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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on July 2, 2007 10:57 PM. The previous post in this blog was It's way past time to take it to the streets. The next post in this blog is A math word problem in Portland. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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« It's way past time to take it to the streets | Main | A math word problem in Portland »

Monday, July 2, 2007

Disgrace, local edition

As shattered as my faith in our nation is, my pride in being an Oregonian isn't exactly shining today, either.

Posted at 10:57 PM | Permalink

Comments (11)

It will make a nice lawsuit.

Posted by Jack Bog | July 2, 2007 11:00 PM

While the family reaction is somewhat understandable it also makes me a little ticked off at the family. To place blame on dispatchers, OSP and the Fire Dept is wrong and shortsighted. They did a check of the area and couldn't find anything wrong. People get in little accidents or go off the road all the time and many times are able to get themselves out of the situation and continue on there way, and 911 recieves calls all the time that turn out to be nothing.

If the family sues that will make this all the more tragic...

Posted by expdx | July 2, 2007 11:50 PM

People get in little accidents or go off the road all the time and many times are able to get themselves out of the situation and continue on there way,

On 26? West of Elsie? Really?

"Unless you are right on the edge you are not going to see it." I think they're paid to actually go ahead and get right on the edge.

The caller even said "We can't even see 'em from the roadway."

This was botched.

Posted by Jack Bog | July 2, 2007 11:56 PM

Did anyone call back the guy who made the initial report?

Seems to me if you call an accident in, and rescuers are sent, find nothing...do they shrug their shoulders and move on, or get back to the caller and say: are you sure you saw something?

Posted by Frank Dufay | July 3, 2007 3:56 AM

I'm also pissed at the eyewitness. Why did he leave the scene of the accident? Why didn't he go to the car and try to render aid? So he just called it in, and continued on his merry way? That's not right, either...

Posted by Larry K | July 3, 2007 8:12 AM

OK, so they could not find the car when the accident was reported. But why didn't any of those who were involved in the initial report and investigation ever put two and and two together? Red car going off road on June 8. Couple in red car missing since June 8. Hmmmm. Oregon does look like it is populated with hicks.

Posted by William | July 3, 2007 8:28 AM

I inferred that the reason the witness didn't stay and help was that he didn't have a cell phone, or didn't have any cell phone reception in that area, and he figured that he ought to call for help as soon as he could.

Posted by Isaac Laquedem | July 3, 2007 9:12 AM

That could be, Isaac. But if it were you, wouldn't you have stopped to check on them? And if you did run off to find a phone, wouldn't you go back afterwards? I can't imagine anyone doing otherwise...

Posted by Larry K | July 3, 2007 10:59 AM

"Did anyone call back the guy who made the initial report?"

Well, most every time I've called 911 they've asked for a call-back number. On the other hand, I've rarely received a call back. (And even then, only to be a witness in court.)

"But if it were you, wouldn't you have stopped to check on them? And if you did run off to find a phone, wouldn't you go back afterwards?"

Not necessarily. It sounds like there was obviously nothing the witness could do at the scene, and that the phone was a long way away. Combined with the assumption that emergency services would find the car from such clear directions, It's hard to see how a reasonable person would think they needed to go back.

(I might have thought to drop a flare or other marker at the spot where the car left the road, but a person might not think of that in the heat of the moment or have a marker to place.)

Posted by Alan DeWitt | July 3, 2007 3:00 PM

Unlike Portland, most other cities and counties in Oregon are strapped for resources. They did the best they could with the resources they had available. They probably busted their budget doing an expensive air search right at the tail end of the fiscal year. It's too bad this didn't turn out differently, but I don't think you can pin blame on these public safety agencies in rural Oregon. They are doing the best they can. Is that "good enough" by California standards? Probably not.

Posted by Frank | July 3, 2007 4:24 PM

For whatever it's worth KXL quotes dispatch as saying the guy reporting it left neither a name nor a number. Nor did he return to the scene of the accident. The officer reportedly searched the area on foot for an hour and didn't see the car.

Greg C

Posted by Greg C | July 3, 2007 5:26 PM

In Vino Veritas

Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
Cameron, Chardonnay
B.R. Cohn, Cabernet, Silver Label 2006
Graffigna, Cabernet 2005
Palo Alto, Reserve Red 2008
Menguante, Garnacha 2008
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Felsina Berardenga, Vin Santo 1997
Anne Amie, Pinot Gris 2009
McKinley Springs, Bombing Ramge Red 2007
Vieux Papes Red
Dionysius Chardonnay 2009
Haden Fig, Pinot Noir 2009
Vega Montan, Mencia 2008
Chateau la Vernede, Coteaux du Languedoc 2007
Mount Defiance, Hellfire (White) 2008
Root: 1, Cabernet 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Pinot Grigio 2009
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 White, 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 Rose, 2007
Abacela, Grenache Rose 2009
Avia Cabernet 2004
Lemelson Pinot Noir, Thea's Selection 2007
Chateau de la Roulerie, Rose d'Anjou 2009
Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde Rose
La Ferme Julien, Rose 2008
Cana's Feast, Bricco Red, 2006
Hogue, Genesis Merlot, 2008
Owen Roe, Sharecropper's Cabernet, 2008
Kim Crawford, Unoaked Chardonnay 2008
J. Scott, Pinot Noir 2008
Edmunds St. John, White, Heart of Gold 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006
Stevenot, Cabernet, Sierra Foothills, "Stanford" 2000
Portuga, Vinho Rose 2009
Taylor Fladgate, First Estate Reserve Porto
Franciscan, Cabernet, Napa 2006
Chaparral de Vega Sindoa, Garnacha 2008
Quinta da Aveleda, Vinho Verde 2008
St. Francis, Chardonnay Sonoma 2008
E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, 2007
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Noir 2008
St. Innocent, Pinot Noir 2006
Jigsaw, Pinot Noir 2007
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Indian Wells 2007
Charles Shaw, Chardonnay 2008
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Rosé 2009
Cameron, Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Il Valore, Sangiovese, Giovane, Puglia 2008
Duck Pond, Chardonnay, Wahluke Slope 2007
Kim Crawford, Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008
Domaine du Pesquier, Cotes du Rhone 2005
Cantina Zaccagnini, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006
Domaine Matrot, Chardonnay, Bourgogne 2007
David Hill, Oregon Sparkling Wine, Brut
Chandler Reach, Monte Regalo 2006
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2008
Kirkland, Columbia Valley Merlot 2008
D'Aragon, Old Vine Garnacha 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2005
Pavin & Riley, Merlot 2006
David Hill, Estate Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2006
Castle Rock, Paso Robles Cabernet 2006
Magnificent, Cabernet, Steak House 2008
Conundrum 2008
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1998
Saint Cosme, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
La Granja, Tempranillo 360, 2008
Santa Rita, Mendalla Real Cabernet 2006
Columbia Crest, Grand Estates Merlot 2006
Andezon, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
Collegiata, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Troon, Druid's Fluid 2008
La Granja, Tempranillo 2008
Monte Antico, Toscana 2006
Vieux Papes, Blanc de Blancs

The Occasional Book

Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 26
At this date last year: 15
Total run in 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269