State senator gets mention on `Jericho'.

Byline: Bob Welch The Register-Guard

Did State Sen. Bill Morrisette really make national TV? Is P.F. Chang's missing a horse out front? Are Springfield's downtown benches backwards?

We have all the answers for you in April's Q&A:

Question: I was watching "Jericho" recently and I swear there was some quick reference to "Morrisette of Oregon." Am I dreaming?

Answer: No, you heard right. The episode aired Feb. 28. The premise of the CBS series is that 23 nuclear bombs have been set off around the country. In the aftermath, six geographic factions emerge; no longer is there a single government or president. In this episode, a guy is talking about leaders "staking their claim" to rule all, including "Sen. Morrisette in Oregon." How did his name get used? It helped that "Jericho's" associate producer is Keira Morrisette, Bill's daughter and a 1983 graduate of Springfield High School. "Bill was tickled," says Don Bishoff, Morrisette's legislative assistant. But, no, Bishoff says, he doesn't have his eye on the presidency.

Question: Every P.F. Chang's I've eaten at around the country has two large horses flanking the front door. Why just the one at Eugene's new restaurant?

Answer: Nobody's suggesting that Eugene is a one-horse town. Though many of the chain's restaurants have two horses, some have one and some none. "In this case, it was a simple design decision," company spokesperson Laura Cherry says.

Question: I'm trying to remember the name of a doughnut place down on 11th Avenue in the '40s, across from what was then the Sigma Nu fraternity. Ideas?

Answer: Sounds like you're referring to the Spudnut Doughnut Shop, part of a nationwide chain that had about 200 shops in 1948. It was at 770 E. 11th Ave., what's now PeaceHealth's Support Services Building. The Spudnut shops were so named because potato flour was used in the recipe.

Question: In "Animal House," who was used for the band members in the marching band scene filmed in Cottage Grove?

Answer: Churchill High School's band.

Question: Beneath the sign for Meadow Park, along Pioneer Parkway in Springfield, is a smaller sign: "Adopted by Starbucks." What does this mean?

Answer: As a way of connecting with the community, each Starbucks district tries to adopt a park. Meadow Park is it for the Eugene-Springfield area. Four times a year, Starbucks employees and community volunteers spiff up the park. For each workday, Starbucks also makes a financial donation, in this case to Willamalane Park and Recreation District, says Jessica Saxon, manager at the Starbucks on Mohawk Boulevard.

Question: We've spent nights in towns on the coast as far as 60 miles north and 60 miles south of Florence, and yet still find The Register-Guard available. How does the paper get the paper to outlying areas so fast?

Answer: For north-central coastal routes, a truck leaves the plant about 1 a.m. with among the first papers to roll off the press. In Florence, a carrier picks up papers and delivers them to Yachats, where another carrier takes additional bundles north to Waldport and Newport. For south-coast routes, a truck leaves for North Bend at about 1 a.m., too. There, about a dozen motor-route carriers deliver papers as far south as Bandon.

Question: On Main Street in Springfield, the city has placed benches that are backwards - they face the sidewalks and buildings, not the street. What's up?

Answer: Well, it depends on your definition of "backwards." City planner Mark Metzger says the volunteer Springfield Downtown Association recommended that they face that way to enhance the potential for conversation by, say, connecting bench-sitters with people walking out of a store or down the sidewalk. "And this way," he says, "you're not looking at traffic or looking like you're waiting for a bus."

Thumbs up to people talking to one another.

Bob Welch can be reached at 338-2354 or at [e-mail].