A8 The BulleTin • Friday, april 2, 2021
TODAY
Rancher
Funerals
Today is Friday, April 2, the 92nd
day of 2021. There are 273 days
left in the year.
On April 2, 1792, Congress
passed the Coinage Act, which
authorized establishment of the
U.S. Mint.
In 1865, Confederate President
Jefferson Davis and most of his
Cabinet fled the Confederate
capital of Richmond, Virginia, be-
cause of advancing Union forces.
In 1917, President Woodrow Wil-
son asked Congress to declare
war against Germany, saying,
“The world must be made safe
for democracy.”
In 1932, aviator Charles A. Lind-
bergh and John F. Condon went
to a cemetery in The Bronx, New
York, where Condon turned over
$50,000 to a man in exchange
for Lindbergh’s kidnapped son.
In 1968, “2001: A Space Odyssey,”
the groundbreaking science-fic-
tion film epic produced and di-
rected by Stanley Kubrick had its
world premiere in Washington.
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter
signed into law a windfall profits
tax on the oil industry. (The tax
was repealed in 1988.)
In 1982, several thousand
troops from Argentina seized
the disputed Falkland Islands,
located in the south Atlantic,
from Britain.
In 1986, four American passen-
gers, including an 8-month-old
girl, her mother and grand-
mother, were killed when a
terrorist bomb exploded aboard
a TWA jetliner en route from
Rome to Athens, Greece.
In 2002, Israel seized control of
Bethlehem; Palestinian gunmen
forced their way into the Church
of the Nativity, the traditional
birthplace of Jesus, where they
began a 39-day standoff.
In 2003, during the Iraq War,
American forces fought their
way to within sight of the Bagh-
dad skyline.
In 2005, Pope John Paul II died in
his Vatican apartment at age 84.
In 2007, in its first case on cli-
mate change, the U.S. Supreme
Court, in Massachusetts v. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency,
ruled 5-4 that carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases
were air pollutants under the
Clean Air Act.
In 2019, former federal prosecu-
tor Lori Lightfoot won the runoff
election for Chicago mayor,
becoming the first Black woman
and the first openly gay person
to lead the nation’s third-largest
city. Police near Los Angeles ar-
rested a man they said had fatally
shot rapper Nipsey Hussle and
evaded authorities for two days.
Ten years ago: Highly radioac-
tive water leaked into the sea
from a crack at Japan’s stricken
nuclear power plant; mean-
while, earthquake-tsunami
survivors complained that the
government was not paying
enough attention to victims.
Five years ago: Mormon
leaders meeting in Salt Lake
City called on church members
to practice tolerance despite
political differences, providing
guidance at a conference amid a
presidential campaign between
Donald Trump and Hillary Clin-
ton that was marked by harsh
rhetoric and bickering.
One year ago: The number of
confirmed coronavirus cases
worldwide passed the 1 million
mark, according to a tally by
Johns Hopkins University. The
captain of a U.S. Navy aircraft
carrier facing a coronavirus
outbreak was fired after widely
distributing a memo pleading
for help; Navy Secretary Thomas
Modly said Capt. Brett Crozier
had demonstrated “poor judg-
ment” in a crisis.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor
Sharon Acker is 86. Actor Dame
Penelope Keith is 81. Actor Linda
Hunt is 76. Singer Emmylou
Harris is 74. Actor Sam Anderson
is 74. Social critic and author
Camille Paglia is 74. Actor Pa-
mela Reed is 72. Rock musician
Dave Robinson (The Cars) is 72.
Country singer Buddy Jewell is
60. Actor Christopher Meloni
is 60. Singer Keren Woodward
(Bananarama) is 60. Country
singer Billy Dean is 59. Actor
Clark Gregg is 59. Actor Jana
Marie Hupp is 57. Rock musician
Greg Camp is 54. Actor Roselyn
Sanchez is 48. Country singer Jill
King is 46. Actor Pedro Pascal is
46. Actor Adam Rodriguez is 46.
Actor Michael Fassbender is 44.
Actor Jaime Ray Newman is 43.
Rock musician Jesse Carmichael
(Maroon 5) is 42. Actor Beth-
any Joy Lenz is 40. Singer Lee
Dewyze (TV: “American Idol”) is
35. Country singer Chris Janson
is 35. Actor Drew Van Acker
is 35. Actor Briga Heelan (TV:
“Great News”) is 34. Actor Jesse
Plemons is 33. Singer Aaron Kelly
(TV: “American Idol”) is 28.
Continued from A7
Continued from A7
The Commodity Futures
Trading Commission on
Wednesday charged Easter-
day and Easterday Ranches
of Pasco, Washington, with
defrauding a beef producer
of $233 million by selling
200,000 head of cattle that
only existed on invoices.
“For years Cody Easterday
perpetuated a fraud scheme
on a massive scale, increasing
the cost of producing food for
American families,” Acting
Assistant Attorney General
Nicholas L. McQuaid of the
Justice Department Criminal
Division said in a statement.
