THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 A3
LOCAL, STATE & REGION
Engine lost power before plane
crashed near Sisters, NTSB says
LOCAL BRIEFING
$25K awarded to various
Bend-La Pine schools
Local nonprofit Ed-
ucation Foundation for
Bend-La Pine Schools has
awarded more than $25,000
in grants to schools in Bend,
Sunriver and La Pine this
school year.
These grants covered small
projects in every elementary
school in the school district,
as well as 12 middle and high
schools, according to a press
release Wednesday from the
foundation.
Some of this money is go-
ing toward creating “brain-
based break kits” for all 245
K-3 classrooms in the dis-
trict, the release stated. These
are sets of visual games and
tools, along with headphones
and a timer, designed to give
students a break. These kits
will also include instructional
material for teachers to help
them learn about how stu-
dents’ brains work, the release
stated.
BY KYLE SPURR
The Bulletin
The small plane that crashed March 3
while attempting to land at Sisters Eagle
Airport lost power during a forced landing,
according to a preliminary report from the
National Transportation Safety Board.
The safety board is still determining the
exact cause of the crash, but shared details
in a report from the initial investigation.
The 1972 Cessna 172G was substantially
damaged and the pilot and passenger both
sustained minor injuries.
The pilot, Madison Stieber, 23, reported
the first part of the flight was uneventful
with multiple touch-and-go landings at
nearby airports, according to the report.
But when returning to the Sisters airport,
the plane approached the landing strip too
fast and bounced in the air about 150 to 200
feet. While in the air, the plane’s engine lost
power. Stieber tried to restart the engine,
but was unsuccessful, the report said.
The crash was reported to 911 at
5:43 p.m. and Deschutes County Sheriff’s
Office deputies arrived on scene.
When the plane bounced and went air-
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office/Submitted photo
A small plane crashed while attempting to land at Sisters Eagle Airport on March 3.
borne it flew southwest, over Camp Polk
Road and struck the top of a tree before
hitting the ground and coming to rest in a
dry pond on private property in the 69000
block of Camp Polk Road, according to
the sheriff’s office.
The plane’s tail, wings and fuselage were
severely damaged.
“The airplane landed hard during the
forced landing and came to rest in a nose
down position,” the safety board report
stated.
Local courts will text
reminders for hearings
Circuit courts in Central
Oregon are taking part in a
novel effort to improve court-
room attendance through
technology.
Courts in Crook, De-
schutes and Jefferson coun-
ties will soon offer defen-
dants the option of a texted
reminder of an upcoming
court appearance.
The three courts are “early
adopters” of the new service,
the Oregon Judicial Depart-
ment announced Tuesday.
The judicial department
launched the new service as
a pilot program in the Jose-
phine County Circuit Court
on Feb. 8.
“Text messaging doesn’t
replace official court hearing
Brown urges program to insure remaining Oregon adults
BY PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
Gov. Kate Brown has called
on lawmakers to extend health
insurance coverage to the es-
timated 6% of Oregon adults
who still do not have it.
The Democratic chief ex-
ecutive testified Tuesday, for
House Bill 2164 in the House
Health Care Committee. Her
proposed budget contains $10
million to cover 2,000 adults.
Oregon estimates that 94%
of adults and all children have
coverage under federal, state or
private insurance.
“The pandemic has taught
us this is not good enough,”
Brown said in her testimony.
“And unfortunately, our com-
munities of color have paid the
price. Gaps in coverage persist,
and these gaps are dispropor-
tionately borne by communi-
ties of color.
“Everyone deserves access to
health care. It’s the right thing
to do, the just thing to do. And
it’s smart economic policy.”
The bill would authorize the
Oregon Health Authority to
create a Cover All People pro-
gram, modeled on the Oregon
Health Plan, which as of March
8 covered 1.27 million people.
It emerged from the health eq-
uity committee of the Gover-
nor’s Racial Justice Council.
The new program would
cover legal permanent residents,
young adults who age out of Or-
egon’s Cover All Kids program,
DACA recipients — young
people brought illegally to the
United States as children — who
have deferrals from deportation,
and undocumented adults.
Brown said the new program
is not just socially responsible
but makes economic sense.
“Across agriculture, man-
ufacturing, the service sector
and our health care system,
front-line workers from our
immigrant and refugee com-
munities have gone to work
every day during the pandemic
to very literally keep our so-
ciety going. Many of them
worked through wildfires and
breathed harmful smoke,” she
said.
“The very least we can do in
a just society is to make sure
they have access to this basic
human right.”
e e
pwong@pamplinmedia.com
notices, but it does allow par-
ties who opt in to receive text
message reminders and hear-
ing updates,” said Deschutes
County Trial Court Adminis-
trator Jeff Hall.
The service only applies to
state circuit courts and Ore-
gon’s Tax Court, not munic-
ipal and justice courts. Peo-
ple who want to receive text
reminders must have a cell-
phone number on file with
the court and opt-in to re-
ceive the service.
Deschutes District Attor-
ney John Hummel praised
the move, saying it will re-
duce instances of defendants
failing to appear in court.
“We receive text remind-
ers from our dentists, which
reduce missed dentist ap-
pointments,” he wrote to
The Bulletin. “Text remind-
ers from the court will re-
duce missed court appear-
ances.”
Prescribed burn
canceled west of Bend
Fuels specialists canceled
a 20-acre prescribed fire
Wednesday, about 2 miles
west of the Central Cascades
Welcome Station at the junc-
tion of Century Drive and
Forest Road 4610.
The purpose of this burn
was to improve conditions for
future prescribed fires in the
area, according to a statement
from the Deschutes National
Forest.
Prescribed burns are con-
ducted to improve forest
health and reduce the poten-
tial for large, out-of-control
forest fires. The burns mimic
natural fires that historically
swept through forests every
10 to 20 years.
Wind conditions weren’t
right for the planned burn
Wednesday.
—Bulletin staff reports
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