Talk:Gervais, Oregon

Pronunciation

Please verify the stress is on the second syllable. The person who added the pronunciation forgot to say. kwami (talk) 09:44, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

If it's of any relevance to anyone, no one in Oregon actually pronounces it correctly as per the proper French pronunciation. Most people in Oregon, including people that live in the town itself, pronounce it as follows: "JUR-vis." ("JUR" as in "jury," and "vis" as in "avis") Local pronunciation stresses the first syllable, and pronounces the "S" on the last syllable. The town may be located in French Prairie, but virtually no one in French Prairie these days actually speaks French. The languages spoken in the area are as follows, in order of prevalence: 1. English. 2. Spanish. 3. Russian. Andrew Parodi (talk) 07:47, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Recent train casualties in Gervais

I believe it is notable, newsworthy, and encyclopedic to have a picture of the media filming in Gervais. This is a story of great interest to the locals because it is the second time in a little over a year that a teenager has been killed on these tracks: 2014 death (Juan Carlos Robles-Melara, aged 13): [1], [2], and 2013 death (Diego Rodriguez, aged 13): [3]. Andrew Parodi (talk) 08:13, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

This is indeed tragic but please read WP:NOT#NEWS and MOS:IMAGES. The images in a Wikipedia article should reflect the general topic of the article, which is the city of Gervais, Oregon. Wikipedia is not a news site and topics of local interest are better addressed by a local news source, local wiki, bulletin board, blog, or other resource, not by a global general-use encyclopedia. Also, if this was in fact something that should be included in the article--and again, though very tragic, it is not--the images don't do much to illustrate the subtopic (I won't suggest how the topic could be better approached photographically because I don't think any images should be included about this in this article). Finally, in an article with room for three images, one of the images should not be a grainy photo of a news reporter that has no relevance to the general topic, although it is highly tragic and has relevance to the locals. Valfontis (talk) 19:25, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

I am of the opinion that an image of a news reporter in Gervais, Oregon, illustrates the general topic of Gervais, Oregon, because it's a regular feature of the town these days. Another recent example: http://www.kgw.com/story/news/2014/07/26/12640050/ For a town as small as Gervais (pop. 2,464), constant media attention is indeed notable. With regard to the tragic situation with the train, please see the school superintendent refer to the fact that the train tracks divide the town, with a train passing through town every hour; and it is "a tradition" in Gervais going back decades for locals (particularly the young) to walk the tracks from Gervais to Woodburn -- a tradition founded on the fact that there is no sidewalk connecting to the nearest town, which is only one mile away. Andrew Parodi (talk) 01:13, 4 November 2014 (UTC)

If there are articles or other reliable sources that specifically talk about increased media attention in Gervais, then maybe; but if not, the idea that this is a regular feature of the town is original research and should not be taken heavily into account. I don't see a huge problem with the photo in the article, but I also don't think it adds anything to the reader's understanding of the topic. -Pete (talk) 16:16, 6 November 2014 (UTC)

I don't think the media attention to certain topics in Gervais is in any way unique. Any city or community is going to have certain topics that are in the news, that does not make them suitable for inclusion in an encyclopedia (because, again WP:NOT#NEWS) unless like Peteforsyth says, there are multiple independent reliable sources outside of Gervais talking about the media attention paid to Gervais. In any case, the topics certainly don't need their own header. Finally, I think undue weight has been given to these news topics in what is quite a short article for a U.S. city article. There is likely a lot more general information that could be included in the article that is more encyclopedic than the teen pregnancy and train topics. Valfontis (talk) 17:00, 6 November 2014 (UTC)

Thanks, Valfontis and Peteforsyth, for the alert about this discussion. In about 20 minutes I found more significant information about Gervais than the assertion that news crews are filming there routinely now. There are multiple interesting historical connections that could be made in the article, including Sam Brown House and French Prairie, as well as Russian and Canadian settlers. The Saint Paul Mission Historical Society has a searchable database (http://spmhs.pastperfect-online.com/collections.html) that yields 40 vintage photographs, most before 1923 — surely one of these would better represent Gervais, and would be more encyclopedic in nature than the presence of news media in Gervais recently. While the tragic deaths of 2 teens and the condom story will no doubt be the news media's focus, they should not be ours. I suggest reducing that section to a single sentence, and quashing the photo. Cheers! — Grand'mere Eugene (talk) 19:17, 6 November 2014 (UTC)

I agree with Pete and Valfontis: two of anything does not make a trend. —EncMstr (talk) 23:17, 6 November 2014 (UTC)

People get killed on train tracks quite often, and when they do, it's always in the news. Things like this are not particularly notable for a city article. It's definitely undue weight to have both text on the news and an image about it, and it probably still is to include just text or just an image because Wikipedia isn't meant to be so focused on news. The most recent post here by Valfontis sums all of this up quite well. Jsayre64 (talk) 05:20, 7 November 2014 (UTC)

Thank you. I agree with "Grandmere_Eugene" that Sam Brown House is an interesting feature of Gervais, which is why I started the article about Sam Brown House and provided the two pictures that illustrate that article. (About 10 yards from Sam Brown House there is a Roadside memorial for fallen police officer Kelly James Fredinburg, a memorial which I photographed and included in the Roadside memorial page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kelly_James_Fredinburg_memorial_outside_Gervais,_Oregon.JPG I also provided every picture on this page about Gervais, including the picture taken inside the Russian Old Believer Church [4].) And I agree that the history of French Prairie is very interesting, which is why I took the time to expand the article about Marie Dorion, even providing the two pictures that illustrate that article. About the deaths on the train tracks, I don't think anyone used the word "trend." However, the word "tradition" has been used in the media to refer to the train tracks as a route used for decades by locals (often the young) to connect Gervais and Woodburn. The two consecutive deaths within roughly a year may not demonstrate a "trend," but they are an effect of a cause that is notable about Gervais: geographic isolation and remoteness, which has necessitated people for decades to use the tracks as a crude type of sidewalk. These tragic deaths highlight deeper themes within Gervais. It is revealing that Gervais is only one mile away from the second-most visited tourist attraction in the state (the mall in Woodburn [5]), and yet it doesn't even have a connecting sidewalk. On a deeper level, this may highlight economic inequity in the area. (Incidentally, about Woodburn, I also created the page about the opulent Woodburn house called Settlemeier House [6], and I also provided the picture that illustrates that page, a picture which is also used to illustrate the page about Woodburn. [7]. What can I say? The area has some beautiful houses.) With regard to the archival material available via the Saint Paul Mission Historical Society located in Saint Paul, Oregon (incidentally, I contributed to the Saint Paul, Oregon article by posting a picture of the tomb of William Cannon, the only authenticated Revolutionary War veteran buried in Oregon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul,_Oregon#History ), I'd love to see it. Word has it that Gervais was once actually an affluent mill town with -- fitting for this discussion -- a lavish, fashionable train station. All this is said to have been lost in the 1902 fire mentioned on this page. Andrew Parodi (talk) 06:17, 7 November 2014 (UTC)

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Pronouncing Gervais, Oregon

Proununciation of Gervais, Oregon 24.21.153.180 (talk) 20:25, 6 October 2022 (UTC)