, but most of us are still editing when we can. Happy editing, Valfontis (talk) 17:18, 8 November 2014 (UTC)

Draft:Oregon Trail Memorial Association
Hey TPSs, I started this: Draft:Oregon Trail Memorial Association because the linked article Oregon Trail Memorial half dollar will be on the front page on November 19 and it seems like bad form to have a redlink in there. Feel free to add info and cites. Maybe put a WIP tag on top so there aren't any edit conflicts. Valfontis (talk) 19:10, 9 November 2014 (UTC)

Houle
I was happy to see that someone had found enough about Houle to create an article, then realized that I might be able to contribute something. This reminds me that I might have enough for an article about Ellen Morris Bishop, the Oregon geologist and photographer whose work I greatly admire. Finetooth (talk) 18:13, 13 November 2014 (UTC)
 * I think my email is working OK. I just sent a test email to you. Finetooth (talk) 19:10, 13 November 2014 (UTC)

Is this thing on?
What about frogs? Valfontis (talk) 16:32, 14 November 2014 (UTC)
 * I like frogs. -- Finngall   talk  20:41, 14 November 2014 (UTC)
 * What if your kite wiiiiinds around a powerline? Valfontis (talk) 18:01, 19 November 2014 (UTC)

Edit Warring
Interesting how you only give ONE editor an "edit war" warning, when obviously it take two to "edit war". Favoritism? Newest editor gets the screw? Jbottero (talk) 22:06, 15 November 2014 (UTC)
 * Hey Jbottero how are you? It's a beautiful day here in the Willamette Valley. I've worked with Aboutmovies a long time. (Between you and me, sometimes he can be kind of cranky, but he's a fantastic editor.) I know he knows the rules, so he doesn't need a templated warning from me. If someone else wants to send him a warning, fine. You appear to be new, so besides adding a super helpful and friendly "welcome" template to your page, which it appears no one else had bothered to do, I thought I would give you a friendly reminder about edit warring, just in case you didn't know about it yet. Sometimes new people run into trouble with this sort of thing so I thought you might find it helpful to read up on the rules. In regards to the Phil Knight article, I do tend to agree with Aboutmovies, his edit summaries explained the reversion adequately. Meanwhile, you did three reversions without an edit summary, which doesn't help anyone understand your reasoning. Maybe at that point you didn't know about the page history, so you couldn't read the edit summaries or know where to look for them. There is kind of a learning curve here, and I'm sorry you felt bitten but as far as the editing goes, I think the article was fine the way it was. If you'd like to get a third opinion, I'd encourage you to do so. Have you been to the teahouse? It is a great place for new editors to learn the ropes. I hope you will stick around. Have a great weekend! Valfontis (talk) 22:22, 15 November 2014 (UTC)
 * A fellow Oergonian! I love you already. Grew up in Portland and Corvallis, been all over the world (military, blaw, blaw, blaw, etcetera...) and now live in Tacoma. Even though I still work for the DoD (I am a civilian mission planner), I am, from my roots in PDX, a socialist at heart and wear my politics with pride. Thanks for your advice. Jbottero (talk) 01:31, 16 November 2014 (UTC)

Category talks created with AWB
Regarding Washington state: let me know if you catch any more and I can fix them. (Sorry about that - the parameter I set usually weeds out things like that, but sometimes a few get through. I try to catch them manually, but sometimes I miss one or two.  Or three, or four...)

Regarding the redirects: again, I try to weed them out, but they sneak through now and again. I'm using the categories to set my AWB parameters, so there usually aren't many that get in in the first place. I'll try to swat 'em away if I see any more. -- Ser Amantio di Nicolao Che dicono a Signa?Lo dicono a Signa. 00:11, 16 November 2014 (UTC)


 * No worries. I just ran AWB to find any cats that weren't tagged by WP:ORE yet and I saw a couple slip by that made me go "huh"? Mostly ones having to do with pesky rivers and mountain ranges that don't honor political borders. I think I got them all, there were only a couple. Thanks again, Valfontis (talk) 00:14, 16 November 2014 (UTC)
 * Sure, anytime. Happy to be of help.  (Though I must admit - I've never actually been to the Pacific Northwest, more's the pity.  Never got farther north than north-central California.) -- Ser Amantio di Nicolao Che dicono a Signa?Lo dicono a Signa. 00:16, 16 November 2014 (UTC)


