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After a crumby ending, donated dough rolls in for 2 cookie deliverers
Denver Post ^ | 02/06/05 | Electa Draper

Posted on 02/05/2005 10:24:01 AM PST by Pikamax

After a crumby ending, donated dough rolls in for 2 cookie deliverers By Electa Draper Denver Post Staff Writer

Sunday, February 06, 2005 -

Durango - The Cookie Defense Fund has swelled to thousands of dollars.

Hundreds of Denver Post readers e-mailed and called to express "shock" and "outrage" that two 18-year-old Durango girls were sued for something they did last summer: drop off a plate of cookies and a paper heart on a neighbor's porch.

Taylor Ostergaard and Lindsey Zellitti lost in Small Claims Court in La Plata County on Thursday. Their impulse to bake cookies and treat neighbors by knocking, dropping off and running away went awry. One of nine neighbors who received a plate of cookies said the pounding on her door about 10:30 p.m. July 31 frightened her into an anxiety attack. A Durango judge awarded about $900 to the 49-year-old woman to cover some medical bills incurred when she ended up at the emergency room the next day.

If the people who called and wrote make good on their pledges, that $900 will be recovered many times over. Several people offered to personally cover the whole amount themselves.

The attention has been overwhelming.

"We just put them on the plane. Lindsey, Taylor and Jill (Taylor's mother) are headed to New York to do 'Good Morning America,"' Martha Zellitti, Lindsey's mom, said Friday night.

"They just thought it might be their one shot to tell the country they're still not afraid to do good deeds," Martha Zellitti said. "They'll just try to be more considerate in the future about the time."

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The families are also mulling over an offer from Jay Leno to do "The Tonight Show." It's not looking good for Leno, though, because Lindsey's mom wants her to get back to college in Kansas, where she is a freshman studying animal nutrition. Taylor is still in high school.

"We're just not the movie- star types," Martha Zellitti said.

But the story, which appeared Friday in The Denver Post, was linked to the Drudge Report and eBay. The tale was recounted on MSNBC ("Sugar and spice is not always nice," journalist Dan Abrams said) and other media.

The Otis Spunkmeyer cookie- making company is offering to hold an event in Durango to set things right.

"Cookies are the ultimate comfort food," Otis Spunkmeyer spokeswoman Liz Rayo said. "We don't want anyone sued over cookies. Cookies are good. This is an emotional issue for us."

They're not the only ones.

In e-mail after e-mail to The Post, from Hawaii to New York, and from Canada to Puerto Rico, people invoked with dismay the adage "No good deed goes unpunished."

Many observed that the unfortunate misunderstanding gave new meaning to the term "Cookie Monster."

One reader called the plaintiff in the case "a macaroon." Another called her a "cookie batterer."

The plaintiff could not be reached for comment Friday.

Martha Zellitti said the girls' families are not upset with the neighbor, or with the judge, who received many calls from people questioning his decision. Zellitti said the neighbor volunteers at the local food bank and does good deeds herself.

"And the judge made the best decision he could with the information he had," Zellitti said. "We just weren't prepared."

The judge awarded only $1 for damages, even though he could have given the plaintiff lost wages and the cost of new motion- sensor lights for her porch and more. She had itemized about $3,000 in all.

But political conservatives who read the story were convinced the judge must be a liberal activist intent on being politically correct. On the other hand, liberals said the judge and neighbor must be conservatives, who tend to see "terrorists behind every bush and on every porch," even in a quiet rural neighborhood just south of Durango.

The girls' defenders ran the gamut from executives and reverends to felons.

One e-mailer offered to set the girls up in their own cookie business.

There were other factions. A small but intense group were incensed that anyone would consider 10:30 p.m. "too late." It's really early, they said.

One church group wrote that members were very concerned because one of its favorite programs is for youths to ring doorbells, drop off treats and run. Another church group in South Carolina said it had young men in its congregation who would like to correspond with the Durango bakers.

"Lindsey's boyfriend wouldn't like that," Martha Zellitti said.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cookies
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To: Howlin

The way I read it, I think the person has to be in the house in order for the "Make My Day" law apply.


181 posted on 02/05/2005 5:11:00 PM PST by BulletBobCo
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To: Howlin
No, we haven't. You're using a law, which you have yet to link, that you yourself say has been denied in several statements.

I'm using a law which has been denied in several incidents (calm youself, you're losing, do so with grace). One was a case in Denver where a neighbour chased housebreakers down the street before killing one. Ironically, he was coming to the aid of a anti-gun nut neighbour who was in hot pursuit. As I recall, the guy got something like 10 or 12 years. Sad but fair.

