TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021
Iconic moment in Bend: Wienermobile
rolls up to the last Blockbuster store
By Kyle Spurr
The (Bend) Bulletin
BEND — Two cultural
icons converged in Bend on
Saturday, April 24 when the
Oscar Mayer Wienermobile
parked in front of the last
Blockbuster video rental store
on Earth. The Wienermobile,
the rolling orange and yellow
symbol of Oscar Mayer hot
dogs, pulled into the Block-
buster parking lot off Third
Street to a crowd of about two
dozen people taking pictures
and singing, “I wish I were an
Oscar Mayer Weiner.”
Some people were busy
picking out movies inside the
Blockbuster and were startled
when the 27-foot-long hot dog
on wheels parked outside.
“I saw it pull up through
the window, and I just started
yelling and ran to the win-
dow,” said Esty Pittman, who
was visiting from Salt Lake
City with her boyfriend, Jacob
VanOteghem.
Pittman, 31 and VanO-
teghem, 30, stopped Saturday
to visit the Blockbuster and
had no idea the Wienermobile
was scheduled to visit.
It was a fl ashback to
childhood for Pittman, who
remembers singing the Oscar
Mayer song in the grocery
store with her mother and
looking for the Wienermobile
on road trips with her family.
“My mom used to push me
around the grocery store, and
I would sing the Oscar Mayer
song,” Pittman said. “This is
my ’90s dream come true.”
Blockbuster was the third
out of four stops in Central
Oregon for the Wienermobile.
The traveling hot dog made
an appearance at Fort Rock
Park in Sunriver on Thursday,
Ryan Brennecke/The (Bend) Bulleti
Ruby and Brewer Mottern stand with their two dogs Griz (behind cutout) and Luna
as their mother, Jody Mottern, takes their picture Saturday, April 24 while visiting the
Oscar Mayer Wienermobile at the Bend Blockbuster store.
in downtown Bend on Friday
and will travel south again to
the Village at Sunriver from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
The Wienermobile has
been on the road since 1936.
Today, six Wienermobiles
travel around the country at
all times.
The Wienermobile that
came to Bend travels the West
Coast and averages about 500
miles per week, said Tommy
Derken, a “Hotdogger” who
drives the Wienermobile.
Derken graduated from
University of Southern Cali-
fornia in May and hit the road
in the Wienermobile in June.
Driving the Wienermobile
is the perfect job for a recent
college graduate, since it’s
good public relations and
marketing experience and a
good way to see the country,
Derken said.
“And you are a celebrity
everywhere you go,” Derken
said.
Derken and another
Hotdogger, Nina LeBrun,
spent Saturday handing out
stickers and Wienermobile
whistles to the crowd. The two
Hotdoggers also took families’
pictures, signed autographs
and helped children pose
behind cardboard cutouts of
hot dogs.
No food was served during
the event, which is a common
misconception, Derken said.
“We don’t sell hot dogs,”
Derken said. “We just look
like one.”
Bend resident Helen
Guerrero-Randall came
early Saturday and could not
contain her excitement as she
watched the Wienermobile
park in front of Blockbuster.
Guerrero-Randall, a
retired medical librarian for
St. Charles Health System, al-
ways loved the old advertise-
ments for Oscar Mayer on TV,
but never had a chance to see
the Wienermobile in person.
“I didn’t know they still had
this going around,” she said.
“They are actually still doing
promotions. I’m thrilled.”
Guerrero-Randall enthu-
siastically sang the entire
Oscar Mayer song, took a
picture with the cardboard
cut out and got Derken’s
autograph.
She soaked in the nostalgia
of Oscar Mayer and Block-
buster, where she still has
her membership card to rent
movies.
“It’s nostalgic in a really
good way,” Guerrero-Randall
said. “It’s that positive nos-
talgia. The endorphins are
fl owing.”
Family of man killed by police seeks investigation
PORTLAND (AP) — The family
of the man fatally shot by a Portland
police offi cer is calling on the governor
and state attorney general to appoint a
special prosecutor to do an independent
investigation of the incident.
