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Letters
RE: WE’RE OPEN! BUT THIS IS NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL, 5/15
RE: GYMS ARE OPEN. WILL PEOPLE GO? 5/16 Larger gyms with staff can afford lengthy and expensive mitigation efforts and can assume the risk to clients. Smaller gyms in Bend, facing overhead, mitigation, two months of lost sales, and the assumed risk of transmission and liability between staff and clients, or clients to clients, or clients to staff, face an uphill battle. —Patric Douglas, via bendsource.com
RE: A SUMMER OF NO LIVE MUSIC? 5/17 I liked your article about the Bend music scene and the strange summer of 2020. I am an audio professional who makes a living as an expert in the technology of live concerts. Maybe you could write a piece about the people who have 0 income right now as a result of the fact that there are no live shows happening.
@sourceweekly
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I know of at least 10 colleagues who are out of work. I don’t know if I, or they, will have work for months or even a year. Music is indeed one of the things that will get us through the madness of this time, but for me it’s also the way I feed my family. Thanks for your time. -Ethan Singe via bendsource.comr
RE: MEMORIES OF THE VOLCANO, 5/18 Great story. My older brother, his friend, and I were driving north on I-5 from Federal Way to Seattle to attend a SuperSonics game later that day. I remember sitting in the backseat, looking out the rear window directly south down I-5, and being able to see the plume of smoke and ash spewing thousands of feet into the sky. I’ll never forget it. An acquaintance of mine back then had a cousin who was fishing with his friend that morning on one of the nearby lakes. They were two of the 47 (number correct?) victims of the volcanic blast. Both were never heard from or seen again. - Brian Puncoche via bendsource.comr
RE: ARE WE READY TO REOPEN? 5/7 We went downtown Friday to pick up food prepared by Zydeco. It simply wasn’t safe because of the number of people milling in the streets in groups much larger than the maximum 25 members. Most were younger than 50 and no one was social distancing or wearing masks. That said, I have real concerns about not having a management and enforcement plan as part of a county application process. What I experienced in Bend’s downtown day of opening was no enforcement for public health and safety violations outlined in the Governor’s County application obligations. When I look at system’s issues, like this one—no enforcement, there is obvious cause and effect. The ramifications will be known in 21 days. Other ramifications for parents include whether kids will be in school this fall. Hopefully parents will be back to work by then. Who will take care of their children? When irresponsible citizens tip the scale the ramifications continue. I saw a political sign last evening on the news that said, “selfish and proud of it.” Enforcement is then necessary. If schools remain closed because of local spikes due to no enforcement and the selfish public disregard for COVID public safety, then we have another
problem with what happens to Juniors in high school now? How will that affect these students? It seems clear that opening colleges for 2020 high school graduates will be iffy. So their applications are being carried over for another year. Seems fair. If you have ever been in the position of analyzing industrial bottlenecks... this is one. Lack of alleged enforcement in Deschutes County communities and the Bend Police department specifically results in what? Not being with your loved one if they succumb results in what? Not being able to visit elderly relatives in assisted living results in what? This is a much bigger picture than not getting a safe restaurant menu item from a downtown restaurant we love to order from. We certainly will not be returning for any reason to downtown Bend until we are convinced it is safe to do so. What we saw opening night wasn’t safe. Perhaps the Bend Downtowner’s association will hire security guards to break up groups larger than 25. In my view, that's a replication of services when our taxes pay for Bend Police in the general fund. Perhaps the Old Mill District will have improved options. They do have their security guards in place. Not sure about you, but the enforcement of health, education and welfare safety considerations are important to me and to the continuation of a civil society. —Dianne Crampton, via bendsource.com
Letter of the Week:
Dianne, thanks for pointing out something that is becoming quite apparent as reopening unfolds. We are happy to be back in print, but our office remains closed to the public—so give us a call to arrange pickup of your Letter of the Week gift card! —Nicole Vulcan
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5 VOLUME 24 ISSUE 14 / MAY 21, 2020 / THE SOURCE WEEKLY
What the person above fails to realize is that the perception of human life has become much more precious as history has evolved and unfolded. Much of this is likely due to the nature of our societies and culture. We now have modern medicines and surgical techniques that extend lives far beyond what they were in 1918 or during the other scourges mentioned. Context matters, right? Saving lives, respecting health care and essential workers lives and rights and banding together as humans to stave off unnecessary death is not tyranny or a mass violation of civil rights but is instead civil duty in this day and age. Recognizing we are all on this planet together with a shared goal to live long and prosper is actually the opposite of tyranny. Yes, we can all agree that businesses having to struggle for an unknown time is unfortunate and no one wants that. But the truth is that the economy is nothing more than an elaborate trade and barter system and when it is safe to do so we will all go back to trading and bartering services or goods for funds that were likely earned by rendering other types of services or selling goods. To imply this is a radical plan to tank the economy by a political party sounds fascist and like a poorly contrived conspiracy theory. But unfortunately this type of ideology is rampant now in this country. Makes you wonder what's worse, the virus......or this type of selfish thinking? —Bob Erickson, via bendsource.com
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