Baker City--All Cops On the Poor, All the Time!

Persecuting the Old & Poor--I feel so much safer now!
[Edited 4/9/11]

If the Baker City Council, City Manager Mike Kee (& ex Police Chief of Ontario, OR), the "Justice" Court, and Baker City Police Department, have ever, and I mean ever, overstepped the bounds of moral, ethical, civil, and sensible human conduct, it was during the last month or four, when code enforcement officer Shannon Regan and Chief Wynn Lohner, allowed the police, under the color of law, using a very misguided and classist intstrument in the form of City Ordinance 3292 , to persecute two older, 80 plus year old people, and a disabled tenant, on Court Street in our "fair" town of Baker City. Their "crime?" Allowing "stuff" to be accumulated on their already ramshackle old property in an out of the way poor neighborhood that is already full of "stuff" and ramshackle old properties. Hang' em high, right?

In a supposedly "democratic" country where the Wall Street fat cats go free after causing a global collapse, and where we deny millions of our people basic health care (& etc.), where "You have 25 percent—almost 25 percent of the income in the upper one percent," (Stiglitz, Democracy Now!), and where BakerCity's own infrastructure is crumbling, Baker City spends tax dollars persecuting the poor. You can read it every day in the "crime" reports. Some of the folks are actually potential threats, but "stuff" piling up on the property of 80+ year olds in an out of the way poor section of town next to a dilapidated industrial zone? I'm sorry, but Baker City government has run amok.

See Baker City Herald:
Code enforcement conundrum

The article above is a must read for at least part of the story.

See also City Manager, ex-Police Chief Mike Kee touting it as an achievement:
Baker City Weekly Report, April 8, 2011.

Please notice in the city's photos that poor is still poor, ramshackle is still ramshackle (Although they cherry-picked the "after" photos.), even after the city ran up incomplete charge of $1,780, not including your taxpayer dollars for the officer's time for the persecution.

This is the latest evolution of the classist persecution of poor people that began most visibly when the police and City Council went after a disabled life-long Baker City resident back in 2009.

Background articles:

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2009
Property Maintenance Jihad Targets Disabled Life-long Baker City Resident

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2009
Democracy In Baker City, Plus Calder Update (YouTube)

MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2010
Law, Order, and Perhaps a Little Justice?


After the Ron Calder fiasco, the City Council, composed of business people, an old locally grown "Judge," a well off retired government employee, a mindless ex-sheriff's deputy, and a librarian, passed a tightened ordinance that they believe allows them to continue the persecution of the poor in Baker City. That is the ordinance that the police and the "Justice" Court used to go after defenseless poor and (really) old people recently. Given that the number of police, and their budget, in some measure depends upon "crimes" prosecuted and "prevented," I believe the ex-police chief City Manager uses these attacks on old people, and other incidents, in an effort to pad the police budget. It used to be called Fascism, now it is business as usual.

Please note that the ordinance, written to please some well off property owners, realtors, and hopeless anal-retentives, as well as the Council, says that:

"The general rule of nuisance law as established by centuries of legal precedent is that no one has absolute freedom in the use of his or her property, but is restrained by the coexistence of equal rights in his or her neighbor to the peaceful, safe, and enjoyable use of their property, so that each, in exercising his or her right, must do no act which causes injury to his neighbor.

The City Council further finds that unsafe, unsanitary, and otherwise improperly maintained premises and structures within the City of Baker City adversely affect the value, utility, and habitability of the property within the city as a whole. In addition to the obvious hazards which these conditions pose to public health, safety, and welfare; they specifically cause substantial damage to adjoining and nearby property."

The Council has added the clauses, of questionable legal validity, that "otherwise improperly maintained premises and structures within the City of Baker City adversely affect the value, utility, and habitability of the property within the city as a whole." and "they specifically cause substantial damage to adjoining and nearby property." Hopefully, the poor among us will find the resources to contest the legal complexities and vagueness of the claims, and the corollary that in order to live in peace with the rich or otherwise comfortable, we must not adversely affect the value of their property (even if we don't possess the will and money to do otherwise).
__

George Carlin - It's a big club and you ain't in it

Property Maintenance Jihad Targets Disabled Life-long Baker City Resident

IN THIS ISSUE:
- MEET RON CALDER, DISABLED VICTIM OF THE ORDINANCE JIHAD
- CITY'S SIDE OF THE STORY
- APPEAL FILED FOR ORDINANCE CITATION / ORDER & JUDGMENT
- SPEED TRAP UP AGAIN ON 17TH STREET
_______________________________

City rolls over unrepresented indigent citizen.

Meet Ron Calder (above) and His Side Of the Story
Ron on the Right Of Way in Front of His House. There used to be a 100 year old house where the new homes are in the background.

