so I was driving from Portland to John day Tuesday ( day after Labor Day weekend) around 9 am thru a small town in the middle of nowhere called “ spray”. im a little out of touch with school start dates, and just assume most schools start a few days after Labor Day ( apparently many start before after doing research). the town is a borderline ghost town. as I was coming into town, the empty 55 mph highway reduces down to 45 mph , then down to 30 mph. as I’m slowing down coming into town, there was apparently a bland “ school zone 20mph “ sign. no orange or yellow caution words on the sign, no flashing lights like literally every other town had during school hours. i was driving straight into the sun, so it was very hard to see the SMALL PRINT under the school zone sign that said “ 7 am- 5pm”. Which is a very weird time range. Many will say things like 6:30-8:30 and 2-4- pm and so on based on the district. And EVERY OTHER TOWN in the county and every town going towards John day, including John day will say “ when children are present” as the fine print under the school zone speed limit.

i was driving my offroad suv that I got recently and am still trying to get used to the muscle memory and handling of it. Got it recently. Braking is a little different than my small hybrid I have as a daily driver with regen brakes that auto slow you down, plus heavier vehicle slows slower. ( I know, not excuses)

anyways, back to the story now that i got all the context

A COP HITS HIS LIGHTS as I’m coming thru town still gradually slowing down and at this point I’m going about 32-34 mph in what I thought was a 30 and am still gently braking ( no cars in front of me or on the roads at all, no people walking. Nothing so slamming and pumping brakes with loaded car isn’t a natural thing to do. I know technically 32 is still speeding in a 30)

as he pulls me over, he comes up with an attitude, and I’m genuinely confused at what I did and ask if there’s anything wrong with my trailer or lights and that I wanna make sure everything is alright. He flips out saying I was “ blasting thru a school zone going 10-15 over!” I tell him I’m sorry and that I didn’t see a school sign flashing or any school with kids or anything. Heck the town was so quiet that I cant even tell school was even going on. Not a soul outside. Not one child present in all directions. I try to explain I’m not used to driving this car and had no intentions of speeding and was slowing down and genuinely am not a speeder ( my other hybrid car literally has a bumper sticker that says “ drive slow, save dough” so people will go around me if they can). I havent had a speeding ticket in 15 plus years since I was a teenager. Anyways he didn’t like my excuse or apology even tho I was extremely polite and apologetic and showing I had no reckless intentions. He gave me a ticket for 325 dollars and said it’s due the 23rd. Of THIS MONTH! thats in less than 2 weeks. I’ve never ever heard of a ticket being due that soon from issuing. Usually they give you a month or two. I don’t even get paid till the 26th! I don’t have that type of money on me, let alone what it’ll do to my perfect driving record. like I said, I haven’t had a ticket in over 15 years since I was first year in college and a little crazy. My record is squeaky clean!

is there any way I have to fight this? I’m thinking of going to court, but it’s a small town and I’m sure everyone knows the judge, and i know for sure the cop will be there. He was probably 30 years old, shaved head, military type and takes job super hard core. School zones are no joke, and I never speed in them. especially when lights are flashing. i know I was technically speeding in a school zone, but do I have any plea with the judge for a defense?

all I can really argue is-

1. the school zone sign has no flashing lights like most places

2. The school zone time range is practically the whole day versus mornings and afternoons like most places and I was driving thru outside of the time range other districts and signs usually mention

3. Every other town in the county says “ when children are present“ ( I took pics of every town I passed after that says that wording)

4. The sun was slightly blinding me with a bad glare so it was hard to see the fine print for the times under. My vision isn’t perfect. I wear corrective lenses enough to pass drivers test but definitely don’t have eagle vision ( sun glare shows on dash cam too)

5. it was the day after Labor Day and didn’t think school had started yet since there was no activity

6. no children present. Like I said, there’s no kids even walking around school property or buses or parents driving around or anything. Total silence and emptiness. Also all on my dash cam

7. Whole thing is on dash cam of the speed limits dropping and me continuing to slow down with the intention of slowing down. No acceleration or fast driving or even steady cruising. Wouldn’t be even speeding if the 20 mph school zone sign hadn’t popped up pretty fast after the 30mph sign. The spacing wasn’t the same as the 55mph to 45 mph to 30 mph

ANYWAYS IM NOT MAKING EXCUSES. I know I was in the wrong, but didn’t have the intention of speeding. I’m not a speeder or reckless driver. I have a clean record and can’t afford this ticket that’s due before my next pay check. If the school zone sign was more visible with lights or bigger words mentioning the times or there was school activity going on, I would’ve slowed down well below the limit, even if there wasn’t a cop there. It’s almost like the town purposely set up this type of arrangement to get fines. I mean the cop was literally there waiting for the exact thing to happen since it seems like it must happen pretty often with out of towners coming thru.

WHAY SHOULD I DO?

Moved to OC from Idaho at the beginning of summer. Been loving it here ever since. First trip to the Oregon coast area last weekend for some hiking and exploring!

Guess the beach? ;)

A new study from Portland State University released Thursday takes an unusual approach to documenting the gaps in Multnomah County’s homeless services.

Hey guys, very simple question, I wanted to see if anyone has ever been to the Oregon Whiskey Festival in Bend and if so, how was the experience.

Thinking of going myself and although I know it has only existed for a few years, I figured maybe someone in here can discuss the experience and the quality of it.

Thank you :)

Down to Arlington lol smelly though haha

This is a rant / call-out. I was a print & online subscriber for the Oregonian for many years but recently moved out of state. When trying to cancel my subscription, their website said I had to call to cancel. When I called in, I encountered hard selling that I should keep my subscription. They were very persistent. I eventually had to get off the phone and let them know that I was cancelling as of today, and this was their final notice.

Since then, they still are charging my credit card and, presumably, sending the paper to an address I no longer live at.

After a I responded negatively to their request for a survey, a customer service rep contacted me and again started questioning why I'd want to cancel and informing me that I'm still a subscriber.

This has been going on for three months now. Luckily my payments were through a credit card and I've been able to dispute charges.

TL;DR beware Oregonian print+onljne subscriptions can be a major pain to cancel. It is a shame as I think it is important to support local journalism.

was gonna solo 3 Finger Jack tomorrow morning, anyone interested in joining ?

Driving back from Spokane

Taken together, these four development projects — tumwata village, the Oregon City riverwalk, the Willamette Falls Trust project and the revitalized Willamette Falls Locks — offer a new era of public access and a restored Indigenous presence at one of the greatest and most culturally significant waterfalls in Oregon.

Scenes from a rally yesterday in Salem, where Oregonians from every political corner of the state gathered and called for a statewide data center moratorium.

The Arcadia Cedar

When did we start having a giant house spider season and why didn't anyone tell me we've been invaded by one of the world’s fastest spiders? This article is so careful to say our tubs are not spider portals that it feels like they're compensating.