The BulleTin • SaTurday, OcTOBer 1, 2022 B5
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Heidi Wright
Gerry O’Brien
Richard Coe
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Page Editor
Challenges exist
in the city’s draft
camping code
Tents line
a sec-
tion of
Hunnell
Road on
the north
side of
Bend in
Septem-
ber.
ryan
Brennecke/
Bulletin file
T
he plan was never that the city of Bend’s camping code
was going to solve the city’s homeless challenge. It’s
not.
The code sets rules designed to
improve safety for everyone in the
community. And it also comes with
its own complications.
That became clearer this week
during the two roundtables council-
ors held to gather public input on the
draft code.
No matter what the code says
about when, where and how people
can camp on city property or in city
rights of way, enforcement is going
to be problematic. City councilors
and staff knew that.
But if the police aren’t the best to
enforce it, if it isn’t going to be regu-
larly enforced by the city’s code en-
forcement, if the city would rather
not hand out citations to homeless
people, who is going to enforce it
and how is it going to be enforced?
We have not heard a clear answer.
That’s understandable. Those are not
easy questions. The code itself is not
finalized. But the community does
need more clarity on enforcement.
Providers who work with the
homeless believe one thing the code
is going to do is move campers
around — not do much to reduce
camping.
People are going to be asked to
pick up all their belongings and
move each day. That would be a task
for anyone. For people struggling to
get by, it’s going to make struggling
to get by harder.
“How am I going to eat today?
Where am I going to get water
from?” said Eliza Wilson of J Bar J
Youth Services and who experienced
homelessness as a teenager. She
pointed out it can take most of the
day to do those things. “If they also
have to move all their belongings, it’s
just not going to work.”
It would also make it harder for
service providers to locate people
they are trying to help and stay in
contact. And it’s not like Bend is full
of welcoming places for hundreds of
people going through homelessness
to go each day.
Another issue will be the way the
policy will actually encourage camps
in some locations. For instance,
consider the section in the draft
code that says that camps cannot
be within 500 feet or 1,000 feet of a
homeless shelter. A well-intentioned
idea. It will also have a way of en-
couraging camps in other locations
just outside that boundary, such as
in certain spots along Second Street
in Bend.
There’s concern that the city code
may encourage people to move to
areas outside the city on public land.
That might please some. It can be
further from services and in areas of
acute fire danger.
These challenges are no reason
to stop councilors from drafting a
camping code. But when they meet
on Wednesday, what are they going
to do about them? You can tell coun-
cilors what you think at council@
bendoregon.gov.
Historical editorial: A
land of opportunities
Editor’s note: The following historical editorial
originally appeared in the November 1, 1907
edition of what was then called The Bend
Bulletin.
A
few days ago a young man
drove into Bend who was
in pretty destitute circum-
stances. He had enough money to
buy feed for his horses and then was
obliged to borrow money to pro-
vide himself, wife and child with
food. Today he has a filing on a
homestead and is earning (unread-
able) a day with the aid of his team.
The good part of it is that work is
plentiful and he can find all the
work he wants at those wages.
This young man is not a knocker.
If you ask him how he likes the
█
country, he replies with a loud
smile that it’s plenty good enough
for him. And he is more than glad
he came. The Bulletin knows other
men who came into this country
and afterwards borrowed enough
money to send for their families.
Later some of them sold out prop-
erty they had in the meantime ac-
cumulated, clearing up from two
to five thousand dollars. Everyone
who might come here undoubtedly
could not do as well in so short a
time as the last named cases, but if
anything is certain it is that there is
no better place in the big and grow-
ing West for a young man, with
strength and a willingness to work,
to come and cast his lot. …
Editorials reflect the views of The Bulletin’s editorial board, Publisher Heidi Wright, Editor Gerry O’Brien
and Editorial Page Editor Richard Coe. They are written by Richard Coe.
