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Saturday • April 3, 2021
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COVID-19 in Oregon
DOWNTOWN BEND
WORRELL PARK MAY BECOME Brown:
FLATTER, MORE ACCESSIBLE 4th wave
of virus
hits state
By Gary a. WarNEr
Oregon Capital Bureau
COVID-19 infections are on the rise
again in Oregon, a fourth wave of increasing
cases since the pandemic began.
“This virus is at our doorstep — our
numbers are rising, and we are back on
alert,” said Gov. Kate Brown at a Friday press
conference.
A steep drop in infections since Jan. 1
had shown signs of bottoming out in re-
cent weeks, but the most current data shows
COVID-19 is again on the rise.
The April numbers are showing that the
most pessimistic forecasts last month are
coming true.
“The virus appears to be rebounding,”
said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the Oregon Health
Authority’s top infectious disease expert.
“COVID-19 is a resilient enemy.”
See COVId-19 / A4
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin photos
deschutes County is considering renovations to Bill Worrell Wayside Park located near the deschutes County administration building that include more parking and
better wheelchair access.
County park redesign intended to create more parking spaces in anticipation of courthouse expansion
By BrENNa VISSEr • The Bulletin
T
o make the area more accessible and create more parking, major changes could be coming to Bill Worrell Wayside Park, the
Deschutes
County case
rates again
on the rise
small hillside park that sits outside of the main Deschutes County administration building on Wall Street. Earlier this week,
By SuZaNNE rOIG
The Bulletin
the Deschutes County Commission decided to move forward with finding a civil engineer to redesign the 1.29-acre park that
Monday. The redesign would also recon-
figure where the tax and ballot drop boxes
would be so that on busy days, like an
election day, lines of cars would form in
the parking lot, rather than spilling onto
Wall Street, Randall said.
“The idea is that by lowering the el-
evation of it you keep about the same
amount of usable space for park space,
but you gain additional parking spaces,”
Randall said in an interview Thursday.
This idea has been in the works for
the past two years, and was prompted
by the county trying to get ahead of an
eventual courthouse expansion.
Deschutes County’s COVID-19 positivity
rate is just a fraction away from sending the
county back to a high risk category that would
limit indoor dining and group gathering.
“We’ve seen higher case counts recently
than previously, which is concerning,” said
Morgan Emerson, Deschutes County Health
Services spokeswoman. “It’s an important
reminder that we need to remain vigilant.”
On Monday, the Oregon Health Author-
ity will review counties to determine the ap-
propriate risk level and it will become effec-
tive on Friday, Timothy Heider, an Oregon
Health Authority spokesman, said by email.
Counties found to be backsliding are at
risk of being sent back to a more restrictive
category or being placed in a caution pe-
riod to give it time to reduce the COVID-19
spread, according to the Oregon Health Au-
thority website.
See Worrell Park / A7
See County / A4
sits in the middle of Deschutes County’s downtown campus parking lot.
Many gravel trails lead to the top of Bill Worrell Wayside Park in Bend.
The vision is to flatten the existing
park — which is built upon a hillside
of rocks — to be closer to ground level.
This will make it easier to establish more
usable and accessible trails and other
amenities, as well as make way for more
parking spots, said Lee Randall, the
county’s facilities director.
A current conceptual plan — which
had the support of Commissioners Tony
DeBone and Phil Chang — shows the
redesign would add roughly 68 parking
spots to the lot adjacent to the park.
The park would have trails, plazas and
a variety of gardens and other shrubbery,
according to conceptual design presented
LUKE WIRKKALA | SECOND MURDER TRIAL
Oregon
House
OKs
$250M
Jury begins deliberation in retrial
for summer programs
REDMOND — Luke Anton Wirkkala has
waited eight years for vindication that he law-
fully took a life, and now he must wait until at
least Monday to learn his fate.
Wirkkala’s second murder trial concluded
Friday with closing statements after three weeks
of testimony in a temporary courtroom at the
Deschutes County fairgrounds. Jurors deliber-
ated for about a half-hour before pausing for the
weekend.
Wirkkala, 40, is charged with second-de-
gree murder, a crime punishable in Oregon by
up to life in prison with parole possible at 25
years.
TODAY’S
WEATHER
Cloudy and mild
High 67, Low 35
Page a8
He’s accused of intentionally killing his
houseguest David Andrew Ryder, 31, with a
shotgun in 2013. He’s claimed self-defense, tes-
tifying he feared for his life after Ryder sexually
assaulted him.
Wirkkala was convicted in 2014, but the Or-
egon Court of Appeals ordered a retrial because
the original jury heard portions of a police inter-
view after Wirkkala had invoked his right to an
attorney.
On Friday, Deschutes County Circuit Judge
Randy Miller read for the jury the legal defini-
tions of first- and second-degree manslaughter,
lesser charges they may consider if they don’t
find Wirkkala guilty of murder.
See Wirkkala / A4
INDEX
Business
Classifieds
Comics
A5-6
B6
B3-4
Dear Abby
Editorial
Horoscope
A7
B5
A7
By PEtEr WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
After being sidetracked by
a partisan dispute for the bet-
ter part of three days, the Or-
egon House voted Thursday
night for legislation that in-
cludes $250 million for sum-
mer educational and recre-
ational programs for students
statewide.
The money is contained in
one of three bills to rebalance
the current two-year state
Local/State
Lottery
Puzzles
A2-3
B2
B4
Sports
B1-2
“Oregonians are depending on this essential aid. We’ve
spent the last year responding to crisis after crisis.”
— tina Kotek, Oregon House speaker
budget. All of the bills passed,
55-0, and went to the Senate.
The discussion took less than
15 minutes.
Gov. Kate Brown and legis-
lative leaders from both par-
ties have signaled their sup-
port. The Legislature’s joint
The Bulletin
An Independent Newspaper
We use
recycled
newsprint
Vol. 119, No. 80, 14 pages, 2 sections
budget committee approved
the measures two weeks ago.
“Oregonians are depending
on this essential aid,” House
Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Port-
land, said in a statement after
the votes.
See Programs / A7
DAILY
By GarrEtt aNdrEWS
The Bulletin
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