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Ballots due on $40M bond for new police station
BY JOE SIESS
EO Media Group
Voters in Redmond will de-
cide on May 17 if they want
to pass a $40 million bond to
fund a new police station in
the rapidly growing city.
If approved, the city will tax
Redmond homeowners based
on the assessed value of their
property to pay for the sta-
tion, which city officials say is
a much needed upgrade to the
existing facility.
The $40 million general
obligation bond translates to
about $0.73 per $1,000 of as-
sessed property value. The
average taxpayer would pay
around $148 a year, or $12 a
Realms High School students
get outside the classroom for
on-the-ground learning
BY BRYCE DOLE
EO Media Group
The Realms High School
teens knelt down in the tall
grass on a recent blustery day
at Smith Rock State Park,
pulling up plants that a park
ranger described as “a big
problem.”
“Every plant we leave is
400,000 plants next year,” the
ranger, Sam Vanderbeek, told
the students.
Students from the Bend
school were there to help the
ranger remove invasive plants,
learn about a new profession
and engage with their com-
munity. Each year, groups like
this one from Realms High
School take on a variety of ed-
ucational deep dives during
a weeklong “intensives” pro-
gram meant to engage stu-
dents with activities outside of
ordinary coursework.
“It’s really humbling be-
cause it’s bigger than we are,”
said Hannah Gainey, a senior
at Realms High.
Realms High educators say
these programs are helping
students find their passions
after the pandemic-damaged
interest in education among
some students.
“Post-pandemic, kids are
questioning the value of
school more than I’ve ever
seen before,” said Realms High
School Principal Roger White,
who championed expedition-
ary learning.
Walking along the paths
near the towering multicol-
ored rock walls for which the
park is known, White said
programs like this are essen-
tial to showing students how
their schooling is applicable to
the real world. The programs
are particularly helpful for stu-
dents who struggle in a tradi-
tional classroom environment,
Realms High educators say.
He and other Realms High
educators emphasized that
learning from professionals in
the field like Vanderbeek in-
troduces students to potential
career opportunities that they
might not otherwise know
about. And by bringing stu-
dents out of the classroom,
they can provide important
help and establish relation-
ships in the community, too.
“While you’re in school, it
shouldn’t just be preparation
for doing good in the world,
but the act of doing good for
the world,” said Zach Harju,
the assistant principal for the
high school, who added: “This
is a place where they feel in the
community, like a leader.”
month.
Redmond Police Chief
Devin Lewis said the current
building, built in the 1990s,
is the same building the po-
lice department originally
moved into, and was meant
to accommodate 38 employ-
ees. Since then, the number
of employees working at the
police department has grown
to over 60, and the population
of Redmond has about tripled,
Lewis said.
The most recent popula-
tion count from the U.S. Cen-
sus Bureau is 33,274 in 2021.
In 2010 the population was
26,214, census bureau data
showed.
The current building lacks a
safe and secure lobby for peo-
ple to come and engage with
law enforcement officers, he
said. The parking lot is also
inadequate and could be more
secure for officers and staff,
and members of the commu-
nity.
“The hope is that if we get
the new station, we will have
room and more support staff,”
Lewis said. “We would really
like to start looking at differ-
ent specialized teams, and un-
fortunately, we are unable to
do that right now because we
don’t have the staffing or the
space.”
See Bond / A4
SPIFFING UP
SMITH ROCK
Wyatt
Winter-
bottom, a
Realms High School
junior, pulls invasive plants at
Smith Rock State Park as part of
a school program.
Bryce Dole / The Bulletin
See Realms / A4
Realms High School students encourage each other as they prepare
for rock climbing during an alternative learning opportunity at Smith
Rock State Park on May 5.
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Realms High School students climb at Smith Rock State Park on May 5 during an alternative learning op-
portunity.
DeBone to chair new regional emergency training center
CORE3 project planned
for site near airport
BY TIM TRAINOR
Redmond Spokesman
Deschutes County Commissioner
Tony DeBone will be the first chair-
man of a steering team that will work
to develop a regional emergency train-
ing center.
The project, known as
lease. “Central Oregon has a
CORE3, is planned for 300
critical lack of training facili-
acres near the Redmond Air-
ties for emergency service per-
port.
sonnel and desperately needs
“The pandemic and recent
a central hub for emergency
catastrophic wildfires taught
operations if a major disaster
many of us in Central Oregon
strikes.”
that we all need to be better
The multi-agency steering
DeBone
equipped for emergency situ-
team is made up of 25 people
ations, especially government
overseeing the project. Bend
agencies,” DeBone said in a news re-
Police Chief Mike Krantz will be vice
chair.
The current plan for CORE3 is to
create a training for law enforcement,
fire, paramedics and other emergency
personnel, at a cost of roughly $41
million. It will include an indoor gun
range and burn building for firefighter
training. The project will also function
as an emergency coordination center,
during major regional or statewide di-
sasters.
The Spokesman uses
recycled newsprint
INDEX
Puzzles ............. 2 Obituaries ....... 5
Flashback ........ 6 Classifieds ....... 5
Volume 112, No. 38
USPS 778-040
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