Burned Body Discovered in Ashland Oregon Park

Vanessa Houk, 17.02.2008 17:32

A burned body was discovered in Lithia Park this week. Possessions found near the body suggest it is likely a well known homeless man named Bennett Tanner.

Earlier this week, a hiker found a burned body in Lithia Park in Ashland. Well known for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, our little city is nestled within the Rogue Valley and is a haven for poets, writers, artists and musicians. There is an air of creativity here and it feels like a safe place to live and a good place to raise a family. Any inkling of potentially serious crime makes us pause, so when we heard about this "body" we were scared, upset, worried. What happened?

As the story began to unfold, we heard that the body was found in a homeless camp near the Ashland watershed. Even worse, we heard that a bicycle belonging to our friend Bennett Tanner and several sock puppets were found nearby.

The last time we saw Bennett was in early December. It was early in the evening and we were in the middle of a walk downtown. He was sitting on the sidewalk near the flower shop performing with his sock puppets. Our family stopped to watch him for a few minutes and chat. He was his funny, animated self. I remember thinking how cold it was that night and I think we told him to take care of himself and to try to stay warm. I remember he had something on the ground that he was collecting coins in and we added what we could before we walked away. We were all glad to see him and on the way back home we talked about how much we liked him.

We are still waiting for the results of a toxicology report, which could take several weeks to finish. As much as I want to hold on to hope and be wrong, I suspect that Bennett’s life came to an end sometime in December 2007.

Although some people in the community may have thought of him as "quirky", he was always polite. I never heard him say a bad word about anybody else.

Bennett was a regular at our KSKQ community radio barbecues last summer. He did several "sock puppet" shows on open mic night and we will always remember him as a gentle person and a creative comedienne.

In the years he lived here, Bennett was quoted several times in newspaper articles regarding the issue of homelessness. Shortly before his death he was quoted in an article that ran in the Mail Tribune. It might have been his last request. "I could use a sleeping bag made for really cold temperatures," he said. "It gets down to zero here, and that's the only thing that will keep me warm. I also need a tarp to try and keep my things dry when it rains." In the same article, Amber Thomas, an office manager for ICCA (Interfaith Care Community Ashland) said, "Temperatures are starting to drop, and I'd hate to see someone die because they froze to death."

I hope that in the last minutes before Bennett’s death, he was able to focus his eyes on something beautiful. I imagine he was staring at the moon or a few really bright stars and I hope that the beauty he saw offered some solace and that somehow he was not feeling any pain.

e-mail:: lithiasalt@cheerful.com

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by Randy Dolinger - about Bennett Tanner 19.02.2008 - 22:41 by Randy Dolinger, Ashland - The recent, untimely death of Ashland's beloved homeless street comedian and sock-puppetteer, Bennett Tanner, is truly a tragic reality-check for a kind and intelligent community, which usually faces its elemental dramas with metaphore and stage-craft at one of our world famous theatres. Bennett was a simple man who wanted mostly to know a sense of community, and to touch his fellow townspeople with light and enabling sentiments, outrageous comedy routines, and several recently published philosophical essays. Bennett died alone, and remained alone for weeks before his body was found, by his tent, in a grove of small trees just outside the boundaries of the old quarry site that local homeless advocates, including Bennett himself, have been proposing, for more than five years, be used as a homeless campground and eco-village. Certainly there remains no better time than the present for this community to hear the reason and logic for supporting the concept of a homeless campground. A five-member panel will be meeting this Thursday, Feb. 21, at 11:30 am. in the Ashland Public Library to consider and discuss possible solutions to the homelessness problem in Ashland. Advocates, activists and members of the homeless community would welcome anyone interested to let us know what you think. Thank you. All are invited to homelessness panel thursda> League of Women Voters of Ashland hosts event 19.02.2008 - 22:43 -League of Women Voters of Ashland hosts a panel discussion on Homeless in Ashland. Feb 21 '08, at noon in the Gresham Room at the Ashland Public Library. Everyone is welcome to come at 11:30, bring their lunch and chat with members and guests.The library opens at noon on Thursday, so please enter by the back door and take the elevator or stairs down to the Gresham Room. Panelists will include Arnie Green,former Executive Director of Community Works; Terry Holderness, Ashland's Police Chief; Graham Lewis, member of the Ashland Housing Commission and former President of the Ashland Chamber of Commerce; Daniel Hoeff, Homeless Activist ; and Sharon Shreiber, Executive Director, Interfaith Care Community (ICC). The discussion wil be moderated by Barbara Jarvis, Judge Pro Tem, Ashland Municipal Court and LWVA member. Please join us to discuss what should Ashland do about its homeless population. Everyone is welcome to come at 11:30> the problem of advocacy: alienation still 31.03.2008 - 13:04 Two response, one for the formals ("homeless advocates") and one for the informals. Informals, and the person posting: re: I remember thinking how cold it was that night and I think we told him to take care of himself and to try to stay warm. I remember he had something on the ground that he was collecting coins in and we added what we could before we walked away. We were all glad to see him and on the way back home we talked about how much we liked him. -- Yet nothing was set up for him, so that you could check in on him more often. He was *his own* adult, yet, what is this value system we are perpetuating??? Imagine broadening our friend ships so that our networks can be even more inspiring to us and those we claim to "like". If nothing else, Bennett's passing has a gift within in it here, and that is, in my feeling, this gift about remembering our response ability to each other, and what reflections we can find in such (and what surprising gifts may come!). Formals, and all "homeless advocates": The institutionalized ideas you subordinate yourselves to could use more of your humanity, your input, your "realizing the value of being radically empathetic with each other"! from one who is sometimes homeless as well puzz'L sonG> Homepage:: http://www.angelfire.com/folk/magixnartz