Opinion

I recently read the Letter to the Editor by Vanessa Schulz in TS Weekly. I looked into [her] other work and now realize that the sanctimonious crap she peddles is much more a danger to community than youngsters dissecting a trout.
I notice you are a Vegan and the question arises, just how much do you really respect life? Organisms, living ones, are displaced from the carrots you eat. Do you carefully place them elsewhere while you eat the carrot? No! You eat living organisms like the rest of us. The only way to truly follow the path you’ve insinuated in your work is to become a Jain. If you are unfamiliar with Jains, they are a mouse click away in a Google search. You may be interested in joining as their numbers are always dwindling since they hardly get enough to eat. C’mon, for crissake. Get some real problems!

With a brand new goose kill permit in hand, Bend Park District [BPRD] may move sometime this week or next against the geese in Drake Park.
The community is invited to come to the park to peacefully and lawfully bear witness to yet another extermination. The Bend Police Department has graciously offered us the sidewalk on the east side of Riverside Drive as an assembly point.
If you can join us at Drake Park on the morning of the operation and would like to be alerted, please call 541-280-0802 or e-mail goosewatchalliance@yahoo.com. We will have daily updates on our website www.goosewatchalliance.com and Facebook – Uncle Goose.

I recently moved here from Anchorage, Alaska, and I’ve become a faithful reader of The Source Weekly. It’s one of my “go to” places to look for events and information in the Bend and Redmond area.
This past issue on “Why Local Matters” was fantastic! I really enjoyed reading about some of the stories of local businesses and seeing their passion to make it here in Bend. As a wannabe foodie, my list of places to try out is now doubled thanks to all the ads too! All of the positive karma here just confirms my decision to move here!
Keep up the good work, and I look forward to the next issue.

Two weeks ago, after a devastating tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri, a concerned group of Bend citizens with ties to the affected area approached the Common Table with the idea of a Joplin Relief Dinner. Josh Hart, a local do-gooder, provided inspiration through his work in the disaster zone. The Common Table team was activated, donations for the event were solicited, and within a matter of days, local musicians, professional chefs, and a host of volunteers had come forward to assist with the charity event. Despite the inclement weather, over 100 citizens of Central Oregon were served a fantastic meal, including top-notch entertainment. A resulting $2,500 was netted for the people of Joplin. My thanks go out to all of the folks that showed up and also to the wonderful people that made the event possible. Donations for Joplin continue to be accepted at the Common Table.

As a longtime Bend resident, I am periodically reminded that we live among good people. There are days when it is easy to forget how kind our neighbors can be. A fantastic example of kindness occurred during the [Pole, Pedal, Paddle] PPP. We entered this year as a family, and were enjoying the event when a bike mishap injured my son (he's fine now) and destroyed the rear wheel of the bike, preventing us from completing that portion of the race. But, kindness and sportsmanship appeared immediately. I'd estimate that at least 95 percent of racers slowed or stopped to offer assistance. A kind gentleman at the aid station (Sorry, we missed your name) offered to help us and loaned his personal tools to try to fix the bike. Unfortunately a dozen broken spokes prevented a roadside repair.