A4 THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2021
TODAY
Restrictions
Today is Tuesday, Jan. 26, the
26th day of 2021. There are 339
days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Jan. 26, 2020, NBA legend
Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old
daughter and seven others were
killed when their helicopter
plunged into a hillside in dense
morning fog in Southern Califor-
nia; the former Lakers star was 41.
In 1788, the first European
settlers in Australia landed in
present-day Sydney.
In 1988, the Andrew Lloyd Web-
ber musical “Phantom of the
Opera” opened at Broadway’s
Majestic Theater.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton
forcefully denied having an
affair with a former White House
intern, telling reporters, “I did
not have sexual relations with
that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”
In 2009, Nadya Suleman gave
birth to six boys and two girls;
criticism came after the public
learned the unemployed moth-
er had gotten pregnant with the
octuplets and six elder children
through in vitro fertilization.
Ten years ago: President Barack
Obama campaigned vigorously
for his revamped economic mes-
sage on his path to reelection.
Five years ago: The FBI arrested
the leaders of an armed group
that was occupying the Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge in Ore-
gon for more than three weeks
during a traffic stop that left one
man dead.
One year ago: Five cases of
the new coronavirus were con-
firmed in the United States; all
involved people who had trav-
eled to Wuhan in China.
Today’s Birthdays: Cartoonist
Jules Feiffer is 92. Sportscast-
er-actor Bob Uecker is 86. Activist
Angela Davis is 77. Talk show host
Ellen DeGeneres is 63. Hockey
Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky is
60. Actor Nate Mooney is 49. Ac-
tor Jennifer Crystal is 48. Retired
NBA player Vince Carter is 44.
Actor Sarah Rue is 43.
Continued from A1
— Associated Press
Pot
Continued from A1
In 2020, the city of Bend
earned more than $1.5 million
in tax revenue from marijuana
sales, according to city spokes-
person Anne Aurand. About
$1.07 million of that total came
from Bend’s city-imposed 3%
sales tax on marijuana, which
goes directly into the city’s gen-
eral fund.
The rest of the money comes
from the state’s 17% sales tax
on marijuana. State cannabis
tax revenue is pooled together
into a pot — which totaled
over $142 million in 2020, ac-
cording to state data — and
distributed to the state school
fund, state police, mental
health and drug treatment ser-
vices and cities and counties
that have opted to allow mari-
juana sales.
As of last year, Oregon cit-
ies that allowed dispensaries
split 10% of the state tax rev-
enue, but that amount will be
reduced, due to the recent-
ly-passed Measure 110. That
measure will divert a big chunk
of tax revenue towards addic-
tion treatment, according to
Mark Pettinger, spokesperson
for Oregon Liquor Control
Commission, which regulates
cannabis sales in the state.
Allen said with only the two
approved vaccines and the cur-
rent projected rate of supply
coming to the state each week,
some Oregonians will not be
inoculated until the end of
2021 or beyond.
The state is working through
the highest priority group:
health care workers, plus resi-
dents and staff of nursing homes
that have accounted for over half
of the deaths in Oregon.
Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, a
member of the committee, said
he’d heard from constituents
upset with Brown’s decision to
vaccinate about 150,000 edu-
cators and school workers next
as a step to getting schools re-
opened this spring.
Those over 65 are the most
likely to suffer severe illness or
die from COVID-19, with fa-
Oregon finds third case of contagious virus variant
The Oregon Health Authority said Sunday that a third Orego-
nian has tested positive for a new, highly contagious variant of the
COVID-19 virus.
Sunday’s case, in Washington County, comes just a day after the
state announced a second Oregon case — in Yamhill County. None of
Oregon’s three people who have tested positive for the variant have
a known travel history, which suggests the virus is likely circulating
within the state.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday the
new variant, known formally as B.1.1.7, has been found in roughly
two-dozen states.
The new variant spread rapidly in the United Kington, which led
health authorities to conclude it is more contagious. Authorities do
believe that existing vaccines likely are effective against this mutation.
Oregon identified its first case of the more contagious strain earlier
this month, linking it to an employee at the University of Portland.
