Our first Rogue for the new year is Cindy Walker, owner of Cindy's Body Shop, a health club in McMinnville. According to a lawsuit filed in Yamhill County Court in October, Walker kicked Yamhill County Deputy Sheriff Debra Walker (no relation) out of the Body Shop because the deputy is a transsexual.

Deputy Walker, the complaint says, became a member of Cindy's Body Shop on June 5 and worked out at the club on June 7 and 8. On June 9, she received a letter from Cindy Walker terminating her membership without reason. The letter did, however, include a threat: "Please do not come upon the premises of Cindy's for any reason whatsoever, now or in the future. If you do, it will be considered trespassing."

Walker's lawyer, Marc Abrams of Portland, requested an explanation. "They said my client was terminated for inappropriate body displays and staring at women," Abrams told WW when he filed the suit. "I don't know what people do in health clubs if not show off their bodies."

Debra Walker sued for discrimination on the basis of disability and gender--under Oregon statute, transsexuals are classified as disabled. Abrams claims the Body Shop simply didn't approve of his client. "It seems very clear that somebody knowing of Debra's status is uncomfortable having her around," he says.

Gary Reuter, an attorney for Cindy's, disagrees. "The membership was terminated for reasons other than discrimination," he says, although he wouldn't say what those reasons are.

We may never know how a jury regards Walker vs. Walker: At press-time, attorneys for both sides expected to settle the case imminently.