As a little girl growing up in the desert east of Bend, nothing escaped my inquisitive eye. Everything from the blue summer sky to the warm sand under my bare feet, each unique attribute of my desert world, was observed, touched, smelled, heard, and occasionally tasted. My childhood memories are speckled with the scent of sage leaves crushed between my fingers, the carefree songs of finches and chickadees, the rough feel of juniper bark, and the mesmerizing activity of an anthill. Every blue-bellied lizard and lichen-painted rock told me its story, and I was fortunate enough to be in the right place and time to hear it. The desert molded my childhood life and has a large influence on the person I am today.

As a longtime resident and active member of this community, I take offense at The Bulletin's attack on the Bend Metro Park and Recreation District. Once again The Bulletin is misguiding readers with inaccurate and misleading information. As a neighborhood representative, I attend 99% of park district meetings and have heard first-hand the plans for the new administrative building and adjacent park complex as well as those for the Pine Nursery and multiple other projects. The district has revised plans in response to the slow down in local construction which funds SDC's, (System Development Charges), the funds used for growth related projects. Because of this slow down, SDC's, citywide have dropped by 67%. In regard to the new office building, it sits on the upper end of the 14-acre Riverbend Park land, near, not next to the river.

Last March, I took my 3-year-old daughter to Salem to lobby for two laws that would increase the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the state of Oregon. Both laws - an anti discrimination law and a domestic partnership law passed during the 2007 legislative session. As the director of Human Dignity Coalition, I joined my family, friends and others in the Central Oregon progressive community, celebrating this victory in the civil rights movement for sexual and gender minority rights. Legislative successes like these lead me to be optimistic that my daughter will grow up in a society free from hatred, oppression and discrimination. But, we are not there yet and this last week proved it.