Eric Flowers, Author at The Source - Bend, Oregon

The Mount Bachelor Voucher Fiasco

It looked like a pretty good deal at the time: For $269, you could buy a voucher for five all-day lift tickets at Mount Bachelor

Eric FlowersMarch 25, 2009March 24, 2024

It looked like a pretty good deal at the time: For $269, you could buy a voucher for five all-day lift tickets at Mount Bachelor at Joe's Sports & Outdoor stores - a savings of anywhere from $4 to $15 per day, depending on which days you skied.

The deal turned out to be not so sweet, though, when Joe's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early March - and then Mount Bachelor management decided it wasn't going to honor the vouchers, except for those sold at the Joe's store in Bend.
The mountain's marketing manager, Alex Kaufman, told reporters that Joe's still owes the resort more than $100,000. "Normally, Joe's would pay Mount Bachelor for the amount they sold by month. December, January, February, we never received that money," Kaufman said.

Opinion

The Big Payday: Overstimulated at last, drone åwars, ships that bump in the night, and more!

Editor’s note: Mike McMenanminuses has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from Cape Disappointment,

Eric FlowersMarch 25, 2009July 7, 2023

Editor's note: Mike McMenanminuses has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from Cape Disappointment, WA, on assignment for or-bust.com and The Source Weekly.

$3,333.33 For Every American
Don't get running for your mailbox anytime soon. $3,333.33 for every single American (300,000,000 and counting) is what President Obama's economic team is "very confident" will at last stabilize banks (on top of the $1,457,000,000,000 already authorized for the Stimulus Bill and TARP funds). Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner requested the $1 trillion to remove "toxic assets" (bad mortgages, IOUs to bookies, that "friend" who still owes you $5 et al) from balance sheets. Love Canal redux, we haven't seen this level of cleanup since team-building pudding wrestling at the last AIG retreat.

News

A Drop In The Bucket: Critics say state water laws won’t protect Metolius if resorts proceed

The Metolius goes rushing by.Whether the Metolius basin is a place where you admire spring wildflowers, attempt to catch elusive bull trout, run or ski

Eric FlowersMarch 18, 2009May 17, 2024

The Metolius goes rushing by.Whether the Metolius basin is a place where you admire spring wildflowers, attempt to catch elusive bull trout, run or ski trails through old-growth ponderosa stands, kayak the river or set up a tent at its banks, most people can agree that there is just something undeniably special about the area.
"You don't find many places like this left in the world," said Jeff Perin, owner of The Fly Fishers Place in Sisters. He calls the Metolius his homewaters, located about 20 minutes away from the shop. And he is smitten.

Opinion

Concealing Oregon’s Concealed Weapon Permits

Oregon’s open public records law was a fine idea when it was enacted in 1973. Over the ensuing 35 years, though, special interests have carved

Eric FlowersMarch 18, 2009August 7, 2024

Oregon's open public records law was a fine idea when it was enacted in 1973. Over the ensuing 35 years, though, special interests have carved out so many exceptions that the law now has more holes in it than Bernie Madoff's account books.

And as if that isn't bad enough, the state legislature wants to carve another one.
State Rep. Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer) and other lawmakers are backing HB 2727, a bill that would make all records pertaining to concealed weapons permits exempt from the open records requirements. The ostensible reason for it, Thatcher said, is to protect the holders of such permits from "stalkers, identity thieves and people who could otherwise do them harm."

Opinion

Cheney Vs. Reason: The return of the Veep, AIG bonuses, and Other Stimulating News

Eric FlowersMarch 18, 2009May 30, 2025

So Very Stimulated

Missing robot. Reward offered if found.Hear that? The sweet sound of shovels clunking at frozen ground from sea to shining sea - Obama's $787 billion Stimulus Bill is in full effect! Only the murmur of the mob giggling in backrooms, divvying cement contracts and dead fishies, can overwhelm the anxious silence as billions of dollars flood our nation to rebuild roads, grids, bridges and bruised egos. Only South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford isn't content: The White House recently rejected his request to use up to $700 million to pay down his state's debt. Huh? You will remember that Sanford was one of the "unsmart" GOP loyalists to earlier refuse any stimulus dollars; in an annoying about-face, Sanford then asked for a waiver to pay retirement debt that plagues South Carolina like enslaved labor once did. Now Sanford is saying he (again) won't accept any stimulus dollars, which his constituents will surely appreciate - South Carolina has an unemployment rate of 10.4%, the second highest in the country.

