A special good morning to subscriber Harriet Roe
Tuesday, September 20, 2022 • Redmond, Oregon • $1
redmondspokesman.com
@RedmondSpox
Redmond
teen dies in
crash on
Highway 97
Spokesman staff
A Redmond teen died Sept. 16 in a four-car
crash south of Redmond that closed Highway 97
for hours.
According to Oregon State Police investigators,
the 16-year-old female was driving southbound
in a 2003 Jeep Liberty about 8:15 a.m. about five
miles south of Redmond when she tried to change
lanes and lost control of the vehicle. The car drove
through the highway median into oncoming,
northbound traffic where it struck a black Jeep
Renegade that was traveling northbound.
The northbound Jeep, driven by Araceli Rodri-
guez Giles, 21, of Bend, slammed into the shoul-
der and rolled multiple times. Giles, as well as pas-
sengers Brayan Olvera, 23, and Victorina Giles,
53, both of Bend, were transported to an area hos-
pital with non life-threatening injuries. A 16-year-
old minor also traveling in the Jeep Renegade and
was hospitalized.
The teen’s southbound Jeep then collided with
two more cars: a northbound white GMC Yukon
and a southbound Toyota Camry.
The teen driver of the Jeep Liberty died at the
scene, according to OSP.
Bradly Pearce, 43, of Bend, was driving the Yu-
kon and was uninjured.
Amie Gassner, 39, of Central Point, was driv-
ing the Camry. She, along with passengers Jamie
Richmond, 39, and a 12-year-old female were
transported via ambulance with non life-threaten-
ing injuries.
Oregon State Police were assisted at the scene
by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, De-
schutes County Medical Examiner’s office,
ODOT, Redmond Fire and Rescue, Department
of Human Services and the Deschutes County
Chaplain’s service.
█
Reporter: ttrainor@redmondspokesman.com
LOCAL
Nick Rosenberger/Spokesman
A highliner pulls himself along the “Blue Dream” highline at the Smith Rock Highline Gathering on Sept. 16 outside Terrebonne.
A good time up high
Slackline festival returns to Smith Rock
BY NICK ROSENBERGER • Redmond Spokesman
tretched a few hundred
feet over hikers tracing
the winding path of the
Crooked River, Hannah Ed-
S
mond stood briefly on a one-
inch nylon line before falling
headfirst toward the chasm
below.
Her blue Black Diamond harness
tightened around her as the ropes and
highline rigging, anchored into the
outcroppings at Smith Rock, pulled
taught. They swung her body left and
right before safely coming to a stop.
She smiled, then pulled herself
up and back onto the thin line to try
again.
This scene played out through-
out the weekend as dozens of peo-
ple from across Oregon and beyond
met up for the Smith Rock Highline
Gathering from Sept. 16-18. The
event drew dozens of highliners to
Smith Rock who aimed to balance
across flat lines — known as slack-
lines — suspended in the air, some
as long as 225 meters.
See Slackline / A9
Nick Rosenberger/Spokesman
Hannah Edmond slides out on the “Overdose” highline at the Smith Rock
Highline Gathering on Sept. 16 outside Terrebonne.
Award winners
Two Redmond High School teachers receive
honors, A3
SPORTS
CITY OF REDMOND
Council candidates face off in forum
Candidates share platforms,
address homelessness,
psilocybin and rec center
BY NICK ROSENBERGER
Redmond Spokesman
Unbeaten
Ridgeview Boys win over Hood River, A8
All five Redmond city council
candidates summed up how they
would address homelessness, a
proposed $49 million RAPRD
recreation center and psilocy-
bin services before diving into
a Q&A session on Sept. 14 at
Highland Baptist Church.
While there were some dis-
agreements, the majority of can-
didates held similiar positions
and gave a mostly unified view
of Redmond’s future.
Redmond City Council has
three open seats up for election
in November with five candi-
dates vying for the spots. The
candidates include current city
councilor and real estate bro-
ker Cat Zwicker, professor and
researcher Bill Trumble, credit
union manager John Nielsen,
Redmond Athletic Club owner
Branegan J. Dixon and digital
marketing coordinator Kathryn
Osborne.
Attendees included Deschutes
County Treasurer candidate
Trevor Lewis, current Redmond
city councilor Clifford Evelyn
and Michael Sipe, candidate for
Oregon House District 53.
RAPRD BOND AND LEVY
A contentious issue, the RAPRD
bond and levy on this November’s
ballot will be ask voters to fund the
construction and operation of a
new 74,500-square-foot recreation
facility.
Each candidate said they sup-
ported the new rec center, however,
all recognized it was a heavy lift for
taxpayers and questioned the finan-
cial viability of it.
WEATHER FORECAST
See Forum / A6
INSIDE
Calendar .......................................................A2
Sports ...........................................................A8
Coffee Break ............................................. A10
Classifieds ................................................. A12
THIS WEEK’S FORECAST SPONSORED BY
Volume 113, No. 3
USPS 778-040
Jo i n u a s r k a b l e
f o r a g r e e x m p e r i e n c e
dinin
TUESDAY
Partly cloudy
WEDNESDAY
Partly cloudy
THURSDAY
Partly cloudy
FRIDAY
Sunny
SATURDAY
Sunny
SUNDAY
Sunny
MONDAY
Sunny
73/43
68/41
71/38
78/42
82/44
86/46
84/47
The Spokesman uses
recycled newsprint
U|xaIICGHy02326kzU
Wine and Dine as you step back in time...
For reservations call
541.527.4336
646 SW 6th St., Redmond
Wed - Sat 5 to 9 p.m.