A6 The BulleTin • Friday, april 23, 2021
Earth Day
DEAR ABBY
Write to Dear Abby online at dearabby.com
or by mail at P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Dear Abby: I am a mom
of two boys, 8 and 12. They
both have best friends whose
moms I like and I would like
to be friends with. My prob-
lem is, when we set up a play-
date for the boys or make
plans, when the time comes
around and I text them about
it, I don’t hear back from
them at all. I have even left
phone messages a couple of
times.
I’m bipolar, and I have so-
cial anxiety, so when I say
yes to something, it is huge
for me. When they don’t re-
spond, I feel as though I am
annoying them or they’re
mad at me for some reason.
The rejection is starting to
upset me, and it’s upsetting
my children, especially my
8-year-old. My question:
How do I deal with flaky
moms without ruining my
relationship with them?
— Rejected in California
Dear Rejected: Have these
women EVER agreed to a
playdate with your children?
Flaky is not the way I would
describe them. Rude border-
ing on cruel would be more
accurate.
It’s time to start cultivat-
ing relationships with other
mothers. Do not personalize
what has been happening be-
cause the way you have been
treated has less to do with
you than what it shows about
them. In the future, rather
than chase these moms, take
your children to a park to
play (if one is open) or enroll
them in other activities.
Dear Abby: I have been di-
vorced for eight years. After
being divorced for a year, I
became curious about dat-
ing and have been on and
off the online dating sites. I
have a rule about not meet-
ing anyone with a status of
“separated.” Knowing myself,
I knew I needed time to get
over my divorce before wel-
coming someone in my life.
A man who listed himself
divorced for 3 1/2 years and
looking for a relationship
was actively contacting me
and invited me to look at his
photos on Facebook. When
I did, I noticed he still had
his wedding photo posted. I
thought it was odd, so I asked
him about it. He said it was
20 years of his life, and he just
cannot pretend it didn’t hap-
pen. He said I was reading
way too much into it.
My gut is telling me,
“Thank you, but no thank
you.” What are your
thoughts, Abby?
— Photo Finished in New York
Dear Photo Finished: Lis-
ten to your gut as you get to
know him better. For some-
one who is divorced and
looking for a relationship
to leave up a wedding pic-
ture with his former spouse
makes me wonder if he’s lazy
about removing pictures
from his Facebook, or sab-
otaging himself because he’s
not quite as ready to move
on to something new as he
thinks he is.
Dear Abby: My late hus-
band was of the Jewish faith.
Our children and I are not.
Through the years, kind and
generous friends and neigh-
bors have sent cards and gifts
for Jewish holidays, which
makes me very uncomfort-
able. What wording would
you suggest I use to have this
practice discontinued with-
out seeming rude or unap-
preciative?
— Non-Jewish in Illinois
Dear Non-Jewish: You
can get your point across to
these thoughtful people by
saying something like this: “I
appreciate your thoughtful-
ness, but you should know
that although my husband
followed the Jewish religion,
my children and I do not. We
are ___________.” Frankly,
you should have spoken up
years ago.
Continued from A1
“This year we have moved
our efforts to clean up land that
has been abused by people who
are driving illegally into areas of
public land that have been des-
ignated as nonmotorized,” said
Keyser, a former Oregon dep-
uty secretary of state. She is re-
tired and has lived in Crooked
River Ranch since 2000.
“There hasn’t been adequate
education, signage and con-
trol over the creation of illegal
roads,” she adds.
The Earth Day cleanup was
just one phase of a larger ef-
fort to restore Steamboat Rock
back to its natural condition.
For years the area has been de-
graded not just with trash from
illegal dumping and homeless
camps, but also off-highway
vehicles, which tear up the
earth, ruining native grasses
and plants that hold the soil in
place.
The side of the road closer
to the river is designated for
nonmotorized use, but it’s clear
that plenty of vehicles enter the
area. The Friends and Neigh-
bors of the Deschutes Canyon
Area group is working with the
Bureau of Land Management
to post more signs and close off
roads with fences and boulders
to protect the fragile ecosystem.
“The major trouble is camps
leaving garbage behind, the il-
legal dumping and the use of
motor vehicles, which is not
authorized,” said Nick Weber,
outdoor recreation planner for
the BLM. “Cutting off access to
motorized (vehicles) will be the
key to cleaning this area up.”
That’s important because
just down the hill is a stretch of
Deschutes River designated to
protect it from degradation.
Weber offered some advice to
people who want to keep this
land pristine.
“Take care of these areas.
That is the message on Earth
Day,” said Weber. “Leave no
trace, leave it better than you
ACLU
Continued from A1
YOUR HOROSCOPE
By Madalyn Aslan
Stars show the kind of day you’ll have
DYNAMIC | POSITIVE | AVERAGE | SO-SO | DIFFICULT
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021: Determined,
loving and modest, your steadfast character attracts an array of friends.
This year, you prove your professional loyalty but still aspire to move up the
ladder. Take that extra step and volunteer when needed. You will be noticed.
Adhering to a budget provides extra funds when vacation time rolls around.
