A6 THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2022
Bond
Continued from A1
center, the main drawback is the price
tag. RAPRD estimates the $49 million
bond will cost taxpayers 56 cents per
$1,000 of assessed property value while
the ensuing 5-year levy would ring in
at 24 cents per $1,000 of assessed prop-
erty value.
If both the bond and levy pass, ac-
cording to RAPRD, a property with an
assessed value of $225,000 would pay
$15 per month.
Bill Trumble — a retired professor
running for city council — perhaps
put it most bluntly at a recent forum.
He said he supports the measure, but
doesn’t think it will pass after voters
agreed on a $45 million bond for a new
police station last year.
“This is a hard time,” he said. “Infla-
tion is high, gas is high, food prices are
high. I don’t think it’s going to pass.”
The proposed recreation center
would boast multiple swimming pools,
gym spaces, a raised indoor track, fit-
ness rooms, a bouldering wall and day-
care facilities along with a host of other
facilities including soccer fields and
tennis courts.
These offerings are a far cry from
the present state of facilities, where the
Cascade Swim Center located at 465
Location
Continued from A1
a lack of clear communication.
Many neighbors felt blindsided
and never received letters in-
forming them of the expansion
of the program in the Pershall
neighborhood until construction
was underway. Russell said they
learned from their mistakes and
that the neighbor notification
process is different this time. The
organization mailed out 100 let-
ters to businesses and residences
surrounding the new site on
Sept. 23.
After receiving feedback from
the Pershall neighbors, Russell
said they will do background
checks on everyone that comes
into the program. Participants will
undergo screenings, an intake and
sign a strict program agreement.
“People are nervous about it
and I can understand that,” Rus-
sell said. But in his experience,
safe parking has been a successful
project that has not put anyone in
harm’s way.
“We’ve been hosting this at our
facility for almost a year and it’s
just been such a positive experi-
ence,” he said.
According to Russell, the
longterm goal of the program is
to create 10 to 12 locations across
the city that can temporarily host
three to four individuals for 90
day intervals. He said the sites will
be small, clean and not attract a
lot of attention.
“It’s not the image that most
people have of homelessness,”
Russell said. “It’s not Hunnell
Road.”
In a meeting held at Redmond
City Hall on Sept. 20, Sierra Hop-
per, the program director, said
people are always waiting for
spots to open up and that de-
mand is only getting higher. They
said the need to expand is criti-
cal, before the problem gets any
worse.
“It grows every day,” she said. “I
get calls constantly and emails.”
Currently, the waitlist is sitting
at about 15-20 individuals.
“Most of the people on our
waiting list right now are people
Nick Rosenberger/Spokesman
Supporters of the RAPRD bond and levy measure gathered at the site of the proposed recreation center at SW 35th and Lava on
Oct. 1 in Redmond.
SW Rimrock Way is the epicenter of
RAPRD activities. The center houses
the administrative offices of RAPRD
and is the only swimming pool in Red-
mond.
According to RAPRD, the center
opened in 1979 for a population of
roughly 6,500. The district’s population
currently sits at about 45,000 people.
Cathleen Wallace, a retired teacher
and former swim instructor, said the
pool is not big enough to accommo-
with kids,” Russell said. “So it’s re-
ally important for us to provide a
space for them.”
Russell said they provide case
management to help individuals
work toward stability, with hous-
ing being the most important
piece.
Hopper explained how some
participants come to the program
with nothing to their name. They
have no identification, no Social
Security card, birth certificate or
license. She said they work on
getting those things handled for
clients, and then try to connect
them with longer term housing.
She said some participants’
next step may be a homeless shel-
ter, an RV or even a trailer park.
“We might look all over Or-
egon if that’s something they’re
open to,” she said.
Kim Varner, a participant of
the program who lives in her RV
at the VFW Post 4108 site with
her six-year-old daughter, said she
lost stable housing after getting
away from a bad situation with
her ex.
