RadioReference.com Forums

Hi, I've been reading some of these forums but so far have not found how I get in contact with a local HAM operator to get some real education.
I bought a little cheap Radio so I could listen to whats out there, and possibly scan ems but ran into trouble with ;p25. anyone think they could help educate me or direct me to people in my local area that could, that would be awesome. I live in Oregon