— The Oregonian
tality rates rising as people get
into their 70s, 80s, or 90s. After
waiting nearly a year in fear and
sometimes isolation, the word
that they will have to wait lon-
ger because of a desire to reopen
COCC
Continued from A1
The funding comes as Oregon and
the nation are suffering from record job
losses due to pandemic lockdowns. Ore-
gon’s unemployment rate rose in Decem-
ber to 6.4% from 6% the month before. It
was the first time the jobless rate went up
since the initial wave of pandemic layoffs
in April. The state lost 25,500 nonfarm
payroll jobs in just one month.
An upgrade in training facilities at
COCC will prepare students for new
opportunities that are expected to rev
up once the pandemic subsides and
businesses resume hiring. Renewable
energy and aviation are two areas of
growth for Oregon and beyond.
Welding, metal fabrication and ma-
chine technology are a few of the skills
that students can gain through the
COCC programs.
Central Oregon is already home to
a number of small and midsized man-
ufacturers. There are three companies
building small aircraft and several oth-
ers that build outdoor gear and apparel.
Evelyn, who was elected to
the Redmond City Council in
November, said maintaining
Redmond’s ban on dispensa-
ries showcases an “antiquated
state of mind.”
Ed Fitch, a fellow new face
on the City Council, agreed
with Evelyn that the city was
losing money by not allowing
dispensaries.
He believes the administra-
tion of newly elected President
Joe Biden, along with a Dem-
ocrat-controlled U.S. Con-
gress, will likely decriminalize
marijuana federally. And even
if Biden doesn’t, people in Or-
egon, where the drug is legal,
will still use marijuana regard-
less, Fitch said.
“People are going to use it.
They’re just going to drive to
Bend,” Fitch said. “It doesn’t
make sense that we would give
up that revenue when we know
it’s happening anyway.”
Fitch acknowledged that if
Redmond allows dispensaries,
the city will have to be care-
ful to not open too many, or
open them near schools or kid-
friendly businesses.
“If we do it smartly, I think
it’ll be fine,” he said.
Jon Bullock, is the third city
councilor interested in explor-
ing the possibility of legalizing
dispensaries in Redmond. He
“Experienced people are in short
supply, and we are all competing for
these skilled laborers,” said Carsten
Sundin, chief technical officer for Red-
mond-based Stratos Aircraft. “It is vi-
tal that people without experience are
trained so they can replenish the pool.”
Roger Lee, executive director of Eco-
nomic Development for Central Ore-
gon, said prior to the pandemic, there
were around 1,500 manufacturing and
tech jobs that were going unfilled in the
area, often due to a lack of experienced
and trained applicants.
“There are opportunities to put peo-
ple back to work sooner rather than
later, and if deployed with industry in-
put, this COCC grant could be part of
the solution,” said Lee.
Manufacturing employment fell
roughly 17% in 2020 in Central Ore-
gon, according to Damon Runberg, the
Oregon Employment Department’s re-
gional economist.
Despite the fall, Runberg said Central
Oregon manufacturing has become more
diverse and technically sophisticated.
The area has “3D printing, aviation
wants the city to look into the
benefits of allowing dispensa-
ries.
“This isn’t a high-priority is-
sue, but it’s certainly one that
people talk about on a reason-
able basis, so it’s on the list of
things we need to potentially
consider,” Bullock said. “Dis-
pensaries are a growing busi-
ness, … so looking at it is a rea-
sonable thing to do for a city of
our size.”
Mayor George Endicott
said he was willing to discuss
dispensaries during Tuesday
night’s goal-setting City Coun-
cil workshop.
But Endicott noted that
there’s a simple reason Red-
Owen Ulam
of Prineville, OR
March 20, 1940 -
January 17, 2021
Arrangements:
Prineville Funeral Home
Services:
A Memorial service will be
held Jan 31, 2021 at 1:00
PM at Prineville Funeral
Home. Please see the
Funeral Home website
for more information as it
comes in.
