MAY 17, 2009 05:17 AM 2 of the establishments, with 2 different complaints A local Oregon Liquor Control Commission official &mdash now the Bend-based
regional manager for the OLCC &mdash cited Astro Lounge owner Josh Maquet, pictured above in the downtown Bend establishment, for pouring himself a drink &mdash something Maquet denies but that led to an OLCC violation &mdash and he will have to shut the business down soon for 23 days, costing him thousands and putting nine people out of work temporarily. Photos by Pete Erickson / The Bulletin Three downtown Bend business owners say they’ve been unfairly targeted recently by the regional Oregon Liquor Control Commission office headed by an overzealous manager, whose credibility has been found questionable in the past while he was an investigator. Two others have fought charges of wrongdoing based on reports that Jason Evers, the current Bend-based regional manager of the OLCC, made when he served as an inspector for the agency. In those cases, an administrative law judge and an independent investigator hired by the OLCC, in separate investigations, found two of Evers’ reports were inaccurate, exaggerated or inconsistent. Evers, who has been regional manager since April 2008, says the businesses that are complaining simply resent the oversight and enforcement his office is legally required to provide. “If they are trying to make a personal character assassination against me because there are a few unhappy licensees out there, so be it,” he said. “I’m not going to stop doing my job.”
Jeffrey Jett, the agency’s director of enforcement and field operations and Evers’ supervisor, said in an e-mail that Evers has an exceptional record of providing enforcement while protecting public safety.