Salem-News.com Bend articles Page 6

Westlund`s Campaign for Governor Passes 10,000 Signatures on July 4th

(BEND) - Over 10,000 Oregonians have signed the petition for State Senator Ben Westlund (I-Bend), an independent candidate for governor who is gathering signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

The campaign announced this week that his Independence Day efforts collected signatures in twelve cities across Oregon, netting 1,731 in one day and bringing his total to 10,465. Westlund must submit just over 18,000 valid signatures by the end of August to qualify for the ballot. Petitions can be downloaded and progress can be tracked on the website www.benwestlund.com.

Anti-Gay Demonstrators Told to Stay Away From Oregon Soldier`s Funeral Service

(BEND) - The anti-gay hate group from Topeka, Kansas that operates the Website godhatesfags.com, announced plans to demonstrate at the memorial service for Private First Class Thomas Tucker on Saturday, but they will have to do so in the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center parking lot.

The Deschutes County commissioners took the action amid reports that members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas might picket the service at the fairgrounds in Redmond on Saturday.

The group is headed by the notorious Pastor Fred Phelps.

He claims that American soldiers are dying in Iraq because homosexuality is condoned in American homes.