A6 The BulleTin • Friday, March 19, 2021
IDAHO
As lawmakers debate
banning masks, 4th
legislator gets virus
BY KEITH RIDLER
The Associated Press
Bulletin file
Volunteer Bob Slater, of Bend, hands a Below Grade beer to Brooks Richardson, with wife, Janine, in one of the beer tents at Bend Brewfest at the
Les Schwab Amphitheater in 2013.
Events
Continued from A1
“More people getting a shot
in the arm is the most import-
ant shot in the arm that the
event industry can receive.”
The loss of the festivals and
markets is difficult to quantify
as revenue is rarely counted
as a whole at each event. But
the events have other impacts
too. They draw in visitors from
other towns to spend money.
They also improve the quality
of life for those who choose to
live here.
Roger Lee, chief executive
of Economic Development of
Central Oregon, a nonprofit,
said markets and festivals also
give local craftspeople, farmers
and entrepreneurs the opportu-
nity to introduce their products
and get customer feedback.
“I remember buying my first
Hydroflask at a booth in a lo-
cal fair,” said Lee. “They clearly
got some traction. Holm Made
Toffee is also an example of a
small business that got its start
in local outdoor markets.”
Most events remain in a
holding pattern as state and lo-
cal authorities ponder giving
the go-ahead for events.
“Everyone is just waiting
to see what happens with the
COVID situation, and what
the governor’s orders and re-
strictions are,” said Mindy
Aisling, executive director of
the Downtown Bend Business
Association.
While Bend isn’t quite ready
for glitter parties and hoopla,
there is some easing back to-
ward normalcy with farmers
Wirkkala
Continued from A1
Instead, if found guilty of
murder, he faces life in prison.
The venue should be fa-
miliar to many in Deschutes
County, the North Sister
Expo Center at the Deschutes
County fairgrounds. But on
Thursday, because of the pan-
demic, it had been heavily
altered to accommodate a so-
cially distanced jury trial. Judge
Randy Miller’s bench is located
on a bandstand at one end of
the large hall with the jurors
spread out on one side. At sev-
eral points during jury selec-
tion, lawyers paused speaking
while planes associated with
the nearby Redmond Airport
passed overhead.
Potential jurors were polled
about firearms, self-defense,
drinking and sexual assault.
Wirkkala is represented
by Joel Wirtz and Thad Betz.
Wirtz is co-manager of the
county’s largest public defense
firm, Deschutes Defenders.
Betz has represented high-pro-
file defendants in Oregon,
including Springfield school
shooter Kip Kinkel, “Redmond
Five” member Justin Link and
Edwin Lara, killer of Central
Oregon Community College
student Kaylee Anne Sawyer.
The defense has identified
30 potential witnesses, includ-
ing experts on bullet trajec-
tory, crime scene analysis and
the effects of sexual assault on
victim behavior, as well as sev-
“Our hope is that once vaccinations are available to the
general adult population, we are allowed to host events
using best practices. My expectation is that gatherings of
that nature will be safe by mid-July.”
— Marney Smith, director of Les Schwab Amphitheater
markets on the horizon in
downtown Bend and North-
West Crossing.
Farmers markets are consid-
ered an “essential service” and
can therefore operate under
COVID restrictions. Marielle
Slater, president of the Bend
Farmers Market board, said the
farmers market in Bend last
year was well-attended as local
residents sought produce amid
food shortages nationwide.
“Local food provides a safety
net for residents,” said Slater.
“In times of crisis like the pan-
demic and fires, people are
realizing how important local
food is.”
The first downtown farm-
ers market in Bend this year is
planned for May 5 with around
30 vendors expected to at-
tend. A weekly farmers market
(Tuesdays) at Centennial Park
in Redmond is slated to start
June 8. A Saturday farmers
market in Madras at Sahalee
Park will begin May 29.
In Bend’s Old Mill District,
fingers are crossed fingers that
outdoor concerts can resume
by mid-August.
“Our hope is that once vac-
cinations are available to the
general adult population, we
are allowed to host events us-
ing best practices,” said Marney
Smith, director of Les Schwab
Amphitheater. “My expecta-
tion is that gatherings of that
nature will be safe by mid-July.”
That would be welcome
news for hotels and restaurants
in Bend. A 2015 economic im-
pact survey conducted by RRC
Associates LLC reports that
total direct economic activ-
ity associated with a summer
concert series and Bend Brew-
fest to be $27.2 million over 18
days — dollars spent through-
out the community on hotels,
meals, transportation and en-
tertainment.
Dave Matthews Band and
Primus are two acts scheduled
to arrive in Bend in late sum-
mer if the pandemic allows.
Outdoor events in Sisters
this summer are still up in
the air and will move forward
based on guidance from Gov.
Kate Brown, said Turi Sher-
gold, marketing coordinator
at the Sisters area Chamber of
Commerce.
Big events including the Sis-
ters Rodeo (June 9-13), the
Sisters Quilt Show (July 10),
and the Harvest Festival (Oct.
9) are all planned but not con-
firmed. Still, even without the
big events, Sisters has proven
resilient during the pandemic,
said Shergold.
The events are “a great draw
for Sisters, but the businesses
The defense has identified 30 potential witnesses, including
experts on bullet trajectory, crime scene analysis and
the effects of sexual assault on victim behavior, as well
as several people who will testify to Wirkkala’s “peaceful”
nature, according to court documents. The state has listed
52 potential witnesses, including 20 who testified in the first
trial.
eral people who will testify to
Wirkkala’s “peaceful” nature,
according to court documents.
The state has listed 52 potential
witnesses, including 20 who
testified in the first trial.
Police arrived at Wirkkala’s
home late Feb. 3, 2013, to find
Ryder dead from a shotgun
blast to the throat and Wirk-
kala weeping on the ground
nearby.
