This is the final draft of the letter I sent to the court in Medford yesterday. It gives a brief glimpse of what's been going on here over the past couple of months.
There will be a fuller update at some point; there's a lot to say, but this can serve for now as we get on with moving. Thanks for reading.
-Ande
Dear Judge Peterson,
In reference to case #14LT00529, I wish to withdraw the appeal for a hearing scheduled for this coming Friday April 25th.
It is an eviction case and I am the defendant. The migration of Tipi Village has begun and by the time of the hearing we will no longer be living at the place known to Jackson County Assesors as # 1-010851-1 and 1-012270-1, 42-2E Tax Lots 100/102, although we will likely still be collecting belongings and cleaning up.
Following will be a more thorough though concise explaination of why this hearing was filed and now dropped. Please excuse me if it's inappropriate here.
I and the other families of the nomadic community of Tipi Village became aware that we were trespassing on the above named parcel of land when Art Padillo, private detective, served us with a summons in early March of this year, 2014. Until that point we had an agreement and invitation from a member of the Mosby trust and were paying rent.
At the initial hearing on March 10th I signed an agreement with James Stout, legal representative of Steve Mosby (the land owner) that we would vacate the above land by March 31st.
In the intervening time we discovered that the land upon which we have spent the winter (tax lot 100 of the aforementioned) had already transferred ownership (the Mosby family are selling all of their land). This information was communicated to James Stout through voicemail and messages left with his secretary and we received no response. We subsequently considered the case dropped by the plaintiff until Art Padillo showed up again on Friday, April 11th with a notice of restitution (which did not include a copy of the 'landlord's claim') and a deadline to vacate of the following Tuesday, April 15th. With no wish to be in conflict with the sheriff and not enough time to move a village, we decided to request a hearing.
We would have only asked for more time for the weather to settle in the higher elevation, to where we migrate, (usually mid-May), to avoid undue stress on the families. This whole business has been stressfull to many people; men, women and children simply getting on with living wholesome and direct lives which in itself is hard work and challenge enough. Further concern, after reading the 'landlord's claim' is that we might be liable to his costs, etc, for his actions which, with just a little communication, could have been cleared up and dealt with directly, without wasting the time of a judiciary with much more important things to do.
Please feel welcome to experience the reality of Tipi Village. We are not 'transients', we are a strong neo-indigenous culture pioneering and presenting viable and humane ways of living with our world. Open to all.
Thanks for reading this and for your compassionate consideration.
