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TUESDAY • April 20, 2021
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THIS LITTLE HELICOPTER JUST MADE HISTORY » A4
SPORTS PULLOUT, A5-8
< A big retirement. Plus:
Redmond teams honored
4 of 8 may skip candidate forum
Half of those running for
Bend-La Pine School Board
fail to respond to invitation
County: Four Bend-La Pine School Board
candidates have completely ignored her calls
and emails to participate in her organization’s
traditional nonpartisan candidate forum.
Those four candidates are Jon Haffner, Gregg
Henton, Wendy Imel and Maria Lopez-Dauen-
hauer. That means there’s a very strong chance
the League Of Women Voters and City Club
of Central Oregon’s virtual forum Thursday
will only feature four of the eight candidates
running for a seat on the Bend-La Pine School
BY JACKSON HOGAN
The Bulletin
This year, something unprecedented has
happened to Carol Loesche, president of
the League of Women Voters of Deschutes
Board. And all four of the candidates likely to
skip are competing in separate races.
“It’s just wrong,” said Loesche. “Their job is
to let the voters know what their positions on
things are. To not even participate, how are we
supposed to know what they stand for?”
Joey Drucker — the executive director of City
Club of Central Oregon, the other Bend nonpar-
tisan organization co-hosting the virtual forums
— is also frustrated with being stonewalled.
See Forum / A13
Proposal for
private airstrip
near Redmond
is turned down
Decision could be appealed to state
BY BRENNA VISSER
The Bulletin
MORE
SPACE
COMING
Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory begins major expansion
PICTURED AT TOP: Astronomy interpreter Paul Poncy stands inside the Sunriver Observatory while waiting for visitors to arrive Saturday.
Crews broke ground last week on the expansion project that will double the size of the observatory. BELOW: Poncy opens a set of doors lead-
ing to the new area. Construction is expected to last until July, when visitors will be welcomed into the larger space with six new telescopes.
The future of a proposed private airstrip west of
Redmond Airport is in limbo after it was denied
approval because of its potential impacts to sur-
rounding farmland.
In September, Alex Polvi, a Deschutes County
resident, submitted an application to build a dirt
airstrip on his 123-acre property off Harper Road
west of U.S. Highway 97 between Tumalo and
Redmond. The airstrip would sit roughly 6 miles
away from Redmond Airport and measure 2,000
feet long.
The proposal drew mixed reactions, with many
neighbors testifying they supported Polvi’s project
and found the extra noise from his airplane would
be negligible compared to the planes that already
fly overhead from Redmond Airport, and with
others arguing the airstrip would disrupt the peo-
ple and wildlife of the area.
A hearings officer decided in March that
Polvi did not do enough to prove that his project
wouldn’t affect surrounding farm and forest lands,
or that the project wouldn’t significantly increase
the cost of farm and forest practices in the sur-
rounding area.
See Airstrip / A13
Redmond Police
want new station
BY GARRETT ANDREWS
The Bulletin
A proposal to build a new Redmond Police sta-
tion that could cost at least $15 million will be pre-
sented at Tuesday’s Redmond City Council work
session.
Redmond Police Department officials say
their department has far outgrown its current
12,850-square-foot facility and will ask the coun-
cil for permission to begin looking for property to
build a new headquarters.
If approved, voters could be asked to pass a levy
to help fund the project.
“We are in the very early stages of this process,”
said Redmond Capt. Devin Lewis. “This isn’t even
a first step — more like a half a step.”
The current facility, built in 1998, is located on a
1-acre lot at 777 SW Deschutes Ave. It’s deficient
in several ways, Lewis said. There is a shortage of
secured parking and storage space. Evidence now
is stored in three locations off-site due to space
limitations. The HVAC and plumbing systems are
failing, which has led to $150,000 in maintenance
costs in the past four years.
See Police / A4
Story by KYLE SPURR • Photos by RYAN BRENNECKE • The Bulletin
Residents get health help
and locals-only RV rates
in rush of Senate action
A
fter five years of planning and fund-
raising, a $5 million expansion of the
Sunriver Nature Center & Observa-
tory is underway.
Crews broke ground last week on
the first phase of the expansion — doubling the
size of the observatory. Construction is expected
to last until July, when visitors will be welcomed
into the larger space with six new telescopes.
The second phase of the nature center expan-
sion is scheduled to start in 2023. It will feature a
7,700-square-foot Discovery Center that will in-
clude a planetarium theater with a full projection
system and seating for up to 94 visitors. The center
will also build an 1,800-square-foot pavilion on
the back of Lake Aspen.
BY GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
RENDERING ABOVE: The Lake Aspen Learning Center will provide
an outdoor learning space for the more than 5,000 students who are
a part of the observatory’s K-12 Outreach and Education Program.
See Sunriver / A4
Submitted by Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory
With the end of a GOP slowdown in the
Oregon House, the sluggish pace of bills moving
between it and the Senate has turned into a
torrent.
The Senate added 64 House bills to its plate on
Monday, raising the likelihood that more than
halfway through the 2021 session, some of the
first legislation of 2021 will finally reach the desk
of Gov. Kate Brown.
Before the flood, the Senate was able to dispatch
a short list of bills still requiring votes before they
were sent to the House.
TODAY’S
WEATHER
Partly sunny
High 62, Low 31
Page A13
INDEX
Business
Classifieds
Comics
A11
A14
A9-10
Dear Abby
Editorial
Horoscope
A7
A8
A7
Kid Scoop
Local/State
Lottery
A12
A2-3
A6
Obituaries
Puzzles
Sports
A4
A10
A5-7
The Bulletin
An Independent Newspaper
We use
recycled
newsprint
Vol. 117, No. 329, 14 pages, 1 section
DAILY
See Senate / A13
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