The two were friends,
though not good friends, hav-
ing only hung out a handful
of times. They’d met up earlier
that day at the Hideaway Tav-
ern to watch the Super Bowl
between San Francisco and Bal-
timore, then opted for a night-
cap at Wirkkala’s home on Will
Scarlet Lane. They stopped to
buy beer on the way.
They socialized around the
kitchen island until Wirkkala’s
girlfriend went to bed around
10:30 p.m., leaving the two
men to continue drinking and
talking.
But what took place next is
known only to them, said pros-
ecutor Jayme Kimberly in her
opening statement to the jury.
“The only two people who
know exactly what happened
are the defendant and David
Ryder,” Kimberly said.
Wirkkala says he passed out
and awoke to Ryder forcing his
penis into Wirkkala’s mouth.
His defense will present DNA
and other evidence to help
prove this.
Kimberly is joined at the
prosecutor’s table by Kristen
Hoffmeyer, also of the Ore-
gon Department of Justice.
The case was transferred to
the DOJ after the appellate
decision at the request of the
Deschutes County District
Attorney’s office, the cited
reasons including a bar com-
plaint Wirkkala filed against
the prosecutors in his first trial.
Additionally, a distant cousin
of Wirkkala’s repeatedly sent
poems describing sexual vio-
lence against a female prose-
cutor to media and parties in-
volved in the case.
In the lead-up to the trial,
Wirkkala’s closer relatives
started a Facebook page, Free
Luke Wirkkala, and traveled to
demonstrate outside the De-
Find it all online bendbulletin.com
are maybe changing their busi-
ness plans or finding other
ways to keep going. People
have had to adjust for sure,”
said Shergold. “Having said
that, we are steady on the lodg-
ing. People are coming here.”
Damon Runberg, Oregon
Employment Department re-
gional economist, said these
events don’t necessarily have
a large impact on this area’s
economy, but they do impact
the quality of life and are a rea-
son to draw and retain talent.
He described the quality of life
in Central Oregon as a “second
paycheck.”
“Many of us are willing to
forego a smaller payroll pay-
check if we get back a suffi-
ciently large second paycheck
from the quality of life,” said
Runberg. “The second pay-
check is the primary driver of
our in-migration. These events
and festivals are big second
paycheck contributors.”
Other events that are unde-
cided but still possible include:
• The Bend First Friday Art
Walk. A meeting on whether
or not to greenlight this event
will be held in early April.
• The Bend Pet Parade held
on July 4 is expected to go
ahead, but the fair usually held
after the parade in Drake Park
is canceled.
• Sunriver is planning to
host its annual Sunriver Art
Fair (Aug 13-15).
• Redmond Street Festival
(June 26-27) and Redmond
First Fridays are both tenta-
tively scheduled.
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7818,
mkohn@bendbulletin.com
schutes County Courthouse.
One supporter is his now ex-
wife, Rachel Rasmussen, who
was his girlfriend at the time
and was in the house at the
time of the shooting. She was
called as the state’s first wit-
ness Thursday afternoon. Her
panicked 911 call from Feb. 3,
2013, was played for the court.
“That was really hard to lis-
ten to,” said Rasmussen, now
40 and a mental health coun-
selor in Washington.
The couple’s divorce was fi-
nalized in 2020, though Ras-
mussen told jurors she still
supports her ex-husband’s case.
“I believe that he was sexu-
ally assaulted that night and I
thank him for protecting our
family,” she said.
Trial is scheduled to last four
weeks. Proceedings continue
Friday with more testimony
from Rasmussen and more
witnesses for the state.
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0325,
gandrews@bendbulletin.com
BOISE, Idaho — A
fourth lawmaker in the
Idaho House of Represen-
tatives has tested positive
for COVID-19 in less than
a week’s time and just as the
Legislature is debating a bill
that would ban local govern-
ments from requiring that
people wear masks.
The increasing number of
lawmakers out sick with the
coronavirus has legislative
leaders in the conservative
state worried they may not
be able to finish business in a
timely fashion.
“Of course I’m con-
cerned,” Republican House
Speaker Scott Bedke said
Wednesday, before the an-
nouncement of the fourth
COVID-19 diagnosis among
his colleagues.
Bedke wasn’t wearing a
face-covering but put one on
before getting in an eleva-
tor in the Statehouse. “We’re
reemphasizing the safety
protocols. We also want to
be done by the end of the
month. I guess we’ll just see
how it goes,” he said.
A major goal of GOP law-
makers in the Legislature
this session has been curb-
ing the emergency powers
of the Republican gover-
nor to respond to things
like pandemics. Legislators
have floated several propos-
als that would restrict Gov.
Brad Little’s ability to make
sweeping directives in the
future.
Republican Rep. Julie Ya-
mamoto said Thursday she
tested positive Wednesday
afternoon and immediately
left the Statehouse. She had
been on the House floor
earlier in the day without a
mask as lawmakers debated
a huge tax-cut bill.
All four lawmakers out
with the illness are Repub-
licans who rarely or never
wear masks.
Stimulus provides $1.1B
for Oregon schools
BY EDER CAMPUZANO
The Oregonian
Oregon’s public schools are
in line to receive another $1.1
billion in federal relief as part
of the $1.9 trillion federal
stimulus package President
Joe Biden signed earlier this
month.
Portland Public Schools,
the state’s largest district, will
get $70 million.
Districts won’t immedi-
ately have access to those
funds, which state officials
say they anticipate will be
used largely on school ex-
penses to facilitate a return to
in-person instruction. That
could include offering sum-
mer school, emotional well-
ness services and classroom
air quality upgrades.
The billion-plus outlay is
the third and largest such
infusion Oregon’s public
schools have received since
the start of the pandemic.
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