A8 THE BULLETIN " SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Heidi Wright
Gerry O’Brien
Richard Coe
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Page Editor
Take your foot
off the gas on
97 and enjoy
the scenery
F
or those of us who regularly drive U.S. Highway 97 as a
commute to and from work — and according to local
stats that’s about 90 % of the drivers on the road between
Bend and Redmond — one realizes it seems like playing Russian
roulette.
Nearly every on-off ramp through
the city of Bend has its foibles. For
example, locals know that the on-
off ramp at Colorado Avenue head-
ing north is a quick merge that
takes some finesse. Most drivers on
97 coming up on the on-ramp are
aware enough to allow for cars to
merge. But if one is unfamiliar with
the way it works, look out. The same
is true in the northbound lane as
drivers quickly dart onto Hawthorne
or Truman exits (90-degree turns)
hoping they aren’t rear-ended in the
process.
Today’s in-depth piece by Bul-
letin reporter Kyle Spurr is a stark
reminder of how dangerous High-
way 97 has become. Seventeen fatal
crashes last year, killing 20 people,
about double the previous two years
combined. That doesn’t include ad-
jacent roads, such as the one just
outside of Madras where two peo-
ple died in a three-vehicle head-on
wreck just last weekend.
Much of the blame for the
wrecks are speed-related, distrac-
tion and intoxication, according to
officials. But there’s also just plain
impatience.
Take any given Friday afternoon
from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Highway 97
heading south. People are in a hurry
to get to the best camping sites at
Paulina, East or the numerous Cas-
cades lakes to the west. The roads
are congested with campers towing
off-road 4-wheelers. Much of the
Friday afternoon scanner traffic is
about road-rage incidents on 97. It’s
a recipe for disaster.
The two-lane stretch just south of
the Sunriver exit is a prime spot for
trouble as weekend campers merge
from four lanes down to two. For-
Today’s in-depth piece by
Bulletin reporter Kyle Spurr
is a stark reminder of how
dangerous Highway 97 has
become. Seventeen fatal crashes
last year, killing 20 people, about
double the previous two years
combined. That doesn’t include
adjacent roads, such as the one
just outside of Madras where two
people died in a three-vehicle
head-on wreck just last weekend.
tunately, that stretch of road is now
under construction to become a
four-lane road.
COVID-19 gets some blame as
people feel the need to get out of the
home for some fresh air and believe
that the roads are less congested
and, therefore, can speed a bit. But
the roads are not less congested.
They may have been earlier in the
pandemic, but not now, and not on
weekends.
Add to that the numerous home-
less camps that have sprouted along-
side the shoulders of the on-ramps.
That’s increased pedestrian traffic
trying to cross 97 at some of the
most dangerous intersections.
Our thoughts? Not to sound like
your mom, but just slow down. The
speed limit in town on Highway
97 is 45 mph, not 65. It can seem
slow, but no one’s life is worth get-
ting to your destination five minutes
sooner.
Editorials reflect the views of The Bulletin’s editorial board, Publisher Heidi Wright, Editor
Gerry O’Brien and Editorial Page Editor Richard Coe. They are written by Richard Coe.
My Nickel’s Worth
Milestone is a wake-up call
“Sobering Milestone” — a year with
the pandemic. Gripping article on
Page A1 of The Bulletin on March 11
2021.
This front page startled me, listing
Central Oregon men and women who
did not survive their struggle with
COVID-19 in 2020. Fifteen people
older than 90 passed. Forty people
of the age of 80 to 89 passed. Sixteen
men and women ages 70 to 79 died.
Same number of folks between ages
of 60 to 69. Six people age 50 to 59
passed. And 1 person, age 47, died
from COVID-19 in 2020.
Thank you, Bend Bulletin crew, for
quantifying the sadness and grief so
many relatives and friends must have
endured during this terrible time.
This article should be a wake-up
call to our state officials to quickly ac-
celerate the increase of vaccines for
Central Oregon. We have lost the col-
lective memory of too many of our
most experienced and sage residents
among us. This must not be repeated
again in 2021 .
— Steve Wilkes, Sunriver
Union should be a ‘closed shop’
I share The Bulletin’s desire to see
an end to the strike at St. Charles .
I hope that hospital administrators
negotiate a first contract with the Or-
egon Federation of Nurses and Health
Professionals that provides medical
tech workers a fair wage and the same
security the hospital provides nurses
who are members of the Oregon
Nurses Association.
The contract that the hospital had
agreed to with ONA calls for a closed
shop. All nurses share in the cost of
administering the contract that pro-
vides them wages, health insurance, a
grievance procedure and other ben-
efits.
Hospital administrators want to
treat medical techs differently. They
want what is called an open shop. In
an open shop, workers do not have
to join the union or pay dues or fees.
But, they still get the benefits of the
union contract —including all wage
gains and benefits. Plus, the union is
legally required to defend them in any
disciplinary actions — for free.
In a closed shop or a workplace
where agency fees are paid, all work-
ers who benefit from the union con-
tract pay their fair share to administer
that union contract. In an open shop,
they get something for nothing, and
their fellow workers pick up the slack.
I think it is only fair to ask everyone
who benefits from a union contract to
pay their fair share to administer that
contract.
— Michael Funke, Bend
Red Cross can use your donation
President Biden declared March
American Red Cross month. On
March 11, President Biden signed a
bill giving most Americans a $1,400
stimulus check.
Having spent time on Oregon’s
wildfires this winter, I had a lot of
people wondering what they could
do to help out the evacuees. The
Red Cross lives off donations. While
the fires are out, the Red Cross has
turned over it’s sheltering to the state
and counties, the Red Cross’s disaster
funds were greatly depleted.
