Kathleen Leppert

I hope this isn't true. Considering the majority of this Council ran on the failures and legal costs of Juniper Ridge, the City buses, etc., I really am not fond of the idea of spending what will be considerable financial resources that we do not have to fight a steep, uphill battle.

While I realize the wind storm reeked havoc within Shevlin Park on New Year's Day, it did the same in many areas in and around Bend, Phil's Trail, Tumalo Creek and the Three Sisters Wilderness area. Allowing some time for mop up of the areas seemed reasonable and after a great deal of debate over the hazards of trees falling on me, rolling on me, or crushing my leaping dogs as we strolled through the woods, I embarked on a short foray into Shevlin to see what the brouhaha was all about. As I slowly crept into the back side avoiding orange tape speaking of great danger ahead, I spotted numerous trees uprooted and laying on their sides. Many other trees lay dead or dying all around me (not quite sure which ones had been there before the storm and which ones were post-storm as I didnâ ™t think rot sat in that fast.) In order to avoid getting clocked on the head by a widow (or in my case "widower") maker suddenly falling out the sky and bashing my brains into the ground, I glanced up continually to make sure there were no treetops dangling precariously overhead. My dogs, sensing my unease, ran quite closely to me to seek protection from the dangers ahead and, most likely, to protect me in the event of said crushed skull. As we wound our way through the woods, we happened on other brave souls scouting out the pitfalls that may lie ahead of us. Those brave souls and I signaled to each other in an effort to relay what we knew and the "safe" spots we had found behind us. All the stress of the foray weighed like a stone on my bladder. An advocate of "leave no trace," I sought shelter from the elements to relieve myself. Up ahead, I was very fortunate to find a way station still standing. Ever so grateful the winds and falling trees hadn't knocked out the survival hut, I thought a moment about leaving a token to nature's generosity behind. However, I needed to move on before fortune turned and we were caught out after dark in the elements. Besides, my cell phone started ringing and it seems I needed to pick up a 6-pack of Porter and some coffee on the way home. I called my dogs back to me and wound my way back through the park to my waiting vehicle. Stunned at the large number of vehicles filling the surrounding neighborhoods, I wondered if there was a party going on that I hadn't been invited to in The Reserve. On stopping one passerby and noting their profuse use of camouflage, I inquired about said party. It was at the time that I received the shock of my life . . . the ⠝party⠝ was in Shevlin Park. It seems that many local Bendites were as disturbed as I at our loss of use of Shevlin and were rallying around to see if there was anything that could be done to â restore⠝ our woods back to their original state. My new friend wanted to know how I was able to make it into Shevlin and back out again so safely and with both my dogs intact. I sketched out a rough map for him in the dirt showing the course I took and the pitfalls I found for him to avoid (profuse dog poop). He thanked me and before we parted, we removed all evidence of the map from the dirt to avoid it falling into the wrong hands. As I watched him ride off into the dangers ahead on his fully suspended Cannondale with quick release pedals, I wished him Godspeed. Whew! It was a scary and exhilarating foray. I now know why the Park District has closed the Park. Itâ ™s way too dangerous for those who are not the most skilled at surviving in the outdoors. Until further notice, Iâ ™m sticking to the Three Sisters Wilderness area with my compass, hiking boots and backpack, because you can get too easily hurt in Shevlin Park.

"Real estate developers, investors and salespeople have run this town like it was their own for the past 10 years. They've asked for and received every kind of variance, break, permission and concession you can imagine. If people are tired of it, it's a BACKLASH, not prejudice." Mmmm Hmmm. As I was saying, lumping all Realtors into the same category. Realtors are made up of many different people from many different political, cultural and socio-economic categories. Pre-judging people is just what I stated . . . prejudism. I know many Realtors who are poor, who are rich, who are environmentalists, who are conservationists, who are republican, who are democrat, who are independent/green/constitutional/non-party affiliated, who are black/white/eurasian/asian/hispanic/arabic/indian, who are religious, who are agnostic, who are in fact quite human with many, many different opinions and positions in life. What I ALSO know is that the majority of non-profit and charitable organizations in town are HEAVILY supported and endorsed by the very people who this blog blasts. I know a number of Realtors who grew up in a homeless environment who were attracted to their chosen career in order to turn around and offer a hand up to those who are where they were. Personally, I believe the people who are so close-minded that rant on about Realtors in this blog do so because they hate the shadow they see in themselves. I suggest you resolve your own inner demons before casting aspersions on others you so clearly do not know.

Wow, Iâ ™m so surprised. Little did I know when I decided to get my real estate license years ago that all of a sudden I would be taking on all the baggage of any and every other person with a real estate license. If one, or even a group, of licensees gather together with a common purpose I must be a part of it, according to the editorial board of the Source. There are approximately 2,000 Realtors in Central Oregon. Out of those 2,000 Realtors, no more than 60 Realtors showed up at the meeting with City Staff. Rough estimates tell me that 3% of the Realtors in Central Oregon have decided to question the City on enforcement of the sign code ordinance. Just 3% of a local industry expressing their personal opinions is an entire community according to the Source. Personally, I see this situation as the typical situation where a few bad apples who donâ ™t follow the rules have screwed things up for the rest of the law abiding community. As bad dog owners who donâ ™t know how to control their dogs off leash in the woods have messed things up for those of us who like to run or bike in the woods with our OBEDIENT dogs off leash yet under control, so have the Realtors who brazenly placed their signs in traffic on the roundabouts and littered the roadsides with directional signs ruined it for those of us who politely place open house signs in neighboring yards with permission of the owners. Many managing brokers and associate brokers have warned their business mates of the consequences of their actions, unfortunately to no avail. Get it straight people, a very small group of Realtors do not comprise the entire Realtor community. Jeez, what am I saying?? Canâ ™t believe I didnâ ™t get it. Prejudism sells. One can never change the minds of people (or the editorial board of The Source) whose prejudism is so ingrained in their psyche that they will never see it even when itâ ™s staring them right in their face . . . or putting money into the pockets of so-called journalists.