If single, your soul mate could be within reach. If attached, romance is alive
and well. LIBRA keeps the peace.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Teamwork leads to the completion of a time-consuming project.
Begin a daily fitness routine. It could include going to the gym, running,
bicycling or hiking. You will be energized and ready to conquer the world.
Tonight: Do what makes you laugh.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Romantic thoughts make you impatient for the weekend to arrive.
Plan an overnight where you can enjoy the outdoors. If that special someone
is not in the picture, go with a friend who makes you feel good about your-
self. Tonight: Aromatherapy.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Make an executive decision for your family. Discuss it afterward
rather than the other way around. Sometimes you can’t wait for the tribe
to gather. Smooth things over if people disagree. They will ultimately stand
behind you. Tonight: Gather with friends.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
Connect with siblings or relatives you haven’t heard from lately.
Arrange a visit sooner rather than later. Submit a piece you wrote to a publi-
cation or post it on social media. Take out anything that could be offensive.
Tonight: Record a series.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
Be proud that you stuck to a budget and have extra cash to burn.
Upgrade a device or buy a new one. Bring someone along who is savvy
about new models and can help you get started. Tonight: Culinary delights.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Veer from your usual routine. Take a detour and pass by surroundings
you don’t usually view. Something captivating might catch your eye and will
make you return to that location. Tonight: Prank someone who has a sense
of humor.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Don’t feel guilty if you want to be alone with your own thoughts. Get
them off your chest. Jot them down in a journal. Take a long walk. Sort out
what is bothering you on your own terms. Tonight: Movie night.
In January, Michael Satcher,
a member of the Central Or-
egon Peacekeepers, requested
city records pertaining to
events at Pilot Butte Neighbor-
hood Park on Oct. 3, where
Trump supporters and Black
Lives Matter activists clashed,
according to court documents.
Satcher also requested any re-
cords that speak to the general
relationship between the Bend
Police Department and groups
that antagonize social justice
advocates, according to the
ACLU.
The city sought $3,600 from
Satcher and the Peacekeepers
to pay for the request, accord-
ing to the ACLU. The city ar-
gues the fee is reasonable be-
cause the request was broad
and took about 65 hours of
staff time.
Satcher and the Peacekeepers
asked for a public interest fee
waiver. The city instead offered
to reduce the fee by 25% and
asked the racial justice group to
narrow its request.
In February, Satcher filed an
appeal with Deschutes County
District Attorney John Hum-
mel, who issued a decision that
found the city’s fee decision
was unreasonable, according to
court documents.
In March, the city filed a
lawsuit against Satcher and the
Peacekeepers, asking a judge to
find that offering a 25% reduc-
tion in fees was reasonable. If
the city wins, the Peacekeepers
may have to pay roughly $3,600
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Mounds of trash were collected during an Earth Day cleanup on BLM land near Terrebonne on Thursday.
found it for future generations.”
Further along the trail, Key-
ser points out abandoned
campfires, trees with limbs cut
off for firewood, and haphaz-
ard roads that cut through the
area. Off in the distance, the
Deschutes River rushes past
with Mount Jefferson forming
a dramatic backdrop.
“This was part of the
(camper) village. It’s all weeds
now,” said Keyser, pointing out
the spoiled land. “The trash
was tossed off the rim, old mat-
tresses, tents. It’s going to take a
long time to get it back, but you
have to start somewhere.”
Nearby, volunteer Susie
Garland, a part-time Crooked
River Ranch resident, was pick-
ing up trash amid the juniper
trees with her husband, Jerry.
Tires nearby had been collected
in a pile.
“It’s sad. We used to bike
here, but then we stopped be-
cause it didn’t look good. There
was a lot of garbage, a lot of
dead deer carcasses. It took
away from the experience,” said
Garland. “But it’s already look-
ing better than it looked the last
time.”
The efforts by Friends and
Neighbors of the Deschutes
Canyon Area on Earth Day re-
sulted in dozens of trash bags
hauled away, plus the removal
of larger items, including tires,
a vacuum cleaner, a satellite
dish, a microwave oven, a bar-
becue and wooden palettes.
The volunteers also found a
couch in a cave and buckets
filled with human excrement.
“It’s a shame that people
treat our environment this
way,” said volunteer Mary
Zabilski, a Redmond resident
who volunteers every Earth
Day. “You come to enjoy it,
but how can you enjoy it when
there is broken glass every-
where?”
Another volunteer, Da-
vid Dalton, was blunter when
asked how he felt about the
condition of the area.
“Disgusted, angry,” he said.
“It’s not too bad right here,
but at times I have seen huge
dumps.”
A nearby sign that warns of
a $100,000 fine and one year in
prison for dumping has largely
been ignored.
Near the end of one of the
trash runs, a truck pulled up
along the side of the road and
out jumped local resident Rob
Windlinx, clad in a flannel
shirt and wide-brimmed hat.
Windlinx, one of the original
founders of the group, had
earlier cleaned out the nearby
cave, emptying it of the couch,
a barbecue, and tires.
“There was a young osprey
watching us. That made it en-
joyable,” said Windlinx. “We’re
bringing back the beauty of
Central Oregon.”
