~ Clutch Cargo ~
2005-02-09 09:23:27 UTC
February 5, 2005
Friendly gesture ends in court
By George Lurie
Herald Staff Writer
Check the photo of this hag:
http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/05/news050205_1.htm
Two Durango teens, whose late-night delivery of cookies to a frightened
neighbor resulted in a $930 court judgment against them this week, won't
have to dig into their own pockets to pay the fine.
Denver radio station KOA-AM raised more than $1,900 from listeners Friday to
pay the girls' $930.78 fine. The remaining sum will go to a charity
dedicated to victims of the Columbine High School massacre.
As the radio station raised the money, Taylor Ostergaard and Lindsey
Zellitti, both 18, flew to New York City to tape a segment about the cookie
caper for ABC's "Good Morning America." But not before the father of one of
the girls filed a restraining order against the husband of the litigious
neighbor.
On Thursday, Ostergaard and Zellitti found themselves in small claims court
and on the losing side of a decision by La Plata County Magistrate Doug
Walker.
Ostergaard, a senior at Durango High School, and Zellitti, a freshman at
Colby College in Kansas, were ordered to pay $930.78 to Wanita Renea Young.
The judgment stems from a July 31 incident that began when the two girls
decided to skip a local teen dance and bake a batch of chocolate chip
cookies, which they then left - together with anonymous notes - on the
doorsteps of nine of their rural neighbors.
"An innocent gesture by two young ladies to be kind to their neighbors has
turned into a real circus," said Richard Ostergaard, Taylor's father.
Richard Ostergaard successfully filed a restraining order against Young's
husband, Herb, on Friday afternoon in county court, claiming he continues to
make harassing telephone calls to the Ostergaard residence.
Wanita Young, 49, is a cashier at Wal-Mart and has been director of the
Durango Food Bank since 1990. She lives off of County Road 214 in a rural
area on the mesa south of Durango and was in the basement of her house
watching television with her 86-year-old mother and 19-year-old daughter
about 10:20 p.m. when the incident took place.
"We heard this horrible banging on the door, like someone was trying to
break it down," Young said Friday. "I ran upstairs and called out 'Who's
there?' three or four times. But no one answered me and when I looked out
the window, there weren't any vehicles in sight. But I could see the
silhouette of someone on the other side of the window. I got really scared
and called the sheriff's department."
According to documents filed with the court, the girls had parked about 500
feet away from Young's home, shielding their car behind a grove of trees.
A statement by Taylor Ostergaard included in court documents said the girls
"knocked on the door three times loudly, left the plate of cookies on the
step and ran away. (We) wanted someone to hear the door and find the cookies
so an animal wouldn't eat them before morning."
Three La Plata County sheriff's deputies, who arrived at Young's home
shortly before 11 p.m., discovered the cookies and a note scribbled on red,
heart-shaped construction paper reading: "Have a great night. Love, The T
and L Club."
The initials, unbeknownst to Young, stood for Taylor and Lindsey.
"I had no idea what the note meant," Young said. "Fifteen years ago, I was
assaulted by one of my neighbors as I was taking my children to meet the
school bus, and I wondered if somehow the incident was connected to that.
"After the deputies looked around, they weren't sure what had gone on and
said that it might be a good idea if I took my mother and daughter and
stayed in a motel that night," Young said. "My husband was out of town, so I
decided to spend the night in Farmington at my sister's house. Driving down
there, I was throwing up and feeling a lot of pressure in my chest. I
thought I might be having a heart attack."
The next morning, Young went to the emergency room at Mercy Medical Center,
incurring more than $1,400 in hospital bills for what doctors eventually
diagnosed as an anxiety attack.
Several days later, Young found out who had left the cookies on her doorstep
while speaking on the telephone with Taylor Ostergaard's mother, Jill
Ostergaard, who offered to pay for expenses related to the incident not
covered by Young's health insurance plan.
The girls also wrote a note of apology to Young, but on the advice of an
attorney, they opted not to meet with her in person.
Several weeks later, the Taylors and Ostergaards sent Young an
attorney-authored agreement outlining their intention to pay Young and
releasing the two families from any further financial liability related to
the incident.
But Young was advised not to sign the document and took the girls to small
claims court - where a decision Thursday resulted in a victory for Young and
national attention for the two teenagers.
Lindsey Zellitti was not available for comment Friday but her mother,
Martha, said: "We have no qualms against the judge or Mrs. Young. Obviously,
this thing snowballed out of control. These kids were just trying to do an
act of kindness."
Martha Zellitti said her daughter planned to return to college after her
trip to New York, adding that the teens had decided to decline a request to
appear on the "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
Taylor Ostergaard said Friday she and Lindsey had no idea of Young's
troubled history with other neighbors.
"When I found out she had been assaulted, it did change my perspective and
the way I looked at what we did," Ostergaard said. "But we were only trying
to do something nice. There was no malicious intent whatsoever."
"This has turned into quite a fiasco," Young said. "It's something that
never should have happened and it's just devastating. My phone hasn't
stopped ringing. My life has been threatened and I'll probably have to move
out of town.
"All I wanted was for those girls to admit that they used poor judgment and
apologize in person. If they had done that, I wouldn't have even asked for
the money. I just hope they learned a lesson."
The young women didn't accept an invitation to appear on "The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno."
Meanwhile, Richard Ostergaard obtained a temporary restraining order against
Young's husband, Herb, on Friday to stop what he said were harassing
telephone calls.
A hearing is scheduled Feb. 17 before La Plata County Judge Martha Minot to
determine if the restraining order should be made permanent.