On May 17th, I met with Ron Calder to talk about the citation he received last year for alleged violations of Baker City Ordinances. He talked with me about how the Baker City Police Department has treated him, and about Justice of the Peace Lise Yervasi’s recent court order giving him “7 days, instead of 14, [to remove] all the remaining inoperative, wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, abandoned or junked vehicles, including any camp trailers that are inoperative, wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, abandoned or junked." (If he doesn’t win an appeal or do things to the City’s and Court’s satisfaction, the City will “abate” the property anyway and charge him for it.) He also talked with me about his life, about why it has taken him so long to do some of the things the City is requiring him to do, and about what he believes to be the truth concerning what he has agreed to do to comply with the City’s demands. The following paragraphs tell his side of the story, as it was told to me. (See note 1 at bottom)

Ron is a lifelong resident of Baker City. For 34 of his 58 years, he has lived on the corner of Fifth and Grace streets. When he was young, most of the streets were not paved and many were without curbs and sidewalks, but people liked their semi-rural lifestyles and were used to living without the amenities found in the larger cities of the west. People had a live and let live attitude and did not intrude upon the affairs of their neighbors or tell them how to live. A lot of people, including Ron, learned to get along as best they could, and they saved and stored things they thought they might need to get by. He attended Baker schools, but due to some cognitive difficulties and other problems, he did not graduate and can barely read or write. (His friend Diane reads his mail for him and helps him with his other matters requiring those skills.) Not long after his teenage years, he was helping his father pour concrete for the Culley Lane overpass when he fell down into a hole filled with rebar and wet concrete, severely damaging his feet. A subsequent botched surgery left one of them nearly useless. Over the years since then, he has gotten along as best he could doing concrete work, welding, and odd jobs, until his knees went out, and the injuries to his arms and shoulders from accidents at his mining claim left him disabled. During his working years, he helped remodel many Baker City Buildings, including the County Court House and City Hall. Since then it has been a challenge to just keep a roof over his head.

In addition to his mangled feet and chronic pain, he has a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder, and he lost strength in that arm and leg due to several mini-strokes. He has had bone transplant surgery on his right arm, and he can’t get it over his head. Due to these problems and others, his doctor has him on a box full of prescriptions.

Mr. Calder owns a small 1 bedroom, 1 bath home on about 1/4th acre right next to the railroad tracks where 5th Street is interrupted by them. The home was built 109 years ago and the assessor’s office says the structure has a real market value (RMV) of $4,190. By contrast, a 2 year old, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home just up the street has a RMV for the structure alone of $140,840. With the land, the assessor’s office thinks the residence has an RMV of $167,870. Nelson’s Real Estate is trying to sell it today for $179, 900, as well as another newer home next door for $125,000. The average RMV of the other four houses facing 5th Street on that block is $74, 42.00. It would appear that the two houses Nelson’s Real Estate is trying to sell, at prices so much higher than the average for that block, are a bit out of place. Might be hard to sell them at that location unless everyone else’s home is spruced up or bulldozed, especially with the train tracks so close. Maybe that’s where the police department comes in.
Looking down 5th street towards Ron’s house in corner at upper right.

The story goes that one of Ron’s neighbors was solicited to make a complaint by Shannon Regan, Baker City’s Code Enforcement Officer, but they refused. (No one can offer any proof that this is the case, and because the City has said that it won’t release the names of those who complain, we will probably never know who actually filed it.) Mr. Calder ultimately came to believe that the complaint was associated with the sale of the expensive house up the street. On August 22, 2008, Shannon Regan issued Ron a citation for violations of Ordinance 3216, an “illegal Fence” and Ordinance 2686, “Discarded Vehicles on Private Property.” The fence portion of the citation was subsequently dismissed.
Portion of citation showing alleged violations

I asked two of Ron’s neighbors up the street about the complaint. One characterized him as an “Inoffensive neighbor” and the other said that Ron had never caused them any trouble or been a bother of any kind. Ron felt the same way.

The Police Department has been over to the house 3 or 4 times during this episode and on one visit they brought along Mike Pina of the Planning Department. Ron said that Mike and the others wanted him to let them into his trailers without a warrant so they could look around. Ron cooperated by letting them on the property, but just let them look inside, rather than, I would guess, go on a fishing expedition. While it was not listed in the complaint, not long before his May 13th appearance, the police department told Ron that the City Manager wanted him to remove all personal items from the right of way in front of his house. Below is a photo of the 5th Street right of way in front of Ron’s house. It dead-ends at the railroad tracks just to the left of the photo. He has worked to remove his things.

5th Street right of way in front of Ron’s house

Ron says he has mowed and taken care of this right of way for over 34 years, having worn out several mowers on it. He said that some years ago he received a verbal okay and agreement, first by Tim Collins and then by Milo Pope. He says they agreed that so long as Ron agreed to maintain the right of way he could use it for his own private use. He says the police recently told him that he can’t even drive on it or park in front of his house, even though people park on similar right of ways all over town. Because he had no place to put the firewood he stored in front of the fence, he ended up giving away around 5 cords despite the fact that it is his primary source of heat, and it would be nearly impossible to go out and cut replacement wood.

He says they also told him he had to get rid of freezers he stored meat in, his washer and dryer he had outside, and the oil barrel he uses for backup heat, even though none of these things were on the original citation. There is nothing in the citation that relates to these issues.

He also said they suggested that he and a neighbor were running an unlicensed business subject to another citation. He says that the only business he’s currently engaged in is the “survival business,” and that his mining claim is a hobby. Even the IRS doesn’t call a consistently unprofitable enterprise or hobby a business. Because he is in the “survival business,” he has accumulated a lot of things he finds useful in that endeavor. In that respect, Ron is not a lot different than many of us who pride ourselves on self reliance and making do with what we can make from what we have, including salvage materials that others may see as eyesores.

