Bend Works!
I grew tired of passing two beat up old chairs someone had dumped in my neighborhood. (Putting a “free” sign on junk doesn’t make it not-junk). I called the City and they sent me to their website to find a page called Bend Works. I submitted a request, with the location and a photo of the junk, and within a few hours, they had removed the eyesore.
This is a wonderful example of the good people who work for the betterment of our town. We complain and kvetch about government, but most often, government comes through for us. And to the dumpers out there, please keep your junk to yourselves!
—Jim Mahoney
Bend Park & Recreation District
I imagine that I write a concern here that many Bend residents presently share. It is Bend Park & Recreation District’s new fee change from signing up month to month to now having to sign up for a three-month auto charge renewal period. This is so unacceptable. Why this change and to serve what purpose? This makes it hard for those of us who have to travel out of the area numerous times a year. For anyone that has a health situation that disallows them attending three consecutive months. And it’s discrimination against those who are on a fixed income, namely among the senior population who attend the Larkspur Senior Center. Giving members the option to choose between a monthly attendance or a three-month auto renewal attendance would be a decent and more reasonable action. So to the powers that be at Bend Park & Recreation District, please do not enforce only a three-month auto renewal fee option in place of a month-to-month signup option.
Kind thanks for your attention and consideration to this very important matter that concerns many of us Bend residents.
—Denise Chavira
Before the Rodeo: The Hidden Cruelty and Abuse
Many people are unaware of the violence inflicted on animals used in rodeos, and even fewer realize what happens before these events. The public often reports feeling uncomfortable watching calves being roped, as their compassion is activated by the sight of defenseless animals being chased, roped and slammed to the ground by rodeo performers on horseback. These calves are subjected to what Dr. Hugh Werth, DVM, describes as “horizontal hanging.” Once roped, their legs are tied, rendering them immobile — all while the crowd cheers.
But how do rodeo performers learn to rope calves? By practicing on them! In the words of PRCA writer Gavin Ehringer, “Yeah, I accidentally killed and injured lots of calves when I was learning. I mean, I plain roped their heads off till I really learned how to handle them and not hurt them.” Rodeo performer Keith Martin, 2018 USA Pro-Rodeo Legend, candidly admits, “Do I think it hurts the calf? Sure I do. I’m not stupid.” Or the veterinarian and calf roper, T. K. Hardy, as reported to Newsweek, “I keep 30 head of cattle around for practice at $200 a head. You can cripple three or four in an afternoon. So it gets to be a pretty expensive hobby.”
Imagine if we replaced these innocent calves with the dogs we so deeply love here in Central Oregon; there would be public outrage — and rightly so. It’s time we stop accepting traditions steeped in violence and advocate for events that promote prosocial values.
—GD Cumming
Mountain Bike Snobbery. RE: Letters, 8/1
I had to laugh at Matt Orr’s suggestion that older mountain bike riders invest in strength coaches, not pedal-assist bikes. What snobbery! I am a 73-year-old man who survived a heart attack and have a pacemaker. Yet, I’m threatened by younger riders who claim that “you’re cheating,” or “I’m scared of you going too fast,” “there are hundreds of miles of forest roads for you to use,” or “if I ever catch you riding on a single track again, it’s going to get ugly.” Just call the police if you feel threatened by an old man with a heart condition on a bike. I’m engaging in civil disobedience and would enjoy presenting my case in front of a jury.
My pedal-assist gives me confidence that I can use the Phil’s Trails system and get back home safely. Why not make mountain bike riding more inclusive, not exclusive? Why do mountain bikes have so many gears? It’s to allow riders to tackle slopes that would be otherwise impossible. I view my pedal assist as a lower gear that allows me the freedom to ride in the mountains instead of around the golf course. My pedal-assist mountain bike has the same fit, form, function, and it obeys the same laws of physics as an “acoustic bike.” So quit telling me that “you’re cheating:” It’s not a competition.
—Gerald Marcyk
Letter of
the Week:
That last line, though! Aren’t bikes supposed to be fun? Letter of the week, Gerald.
—Nicole Vulcan
This article appears in Source Weekly August 8, 2024.
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Agree 100 percent that rodeos belong in the dustbin of history. Tormenting animals for “fun” is condemned by anyone with a conscience.
How many animals will continue to suffer and die in rodeos before politicians do something to stop these atrocities? Frankly, it is abhorrent that in this day and age any civilized society would entertain condoning such brutality towards helpless animals. Why do we allow cruel people to be cruel? The spectacle of rodeo, forcing animals to participate in their own misery, terror and death, perpetrated by cowards who claim a sport of it, it is barbarism, it only demonstrates how cruel rodeo and their participants are. Rodeo cowboys Confuse bravery with cowardliness and callousness. truly it is a contest of cowards!
Dr. Robert Bay from Colorado autopsied roping calves and found hemorrhages, torn muscles, torn ligaments, damage to the trachea, damage to the throat and damage to the thyroid. These calves never get a chance to heal before they are used again. Meat inspectors including Drs. Haber and Fetzner who processed rodeo animals found broken bones, ruptured internal organs, massive amounts of blood in the abdomen from ruptured blood vessels and damage to the ligamentum nuchae that holds the neck to the rest of the spinal column.
Calf roping is a skill used in branding cattle. Sometimes, at Rodeo speed. I’ve never seen a calf disabled, which as future product, costs the owner a lot of income. But they’re roped once. Rodeos started, to show off skills developed during work. With pros and hobbyists, it’s different. But contestants are not cowards. Look into how many have lost fingers or suffered broken bones calf roping. I doubt ropers think they’re brave, just skillful. Sometime, try reaching over a calf, lifting it, and putting it on the ground without injury to you.
As for outlawing Rodeo. Aside from the cultural battles, writing such a law seem like a lot of tanglefoot, to prevent loopholes, clarify definitions, etc. If you oppose it, don’t go and encourage others not to. At some point, it dies. Like newspapers.
Disclosure: I spent time on ranches as a youth, have no connection to ranching and have not attended a rodeo in several decades.