WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021
Redmond, Oregon • $1
INSIDE TODAY’S EDITION
Redmond Profiles
Redmond
Profiles
2021
@RedmondSpox
redmondspokesman.com
A special good morning to subscriber Robert and Anne Bohac
Highlightin
business commu g the
Hub of Central nity in the
Oregon
MAY ELECTION
Candidates line up for Redmond School Board
School district board seats are popular on Central Oregon ballots
this year; meanwhile, all 4 COCC incumbents are running unopposed
BY JACKSON HOGAN
The Bulletin
Four of Central Oregon’s smaller school dis-
tricts will see at least one contested school board
race in the May 18 special election.
The most heated competition is in the Red-
mond School District, with nine candidates —
only one of which is an incumbent — running
for three seats.
The four incumbents for the Central Ore-
gon Community College Board of Directors
are all running unopposed. And due to a Crook
County School District board member abruptly
resigning last week, the deadline to apply for that
seat was extended to March 24.
Redmond School Board
With Redmond School Board members
Rick Bailey and Travis Bennett choosing to not
seek reelection, Central Oregon’s second-larg-
est school district will see at least two new faces
come July 1. Bailey and Bennett served five and
eight years on the board, respectively.
The lone incumbent running for reelection is
Shawn Hartfield, a COCC instructor who was
appointed to the board in 2015.
Her challenger is Stephanie Hunter — a be-
havioral specialist who works with children and
adults with disabilities with Redmond-based
nonprofit Opportunity Foundation of Central
Oregon. Hunter also serves on Redmond School
District’s equity task force, according to De-
schutes County documents.
The board’s second seat has four candidates
— the most for any school board race in Central
Oregon this year.
The candidates are stay-at-home mom Lacey
Butts, Bank of America Redmond assistant
branch manager Michelle Salinas, flooring com-
pany owner Michael Summers and Michelle
Visinoni, an office assistant and former pre-
school teacher. None of these four candidates
has held elected office, according to county doc-
uments.
The third Redmond board seat has three can-
didates. One is Jill Cummings, the vice president
and market development officer for Summit
Bank. Health care administrator Lavon Medlock
is also running, along with Ron Osmundson —
co-owner of a day-care facility, assistant football
coach for Ridgeview High School and a Red-
mond City Council candidate in 2020. He fin-
ished fifth in that race, out of nine candidates.
See Board / P4
Jared Leisek, a scuba
diver from Redmond who
runs the popular YouTube
channel Adventures
with Purpose, recovered
these two cars from the
Willamette River in 2019:
a red Jaguar (left) at the
Oak Grove boat Ramp
downriver from Oregon
City, and a Mazda (right)
near the Sellwood Bridge
in Portland.
Submitted photos
SEARCH & RECOVERY
Redmond man uses
scuba diving to recover
vehicles and remains
of loved ones
BY KYLE SPURR
The Bulletin
R
EDMOND — Jared Leisek,
a former residential devel-
oper in Redmond, decided
three years ago to recon-
nect with his passion for scuba div-
ing and use his underwater skills to
remove debris from the Deschutes
River.
Leisek cleared thousands of
pounds of trash from the water in one
year and then started to find unusual
items, such as guns and vehicles. In
2019 he even found an urn filled with
ashes that was accidentally dropped
in the river seven years earlier.
He filmed his findings and posted
them on the YouTube channel Ad-
ventures with Purpose with the help
of his wife and two daughters. Even-
tually, Leisek gained an audience
that has now reached more than 1
million subscribers.
People started asking him to
travel the country to help recover
sunken vehicles and bodies. To
date, Leisek estimates he’s recovered
seven bodies and found more than
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Jared Leisek, of Redmond, stands in his trailer full of equipment he uses when scuba diving during recovery missions
around the country.
100 vehicles.
His effort to help the environ-
ment morphed into a national ef-
fort to solve cold cases of missing
people and vehicles.
“It’s a trajectory I never thought
would have taken me here when I
started getting in the water,” Leisek
said.
Leisek, 45, travels for a month or
two at a time with his family and a
few volunteers to do water recover-
ies. He’s been to Kansas, Iowa and
as far east as New Jersey.
ONGOING
Events in and around Redmond
Big Butte Challenge: Hikers and runners will summit five buttes in
Central Oregon, going at their own pace whenever their schedule
allows using a GPS-enabled activity tracker to submit efforts before the
deadline; through May 31; $60; Central Oregon; go.evvnt.com/752281-1
or 541-350-4635.
WEDNESDAY 3/24
The Redmond Spokesman welcomes event information for
its community calendar. Submissions are limited to nonprofit,
free and live entertainment events. Deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday
for the following Wednesday’s paper. Items are published on a
space-available basis and may be edited. Contact us at
news@redmondspokesman.com or fax 541-548-3203.
Fitness 4 Life with Diane: This class is 20 minutes of low impact
moves, 20 minutes of strength exercises designed to increase range of
motion and 20 minutes of balance and flexibility; 7:45-8:45 a.m.; $3.50;
online; raprd.org or 541-548-7275.
Powercut Plus with Julane: This weightlifting class uses free weights,
resistance bands and fitness balls along with great music to get you
The scuba diving recoveries have
become a full-time job for Leisek
who relies on donations, volun-
teers and income from his YouTube
channel.
Last month, Leisek and his crew
were able to assist law enforcement
officials in Portland and recover the
body of 57-year-old Antonio Am-
aro-Lopez, who died after driving
his car off the Glenn Jackson Bridge
in a winter storm.
Leisek said he finds submerged
vehicles using two sonar systems
and three different screens while
floating slowly at 1 to 2 mph in a
small boat.
“I have my little inflatable boat
that I have decked out with sonar to
be able to pinpoint a vehicle,” Leisek
said. “Antonio was inside (his car)
and they were able to bring Anto-
nio home that night.”
Leisek said recoveries involving
bodies are humbling and he be-
comes emotionally invested with
the families of the deceased. He is
honored to be the person to bring a
resolution.
“It comes down to being able to
do something that others cannot
and to give answers to families who
would never receive those answers,”
Leisek said.
Sarah Clark, an owner of Central
Oregon Diving in Bend, said her
company helped Leisek start diving
locally three years ago. The com-
pany offered Leisek air and gear at a
discount as he kept finding trash in
the Deschutes River, Clark said.
“We’ve been there supporting
him with whatever we could do to
further his environmental impact,”
Clark said.
through an hour of head-to-toe muscle work. Cardio intervals are
interjected between strength sets. Offered online or in-person (limited
capacity); 9:15-10:15 a.m.; $3.50; RAPRD Activity Center, 2441 SW Canal
Blvd., Redmond or online; raprd.org or 541-548-7275.
Chinese Experience in America — Kam Wah Chung: Hear how
the story of two Chinese gentlemen in early John Day reveals a more
realistic version of Chinese experience with Don Merritt, curator and
archaeologist at Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site; 3-4 p.m.; online;
go.evvnt.com/752251-0 or 541-312-1029.
High Desert Stampede — Slack: The annual indoor professional
rodeo will include bronc riding, calf roping and more. In-person tickets
to main events Thursday through Saturday are sold out but will air
on the Cowboy Channel, slack is first come frist served; 5-10 p.m.;
Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, 3800 SE Airport Way, Redmond;
go.evvnt.com/755417-0 or 844-414-2242.
See Calendar / P6
See Diver / P6
The Spokesman uses
recycled newsprint
INDEX
Puzzles ............. 2 Obituaries ....... 6
Police log ........ 2 Classifieds ....... 7
Volume 111, No. 30
USPS 778-040
U|xaIICGHy02326kzU