While the court order says Ron agreed to remove camp trailers with mining equipment in them, he maintains that he only agreed to move the mining equipment on utility trailers that had been stored on the right of way in front of his house. He had planned to take the equipment up to his mining claim, which is at a little over 7,000 foot elevation, but the late winter/spring snow pack has made the roads inaccessible.

In looking at his camp trailers, I have only found one that is inoperable, and that should be easily remedied by pumping up the tire. All the rest have the tires pumped up, and I didn’t see any that would fit the ordinances definition of “discarded vehicle” that is cited in the complaint. If this is the case, on what basis is the court asking him to remove them? The citation only mentions “Discarded Vehicles,” not operable vehicles with mining equipment in them.

There are two, perhaps three, motor vehicles that are currently inoperable, and one old Toyota truck that a neighbor would like to fix up. All but the Toyota can be fixed as Ron gets help. He says he tried to put a starter in one last fall, but the part didn’t work. The worst enemy he has had in getting the motor vehicles running since that time, besides the fact that he is disabled and has to have someone else do a lot of the work, is the deep snow and freezing temperatures we all had to deal with this last winter. He has no building in which to work on the cars, so the work must be done outside in the elements in the dirt, mud or snow.

Mr. Calder has worked to meet the City’s demands for six months now, doing what he can, weather permitting, almost every day. He says his doctor has informed him that this work has been detrimental to his health and has made his condition worse. He would like to comply where health and safety, or public property storage issues actually exist, but given his situation, he needs more time, certainly more than seven days. Where the City seems to be infringing on his private property rights, he feels he has needed legal representation, but he can’t afford it.

A look around Mr. Calders’s neighborhood reveals two other significant issues. One is that many others could also be cited for similar types of alleged violations, but have not been. The other is that his property does not look significantly different than many other properties along the tracks in the area, much of which is zoned industrial. A look along the tracks at the back of his property reveals an industrial zone right across the tracks and in the nearby areas to the northwest. Granted, the vast majority of those along the corridor created by the tracks are ether commercial, or belong to the City, but their character is similar to that found on the Calder property. I have no issue with or complaint about the conditions found on nearby properties, and they are only included here to show that they exist and are being ignored, while Mr. Calder is being cited. Captions refer to photos above them.

These are the camp trailers in Mr. Calder's yard. He stores mining equipment, tools, and other personal items in them.

Ron’s Property starts behind the Garbage Bin and wood fence on Left. Distributing company is over the tracks.

This photo is of the abandoned industrial zone about 2 blocks up the tracks.

This is another picture of the industrial zone, 1 block to the northwest.

This is a photo of the conditions in the City’s Public Works lot one block to the northwest

Examples of possible violations are abundant in the city and in Ron’s neighborhood. One can be found 1&1/2 houses up from Mr. Calder’s home. The unlicensed Ford Bronco in the photo below is said to have been in the same place on the City’s street for a year or more now, a clear violation, and yet nothing has been done about it.

Unlicensed Ford Bronco. Ron’s home is in upper left.

Residence on Carter Street nearby.

Conditions near tracks 2 blocks up on Auburn.

Another residence within 5 Blocks.

This residence is across the tracks and up two blocks.

These photos are just a few examples of how some people live in Baker City. Numerous examples can be found that would not meet the standards of many in the middle and upper classes. Does it give the powerful a right to harass, intimidate, and inflict financial and emotional harm upon them?

What’s different about these situations that would have the City picking on Ron Calder while ignoring these and many other similar situations throughout the City? Does it have something to do with the fact that Nelson Real Estate is selling two expensive, overpriced, and out of place homes just a few doors up from Ron? Or is it that Mr. Calder is simply easy pickings for example setting? I don’t know, but I do know that the City’s actions reek of a high-handed abuse of power that sets the stage for running over the rights of other Baker City residents who are not in a position to defend them selves. If they can do it to Ron Calder, they can do it to others.

The last, and perhaps most troubling aspect of this episode, is the way the City and Court have treated an unrepresented indigent and disabled citizen. This is a classic case of indigent or otherwise powerless people appearing in court without legal representation or other means to defend themselves. In this case, with non-representation, illiteracy, cognitive and physical disability issues, and low income tragically converging, the defendant is literally defenseless. This is because, even though we pride ourselves about cherished rights, freedoms and democracy, and even though we provide some minimal defense to indigent people in criminal cases and certain types of civil cases, there are no provisions in law to force a local jurisdiction to provide legal counsel for anyone in a civil case for alleged property maintenance violations. This leaves unscrupulous City Managers who have arranged for unwarranted power, and Police Departments looking for justification of their expansion, with the ability to prey on people who have few options and no way to defend themselves. Although many states have a few statutes granting right to counsel in certain cases relating to child custody, health, safety, shelter and sustenance, in Oregon there is currently no general right to civil counsel for many of these categories, including property maintenance and other ordinance violation allegations.

