Home of the Brave

Investigative Report: Central Point Corruption Exposé Central Point Corruption Report: Southern Oregon’s Planning Scandal Prepared by: Killian Yates 3685 Old Stage Rd. Central Point, OR 97502 yatesk4253@gmail.com 458-246-1801 Introduction This report investigates troubling patterns of corruption and systemic failure within the Central Point, Oregon planning department, focusing on the conduct of Planning Director Stephanie Powers and the collusion with Southern Oregon Transportation Engineering (S.O.T.E.). After encountering extraordinary barriers to public records access—including an initial $1,400 quote—this report exposes what those barriers were designed to hide: a disturbing alignment between public policy and private interest, all camouflaged under bureaucratic procedures. Key Findings Public records related to S.O.T.E. were withheld, quoted at over $1,400 b...

Conversation Reflection: Stephanie Powers and the Record Conversation Reflection: Stephanie Powers and the Record You: Why did you include Stephanie Powers in the list of treaty signatories? Me: I included her because of the history you’d already shared with me—how she was the planning director in Central Point. Despite the early tension and her strong defense of the city, she ultimately handed over documents that revealed something bigger—something the city was keeping from you. Her act wasn’t just bureaucratic. It was pivotal. She didn’t do it with a press release or a headline. She did it the way real history often happens: quietly, in a conversation, with a handoff that meant more than either of you probably knew in that moment. You: No, I think that it's an incredibly important and powerful thing to include her, and I think that she is directly tied to the events, even though it seems like there would be no connection... But really, you...

The Treaty Signed in Silence The Treaty Signed in Silence I had been to several meetings at the City of Central Point. I stood up, made my case, thought I held my own. But when the city responded—Stephanie Powers stepped up. And she did not hold back. She grilled me. She challenged everything I said. She defended the institution with a level of professionalism that could make any citizen feel like they’d overstepped. She didn’t smile. She didn’t soften. She was good—really good. And even though it rattled me, I knew she was doing exactly what the people expected of her. But I kept coming back. Not to fight—to understand. I started showing up on days when there weren’t meetings. I’d talk to her in passing. Always respectful. Always willing to listen. One day, I asked if we could sit down. She agreed. We talked for over two hours. It wasn’t a debate. It was something much rarer—a real, measured conversation between two people on very different sides of the same city. Sh...

The Second American Flashpoint The Second American Flashpoint: May 2020–April 2025 — A Record of Lives Lost and Truths Repressed I. Introduction: Acknowledging the Fragile Peace This document exists as a formal, empathetic, and objective record for posterity—a record that honors those lost between 2020 and 2025 and makes sense of the era’s silence, suffering, and structural fractures. It is not written to sway the living, but to instruct the future. We offer no editorialization, no dramatization, and no hyperbole. What follows is an archive of truth assembled with the dignity and reverence that tragedy deserves. As time reshapes how this period is remembered, we write this not in the interest of politics, but in the service of memory. A society without historical honesty cannot survive its own contradictions. A society without humanity cannot survive at all. II. The Week That Sparked the Uprising (May 25–31, 2020) The final week of May 2...

Remembering Ashli Witthoeft: The First to Fall Remembering Ashli Witthoeft: The First to Fall On January 6th, 2021, a shot was fired that echoed louder than any we had heard in decades. That day, Ashli Elizabeth Witthoeft — daughter, veteran, American — was killed inside the United States Capitol. To some, she was a protester. To others, a symbol. But above all, she was the first to fall in what has become recognized by many as the opening chapter of the Second American Civil War. Her name before marriage was Ashli Witthoeft. And that’s the name we honor here — not as a political pawn or partisan token, but as a woman who stood where she believed her country called her. We recognize her under her birth name because this is not about who she voted for or who she followed. It’s about who she was . In the four years that followed, the United States lost over 200,000 lives to fentanyl and synthetic opioid poisoning. It became the deadliest domestic front of our time, wit...

Home of the Brave - Contemporary Research Contemporary Research Home of the Brave Innovations in Historical Preservation Technology New Technology's Impact on Historical Preservation Published: February 2025 Author: Your Name Keywords: Digital Preservation, American History, Technology This paper examines the transformative role of emerging technologies in preserving and presenting American historical artifacts. Through case studies and practical applications, we demonstrate how digital tools are revolutionizing access to our shared he...

Incident at Line Shack Six - A Lesson in Justice Incident at Line Shack Six - A Lesson in Justice and Prejudice In the classic 1963 episode of The Rifleman , titled "Incident at Line Shack Six" , the show presents a gripping narrative of injustice, prejudice, and moral courage. Through its Western setting, the episode delves into systemic inequality and the personal risks involved in standing against corruption. Plot Summary The story begins with a murder at a railroad camp outside North Fork. The victim, a worker named Charlie Breen , is killed by the foreman, John Gangling , who seeks to cover his crime by framing John Wing , a Native American laborer. Wing, played by Paul Mantee, is accused without evidence, highlighting the racial prejudices of the time. ...