Friendly gesture ends in court
By George Lurie
Herald Staff Writer
Check the photo of this hag:
http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/05/news050205_1.htm
Two Durango teens, whose late-night delivery of cookies to a frightened
neighbor resulted in a $930 court judgment against them this week, won't
have to dig into their own pockets to pay the fine.
Denver radio station KOA-AM raised more than $1,900 from listeners Friday to
pay the girls' $930.78 fine. The remaining sum will go to a charity
dedicated to victims of the Columbine High School massacre.
As the radio station raised the money, Taylor Ostergaard and Lindsey
Zellitti, both 18, flew to New York City to tape a segment about the cookie
caper for ABC's "Good Morning America." But not before the father of one of
the girls filed a restraining order against the husband of the litigious
neighbor.
On Thursday, Ostergaard and Zellitti found themselves in small claims court
and on the losing side of a decision by La Plata County Magistrate Doug
Walker.
Ostergaard, a senior at Durango High School, and Zellitti, a freshman at
Colby College in Kansas, were ordered to pay $930.78 to Wanita Renea Young.
The judgment stems from a July 31 incident that began when the two girls
decided to skip a local teen dance and bake a batch of chocolate chip
cookies, which they then left - together with anonymous notes - on the
doorsteps of nine of their rural neighbors.
"An innocent gesture by two young ladies to be kind to their neighbors has
turned into a real circus," said Richard Ostergaard, Taylor's father.
Richard Ostergaard successfully filed a restraining order against Young's
husband, Herb, on Friday afternoon in county court, claiming he continues to
make harassing telephone calls to the Ostergaard residence.
Wanita Young, 49, is a cashier at Wal-Mart and has been director of the
Durango Food Bank since 1990. She lives off of County Road 214 in a rural
area on the mesa south of Durango and was in the basement of her house
watching television with her 86-year-old mother and 19-year-old daughter
about 10:20 p.m. when the incident took place.
"We heard this horrible banging on the door, like someone was trying to
break it down," Young said Friday. "I ran upstairs and called out 'Who's
there?' three or four times. But no one answered me and when I looked out
the window, there weren't any vehicles in sight. But I could see the
silhouette of someone on the other side of the window. I got really scared
and called the sheriff's department."
According to documents filed with the court, the girls had parked about 500
feet away from Young's home, shielding their car behind a grove of trees.
A statement by Taylor Ostergaard included in court documents said the girls
"knocked on the door three times loudly, left the plate of cookies on the
step and ran away. (We) wanted someone to hear the door and find the cookies
so an animal wouldn't eat them before morning."
Three La Plata County sheriff's deputies, who arrived at Young's home
shortly before 11 p.m., discovered the cookies and a note scribbled on red,
heart-shaped construction paper reading: "Have a great night. Love, The T
and L Club."
The initials, unbeknownst to Young, stood for Taylor and Lindsey.
"I had no idea what the note meant," Young said. "Fifteen years ago, I was
assaulted by one of my neighbors as I was taking my children to meet the
school bus, and I wondered if somehow the incident was connected to that.
"After the deputies looked around, they weren't sure what had gone on and
said that it might be a good idea if I took my mother and daughter and
stayed in a motel that night," Young said. "My husband was out of town, so I
decided to spend the night in Farmington at my sister's house. Driving down
there, I was throwing up and feeling a lot of pressure in my chest. I
thought I might be having a heart attack."
The next morning, Young went to the emergency room at Mercy Medical Center,
incurring more than $1,400 in hospital bills for what doctors eventually
diagnosed as an anxiety attack.
Several days later, Young found out who had left the cookies on her doorstep
while speaking on the telephone with Taylor Ostergaard's mother, Jill
Ostergaard, who offered to pay for expenses related to the incident not
covered by Young's health insurance plan.
The girls also wrote a note of apology to Young, but on the advice of an
attorney, they opted not to meet with her in person.
Several weeks later, the Taylors and Ostergaards sent Young an
attorney-authored agreement outlining their intention to pay Young and
releasing the two families from any further financial liability related to
the incident.
But Young was advised not to sign the document and took the girls to small
claims court - where a decision Thursday resulted in a victory for Young and
national attention for the two teenagers.
Lindsey Zellitti was not available for comment Friday but her mother,
Martha, said: "We have no qualms against the judge or Mrs. Young. Obviously,
this thing snowballed out of control. These kids were just trying to do an
act of kindness."
Martha Zellitti said her daughter planned to return to college after her
trip to New York, adding that the teens had decided to decline a request to
appear on the "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
Taylor Ostergaard said Friday she and Lindsey had no idea of Young's
troubled history with other neighbors.
"When I found out she had been assaulted, it did change my perspective and
the way I looked at what we did," Ostergaard said. "But we were only trying
to do something nice. There was no malicious intent whatsoever."
"This has turned into quite a fiasco," Young said. "It's something that
never should have happened and it's just devastating. My phone hasn't
stopped ringing. My life has been threatened and I'll probably have to move
out of town.
"All I wanted was for those girls to admit that they used poor judgment and
apologize in person. If they had done that, I wouldn't have even asked for
the money. I just hope they learned a lesson."
The young women didn't accept an invitation to appear on "The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno."
Meanwhile, Richard Ostergaard obtained a temporary restraining order against
Young's husband, Herb, on Friday to stop what he said were harassing
telephone calls.
A hearing is scheduled Feb. 17 before La Plata County Judge Martha Minot to
determine if the restraining order should be made permanent.