A May 3, 1982 letter from Charles K. Ashbaker, Supervisor of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Source Control Section, to Dorothy M. Brown, Director of Planning for Wasco County. The letter states that the DEQ had issued a permit to the Rajneesh Neo-Sannyas International Commune for construction and operation of a temporary sewage lagoon, expiring July 31, 1982. Ashbaker states that the permit required the pump station to be dismantled before the permit expired and suggests that Wasco County hold a hearing if an application was later received for a permanent facility.
An August 15, 1984 certified mail letter from Dan Durow, Director of Planning for Wasco County, to Swami Deva Sandesh, Building Official for Rajneeshpuram. The letter states that Wasco County objected to Rajneeshpuram's issuance of two building permits, including plumbing and mechanical permits, which the county argued were outside the scope of a June 18, 1984 Circuit Court order. The letter states that the permits involved enclosed additions to residences rather than external minor additions such as decks and porches.
An eight-page September 1984 court filing in Kelly McGreer, et al. v. City of Rajneeshpuram, et al., titled "Affidavits in Support of Request for Permit Approval." The filing was submitted by Ma Prem Sangeet, attorney for the City of Rajneeshpuram, and concerns two building permits proposed by the city. The attached affidavits by Ma Dolma, Swami Krishna Deva, and Ma Prem Sangeet discuss proposed extensions to two existing structures, earlier discussions about the court's injunction, and whether additions under 500 square feet were allowed under the court's order. A received stamp from the Building Codes Division is dated September 21, 1984.
A September 21, 1984 letter from Dan Durow, Director of Planning for Wasco County, to Swami Krishna Deva of Rajneeshpuram. The letter follows up on telephone conversations about temporary permits issued under a June 18, 1984 Circuit Court order for the relocation and placement of non-residential modular facilities. Durow discusses an agreement allowing county officials to conduct unannounced inspections at Rajneeshpuram during normal working hours, pending permits, and the county's position that further permits would not be approved until a stipulated court order was signed.
A September 28, 1984 letter from William F. Gary, Deputy Attorney General, to Ronald R. Still, Chief of the Portland Police Bureau, regarding the City of Rajneeshpuram Peace Force. The letter responds to questions about the legal status of Rajneeshpuram, certification of Peace Force employees by the Board on Police Standards and Training, admission to the Oregon Police Academy, and reimbursement for local law enforcement training. Gary discusses the pending legal challenges to Rajneeshpuram's municipal status and states that the city and its Peace Force did not appear eligible for certain police training reimbursement programs.
An October 12, 1984 State of Oregon interoffice memo from James F. Ross of Oregon's Land Conservation and Development Commission to Governor Victor Atiyeh, regarding "Rajneeshpuram Plan Review and Litigation." The memo summarizes the LCDC review of the Rajneeshpuram plan and legal challenges to Rajneeshpuram's incorporation. It notes dates including the Commission's June 2, 1983 review, Rajneeshpuram's June 1984 resubmission, earlier LUBA and court decisions, and the Oregon Supreme Court's October 9, 1984 acceptance of review of the Court of Appeals decision. A handwritten note appears on the first page.
An October 12, 1984 opinion and order by United States District Judge Helen J. Frye in State of Oregon v. City of Rajneeshpuram, et al. The order concerns defendants' motions to strike portions of the State of Oregon's complaint, which alleged that the City of Rajneeshpuram and its operation as a city constituted an unconstitutional establishment of religion. The opinion discusses arguments concerning establishment clause claims, quo warranto, statute of limitations, and allegedly scandalous or impertinent material. The court denied the defendants' motions to strike.
A seven-page October 14, 1984 memo from Edward J. Sullivan and Corinne C. Sherton to Gerry Thompson regarding Oregon's Land Conservation and Development Commission acknowledgment of proceedings for the City of Rajneeshpuram. The memo discusses how the LCDC could review Rajneeshpuram's acknowledgment request without identical urban growth boundaries having been adopted by the city and Wasco County. Topics include Rajneeshpuram's comprehensive plan, Wasco County's role, Goal 14, urban growth boundaries, limited acknowledgment orders, and possible LCDC action.