Lost pets lose when they can’t be
reunified with houseless owners
BY SEAN P. CADDEN
D
eschutes County, like many
other places across the coun-
try, is experiencing increased
number of homeless, or houseless
persons. West Coast cities in particu-
lar have struggled with this problem
for years with few success stories.
Difficult problems require com-
plex, customized solutions, and each
person experiencing homelessness
has their own set of challenges, so
the problems persist and the home-
less population grows. In animal
shelters, the growing homeless prob-
lem equates to new complexities of
reuniting dogs with their houseless
owners.
Having reliable shelter is part of
responsible pet ownership when the
weather is particularly extreme, but
that can be subjective. Shelter can be
a vehicle, a tent, or an RV — dogs are
remarkably resilient.
While lving in Southern Califor-
nia, I observed some of the most
calm, well-behaved dogs were pets
of homeless people. After all, they
spend all day with their owners,
sometimes looking for food and shel-
ter — very much like the original
dogs who partnered with humans.
These weren’t anxious, abused ani-
mals; they were loved family mem-
bers/protectors/partners.
Society should not be biased
against pet ownership by those facing
homelessness. In fact, we should ac-
knowledge how important a pet may
be to someone who may have few
possessions.
However, if that pet — specfically a
dog — gets away from its owner, and
is then picked up as a stray, there are
difficult challenges in reuniting the
two. Shelters are increasingly faced
with these challenges, and the way-
ward animals are the ones who lose
when the system fails.
GUEST COLUMN
In Deschutes County, the Humane
Society of Central Oregon (HSCO)
sees several dogs each week come
in as strays from areas known for
homeless camps.
These dogs rarely have ID tags
or chips. For all strays, the shelter
searches social media posts and sites
such as Pawboost for any matches,
and if there’s none, the dogs are
placed in stray status for about a
week.
After a week they’re behaviorally
assessed, then made available for
adoption. In the meantime, the dogs
sit in a kennel.
Sometimes the HSCO gets calls
from those searching for their lost
pets. Of course, even relatively sim-
ple tasks as having the shelter phone
number, making a phone call, find-
ing transportation to reclaim a pet
and then paying the impound fees
can be insurmountable if someone is
truly destitute. It can be heartbreak-
ing to know the dog and the owner
should be together, but it doesn’t hap-
pen.
Of course, there are times when a
pet owner is unable to care for their
pet. Incarceration, hospitalization
and other situations can make reuini-
fication impossible. The HSCO has a
“safekeeping” program whereby they
will house an animal at the shelter
while someone is in a temporary sit-
uation wherein they cannot care for
their pet.
The county picks up the cost for
animal to stay at the shelter, but it
cannot be an indeterminate time pe-
riod.
After all, the animal’s quality of life
at the shelter is not ideal. They’re fed,
housed and provided basics but long
shelter stays can degrade an animal’s
Society should not be biased
against pet ownership by those
facing homelessness. However,
if that pet — specfically a dog
— gets away from its owner,
and is then picked up as a stray,
there are difficult challenges in
reuniting the two. Shelters are
increasingly faced with these
challenges, and the wayward
animals are the ones who lose
when the system fails.
mental state. From the perspective
of what’s in the dog’s best interest, it’s
difficult to argue for long-term shel-
ter stays.
Therein lies a conflict: those living
“on the edge of society” may highly
value their pets, but have societal
structures that make it challenging
to claim them when the pets become
strays.
Shelters struggle to connect ani-
mals with their owners, and don’t op-
erate separate systems for those expe-
riencing homelessness. And the dogs
become the unfortunate pawns.
Perhaps some of the funding pre-
scribed for the homeless crisis can be
directed towards better assisting the
reunification of pets and their own-
ers facing homelessness.
No, it’s not a solution to tent cit-
ies, but each responsible pet owner
and their animal deserve the dignity
of being together. And if a society is
judged by the way the treat their an-
imals, one could argue we’re failing
both the animals and society.
█
Sean P. Cadden lives in Bend.
