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Here's the article from the Curry Coastal Pilot:

CURRY COUNTY RESIDENTS MEET PRESIDENT
Published: August 24, 2002
By Charles Kocher
Pilot Publisher

CENTRAL POINT – Several Brookings residents were in just the right spot to shake the president's hand Thursday after George W. Bush addressed a crowd of 5,000 about forest management policy.

Rocky and Jeanette McVay sat in the second row of the onstage bleachers behind the president, just off the shoulder of cabinet members, congressmen and governors.

"I've still got goosebumps," Rocky said Friday. While the presidential hand-shaking just missed Rocky, Jeannette did get to shake his hand.

Rocky McVay is executive director of the O&C Counties Association, and has worked on forest management and revenue sharing policy.

When the presidential visit was announced, Congressman Greg Walden's office gave McVay 50 tickets to distribute, first to Oregon's county commissioners and then to others.

But he really didn't believe Walden's office when they told him that they would be sitting onstage, and he tried to decline the honor because he is "just staff."

The McVay's front-and-center seating, he said Friday, was by repeated direction of the White House stage manager who was arranging everything from dignitaries to potted plants before Bush entered the arena.

"I kept thinking we would be off the stage, and then after they brought us out, I thought they would move us," McVay said. "But he kept saying, ‘No, you're sitting right there.' "

Dan Brattain and his son Zach were among McVay's invitees, and they ended up about 10 rows back in the center of the auditorium, just next to another Brookings' resident, Jeff Johnson.

As Bush shook hands after the speech, the trio decided to press forward, hoping the president would come off stage.

A Secret Service agent, said Dan Brattain, told them where to stand for the best chance – and they got to press the presidential flesh.

Zach said the secret service agent had a hold of his belt and checking his pocket as he shook Bush's hand.

Also attending the event was more than a dozen Girls Scouts from the Brookings-Harbor area and Crescent City.

On Monday, the Girl Scouts of Winema Council, based in Medford, was provided with 225 tickets to see the president. The girls showed up in their uniforms to see and listen to Bush speak.

Candace Bartow, the council's executive director, said, "The girls were great! I was particularly pleased the President talked about the importance of service to the community since that reinforces so much of what we are about in Girl Scouts."

Others from Curry County in the audience included State Rep. Wayne Krieger, County Commissioner Marlyn Schafer, Port of Brookings Harbor Commissioner Norma Fitzgerald, and several members of "the McVay clan."

They were part of an audience that clearly knew natural resource issues were the order of the day.

Fresh from a tour of a wildfire site and a briefing on forest management, U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith introduced Bush, calling the visit "the difference between stewardship and watching it all go up in smoke ... and to say thank you to the men and women who are fighting to keep us free from catastrophe."

"Our job is to do everything we can to prevent forest fires from happening in the first place," Bush said after thanking firefighters. "It's an American ideal to preserve our forest. It's one of the changes we've got to make."

The cost of fighting the fires and lost resources, Bush said, "have been a drag on the economy." He told the crowd common sense thinning and brush clearing will make a difference, along with changes in environmental regulations and adoption by Congress of the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan.

And when he complained that good forest management is hindered by "endless litigation," the crowd offered one of its loudest standing ovations.

"As Americans we want to have a right to the courthouse, but there's a fine balance," Bush said.

He tied the forest management to the economy. "We've got to have healthy forest policy; it will yield a better economy. This is just common sense."

The fires of the summer prove the need for some of the forest changes, he added. "It's a sad way for people to learn, but we're making progress."

Bush used the rest of his hour to touch on a variety of topics:

• "For the sake of economic growth," Bush said, "we need to make the tax relief permanent."

•He railed against "frivolous and junk lawsuits" driving up medical costs, and the demands of trial lawyers hindering anti-terrorism insurance.

•Bush asked for broader trade authority. "I'll use that to open up more market for Oregon ranch and farm products."

•He promised to lock up corporate executives who "cook the books" but defended the "vast majority" of corporate managers as "decent, hardworking people."

The crowd responded to all the presidential applause lines, but saved its most enthusiasm and standing ovations for the president's tough stand against terrorism, a call for increased military salaries and spending, a mention of restoring farmers' water rights in the Klamath Basin, and a reference to keeping "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance."

The attacks against America, the President said, "have awakened a great compassionate spirit of service in America. It's that send of service, working to make America the very best it can be, that makes our country great."

Bush flew from Medford to Portland, where he met with 14 state representatives to discuss regional issues.

Russ Crabtree, executive director of the Port of Brookings Harbor, was one of those chosen.

Crabtree said the group discussed education, health care, assisted living, and coastal shallow and deep draft port issues. He said the exchange of information was enlightening.

"He was thoroughly briefed on the issues and understood them very well," said Crabtree, who was chosen to represent the South Coast at the meeting by Sen. Gordon Smith.

"I found the president to have a lot of charisma. He was very personable and very approachable."

The meeting lasted approximately two hours, during which Bush informed the group of his administration's position on domestic and international issues.

He also sought input from the group on regional issues, Crabtree said.