She looked everywhere for a
place to park her car to sleep but
there was nowhere to go.
“Nobody had answers,” she
said. “Everybody was full. No-
body could point me in any di-
rection”
Varner, who has been on a
waiting list for affordable housing
for over a year, works full-time
at Rite-Aid and said half of her
co-workers are struggling with
homelessness as rent prices con-
tinue to skyrocket.
“Even though we’re in a tough
situation, we’re not giving up,” she
said. “Every day we’re there. We’re
still working, we’re still giving it
our all.”
She said the program gives her
an opportunity to set down, calm
down and take the next step with-
out having to worry about where
to sleep next week. But, she rec-
ognizes that the safe parking pro-
gram is a temporary solution as
she looks for a more stable place
to call home.
“Hopefully,” she said, “I’ll
be able to transition out into a
home.”
date everyone who want to learn how
to swim.
“(It’s) way over full,” she said.
Faced with overbooked swim classes
and a shared schedule between high
school sports, seniors and everyone in
between, some parents are taking their
kids to swim lessons in the resort com-
munity of Eagle Crest or making the
hour-long round-trip to the Madras
Aquatic Center.
Emily Fitch — a parent of three chil-
dren ages four and under — said her
family doesn’t use the Cascade Swim
Center and instead drives to Madras.
“The current rec center is at capacity.
It’s not enough,” Fitch said. “We’re too
big of a community.”
But it’s not just swimming that’s
crunched for space and time. Accord-
ing to Mercedes Cook, a parent with
two young children, RAPRD saw al-
most 950 kids sign up for soccer this
year from Pre-K through sixth grade.
The difficult of getting everyone on the
field is only exacerbated by a lack of
referees in the region.
Jan Schweizer, a volunteer who does
Zumba in “a tiny little place” at the
Redmond Senior Center, said the rec
center is more than just for fitness.
When she lived in other cities with rec
centers, she saw all types of commu-
nity members come through and in-
teract with each other. She said it helps
build the strength of the community.
“It was really nice to have those fa-
cilities and have that interaction,” she
said. “We need something that serves
everyone.”
Marian Spencer, an 86-year-old who
participates in a 50-person water aero-
bics class with Wallace, said the same:
it’s often a social thing. If she didn’t
have the opportunity to take classes or
exercise, she said she’d just sit around.
Schweizer and Spencer both said the
cost of getting sick is higher than the
cost of the proposed center.
Additionally, Schweizer said it
would give kids something to do to
keep them out of trouble — potentially
saving the police department time and
money.
“It’s down to what your priorities
are,” Schweizer said.
█
Reporter: nrosenberger@redmondspokesman.
com
Forum
Continued from A1
Patrick agreed that there’s a
learning curve and added that
it will be important to find
common ground early. Schim-
moller spoke about relying on
senior staff, like the city man-
ager and senior council mem-
bers to learn, as well as using
primers provided by organi-
zations such as the League of
Oregon Cities. Baer responded
instead by talking about a cryp-
tocurrency he created.
In terms of homelessness,
Schimmoller and Fitch expressed
support for a safe parking pro-
gram in Redmond and the need
to roll out more programs to ad-
dress the growing issue. Baer said
he will never support more fund-
ing for homelessness.
Patrick said homelessness is
a difficult issue.
“We’re gonna have to be at
the table, beating our heads
against the wall, trying to
figure out how we can get by
and pass all those state safety
requirements and find solu-
tions,” he said.
The candidates had differ-
ing opinions on public safety
as well — especially in terms
of school safety. Fitch said he
would be interested in open-
ing discussions on banning
open carry in certain spaces
such as around schools, in
parks and in public buildings.
“I think it’s a worthy dis-
cussion to have,” Fitch said.
“I don’t know what the out-
come would be, but school
safety is a high priority.”
Baer focused on gun con-
trol and said there’s an epi-
demic with too many guns in
Oregon and in America. Pat-
rick and Schimmoller, mean-
while, spoke about the need
for school resource officers,
although Schimmoller added
that he’d like to hear from
community members about
what they perceive as weak
points in schools.
