P4 The SpokeSman • WedneSday, July 21, 2021
Parents, activists
target race and
gender teachings
BY NICOLE BALES
The Bulletin
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin photos
Campers line a section of 17th Street in Redmond.
Homelessness
Continued from P1
The city is also set to receive
two new homeless shelters in
the near future after having no
long-term options for years.
Redmond received $5.8 mil-
lion in American Rescue Plan
COVID-19 relief funding from
the federal government, which
can be used for homeless-re-
lated projects, according to the
city manager.
While homelessness is not
a new issue in Redmond, the
amount of attention it is cur-
rently garnering is, said James
Cook, a Redmond-based
board member of Central Or-
egon’s Homeless Leadership
Coalition.
“I think actually getting
things before the council is a
unique step, something that
hasn’t really happened before,”
Cook said.
The push to find tangible
solutions to address the grow-
ing number of people living on
Redmond’s streets and public
lands came after the city heard
multiple complaints from busi-
nesses near 17th Street and
Greenwood Avenue, where
many homeless people cur-
rently camp in Redmond. The
city heard reports of people
wandering onto manufactur-
ing floors uninvited, which
is unsafe, said Redmond City
Manager Keith Witcosky.These
issues were raised at another
joint meeting between the
county and city in May, where
Redmond City Councilor Jon
Bullock and Deschutes County
Commissioner Phil Chang de-
cided to team up to find ways
the two public bodies could
contribute to a long-term solu-
tion, Witcosky said.
Several ideas are currently
on the table, according to
Chang and advocates for the
homeless. One idea on the ta-
ble is a safe parking program,
which would let a church or
business offer a parking lot
as a safe place for people to
park their vehicles or RVs long
term. Rick Russell, a pastor
at Mountainview Fellowship
Church who is behind the pro-
posal, said he has seen similar
programs in places like Salem.
He hopes the City Council will
approve the idea and contrib-
ute $25,000 to pay for a posi-
tion to manage the program.
“It’s just one more option,”
Russell said.
Another idea that will be
discussed is a managed camp,
said Chang.
“We need these places where
homeless people are allowed to
be,” Chang said.
There is currently a proposal
to find city or county land to
build a tiny-home community,
which would be known as Oa-
Guy Cavallo, 69, exits his RV parked along 17th Street in Redmond.
sis Village. The proposal, sup-
ported in part by the nonprofit
Jericho Road, would be simi-
lar to Bend Hero Foundation’s
Veteran’s Village, which is set
to open by September, accord-
ing to the foundation’s Execu-
tive Director Erik Tobiason.
The vision is to start with
about 10 tiny homes, with
communal showering, eating
and laundry spaces. It would
be a low-barrier shelter, mean-
ing someone wouldn’t have to
be sober to qualify, and people
could live there between six
months to two years.
Don Senecal with Jericho
Road said the village would be
monitored 24 hours a day and
provide services to help peo-
ple transition out of chronic
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homelessness.
“We want to get them to the
point where they can transition
into a place like (Bethlehem
Inn) or Shepherd’s House,”
Senecal said.
To make it happen, the
group behind Oasis Village
needs land and consistent
funding, Senecal said. The
group is looking for the county
or city to consider donating 2
to 5 acres of land somewhere
in or near the city, so people
can be close to services.
“The problem is after you
open the door and you start
getting clientele we have to pay
for people to be there, you have
to pay utility bills … that to
me is a much larger challenge,”
Senecal said.
The virtual meeting be-
tween Redmond and Deschutes
County leaders is at 5 p.m. Jul 21
online at redmondoregon.gov.
e
Reporter: 541-633-2160,
bvisser@bendbulletin.com
Parents and activists who
are upset about a curriculum
that includes issues of race
and gender delivered a stern
warning to the Redmond
School Board this week: They
would pull their children out
of schools if the curriculum
remains unchanged.
Some of the more than
50 people in attendance
Wednesday were also part of
the organized protest at the
Bend-La Pine School Board
meeting on Tuesday. Both
protests also took issue with
the use of masks in schools.
“Please know from all
the people here tonight and
many more that aren’t: This is
a warning from parents that
you serve,” said Liz Batter-
son, a grandmother. “Pushing
CRT (critical race theory),
pushing LGBTQ ideologies
upon our children will de-
stroy the brick and mortar
system and place all of you
into no jobs and no positions
to hold as there will be no
more public schools if we pull
all of our children out.”
Some parents at the meet-
ing told the board they had
already pulled their children
out of Redmond schools. Bat-
terson said her granddaugh-
ter would not attend in the
fall and be homeschooled
instead.
Critical race theory is a col-
lection of concepts addressing
racial inequity and is taught
in higher education. It has be-
come a catchall phrase for ef-
forts to address systemic rac-
ism. The phrase is often used
by conservatives in a national
culture war that is spilling
into K-12 education.
Sheila Miller, a spokes-
woman for Redmond School
District, said critical race the-
ory is not taught in Redmond
Schools. Issues of race are
taught as part of social studies
classes.
The Redmond School
Board created an equity task
force for the district in Sep-
tember to address inequities
in local schools, combat ex-
plicit and implicit racism and
diversify the district’s work-
force. No concrete goals have
yet been set by the task force.
While speakers at the
Bend-La Pine School Board
meeting Tuesday took is-
sue with teaching related
to race and gender, most of
them were there to discuss
the school district’s plan for
masking inside classrooms.
The school district plans to
follow the federal Centers
of Disease and Prevention
guidelines.
Redmond School District,
on the other hand, will no
longer require masks to be
worn by students and staff
inside classrooms. Masks will
continue to be required on
school buses until the federal
requirement is lifted.
B.J. Soper, a Redmond res-
ident and parent, said that
while the Redmond School
District has made steps in
a positive direction toward
mask use, it’s not enough.
Soper, a conservative activist,
garnered national attention
after joining Ammon Bundy
during his takeover of the
Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge in 2016.
“Masking children is abuse.
Contact tracing is a violation
of our privacy,” he said. “My
daughter will not be subject
to the COVID nonsense, pe-
riod. Nor will the Marxist,
Communist agenda, such as
the the Equity Task Force, be
used to manipulate her edu-
cation.”
e
Reporter; 541-617-7854,
nbales@bendbulletin.com