Local law enforcement’s stance on cooperation with the Trump administration.
I think it would be interesting to hear from the leaders of our local, county and state law enforcement agencies regarding their opinions of the overreach by the current president and his administration. Especially with regard to honoring sanctuary status, or cooperating with the federal government’s attempts to enforce ICE policies and highly aggressive attacks on immigrants in our communities, and other citizens who may be affected by the government’s actions.
How do they feel about punitive measures taken by the federal government against Oregon and other states, such as withholding of Congressionally approved funds in an attempt to pressure states into compromising their moral stance to yield to the will of Mr. Trump and his morally and ideologically corrupt cavalcade of clowns and grifters?
I feel that we need to know where law enforcement stands. Are there any social institutions left that can protect us from our federal government? Is it time to get the heck out of here, or do we still have some level of protection in our communities?
—Evan Ehrlich
No Phone Zone
There should be a strict no cell phone policy in all schools. Additionally, Bend La Pine Schools (BLPS) implemented iPads as a primary learning tool without thoroughly evaluating the potential risks to students. These devices were deployed with minimal safety controls. I witnessed this firsthand when my daughter, then in 3rd grade, was exposed to pornography during a supposedly safe search on her school-issued iPad. Incidents like this are unacceptable and demonstrate that iPads should not serve as primary educational tools in schools.
There is now a growing movement to remove these devices from classrooms and hold both Apple, educational technology companies and school districts accountable. For more information, connect with Emily Cherkin at The Screen Time Consultant and subscribe to her newsletter. She is a wealth of information and helps parents and educators navigate the tech world. You may also reach out to Julie Liddell at Ed Tech Law, Julie.Liddell@edtech.law, whose firm is actively working to ensure student safety and institutional accountability.
—Nicole Perullo
Library Raise for Highest Paid Employee, again
Once staff at Deschutes Public Library reach the top of the pay scale the only raises they receive, potentially for decades, is a cost of living allowance (COLA). The library’s highest paid employee, by far, longtime Director Todd Dunkelberg, last year received a nearly 20% self-proposed raise and this year proposed for himself another 3%, waiting for rubber stamping from the Library Board. This is in addition to the COLA awarded to all employees at the top of their pay scale. During these two years, staff members at the top of their pay scale only received a COLA, no self-proposed 20% raise followed by another self-proposed 3% raise.
Think this is unfair? Unfortunately, there is no way to contact the Library Board, an elected board that evaluates Director Todd Dunkelberg’s job performance and whom should hear directly from taxpayers. Instead, the email address listed on the Library’s website, board@dpls.lib.or.us, goes directly to Director Todd Dunkelberg. Director Todd Dunkelberg is able to decide what comments and feedback the elected Library Board is made aware of, and in what context. No public input to elected officials, no outside viewpoints of the devastation Director Todd Dunkelberg has caused staff and the community. Is this an organization that promotes equity and has elected officials that engaged with the community on how taxpayer dollars are spent?
—Jade & Alex Sharpe
Bring back Hoopla
I was very disappointed to hear Deschutes County Library is discontinuing its partnership with Hoopla, a digital platform that provides instant access to thousands of books, audiobooks, movies and magazines. I understand Hoopla takes up a large portion of the library’s budget compared to the costs of maintaining brick and mortar locations staffed with highly-educated and fairly compensated employees. But, discontinuing a digital resource because it is expensive compared with the cost of maintaining buildings filled with paper seems like a step backwards in time. This community is investing many millions of dollars in shiny new library locations throughout Central Oregon, and I fully support the idea of having non-commercialized “third spaces” in our communities to gather, to discover, to learn, or simply come in from the cold. But more and more of us are accessing nearly everything digitally now and that will only continue to grow exponentially in the years ahead when it comes to books. I’m a high-volume library user getting my PhD in a town where the primary focus is on outdoor activities. Besides inspiring views and sunshine, there’s not much this town has to offer us nerds. Hoopla has been an absolute godsend. I’ve found it truly uncanny to discover the vast collection of arcane, academic books it houses just a click away. The intelligentsia may be a barely-discernable minority here in Bend, but pumping a bunch of money into extravagant, resource-sucking structures out in the middle of nowhere—instead of making books more widely accessible—seems like some pretty serious mission creep.
—Laurel Brauns
Letter of
the Week:
Laurel, hopefully you can get used to the Libby app for your digital book and magazine needs. The Kanopy app will allow you to watch movies. Thanks for your letter! You can stop by our office at NW Georgia & Bond for a gift card to Palate coffee.
—Nic Moye, Managing Editor
This article appears in Source Weekly May 15, 2025.
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