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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2021)
THE BULLETIN • MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2021 A3 TODAY Today is Monday, Jan. 25, the 25th day of 2021. There are 340 days left in the year. Today9s Highlight in History: On Jan. 25, 1981, the 52 Amer- icans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived in the United States. In 1533, England’s King Henry VIII secretly married his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who later gave birth to Elizabeth I. In 1759, Scottish poet Robert Burns was born in Alloway. In 1915, America’s first official transcontinental telephone call took place as Alexander Graham Bell, who was in New York, spoke to his former assistant, Thomas Watson, who was in San Francisco, over a line set up by American Telephone & Telegraph. In 1924, the first Winter Olympic Games opened in Chamonix, France. In 1945, the World War II Battle of the Bulge ended as German forces were pushed back to their original positions. Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first community to add fluoride to its public water supply. In 1947, gangster Al Capone died in Miami Beach, Florida, at age 48. In 1949, the first Emmy Awards, honoring local Los Angeles TV programs and talent, were presented at the Hollywood Athletic Club. In 1959, American Airlines began Boeing 707 jet flights between New York and Los Angeles. In 1971, Idi Amin seized power in Uganda by ousting President Milton Obote in a military coup. In 2004, NASA’s Opportunity rover zipped its first pictures of Mars to Earth, showing a surface smooth and dark red in some places, and strewn with frag- mented slabs of light bedrock in others. In 2017, President Donald Trump moved aggressively to tighten the nation’s immigration con- trols, signing executive actions to jumpstart construction of his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall and cut federal grants for immigrant-protecting “sanctu- ary cities.” Death claimed actor Mary Tyler Moore at age 80 and actor John Hurt at age 77. In 2019, President Donald Trump’s confidant Roger Stone was arrested by the FBI in a pre- dawn raid at his Florida home and charged with lying about his pursuit of Russian-hacked emails damaging to Hillary Clin- ton’s 2016 election bid. (Stone was convicted in November 2019 on charges including lying to Congress and witness tampering; Trump commuted his 40-month prison sentence just days before Stone was due to report to prison in July 2020 and issued Stone a pardon in December of that year.) Ten years ago: Pleading for unity in a newly divided govern- ment, President Barack Obama used his State of the Union ad- dress to implore Democrats and Republicans to rally behind his vision of economic revival, de- claring: “We will move forward together or not at all.” In Egypt, thousands of anti-government protesters clashed with police during a Tunisia-inspired demon- stration to demand the end of President Hosni Mubarak’s rule. Five years ago: President Obama said he would ban the use of solitary confinement for juvenile and low-level offenders in federal prisons, citing the po- tential for “devastating, lasting psychological consequences” from the use of the isolation as punishment. One year ago: President Donald Trump’s defense team opened its arguments at his Senate im- peachment trial, casting the ef- fort to remove him from office as a politically-motivated attempt to subvert the 2016 election and the upcoming 2020 contest. Can- ada, Australia and Malaysia each reported their first cases of the new coronavirus. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers moved past former Laker Kobe Bryant for third place on the NBA’s ca- reer scoring list. Today9s Birthdays: Country singer Claude Gray is 89. Actor Leigh Taylor-Young is 77. Actor Jenifer Lewis is 64. Country mu- sician Mike Burch (River Road) is 55. R&B singer Kina is 52. Actor China Kantner is 50. Actor Ana Ortiz is 50. Drummer Joe Sirois (Mighty Mighty Bosstones) is 49. Musician Matt Odmark (Jars of Clay) is 47. Actor Mia Kirshner is 46. Actor Christine Lakin is 42. R&B singer Alicia (ah-LEE’-shuh) Keys is 41. Actor Michael Trevino is 36. Pop musician Calum Hood (5 Seconds to Summer) is 25. Actor Olivia Edward is 14. — Associated Press LOCAL, STATE & REGION COVID-19 | Vaccines OREGON ZOO What older Oregonians should know Rare bat baby being hand-reared using a sock mom BY KRISTIAN FODEN-VENCIL Oregon Public Broadcasting BY JOHN NOTARIANNI Oregon Public Broadcasting I f you’re an older Oregonian who’s desperate to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon, it’s been a frustrating few weeks. People living in congregate settings are already be- ing widely vaccinated, but unlike most other states, Oregon hasn’t yet begun getting doses to the larger population of older adults. In mid-January, it looked like educators and peo- ple over the age of 65 were at the front of the line for Phase 1b of the state’s vaccination plan. On Jan. 12, Gov. Kate Brown said both groups would become el- igible for the vaccine Jan. 23. But three days later, Brown tweeted: “States will not be receiving increased shipments of vaccines from the national stockpile next week, because there is no federal reserve of doses.” That meant Oregon had to revise its vaccination timeline, and Brown made the controversial deci- sion to prioritize education staff ahead of older Or- egonians. A week later, Brown presented a revised timeline for vaccination: Week of Feb. 7: Seniors 80 and over are eligible. Week of Feb. 14: Seniors 75 and over. Week of Feb. 21: Seniors 75 and over. Week of Feb. 28: Seniors 70 and over. Week of March 7: Seniors 65 and over. That means some older Oregonians who were re- cently expecting to be eligible this week will now be waiting another six weeks before they even have the chance to be vaccinated. It’s an agonizing delay for a population that’s vulner- able to COVID-19’s most deleterious effects. People 70 and older have accounted for 77% of COVID-19 deaths, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Dr. Elizabeth Eckstrom is the Chief of Geriatrics at Oregon Health & Science University. She said she sees the disappointment in the patients she treats every day. “Just the thought that the vaccine is com- ing is really exciting,” Eckstrom said, “so a lot of peo- ple are feeling very acutely that they’re not able to see family yet; they’re not able to get out and do the things that they care about.” Still, Eckstrom said the decision to give Oregon’s Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin A sign reminds visitors to schedule their second vaccina- tions at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Red- mond on Saturday. 