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COVID-19 | Bend City Council
Coronavirus
in Oregon
Safe parking for homeless
could become permanent
Everyone
in state will
be eligible
for vaccine
by July 1
BY GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
Ryan Brennecke/TheBulletin
Alan Sawyers, who helps with maintenance at DAWNS House, rolls up hoses Thursday after working on a RV unit at the transitional housing site in Bend.
Similar program exists under the COVID-19 emergency declaration
Everyone in Oregon will be offered a
vaccination against COVID-19 by July 1,
with the two-shot vaccines reaching all
adults who want it by August, Gov. Kate
Brown said Friday.
“Come summer, any Oregonian who
wants the vaccine can receive it,” Brown
announced at a virtual press conference.
It was a surprisingly optimistic forecast
after recent estimates that the vaccina-
tion of the entire state would stretch into
autumn or even early 2022
Oregon has had one of the lowest
COVID-19 infection rates in the nation,
with 154,878 infections and 2,206 deaths
through Friday.
Nationwide, there have been just un-
der 28.5 million infections and more
than 510,000 deaths, according to the
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource
Center.
The shorter timeline announced Fri-
day is based on reports from the Biden
administration that Pfizer and Moderna,
the maker of the two currently available
vaccines, will hit their production targets,
which would increase the number of
doses coming to states.
See Vaccines / A7
BY BRENNA VISSER • The Bulletin
pandemic could become permanent in Bend. On Wednesday, the Bend City Council will discuss whether to
update the city’s code to allow a program that would allow businesses, nonprofits and religious institutions to offer
their parking lots to homeless people as a legal place to camp.
“We know the need is there,”
said Shelly Smith, a senior man-
agement analyst with the city.
“We know the unhoused, unshel-
tered population is growing.”
The idea came from REACH,
a nonprofit organization that as-
sists homeless people, Smith said.
The city has consistently received
feedback from social service pro-
viders that in order for people
to successfully transition out of
homelessness, they need to have
their basic needs met, she said.
“There is a huge need for safe
places for individuals to park
their vehicles/RVs and have ac-
cess to basic needs while they
work on addressing longer term
solutions,” Colleen Thomas, the
Deschutes County homeless ser-
vices coordinator, wrote in an
email. “I think we will continue
to see a rise in need for this type
of program as the effects of the
pandemic begin to show up.”
There are two state statutes the
City Council can consider adopt-
ing into the municipal code,
said Elizabeth Oshel, an attor-
ney with the city. One program
would allow a property owner to
host up to three vehicles or tents
at a time, and have proper san-
itation facilities on site, such as
hand-washing stations and bath-
rooms. It would only require the
property owner’s permission, not
permission from the city, Oshel
said.
The second program would
allow up to six cars or RVs, and
would require approval from the
city and a plan that shows how
the property would provide sani-
tation services and supervision of
the site, Oshel said.
See Parking / A7
“There is a huge need for safe places for individuals to park their vehicles/RVs and
have access to basic needs while they work on addressing longer term solutions.”
— Colleen Thomas, the Deschutes County homeless services coordinator
Deschutes
County
to maintain
hazard zone
BY BRENNA VISSER
The Bulletin
Deschutes County commissioners de-
cided they will not reduce the amount
of land considered to be in the wildfire
hazard zone, but are still discussing new
building codes that would require homes
to be more wildfire resistant.
The decision comes after a summer
of historic wildfires that burned down
4,000 homes across the state and inun-
dated Central Oregon with heavy smoke
for days.
See Wildfires / A4
COID lateral piping boosts
Crooked River water levels
BY MICHAEL KOHN
The Bulletin
A canal piping project operated by the Cen-
tral Oregon Irrigation District near Redmond
has boosted levels of the Crooked River by up to
16%, an increase that will benefit fish and other
wildlife in the Deschutes Basin.
Water has been saved through the piping of
a 2,210-foot-long open lateral canal near Red-
TODAY’S
WEATHER
Sun and clouds
High 44, Low 25
Page A8
Correction
mond, according to a release from the Deschutes
River Conservancy, a nonprofit group. Pipes are
more efficient than canals as they don’t seep
water into the soil.
Over the past century, water diverted from the
rivers in the Deschutes Basin through canals for
agricultural purposes has disrupted the natural
flow of rivers across Central Oregon.
See Water / A7
INDEX
Business
Classifieds
Comics
A5-6
B7-8
B4-5
Dear Abby
Editorial
Horoscope
A6
B6
A6
Deschutes River Conservancy/Submitted photo
The Crooked River at Smith Rock State Park, where a canal piping project by the Central
Oregon Irrigation District near Redmond has boosted levels of the river by up to 16%.
Local/State
Lottery
Nation/World
A2-3
B2
A4, 7
Puzzles
Sports
B5
B1-3
The Bulletin
ù
An Independent Newspaper
We use
recycled
newsprint
Vol. 119, No. 50, 16 pages, 2 sections
In an article
headlined “Culi-
nary institute re-
ceives exemplary
accreditation”
which appeared
Friday, Feb. 26,
on Page A1, the
last name of the
owner of Kefi
Fresh was mis-
spelled. The own-
er’s name is Nick
Stanitsas.
The Bulletin re-
grets the error.
DAILY
A
WILDFIRES
program that allows homeless people to live in their cars or RVs in parking lots that was developed during the
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