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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2021)
Serving Central Oregon since 1903 • $1.50 TUESDAY • January 26, 2021 THE KOBE BRYANT TRAGEDY LAUNCHED A YEAR OF MISERY A sports columnist reflects one year after the NBA legend’s death | SPORTS PULLOUT, A5-8 Restrictions could ease within 3 weeks BY GARY A. WARNER Oregon Capital Bureau Falling COVID-19 infection rates will allow the state to lift some restric- tions on businesses and activities over the next three weeks, the state’s top health official said Monday. Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen told the Senate Commit- tee on Health Care that the infection rate in Oregon had dropped to 5.1% for the week of Jan. 17, the lowest rate since late October. The rate has been steadily dropping since the first week of January and has reached a point where growth in the COVID-19 Vaccines now available for Central Oregon residents 75 and older, A2 daily number of cases is expected to stay relatively flat or drop further. The rate means the state can move more of the state’s 36 counties lower on the four-tier risk-level measures. The latest two-week ratings will be released in the next two days and will show some counties dropping a level, while no county’s risk level is on the rise. “It’s the hard work of Oregonians,” Allen told the panel. Allen said Oregon has the fourth-lowest infection rate and the fifth-lowest death rate of the 50 states. Allen said that if the trend sustains for another two weeks, several more counties will move down the risk level scale, including some with larger pop- ulations. Gov. Kate Brown is also expected to make an announcement this week to allow some gyms and other indoor recreation to operate again. The lower rate of infection is good news as the state continues to strug- gle with obtaining enough of the new Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to ramp up inoculations. The two-shot vaccines are the key to ending the pandemic that has killed 420,000 people nation- wide, including 1,882 Oregonians. “Our real challenge right now is just flat out not having enough vaccine,” Allen said. The state has received more than 492,000 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines that have been approved for use on adults. The vaccines require two shots spaced about a month apart. Oregon is on pace to get more than 12,000 shots administered per day. Al- len said that OHA estimates 3.2 million adults are eligible for vaccination, mean- ing that the state will need 6.4 million doses of vaccine to finish the job. Allen said the state had enough centers for inoculation and qualified workers to give the shots. It just didn’t have vaccine to put to work. There is hope that new vaccines from Astra Zeneca, Johnson & John- son and others will be approved and increase the flow of available doses across the country. See Restrictions / A4 Is Redmond ready for pot? Leaders debate BEND-LA PINE | First day in school ‘GLAD’ TO BE BACK Some fear ceding business to Bend, Madras; others want feds to act first A chilly January day couldn’t dampen many families’ excitement to return to in-person elementary classes for the first time since lockdowns began in March BY JACKSON HOGAN The Bulletin Despite recreational marijuana being legalized statewide, the city of Redmond has never allowed dispensaries within its city limits. However, three Redmond city councilors want to look into the possibility of approving dispensaries in Redmond. And two of those councilors strongly believe the city is missing out on significant revenue by not allowing dispensaries. “We can’t let money slip out of our hands and move to places to the north and south of us,” said city Councilor Clifford Evelyn, who noted that both Bend and Madras allow dispensaries. See Pot / A4 Elder abuse bill in Salem has a Bend connection BY GARRETT ANDREWS The Bulletin A bill proposed this week in the Oregon Legisla- ture would allow mental health counselors to testify against their patients in instances of elder abuse or abuse of a developmentally disabled person. Senate Bill 176 was inspired by a 2016 case pros- ecuted in Bend, that of Angela Christine Judd, who pleaded guilty to smothering her 92-year-old grandmother to death with a pillow. The bill is sponsored by the Oregon Department of Justice. The state’s elder abuse reporting law was mir- rored after its child abuse reporting law, but the Judd case exposed an important difference in the language of the two. See Legislation / A13 kids early Monday morning at Jewell, the Hens- leys were happy to see their daughter back in school after learning at home for more than 10 onday didn’t look like a typical months due to COVID-19. first day of school for students “I’m glad she’s going back,” Richard Hens- at R.E. Jewell Elementary in ley said. “I think it’s important for Bend. their education and social life.” Instead of Septem- Thousands of Bend-La Pine ber sun, there was students in grades K-3 returned January snow at 8:15 a.m. Parents Bend-La-Pine families to classrooms full time Monday made sure their kids were wearing their face masks correctly. The adults sending their children morning for the first time since back to in-person mid-March. They’re the first wave had to say goodbye to their children classes, according to a of Bend-La Pine students to go from inside their parked cars or on survey this month back to classrooms. the sidewalk, as Bend-La Pine School Fourth and fifth graders in the forbade anyone not a student or a district will also return to in-person school staffer to enter the building due to COVID-19 this week, but just for a one-day orientation. precautions. They’ll begin two-day-a-week, hybrid learning Still, the frigid weather didn’t stop Richard on Feb. 1. Middle and high school students are and Regan Hensley from taking a first-day-of- expected to return to hybrid in-person school school picture of their fourth grade daughter, on Feb. 8. Hailey, in front of Jewell Elementary. Like many of the parents dropping off their See Schools / A13 BY JACKSON HOGAN • The Bulletin M PHOTO AT TOP: First grader Vanessa Loza kisses her mom, Maria, before entering R.E. Jewell Elementary School on Monday, the first day of in-person learning in more than 10 months. 86.5% ABOVE: Jewell Principal Scott Edmondson greets students. Bend-La Pine’s elementary students are the first to return. Grant to boost COCC9s manufacturing classes BY MICHAEL KOHN The Bulletin Central Oregon Community College has been awarded a $320,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to develop its manufacturing skills program, a boost for regional education and training as the econ- omy looks to rebound and add jobs in coming years. The funds will be issued in stages — $80,000 a year for the next four years, according to a news re- lease from COCC. The grant is part of a $5 million funding request from a consortium of nine Oregon community colleges and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission. TODAY’S WEATHER Cloudy High 33, Low 24 Page A13 INDEX Business Classifieds Comics A11 A14 A9-10 Dear Abby Editorial Horoscope A7 A8 A7 Kid Scoop Local/State Lottery A12 A2 A6 Obituaries Puzzles Sports A4 A10 A5-7 The Bulletin ù An Independent Newspaper We use recycled newsprint Vol. 119, No. 22, 14 pages, 1 section DAILY See COCC / A4 U|xaIICGHy02329lz[