Posted on 02/10/2005 12:09:43 PM PST by ZGuy
The cookie conflict isn't over yet. The spat between two teens from the southwestern Colorado town of Durango and one of their neighbors over a batch of cookies they baked last summer has garnered national publicity over the past week. It has led to donations for the girls.
For Herb and Wanita Young, it has all been a nightmare.
"We have got horrendous phone calls, tons of hate mail, threats to our life," said Herb Young in a telephone interview Thursday.
The saga began in July when Taylor Ostergaard, 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitti decided to bake chocolate chip and sugar cookies for their neighbors. They placed them outside with large red or pink construction-paper hearts that carried the message, "Have a great night" and were signed with their first initials: "Love, The T and L Club."
Things went sour when they approached the Young home. Wanita Renea Young, 49, said she heard someone banging on the door late in the evening and saw "shadowy figures" who refused to answer when she called out to them. The teens later said they did not answer because they wanted the treats to be a surprise.
A frightened Young said she spent the night at her sister's home, then went to the hospital the next morning because she was still shaking and had an upset stomach.
The Youngs said they tried to settle the dispute, even enlisting their clergy. The teens say they offered to pay the medical bills, but Young insisted on going to small claims court where a judge awarded about $900 in medical costs.
As they story spread, Denver radio station KOA raised more than enough money to pay the court award. The girls, who did not immediately return messages, were expected to be in Denver later Thursday to accept a check from the station. They have already been invited on national television shows and a cookie company has created a "Kindness Cookie" in their honor.
Things have not gone as well for the Youngs.
"It's horrible, nobody has heard our side," said Herb Young, adding the couple has had to hire a lawyer. "I don't believe the girls meant for this to happen. But they could have prevented it from happening if they had just shut their mouths when they came out of (small claims) court. Now they are caught in something they can't control."
The parents of one of the teens asked for a restraining order against Herb Young, accusing him of making harassing phone calls. He admitted calling the Ostergaards once after hearing the teens were talking to a newspaper and at one point said "the gloves were off," which apparently was taken as a threat.
"My home isn't a home any more," Young said. "We are all on pins and needles."
Wrong. We all heard your side the moment you made the stupid decision to take it to court.
So, the girls should have "kept their mouths shut" in an attempt to reduce the harrassment of a couple of people who thought the appropriate thing to do was to sue children? We're gonna file a frivolous lawsuit and you better keep quiet about it???? OMG, the arrogance!
Yes, and I would too, until she took them to court.
So, the defendants should have kept quiet when the press wanted to talk about a public proceeding, where they were involuntarily separated from their money? This guy should be on more than pins and needles.
Oh my gosh, they also want to stifle free speech.
This little story is too rich.
The Youngs absolutely HAVE to be Democrats.
If she was that scared, all she needed to do was remember 3 little numbers - 911! No mention of cops called for 'shadowy figures on my front porch'!!
My take exactly.....Now they are being swept over the falls by an indignant world....something they didn't think about when greed was at work.
Well Herb, you were determined to sue someone who was trying to do a nice thing for you. Someone who did no actual damage to you other than in your paranoid mind. You over reacted in the extreme and now your paying the price. The situation is entirely of your own making.
She looks mean and self-absorbed.
I don't think conservatives file frivolous lawsuits. For this guy to be offended by the repercussions of his own actions is a tell tale sign of liberalism.
Maybe they should have considering getting some outdoor lighting...
I think the bigger picture here is WHY the judge awarded this nut any money. The woman is obviously mentally impaired... and as someone smarter than me stated the police were not called as far as we know.
Well put.
The girls should hand deliver the $930 check along with a bag of Granny Smiths with a note attached reading, "How do you like them apples?"
I agree!
I see.
If I come to your house at 10 pm and try to tell you one of your farm animals is in the road I should be sued because you were frightened into a paranoid panic attack...
Lol....
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