The lack of counsel for low income, disabled, or otherwise resourceless defendants often leads to a forfeiture of rights because the defendant has no real idea as to what those rights are or how to enforce them. The police may come in and attempt to intimidate and coerce the victim with threats of other, often baseless charges, such as illegally operating a business. They may expand the nature of the complaint beyond that which was originally alleged to areas not covered in the original citation. They may put a person’s health at risk by forcing them to work beyond their capabilities, especially when they are disabled and don’t have money to hire a crew to make the demanded changes ( “abatement”). All of these things may have occurred in the case of Mr. Calder. Ultimately, because the defendant is unable to comply with their demands, the local authorities, lacking any conscience, may come in and forcefully abate the property with their own crews, hauling off any property they find offensive and charging the victim far more money than would have been necessary if they had been able to do it themselves. Because the defendant lacks the money to pay for the work, the City will then place a lien on the property.

Recognizing a wrong when they see it, the American Bar Association unanimously passed a resolution in August of 2006 that called for a right to counsel in civil cases relating to human needs. Until our American “civilization” advances and legislates such a right, we will continue to see the powerful prey on the powerless in ways that defy the American values we say we cherish.

One wonders how much property the City will end up owning before the Ayatollah and his militia end the Jihad on our hapless low income residents. Hopefully the City Council will assert their ultimate authority to put an end to this before any more people are hurt.

If anyone knows an attorney who would like to offer Ron some pro bono legal help, please call 541-523-2376 and leave a message with a contact phone number.

(Note 1: Given the Court’s timeline of 7 days and the urgency of Mr. Calder’s situation, I decided to go forward without the City’s side of the story at this time. If they are willing to cooperate by providing adequate information to me for completing the story, I will. Unfortunately, the last time I requested information from them, they wanted $208.00 for it)

_____________________________________
City's Side of the Story:

Request for their side of the story:

Hello Jennifer,

Thanks to your gracious reception of Ron Calder's appeal this morning.

I will gladly post something of reasonable length, say three pages not counting a reasonable number of photos, if the City would like to give me their side of the story.

I would appreciate any information in addition to that, if the City will provide it.

Thanks,

Christopher Christie

Response:

Hi Christopher,

We will prepare a staff report on this matter that will be available for the public. In our case, it’s not “our side of the story” but the laws and their interpretation by many lawyers and judges over the years. I appreciate the opportunity, but I’m sure it will all be publicly presented in the near future.

Thanks for your offer.

Jennifer
________________________________
May 18, 2009
APPEAL FILED

Mr. Calder filed the following appeal at about 9:50 this morning.

May 18th, 2009

Ronald G. Calder
1249 5th Street
Baker City, OR 97814


NOTICE OF APPEAL OF JUDGEMENT AND ORDER; CASE NO. 08 V 1901

Baker City Council
C/O Jennifer Watkins, Baker City Recorder
PO Box 650

1655 First Street

Baker City, OR 97814

Dear Councilors:

My name is Ronald Calder. My address is 1249 5th Street, Baker City 97814. My phone number is 541---------. My message phone number is 541----------.

I am the owner of the property at 1249 5th Street and on August 22, 2008, I was cited (Citation and Complaint # ’08-50851) by Baker City Police Officer Shannon Regan for alleged violations of Ordinance 3216, maintaining an illegal fence, and Ordinance 2686, having discarded vehicles on my private property at that address.

On May 13, 2009, a Judgement and Order for that case, number 08 V 1901, was issued by Baker County Justice of the Peace, Lise F. Yervasi. This letter is a request of appeal to you to amend that Judgement and Order. I would like an appeal hearing. This appeal has been filed with the City Recorder’s Office within five days after the decision of the County Justice Court, which has heard the case.

The basis of my appeal is the following”

1. As a disabled, largely illiterate, low income person, I have not been able to adequately defend myself against the charges brought by the City because no public defender has been provided, and I cannot afford one. I did not graduate from high school, can barely read or write, have cognitive issues, and have been disabled since 1987. I was officially classified as disabled in 1991.
2. Ordinance 2686, relating to motor vehicles discarded on private property, calls for, in Section 6, a “Hearing by Municipal Court.” My hearing was not held in a Municipal Court as there is none. Therefore, the complaint and order should be dismissed.
3. In the original complaint dated 8/22/08, the City only identified 2 motor vehicles that they thought were “discarded,” but during the course of this issue being presented before Judge Yervasi, Officer Regan was allowed to make a very confusing assault against me to include all aspects of my property that she deemed in violation of any City ordinance.
4. The order states that I agreed to do things I did not agree to do. For example, I did not agree to move all my camp trailers off my private property. I only agreed to move the mining equipment and utility trailers that had been stored on the right of way in front of my house.
5. My camp trailers are not discarded, inoperative, wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, abandoned or junked, so there is no basis for removing them under any interpretation of the ordinances cited in the citation and complaint.
6. The title of the ordinance in question, 2686, refers to motor vehicles, but the ordinance defines “vehicles.” This shows that the intent is to control storage of motor vehicles, not the camp trailers referred to in the Judgment and Order.
7. The Court and/or the City had no right to try to have me agree to things that were not related to the original complaint, as no complaint concerning those other issues had been filed. Debris and scrap metal were not part of the original complaint for “discarded vehicles” on private property. Likewise, the city had no authority to attempt to force me to remove personal items such as a full freezer, my oil barrel, my washer and dryer, or other items, without a formal complaint and citation.
8. Additionally, Judge Yervasi has apparently allowed Officer Regan to disallow any use of the public right of way located on the portion of 5th Street that runs along the front of my house. I am now told I am no longer allowed the use of this right of way to access the front or south side of my house, even to park, but other citizens throughout Baker City are allowed to park on the public rights of way in front of their homes. Because of the layout of my property this has resulted in severely limited access onto my own property.
9. Even if the Court is determined to have been legally correct to require me to do the things they wanted me to do, my physical condition and the winter weather conditions they expected me to work in were not fairly considered in the hearings. My disabilities and financial condition made it impossible for me to have complied with their demands.
10. The improvements I was able to make were not recognized by the Court and I was given no credit for my attempts, even though they have resulted in a deterioration of my health. I can elaborate at the appeal hearing.

