WEDNESDAY • February 10, 2021 • Serving Central Oregon since 1903 • $1.50 SPORTS PULLOUT, A5-8 COVID-19 Storm could bring load of snow DESCHUTES COUNTY RISK LEVEL DROPS Twelve counties will see restrictions loosened Storm watch begins noon Thursday until 10 p.m. Friday BY KYLE SPURR The Bulletin of pent -up customer demand to eat out without your parka on.” Restaurants like Deschutes Brew- ery on NW Bond Street began re- calling its employees and recon- figuring its space to adjust for a maximum of 50 people, including staff, inside its 12,000-square-foot building, said Michael LaLonde, Deschutes Brewery CEO in an in- terview. Since Nov. 18, the brewery has been only doing limited outdoor dining, takeout and delivery ser- vice. Just two weeks ago it installed seven tables for an outdoor dining area out front of its restaurant. Winter is about to hit harder in Central Oregon. From noon Thursday to 10 p.m. Friday, up to 20 inches of snow is expected to fall in Sunriver and La Pine, accord- ing to the National Weather Service office in Pendleton, which on Tuesday issued a winter storm watch for that period. Four to 10 inches of snow could fall in Bend and Red- mond. “This is a pretty big winter event across Central and East- ern Oregon,” said Mary Wister, a weather service meteorolo- gist in Pendleton. “A lot of ar- eas are going to be impacted by this.” Cold air from the north will collide with a rainy weather system from the Pacific Ocean, which will set the stage for the winter storm, Wister said. The result will be heavy snowfall and temperatures in the single digits Friday night. More snow and freezing temperatures are in the forecast through the weekend, but the weather service is still deter- mining how severe the weather will be after Friday. Wister said late season win- ter storms are common, but it seems strange this winter since the weather has been mostly mild with sunshine and warm temperatures throughout the region. Just this week, the High Desert had blue skies and tempera- tures in the high 40s. See Risk / A13 See Storm / A4 BY GARY A. WARNER Oregon Capital Bureau Twelve counties, includ- ing Deschutes County, will see fewer COVID-19 re- strictions on businesses and activities beginning Friday after the state dropped risk level ratings for counties Tuesday due to a decline in new infections. Ten counties moved out of the extreme risk cate- gory, some for the first time since November. That list includes Deschutes, Clat- sop, Columbia, Lincoln and Linn, which all moved from extreme risk to high risk. Morrow County made a two-tier drop from extreme to moderate risk. Baker County also fell two spots, moving from high to lower risk. Grant County went from moderate to lower risk. The biggest news state- wide was the move of the Portland tri-county metro area of Multnomah, Clack- amas and Washington counties, also going from extreme to high risk. “This is welcome news, as we’ll start to see more busi- nesses open up and Orego- nians being able to get out a bit more,” Gov. Kate Brown said Tuesday in announcing the updated risk levels. See Counties / A13 Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin Tim Casinelli, general manager of Deschutes Brewery & Public House, hustles to deliver orders to outdoor diners as sous chef Evan Manley prepares food. On Friday, patrons will be able to dine inside the establishment. Some restaurants prepare for indoor seating BY SUZANNE ROIG • The Bulletin R estaurants were busy Tuesday dusting off chairs and rearranging their seating to accommodate indoor dining after being shuttered for 12 weeks in an effort to curtail the spread of COVID-19. Deschutes County was listed among 12 counties that improved in risk level on Tuesday, which al- lowed the county and its businesses and residents to emerge from the restrictions on gathering under the extreme risk category to just high risk. The changes in risk level go into effect Friday. “Moving out of the extreme risk category will most certainly help restaurants,” said Katy Brooks, Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO. “Restaurants have had experience with this level and can pivot quickly to physically prepare. There’s a lot Altered Black history statement by city council stuns author BY BRENNA VISSER The Bulletin A Black History Month proclamation made by the Bend City Council has upset some people of color in Cen- tral Oregon, including the au- thor of the proclamation, who says the council changed it so much the original message of the document was lost. Last week, the City Council read a proclamation for Black History Month that outlined racist practices in Oregon’s history and called on the peo- ple of Bend to join the council “in honoring Black History Month, learning about the his- TODAY’S WEATHER tory of Black people in Oregon, and combating racism and white supremacy.” But Josie Stanfield, the leader of the group Central Oregon Diversity Project and original author of the procla- mation, was stunned to learn how the proclamation did not resemble what she submitted to the city months prior. The original submission was a Black Lives Matter resolution, Stanfield said. It was written in a way to focus around Bend specifically, and to call on the Bend City Council to have a lifetime commitment to stand up for Black lives. Sun and clouds High 50, Low 34 Page A12 INDEX Stanfield was inspired to write the proclamation af- ter Donald Trump support- ers and racial justice activists clashed on Oct. 3 in Bend, an event that came on the heels of a summer full of local and nationwide protests against ra- cial injustice after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by Minneapolis police. His death brought much higher visibility and awareness to the inequities Black, Indigenous and people of color face. Shortly after the event, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz gave what Stanfield considers an inadequate state- ment, so she decided to write something for the whole city to acknowledge Black lives matter. Business Classifieds Comics Josie Stanfield is pictured at Bend City Hall. Stanfield wrote a Black Lives Matter resolution and submitted it to the Bend City Council in fall 2020. Through a miscommu- nication, Stan- field was left out of the ed- iting process, after which the proclamation was released last week. Dean Guernsey/ The Bulletin See Proclamation / A4 A11-12 A13-14 A9-10 Dear Abby Editorial Horoscope A7 A8 A7 Local/State A2-3 Lottery A6 Nation/World A4, 13 Obituaries Puzzles Sports A4 A10 A5-7 The Bulletin ù An Independent Newspaper We use recycled newsprint Vol. 119, No. 35, 14 pages, 1 section DAILY Councilor who edited proclamation owns mistake, attributes issue to miscommunication U|xaIICGHy02329lz[