Letters 1/1 - 1/9 | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Letters 1/1 - 1/9

In reply to "Bend on Ice," (outside, 1/2)

Actually, Ashley's oldest student is 65. That would be me.

I certainly agree that it would be nice to have a full size rink in town. I also think the proposed design is totally foolish and I fear it will fail so badly that it will and up being abandoned. They have a roof directly above the ice to provide shade. That would work if the sun was directly overhead. Of course, that's not the reality in the winter. I suspect the southern most 20 or 30% of the ice surface will be unusably soft on sunny days.

What we really need is a rink inside a real insulated building that could be used for more than just three months in the winter. I'd be perfectly happy with a plain old (cheap) steel warehouse that could be insulated and chilled inside. Instead I see my tax money being squandered on a flashy looking but impractical tourist attraction.

—jcbarlow

In reply to "Top 5 City Council Decisions," (News, 12/26)

Some of the more notable council indecisions or inertia: not pushing Pacific Power to act upon their responsibility to fix or remove the leaking dam instead of Pacific Power just sitting there waiting for some entity to PAY THEM to relieve them of their responsibility in the mess; stewing upon the potential taxes for the land under Mirror Pond because nobody thought the land was worth anything, well guess what...forget about the past potential taxes, the water has already run over it, move forward with a solution instead of a puzzle; Juniper Ridge premise that it would attract major educational institution(s) and instead of it seems to repel them, go figure; and finally but not least nor inclusive, the potential housing, traffic, and environmental issues of a major educational institution on the west side of town, maybe the wrong side of town for this type of development; not putting the pedal to the metal on our legislative reps to stand up for Bend and Central Oregon and the interests of the people instead of their own political standings and prestige.

—Joselyn I Houk

In reply to "A Logical Breakdown of the Dam," (feature, 12/19)

I'm a firm believer in free-flowing, healthy rivers, but I wonder if most supporters of dam removal are aware that removing the dam at Mirror Pond will do little to improve the health of the river in the Bend reach. The dam at Wickiup Reservoir probably has more influence on river health than any other single factor. While our community continues to debate "solutions" to the sedimentation issue at Mirror Pond, the river upstream literally died this year, as it has several times in the past when flows out of the dam are reduced to a trickle. If river health is a genuine concern, Mirror Pond is small potatoes. An additional limitation is the North Unit Canal Dam downstream, which is unlikely to be removed any time soon.

Ironically, some of the best existing habitat for trout (native or otherwise) between Bill Healy Bridge and North Unit Canal Dam exists immediately below the spillway at Newport Avenue. I've not seen any habitat modeling completed for dam retention or dam removal scenarios, but I'd be willing to bet that dam removal would not actually improve fish habitat significantly. Fish habitat in this reach is currently limited in terms of spawning gravel, holding/hiding cover, temperatures and aquatic insect diversity/abundance. Passage at Mirror Pond will do little to affect any of these substantially. Here again, the flow regime from Wickiup Reservoir may offer greater potential to improve river health.

I have no problem with discussion of recreation opportunities as a key factor for the Mirror Pond debate. In fact, the economic value of recreation in a dam-free or dam-modified scenario may be the key to optimizing public benefits at Mirror Pond. That said, advocates for dam removal should drop the pretense of river health as a benefit. The ecological benefits that may arise as a result of modifying the dam at Mirror Pond won't justify the expense, especially when viewed as an opportunity cost for comparable investment in habitat improvements upstream. If river health is the goal, citizens should closely monitor the efforts of the Deschutes River Conservancy to improve winter flows out of Wickiup. When it comes time for the public to be involved in that discussion the implications for the Deschutes will be much greater than anything we do at Mirror Pond.

—pudding

In reply to "Top Five DJ Hurricane Comments," (Opinion, 12/26)

Thank you for noticing my attempts at humor. I made a mistake in my #2 post about the NSA. It should read, "If all this NSA surveillance IS necessary..." Please protect me from the cycleboat.

—DJ Hurricane

In reply to "The Plot Thickens," (News, 11/28)

McKay family patriarch Clyde McKay arrived in Bend in 1911. The Newport Ave. dam was built in 1910. There's no historical title document on record. Why doesn't that resolve the debate? Because powerful local developers are involved, that's why.

By the way, I own the land under Lake Havasu.

—Jochen Zuhause

In reply to Miley Cyrus on the cover of the Source (cover, 12/26)

Shame on ya! Not once, twice, but three times! You know, I pick up this paper to see what's gong on in Bend, music mostly. Oh, and movie times which someone sadly decided to not print anymore! So my "bitch" is putting pics of this f*** bucket wh*re in your paper three times. Come on, you all have to have more class than this!?

You know what I hate about America, that people like this can become un-GODLY rich because a few of us that print articles about people like this. Does "ANYONE" really give a f***?

You know what I love about America? I can write a letter like this and say what's on my mind! So, not to ruin your day, BUT, NO MORE glamorizing people like her. Also while I'm in a good mode...the page that has all the gossip about celebrities behaving badly...Give that person another worthy assignment. Thanks for your time.

—D.D.

Letter of the Week!

D.D.­—Thank you for your lovely letter. (To be clear, though, Miley "FBW" Cyrus appeared FOUR times; you missed her biking around town on Page 7.) Please enjoy a celebrity-free $5 gift certificate to Crow's Feet Commons on us. Stop by to pick it up.

Comments (0)
Add a Comment
For info on print and digital advertising, >> Click Here