In summary, I believe that this all has been allowed to go far beyond the issue of the citation. I believe that both Judge Yervasi and Officer Regan have been very unfair to me in this entire matter. I believe I have not been given any consideration for what I have already done, or for what I continue to do on a daily basis to try to comply. Additionally, I was not given any consideration that throughout all of this I have been doing the majority of the cleanup solely on my own, despite my being disabled, and that it was expected of me to do these things in the worst of winter. I definitely believe that my punishment for the supposed ordinance violation handed down by Judge Yervasi in her judgment and order that now requires me to remove "everything within my personal property not located within an enclosed structure or she will have it all removed by the City on her behalf,” and that it goes far beyond anything that can be justified by the original complaint.

I respectfully request, and it is to my understanding, that neither the City nor the Court will take any further actions against me, Ronald G. Calder, or my property located at 1249 5th Street Baker City, Baker Co., Oregon, until the appeal is heard by the City Council and their final decision in this matter is given. I also ask that demands made by the Court requiring removal of items, or other actions, not covered in the original citation be rescinded. For any decision regarding actions to alleviate a situation relating to “discarded vehicles,” I request that my disabilities and financial situation be taken into account so that I have adequate time to comply.

I have included a copy of the ticket and a copy of the final judgment and order for your convenience.

Thank you for your just consideration in this matter.

I provided the personal details for this appeal. This appeal was read to me, I agree with what is written in it, and to the best of my ability, I believe the contents to be true and correct.


Signed __________________________________ Dated: May 18, 2009

Ronald G. Calder

CC: Lise F. Yervasi, Justice of the Peace in the Justice Court of the State of Oregon for Baker County District 1.

I request that the City Recorder, or her representative also sign this document, and my copy, in the spaces provided below, to show that the appeal was received in a timely manner.

Signed __________________________________ Dated: _____________

City Recorder or Representative
_________________________________
_________________________________
SPEED TRAP UP AGAIN ON 17TH STREET

While Ron and I were giving a copy of the appeal to the Justice of the Peace's ofice this AM, I ran into an acquaitance who had received a $150.00 ticket for exceeding the 25 mph speed limit on 17th street below Pocahontas. I understand that the Police Department gave several tickets in one day there recently. Unstated quotas for patrol officers as the end of the fiscal year approaches?

A description of the speed trap can be found at:
Did We Have An Open Public Process For Purchase Of New Police Building?
Speed Trap on 17th Street
March 6, 2008.
http://bakercountyblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/do-we-need-new-police-building.html

Summer Sunflowers

In This Issue:
- Summer Sunflowers
- Justice Quotes
- Contrived Complaints Concerning Calder
- Ordinance Jihad / Mandatory garbage pickup
- City Manager's Resume

[This a "final" version published on Monday, August 11, 2008.]


Sunflowers in Baker City Gardens; west Baker above, south Baker below.


From about mid-July to the first fall freeze, you can see a diverse array of sunflowers among the hollyhocks and vegetables in some Baker City gardens. To me, sunflowers are as an important part of summer as a patch of corn, a green tomato, wasted apricots, firewood cutting, huckleberry picking, or a wildflower walk in the woods. Even though sunflowers are fairly susceptible to frost, they will still come up naturally in Baker City gardens from last year’s seed fall, and provide a month or more of cheer.

Here is a small collection of sunflowers from my unruly weed patch of a garden:

Besides providing a good deal of color to a summer landscape, sunflowers are also appreciated by many local birds. Goldfinches and other seed-eaters, as well as the more omnivorous red-winged blackbirds, eagerly seek out their oil and protein rich seeds. (Oh, and they like dandelions too!) It is amusing and satisfying to watch the goldfinches feed their nagging youngsters with sunflower seeds from my garden.


Adult Male (above) and Juvenile (below) Goldfinches Snacking on Sunflower Seeds

Along with blueberries, cranberries and pecans, sunflowers are one of the few native North American plants used for food around the world. As early as 8,000 year ago the Native Americans were utilizing and domesticating our native sunflowers and their relatives in the Aster family (AKA Sunflower family) of plants. They were used for food and oil, medical preparations, and dyes for fabric, face paint, and other things.


Other Sunflower Relatives (& East Oregon wildflowers) in Aster family
that were used by Native Americans:
arrowleaf balsamroot (above) and Hooker's balsamroot (below).

After early Americans and explorers took the seeds back to the “old world,” the plants were used as ornamentals. Slowly, the sunflower gained importance as a food crop—most importantly in Russia, where decades of improvement resulted in disease resistant plants with seeds that were high in oil content. These were re-introduced back into the U.S. 1966, and became the basis for American commercial production.

