Typewriter

This is a follow-up to the emotional column concerning Larry Godfrey’s tragic death on the mountain. This rang close to home, not only because of my close call, but also, Larry was a friend of a friend of mine. My friend was recently in a collision with another skier. He was OK. The other skier broke some ribs. Not surprising my friend is pretty spooked about the whole situation.

Was my letter to the editor a few weeks ago prescient to the incident? Had Mt. Bachelor done anything after my article to mitigate the problem? My near miss had also occurred on Wanoga! I was lucky, Larry was not. First I think Wanoga in particular is a dangerous slope. It is narrow and it starts to flatten near the bottom, so skiers and particularly snowboarders try to pick up speed to ski out the bottom. It has become a race-style downhill run. Next this was an accident waiting to happen. Third I have not noticed an increased presence of ski patrollers on the hill even since the accident. Since then I have had multiple close calls where I was almost run down by skiers coming from behind at excessive speeds. I have seen a pre-schooler almost mowed over by a snowboarder. No one is sure what happened to Larry, but I would venture to guess that another skier was involved! How many collisions is it going to take before something is done about the situation Mt. Bachelor?

Ride safe! It is the Wild West out there!

— Robert Huberman, Bend

Excuses and obfuscation from DeBone and Adair

Two of our commissioners, Mr. Tony DeBone and Ms. Patti Adair torpedoed a partnership with the city of Bend that aimed to provide some relief for people living without shelter. This is just the latest in their recalcitrant attitude toward solving the problems they were elected to deal with. Unfortunately, had their opponents been elected, together with Mr. Phil Chang, we would have solutions and not the excuses and obfuscation provided by Adair and DeBone. A petition to recall these poor excuses for public servants needs to be initiated post haste.

— William Brant Bend

What solutions are we offering to houselessness?

What the hell is the matter with us? It was heartbreaking to learn the Deschutes County commissioners turned their back on their agreement with the city of Bend to designate an area on the south end of town as a managed camp for the homeless. The issue of homelessness is right before our eyes here in Bend and in Deschutes County. It begs us to respond, yet what do we do? We kick the can down the road. No managed camp in my neighborhood, near my school, near my business. Well then, where might a managed camp be sited? And if we’re not using managed camps as a step towards permanently housing folks who want homes, what solutions are we offering? We ask our elected officials to solve the problems in our communities. Then we pressure them when their decisions don’t go the way we want. So the problem remains for all to see. And we scream about our ineffective County Commission or our City Council. That is the ultimate form of insanity, as in crazy-making.

A friend recently returned from a trip to New Zealand. He shared that there are no signs of homelessness there. I can only imagine that they have a much stronger social contract than we do, one that recognizes the dignity of each human being. In other words, you and I are not put on this earth to exclusively satisfy our own individual needs. Rather we are here to “awaken from the illusion of our separateness” as the venerable Thich Nhat Hanh put it. This sentiment exists in virtually all religious and spiritual traditions on this Earth, which is after all our one home.

— Robert Currie, Bend

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