ARE RANKINGS PUTTING US ON EDGE?

Byline: Mark Baker The Register-Guard

It must be the clouds. And the rain. Or maybe we've all developed an aversion to tie-dye?

Actually, we're all "stressed out" in Eugene-Springfield because of high unemployment, divorce and suicide rates, according to Fast Forward, a Portland demographic research company that issued the first-ever "Most-Stressed" cities ranking last week.

Eugene-Springfield, wedged on the list between Rockford, Ill., and Lafayette, La., ranked 17th out of 114 midsized U.S. metropolitan areas.

Seventeenth out of 114? Here? Aren't we known for being mellow? The last vestige of hippiedom?

"Unemployment is like a cancer when it comes to affecting a community," said Bert Sperling, CEO of Fast Forward, which produces a Web site called Sperling's BestPlaces. Four years ago, the last time his firm did a "Best Places" to live in America, Portland ranked No. 1 of all U.S. cities. Now the Rose City is No. 6 on the "Most-Stressed" list of large U.S. cities, one spot behind New York City.

Nine "stress-index" categories - unemployment, divorce rate, commute time, violent and property crimes, suicide rate, alcohol consumption, self-reported "poor mental health" and cloudy days - were used to come up with the rankings. Information was gleaned from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FBI, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Cities were ranked in three categories: metro, midsize and smallest. And the Northwest did not fare well. Besides Portland, Tacoma was ranked as the most stressful of all large cities based on high suicide and property crime rates - not to mention the clouds; Salem came in at No. 11 among midsize cities; and Medford-Ashland was 20th out of 117 "smallest" cities.

Many folks in Eugene-Springfield laughed - right through raindrops - at the study.

"How does that fit in to our recently being named one of the 10 healthiest cities?" asked David Resseguie, information manager at Sundance Natural Foods in Eugene.

True, "Self" magazine named Eugene-Springfield among the top 10 healthiest areas in America this past fall. And who did that study? Why, Sperling's BestPlaces, of course.

Different criteria, said Sperling, who has been to Eugene-Springfield "many times" and admitted that he found the area pretty stress-free. "But stress means different things for different people," he said.

And when unemployment is high - it's at 6.7 percent in Eugene-Springfield as of November, 1.1 percent higher than the national average, according to the state - the tax base dwindles, crime goes up, people get divorced and they drink more, Sperling said.

The parking lot was packed at the state Employment Department office in Eugene on Wednesday, but Operations Manager Stephanie Matthews wasn't convinced that Eugene-Springfield is all that stressful.

"No, I've got webbed feet," she said. "I'm a native Oregonian. I'm used to the clouds." Matthews did, however, concede that that being unemployed can be extremely stressful. "I've read that it's right up there with divorce and death," she said. And major layoffs and business closings in Lane County in the past couple of years have taken their toll, she said.

A trip to Onsen Hot Tubs and Spa Rentals on Garden Avenue found Marty Schwarzbauer relaxing in bubbling warm water. Asked if he found Eugene stressful, Schwarzbauer said: "Not at this second."

But he is unemployed after losing his job at Eugene's Record Garden last summer when the city bought the business's property at the corner of 13th Avenue and Willamette Street to build a fire station.

"Economically, it's usually been pretty stressful," the 54-year-old said of Eugene. "But I don't find the weather stressful because I grew up in North Dakota. And socially, it's pretty nice because so many people of every different way of thinking."

Now if we could just stay married to one another. According to Sperling, 12 out of 100 people in Eugene, and 13 out of 100 in Springfield, over the age of 16 are divorced. The national average is nine out of 100.

And Oregon has the 10th-highest suicide rate in the nation, according to the Oregon Center for Public Policy. At four suicides per 100,000, Oregon's annual suicide rate is 40 percent higher than the national average. And Sperling said 13 out of every 100,000 Eugene residents kill themselves.

But Don Knight, owner of Onsen Hot Tubs, still isn't buying it. "I moved up here from California," Knight said. "Not only is it more stressful (there), it's on a whole 'nother plane."

Although Renee Kempka, general manager at Sundance Natural Foods, was having a particularly stressful day Wednesday helping supervise the restructuring of the business's kitchen, the store provides stress relief for its employees in the form of an annual rafting trip and a winter solstice party, she said. And every month, a masseuse comes to the store and gives employees a free 15-minute massage.

If we could just solve this unemployment problem.

"You know the old joke about Eugene, don't you?" asked Resseguie, the Sundance information manager. "Why did the hippie move to Eugene? Because he heard there were no jobs."

`MOST-STRESSED' MIDSIZED CITIES

1: Galveston, Texas

2: Flint, Mich.

3: Fort Pierce, Fla.

4: Bremerton, Wash.

5: Beaumont, Texas

6: Lakeland, Fla.

7: Daytona Beach, Fla.

8: Modesto, Calif.

9: Brazoria, Texas

10: Shreveport, La.

11: Salem

17: Eugene-Springfield

- www.bestplaces.net/stress/stress_study1.asp

CAPTION(S):

Marty Schwarzbauer found a way to beat the area's high stress on Wednesday, relaxing in a rental tub at Onsen Hot Tubs and Spa Rentals.