A thirteen-page October 19, 1984 memorandum from Edward J. Sullivan to Michael B. Huston regarding questions posed by representatives of the Department of Justice. The memo responds to legal questions concerning Land Conservation and Development Commission action on the City of Rajneeshpuram's response to a continuance order. Topics include consistency in LCDC decision-making, the revised urban growth boundary, city-county urban growth management issues, and whether a valid municipal entity had requested acknowledgment under Oregon land use law.
A November 20, 1984 letter from William F. Gary, Deputy Attorney General, to John G. Keane, Director of the U.S. Bureau of the Census, regarding the City of Rajneeshpuram. The letter responds to a request for information about Rajneeshpuram's legal status in connection with federal revenue sharing. Gary states that the Oregon Attorney General's office considered Rajneeshpuram never to have been validly constituted as a municipal government, based on the Attorney General's October 6, 1983 formal legal opinion.
A two-page December 10, 1984 Department of Commerce Building Codes Division report regarding a special inspection at Rajneeshpuram. The report states that State Electrical Inspector Frank Evans disconnected approximately 250 tents at the Rajneeshpuram Ranch on December 7, 1984. The document lists electrical code violations involving permits, splices, overcurrent protection, grounding, underground cables, junction boxes, and related wiring issues.
A two-page December 13, 1984 Department of Land Conservation and Development memo from James F. Ross to Gerry Thompson, Bob Oliver, and Bill Gary regarding Wasco County plan amendments dealing with the Rancho Rajneesh area. The memo discusses the uncertain legal status of Rajneeshpuram, Wasco County's comprehensive land use plan, post-acknowledgment amendments, urban growth boundary issues, pending litigation, and the department's cautious advice to the county.
An eight-page set of public records requests from the Rajneesh Legal Services Corporation to the Governor's Office, dated June 25 and June 28, 1985. The requests seek access to records including calendars, telephone bills, telephone logs, correspondence with Representative Paul Hanneman, a letter concerning the "influx of followers of the Bhagwan," and documents involving the Governor's Office, the Department of Commerce, the Attorney General's Office, Rancho Rajneesh, Rajneeshpuram, Rajneesh/Antelope, and related corporations or residents.
A three-page August 7, 1985 letter from Bob Oliver to The Rajneesh Legal Services, Inc. regarding a public records request for materials in the Governor's Office file titled "Department of Justice." Oliver served as the legal counsel to Governor Atiyeh. Oliver states that most documents in the file were being made available for inspection and copying, but that several documents were being withheld under attorney-client privilege. The letter lists the withheld documents and notes that they did not appear to have an obvious connection to the plaintiffs in pending federal litigation involving Rajneeshpuram.
A five-page August 13, 1985 letter from Jeffrey S. Merrick, Assistant Attorney General, to the Rajneesh Legal Services Corporation regarding public records requests addressed to the Governor's Office. The letter provides a status report on numerous requests, including requests for written public records requests, fee policies, correspondence, meeting notes, telephone bills and logs, calendars, Governor's Office file #101-3, and records relating to Rajneeshpuram, Rajneesh/Antelope, Rancho Rajneesh, and related state agency contacts.
A five-page August 16, 1985 letter from Assistant Attorneys General Scott McAlister and Linda R. Rodgers to Governor Victor Atiyeh regarding State of Oregon et al. v. City of Rajneeshpuram et al. The letter discusses a federal district court discovery order requiring named state agencies to search for documents relevant to the case. The letter outlines subject areas for the search, including named defendants, alleged religious control of governmental functions in Rajneeshpuram, the religious purpose of the city, excessive entanglement of government and religion, and possible sources of information.
