Ridiculous Tickets and Hiking

Today we went to the Home Depot for the kids club they do on the first Saturday of every month. The kids built bird houses. It's always fun to go there and the Unwin's joined us. They asked if we wanted to join them at Silver Creek Falls, so we headed out for a picnic and a hike. After we picnicked at south falls they wanted to go up to the Winter falls and hike several of the falls there.

There was no parking available, but some guy pulled out and Jeanne-Ann held the spot for the Unwin's and we parked along the edge of the parking lot/road where other cars park all the time. (do you see where this is going?)



Then we began our hike. It had rained so there was plenty of mud to get all over us and we discovered Salmonberries. My deduction is that they call them that because of their color, not their taste. They are a little bitter and sweet at the same time. Not my favorite, but I tried something new, so that was cool.

We started to head back and got to the cars (lots of mud all over the children and our feet). When I got to the car there was a yellow ticket sitting there which was so "lovingly" given to me by Sheriff Robinson. He wrote that I had violated rule 811.555.

Here is what I found on this rule "810.425 Procedure in certain parking cases. (1) In all prosecutions of the owner of a vehicle for violation of ORS 811.555 (1)(b), 811.570 (1)(b), 811.575 (1)(b) and 811.585 (1)(b), or an applicable ordinance, it shall be sufficient for a police officer to charge the defendant by an unsworn written notice if the notice clearly states:
(a) The date, place and nature of the charge.
(b) The time and place for defendant’s appearance in court.
(c) The name of the issuing officer.
(d) The license number of the vehicle.
(2) The notice provided for in subsection (1) of this section shall either be delivered to the defendant or placed in a conspicuous place upon the vehicle involved in the violation. A duplicate original of the notice shall serve as the complaint in the case when it is filed with the court. In all other respects the procedure otherwise provided by law in such cases shall be followed. Notwithstanding ORS 153.042, the issuing officer need not have observed the act of parking, but need only have observed that the vehicle appeared to be parked in violation of ORS 811.555 (1)(b), 811.570 (1)(b), 811.575 (1)(b) and 811.585 (1)(b), or an applicable ordinance.
(3) A circuit court and a justice court have concurrent jurisdiction over parking offenses committed within the county.
(4) This section does not apply to prosecutions under city ordinances but ORS 221.333 shall apply to such prosecutions. [1987 c.687 §2; 1995 c.658 §116; 1999 c.1051 §89a]

810.430 Movement of illegally parked vehicles. A police officer who finds a vehicle parked or standing upon a highway in violation of ORS 811.555 or 811.570 may move the vehicle, cause it to be moved or require the driver or person in charge of the vehicle to move it. The authority to move vehicles under this section is in addition to any authority under ORS 819.110 and 819.120. [1983 c.338 §402; 1995 c.758 §6]"

My favorite line from this..."the issuing officer need not have observed the act of parking, but need only have observed that the vehicle appeared to be parked in violation of ORS 811.555." I think it's fun that they only need to observe that a vehicle appeared to be parked in violation. So it is totally subjective. What I say really doesn't matter.

Now, we did not see any signs until we left that area that said no parking on the shoulders. I realize that I should know ALL the Oregon laws by now, I mean after all, I have lived here 11 1/2 years! We were only partially on the shoulder and partially in the edge of the parking lot. Lame!

Did I mention the ticket is for ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE DOLLARS!?!?!?!!? Seriously? That's what we are charging? That's what you are spending your day doing? Too bad you weren't there to stop the guy who crashed his car into our church yesterday because he was intoxicated. Imagine if you spent time trying to stop people who are actually breaking valid laws and potentially hurting people and not spending so much time just driving up and down an area that is used that way ALL the time and just fattening your county checks!

There, I have dumped it on you blogosphere. I am sorry you have to take the weight of my frustration, but you are the only one who listens and I don't have to make a long apology to later. We have a court date, Jeanne-Ann said she would go, we will surely get it reduced. Seriously...$145 for an alleged parking violation? Ridiculous!

Live Love

I just sat down with my friend Paul Gunther Jr. He was sharing his story of a new ministry that he has started called Live Love. Basically, he is working with villages in Africa and is getting people to raise money for different projects including nets to protect from mosquitoes carrying malaria to building wells for drinking water in villages.

He says, why can't we do it? He has a goal of raising enough money to buy 1.4 million nets, which is 10% of the population in Malawi. I think this is incredible! I love his dream. Here is an excerpt from the web site What is Live Love.

"What Can Be Done?
Malaria is both a preventable and treatable disease. One way it can be prevented is by giving families and individuals insecticide-treated bed nets to sleep under. Malaria has been brought under control and even eliminated in many parts of Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Yet in Africa, with increasing drug resistance and struggling health systems, malaria infections have actually increased during the last three decades.

Despite the magnitude of the problem, there is a simple and cost-effective solution to prevent malaria deaths. For just $8, we can purchase a bed net, deliver it to a family, and explain its use. A family of four can sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net, safe from malaria, for up to four years. The benefits of bed nets extend even further than the family. When enough nets are used, the insecticide used to deter mosquitoes makes entire communities safer—even for those individuals who do not have nets. Although $8 for a bed net may not sound like much, the cost makes them out of reach for most people at risk of malaria, many of whom survive on less than $1 a day. Nets are a simple, life-saving solution, but we need your help to provide them to those in need."