Patricia Spires
of Gilchrist, OR
February 18, 1942 -
January 15, 2021
Arrangements:
Baird Memorial Chapel
of La Pine is honored to
serve the Spires family.
Please visit our website,
www.bairdfh.com, to share
condolences and sign the
online guestbook.
Roland I. Steffey
of Redmond, OR
November 11, 1944 -
January 8, 2021
Arrangements:
Autumn Funerals,
Redmond
541-504-9485
www.autumnfunerals.net
Services:
Services will be held at a
later date.
Steven Micheal Murray
of La Pine, OR
www.pulsepoll.com
schools is difficult to accept.
“They are very, very un-
happy about it,” Knopp said.
Allen said that the federal
guidelines calling for seniors
living outside of nursing homes
September 22, 1959 -
January 18, 2021
Arrangements:
Baird Memorial Chapel
of La Pine is honored
to serve the Murray
family. Please visit our
website, www.bairdfh.com,
to share condolences and
sign the online guestbook.
as the next priority are “advi-
sory” with each state being able
to make its own decisions.
“We had to ask, what are our
priorities going to be?” Allen
said.
Oregon is the only state that
has placed educators above se-
niors in priority for the vaccine.
Allen defended the decision,
saying that Brown and OHA
are trying to balance a variety of
health needs. Getting educators
vaccinated could return children
to in-class instruction, which
state education experts say will
improve their learning, as well as
emotional and physical health.
“We are trying to accom-
modate a lot of different health
objectives,” Allen said. “We are
making progress.”
Allen also said the process is
slowed somewhat by the effort
of the state to ensure that all
those in the first priority group
get a chance to be vaccinated,
and aerospace, beer, kombucha, oat-
meal, medical products, etcetera,” said
Runberg. “We are no longer as reliant
on wood product manufacturing as we
were prior to the mid-2000s.”
Over the next 10 years, Runberg es-
timates Central Oregon will have 6,600
replacement openings and 700 new jobs
in manufacturing.
In October WalletHub ranked Bend
the second-fastest growing city in the
country after Fort Myers, Florida, and
more jobs are expected to follow that
trend.
COCC says it will use the award to
fund equipment purchases and facility
upgrades at the college’s Redmond cam-
pus. The college will also work with re-
gional manufacturing partners to provide
integrated education and training, short-
term certifications and hands-on training.
John Pallasch, assistant secretary for
the U.S. Department of Labor, called
community colleges “critical partners”
to train the American workforce and
build a pipeline for workers for critical
industries. The funds come through the
Department of Labor’s Strengthening
mond doesn’t allow dispensa-
ries: City code doesn’t allow
business licenses for any busi-
ness that violates state or fed-
eral law. And marijuana is still
illegal at the federal level.
But like Fitch, Endicott be-
lieves the Biden administration
will soon change federal policy,
either decriminalizing mari-
juana entirely or allowing it to
be used as a controlled, medi-
cal substance. If that happens,
Redmond can have dispensa-
ries, he said.
“I’ve always been a propo-
nent of the feds changing their
policy,” Endicott said. “If they
legalize it, we’ll legalize it.”
At least one local canna-
including health caregivers for
the elderly in most distant lo-
cations in the state.
“There is a tension between
go thorough and go fast,” Allen
said. “If fast is the only things
we focus on, we leave some re-
ally vulnerable people behind.”
Allen also acknowledged
that Oregonians will find there
is a difference between eligibil-
ity and availability.
The state has not finished in-
oculating the highest priority
workers, though it has started
vaccinating educators. Even
when seniors are eligible, the
other two groups will likely still
be receiving shots.
“We will have three different
population groups open at the
same time,” Allen said. “That
is going to create a demand
challenge at the time of a sup-
ply challenge. That is going to
be hairy.”
e e
gwarner@eomediagroup.com
Community College training grant.
The “grants will play an important role
in helping workers to reskill as quickly as
possible with industry-recognized cre-
dentials and accelerated pathways to de-
grees,” said Pallasch in a statement.
Members of the coalition of Oregon
community colleges that applied for the
grant are meeting this week to discuss
the timing of the funds distribution,
said Jennifer Kovitz, director of market-
ing and public relations for COCC.