Opinion

How Can We Avoid It?

This week’s letter comes from Ben Groeneveld who sends a restrained take on his recent collision with a car while bike commuting. The issue of

Eric FlowersMarch 18, 2009December 2, 2024

This week's letter comes from Ben Groeneveld who sends a restrained take on his recent collision with a car while bike commuting. The issue of bicycle and pedestrian safety remains a serious one in car crazy Central Oregon, and falling gas prices aren't likely to do anything to increase awareness efforts. So thanks for the letter, Ben. With warmer weather on the way, we'd all do well to keep an eye out for bikers and other non-motorized users of our roads. In the meantime, you can collect your winner's prize: an Old Mill pint glass at our office, 704 NW Georgia.
Our vehicles collided. No citation was issued. That's the police report. I wanted to go left, and the driver wanted to turn right. I feel so sorry for the driver that hit me. The driver didn't see me and my viewpoint is that the driver was not trained to look for bicycles. In contrast, I am so experienced in looking for car behavior that might put me at risk. What better could we have done? One of the officers said "It could have been worse."

Opinion

Avoid the Stereotyping

I’d like to comment on last week’s WTF about Pit Bulls. Pit Bulls have been given an undeserved reputation due to irresponsible owners. I am

Eric FlowersMarch 18, 2009January 4, 2023

I'd like to comment on last week's WTF about Pit Bulls. Pit Bulls have been given an undeserved reputation due to irresponsible owners. I am the first to concede that Pit Bulls were not bred to be lap dogs. A number of other species have been bred for attack dogs and in fact are responsible for more attacks. Yet the other breeds do not have the same reputation. More people have been killed this year by cigarettes, cars, McDonald's, and booze than all dogs combined since records have been kept. In fact, far more children are killed by their parents and faulty cribs each year than all the dogs combined. Yet I don't see any anti Big Mac legislation on the horizon.

Opinion

Let’s Buy Bachelor

What Bend should do with our share of the Obama money: buy Mt. Bachelor and run it as a non-profit. Pay all the employees and

Eric FlowersMarch 18, 2009May 30, 2025

What Bend should do with our share of the Obama money: buy Mt. Bachelor and run it as a non-profit. Pay all the employees and officers a fair wage, but run it as a non-profit so that the lift ticket, equipment rental, and concession prices can come way down - lower than any other ski mountain in the U.S.

Opinion

Keep Your Mouth Shut

I have been an avid Source reader for the five years I have lived in Bend, but after reading your WTF article on the Pit

Eric FlowersMarch 18, 2009October 21, 2023

I have been an avid Source reader for the five years I have lived in Bend, but after reading your WTF article on the Pit Bull ban in Oregon I won't be picking up your paper any longer.
Since you stated that no one in your office owns a Pit Bull I think your statements were incredibly ignorant. I have been a Pit Bull owner for the past 8 years (previously owning primarily cattle dogs) and also a dog groomer in the past, and (I) have not encountered a "kid-face tearing Pit Bull" that your article referred to. My dogs have all been kind and loving and really love kids, as are the other Pit Bulls I have encountered.

Opinion

Pit Bull Piece Was Biased

I read the WTF? in the latest issue of The Source. As a pitbull (sic) owner, obviously I, or the rest of us RESPONSIBLE owners

Eric FlowersMarch 18, 2009September 1, 2024

I read the WTF? in the latest issue of The Source. As a pitbull (sic) owner, obviously I, or the rest of us RESPONSIBLE owners (sic), am not going to like that write up. As a journalist, what are you doing taking sides? If no one on your staff owns a pitbull (sic), fine, but stick to journalism, and do not take sides.

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