While at the hotels which, due to
COVID-19, were needed to be turned
into shelters, people would thank us
volunteers for all we do. The response,
along with a thank you, was usually
accompanied by “don’t forget to thank
our donors, without them, we can’t pro-
vide the services we do.” Us Red Cross-
ers are a humble and grateful lot.
I’m reaching out to my fellow
Oregonians to take at least a small
amount, and of course, a larger amount
is preferred, of their stimulus check and
make a donation to the American Red
Cross. We never know when a disas-
ter will occur, but we know it will. Let’s
pitch in now to make certain that the
next time we’re ready.
— Oscar Knopfler, Bend
Redistricting needs an
independent lens
The League of Women Voters of
Deschutes County urges the Legisla-
ture to create an independent citizens’
advisory commission for the 2021 Or-
egon redistricting process.
We believe responsibility for redis-
tricting preferably should be vested in
an independent special commission,
with membership that reflects the
diversity of the unit of government,
including citizens at large, represen-
tatives of public interest groups, and
members of minority groups.
The standards on which a redistrict-
ing plan is based must require sub-
stantially equal population, geographic
contiguity and effective representation
of racial and linguistic minorities. The
standards should provide for promo-
tion of partisan fairness; preservation
and protection of “communities of in-
terest,“ and respect for boundaries of
municipalities and counties.
An independent citizens’ advisory
commission would provide a trans-
parent and equitable redistricting
process. People not politicians should
draw the redistricting maps. Redis-
tricting plans should be developed in-
dependently of the Legislature.
Our Congressional District 2 will
certainly be redrawn. You should
choose your legislators. Let your
voices be heard by contacting the Sen-
ate Committee on Redistricting at or-
egon.redistricting@oregonlegislature.
gov.
— Carol Loesche, Bend
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Fax:
541-385-5804
Enjoying the outdoors safely should be everyone’s right
BY CLARA SOH
I
n the past year, many of us were
confronted with the harsh reality
of the daily dangers, aggressions
and racism that Black, Indigenous
and people of color (BIPOC) face.
From unarmed Black men being
gunned down by neighbors while out
for a run, to a 150% increase
in violent, unprovoked at-
tacks on Asian Americans in
the past year, the additional
stresses faced by BIPOC in-
dividuals are myriad, and
are manifest in higher rates
of chronic conditions and a
more than 10-year gap in life Soh
expectancy between races.
And while a recent study published
by Oregon State University researchers
found that recreating in the outdoors
saves Oregon approximately $1.4 bil-
lion annually in averted health care
costs due to reduced rates of cardiovas-
cular disease, diabetes and depression,
these benefits are not enjoyed equally.
Indeed, many BIPOC, LGBTQ+,
and other historically underrepresented
community members have the lowest
rates of participation in outdoor rec-
reation because they often feel unwel-
come or unsafe in outdoor spaces.
These are also the communities
that are disproportionately affected by
chronic health conditions and could
benefit the most from in-
creased recreation in the out-
doors.
The remote isolation of
some of our public lands
makes them ideal places to
go to unwind and get away,
but can also spell additional
danger to BIPOC individ-
uals. Several incidents that
have been widely reported show that
bias crimes against BIPOC individu-
als can happen anywhere, even in our
cherished outdoor spaces.
During a moving testimony dis-
cussing safety in the outdoors, Chad
Brown, a Navy veteran and avid fly
fisherman recounted having his brake
lines cut for having the gall to be a
GUEST COLUMN
Black man fishing in Oregon’s rivers.
In another widely reported incident
last year, a black family was enjoying
a Fourth of July picnic in Lincoln City
when they were surrounded by a gang
of white me n who hurled racial slurs
and Nazi salutes at them.
A new bill introduced on behalf of
the Governor’s Office and the statewide
Racial Justice Council aims to address
incidents such as these; Senate Bill 289
would increase penalties for bias crimes
perpetrated on Oregon public lands by
excluding individuals who engage in
hate crimes from entering or recreating
in Oregon State Parks, and automat-
ically prohibit anyone who commits
a hate crime on Oregon public lands
from being able to receive a hunting or
fishing license in the state of Oregon.
However — perhaps more im-
portantly — the bill would provide a
means for restorative justice and reha-
bilitation. Individuals found guilty of
committing a hate crime on Oregon
public lands would be provided with
the opportunity for community ser-
vice and diversity training. SB 289 pro-
vides a means to move forward and
build a stronger, and safer community.
Over the course of two public hear-
ings, there was overwhelming support
for SB 289; including support from
Oregon State Police, Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department, Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife, and in-
dividual Oregonians across the state.
We Oregonians love our outdoors.
Particularly in Central Oregon, access
to the outdoors is a significant contrib-
utor to our quality of life where we can
climb, hunt, fish, or go mountain bik-
ing all in a single day. There is no place
for hate or violence anywhere in Ore-
gon, especially on our public lands.
These are already stressful and anx-
ious times, and many of us look to our
state parks and other public lands as
places we go to unwind. SB 289 is the
first step in affirmatively demonstrat-
ing that all Oregon residents and visi-
The remote isolation of some of
our public lands makes them ideal
places to go to unwind and get
away, but can also spell additional
danger to BIPOC individuals.
Several incidents that have been
widely reported show that bias
crimes against BIPOC individuals
can happen anywhere, even in our
cherished outdoor spaces.
tors should feel welcome to enjoy the
natural wonders of Oregon, regardless
of how we look or who we love.
ý
Clara Soh, of Bend, was appointed to the
Governor’s Racial Justice Council, as a member
of the environmental equity subcommittee. The
group is working on SB 289 to prioritize safety
in the outdoors for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other
historically underrepresented groups. A hearing
on SB 289 is set for Tuesday .