When offered a chance
to ask each other questions,
Nick Rosenberger/Spokesman
Redmond mayoral candidates faced off in a forum hosted by local Rotary, Kiwanis and Executive Associ-
ation groups at the Redmond Senior Center on Sept. 27. Left to right, candidates include Charles Baer, Ed
Fitch, Jay Patrick and Ben Schimmoller.
Fitch and Patrick both asked
Schimmoller why he’d never
participated in city government
before, and chose to run for
mayor instead of city council.
Schimmoller responded by
showcasing his endorsements
from Mayor George Endicott
and legislators including state
representatives Jack Zika and
Vikki Breese-Iverson.
Patrick, meanwhile, spent
his two minute closing state-
ment expressing his frustration
that current mayor George En-
dicott endorsed Schimmoller
rather than him — potentially
splitting the ticket between the
two candidates who are seen as
more conservative.
“It was well known that I was
going to run for mayor when
George was finished,” Patrick
said. “Why George decided to
endorse Ben, I do not know.”
█
Reporter: nrosenberger@
redmondspokesman.com
OBITUARY
Dorothy Marie Jackson
December 26, 1939 - September 5, 2022
Dorothy Marie Jackson was born in Kalispell, Montana
on December 26, 1939 and peacefully passed on
September 5, 2022 in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. Her
parents were Gerald and Helen Lanthorn. She was
the oldest of 4 children and her other siblings were
Cathie, Vivian and Eugene (Gene). She graduated
valedictorian from Hamilton High School (Montana)
in 1957 at 16, where she was a talented member of
the Thespians drama club and started her life. She was
highly intelligent and engaging to everyone along with
being notoriously stubborn and resourceful. When she
gave advice, it was invariably accurate and correct. She married
Robert Dale Jackson, who predeceased her in 2015. She was the mother of 4 sons: Mike,
Mark, Matt and Miles. She saw each get married and have children and she was very
involved as a grandmother and doted on all, never forgetting a birthday or major event
in anyone's life.
She lived with the family in Redmond, Baker, The Dalles and Pendleton before moving
to and settling in Vancouver, Washington where her sons finished school and went on to
higher education. In the early 2000's she and her husband relocated to Black Diamond,
Washington to be closer to the grandchildren and they spent the rest of their lives there.
She loved to garden and had a beautiful rose garden, canned fruits and vegetables, baked
and cooked brilliantly, decorated for the holidays (particularly Christmas), and took care
of her home and family. She was a gifted artist, firing and hand painting hundreds of
ceramics. She always had a dog (or 2 or 3) and these pets enjoyed dog heaven with her.
She rewarded them with treats and love. There was always a project she was doing or
planning.
She never forgot a friend or family member, remembered birthdays and other significant
dates and events. She loved to discuss current events, politics and was highly intelligent.
She never spoke ill or meanly of others and tried to see the good in everyone. She was
unfailingly articulate and pushed her sons to be educated, work hard, succeed and be
good people. Every year at Christmas, she sent out a "newsletter" of the year's events
and information she wanted to share. She had a few special people help her and Bob
in Black Diamond who were always considered part of the family by all. She was a great
judge of character and unfailingly helpful to those she saw as needing it and who were
underdogs.
She will be missed terribly for her sharp intellect, her kind heart, her ability to listen
and give a thoughtful and smart response, her decency and kindness even to those who
were undeserving of it, her acceptance of others regardless of who or what they were
and many other qualities. She is survived by all her sons and their children including Rob,
Steven, Mark Jr., Joshua, Emily and Matt along with her sister, Cathie in Grand Junction,
Colorado, and nephews: Bryan Martin, Garret McGonigal, Kerry McGonigal and Jeremy
Lanthorn along with nieces, Amy Martin Shaffer and Sybil Lanthorn Voelker.