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Spring is in the air; so is the coronavirus. GO! has ideas for Oregon staycations » Plus: Spring break movies to remind you how to party
COVID-19 in Oregon | Status report
1 million vaccines, but variants loom
State hits an inoculation milestone,
but new virus strains and vaccine
deliveries present new challenges
BY GARY A. WARNER • Oregon Capital Bureau
The appearance in Oregon of a more contagious
and virulent variant of the COVID-19 virus is con-
cerning for health officials racing to vaccinate up to 3
million more Oregonians, after the state hit the 1 mil-
lion vaccine mark on Wednesday.
“Today marks an important milestone in our state
— this would not have been possible without the ded-
ication of our vaccinators around Oregon,” said OHA
Director Pat Allen.
Allen’s report to lawmakers Wednesday included
good news: 1 million shots of vaccine since Decem-
ber, and the long, steep fall in infections and deaths
since the winter. OHA’s risk level report for counties
has only two rated as extreme risk: Coos and Curry.
Twenty of 36 counties in the state have received per-
mission to start giving vaccines to the next group of
eligible Oregonians, which includes people age 45 and
above with underlying medical conditions, pregnant
women over aged 16 and several other groups.
But Oregon’s program is also experiencing head-
aches, hiccups and hints of some troubling signs.
Allen told a legislative committee that Oregon had
been told that supplies of the one-shot Johnson &
Johnson vaccine are delayed, with the date of addi-
tional shipment unknown.
See Oregon / A13
Les Schwab Amphitheater renovations continue, include larger performance area
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Employees with Sunburst Fabrications weld steel beams for the new stage at Les Schwab Amphitheater on March 18.
R
1,840 square feet. Improvements in accessibility will include a full
where the first phase of the project will improve the stage
Americans with Disabilities Act compliant pathway. Work on the first
in the hopes of attracting a wider variety of performers.
phase began in December and is expected to be complete by June.
The stage will be larger, with a height of 62 feet and an additional
Additional phases of the renovation are expected to last into 2023.
New, less expensive
position will focus more
on branch campuses
BY JACKSON HOGAN
The Bulletin
Central Oregon Com-
munity College let go of its
second-highest paid admin-
istrator, Matt McCoy, and
eliminated his position last
week — partially to save the
college at least $65,000 an-
nually.
COCC President Lau-
rie Chesley also wants to
streamline the adminis-
trative department where
McCoy supervised a wide
swath of the college as vice
president of administration.
McCoy’s position will be re-
placed with one that over-
sees COCC’s three branch
campuses in Redmond, Ma-
dras and Prineville, along
the college’s online learning
program and the College
Now program, Chesley said.
“Having a position whose
unadulterated focus is on
meeting the needs of our
outlying communities is
an important strategic de-
cision,” Chesley told The
Bulletin.
McCoy, whose title was
vice president of adminis-
tration, had many duties.
These included overseeing
the branch campuses and
campus services — which
includes maintenance and
custodial work — and
working with the state Leg-
islature. All of these duties
will be split among existing
COCC administrators, with
the exception of the branch
campuses, which the new
hire will handle, Chesley
told COCC staff in a March
email.
Although finances weren’t
the only reason for elimi-
nating McCoy’s position last
week, they do play a role in
the decision, Chesley said.
McCoy’s annual salary was
$171,250, and the range for
the new administrative posi-
tion will be between $90,783
and $106,883, according to
Jenn Kovitz, COCC spokes-
person.
COCC has also laid off or
furloughed employees and
implemented a hiring freeze
during the COVID-19
pandemic in other depart-
ments, so it was only fair to
do the same for the admin-
istrative department, Ches-
ley said.
SETTING THE STAGE
enovation continues at the Les Schwab Amphitheater,
COCC lets go
of one of its
top-paid
employees
See COCC / A13
Sheriff increases parking enforcement at Smith Rock
BY KYLE SPURR
The Bulletin
As visitation doubled at Smith
Rock State Park in recent years, the
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office
has decided to increase enforcement
of overflow parking along the county
TODAY’S
WEATHER
roads outside the park.
Anyone parked on Smith Rock
Way, Wilcox Road and 17th Street
could be fined $115.
Last year, park and county officials
and nearby property owners part-
nered to install signs that read “NO
PARKING ON SHOULDER.” But up
to 200 visitors each day keep parking
along the roads. Some people leave
their cars and walk a mile to the park.
Early showers
High 47, Low 25
Page A12
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A11-12
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A9-10
To help enforce the parking rules,
the sheriff’s office plans to patrol the
area more often to make sure people
are complying, said Sgt. Jayson Janes.
The sheriff’s office began receiving
complaints last week and deputies is-
sued eight citations on Sunday.
“We are hoping to educate people
now before the warmer weather arrives,”
Janes said. “The county has done a good
job with the signs, so we are letting peo-
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ple know about the signs and that we
will be enforcing the no parking.”
Matt Davey, Smith Rock State Park
manager, said visitation has doubled
since 2012, around the time Travel
Oregon launched “The 7 Wonders of
Oregon” campaign, which included
Smith Rock.
The park recorded 851,144 visits
in 2019, nearly double the 483,448
in 2012, according to park data. The
A4
A10
A5-7
park closed for two months in 2020
due to COVID-19 and still recorded
727,656 visits.
“The parking in the park wasn’t de-
signed for that exponential growth,”
Davey said. “We can’t just instantly ac-
commodate that.”
Davey said the park is addressing the
parking problems in its master plan,
which hasn’t been updated since 1991.
See Smith Rock / A4
The Bulletin
An Independent Newspaper
We use
recycled
newsprint
Vol. 119, No. 72, 38 pages, 2 sections
SUN/THU
Those parking illegally
now subject to $115 fine
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