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On April 6, Republicans in the Tennessee House of Representatives expelled two young African American Democrats for a purported breach of House decorum.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with the expulsion, one has to wonder what, if any, thought went into it. Did Republicans bother to note that the expulsion would have no practical effect? Both expelled members were immediately reappointed to the House by their local election authorities and were back in their seats in less than a week.

Further, Tennessee law appears to provide that the two cannot be expelled again. Add to this the horrific optics of expelling two young African American men while retaining a white woman accused of the same breach of decorum, you have the perfect formula for disaster that would make any competent political adviser cringe.

— Rob Brazeau, Bend

Support for library board member Cynthia Claridge

I’m writing in support of the reelection of Cynthia Claridge to a position on the Deschutes Public Library Board.

Cynthia has had a passion for books, libraries and literacy since childhood. In serving that passion, she was a kindergarten through third-grade teacher in the Redmond School District for 22 years. She also served on the Redmond Public Library Board for four years, and has been a member of the Deschutes Public Library Board for five years. She also owned a bookstore in downtown Redmond for eight years. She believes libraries are our best resource for promoting intellectual freedom, free speech and democracy.

In her 44 years in Redmond, Cynthia has experienced the impact rapid growth has had on the infrastructure of the community and on the library system. She is dedicated to seeing that the promises made to Deschutes County voters in the 2020 bond passed by residents of Deschutes County, one of which is a new, state-of-the-art library facility in Redmond, are fulfilled.

Please cast your vote for Cynthia Claridge.

— Pat Minney, Bend

Help clean up litter in the city

Bend has a litter problem. The amount of trash lying on median strips, nestled in bushes along the side of the road, and strewn about common spaces is nowhere near the level one might see in other Oregon cities that shall remain nameless, but it’s a lot more than you might think.

Next time you walk your dog, go for a run, or ride your bike, take a closer look. It’s shocking, actually.

Once a week I walk around with a trash bag (or two), some gloves, and a grabber device and pick up whatever I can. It’s mostly alcohol containers, fast-food packaging and other indications of teenagers who are, I presume, disposing of their evidence out the car window. Indeed, yesterday, while walking just two blocks along NW Mt. Washington Drive, I picked up 23 beer cans, 19 cans or boxes of wine, 12 cigarette packages, seven containers of Zyn, and a few other things not fit for mention in a family newspaper.

Certainly, it would be best if people didn’t litter in the first place. But until that happens, I hope The Bulletin readers will join me in addressing this problem. Rather than seeing some trash and thinking that someone else should take care of that, if everyone who reads this letter would pick up a mere five pieces of litter this week, we could help beautify Bend. I realize this isn’t the most pressing matter of our day, but even small steps — when taken by many — can yield big results.

— Brian Pinaire, Bend

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