Representing the Klamath Basin in Salem requires those who do the job to spend a lot of time away from the places and people they serve.

   While all three of the Klamath Basin’s lawmakers have their own living arrangements in Salem — Doug Whitsett owns a home, Bill Garrard rents an apartment, and George Gilman lives in a 26-foot long travel trailer with his wife Sandy — they wish they were back in their home districts.

   “I know Salem better than my own town now,” said Sandy Gilman, who also works in her husband’s office.  

   Because of the distance between Salem and Klamath County, the three lawmakers make concerted efforts to maintain contact with those who voted them into office.

   Kevin Anderson, one of Whitsett’s aides, said the senator spends a lot of time each week crafting his regular e-mail newsletter, providing more detail than most other lawmakers provide in similar communications.  

   “A lot of people enjoy it,” Anderson said.

   Garrard used to have weekly teleconferences with Klamath County officials and still tries to make it back to the Basin every two weeks or so.

   Gilman, a former dairy farmer who still keeps some cattle on his property outside Medford, said his legislative obligations do make it difficult to take care of his own affairs at times, but he still values the work he’s done for his constituents.

   “You don’t get a lot done, but once in a while, you get a nice little bit done,” he said.