A seven-page set of September 16, 1985 letters from Robert W. Oliver, Assistant to the Governor, to the Rajneesh Legal Services Corporation. The letters respond to several public records requests concerning meetings and briefing sessions involving Governor Atiyeh, Gerry Thompson, Bob Oliver, John Mathis, Bob Lamb, John Williams, and others; writings involving the Rajneeshpuram School District; authorization for Attorney General investigations; access to Governor Atiyeh's personal calendar; and handwritten notes or memoranda from Governor's cabinet meetings.
A four-page set of documents beginning with a September 11, 1985 letter from Robert W. Oliver, Assistant to the Governor, to the Rajneesh Legal Services Corporation. The letter concerns two enclosed public records requests dated August 12 and August 26, 1985, which sought a response to a February 23, 1983 letter from Al Davidson to Oliver. Oliver states that searches of the Governor's Office and Department of Education files had not located the requested response. The enclosed public records requests from Rajneesh Legal Services are included in the scan.
A four-page January 31, 1986 joint statement by United States Attorney Charles H. Turner and Oregon Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer regarding extradition proceedings against Sheela Silverman (a.k.a. Ma Anand Sheela), Diane Ivonne Onang (a.k.a. Ma Anand Puja), and Catherine Jane Elsea (a.k.a. Ma Shanti Bhadra). The statement says that the three former disciples of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh would be extradited from Germany to Oregon to face criminal charges. It discusses federal and state charges, including immigration-related charges, attempted murder, assault, conspiracy, wiretapping, arson, and burglary, as well as limitations and procedures under the extradition treaty between the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany.
A four-page set of Oregon State Police Rajneeshpuram investigation notes dated December 18-23, 1985. The notes discuss conditions at the ranch after the departure of many Rajneeshees, including buyers looking at remaining property, the sale of vehicles and equipment, estimated remaining population, daily buses leaving the ranch, FBI agents serving papers related to wiretapping, and information from Herb Koenig, identified as a court-appointed trustee for Rajneeshpuram. The final page discusses plans to reduce the ranch population to caretakers and corporation personnel under a court order.
An October 3, 1984 State of Oregon interoffice memo from Jeff Lewis (Citizen's Representative in the Governor's Office) to Gerry Thompson (Governor Atiyeh's Chief of Staff) regarding Rajneesh telephone calls. The memo states that, although the hotline had helped with calls from concerned citizens about the Rajneeshees, Lewis was still receiving about ten to twenty calls a day from Oregonians who were not satisfied speaking with the hotline. Lewis states that these callers were extremely irate and did not believe the Governor was doing enough.
A one-page Oregon State Police Rajneeshpuram investigation report by Sergeant M. A. Searcey for the week of December 22-29, 1985. The report discusses the sale of Golden West mobile homes, reports of game violations and coyote hunting, negotiations by a group called Youth of America to purchase Rancho Rajneesh, possible plans for a juvenile offender work camp, the estimated remaining population at the ranch, the status of the caretaker force, and uncertainty about the disposition of the man camp in Antelope.
A September 20, 1984 State of Oregon interoffice memo from Bill Young, Director of Water Resources, to Pat Amedeo in the Governor's Office regarding Application 68110. The memo states that the Rajneesh Neo-Sannyas International Commune had submitted an application to appropriate water from the John Day River to irrigate 10.7 acres. Young notes that the section of river was within the Scenic Waterway established in 1971 and that staff were working with the Director of State Parks on required findings before the permit could be issued.
A September 26, 1984 Mental Health Division memorandum from J. H. Treleaven, M.D., Assistant Director of Human Resources and Administrator for Mental Health, to Bob Oliver regarding mental health and Rajneeshpuram. Oliver served as the legal counsel to Oregon's Governor Atiyeh. The memo states that community mental health program directors in The Dalles and Bend had reported no problems resulting from the influx of "street people" (i.e. homeless people) at Rajneeshpuram, while the director in Madras had helped with two people left at the hospital there. The memo also notes an upcoming meeting in The Dalles to discuss contingency planning with local officials.
