Tuesday, Nov. 22:
5 a.m. Hilda Decker, of West Bradford Lane, reported that there were four too many cows in her milk string this morning.
6 a.m. Ed Plum, of N Plains Road, reported that his two-seater outhouse had gone missing in the night. It had been there at 9:14 p.m., Plum reported, but was missing at 5:50 a.m.
7:20 a.m. Hilda Decker, of West Bradford Lane, reported that there were six too many cows in the loafing shed when she poured the chopped silage. She cannot separate them out herself since her hip got bad and will have to wait for her son to come home for lunch to separate the cows.
8 a.m. John Miller, of N Wilburman Road, reported that his farm truck was missing, he had left the keys in it, as usual, and parked it behind the hay barn ready for early morning feeding.
9 a.m. Susan Johnson, of 997 Oregon Way, reported that her husband, Troy, was claiming his garage had been broken into but was unable to report what, if anything had been taken as the garage was, according to Susan Johnson, “a packrat’s treasure chest.”
10 a.m. Principal Jones reports that two minors are truant
10:15 a.m. Howard Fisher, of N. Flats Road, reports that 7 of his cows have escaped and although he has driven 12 miles in every direction he cannot find them.
11:20 Susan Johnson, of 977 Oregon Way, reported that her husband, Troy, was now sure a cream separator, a shovel, a fence stretcher and a leaf blower were missing from his garage.
1: 20 p.m. Alonzo Gonzales was arrested after being stopped for driving with expired tags and discovered to be driving on a suspended license. His 1977 Toyota was impounded.
2 p.m. John Miller, of N. Wilburman Road, reported that his farm truck had been found inside the barn but insists that he did not park it there himself. It was not possible to ascertain if it had been driven because the odomoter broke when it turned over for the second time in 1987 Miller said. He had found a mysterious object in the back of the truck but could not identify it.
2:10 p.m. Principal Jones reported that the two minor truants were found in the library where they claimed they had been all along. They claimed to have missed their morning classes because they were preparing for a particularly difficult physics test last period.
4 p.m. Susan Johnson, of 977 Oregon Way, reported that her husband, Troy, felt sure three other items were missing from a peg-board on his garage wall but could not name the objects as he had not seen the peg board in nearly five years.
6 p.m. Oram Hilldsren, of 987 Oregon Way, called to complain that a huge pile of household goods and old tools had been deposited both on the sidewalk and in the street and that he had nearly wrecked his Subaru avoiding the mess.
6:12 p.m. Brian Decker, of West Bradford Lane, reported that his mother had now identified 10 cows too many but that Howard Fisher had ridden over with his two daughters after school and driven his 7 cows home and no one knew who the other three belonged to. Decker said he wasn’t really sure they were extras at all, but his mother was the dairywoman and knew every cow by name and couldn’t come up with names for these three.
6:20 p.m. Oram Hilldsren, of 987 Oregon Way, called to report that the missing leaf blower was his and that Troy Johnson is now also unable to account for an electric hedge trimmer and a 20-ft Cherry picker ladder that Hilldsren lent him in June.
7 p.m. Susan Johnson, of 977 Oregon Way, called to report that she had placed orange pylons that her husband Troy had found in a large barrel in the back of the garage around the growing pile of what she referred to as “the best Thanksgiving weekend garage sale Germaine has ever seen.”
Wednesday, Nov. 23
2:12 p.m. Police responded to a report that a black 2005 Lexus LX had missed the blind curve on Blind Curve Blvd, taken out the sharp-curve-ahead sign and run into the ditch. David Gordan, Germain Volunteer Fire-fighter and EMT, rode out with police. The driver of the car, Bandon Wilson of Bend, suffered an airbag-deployment black eye in the accident and a possible broken foot from kicking the stump of the sharp-curve-ahead sign. He claimed that the sharp-curve-AHEAD sign would indicate that the curve was coming, not that one was already at the apex of a 90 degree angle. He paid the $300 fine for destruction of county property and was released to his relatives, the Wilson’s of Van Bibber Road. Jasper’s Garage pulled the car from the ditch. “It’s got the smile of a rodeo cowboy, “Jasper Radford said, “but it’s drivable in daylight so long as you don’t have far to go.”
