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Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Redmond, Oregon • $1
redmondspokesman.com
A special good morning to subscriber John Harshman
@redmondspox
REDMOND SCHOOLS
District sued in 2017 student death
Officials failed to follow
anti-bullying policies,
family of Brehm says
BY GARRETT ANDREWS
The Bulletin
The family of a 12-year-old girl
who died by suicide in 2017 has sued
to have regularly and frequently ha-
rassed Brooklyn at school.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Mi-
chael McShane dismissed all but one
of Riboli’s claims. The judge ruled the
remaining claim, negligence, would
have to be pursued in state court.
On Tuesday in Deschutes County
Circuit Court, Riboli filed a $700,000
lawsuit
the Redmond School District, alleg-
ing it was negligent in allowing her to
be bullied ruthlessly in her last year
of life.
Maranda Riboli, mother of Brook-
lyn Marie Brehm, originally filed
her lawsuit in federal district court
in 2019, naming as defendants the
girl’s English teacher at Elton Gregory
Middle School and the classmate said
naming only the Redmond School
District as a
defendant.
A district spokesperson declined to
comment, citing a policy against dis-
cussing pending litigation.
According to the federal lawsuit,
when Brooklyn started middle school
at Elton Gregory in the fall of 2016,
she had a positive attitude and loved
school.
But throughout the 2016-2017
school year, a boy in her sixth-grade
class shamed her for her weight,
called her names like “hungry hungry
hippo” and ridiculed her for having
a crush on a boy he said would never
like her because of her weight, accord-
ing to court documents.
Redmond
Homeless get new shower
trailer, share their stories
See Student / P4
A new
spokesman
for the
Spokesman
Tim Trainor, editor for The Red-
mond Spokesman.
New editor takes
reins of Redmond
newspaper
BY TIM TRAINOR
Redmond Spokesman
side of Redmond.
Griffith said he has gone over a
year without taking a shower in the
past. Griffith wanted people to know
that not all homeless people are the
same.
“Nobody should judge anybody as
a category. They should always judge
them as a person,” Griffith added.
My name is Tim Trainor. I’m
the new editor of what will be a
new Redmond Spokesman.
I’ve been hired to reimagine
this newspaper and give it a
renewed focus on local issues,
events and people. And I’m
not the only change. EO Media
Group, which owns 15 papers
across the state, will bring on
more journalists to write sto-
ries that matter to you.
We will also open a brand
new downtown location where
readers can stop by and pull
our ear any time — whether it
be a hot tip about a new restau-
rant or to give us guff about a
typo.
That door will always be
open to feedback and ideas,
criticism and support.
It will be fun to bring a
hometown perspective to Red-
mond journalism as the city
hones its identity. This is a
place distinct from its neigh-
bors, worthy of its own cover-
age and confronting its own
challenges.
Sometimes that may prove
difficult, thanks to that cultural
behemoth down the highway
and the worldwide pressures
on local journalism. But from
our perspective, there’s a real
opportunity here to serve read-
ers who want Redmond news
and want it to come from folks
who live and work alongside
them — folks who are as in-
vested in the town and its suc-
cess as you are.
See Shower / P5
See Trainor / P4
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Jenny Gall, who camps on Bureau of Land Management property outside of Redmond, gathers supplies before using the Jericho Road mobile shower trailer during a
homeless camp outreach program Friday in Redmond.
BY JOE SIESS • The Bulletin
R
edmond’s homeless individuals often live on the High Desert surrounding the town, with some of the only resources available
to them provided by a local outreach program.
The outreach program includes organizations like Jericho Road, which is now providing its new portable shower trailer for
people who live without access to bathing facilities. Mosaic Medical, which has a portable clinic on site, and a team that provides outreach
through organizations like Bestcare Treatment Services and Deschutes County Behavioral Health are also part of the program. Members
of the community also provide hot meals.
The new shower trailer first
arrived in February, and will now be
available for people to use every
Friday at the end of East Antler
Avenue.
Mark Keener, of Jericho Road,
said it took months to acquire the
shower trailer, mainly because of the
global supply chain issues. He said
volunteers are also in short supply,
but the organization has considered
having some of the unhoused mem-
bers of the community help run the
operation.
“This serves a basic need we all
take for granted,” Keener said of the
shower trailer. “It provides a basic
health care need. Maybe being able
to get clean is going to keep some-
body out of the emergency room.”
Keener said the organization
hopes to get another shower trailer,
but the big issue is they need more
volunteers.
The importance of a shower can-
not be understated, especially for
someone like John Griffith, 57, who
is known around the area as “Trac-
tor John,” and lives in homeless
communities on the desert land out-
The Spokesman uses
recycled newsprint
Wednesday 3/9
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.
312-1050.
Proposed Recreation Facility Open House Meeting: Red-
mond Area Park and Recreation District is hosting a second
community Open House to get public input on recreation ame-
nities and the design of a potential new community center;
6-7 p.m.; free; Elton Gregory Middle School, 1220 NW Upas Ave.,
Redmond; raprd.org.
23rd Annual Central Oregon Sportsmen’s Show: This year’s
show features outdoor cooking demonstrations plus renowned
hunter and public lands advocate, Randy Newberg and duck
decoy painting for the kids; Noon-8 p.m.; $12 adults, youth $5;
Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, 3800 SW Airport Way,
Redmond; thesportshow.com or 541-548-2711.
Thursday 3/10
Simple Resumes for Teens: Get help creating your resume
and learn about local job resources. This is an in-person pro-
gram.; 3-4 p.m.; Redmond Public Library, 827 SW Deschutes
Ave., Redmond; deschuteslibrary.org or 541-312-1050.
See Calendar / P4
Redmond: The Library Book Club: Discuss “Norse Mythology”
by Neil Gaiman; 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.; Redmond Public Library,
827 SW Deschutes Ave., Redmond; deschuteslibrary.org or 541-
INDEX
Puzzles ............. 2 Obituaries ....... 6
Flashback ........ 3 Classifieds ....... 6
Volume 112, No. 28
USPS 778-040
U|xaIICGHy02326kzU