152,000 teachers, early childhood workers and other school employees a head start on vaccination isn’t a bad idea. “If educators are not vaccinated until after older adults, it means schools probably won’t be able to reopen at all this year,” she said. “We need to con- sider all members of our state, and vaccinating edu- cators now is worth it.” Once vaccinations for adults 80 and older begin on Feb. 8, they will mostly be available at large vac- cination sites like the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Eckstrom said this could pose an accessi- bility challenge for older adults who don’t drive. She said there’s no comprehensive plan in place to get vaccines to people who are completely homebound. “There really may not be any way for them to get out to these large vaccination sites,” Eckstrom said, “and many clinics, including my own, are not plan- ning on vaccinating people within our clinic.” Eckstrom said people who know older adults should volunteer to take them to get vaccinated. She said seniors need to be courageous about reaching out to friends, family members and church groups. “Obviously it means getting in the car with some- one,” Eckstrom said, “but wear your mask, wash your hands and take that risk to get your vaccine.” STATE BRIEFING Boy, 3, dies months after car strikes him on street A 3-year-old boy has died months after being hit by a driver on a Portland street. The driver hit two children who ran out into N. Fessenden Street while playing on the eve- ning of Sept. 2, according to Portland Police. The 3-year-old suffered life-threatening inju- ries and was taken to a hospi- tal, while the other child was treated at the scene. Police said Saturday the boy died overnight. Investigators determined there was no cause to charge the driver with a crime. Nei- ther the boy nor the driver has been publicly identified. Arrest after store worker hit with anti-Muslim slurs A 43-year-old man was ar- rested Friday after allegedly berating a Portland gas station employee with anti-Muslim slurs, throwing items at the worker and threatening to kill him. Brian Christopher Miller was arrested on suspicion of first-degree criminal mischief and third-degree robbery. He was booked into jail but has since been released on his own recognizance. The incident unfolded Fri- day night at a Chevron store. Video footage shows a man yelling a string of anti-Muslim slurs while stealing merchan- dise, throwing items at the worker and destroying a food case and cash register. He then starts approaching the worker behind the counter until the worker appears to hide in a back room. The worker told Portland Police that the man threatened: “I am going to come back and kill you.” He also said Miller grabbed a pack of cigarettes without paying for them. The video was posted on social media by someone who said he’s the worker’s son. The video description says the worker is a 68-year-old Af- ghan man. Portland Police responded to the incident about 7:44 p.m. and found Miller outside the store. Police allege he was most likely under the influence of al- cohol or drugs. The employee was not phys- ically hurt, police said. Man accused of escaping Portland jail cell indicted A man accused of ramming a Portland police officer while driving a stolen pickup on Christmas Eve — then later escaping custody — has been indicted on attempted murder and other charges. David Dahlen III, 24, escaped a holding cell on the Portland Police Bu- reau’s detec- tive floor in the downtown Multnomah County Jus- tice Center, ran down a Dahlen stairwell and out a door of the building Jan. 2. He was ap- prehended Jan. 8 in Portland. Dahlen was indicted Tues- day on six felony charges and one misdemeanor, and he pleaded not guilty to the charges the next day. He re- mains jailed in the Multnomah County Detention Center. He initially allegedly fled police on Dec. 24 after officers boxed in a stolen pickup he’s accused of driving in the lot of a gas station in Southeast Portland. Dahlen is accused of ramming the pickup into Of- ficer Jennifer Pierce, who had stepped out of a patrol car, a witness said. The driver of the stolen pickup then backed up and went forward again, hitting Pierce’s patrol car as it peeled out of the lot. Pierce fired at Dahlen and the truck, wit- nesses said. Pierce was hospitalized for a pelvic fracture and has since been released from the hos- pital. — Bulletin wire reports Three Rodrigues flying foxes were born this month at the Oregon Zoo, adding to a bat population once considered among the most imperiled on earth. In the 1970s, much of the Rodrigues bat forest habi- tat had been cleared on their only native island — Ro- drigues Island in the Indian Ocean, 900 miles east of Madagascar. After one particularly bad storm, only about 100 bats remained. But after four decades of conservation efforts, there are now 20,000 bats on the island and in zoos around the world. Oregon Zoo animal curator Amy Cutting said its colony had three babies in one month, which is un- usual. “Any time an animal is reproducing and caring for its young,” Cutting said, “you can have confidence that they’re living a fulfilled life.” Two newborns are being cared for by their mothers. The mother of the third newborn died, so it’s now be- ing hand-reared using an upside-down bat sock mom. “Normally when you’re hand-raising an animal, you have to make sure it’s upright, so it (doesn’t) aspirate,” said Cutting. “With bats, you have to make sure they’re upside down so they don’t aspirate. So it is a little bit different from other species.” The newborn is fed a formula of milk and fruit, like mashed banana, made specifically for bats. Rodrigues bats are comparatively large for bats, closer in size to a prairie dog. They play an important ecological role on Rodrigues island, where few other pollinators and seed dispersers exist. The Oregon Zoo began housing “Rods” in 1994, and has raised more than 50 pups, sending some to other zoos as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquari- ums’ Species survival plan. The plan helps maintain a genetically diverse, self-sustaining population for the long-term benefit of the animals. “Keeping a healthy insurance population in zoos is especially important for this species,” Cutting said. “With so few left and such a limited geographic range, a severe weather event on their island could essentially wipe them out.” Read more about the bats’ story and view photos at the Oregon Zoo website: j.mp/oregonbats