Alot of good suggestions here so I will just suggest a club for you to look into. I started flying about 15 years ago as well and I learned at club Right there in Salem! I grew up in Silverton but I was a member of the Keizer RC Association. They have a beautiful field right there in Salem on a sod farm. They have an agreement with the owner of the Sod farm to use the entire sod field when there is no one doing work on the field. You never have to worry about deadsticks!!

Here is a link to the AMA's info on the club:
http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubdetails.aspx?club=971

There is alot of clubs in the area for you to choose from. Good luck!!