“While we have reason to feel confi-
dent COCC will begin to receive our al-
location of award dollars before the end
of the 2020/2021 academic year, we will
know more once the coalition meets and
discusses this very question,” said Kovitz.
The program will partner with Bend-
based Cv International, which builds
products for aviation, wind energy, util-
ities and other industries.
“We will offer students exposure to and
hands-on time with manufacturing,” said
Dale Riggs, director of engineering for Cv
International. “Qualified trainees will be
interviewed as potential employees.”
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7818, mkohn@bendbulletin.com
bis grower hopes Redmond
changes its stance on dispen-
saries.
Lindsey Pate — CEO of
craft cannabis company Glass
House Grown and president of
the Cascade Cannabis Associ-
ation advocacy group — owns
a small marijuana farm just
north of Redmond.
She said that Redmond’s
insistence in not allowing
dispensaries results in locals
spending their money else-
where. And that isn’t limited
to just buying marijuana — if
Redmond residents drive to
Bend to visit a dispensary, they
might stop and get dinner in
Bend, too, or visit Costco.
“In a time of COVID, where
businesses are already having
struggles, the last thing Red-
mond small-business owners
need is people who live in Red-
mond to drive to Bend and
spend their money elsewhere,”
Pate said.
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7854,
jhogan@bendbulletin.com
Leroy Rhodes
of Las Cruces, NM
(Formerly of Central
OR)
December 12, 1925 -
January 18, 2021
Arrangements:
Autumn Funerals of Red-
mond is honored to serve
the family. 541-504-9485
Memories and condolenc-
es may be expressed to
the family on our wesite at
www.autumnfunerals.net
Services:
No services will be held at
this time.
Contributions may be
made to:
Memorial contributions
may be made to St.
Charles Hospice 2500 NE
Neff Rd., Bend, OR 97701
Leon E. Devereaux Jr.
of Bend, OR
August 26, 1923 -
January 21, 2021
Arrangements:
Niswonger-Reynolds
Funeral Home is honored
to serve the family.
541-382-2471 Please
visit the online registry for
the family at www.nis-
wonger-reynolds.com
Services:
A memorial gathering of
family & friends will be held
at a later date
Contributions may be
made to:
A veterans organization of
your choice or the Bend
Elks Lodge #1371, 63120
Boyd Acres Rd Bend, OR
97701-8516
OBITUARY DEADLINE
Call to ask about our deadlines
541-385-5809
Monday-Friday 10am-3pm
Email: obits@bendbulletin.com
June 4, 1943 -
January 5, 2021
Eddie “Ed” H. Anderson,
age 77, of Redmond,
Oregon passed away
in Parker, Arizona on
January 5th, 2021 due
to complica} ons from
COVID-19.
Ed was born in Stockton,
California on June 4th,
1943 to his late parents
Hubert Anderson and
Margaret Louise Skeen-Bock} ng. He spent most of his
childhood in San Diego, California before moving to
Madras, Oregon as a young teenager. Av er gradua} ng
from Madras Senior High School in 1961, Ed trained
with his father to become a highly skilled auto body
technician. He owned Anderson Auto Body in Madras
for many years.
Ed enjoyed restoring classic cars, golû ng, traveling,
hos} ng get-togethers for friends and family and spending
} me outdoors. He was a fun-loving, lighthearted
soul who loved nothing more than making his friends
and family laugh and doing his best to embarrass his
daughters, a task in which he ov en exceeded.
Ed is survived by four daughters, Angela Anderson of
Vancouver, Washington, Michelle & son-in-law Daryl
Hersch of Rockwall, Texas, Tara Edwards of Seat le,
Washington and Madison Anderson of Marsing, Idaho,
along with three grandchildren, Margaret, Drew and
Jalen, and older sister Marjorie Troyer.
A Celebra} on of Life will be held at a later date, pending
COVID-19 related safety and restric} ons. In lieu of
û owers, dona} ons can be made to the American Cancer
Society in Ed’s honor.