Thursday, Nov. 24
11 a.m. Germaine Volunteer Firefighters responded to a report of a fire at the home of Dillon and Peggy Masterson, 122 Village Ave. Dillon claimed that a leg on the turkey deep-fryer, which he bought on ebay for $30, had given way, dumping five gallons of peanut oil onto the drive, where it ignited when it came into contact with the gas fire-ring he had placed under the tank of the fryer. The fire had spread to the street when he had tried to put it out with a water hose and washed the burning flame into the leaves at the curb. Damages were estimated at about $12.50 for the turkey and another $60 for the oil. The deep-fryer was declared “worthless” by Masterson and did not figure into the damages.
Friday, Nov. 25
No incidents reported.
Saturday, Nov. 26
8 p.m. Police responded to a report of loud music in a farm field on East Bradford Lane but found only two horses running up and down the field. The horses were very agitated Sheriff Sweet said and “there was no doubt something had been going on in that field.”
9 p.m. Police responded to a report of a fist-fight in the parking lot of the Honey Do Tavern but the altercation had ended and the parties had left the premises by the time they arrived. No damage was reported.
Sunday, Nov. 27
6 a.m. Ed Plum, of N Plains Road, reported that his two-seater outhouse had returned. It had not been there at 9:14 p.m. Saturday night but it was there where it ought to be at 5:50 a.m. It had been stocked with a new roll of paper. And had, according to Plum, “a strange smell.”

by Susie Applegate
    About a half dozen protesters showed up Thanksgiving morning to speak out against “the cover-up of terrible crimes committed against the first people of this land,” according to Willie Walkingstick, who is Chair of the Wilbur County American Indian Movement.
    Walkingstick claims to be a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, which, unlike their Wilbur County namesake, as he was quick to point out, is one of three federally-recognized Cherokee tribes.
    The early Thanksgiving celebrations, according to Walkingstick, “were used to lull the unsuspecting natives into a false sense of peace,” so the settlers could steal their land.
    “Nonsense,” said by-stander Arlen Johanssen. “the Indians were pillaging and raping long before the white people arrived from Europe. These kids need to study their history.”
    Walkingstick disputes that. “I have a B.A. in history,” he said, “and Native American studies was my concentration. Of course we had warfare before the whites came, and even a type of slavery, but the destruction was nowhere on the scale of that among the Europeans, who were killing each other by the millions.”
    “Why is it,” continued Walkingstick, “that when thousands of white men march to war in uniform, we call it ‘civilization,’ and when a few dozen natives attack an enemy tribe, we call it ’savagery?’ It’s all the same to me. War is war. Theft is theft.”

by Howard Applegate
    A chill hung in the air around Bagdhad on the morning of November 6th. According to his Oregon National Guard platoon mates, young P.F.C. Arlo Childers of Germaine teased them about their discomfort in the cold desert air. All of the soldiers, except Childers, are from the Willamette Valley.
    “He was always talking about Eastern Oregon and the Ochocos,” said Corporal Brenda Myers of Eugene. “He really loved it over there.”
    That morning was the last Corporal Myers, or the rest of his platoon would see Arlo Childers. He was killed when a roadside bomb exploded as his convoy passed on a treacherous section of highway into the city center.
    About 30 people turned out for a memorial service at the Methodist Church on Veterans Day.
    The service illustrated the division in this community, and the country at large, over the war in Iraq. After a patriotic speech by the young Childers’ uncle, urging the community to support our troops, the boy’s mother rose to speak.
    “We named him after Arlo Guthrie,” she said in tears, “Now, isn’t that ironic? Isn’t that damned ironic?”
    She was referring to the sixties folk-singer, whose song, “Alice’s Restaurant,” became a favorite of concientious objectors during the Vietnam War.
    Childers, who was buried November 12 at the Germaine Pioneer Cemetary, is survived by a young wife, Melissa and their 2 year old son Colin.