WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021
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Redmond Airport sees pre-pandemic travel numbers
38,000 people
passed through
in May — nearly
equal to May 2019
BY MICHAEL KOHN
The Bulletin
On a recent walk through
the Redmond Airport, Zach-
ary Bass beamed as he pointed
out the airport’s various new
features: a third TSA check-in
line, a new parking facility and,
to the north, a new operations
building.
But what pleases Bass most
are the lines. People, many
of them, lined up to board
planes. Around a thousand
luggage-toting travelers sweep
through the doors before
8 a.m. For Bass, the director of
the airport, it’s a welcome sight.
“We think a lot of it is
pent-up demand for leisure
travel,” said Bass, head of the
airport since 2015. “We are
expecting the summer to be
pretty busy.”
More than a year after the
pandemic decimated the travel
industry, the Redmond Air-
port is again showing promis-
ing signs of life. The number of
travelers in the month of May
was nearly equal to the number
in May 2019 — around 38,000
passengers.
The return of passengers to
the airport in 2021 is a relief
compared to a year ago, when
numbers, and revenue, plum-
meted around 90%. In March
and April of 2020, only around
60 to 70 people checked in to
flights each day. Now 1,200 to
1,500 passengers a day are fly-
ing.
What’s the most notice-
able change for those who ha-
ven’t flown since before the
pandemic? Masks, said Bass.
Masks will be a federal require-
ment in all 50 states until Sept.
15 even if individual states
drop their mask mandate.
Just walking into an airport
may feel strange for some if
they haven’t traveled since the
start of the pandemic.
“First -time fliers coming
back are hesitant, they don’t
know what to expect,” said
Bass, who previously ran oper-
ations at U.S. Air Force bases,
including a deployment to
Iraq. “Then when they come
back through, ‘Awesome’ (they
say), you guys are taking all the
right precautions.”
See Airport / P4
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Travelers line up at the Alaska Airlines ticket counter in the Redmond Airport on June 8.
SAGE
ADVICE
FROM 2
GRADS
Juliet Bloking, Ridgeview High.
SENIOR PROFILES
BY SHEILA MILLER • Redmond School District
Editor’s note: This is part of a four-week series of profiles.
Juliet Bloking
t’s easy to take things for
granted. Ridgeview High
School senior Juliet Bloking
knows that just walking across
the stage at graduation this
week is something she can feel
proud of.
Juliet, 18, grew up primar-
ily in Redmond — she went to
Tom McCall Elementary and
Sisters Middle School before a
brief stint in Hawaii. She came
back to Redmond as a sopho-
more, but was enrolled in on-
line classes before returning
in person to Ridgeview High
School as a junior and senior.
Juliet had good reason to
take online classes during her
sophomore year. That year, she
got “super sick,” she said.
She couldn’t stop vomiting,
dropped 30 pounds off her al-
ready-slight 100-pound frame,
struggled to even go up the
stairs without getting dizzy or
passing out. But while she knew
something was wrong with her
body, she said her doctors mis-
diagnosed her with an eating
disorder — they thought she
was lying. Only her mom be-
lieved her, she said.
“I knew I wasn’t lying,” she
said. “But I started to think,
‘What if I’m just crazy? What if
I’m making it up in my head?’”
Turns out, Juliet had Addi-
son’s Disease, which prevents
I
the adrenal glands from func-
tioning. The adrenal glands
produce cortisol — without it,
your body starts to shut down,
including sometimes triggering
a heart attack or stroke. A week
in the ICU at St. Charles Bend
left Juliet with a diagnosis and
medicines to control her illness,
but it’s a lifelong struggle she’ll
have to keep fighting.
But it hasn’t kept Juliet from
achieving her goals. This year,
she’s taken a particular interest
in Ridgeview’s certified nurs-
ing assistant class — she took
the exam to earn her certifica-
tion last week. Juliet plans to
move back to Hawaii and work
as a CNA before going back to
school to get her nursing de-
gree.
BreAnna Pence
hen BreAnna Pence
receives her diploma
at Redmond High
School’s graduation this week, it
will be the result of true grit.
For years, BreAnna attended
Connections Academy, an on-
line public school program.
When BreAnna’s father died
three years ago, her grades, in
her words, “plummeted.”
The 18-year-old said trying
to complete her work at home
on a screen became increas-
ingly difficult.
W
See Graduates / P4
BreAnna Pence, Redmond High.
Submitted and archive photos
The Spokesman uses
recycled newsprint
WEDNESDAY 6/16
Events in and around Redmond
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.
Redmond Fire & Rescue Board Meeting: The board will discuss the
adoption of the fiscal year budget, the lease agreement for Freightliner
wildland FX-3 Pumper and more; 9:30-10:30 a.m.; online; go.evvnt.
com/802733-0 or 541-504-5020.
REDI Annual Luncheon 2021 — Redmond Rising, Stories of
Resiliency: The annual luncheon will include presentation on topics
that apply to Central Oregon’s economic development; 11 a.m.-
1:30 p.m.; $40 to $55; Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, 3800 SW
Airport Way, Redmond; eventbrite.com
Willow Springs Restoration: Land Trust restoration specialist Jason
Grant and Mathias Perel from the Upper Deschutes Watershed
Council will give an overview of the upcoming restoration project at
the preserve; Noon-1 p.m.; registration required; Deschutes County;
go.evvnt.com/797364-1 or 541-330-0017.
Redmond Housing and Community Development Committee
Meeting: A regular meeting will be held; 4-6 p.m.; online; go.evvnt.
com/802399-0 or 541-504-3046.
One Kind of Owyhee: Get to know the unique landscape of the
Owyhee Canyonlands, from the rolling rapids to the sagebrush
plateau; 5-6 p.m.; registration required; Deschutes County; go.evvnt.
com/802664-1 or 541-330-2638.
Mystery Book Club: Discussing “Red Lotus” by Chris Bohjalian; 6-7 p.m.;
online; go.evvnt.com/781352-0 or 541-306-6564.
See Calendar / P5
INDEX
Puzzles ............. 2 Obituaries ....... 6
Police log ........ 2 Classifieds ....... 6
Volume 111, No. 42
USPS 778-040
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