Letters to the Editor

I am responding to the very large and long article in the Source with your name on top. (A One Way Trip, tSW Nov. 27)
I see a slanted view and a side-taking which bothers me as the newspaper needs to report, and only report - unless the paper is taking sides - and that could be put up-front in bold letters. It's been voted down three times; its shoddy beginning is an embarrassment. (Jodie Barram said it best in her interview: "transit was a mistake and someone dropped the ball").
Deschutes River Woods was another embarrassment…to include DRW was only to expand the population to a point where more grant money would be available…and the transit system talks to DRW meetings was a sham.

I respectfully submit this letter to the public, hoping that each media outlet that I send this to will show me the same respect they have shown every person who has recently been so willing to publically (sic) criticize a man they have never met. I know some time has passed and that this may be old news, but I wanted to allow this time for everyone to calm down and truly consider what I must express in the hope of returning some of the self-esteem and community standing this falsely accused man has lost.
Much has been said about Dan Hiatt in the past month, and perhaps I was wrong to sit by in silence. I naively believed that at some point someone in the media would contact Mr. Hiatt, and that those who were so willing to jump to conclusions would learn something about this man that might put some of these rumors to rest, or at the very least, quiet some of the furor going on in every media outlet in Central Oregon. As I have since learned, not a single person from the local television stations or newspapers has even attempted to contact him or uncover anything about him as a coach, a person, or what really happened that day between him and the young man he allegedly maligned.

This week's Letter of the Week comes from regular writer Matt Orr who urges fellow citizens to hold Obama accountable even as he stacks his administration with Clinton-era appointees, including his former opponent Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Thanks for the letter Matt, you can pick up your top secret prize at the Source headquarters, 704 NW Georgia.
No doubt if you were stranded beside the road with four flat tires and the vultures circling you would be grateful to the man who came by and offered you a tow and tire change. You might even shed a tear of renewed hope as the kind man tightened down the last lug nut and pocketed your payment. It would be hard, however, not to harbor a certain disappointment-the kind that could easily turn to anger or resentment-when, at the first rest stop, you noticed a suspicious seam encircling the new tires. Retreads!

As a regular reader of The Weekly Source, (sic) I was disappointed with the editor's suggestion (November 20, 2008) that Central Oregon Builder's Association (COBA) and Central Oregon Association of Realtors (COAR) essentially bought the election of the Bend City Council and are therefore expecting payback. While the true reasons voters voted as they did may never be factually known, the major reason may have been the incumbent councilors were incredibly poor stewards of public money.
During the past eight years our city population increased by 55%. During this time the city council increased general fund expenditures 110%, and increased the general fund debt 280%! The city council also authorized borrowing by their newly created urban renewal districts, which would have AGAIN more than doubled the general fund debt, without the vote of the people. Just last spring Mayor Abernethy noted that the council had added or beefed up 23 different programs and Councilor Friedman said he'd known about some of the underlying problems with the city's budget for at least a year. While it seems reasonable, he shared his concern with other councilors, corrective action was not taken.
The most highly visible financial failures of the pre-election city council are:

Hi Mr. Anderson,
Recently during the ideal weather period of mid October I had a visit from long time friends who were actually college buddies and later biology teachers like myself. As we took advantage of the beautiful waterfalls and scenery of the area, we talked about how much of today's teaching of the subject seems to emphasize the microscopic, even the molecular nature of the plant/animal world much to the neglect of the total organisms.
With that comment in mind I shared some of your recent articles from The Source, and a thought occurred to all of us.

As I have already told Jodie Barram, I am happy for her and I think she will do a good job in filling Bill Friedman's council position. I have worked on the Bend Planning Commission with Jodie for many years, and have found that she takes a cautious and reasoned approach to her decisions. I look forward to working with her in some capacity with the City in the future.

However, I want to address some "misrepresentations" of my positions in Eric Flowers' article "One Way or Another: After losing election, Barram wins council appointment." First, while I do disagree with the current vision of Juniper Ridge, I have never said that I want to dismantle the City's Juniper Ridge Economic Development Plan. I believe there should be more industrial land and less research park. It will be the industrial land that will help create family wage jobs for all segments of the population. I have stated publicly that it is time to let the Juniper Ridge Management Committee do its task of guiding the future of Juniper Ridge. I wouldn't stand in the way of that process.

This week's letter comes from former city councilor John Schubert who
asks a question that's been on a lot of people's minds lately: "What's
with the massive urban growth boundary expansion proposal?"
An
advocate of smart growth and alternative transportation planning,
Schubert questions whether the city's past subsidies to the building
community have led to the current fiscal crisis in Bend. Thanks for the
letter, John. You can claim your prize for this week's winning letter
at the Source headquarters, 704 NW Georgia.
I recently I flew from Frankfurt, Germany to Moscow and marveled at how
clearly the land use patterns unfolded below me. Compact town led to
open agricultural land led to forest land, and then the pattern
repeated, over and over, mile after mile. No rural sprawl as in
Deschutes County; no fuzzy boundary between city and farmland as in
Bend; no homes in the forest. Later in the trip I remarked on my flight
observations to a German acquaintance I met. I asked why he thought
this was so. Without a second hesitation, he said, "It is most
certainly because to do anything else is incredibly wasteful of
government money and natural resources."

Thank you for sending a reporter to our recent Town Hall event. We would like to add some clarity that would give your readers a more detailed picture of the purpose of Bend 2030 and of the highlights of the evening event.
The Bend 2030 Board is designed to be a public/private partnership that will foster support for and oversee implementation of the Bend 2030 Action Plans. Bend 2030 is a legal 501(c) 3 non-profit organization. We work with the City of Bend, a Lead Partner, but Bend 2030 is independent from the City of Bend.

In preparing a nation for war, imperial war leaders have to create a
visible and highly charged emotional sense of injustice and
righteousness to secure national cohesion. Their challenge is to
overcome the natural human opposition to early death and the
destruction of civilian life.
The need to invent a cause for war
is especially important with imperialist countries, because their
national territory is not under threat. There is no visible occupation
army oppressing the people in their everyday life nor does the "enemy"
disrupt normal life.
The task of imperial rulers is to fabricate
a world in which the enemy to be attacked is portrayed as an "invader"
or "aggressor." Since all US imperial wars are fought overseas - far
from any immediate threats, attacks or invasions - US imperial rulers
have the special task of making the reasons for war immediate, dramatic
and self-righteously defensive.

This week's letter of the week comes from Chris Moehl who reminds backcountry users that they need to get involved with the ongoing recreation planning efforts undertaken by the Forest Service along Century Drive if they want to preserve and protect their favorite backcountry spots. Thanks for the letter Chris. We hope that folks will make their voices heard on this important issue. In the meantime, you can make tracks to the Source to grab your prize for this week's letter, two smoothies at Maui Wowi.