P4 THE SPOKESMAN • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021
Oregon lawmaker introduces bill to ban vaccine passports
BY STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
A state representative from Grant County
introduced legislation that would ban vaccine
passports in Oregon.
Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, introduced
House Bill 3407 last week to “protect the privacy
and rights of Oregonians,” according to a press
release.
The legislation would prevent any public body
— state, local or special government — from
issuing a requirement for proof of vaccination
from COVID-19.
Owens said in the release that the bill is not
an argument over COVID-19 or the vaccine. In-
stead, he said the bill is about people’s rights.
“I believe the choice to get a vaccine is a per-
sonal, private medical decision that should be
made between an individual and their med-
ical provider,” he said. “And that Oregonians
should be free to make that choice for them-
selves.”
The bill forbids a person or public body from
requiring someone to disclose if they have been
immunized before accessing credit, insurance,
education, facilities, medical services, housing
or accommodations, travel, entry into the state,
employment or to purchase goods or services.
The press release said these entities would not
be able to require someone to wear a face cover-
ing should someone refuse to disclose their vac-
cine status.
The bill applies only to the COVID-19 vacci-
nations and would not change any current laws
regarding other immunizations for other dis-
eases for schools and children’s facilities.
Gov. Kate Brown announced last month that
fully vaccinated people are not required to wear
a mask indoors in public settings where vaccina-
tion status is checked.
Still, the state mandates businesses,
employers and churches to continue requiring
masks unless they review people’s vaccination
cards.
The state epidemiologist, Dean Sidlelinger,
recently said that requiring someone to disclose
their vaccination status does not violate patient
privacy laws when given the option.
Masks are still required in health care settings,
jails, K-12 schools, planes, buses and airports.
The bill was requested in partnership with the
Eastern Oregon Counties Association.
Airport: Where are people going? ‘It’s all over; people just want to go,’ says one travel agent
Continued from P1
Where are people headed?
Bend-based travel agent Bernie Re-
umann, chief executive officer of Get-
aways Travel, said U.S. destinations
are still top of the list. Florida and
California are top spots, but really it’s
open season across the country.
“It’s all over; people just want to go,”
he said.
Some are making inquiries about
overseas travel.
“The pent-up demand is definitely
there,” said Reumann. “People who
had prior trips planned are reschedul-
ing and getting on with it.”
When it comes to overseas travel,
Reumann said 80% of his clients are
asking about Europe.
“Other places like Australia and New
Zealand are not open yet,” said Reu-
mann. “South America is not open ;
you don’t want to go down there right
now. South Africa is open, so the ad-
venturers are looking to go to Africa.
So it’s a hit-and-miss situation.”
Reumann said he was planning to
make a trip to Bordeaux in August
but canceled his plans due to the un-
certainty of travel. France may be
opening up, he said, but that doesn’t
mean life is back to normal. He wor-
ries that the on-again, off-again lock-
downs could cause business closures
during his trip. That morning coffee
and croissant at the corner bakery in
Bordeaux might not happen if all the
bakeries in town are closed, he said.
“So we will reschedule that for next
year.”
One advantage of foreign travel,
said Reumann, is that flights are
Graduates
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Travelers deplane at the Redmond Municipal Airport on June 8.
still mostly empty. That could mean
more comfortable travel compared to
crowded domestic flights.
“But if you go over, you may have to
quarantine and have proof of tests and
vaccinations, and a lot of people don’t
want to deal with that,” he said.
Those who do start their air jour-
ney from Redmond will encounter
some improvements at the airport.
A 500 -spot parking lot costing $3.5
million was recently completed. The
third TSA line was also installed to
speed up passenger lines through se-
curity checkpoints.
The 45,000 -square -foot opera-
tions building was constructed at a
cost of $14 million ; it houses heavy
equipment like snowplows and snow-
brooms (trucks that “sweep ” the run-
way). While snow and ice removal
takes up a lot of time in winter, the
summers are spent doing pavement
maintenance and painting.
“It never slows down for us ; there is
always something depending on the
season,” said Mike Wilcox, operations
supervisor at the facility.
Bass also upgraded the airport’s
HVAC system. It now includes a new
UV lighting that purifies the air flow-
ing through the vents.
Read and recycle
Continued from P1
“There was just so much go-
ing on,” she said. “It was hard
to do work on the computer,
and I am very good at procras-
tinating. It’s easy for me to stare
at a screen for hours and get
nothing done.”
After BreAnna realized she
was failing school, she and her
mom decided online school
wasn’t working and that she
needed to attend in person in
order to catch up. She adapted
quickly.
“I like getting into routines,
and once I got used to every-
thing here, it was easy to do my
work,” she said. She credits her
teachers with helping her stay
focused.
The school counselors re-
ally helped me get on the right
track, but once I got going it
was easy to finish,” she said.
But BreAnna did the hard
work herself — she said she’s
good at math, and she loved
her science classes, especially
forensics.
She’s not sure what she wants
to do in the future, though
she’ll take courses at Central
Oregon Community College
in the fall.
“I basically failed,” she said.
“But I managed to come out
of that situation to be able to
graduate in three years.”
And she has advice for her
classmates. “Even if you’re at
a low point, it’s still possible
to claw back up to where you
need to be and where you want
to be,” she said. “Stay focused
and get your work turned in.
If you get things done, it’ll be a
lot easier.”
Ways you
can support
Thelma’s Place:
• Vehicle donations
• Cash donations
• Sponsorships
• Volunteer
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Joe Lochner, Agent
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Fax: (541) 548-6024
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Worship Directory
Baptist
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Highland Baptist Church
St Thomas Roman Catholic
Church
3100 SW Highland Ave., Redmond
541-548-4161
Barry Campbell, Lead Pastor
Sunday Gathering Times:
8AM Blended,
9AM Blended,
10:30AM Contemporary
6PM Worship outside, acoustic, in the
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Redmond, Oregon 97756
541-923-3390
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All up, the airport spent $25 million
on upgrades during the pandemic.
Funds to pay for the upgrades came
with considerable help from federal
assistance packages, including the
CARES Act. The airport received $12
million in funding and is expecting to
receive another $6 million, said Bass.
There were some hiccups, though.
Construction of a $10 million “quick
turnaround” car rental facility was put
on hold during the pandemic. That
could get going again in the summer
of 2022, said Bass. The facility will in-
clude car washing, detailing and a fu-
elling depot.
As Redmond Airport moves past
the pandemic, it will be building
on what had been unprecedented
growth. The airport is now the 115th
largest commercial airport in the
country.
Passenger numbers doubled over
the five years before the pandemic hit,
from 500,000 each year to one mil-
lion. That volume puts Redmond in
the “small hub” category designated
by the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion. It previously was labeled a “pri-
mary non-hub.” Other “small hub”
airports include Palm Springs, Cali-
fornia, Eugene and Spokane, Wash-
ington.
More passengers mean more des-
tinations. The newest non stop daily
flights will be to San Jose, California,
starting in September on Alaska Air-
lines. San Jose is Redmond’s 12th des-
tination.
September will also see the return
of non stop flights to Las Vegas on Al-
legiant Airlines. Chicago, a seasonal
flight with United, is expected to re-
turn in the summer of 2022.
Bass said he is also working with
American Airlines to start a new non-
stop flight to Dallas, expected in the
spring of 2022. After Dallas, Bass said
Minneapolis could be the next non-
stop destination.
The East Coast and Hawaii could
also be future destinations, but Red-
mond would first need to extend its
runway, said Bass.
“It’s on our plan for the next 10
years,” he said.
ý
Reporter: 541-617-7818,
mkohn@bendbulletin.com