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WEDNESDAY • February 17, 2021 • Serving Central Oregon since 1903 • $1.50 SPORTS PULLOUT, A5-8 DESCHUTES COUNTY Deschutes fairgrounds hangs on through pandemic losses Housing permits surged in 2020 The grounds of the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center are quiet Monday. Officials hope for more events this year but plan for any contingency. BY MICHAEL KOHN The Bulletin New housing unit permits were up nearly 19% in De- schutes County in 2020 com- pared to the previous year, in- dicating that more homes are coming on the market, even as prices continue to soar and in- ventory remains at historic lows. In Deschutes County, there were 2,403 new housing units that were permitted for con- struction last year, 375 more than in 2019, according to data from the U.S. Census. These include 464 units inside apart- ment buildings and 1,792 sin- gle-family homes. That makes 2020 the year with the most permits issued since 2006. In 2019 there were 2,028 units permitted in the county. These include 458 units inside apartment buildings and 1,488 single-family homes. In 2018, there were 1,982 total units permitted. See Permits / A4 L BY BRENNA VISSER The Bulletin ike every other government entity or business in 2021, the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center is trying to predict the future. After surviving a year of event can- cellations or postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the expo center is trying to move forward, hoping for a world that returns to some sense of nor- malcy, but preparing for the worst in case it doesn’t, said Geoff Hinds, director of the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Cen- ter. “I think the future looks good, assum- ing we can get back to a level of nor- malcy,” Hinds said Friday. “We under- stand it’s going to be a long process.” The fund that finances the fairgrounds was one of the hardest hit within De- schutes County government, losing roughly $700,000 — or 30% of its entire budget — just between March and July of last year due to pandemic-related cancel- lations, Hinds said. The loss of revenue prompted the county to reassign several fair workers to other departments within the county, as well as some temporary sal- ary reductions and furloughs, he said. The annual county fair was also, for the most part, canceled, except for the live- stock auction. Deschutes County is not alone. All fairs across the state have taken a financial hit, said Casey Daly, the Crook County Fair- grounds manager and president of the Oregon Fair Association. Only three or four fairs were able to operate last year, which included Crook County, he said. “We’re all struggling based on the guidelines the governor’s got out right now,” Daly said. Some fairs are financially doing better than others, Daly said. Those doing bet- ter are in lower-risk counties or those that have been able to be creative and hold more events outdoors, where restrictions are more forgiving, he said. Many, includ- ing Crook County, have held drive-thru events, for example. While the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center took a financial hit, the im- pacts were muted thanks to some revenue being generated from some events that were able to take place later in the year, Hinds said. Being able to provide public services like hosting trials for the circuit court, being an evacuation facility for the summer’s fires and now as a COVID-19 testing and vaccination site, also has helped keep the expo center stable. Sisters puts bond on the ballot for new school Proposal to replace elementary school won’t raise area property taxes See Fairgrounds / A4 BY JACKSON HOGAN The Bulletin Sisters Elementary School has run out of room. The school will need portable classrooms next year to accom- modate student growth. It’s so small that fifth graders, who are traditionally the oldest students in an elementary, have attended Sisters Middle School for more than a decade. And when small groups of students are taken outside the classroom for in- struction, there’s no common rooms or small classes for them. They’re taught on the stage, in the hallway or even inside a closet. “We lived through it this year, and we’ll still be in existence. We’ll still be able to pay the bills. But it certainly doesn’t happen without challenges.” — Geoff Hinds, director of the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, shown Tuesday at right in the entryway of the complex Dean Guernsey/Bulletin photos See Bond / A4 Residents urged to take down bird feeders due to salmonella Wildlife officials are worried about a salmonella outbreak among song- birds in Central Oregon that is linked to bird feeders, where birds are con- gregating and consuming contami- nated food and water. Residents are being asked to take TODAY’S WEATHER down their bird feeders for the next month to stop the spread of salmo- nella, a potentially deadly bacterial infection that is common among seed-eating birds in the winter. Sally Compton, executive direc- tor of Think Wild, a wildlife reha- bilitation facility in Bend, said hav- ing bird feeders in the winter is a Clouds and sun High 41, Low 23 Page A12 INDEX Business Classifieds Comics A11-12 A13-14 A9-10 double-edged sword. The feeders help supplement the food supply for birds through the cold weather, but then many birds gather at the feeders and leave feces infected with salmonella. The feces can end up in the water and food, spreading the infection. “That’s where we start to see the Dear Abby Editorial Horoscope A7 A8 A7 Local/State A2-3 Lottery A6 Nation/World A4, 13 Obituaries Puzzles Sports potential to have an outbreak like we have right now,” Compton said. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife warned the public in De- cember about finding dead birds due to salmonella and other bacteria and viruses. At that time, residents in Sis- ters reported finding several sick and dead birds. A4 A10 A5-7 Reports went down until recently when Think Wild received an up- tick in calls over the past two weeks related to salmonella infections in finches and pine siskins. One man re- cently brought in five dead birds he found around his bird feeder, Comp- ton said. See Salmonella / A13 The Bulletin ù An Independent Newspaper We use recycled newsprint Vol. 119, No. 41, 14 pages, 1 section DAILY BY KYLE SPURR The Bulletin U|xaIICGHy02329lz[