Robert Delgado was shot on April
16 by East Precinct Offi cer Zachary
DeLong at Lents Park in Southeast
Portland.
His children and other relatives gath-
ered Friday at the Portland law offi ces
of their attorney, J. Ashlee Albies, The
Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
“The family recognizes that we don’t
know everything that happened and
that the investigation is still underway,”
Albies said. But she said video of the
encounter and witness accounts are
“deeply disturbing and alarming.”
“We see that Robert is having a men-
tal health crisis,” she said. “He is clearly
struggling to keep his composure and
we hear the way that the police were
responding.”
A 911 caller reported that a man in
the park was doing quick-draws with
a gun but not pointing it at anyone,
according to the Police Bureau. DeLong
got there and radioed that Delgado
wasn’t following police commands. Min-
utes later, DeLong fi red at Delgado from
behind a tree about 90 feet away.
Police recovered a replica handgun
with an orange tip on it and a magazine
to the gun that Delgado had. Police
photographed the gun in the grass but
did not say exactly where it was.
Delgado suffered from anxiety and
depression and had been living outside
and “couch surfi ng,” according to his
family and court records. His sister
said he struggled with substance abuse
addiction.
Speaking on the family’s behalf,
Albies said a special prosecutor would
ensure an independent review of the
shooting.
ACLU to represent Bend group in
lawsuit over cost for public records
BEND (AP) — The Ameri-
can Civil Liberties Union
says it will represent a social
justice organization in Bend
in a lawsuit fi led by the city
after months of wrangling
about how much the nonprof-
it should pay in fees related
to a public records request.
The Central Oregon Peace-
keepers requested internal
city documents related to a
clash between supporters
of then-President Donald
Trump and Black Lives
Matter activists at a park
last October. The request also
asked for any records that
show the general relation-
ship between the Bend Police
Department and groups that
oppose the activities of social
justice groups such as the
Peacekeepers, The Bulletin
reported Friday, April 23.
The city called the request
overly broad and charged
the Peacekeepers $3,600
in fees for 65 hours of staff
work to assemble them. Bend
offi cials declined to release
the records for free under a
public interest waiver and
instead offered to reduce the
fee by 25%.
“It shouldn’t cost two
months’ rent for an activist
to see what their government
is doing,” said Alan Kessler,
an attorney from ACLU of
BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
OREGON NEWS
Oregon representing the
Peacekeepers. Kessler argues
that the city is acting in “bad
faith” and is charging the ra-
cial justice advocates differ-
ently than other requestors.
The lawsuit stems from a
decision by Deschutes Coun-
ty District Attorney John
Hummel, who reviewed the
case at the Peacekeepers’
request and found the city’s
fee was unreasonable. Under
Oregon law, parties can ap-
peal public records disputes
to county district attorneys.
The city says it is now
worried that with his deci-
sion, Hummel created a new
standard for public records
fee waiver requests that is
contrary to state law and
sets a precedent for groups
demanding the city waive
fees in future large record
requests.
“Because we process re-
quests in a non-discrimina-
tory manner, a new standard
for fee waiver requests could
mean City staff have to
perform free work for other
groups or individuals with
very different political or
social views from the Peace-
keepers,” Mary Winters,
the city’s attorney, wrote in
an email to The Bulletin.
“The issue of the standard
is important enough to take
to court and get a clear
answer.”
“This issue is not about
(the) content of records, but
is a relatively straightfor-
ward and honest disagree-
ment on the reasonableness
of fees and whether the City
has discretion to charge fees
for a broad and expansive
request in this case.”
The ACLU fi led a re-
sponse to the city’s lawsuit
in Deschutes County Circuit
Court on Wednesday and
fi led a counterclaim asking
for Bend to pay its client’s
legal fees.
The Peacekeepers initially
requested the public records
after Trump supporters and
racial justice activists got
into a brawl at a Bend park
on Oct. 3. The melee began
when an activist stole a
Trump fl ag from a Trump
supporter. Multiple people
threw punches and some
sprayed Mace. Police also
confi scated two guns.
