Letters 6/12 - 6/20 | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Letters 6/12 - 6/20

Letters to the Editor:

AT ONE END OF THE WILDLIFE

The author who thinks "the ODFW thinks like it is 1870" may be correct in dating the ODFW to 1870, but the Oregon fur trade, think trapping, was in its infancy 100 years prior to 1870. The beaver hat fashion craze had long gone being replaced by bird feathers. Besides nearing the end of the savage round-up in 1870 we were also trapping to kill all those predators who were eating up all the emigrants.

I am a volunteer next door at the Des Chutes Historical Museum and I am researching the 1813 rock we have in the museum so all this early fur trade stuff is fresh.

—John T. Kent

One Day at a Time

I've been an avid reader of The Source for a long time, and each week I look forward to reading about community happenings, music, and the like. I appreciate free news even more than I appreciate free cookies.

My fellow TSW reader friends and I would like to humbly propose that the "One Day at a Time" section be completely revamped. I am in agreement with many TSW readers who think this section, while smartly written and at times chuckle-inducing, is unnecessary, and there are other, more prudent ways to use this TSW real estate.

If I wanted to read about Kim Kardashian's paparazzi drama and sausage feet or Justin Bieber's monkey woes, all I have to do is click anywhere on the Internet. There are plenty of free ways to obtain this information.

I am not sure who in Bend this section is for; these stupid starlets and their poor little rich kid problems are dumbing down the paper, no matter how snarky the commentary. We understand the propensity to follow these storylines; however, we would like to see all new material. No one cares how Michael Douglas got HPV vagina cancer of the throat. This information isn't news at all.

As a source of community information, isn't there some sort of moral obligation (or at least  an innate objective) to report significant local events instead of pathetic Hollywood dribble?

The power of free news is really incredible.

The author's writing is so much better than the craptastic information which she reports. We encourage a new era of The Week in Review, with pertinent information and the blatant disregard for all things Kardashian.

The Source is a great place for this community to find information. We'd like all the information to help our brain cells, not murder them....

Thanks for your consideration.

—Addie

Graduations

Celebrating the Journey:

It is the season of many graduations, a completion of a journey.  This year I am touched by two graduations, both really celebrated by their schools.  It is a fifth and eighth grade graduation.  Flower shop staff informed me of how busy they have been with so many graduations, including so many younger graduations.  Adults repeatedly state that in their youth high school was the first graduation to be celebrated, a hint of reaction to all of the youthful graduations we are now recognizing.

I walk away tired from having had two graduations in one day, two hours each of reflection on the years of the children at their respective schools.  I come away feeling richer, knowing that the children in my care have been moved, changed by their school experiences and the recognition of their time at each school.  Maybe, just maybe, our culture is finding a way to have some form of rite of passage, as so many other cultures do.  We have no common tradition to recognize our youth, our religions vary greatly; maybe in our school system, we have found a way to pause and reflect on what has been and for a moment consider their growth, their blooming and their moving on to something new.

So in this year of the graduating classes of 2013, I celebrate my children, I celebrate all children.  I celebrate the hard work of the teachers that reached, stretched and asked something of the children to demonstrate who they are and where they are going.  Thank you to Amity Creek for "celebrating the journey" and also to REALMS for the vision and celebration.  A special thank you to Bettina, a teacher who not only saw the uniqueness and needs of one child, she has the gift and passion to reach children and move them to stretch and reach for what seems impossible for them at the moment.  May all our children be so fortunate to be seen by someone, to be celebrated, and to move on stronger, richer and more solid in their path.

—Karen Willow

Too many dogs in too many places

I am very much aware that Bend is a dog town.  I have friends and family who have dogs and for the most part we tolerate each other. I do not have a dog, nor do I want one.  However, it is getting totally out of hand to go into a hardware store, garden store, grocery store, dining establishment, etc., and have to contend with a dog either in a shopping cart or a large handbag or on a leash.  None of these critters were service dogs.  Trying to look at plants with a slobbering French poodle next to me sent me out the door with a shrug from the clerk.  A snapping ankle biter type does not belong in a grocery store.  Its bad enough when the blonde airhead walks on the River Trail with her dog's leash in her hand and stupidly proclaims that her dog is safe without being tethered.  WTF???  Please, unless you need a service dog, remember that Fluffy or whatever it's name is does not belong in a public shopping venue.

—BJ Thomas

IN REPLY TO "FIRST LOVE OF THE GAME" (FEATURE 6/13)

Loved Brianna Brey's story about growing up with her baseball fanatic dad, Tom. In the late '70s, Tom and I worked as river rafting guides, and I always looked forward to being on the same trips with him because we could talk baseball. Trust me, I was a full minor leaguer compared to Tom when it came to baseball knowledge and lore. Last time I saw Tom, Brianna was just starting playing softball. Nice to catch up with her life all these years later.

—Bob Woodward

IN REPLY TO 'ENDLESS CANVAS' (CULTURE, 6/13)

I thought they looked great. There is a big difference between street art and vandalism.

—Hatersgonnahate

Go back to LA with your unoriginal monster art.

—truth

Ahhhhh. Something so fitting about the Source promoting vandalism.

—jon.jegglie

IN REPLY TO LETTER TO THE EDITOR RE: OUR PICKS—BLACK PUSSY (CULTURE 6/6)

I guess she can never ever have a boyfriend named Dick or ever let her kids play with balls. If a guy owns a cat, I always ask how his pussy is. Serves him right for owning a kitty.

—John Kent

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