Verticillium Wilt
The type of Verticillium wilt that affects sunflowers is a fungal disease that also affects many vegetables and ornamentals, including tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and dahlias. It is caused by the fungus Verticillium dahliae, which is fairly common in domesticated garden soils, as is its close relative Verticillium albo-atrum. If it is not already in your garden, it can gain a foot hold by bringing in infected soils or plants. Verticillium first attacks the roots and then plugs up the water and nutritional transport system, while at the same time producing toxins, both of which normally cause a progressive wilting and collapse of leaves up the stems. This may kill the plant and invariably causes reduced yields.



Verticillium Wilt just beginning, left, and more advanced, below.

Verticillium wilt is difficult to control even with fumigation, and V. dahliae is known to survive for up to 14 years in the soil, even without host plants present. Plants like tomatoes seem to require up to 24 hours in saturated soils to become seriously infected, so proper control of watering should reduce incidence of the disease. Purchasing resistant varieties of seed and plants, when available, is a wise choice for those using Verticillium infected soils.

Sclerotina Wilt
Another serious disease and economic problem associated with sunflowers is Sclerotina wilt, which is caused by a fungus in the soil (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum). Head rot and middle stem rot are also caused by this fungus. Sclerotina attacks the roots and the transport systems in the lower portion of the plant first, which normally causes a progressive wilting and collapse of leaves down the stems. In less than a week, the entire plant can shrivel up and die.

Sclerotina Wilt is a serious problem for farmers of sunflowers as entire fields can be wiped out in a brief period of time, and because the fungus is difficult to get rid of once it infests the soil. A problem for gardeners, is that Sclerotina, like Verticillium, can also affect other food crops like peas, dry beans and potatoes, and that weeds can serve as unaffected hosts which retain and/or spread both diseases. Sclerotina can be introduced to your garden from infected soil, seed potatoes, and sunflower seeds carrying the fungus from infected fields, and from windborne spores originating in nearby infected fields or other areas. Both Sclerotina and Verticillium wilt are enhanced by ample moisture, which can result when sunflowers are planted near heavy water users like corn, or simply by over-watering sunflowers. They should be removed from the garden as soon as symptoms occur, and ultimately burned. Keeping susceptible plants, including weeds, out of the garden area for several years will help reduce its reappearance in the future. You can still plant sunflowers in other uninfected areas, being careful not to over-water, and changing locations yearly.


Justice Quotes
From Information Clearing House http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/ :

"Where might is master, justice is servant": Proverb
=
"It is sheer folly to expect justice from the unprincipled": Proverb
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"Much law, but little justice": Proverb
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"Justice is itself the great standing policy of civil society; and any eminent departure from it, under any circumstances, lies under the suspicion of being no policy at all": Edmund Burke
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We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people: Martin Luther King Jr.
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"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity": Martin Luther King, Jr.

Contrived Complaints Concerning Calder

In a continuation of the city’s new enforcement Jihad and campaign against Councilor Calder, officer Shannon Regan, wife of officer Michael Regan, cited Calder on July 31st for riding on the sidewalk downtown.

Section 55 of Ordinance 2893 reads:
Riding on Sidewalks.
No person shall ride a bicycle upon any sidewalk in the area located as follows: beginning at the northwest corner of First and Auburn, thence east to the centerline of Resort, thence north to the north line of Church, thence west to the east line of Main Street, thence north to the south line of Baker, thence west to the west line of Main Street, thence south to the north line of Broadway, thence west to the west line of First Street, thence south to the point of beginning. Riding bicycles is also prohibited in the Post Office Square Park. (As amended by Ord. No. 3009 adopted 1-22-91)

Calder was cited where everyone knows she usually rides on the sidewalk, in a portion of the last block of her regular bicycle trip to work during a time of day when there are few pedestrians about. She has indicated that she yields when they are encountered and often stops to visit with them. She also said that despite the report in the August 1st Herald article, which states that Lt. Brian Harvey indicated that “Warnings were issued last summer,” she has not received a warning for riding her bike on the sidewalk downtown. Another rider she knows WAS issued a warning, instead of being ticketed, just the week before.

Despite the City Manager's contention that there are only a few people with "issues," several people on the west side have expressed discontent about the current situation. Here are two more:

“They should have given her a warning first, not cite her when she’s been using the route for years. They are trying to make her quit—like they did that other gal.”

Concerning the city citing Calder and giving out wrong way parking tickets where it isn’t a real safety issue, another said: “This whole thing is a crock of shit! . . . . It’s all about revenues [and] revenue patrolmen.” This person also complained, to paraphrase, that cars are being broken into and gas is being siphoned out of cars at night, but the cops aren’t out here, they are busy citing people about petty stuff and furthering their political vendettas. Why aren’t they putting these extra personnel on night shift where they are needed? There is a concern that they are also ignoring other problems like adequate street lights, street maintenance, the constant blaring of train horns at night, and that City police don’t seem to be friendly like the Sheriffs are. “How often do the city police wave back compared to the Sheriffs personnel? The Sheriff’s people always wave back.”

Calder maintains that the campaign against her goes back to September 27 of last year when she was threatened with a citation for parking her bike on the sidewalk, near the curb, in front of City Hall. This is where in the past, even city employees, and other visitors like myself, have parked. City Hall is outside of the area where riding on sidewalks is prohibited.