By the end of the day, the
volunteers had loaded up
enough garbage to fill up two
transport trucks, said Jeff
Scheetz, one of the organizers.
For the volunteers who put
in the long hours in the sun,
it was a chance to give back to
their community and restore
lands they and others want to
enjoy while hiking, biking and
horse riding.
“We like to use these lands
and keep them clean,” said
Garland. “We didn’t realize it
was Earth Day, we just wanted
to help clean up.”
to the city. ACLU’s counterclaim
seeks the city pay its legal costs.
“We are just seeking the
truth, and the city is coming
after us for it,” Luke Richter,
founder of the Peacekeepers,
wrote in a press release from
the ACLU. “We can’t fix our
broken policing system if those
in charge are willing to break
the law and punish the truth
seekers in order to hide its ac-
tions.”
Kessler said this case high-
lights the larger issue of gov-
ernments not providing ade-
quate access to public records
to everyone — not just organi-
zations or lawyers with money
and resources.
“In order to speak intelli-
gently and make changes in
democracy, the public needs to
have information ... they need
to have access to good infor-
mation about what the gov-
ernment is doing,” Kessler said
Thursday.
The city is seeking what is
called a declaratory judgment
action — which in this case,
means the city is asking the
court to clarify what the law
says when it comes to public
records, said Mary Winters, the
city’s attorney. Amid the legal
battle, the city has continued to
release records to the group.
The city believes Hummel
created a new standard for this
and future fee-waiver requests
that is contrary to state law,
Winters said. The concern is
setting a precedent of waiving
fees for other large requests.
“Because we process re-
quests in a non-discriminatory
manner, a new standard for fee
waiver requests could mean
City staff have to perform free
work for other groups or indi-
viduals with very different po-
litical or social views from the
Peacekeepers,” Winters wrote
in an email. “The issue of the
standard is important enough
to take to court and get a clear
answer.”
But Kessler, one of the attor-
neys representing the Peace-
keepers, said the solution to
the issue of the city not having
enough resources to process
this request is not to put the
burden upon the person re-
questing the documents. The
solution is for the city to ad-
equately budget enough staff
and money to process requests.
Currently, the city only bud-
gets two hours of time to an-
swer public records requests,
according to court documents.
“If the city weren’t able to
process all of its wastewater and
sewage, it would fix that prob-
lem...it’s a government func-
tion,” he said. “In the same way,
archiving and making available
public records is a government
function.”
The city’s request for the
group to narrow the scope of
its request is also problematic,
given that the requestors of
public records usually are not
well funded enough to fight le-
gal battles in court or pay large
fees. It is also hard to know
whether a city’s request for a
narrower search is specifically
created to limit what someone
can see, Kessler said.
“There is a huge power im-
balance,” Kessler said.
Kessler said the city claiming
it acted non discriminatorily
is also questionable, arguing
that the city at the same time it
was charging the Peacekeepers
$71.06 per hour to review doc-
uments charged only $30 per
hour to someone else who sub-
mitted a public records request
days before.
Winters said the city did not
double the rate because who
was requesting the records, and
that the two requests are not
comparable.
The first request was charged
under one section of the fee
resolution, which charges a $30
flat fee for simple requests that
are estimated to take an hour or
less of time.
Satcher’s request was charged
under a different section of the
city’s fee resolution reserved for
more time consuming requests,
and charges requestors the ac-
tual cost of service and is billed
by an hourly rate.
“We don’t practice viewpoint
or any other kind of discrim-
ination. We haven’t, at least in
recent memory, had any re-
questor refuse to work with us
on focusing a request, so we ha-
ven’t had to charge this kind of
fee before,” Winters wrote in an
email. “This issue is not about
(the) content of records, but
is a relatively straightforward
and honest disagreement on
the reasonableness of fees and
whether the City has discretion
to charge fees for a broad and
expansive request in this case.”
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
e
e
Reporter: 541-617-7818,
mkohn@bendbulletin.com
Reporter: 541-633-2160,
bvisser@bendbulletin.com
Located in Downtown Bend
Something you said to a friend could have been taken the wrong
way. Take the high road and get ahead of lingering arguments. Apologize
even if you were not at fault and move on. Tonight: Experiment with spicy
ingredients.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Join a new team for a start-up project. Challenge yourself to go
beyond your skill set. An intriguing message from a former boss or co-worker
arouses your interest. Keep trying to connect if your lines cross. Tonight: Sat-
isfy your sweet tooth.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
You are always on the lookout for new learning experiences. Some-
thing could catch your eye that involves a structured program with tests and
papers. Talk it over with family since you will need their support. Tonight:
Accept a dinner invitation.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
You will resolve a problem you’ve been working on nonstop. Get unse-
rious and take your mind off of a pressure-filled week. Take a dance or Zumba
class. The key is to think less and move more. Tonight: Catch up on email.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
Breathe a sigh of relief. You supported a close friend through a
potential crisis. Remember that when you need the favor returned. A compli-
ment comes from someone you didn’t think noticed you. Keep doing what
you’ve been doing. Tonight: Bubble bath.
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