Al, Al, wherefore art thou, Al?

Ok, remember when I said I have a slightly disturbing obsession with our local news people? Yeah. It's sick, but it's true. And I like to keep things familiar, you know? I mean, these people come into my house EVERY day like clockwork (as it happens, the news is on pretty much every day at the same times). I feel, perhaps wrongly so, that I know them and that I have some claim to their well-being. So imagine my shock and outrage when I realized that our beloved Al Petersen was:
A. Missing in Action from the morning news on KEZI 9
and
B. More than likely not returning any time in the foreseeable future.

WHAT THE HELL?
You have to understand, this man has provided countless hours of information and good times for me and my family. BOTH of my children, since they were babies, have been fascinated with Mr. Petersen. Seriously, they would track him visually, stare endlessly, and as they grew, they would smile and laugh when they watched him as if he were a favorite uncle. Weird, I know, but I never claimed to be a member of a stable and sane family. We even saw him on some network bloopers shows, and nobody could ride out and enjoy an on-air mishap like Al Petersen.
So what happened?
From what I understand, Chambers Media decided to weed out the senior talent on their channel...pretty much. Which completely SUCKS. And I'll tell you why: these people have made this news program what it is, which IMO is the best local news station in Eugene. They are professional but accessible. They represent our community perfectly because they are part of it. They aren't offensive or snooty. And dammit, I like them. Which should be reason enough for Chambers to keep them around, frankly.
I hope our friend and neighbor Mr. Petersen goes on to find a really really fabulous career above and beyond KEZI 9 News. And I hope I see him out and about in the community so I can tell him he ROCKS and that we miss him. Hey, I know. I'm pretty sure most people are as sick and sickened by Seacrest as I am, perhaps Idol needs a fresh, new spokesperson.
Cheers, Al.