Letters policy
Guest columns
How to submit
We welcome your letters. letters should
be limited to one issue, contain no more
than 250 words and include the writer’s
phone number and address for verifica-
tion. We edit letters for brevity, grammar,
taste and legal reasons. We reject poetry,
personal attacks, form letters, letters
submitted elsewhere and those appro-
priate for other sections of The Bulletin.
Writers are limited to one letter or guest
column every 30 days.
your submissions should be between
550 and 650 words and must include
the writer’s phone number and address
for verification. We edit submissions
for brevity, grammar, taste and legal
reasons. We reject those submitted
elsewhere. locally submitted columns
alternate with national columnists and
commentaries. Writers are limited to one
letter or guest column every 30 days.
Please address your submission to either
My nickel’s Worth or Guest column and
mail, fax or email it to The Bulletin. email
submissions are preferred.
email: letters@bendbulletin.com
Write: My nickel’s Worth/Guest column
P.O. Box 6020
Bend, Or 97708
Fax:
541-385-5804
Question everything you think you know to find the truth
BY WILLIAM BARRON
W
hen we were children, we
listened and absorbed the
lessons taught by our par-
ents and our role models. As adults
we must ensure the lessons we teach
and actions we take are based on
truth and facts, not perspective and
conjecture. Just as “the truth will set
you free” (John 8:32) and “I think
therefore I am” (Rene Descartes) we
must challenge everything we think
we know and view from every per-
spective before we can conceive it is
the truth. We must escape from our
own Plato’s Cave (The Allegory of the
Cave, “Republic” by Plato), and seek
the blinding daylight of reality, and
encourage those who are still captive
in their cave to escape.
The Allegory of the Cave is an ex-
cellent illustrative story for our times.
Trapped in a darkened cave watch-
ing images parade upon the wall. All
we can see are these images and hear
their sounds as each creature passes.
This is our only means of knowledge
and therefore deemed our reality. Just
as children we believe what we see and
hear. If the figure of an ass passes by
and trumpets, we have no choice but
to believe the ass trumpets. We know
no difference. Not until we are able
to escape our bonds of our dark cave
can we see a little more truth. We dis-
cover the visions we saw on the wall
were shadows of silhouettes made
with artificial light, not reality. Yet, we
GUEST COLUMN
still think an ass trumpets because we
know nothing different. The puppe-
teers stay in character as they move
the silhouettes and continue the ruse.
It’s not until, once again, we strive
to reach the bright daylight outside
of the greater cave do we see reality.
We are blinded by the brilliance of
the sunlight. It hurts at first. We try to
shield our eyes until they become ac-
customed to truth’s brilliance. We see
and hear the real ass and elephant and
are shocked, in denial and disbelief.
We see the sky, hear the surf and thun-
der, and smell the wonders and stench
of real truth. We think to ourselves; we
must tell those left behind, still in their
cave. However, after harassment and
threats we understand another great
reality. Each of us must find our own
way out of our caves. Regardless of the
amount of encouragement, each must
decide to either stay in the comfort of
manipulated delusion or face the en-
lightened discomfort of truth. But we
can still encourage them and should.
And today the shadows projected
upon our wall are controlled by mass
and social media. One controlled by
only a few for their financial inter-
ests and the other manipulated by
inhuman bots programmed to dis-
seminate disinformation. We are told
‘truth isn’t truth’ and follow our tribal
instincts finding ourselves more com-
fortable to believe those in our group-
think world and our new puppeteers.
For us to break free of their influence
we must escape the chains by which
they bind us.
So, here’s the deal: if you are not vi-
ciously challenging what you believe,
or think, and those two are different,
every day then you are not in a posi-
tion to challenge or question anyone
else’s ideas or comments. This is a
pretty high bar, but one each of us is
more than capable of jumping, every
day. Through this self-challenge we
can see truth is truth, not perspective
or the chaos of conspiracy theory. El-
ephants trumpet like elephants and
asses don’t, they heehaw.
█
William Barron lives in Bend.