With the uprising of Dallas the Rooster, being potentially ejected from the city limits of Dufur, I felt moved to comment.
Let’s take a tour of Dufur. On any given day in the spring or summer you can drive down the streets of Dufur and you will see rural America.
As you go by the school, you may find an FFA steer for a student that can’t keep it at home. Oops! The steer just got out and is in the neighbor’s yard.
As you continue on your tour look out, there are some road apples on the side of First Street. Keep your eye on the road, there are some kids walking their 4-H lambs across town for muscle conditioning and teaching them to be lead on a halter. Let’s get out of this side of town.
As you enjoy the view of majestic Mt. Hood and the peaceful movement of Fifteenmile Creek, you can see a flock of chickens sneaking under the fence and going into the neighbor’s field in search of bugs and food, among 50 head of cows, all of which are in the city limits. You may also find rabbits, turkeys, ducks, goats, and I’ve heard you might even find a pig or two.
Families move here to enjoy and experience rural living; 4-H and FFA programs give many kids the opportunity to experience that. They learn how to take care of and show respect to an animal while also learning a lot of responsibility.
I understand you need policies to give you guidelines, but I would hope the city government would look at each written complaint, establish its validity, and try to mediate the situation to where there is a workable solution.
Don’t become so institutionalized in your thinking that you can’t let Dufur continue being an agricultural town with rural values and the ability to continue that into the future.
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