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CLOUDY Temp: 47 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Wednesday, February 26, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend October 23, 2002 Parent asks for probe of ‘psychic’ reader Central Point business draws complaints from some teenagers who say they felt pressured By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — A local palm reader has drawn complaints of unethical practices from teenagers and at least one mother, who asked the City Council to look into the business. Psychic Readings by Cindy opened shop in April in a small strip mall at 40 N. Front St., not far from Crater High School. The reader is a woman who identifies herself both as Cindy and Victoria and who refused to give her last name to the Mail Tribune. Utility records and a city business license list a man named Sam Mitchell of Paris, Texas, as the business owner with a Virginia telephone number. Repeated phone calls to that number were not answered. The woman’s business came under fire at a recent City Council meeting when a local mother asked whether there was an ordinance against psychics soliciting money from minors. Debbie Prechtl of Central Point said she learned about the business when one of her two teenage daughters withdrew money from the bank for a tarot reading. Prechtl said she was not necessarily closed-minded to psychics, but offering things such as "special student rates" and "guaranteed results" seemed to target vulnerable high schoolers. "I believe people are intuitive, but this woman to me was a real fake like the ones on TV, and the real issue was, I didn’t think she should be taking money from kids," Prechtl said. "She told me to give her $150. She said, ‘you need a cleansing.’ " Tricia, a Crater High School junior who declined to give her last name, later said a woman identifying herself as Cindy from Psychic Readings of Central Point approached her at the Rogue Valley Mall and gave an unsolicited reading. Tricia said the woman then gave her a business card listing a name other than the one she identified herself with. When the teen claimed to have no money, the woman insisted she be paid. "I told her I didn’t have it," Tricia said, "but if she really was psychic, she should have known I had a bunch of money in my pocket. "I think the kind of business she has, I don’t have a problem with at all," she said, "but if she’s ripping people off to take advantage of them, then that’s pretty wrong." Security personnel at the Rogue Valley Mall were not aware of the incident and had not received any complaints about unsolicited readings. When contacted initially by the Mail Tribune, the woman was willing to speak to the concerns about her practices. "If the city wanted to make a law that minors were not allowed to use my services, then I would respect that," she said. "But these kids coming to see me, they all want to run away and they say they can’t talk to their parents. "I’m giving them someone to talk to, and I tell them not to run away. If these parents are going to support these kids smoking and wearing their Gothic clothes, I don’t see how they can say it’s bad for them to come see me." The woman said she charged from $35 to $50 per reading but offered discounts to students. She later declined further comment except to say she worked for her mother, who owned a psychic shop in Ashland. Barbara Lee, a psychic, astrologer and spiritual counselor who organizes Ashland’s Intuitive Arts and Healing Fair, was not familiar with the woman or the Central Point business. She said a number of psychics had "come and gone" in recent months. Lee said most psychics read for any age, but that it was unethical to force a reading on someone or to feed off information given before a reading. "People need to be discerning. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s not OK," Lee said. "You have to feel comfortable with what you’re doing. Myself, my work is a way of life and what’s important is my integrity and to speak my truth." Lee cautioned potential clients to watch out for telltale signs of "a 1-800 mentality" such as requests for $350 to "track down your angels because they’ve deserted you" or requiring a large deposit to "fix your aura." City Council members asked Police Chief Mike Sweeny to research city or state laws governing psychics. Sweeny said that the city charter deems the practicing of occult arts as unlawful only when a business license has not been granted by the city. State law is silent on the issue, he added, meaning it does not prohibit nor allow minors to patronize such businesses. The City Council may take up the matter at its next meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 155 S. Second St. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S