Ord 2893 Section 6 Reads:
“No person shall park a bicycle upon a street or upon a sidewalk except in a rack to support the bicycle or against a building or at the curb, in such a manner as to afford the least obstruction to pedestrian traffic.”

In what she termed “a creative use of the English language” Chief Lohner told her his interpretation was that “I had to use a rack if one is available, if not a rack, then I had to lean my bike against a building and if there is no rack or bldg, then I can park at the curb.” All three of the new city power triumvirate—Petry, Brocato, and Lohner—have been involved in “creative” and very subjective interpretations of certain sections of the ordinance in question. Brocato has indicated to some that for his obviously flawed interpretation concerning the “dots” fiasco he is relying on the interpretation of City Attorney Van Thiel, but as of last week, these opinions had not been made available officially to the entire City Council. This has some questioning whether, after summarily firing the previous City Attorney, Brocato is trying to use the present one as his, or at least the Triumverate’s personal attorney.

The following is picture she took which shows how Calder was parked last year. Note the lack of a bike rack.

I checked around City Hall last week for bike racks that would help serve bike riders and could not find one at the front entrance, although there appeared to be one way around back near the stairs down to the basement. When I took my bike to the new police department building to get a license for it (a relatively painless and so far, free, process that is required by city ordinance), I couldn't find a bike rack there either.

Baker City Hall last week—Note there still is no bike rack for cyclists along or near the entrance.

If you believe that the Triumvirate is not capable of retribution against those who question their policies, just remember what is happening, and has happened, to those who have opposed them in the past.

We currently see what is happening to Calder, an outspoken and articulate opponent of the Triumvirate’s spending policies, including the inflated cost of the new police building, and who has opposed Brocato’s summary firing of the former city planner. Remember what happened to Vickie Valenzuela when she asked too many questions about the City Manager’s policies? After she sat on the floor due to her health issues, Brocato asked her to leave and Petry tried to make her look like a hippy crackpot in the local press. Brian Addison was fired from the Courier not long after raising questions about 4th Amendment rights in relation to police department behavior, and after Chief Lohner visited the Record Courier office to complain to Debby Schoeningh about Brian’s coverage of the police department. (Debby Schoeningh declined to comment about the reasons for Brian’s firing when I enquired.)
Welcome to Miner's Jubilee!
The picture above is of two vehicles which were parked the wrong way on "F" St. at Grove St. after families came in to go down to the rodeo during Miner's Jubilee. Those are not "Welcome To Baker City" notes on the windshields, they are parking tickets. Probably spent more money than they intended on that trip. Can't ease-up even for a moment during a Jihad!

The Wider Ordinance Jihad

In future editions, I will be covering the developing Ordinance Jihad by our elites and money hungry city bureaucracies against working people and the poor. It had a feeble start last year but sputtered to a brief halt over winter and while Officer Shannon Regan was on maternity leave. The new offensive was announced by Chief Lohner in his July 10 column in the Record Courier, in which he says he is transmitting the views of our expensive ($6,666 per month [almost $80,00/yr & Brocato gets around $96,000/yr or so] vs. MacKenzie's monthly salary of $5,171) new Planning Director, Donald Chance, about what he sees as “poor property maintenance”.

A primary concern seems to be that when people are not maintaining their homes and property, those that are able to do so, won’t see their property values increase as fast as they might otherwise, and that new people may be unwilling to move into the community, and that people will be less willing to invest. Perhaps he should have said he is worried about “property maintenance by the poor,” because it really is all about money and class values that favor the rich and increasing their wealth. That’s what some of the law is about anyway, isn’t it—just rigging things to favor the well off, and kicking the poor people out of sight? It really isn’t that new people aren’t coming to Baker City—I moved from Prairie City into an old existing home here in 2004—it is apparently just that many who find affordable housing here aren’t rich and/or ambitious enough. The economic elites seem to want a rural gentrification project (not electrification project!) whereby the poor and low income are simply forced out by oppressive ordinances and increasing taxes. Too many of us like Baker City the way it is--that seems to be what the business elites, new and old, people like Brocato, Petry, Schumacher (and Bryan?), don’t like. How many times have I heard business people complain about the current labor force that is available in Baker City? Councilor Schumacher even mentioned it when running for Council. How many times have I heard them say they need new people here? Do they mean a more malleable laborer with a fresh perspective and a little more desperate--something like illegal aliens maybe? But I digress....

Do low income people not maintain their houses because of criminal or defective minds, or is it just possible that they can’t frigging afford it? Perhaps, in addition, they just don’t share the shiny, bright, spic and span, middle or upper class values, or maybe they just don't know how to fix things? You want to see your property values improve? Help your neighbors, don’t criminalize poverty! Like I mentioned last year, this ordinance Jihad has all the earmarks of a war on the poor.

Now Brocato, who has almost dictatorial powers as long as four Councilors support him (the Charter needs to be changed), is asking the Council to take a look at Seaside, Oregon's mandatory garbage pick-up ordinance! A part of that contract reads: "The owner and/or occupant of any dwelling or business shall subscribe to and pay for service rendered to the dwelling or business." and "All solid waste disposal shall be performed by the franchisee [i.e., monopoly holder].... The person in control of any residential property occupied within the city shall provide for collection and disposal of solid waste from any such structure." (emphasis added) Let's see, the city has granted a monopoly for trash pick up, and now they are considering forcing every home owner to pay that monopoly every month? No matter if you have made other arrangements, like putting your garbage in a friend's half empty container (that's what I do as I have a small bag each week)? What kind of government would consider forcing you to contribute to a private business monopoly, when you can make other arrangements to get rid of your garbage?