I do believe she could have shot them legally. I'm basing that from following the outcome of various CO cases over the years. It's up to the local authorites to determine whether or not to charge the shooter. In most areas of the state, excluding Denver and Boulder, the police side with the law-abiding against the criminals. In the unfortunate case at hand I believe the homeowner would have been held harmless.

You're right, I basing my argument on the article. For all we know the girls don't even exist, let alone know how to bake.

As to actual documentation, I'll be blunt, I don't care to.

It's there, it's used regularly, and every time it is, I sleep soundly, knowing one more piece of human debris has been swept aside by common homeowners like me. I wish someone who start a statewide "I Improved Civilization, Ask Me How" Award. It would remind criminals how dangerous their jobs are.

Somehow I don't think the "friendly" people of Colorado would consider a plate of cookies a reasonable threat.

I should have read that part first. With a bullet proof argument like that, what chance have I got?

182 posted on 02/05/2005 5:11:44 PM PST by Balding_Eagle (God has blessed Republicans with really stupid enemies.)
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To: Howlin

Then we have no disagreement. I think the parents are firstly to blame, the girls second, and the dingbat neighbor mostly.

The girls, though, aren't heroes here and I get that impression from a lot of folks.

I just live in the mountains of Colorado, very similar to Durango, and you would be insane to do a stunt like this. There are a lot of recluses here who steer clear of being 'neighborly'. At the same time, there are some of the most winderful folks in the world as well.

One guy had the 'Make My Day' law on a billboard on the front of his house.

Oh yeah, it gets pitch black in the mountains: there isn't much radiant light. Not to mention the fact that you aren't the largest predator.


183 posted on 02/05/2005 5:14:46 PM PST by wireplay
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To: SeaBiscuit

Not the case. We had someone a few years back beating on the patio door of the house, homeowner killed him, no charges. It turned out that the 'beater' had bad intentions. Still, no good parent is going to condone your kid putting themselves in such harm's way even if your intentions are good.

I don't have time to look it up but I believe it was in the Colorado Springs area.


184 posted on 02/05/2005 5:17:51 PM PST by wireplay
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To: Balding_Eagle

according to the article.. lol.... the woman in the house didn't know about the cookies. it says the deputies discovered them when they arrived.



i really LIKE the Make My Day law! awesome...


185 posted on 02/05/2005 5:18:26 PM PST by sdpatriot ("If I know the answer I'll tell you the answer, and if I don't, I'll just respond, cleverly." Rummy)
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To: Howlin

well sure, something isn't right..
the women in the house were wimps for starters. the man of the house was gone for the night, making them even more wimpy . the lady said she had years ago been attacked ( makes me wonder if it didn't kinda mental her up a little )

but the main thing is - in the article BOTH parties say they attempted some sort of reconciliation.... it was the stinking lawyer(s) who wanted it to go to court.

otherwise we would never have frivolous lawsuits at all. you have to have a nut+a lawyer.

i wonder what some would say if one of the girls had tripped on a loose rock and sued the home owner for the hospital bill? it's been done before. that's why i still say - if this case wasn't tossed out, then i'm glad it went for the property owner.


186 posted on 02/05/2005 5:31:43 PM PST by sdpatriot ("If I know the answer I'll tell you the answer, and if I don't, I'll just respond, cleverly." Rummy)
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To: sdpatriot

"otherwise we would never have frivolous lawsuits at all. you have to have a nut+a lawyer"

+liberal activist stupid judges.


187 posted on 02/05/2005 5:45:54 PM PST by SeaBiscuit (God Bless all who defend America and the rest can go to hell.)
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To: cyncooper

Cyn,

Just a note - sunset is when the sun actually dips below the horizon. It stays light for a while after that, though, and that's what Nautical Twilight is. So, the time it actually got dark was 9:22. In the Army we called it EENT - End of Evening Nautical Twilight.

If you look on your source page (which is very cool, btw), you'll see the same thing happens in the morning. It starts to get light before the sun actually rises. That's called BMNT - Begin Morning Nautical Twilight.

:)


188 posted on 02/05/2005 5:58:28 PM PST by Terabitten (A quick reminder to the liberals. The election in Iraq was done NOT IN YOUR NAME.)
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To: Dog Gone
Hid their car. Do you really believe that?

Sure. It sounds like the girls were trying to commit a "random act of kindness," to do something nice for someone without getting any credit. If that was their motive, they surely wouldn't have their car out in the open.

189 posted on 02/05/2005 6:00:44 PM PST by Terabitten (A quick reminder to the liberals. The election in Iraq was done NOT IN YOUR NAME.)
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To: Tragically Single

Yes, and I expound on that in post #173.


