The Friends of the Badlands Wilderness Study Area were racing against time. Monday, March 30 had dawned, bright and crisp. The day had already promised to brighten further, as we had received word the President was going to sign the newly passed Omnibus Wilderness Bill, passing full wilderness protection to the Badlands Wilderness Study Area.

After he signed the bill, no further vehicular access was permitted in any wilderness area, for, according to the provisions of the 1964 Wilderness Act, the wording in part reads: "A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."

Working from a suggestion received from our colleagues at the Oregon Natural Desert Association, who had worked hard to ensure the passage of the Omnibus Bill, Friends of the Badlands had set ourselves the task of removing old weathered juniper fence posts, from which we had over the last year removed 3 miles and 3 tons of obsolete barbed wire.

Tuesday, March 10, voters in Deschutes County must sort through the emotions, the opinions and the science that comprise the many faces of Ordinance 2008-012, the "Local Rule." The emotions are the easiest to understand, as the residents of South County are impacted by the financial burden of up-grading their existing septic systems, while the opinions expressed in the many letters to the editor, phone calls and conversations have muddied our understanding of the issues with the minutiae concerning the science. Not many of us possess the analytical skills to truly evaluate the accuracy of the science that went into the modeling in the original USGS study, any more than we have the potential to offer helpful alternatives to the otherwise expensive treatment of the nitrates that are at the core of the problem. We have to trust the informed reports of others who have participated in the entire process, and herein lay the rub.

During my lifetime, there have been more than a few occasions where I've felt the impulse to act to fix something. Typically, my wife recognizes this devious, uniquely intense, gleam in my eye as she observes me moving about rather deliberately, locating the tools I'll require to address the task at hand. (She usually rolls her eyes and makes a barely audible, primal grunting sound indicating, oh boy... Here we go again). My family has learned over the years that when I act on these impulses, the consequences of my efforts are rarely sufficient to produce the desired results (especially if it involves electricity or plumbing). My family characterizes these episodes in my life as impufficient. Let me explain.

The financial situation at Juniper has continued to deteriorate since the June 16th City Council meeting on that project. Taxpayers should be extremely concerned with the City's recent announcement that Juniper Ridge is "broke" again, and the Council is seeking, among other things, a loan of $200,000.00 from the general fund, which is also strained.

The massive debt being incurred at JR cannot be justified by the possibility of future land sales as ODOT has frozen that option indefinitely. The chronology that follows recaps deteriorating trends and managerial miscues at JR during the past five months, which will assure ultimate failure of the project.

One week after the June 16th meeting, Ron Garzini addressed the Council stating, in effect that he had ODOT covered, and that sales would be booming by August. ODOT replied: NO MAS again. Ron also said that he found new buddies in Jeff & Ray (Juniper Ridge Partners). With friends like those, (fill in the blank).

Bend voters have a clear choice between community interests and special interests in the November 4 election.

Four City Council candidates-Jim Clinton, Linda Johnson, Peter Gramlich and Jodie Barram-stand out because they have demonstrated a commitment to the community and are not beholden to special interests.

Their four opponents-Don Leonard, Kathie Eckman, Tom Greene and Jeff Eager-are the candidates of special interests, specifically the political action committees (PACs) of Central Oregon's realtor and developer organizations that are blatantly trying to buy this election.

Oregon Secretary of State records (www.sos.state.or.us/elections) show that the Central Oregon Association of Realtors and the Central Oregon Builders Association PAC (called Central Oregonians for Affordable Housing) have contributed $49,669 of the $99,460 raised by Leonard, Eckman, Greene, and Eager-an astounding 49.9 percent.