Letters to the Editor 11/17/21 | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Letters to the Editor 11/17/21

Roads, Bridges, Water and Broadband Were on the Line, Bodycams are Doing Their Job,

Editor's note:

This week we introduce you to the works of the local poets who have taken top honors in our annual Poetry Contest. Congrats to the winners—and we hope you join us on Saturday when we, along with the Deschutes Public Library and the Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing program at Oregon State University-Cascades, host a live reading with our winners via Zoom. We love this process and this project, and if there were just one way to improve upon it, it would be to see our poets get to read together in the same room once again! More info on the reading is available on this week's Feature pages.

Meanwhile, we're bringing you some great news tidbits in this week's Source Weekly. Jack Harvel talked to the former executive director of the Bend FC Timbers, who gives her side of the story regarding allegations of embezzlement. We announce the new name for Bend's beloved amphitheater, and we also introduce you to the new mural at Silver Moon. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Letters to the Editor 11/17/21
Courtesy @tonistoptruly/Instagram
Smith Rock during an awesome sunset? Count me in! This photo captured by @tonitstop truly highlights the beauty of Central Oregon's High Desert region.

RE: Roads, Bridges, Water and Broadband Were on the Line. Bentz Voted No. But Why? Opinion, 11/11


Despite Bentz's vote residents of his district stand to get a lot from the infrastructure bill. But, many will criticize the bill even as local workers are hired to build internet, roads, etc., and they will gleefully re-elect Bentz because they falsely believe he is standing up for them. The recent Jacobin survey stresses the need to focus on "bread and butter" issues. But, what do you do when "bread and butter" legislation becomes law and voters live in an alternative reality where it doesn't exist?

—Michael Funke

RE: After a Recent Rollout in Bend, Bodycams are Doing Their Job Opinion, 11/4

Don't be surprised when the outcome of the trial is the exoneration of the officer...

Thanks to both body cam footage and additional as offered by the defense attorney in a public statement about John Hummel's unprofessional exploitation of this case.

What this screed does not present are the number of officer complaints made by citizens alleging misconduct... only to have their complaints dismissed once the body camera footage is reviewed.

One former chief of police here in Central Oregon whose agency has used body cameras for years now offered—after he became tired of false allegations against his officer—that once the citizen and he reviewed the video footage he would ask if they still wanted to pursue the issue...and were willing to be charged with filing a false police report once it was all said and done.

The Source might poll the local law enforcement leadership and ask for the metrics of filed complaints before the agency began using body cameras, and then afterward.

Now that would be an interesting story.

—Gregor Walker

RE: Deschutes South Canyon Natural Area being sold to developers... No... No... No... Letters, 11/4

"Kudos" Heather for your commentary on saving this last and largest remaining open space in the city of Bend above the Deschutes River.

Picture this: 150 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to the Deschutes River. Mature Ponderosa Pines, thriving native plant species, an abundance of wildlife and insects and many recreational uses from hiking to fishing and biking. Amongst all this are lava cliffs that tower within this acreage. Very little water is needed for all this flora to survive.

Now picture this: Clear cutting of the entire forest. Bulldozing the land to a flat land mass. Hundreds of homes replacing this natural landscape. The wildlife will lose its river corridor which is immensely important. The new homes will plant landscape trees that won't be able to exist without water as well as the lawns each one will have. Many roads will be erected to access all these new homes in an already congested part of Bend. Brookswood, Reed Market, Milo, McCellan, Woodriver, Rock Bluff and Powers being the most affected. The peace and tranquility will be gone forever.

Is this what we as Bend citizens want to leave our future generations?

—Maureen Donohue

RE: Bend's Best Maple Doughnuts Chow, 11/11

Bend is behind the curve on arguably the best seasonal donut.... apple cider donuts. Big in New England, you can now find them in numerous places in western OR too, but still not Bend. Maybe next year.

—Erik Fernandez

RE: Downtown Garage

My experience parking in the Downtown Garage yesterday was just plain ugly. The ticket dispenser did not ask about our length of stay and issued a very flimsy 1-hour ticket from a dispenser that wasn't marked. On exiting the bar code reader is not user friendly nor was the fact that since we were over our time limit there was no way to add additional funds. Took 20 minutes give or take to get out of the garage. Emergency help phone didn't work. Pity the poor tourist visiting Bend. I like technology that is user friendly, this is anything but. Bend can and should do better.

—Tom Moses

Letter of the Week:

Tom: A recent opinion piece in another publication by Bend's "parking czar" asked whether Bend had solved the parking woes in Old Bend through a new paid parking program. The answer to his own question appeared to be a "yes." While this is in downtown and not Old Bend, it appears the answer, as it pertains to the technology portion of the parking program, may still be "not yet." Thanks for writing in and come on down for your gift card to Palate! Maybe that will offset slightly the amount you paid for overstaying....

—Nicole Vulcan

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