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Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Redmond, Oregon • $1
redmondspokesman.com
A special good morning to subscriber Glen Duncan
@redmondspox
Sellout crowd packs High Desert Stampede
Spokesmen staff report
The High Desert Stampede ro-
deo drew top professional rodeo
riders from around the country and
standing-room-only crowds to the
Deschutes County Fair & Expo Cen-
ter’s First Interstate Bank Center in
Redmond.
“It was a real success,” said Denis
Fast on Sunday, March 26, empha-
sizing the word “real” with a wide
grin.
Fast is the chairman of the young
Redmond organization that put on
the rodeo for the fifth year.
“It was an action-packed show
that was sold out both Friday and
Saturday nights ... some 6,500 at-
Team roping
is a test of
speed and
precision.
Bareback
bronc rid-
ers hang
on for a
wild ride
during
the High
Desert
Stampede
in Red-
mond last
week.
rodeo in the
Northwest
this season.
Last year,
attendance
was lim-
ited due to
the safety
precau-
tions of the
COVID-19
tending each night,” he said.
It was the first, large professional
Bill Bartlett/
photos
for The
Spokesman
pandemic.
See Rodeo / P4
REDMOND
Central Oregon Ag Show focuses on
WATER, DROUGHT
Another
COVID-19
variant is
confirmed
State officials expect
minor upswing
BY GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
organization, Perfect Balance USA,
in response to litigation over the
Oregon spotted frog, which was
listed as threatened under the En-
dangered Species Act.
A comparatively minor up-
swing in COVID-19 cases in
Oregon is expected to hit this
week, driven by infections of
the hyper-contagious BA.2
version of the omicron vari-
ant, according to a new state
report.
The forecast from the Ore-
gon Health & Science Univer-
sity shows a much lower peak
for the new wave of cases, top-
ping out at under 300 hospi-
talizations per day in the first
week of May, then resuming a
downward trend until reach-
ing current levels again by late
June.
“The primary forecast shows
a slight increase in hospitalized
patients as the impacts of BA2
and reduced COVID restric-
tions are experienced,” said
the report written by Dr. Peter
Graven, the chief COVID-19
forecaster at OHSU.
The variant was found in
two wastewater samples from
Redmond on Feb. 7 and 14,
said Tim Heider, a public in-
formation officer at the Ore-
gon Health Authority.
“This was likely an introduc-
tion with limited transmission
and at the time (the sub-vari-
ant) did not overtake the (main
variant),” Heider said. “The
wastewater detection allows
experts to estimate the propor-
tion of each variant circulating
in a community.”
See Ag Show / P4
See COVID-19 / P3
Submitted photo
Clint Johnson demonstrates what a working dog can do during the Central Oregon Ag Show.
A
BY GEORGE PLAVEN • For the Spokesman
n estimated 2,100 people from across the Northwest attended the inaugural edition of the Central Oregon Agricul-
tural Show last weekend at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond.
The event came as farmers and ranchers in the region face another year of paralyzing drought, with water short-
ages projected to bring an abbreviated growing season and major economic damage due to crop losses.
Water was a central theme
among the show’s speakers and
guests, who discussed how to get
the most out of every drop and
what can be done going forward
to strike a balance between the
needs of irrigators, fish and wild-
life.
“I think there needs to be a lot of
attention paid to Central Oregon
right now,” said JoHanna Symons,
a rancher from nearby Madras.
“We’re in a pretty catastrophic sit-
uation.”
Symons raises cattle and runs
a commercial feedlot with her
husband, Jeremy. In 2016, the
couple co-founded a nonprofit
The Spokesman uses
recycled newsprint
Wednesday 3/30
Events in and around Redmond
Ochoco Preserve Tour: Join the Deschutes Land Trust and
Jason Grant for a tour of Ochoco Preserve; 10 a.m.-Noon;
Whychus Canyon Preserve, Off Goodrich Road, Sisters; de-
schuteslandtrust.org or 541-330-0017.
Thursday 3/31
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.
Alicia Viani Band — Range Music Series: The local duo will
tell lyrical and instrumental stories; 5:30-8:30 p.m.; free; Brasada
Ranch, 16986 SW Brasada Ranch Road, Powell Butte; brasada.
com or 855-318-4960.
The New Climate War — The Fight to Take Back Our
Planet: Join renowned climate scientist, Michael E. Mann as
he explores how to collectively address the climate crisis; 6:30-
8:30 p.m.; $25 — $75, students free; The Riverhouse on the
Deschutes, 3075 N. U.S. Highway 97, Bend; skeptoid.org or 541-
389-3111.
Friday 4/1
Coffee Clatter: Join Friday morning for business network-
ing and check out the new location for Bethlehem Inn Red-
mond and hear about other great things they are up to; 8:30-
9:30 a.m.; free; Bethlehem Inn, 517 NW Birch Ave,, Redmond;
visitredmondoregon.com or 541-322-8768.
See Calendar / P3
INDEX
Puzzles ............. 2 Obituaries ....4-5
Flashback ........ 6 Classifieds ....... 6
Volume 112, No. 31
USPS 778-040
U|xaIICGHy02326kzU