Perhaps all this is related to the removal of the old city motto about Baker City being "the Premier Rural Experience" from the city's web home page. That "Premier Rural Experience" may put off some potential rich people from west of here or the cities back east, or even some of the Council and our new city staff hires, so maybe they are dumping the rural experience too. What do Brocato and Chance care, they have their wonderful homes in the country outside the city limits. Hopefully someone will take the time to show Steve how to use his tractor!

From what I've read in the Herald, the new Planning Director, Chance, has an appreciation for B. F. Skinner's understanding of human behavior, and is supposed to agree somewhat with Calder's view, that the punitive approach is a poor way to change people's behavior. Time will tell.

City Manager's Resume

Despite the gushing accolades about corporate experience from several of the City Manager's supporters when he was picked for the top job, some things may not have been mentioned (at least by the Council or the local media).

New York Times, February 23, 1997

"Morgan Stanley's Clunker of An Offering

By LESLIE EATON
Attention, Dean Witter customers (and amateur investors everywhere who are clamoring to get into new stock offerings): Morgan Stanley does indeed have a track record of doing some of the hottest deals on Wall Street, deals that you may be able to buy into once it merges with Dean Witter. But keep in mind that even Morgan Stanley, the investment banker to the corporate stars, underwrites the occasional stinker. Like the Cronos Group, which it brought public just over a year ago.

Cronos, based in Luxembourg, manages fleets of shipping containers. The company may be best known here as a sponsor of more than $400 million in limited partnerships investing in containers.

But Cronos just made history by becoming the first major company whose outside auditors found what they thought was illegal activity -- and reported it to the Securities and Exchange Commission as required by the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995."

From a Securities and Exchange Commission filing found at http://www.secinfo.com/dsVSa.626n.htm#1mu0 :
"Stephen J. Brocato. From June 1, 1997 through March 31, 1999, Mr. Brocato served as President of Cronos Containers Limited ("CCL"), a United Kingdom corporation and one of the Company's primary operating subsidiaries. To terminate his employment agreement, the Company paid Mr. Brocato L209,525 (U.S. $328,954) in salary and expense reimbursements."

From the May1999 issue of "World Cargo News:"

"Cull at Cronos

Hard on the heels of the "resignation" of president Steve Brocato, a number of other Cronos Container executives have lost their jobs as part of new chairman and CEO Dennis Tietz's US$5-6 mill SG&A reduction plan..."

There is also this concerning a Securities and Exchange Commission action against the company and its Chairman, who led the company during most of the time Steve Brocato worked there, in "Business Wire:"

November 16 1999: The Company has consented to the entry of an administrative cease and desist order, entered and published by the SEC on this date. Without admitting or denying the findings set forth by the SEC in the order, the Company has agreed to cease and desist from committing or causing any violation or future violation of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Sections 10(b), 13(a), and 13(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and certain rules promulgated by the SEC thereunder. The Company has further agreed to designate an agent for service of process and to cooperate with the Commission and its Staff in any judicial proceeding related to the order and in any administrative proceeding instituted by the Commission against former officers or directors of the Company.>>


August 11, 2000: href="http://www.allbusiness.com/banking-finance/financial-markets-investing-securities/6487858-1.html"http://www.allbusiness.com/banking-finance/financial-markets-investing-securities/6487858-1.html

Dennis J. Tietz, Chairman and CEO of Cronos, in commenting upon the SEC's enforcement action against Mr. Palatin, stated: "Mr. Palatin was removed as CEO of the Company in May 1998, and Cronos has been operating under new management since April of 1999. We are vigorously pursuing Mr. Palatin for the amounts he owes the Company. We recovered $5.3 million of his indebtedness in June of 1999 and have obtained a judgment for the balance of $6.6 million. We fully cooperated with the SEC in its investigation of the Company, and resolved that investigation as to the Company last November. We are not named in the SEC's enforcement action against Mr. Palatin."

Cronos also reports that, under the business plan new management adopted in April of last year, the Company has focused its efforts on reducing expenses, increasing container utilization, reestablishing banking and financing relationships, reinforcing third-party container owner confidence, restoring employee morale, and increasing profitability. Cronos announced that its net income for the second quarter of 2000 was $868,000, including $89,000 of investment gains, compared to a net loss of $103,000 for the second quarter of 1999. Net income for the first six months of this year was $3.7 million, including investment gains of $3.2 million, compared to a net loss of $196,000 for the first six months of 1999. Mr. Tietz added, "Our efforts to improve the financial performance of the Company have produced positive results. Management is pleased that Cronos has returned to profitability, and we remain focused on enhancing shareholder value.">>

When I asked Steve Brocato about the issues raised by some of these articles, he declined to comment on the questions I asked him, other than to say "Have a ball with that one!" My intent here is, of course, to ask questions and inform people, as I get my fun doing more pleasant things.
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Billy Bragg and Wilco-- "The Unwelcome Guest"
By Woodie Guthrie