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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2021)
Serving Central Oregon since 1903 • $1.50 SATURDAY • January 30, 2021 SNO-PARK IMPROVES GROOMING MEISSNER NORDIC CLUB BUYS SNOWCAT FOR THE POPULAR AREA NEAR BEND • SPORTS, B1 ‘YOU NAME IT, I’VE SEEN IT’ COVID-19 pandemic U.K. variant found in Bend wastewater Bend’s Olga ‘Honey’ Canney celebrates 105th birthday BY SUZANNE ROIG The Bulletin The highly contagious strain of COVID-19, the U.K. variant, has been found in a wastewater sample taken from the Colo- rado Avenue collection point in Bend, state scientists said Friday. The sample was taken on Dec. 22, and nearly a month later genome sequencing de- tected the variant, said Brett Ty- ler, director of the Oregon State University Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing. “We all know that Bend is a tourist magnet,” Tyler said. “That’s one of the challenges for your community. That’s how the virus spread, through travelers. We’re guessing that’s how it got there.” The variant has also been detected in Yamhill County Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin Olga “Honey” Canney smiles Friday as she talks about her life in Bend at Whispering Winds retirement community. Canney will cele- brate her 105th birthday Saturday. BY KYLE SPURR • The Bulletin I t took a pandemic to slow down Olga “Honey” Canney, who at 105 would still be teaching water aerobics community in Bend, where the staff smile every time they see her. Canney, who celebrates her 105th birthday Saturday, has been making the most of life with the threat of coronavi- rus. After all, this isn’t her first pandemic. She was born in Bangor, Ireland in 1916 and remembers when her family moved to Seattle in 1920, the same year her mother became sick with the Span- ish flu, a pandemic that began in 1918. Doctors said her mother would die if she stayed in the busy city of Seattle, so Canney’s father temporarily moved the family to Lake Elsinore, California. The family eventually moved permanently to Alameda, California, and then to Bend in 1972. Through the years, Canney experi- enced all the major historical moments of the past century, from the Great De- pression to World War II, silent films to color TV, laptops, cellphones and foot- prints on the moon. “I’ve seen it all,” Canney said. “I’ve seen depressions and wars. You name it, I’ve seen it.” Canney struggled with back pain most of her life since a boy jumped off a high dive and onto her back at a pool Bulletin file photo Canney leads a water aerobics class at Bend Golf & Country Club in 2019. party when she was 13. She discovered water aerobics when she was in her 30s and started teaching classes at the Bend club in 1978. She taught the class at least three days a week until March, when the pool closed due to the virus. See 105th / A7 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking emerging variant cases per state. The number of cases are updated three times each week. A7 and in two individuals in Port- land. Two of the three individ- uals did not travel, Tyler said. The United Kingdom variant does not make people any sicker, but spreads faster and can affect vulnerable commu- nities, he said. Dr. George Conway, De- schutes County Health Ser- vices director, said Friday that it was a matter of time before the variant would be detected in the county. See Variant / A7 Some are getting vaccine early in Deschutes County at Bend Golf & Country Club if the pool was open. But even in quarantine, Canney is staying active. She wears running shoes and only needs a walker to get around her home at Whispering Winds retirement By the numbers BY SUZANNE ROIG The Bulletin Nothing would make Anne Yost happier than getting a vac- cine against COVID-19. At age 65, she’s not anywhere near eligibility. Yet she hears from friends and reads news reports of others who have been able to slip in under the radar of the vaccine guidance established by the Oregon Health Authority and get a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. “If they need an arm for an extra dose, I’d rather they take mine then toss it,” said Yost, a Bend resident. “I don’t want to be the person who drives to another county and insists on a vaccine. In some places, I am hearing that if you just show up you can get a vaccine. “Here, it will be a problem to wait outside for a shot when it’s 18 degrees. I figure I’ll just wait. I could be seeing my grandkids.” Deschutes County is one of many in the state that have plowed through its first re- sponders and teachers and moved to the next level, while “If they need an arm for an extra dose, I’d rather they take mine then toss it. I don’t want to be the person who drives to another county and insists on a vaccine. In some places, I am hearing that if you just show up you can get a vaccine.” — Anne Yost, the Bend resident is not yet eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine other counties are lagging be- cause of access or limited vac- cination supplies. This inequity has prompted the Oregon Health Authority to announce on Friday that it would limit the number of doses to counties that are ahead of the governor’s sched- ule and direct these first doses to counties behind schedule, said Oregon Health Author- ity Director Patrick Allen in a press briefing. See Vaccine / A4 Madras councilor on hot Oregon desert beauty captured in online tool seat over ‘terrorist’ remark Oregon Natural Desert A newly elected Madras City Council member is in hot wa- ter over a Facebook post calling a fellow councilor a terrorist. Austin Throop claims he was upset with Councilor TODAY’S WEATHER Jennifer Holcomb for her dis- regard of COVID-19 protocols when he made the remark, though he apologized to her and others at a special council meeting called Friday to dis- cuss the comment. See Councilor / A7 Jim Davis/ Mostly cloudy High 47, Low 39 Page A8 INDEX Business Classifieds Comics A5-6 B7-8 B4-5 Dear Abby Editorial Horoscope Association tool combines photos, video, audio clips BY MICHAEL KOHN • The Bulletin January often means long, dark nights spent inside with a movie and cup of tea. Fortunately, the Oregon A6 B6 A6 Local/State Lottery Obituaries A2-3 B2 A6 Puzzles Sports B5 B1-2 Natural Desert Association has cre- ated an online tool to beat the winter blues and inspire a summer trip to the wilds of southeastern Oregon. The tool is an online story-map that combines photography, video clips, audio clips and snippets of informa- tion on a webpage that is viewed by scrolling up and down. See Beauty / A7 The Bulletin ù An Independent Newspaper We use recycled newsprint Vol. 119, No. 26, 16 pages, 2 sections DAILY BY GARRETT ANDREWS The Bulletin A Hart Mountain antelope is featured on the Ore- gon Natural Desert Association webpage. U|xaIICGHy02329lz[