Maybe this is something you want to check out. He is so willing to talk with people about it and what people can do. There is way more to it than what I am talking about here. He does school assemblies, church speaking functions, etc. He dreams of communities having LiveLove days all over.

Check out the website (although he says it's gonna be redone in the next week or so) and hit him up with an email.

Who knows what could happen?

Hitchhikers & Hot Air Balloons

This morning, after crewing for our hot air balloon, I headed to work. I had to get gas so I pulled into the pilot station and saw a guy at the corner with a "Seattle" cardboard sign and a big, happy smile on his face. I thought, "I'm picking that guy up if he is still there when I am done getting gas." Sure enough, he was there. I said, I can only take you 20 minutes up the road, but there are more cars getting on there.

Quentin jumped in and he began to tell me his story. He is from France, but has grown tired of the politics there so he left. He moved to Montreal and then decided to go on a 3 month trip. He hitchhiked to Mexico and then hitchhiked all over Mexico. He has only paid for 2 nights in a hotel or hostel. People have either taken him in or he has worked for a room or he has camped out under the stars.

He asked me what I did and I began to share. We got to the exit and I offered to buy Starbucks (yes, I know, he is from France and they have very cool little bistros for coffee, but he said he liked Starbucks). He then began to share his spiritual journey with me. I did the same. It was really cool. He has some interesting thoughts, but I was clear in what I believed and showed him love. We had a great conversation and then I sent him off with a Starbucks gift card and prayed for him.

I don't usually do that, but today I felt like it was the right thing to do. I think we were both blessed.

Thanx Quentin!

Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

I was reading my friend, Kurt's, blog and he wrote the blog below. I would like to submit it to you, my dear blog. With only one correction. I think Twitter is like Buzz Lightyear, he is the new toy, but I will always come back to you.

Dear Blog,
I'm sorry that you and I haven't been spending much time together lately. It's not that I have lost interest or moved onto something sexier, it's just that I've been busy lately. I still think of you and long to spend time with you but you know how life can get. This isn't a 'Dear John' letter and I hope you can trust me when I say that you mean just as much to me today as you ever have. In fact, I hope our relationship is strong enough to weather a slightly stormy season.
Blog, I enjoy our friendship and look forward to continuing to see it flourish. I will still try to visit you on a daily basis to catch up but when that can't happen, please understand that it is only for a short time.

--erik w/a "k"

Hot Air Ballooning with the Gang

This morning I got up at 4:45AM!!! Ugh. Not my favorite time of day by any means. The thing I do love about it though is that it usually means I get to crew for Starship...hot air balloon. Whenever the weather is nice and the passengers are paying, we fly. I have been doing this for over 10 years now and I love it! Yesterday Jim, the pilot, was needing extra crew bad. So I got on facebook, myspace and my cell and texted away! Thankfully I was able to wrangle a few friends in.

This morning I met up with Logan, Chad, Ebby and Bethany. I stopped at Starbucks to grab them all a little thank you for helping save us. Then we went to work. It was a lot of fun. It's really cool when you get to do this with people you enjoy being around. I enjoy being around these people.

We took off from a little park near the Keizer Baseball Fields and sent off a 97 year old woman and her ?daughter?. Logan and I had to pic her up and lift her in and out of the basket. I don't think she was too excited about that...nor was Logan. Haha.

We then chased them over to the Deaf School and landed in their fields over there.

What a fun morning. I can't do tomorrow, but the four of them are all going back. That is really cool. Logan wants to earn enough ride time for he and his wife to go up.

A New Job!

For the last couple of months, we have been on the hunt. Looking online for jobs, reading job descriptions, trying to find the right one with the right fit and the right distance. A few applications were put in, but nothing has really surfaced until 2 weeks ago, that we really liked. It was a job share at Clearlake Elementary, where our kids go, as a Kindergarten teacher.

Jeanne-Ann has volunteered there since our kids started going there and has also been subbing there this year. She has even gone into the principal to get some help on interviewing. Then she got a call. There were 40 applications received, 12 interviews taken (10 of them were in district people) which put Jeanne-Ann really low on the totem poll.

Well, she got the call first thing yesterday morning! This fall she will be Mrs. Williams at Clearlake. Thank you Lord!Thank you also to all of you who were praying for us. It was huge! We are beyond excited!

Summer TV Viewing

It's summer time and that means summer shows. I have been watching considerably less shows than normal, thanx to the strike. I will pick up a few shows this summer though. I watched the first episode of the mole and there were 2 game shows promoted that looked really cool. Wipeout and I Survived a Japanese Game are the 2 that look like a lot of fun. After watching these type of shows only on the TV guide channel finally it becomes "legit.


There are a few others, but I am hoping to read some good books this summer too. Currently reading AJ Jacobs' A Year of Living Biblically. It's a slow read for me, but a fun one.