190 posted on 02/05/2005 6:01:37 PM PST by cyncooper
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To: Balding_Eagle
"I do believe she could have shot them legally"

I frankly don't understand why you keep stating this.

You CANNOT shoot someone for JUST knocking on your door and then running away -even if its 330 AM.

There would have to be some additional action or circumstance. Violating a no trespassing sign, ignoring a warning to leave, an attempt to break in the house, etc.

Further, we have no evidence they "pounded" on the door and then "ran away" except for the womens word.
191 posted on 02/05/2005 6:02:20 PM PST by rcocean
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To: cyncooper

:) You sure did. One of these days I'll learn to read the *entire* thread before I post something. :)


192 posted on 02/05/2005 6:07:09 PM PST by Terabitten (A quick reminder to the liberals. The election in Iraq was done NOT IN YOUR NAME.)
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To: Tragically Single

I have an awful habit of commenting as I go and then realizing I'm making a point that has been made ad nauseum...which was not what you did.

:)


193 posted on 02/05/2005 6:09:51 PM PST by cyncooper
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To: cyncooper

Hehehe..

At any rate, you're right in that it was completely dark by the time the girls got to the house.

I'm of two minds on this. On the one hand, it probably wasn't the girls' wisest moment to go knocking on doors at 10:30pm. On the other hand, there was *no* reason to take this to court. A simple talk with the parents would have sufficed.

I think the judge should have thrown it out, and censured the lawyer for not advising his client that it was a frivolous lawsuit.


194 posted on 02/05/2005 6:12:51 PM PST by Terabitten (A quick reminder to the liberals. The election in Iraq was done NOT IN YOUR NAME.)
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To: cyncooper
One more time....the scenerio.

Women alone in the basement watching tv, ages 86, 48 and 19. They are on a rural road. They hear knocking at the door at 10:30pm. The mother goes upstairs and sees no vehicle in the drive. She asks repeatedly "who is there?" and gets no answer. She sees a person standing in the shadows. She calls the sheriff. He comes to the home and advised them to leave for their own safety.

Later it is determined that the girls parked their car 500 yards in a grove of trees, knocked repeatedly and then lurked before they ran. The sheriff could not determine what the cookies meant with the message from the girls.

I will say, once again, they are very lucky that they were not harmed.
195 posted on 02/05/2005 6:26:25 PM PST by Conservababe (I calls it like I sees it.)
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To: Pikamax
"This has turned into quite a fiasco," Young said.

Since this fiasco has turned Mrs. Juanita Wanita Young into the national poster child for the Cookie Monster, she might want to consider giving the money back to the girls and publicly apologizing for lacking a sense of humor.

While I confess to having a scintilla of sympathy for Juanita Wanita - considering the slight possibility that she really may have traumatized by a prior assault - I have no respect for the judge. While I'm sure it has sunken-in that a considerable number of people now know that he has sh!t for brains, I hope he pays a dear price professionally.

196 posted on 02/05/2005 6:27:22 PM PST by delacoert (imperat animus corpori, et paretur statim: imperat animus sibi, et resistitur. -AUGUSTINI)
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To: delacoert

Dearie, you must live in a subdivision, apartment or townhouse? Or at the very least, in a town where your neighbors are ten feet from you.


197 posted on 02/05/2005 6:30:39 PM PST by Conservababe (I calls it like I sees it.)
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To: rcocean
You CANNOT shoot someone for JUST knocking on your door and then running away -even if its 330 AM.

You're right, you can't do that. Who said anyone could?

Read the article again, this time read about the rest of the circumstances.

What are you guys, a tag team? You sure are persistant in mistating my position. Say and believe what you all want to.

If you're ever in CO just don't do what those girls did without making sure all your affairs are in order. BTW, it WILL help you to find out for yourself what the girls did.

198 posted on 02/05/2005 6:35:12 PM PST by Balding_Eagle (God has blessed Republicans with really stupid enemies.)
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To: sdpatriot
it was the stinking lawyer(s) who wanted it to go to court.

Ah, the women was asking for punitive damages, a security system, probably more.

This has been going on since last July; they apologized; she said they weren't sincere; they offered to pay her expenses, that wasn't enough. And her husband is now making harassing calls to the girls' families.

Sometimes it AIN'T the attorneys.

199 posted on 02/05/2005 6:56:35 PM PST by Howlin (It's a great day to be an American -- and a Bush Republican!!!!)
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To: Balding_Eagle

Well, you agree You CANNOT shoot someone for JUST knocking on your door and then running away.

Isn't that what the girls did?

BUT then you state "If you're ever in CO just don't do what those girls did without making sure all your affairs are in order."

So what did the girls DO that would allow someone to legally shoot them?


200 posted on 02/05/2005 6:57:56 PM PST by rcocean
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