 * You should definitely come visit--though if you cross into Oregon from California, we make you sign a release promising you won't move here. Valfontis (talk) 00:26, 16 November 2014 (UTC)
 * I'll get there someday - it's on my list. (As for James G. Blaine, I know where he used to live - his house is across the street from one of the best used bookstores in DC.  I must have passed it a dozen times before discovering who used to live there.) -- Ser Amantio di Nicolao Che dicono a Signa?Lo dicono a Signa. 00:28, 16 November 2014 (UTC)

That's awesome that you know where Blaine lived! Meanwhile, I got sidetracked and wrote this: James Cloutier. Valfontis (talk) 03:32, 16 November 2014 (UTC)

Martha Goodrich Administration Building
Thanks for the info about the Oregon Cultural Resource Inventory. Great reference. I really appreciate you looking things over. Tbergquist (talk) 21:25, 25 November 2014 (UTC)

Scouting in Oregon
I saw your comments on Talk:Scouting in Oregon. I just did an overhaul of the format of the article. It could still use polishing. --evrik (talk) 17:19, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Hi Evrik, thanks for checking in with me. I think that that particular "horrible" problem was addressed years ago. I likely won't spend any time working on scouting articles, I found it unpleasant and contentious. Maybe someone else from WikiProject Oregon would like to look it over. I also have COI as a WoHeLo Medallion recipient. Sorry! Valfontis (talk) 17:47, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

Simnasho and other populated places within reservations
Since I saw it redlinked in Wasco County, Oregon, I thought I'd try something new. Could you take a look at User:Finetooth/Sandbox2 and tell me what you think? There's no census data, as far as I can tell, and I don't know if "populated place" is the best term. OGN, GNIS, and Bright all have info, which I paraphrased, and maps have other data. Any ideas, recommendations? Finetooth (talk) 03:26, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
 * For a second I got this mixed up in my head with Shaniko, and I thought "how could it be there is no article on Simnasho yet..." It's not a CDP, but it is an unincorporated community, which term I always use instead of populated place, and I never worry about population data for those (yes even though it is "populated"). I checked my usual sources and it does look like it is a bit more than a wide spot in the road so it is still a community but also within the rez--since the rez is like a sovereign nation, it is like any other town and not counted as one giant "place" (forgive me if I'm mistaking what you're asking). The applicable pages of In Search of Western Oregon aren't online but it looks like there is a bit of info there. Also some nice details in Oregon: End of the Trail. There is an abandoned church and what looks like a school and also some newer BIA housing. Further recommendations--Google Google Google! Valfontis (talk) 04:21, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks. This is helpful and answers questions I was wondering about. I often work by imitation but couldn't find an exact model for Simnasho because it's on a rez. I'll use "unincorporated community" and check out the two books you mention. (I think I once had a used copy of In Search of Western Oregon but can't seem to find it. Maybe it's lying in the back of a POD or has found a new home at Goodwill.) Finetooth (talk) 17:20, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Yes, I use a template for all my place articles, so I get it. I tried to find Category:Populated places in Oregon with Native American majority populations but it was deleted this spring. So I found a mirror site with a list and did some poking around--here are some examples I found: Mission, Oregon, Cayuse, Oregon, Kirkpatrick, Oregon, Gopher Flats, Oregon, Riverside, Umatilla County, Oregon, Tutuilla, Oregon--all on the Umatilla rez, and of course Warm Springs, Oregon. All CDPs on reservations, Warm Springs is undoubtedly a place, and also Cayuse, but Kirkpatrick and Gopher Flats don't seem to appear in OGN (Tutuilla at least seems to be named for a creek) or even in my road atlas and of course Riverside isn't a very meaningful name. I can't tell if its because these places have been marginalized or (more likely) the census bureau made the names up without much regard for local usage. Here's one that's not a CDP that I started: Gibbon, Oregon. Most of the "made up name" CDPs don't seem have history like that and though populated probably grew up since the mid 20th-century (I'm guessing). On the other hand, Chiloquin, Oregon is an actual city with a Native American majority population, but it also used to be on the Klamath Reservation before the Klamath were terminated. Hope that helps! Great topic, I'm home sick and research eases the pain... Valfontis (talk) 18:19, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
 * This too is interesting and helpful. The article is growing apace. I just hit a small jackpot with an Oregonian article from 1999. For instance, the first seat of government on this rez was in Simnasho and only later moved to Warm Springs. I've got to stop editing for the nonce (alas); guests are coming and then staying to watch the Oregon–Arizona game. I'm sorry you are sick and hope that the illness is brief. Finetooth (talk) 21:45, 5 December 2014 (UTC)