Efforts to reach Easterday
or his attorney, Carl Oreskov-
ich, were unsuccessful Thurs-
day.
The Commodity Futures
Trading Commission alleges
Easterday violated the Com-
modity Exchange Act by re-
porting false or misleading
information about the ranch’s
cattle inventory, purchases,
and sales to the Chicago Mer-
cantile Exchange, the world’s
largest financial derivatives
exchange.
“I believe that commerce
through funeral home websites
will be permanent,” Ordeman
said. “Some firms have been
ahead of this for years, but oth-
ers now have been compelled
to strengthen their online of-
ferings due to COVID-19.”
Still, the industry has suf-
fered loss, too, loss of reve-
nue from rentals of chapels
and postponed services. How
much lost revenue, Ordeman
could not say.
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention has es-
tablished guidance for funeral
homes to follow to keep peo-
ple safe and to not spread the
virus.
The CDC recommended
expanding technology use by
connecting through a video
platform for friends and fam-
ily. It urged families to modify
funeral arrangements, by limit-
ing attendance to a small num-
ber of immediate family mem-
bers and friends and to holding
additional memorial services
when social-distancing guide-
lines are less restrictive.
In the meantime, the CDC
suggests that physical distance
be maintained and that every-
one wear a face covering.
“Death is an emotionally
charged time, and when you
pile on its restrictions, it can
lead to some intense conversa-
tions,” Ordeman said. “Most
of us can’t hit the pause button
and that’s what a lot of families
had to do. They had to delay
services until things reopened
and they could memorialize a
loved one.”
Funerals tend to provide
a platform for people to say
goodbye, pay their respects in
a dignified manner and helps
with the healing process. They
also allow community mem-
— Associated Press
Homes
Continued from A7
Still, lawmakers’ continued
interest in trimming the pop-
ular tax write-off was enough
to prompt the Oregon As-
sociation of Realtors to send
out mailers in the Portland
area, urging people to contact
their representatives and tell
them to “protect the dream of
homeownership.”
The Realtors did not men-
tion second homes or explain
that the only proposal still un-
der consideration at this point
would only phase out the tax
break for people earning over
$200,000 in federal adjusted
gross income and eliminate
it completely for people with
Pot laws
Continued from A7
New York became the 16th
state to legalize pot for recre-
ational use. The New York As-
sembly and Senate passed a bill
that would allow personal cul-
tivation as well as taxing and
regulating commercial sales,
and Gov. Andrew Cuomo
signed the legislation Wednes-
day. Several other states also
are moving toward legalization.
In Washington, the U.S.
House passed a major decrim-
inalization bill in December
for the first time, but it was
kept off the Senate floor by
then-Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell. Prospects for re-
vamping marijuana laws have
vastly improved with Schumer
now in charge of the Senate’s
agenda, but getting the 60 votes
needed to overcome a filibuster
remains a major challenge. In
addition to winning over Biden
on legalization, Schumer has
yet to line up all 50 senators
who caucus with Democrats —
some of whom have long been
skeptical of legalization — let
alone at least 10 Republicans.
The politics of marijuana
have been shifting in both par-
ties as voters in both red states
and blue have voted to legalize
it. Seven Senate Republicans
led by Steve Daines, a conser-
vative from Montana, have
signed on so far to Oregon
Democrat Jeff Merkley’s SAFE
Vivian “Vi” L. (Stewart)
Ferguson
of La Pine, OR
Sep 10, 1951 - March 29,
2021
Arrangements:
Baird Memorial Chapel
of La Pine is honored
to serve the Ferguson
family. Please visit our
website, www.bairdfh.com,
to share condolences and
sign the online guestbook.
David Kenneth Schotz
of La Pine, OR
Aug 21, 1952 - March 29,
2021
Arrangements:
Baird Memorial Chapel
of La Pine is honored
to serve the Schotz
family. Please visit our
website, www.bairdfh.com,
to share condolences and
sign the online guestbook.
George Plaven/Capital Press
Cody Easterday has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
The false statements were
made in 2017 and 2018 to
avoid scrutiny and discipline,
according to the commission
complaint.
Easterday allegedly ran
up more than $200 million
in losses over 10 years from
speculative trading in the cat-
tle and corn futures markets.
To meet margin calls, Easter-
day allegedly defrauded one
of his ranch’s biggest busi-
ness partners, a South Dako-
ta-based beef producer.
The complaint does not
name the producer, and a
spokeswoman said the com-
mission could not identify the
producer.
The complaint says the
producer operates a beef pro-
cessing plant in Pasco and is
“part of a family of companies
that together constitute one
of the largest food suppliers
in the world,” a profile that
fits Tyson Fresh Meats, which
is based in Dakota Dunes,
South Dakota.
