Just a little snow and a small update

I wasn't planning on riding today since the forecast sounded iffy. It didn't disappoint. This morning was snowy and cold. It warmed up slightly and turned to rain showers as the day progressed but it's supposed to be really nice by midweek so I'm making phone calls today and planning on riding Wednesday.



My phone calls centered around the bike issue. I called the Marion County District Attorney's Office. The case has not been filed with them and they can not (will not) respond to any questions until it is. I called the Marion County Sheriff's Office and am awaiting a return call. I would just like to ask again why they chose to charge me with the maximum charges they can apply yet let the driver of the SUV skate away with far less than the maximum. My position is that he's not even being charged with what's appropriate given the facts.
It would seem that I've got to retain a lawyer to put pressure on the Marion County Sheriff's Office to do their duty. I've been told that there isn't enough potential for money with this case to entice a lawyer to run with this. I guess I can't blame them, it's business to them and bills need to be paid. For me it's personal.

I'm just wired differently. I spend a great deal of time volunteering. Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, Forest Grove Fire, Oregon Fire District Director's Association, Forest Grove School District, our local cemetery, Special Districts Association of Oregon, the Northwest Rafter's Association, and the area's hungry, all have benefited from my high school's admonition to "be a man for others".

If you've been following this blog you have read that this is not about personal financial gain. It's about making the roads safer for all cyclists...as well as for the every day person on a bike. I want this guy to know that what he did is a crime. (he will never believe that bikes have a legal right to the road but he will know that if he acts this way again he will lose everything) I want others that think the way he does to know that if they use their vehicles to attack a cyclist they too will lose big time.

I put in a call today to a very large bicycle club that I belong to in hopes that they (we) might take this case on since it fits in so well with the mission of education and advocacy.

After a week of waiting for the chance to talk with one of the lawyers I expect this to move a little more quickly now. 3 weeks until I have to answer to a judge on the Criminal Mischief 2 charge related to this case.

UPDATE:
A full 6 hours since Marion County Dispatch told me that the responding officer was on duty, had been paged, and would be calling me shortly. No call as of yet, and now I am on my way to one of those previously listed volunteer opportunities.

Protect and serve?
Yup, public service just isn't what it used to be.