S TATE B RIEFING
Klamath Falls restaurant fi ned second
time for COVID-19 violations
KLAMATH FALLS (AP) — A Klamath Falls restau-
rant landed a hefty fi ne Friday from state workplace
safety offi cials amid COVID-19 for continuing to offer
indoor dining after it was similarly fi ned last Decem-
ber for the same thing.
Casey’s Restaurant was fi ned $27,660 by the Oregon
Health and Safety Administration for four violations,
the agency said.
The restaurant was fi ned $8,900 over alleged viola-
tions in December. Casey’s Restaurant has appealed
that fi ne. Employers have 30 days to appeal citations.
It wasn’t immediately known if the owners plan to ap-
peal the latest fi ne.
Klamath County has experienced high COVID case
numbers and no indoor dining was allowed during the
inspection period to limit disease transmission.
The restaurant’s fi nes also included infractions such
as not setting up an infection control plan or monitor-
ing employees’ potential exposure to the virus, Oregon
OHSA said.
Michael Wood, administrator for Oregon OSHA,
called the citations a “critical part” of his agency’s role
in enforcing Oregon’s health and safety rules.
“In the vast majority of cases, we have not had to
conduct formal enforcement visits, because most em-
ployers are choosing to do the right thing,” Wood said.
“They are doing so because they know they are making
meaningful contributions as part of a larger and multi-
faceted community effort to end this pandemic sooner
rather than later.”
Wood is considering whether to make rules on CO-
VID-19 workplace safety — such as requiring masks
and social distancing in businesses — permanent when
the temporary rules expire on May 4. He has said that
any permanent rules will be repealed once the corona-
virus is under control in Oregon and there is no longer
a need for them.
Oregon prison system sued for requiring
inmates to pay for their own prosthetics
PORTLAND (AP) — A class action lawsuit has been
fi led claiming the Oregon Department of Corrections is
violating the Americans with Disabilities Act because it
charges prisoners with disabilities for prosthetics and
other medical devices they need.
The suit was fi led last week in federal court by
Portland attorney Lynn Walsh and nonprofi t legal or-
ganization Disability Rights Advocates, Oregon Public
Broadcasting reported.
The litigation aims to prevent the practice of charg-
ing people with disabilities in prison for health care
appliances and durable medical equipment. In addition
to preventing the practice in the future, the plaintiffs
want the state to reimburse people.
The lead plaintiff, Donald Terrill, is imprisoned at
the Snake River Correctional Institution in eastern
Oregon, and was fi tted with a prosthesis after a lower
leg amputation eight years ago. Since 2013, the Oregon
Department of Corrections has garnished Terrill’s trust
account. He’s paid more than $10,000 toward his own
prosthetic leg and still owes another $14,000. He makes
$45 per month working in prison.
“Because I am being charged for my prosthesis, I
cannot buy much beyond toothpaste and deodorant, or
save up for shoes,” Terrill said in a statement.
The Oregon Department of Corrections acknowl-
edged adults in custody (AICs) are “generally required”
to buy their own medical equipment “like hearing aids
and prosthetics.”
“When AICs are released from custody, these items
leave with the AIC because the equipment is not De-
partment of Corrections property, but personal prop-
erty,” Corrections spokeswoman Jennifer Black said.
Medical items such as canes are supplied by Corrections
and can be returned and used again, she said.
Terrill requires the prosthetic limb to get around the
Snake River prison, according to the lawsuit. Without
it, he said, he wouldn’t have access to the same pro-
grams and services in prison as other inmates.
Driver collides on purpose with car on
coastal highway, leading to three deaths
BANDON (AP) — A man driving recklessly on
U.S. Highway 101 along the Oregon coast Thursday
intentionally collided with an oncoming vehicle, killing
himself and two other people, authorities said.
Cory Orsenico, 32, of California was reported mul-
tiple times for dangerous driving while he drove north
before he crossed the highway into the path of a vehicle
driven by Dawn Adams, the Coos County Sheriff’s Of-
fi ce said Friday, April 23 in a news release.
Before the crash, Orsenico had been reported for
speeding, swerving, passing on corners, cutting off vehi-
cles, running through red lights and speeding through
a school zone in Bandon, the news release said.
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