Olympic torch warms Eugene.

Byline: JEFF WRIGHT The Register-Guard

THEY CAN'T MAKE the trains run on time in America, but they sure know how to celebrate the human spirit once the train arrives.

About 200 people gathered Tuesday at the Eugene Amtrak station to welcome the 2002 Winter Games Olympic flame, and hundreds more lined Eugene streets to cheer on about 25 torchbearers who took turns running, walking and wheeling the flame along a seven-mile route.

No one seemed concerned that the 18-car Olympic train arrived 45 minutes late, least of all Amy Feinberg, a 45-year-old Junction City woman assigned the relay's first leg.

"I woke up at 5 this morning and thought, `Oooh, today's the day,' ' said Feinberg, who has a degenerative joint disease and uses a motorized wheelchair. "But I'm not nervous. This is fun, this is exciting. I'm going to take all the mental pictures that I can."

Feinberg and her compatriots were among 11,500 people picked to carry the Olympic flame across 46 states to Salt Lake City by Feb. 8. Torchbearers were nominated by friends and family members and selected for embodying the Olympic spirit and being an inspiration to others.

The flame reached Oregon early Tuesday morning in Klamath Falls and had later stops in Salem and Portland. It's bound for Seattle today.

The relay's logistics are staggering, and a small army of organizers in blue (Salt Lake Olympics Committee), yellow (corporate sponsor Chevrolet) and red (corporate sponsor Coca-Cola) jackets were in force at the Eugene station.

Officials said the Eugene relay went off without a hitch and encountered no security problems. At the same time, nobody knew all the names or the exact number of local torchbearers.

A cheer went up at 11:20 a.m. when the Olympic train's last car, featuring the flame shooting from a giant caldron, pulled to a stop in Eugene. Mayor Jim Torrey lit a torch from the caldron, then walked down a ramp where Feinberg awaited.

Dressed in the torchbearer's uniform of snow-white pants, jacket, knit hat and gloves, and accompanied by her service dog, Mandy, Feinberg accepted the torch and began her leg - as the familiar Olympic Games theme blared from speakers attached to the caldron car.

Reminiscent of a president's motorcade, nine support vehicles and several Eugene motorcycle officers escorted Feinberg.

Four blocks away on Olive Street, Priscilla Phillips of Eugene waited anxiously for the handoff. "This is a dream come true," said Phillips, 53, an avid runner who's had to switch to walking after suffering stress fractures in her leg and hip.

Phillips said she came out to cheer when the Atlanta Summer Olympics torch relay visited Eugene in 1996, and remembers telling her husband at the time, "I would love to do that." He didn't forget - nominating her for this year's relay.

Torchbearers weren't the only ones moved by the spectacle. Paddie Ayres of Crow was among those lined up along Olive as Feinberg prepared to pass the flame to Phillips. "There it is, there it is!" Ayres exclaimed as she caught her first glimpse of Feinberg's torch. "I think I'm going to cry."

Ayres said she's moved by the international cooperation that makes the Olympics - and the torch relay - possible. "They'll light it at the (opening) ceremonies and here it is, the same flame in my hometown," she marveled.

The relay provided the chance for a brief aerobics workout - and not just for torchbearers. Rosalie Warner of Beaverton and her daughters, Stephanie and Catherine, sprinted as fast as they could when husband and dad, Steve Warner, ran his leg along 13th Avenue.

"We got the digital camera, the regular camera and the video camera," said Rosalie Warner. "We're very proud of him."

A few minutes later, the relay headed south on Pearl Street, where Eugene Fire Chief Tom Tallon carried his torch to the toots of several fire engine horns. Tallon spent 25 years with the fire department in Salt Lake City and was nominated for the relay by a former Salt Lake City mayor.

Four blocks later, Tallon handed off to 16-year-old Rachael Scdoris of Bend, an elite sled-dog racer who is legally blind.

On Patterson Street, eight YMCA preschoolers stood together on an outdoor bench, waving plastic flags and shouting "U-S-A! U-S-A!", as a torchbearer went by.

But it's doubtful anyone got a reception as magnificent as Maureen Sweda's. The 26-year-old Junction City woman began her leg in front of several hundred screaming students at Roosevelt Middle School, most of them chanting "Go Maureen! Go Maureen!"

Many people had no idea the relay was happening but got caught up in it all the same. Eugene parking control officer Sue Kozior stopped a bicyclist - but only to ask him if he knew which way the relay was headed. Once told, she steered her parking meter scooter in that direction.

Kozior caught up with the relay on Agate Street, where teen-ager Nick Swope of Salem felt like an unprepared celebrity.

"Are you the one who's carrying the torch next?" a woman asked Swope. "Can I get my picture taken with you?"

A few blocks later, Swope touched his torch to another held by Dan Todd, who lives and works in Marcola - half of which appeared to be in Eugene to root him on. Todd hadn't expected to participate in the relay.

He had nominated his brother, Billy, who has Down syndrome, for the honor. Salt Lake officials were so impressed with the nomination letter that they decided to let Dan run as well.

Dan Todd completed his leg through a phalanx of cheering University of Oregon students, then passed the torch on Franklin Boulevard. Watching as his brother ran off, Dan Todd summed it up: "He's just a really special person and a special Olympian."

OLYMPIC TORCHBEARERS IN EUGENE

CORRECTION (ran 1/25/02): Greg Boam of Eugene and Joseph Calbreath of Springfield were among those who carried a 2002 Winter Games Olympic torch in Tuesday's relay in Eugene. Organizers didn't provide their names for a list of torchbearers published Wednesday.

Olympic officials couldn't provide a complete list, but most of the torchbearers in Eugene are listed below:

From Eugene: Shannon Scott, Sandra Serpas, Priscilla Phillips, Brandon Blair, George Kokis, Tom Tallon.

From Springfield: Taryne Edmon, Charilyn Modaff.

From Lane County: Amy Feinberg, Maureen Sweda and Tara Reab, all of Junction City; Daniel Todd of Marcola; David Ziegoer of Jasper.

From elsewhere: Lesley Blair and Mark Lavery of Corvallis; Joan Zuber of Molalla; Mindy Parsons and James Barnett of Roseburg; Rachael Scdoris and Edward Rogers of Bend; Nicholas Swope and Richard Swope of Salem; Billy Todd of Klamath Falls; Steve Warner of Beaverton.

- Salt Lake Olympics Committee, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, The Register-Guard

CAPTION(S):

Bowen Marcus joins mother Darklis Keyes and Junie Mattice in cheering the arrival of the torch.