Efforts to immediately con-
firm that Tyson is the pro-
ducer were unsuccessful. Ty-
son has previously said that it
led an investigation last year
and found that the misappro-
priation of funds had cost it
more than $200 million.
more than $250,000 in in-
come. The top 3% of Oregon
tax filers had incomes of at
least $250,000, according to
the latest data available from
the state Department of Rev-
enue.
The homeownership tax
break is expected to reduce
state income tax revenues by
$986 million in the current
budget that ends in June and
$1.1 billion in the 2021-2023
budget cycle, according to
Oregon’s latest tax expendi-
ture report.
The only proposal still
alive is Senate Bill 852, which
would eliminate the state
mortgage deduction for sec-
ond homes and phase it out
on first homes for households
with incomes above $200,000
to help moderate- and low-in-
come people buy a first home
or otherwise afford housing.
It was scheduled for a public
hearing at 1 p.m. Thursday
at the Senate Committee on
Housing and Development
and a possible committee vote
April 8.
Shaun Jillions, a lobbyist
for the Oregon Association
of Realtors, said the fact that
Senate Bill 852 is scheduled
for a possible committee vote
means it is a serious threat,
although it would next move
to the Senate Committee on
Finance and Revenue so Real-
tors would have another shot
at killing the bill before any
possibility of a floor vote.
Banking Act, more modest
legislation allowing marijuana
businesses to have easier access
to the banking system and cap-
ital markets. Others back bills
giving cannabis businesses ac-
cess to insurance products and
still more back additional med-
ical research.
Schumer, who has been
strategizing with advocates of
legalization, wants to go much
further with the bill he, Booker
and Wyden are working on,
and his biggest ally is a marked
shift in public opinion.
Gallup found in November
a record 68% of adults back-
ing legalization, up 20 points
from 2012, when Colorado
and Washington became the
first two states to fully legal-
ize the drug. And a 2019 Pew
poll found 91% say it should
be legal at least for medical
use. Republican voters are split
nearly 50-50 on recreational
marijuana, Gallup found, while
Democrats, independents and
younger voters strongly favor
legalization.
Marijuana stocks have been
soaring in recent months on
the prospect of rapidly expand-
ing markets as more states
move to loosen restrictions.
U.S. sales of legal cannabis
and its derivatives like CBD are
expected to exceed $26 billion
this year, up from $22 billion
last year, according to Euro-
monitor International, a mar-
ket research company.
OBITUARY POLICY
Death Notices are free and will
be run for one day, but specific
guidelines must be followed.
Local obituaries are paid
advertisements submitted by
families or funeral homes. They
may be submitted by phone, mail,
email or fax. The Bulletin reserves
the right to edit all submissions.
Please include contact information
in all correspondence.
For information on any of these
services or about the obituary
policy, contact 541-385-5809.
Deadlines:
Call to ask about our deadlines
541-385-5809
Monday - Friday,
10am - 3pm.
No death notices or obituaries
are published Mondays.
Email:
obits@bendbulletin.com
Rep. Earl Blumenauer,
D-Portland, the founder and
co-chair of the Congressional
Cannabis Caucus, expressed
optimism that change is com-
ing.
“The table is set for full le-
galization,” he said in a state-
ment. “We have a strong base
of support in the House, and in
the Senate we no longer have
the Mitch McConnell road-
block. It’s not a forgone conclu-
sion, but it’s the strongest posi-
tion we’ve ever been in.”
bers to gather finding comfort
in shared memories, according
to the industry.
When Deschutes County
moved to moderate risk, it al-
lowed for gatherings indoors
similar to the rules guiding in-
door dining that set a 150-per-
son maximum or 50% capacity,
whichever is smaller, according
to the state’s risk categories.
Brad Byrholdt, general man-
ager of Oregon Care Group
Inc., which purchased six fu-
neral homes in Redmond and
Bend at the start of the year,
agreed it’s been difficult to
maintain the personal connec-
tions that the industry is hard-
wired to forge. It’s difficult not
to reach out and touch the
arm or shoulder of a grieving
widow, hard not to offer a hug
in solace.
“It’s been devastating for
some families,” Byrholdt said.
“It’s gotten better, obviously.
There was a lot of fear. Now
we’re allowed to let people
come and say goodbye. That’s
vital.”
To help families, Byrholdt
said a lot of services are now
graveside or outdoors. As the
new owners of Redmond Me-
morial Chapel, Deschutes
Memorial Chapel, Nis-
wonger-Reynolds and Autumn
Funerals LLC, Oregon Care
Group Inc. will continue mak-
ing connections and help make
the process of grieving easier,
he said.
The acquisition brings to 12
the number of funeral homes
the Corvallis-based company
owns and operates, Byrholdt
said.
“No one knows where we’ll
end up,” Byrholdt said. “We’ll
always do what we can; if we’re
required to do things differ-
ently, we will. We’ll morph ac-
cordingly.”
e e
Reporter: 541-633-2117,
sroig@bendbulletin.com
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