A2 THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021 The Bulletin How to reach us CIRCULATION Didn’t receive your paper? Start or stop subscription? 541-385-5800 PHONE HOURS 6 a.m.-noon Tuesday-Friday 7 a.m.-noon Saturday-Sunday and holidays GENERAL INFORMATION LOCAL, STATE & REGION DESCHUTES COUNTY COVID-19 data for Thursday, April 22: Deschutes County cases: 7,368 (57 new cases) Deschutes County deaths: 72 (zero new deaths) Crook County cases: 907 (12 new cases) Crook County deaths: 19 (zero new deaths) Jefferson County cases: 2,083 (6 new cases) Jefferson County deaths: 32 (zero new deaths) Oregon cases: 178,110 (993 new cases) Oregon deaths: 2,467 (1 new death) COVID-19 patients hospitalized at St. Charles Bend on Thursday: 17 (5 in ICU) 130 (Dec. 4) 108 new cases 120 (Jan. 1) 7-day average 90 new cases Ways to help limit its spread: 1. Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. 2. Avoid touching your face. 3. Avoid close contact with sick people. 4. Stay 6 feet from others and wear a face covering or mask. 5. Cover a sneeze with a tissue or cough into your elbow. 6. Clean frequently touched objects and surfaces. 110 100 94 new cases (Nov. 27) (April 17) 90 80 50 new cases 70 60 (Feb. 17) 47 new cases 50 (Nov. 14) 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. (Oct. 31) 16 new cases (July 16) 40 *State data unavailable for Jan. 31 31 new cases 28 new cases 30 (Sept. 19) 9 new cases ONLINE BULLETIN GRAPHIC 129 new cases What is COVID-19? A disease caused by a coronavirus. Symptoms (including fever and shortness of breath) can be severe, even fatal, though some cases are mild. 541-382-1811 www.bendbulletin.com SOURCES: OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY, DESCHUTES COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES New COVID-19 cases per day 20 (May 20) 1st case 10 (March 11) EMAIL bulletin@bendbulletin.com March 2020 April May June July August September October November December January 2021 February March April AFTER HOURS Newsroom ................................541-383-0348 Circulation ................................541-385-5800 LOCAL BRIEFING NEWSROOM EMAIL Business ........business@bendbulletin.com City Desk .............news@bendbulletin.com Features.................................................................. communitylife@bendbulletin.com Sports ................. sports@bendbulletin.com Bend man pleads guilty for deportation threat NEWSROOM FAX 541-385-5804 OUR ADDRESS Street .............. 320 SW Upper Terrace Drive Suite 200 Bend, OR 97702 Mailing ........... P.O. 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They may not be reproduced without explicit prior approval. Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Irrigation equipment waters a field west of Echo on Wednesday. According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, the west end of Umatilla County is experiencing moderate to severe drought. Umatilla County moves to declare drought, seeks help BY BRYCE DOLE East Oregonian PENDLETON — The Uma- tilla County Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to declare a drought in the county and are asking Gov. Kate Brown and U.S. Agricul- ture Secretary Tom Vilsack to follow suit. If the state declares a drought, local farmers could re- ceive relief in the form of state or federal grants, officials say. “We have a very large area in Umatilla County that is in the severe drought stage right now, with another equally large area in extreme drought,” Com- missioner Dan Dorran said in a meeting, adding that “the rest of the county is either in abnormally dry or moderate drought.” Dorran said people in the agriculture industry have been reaching out to him and voic- ing concerns over the current conditions. “Right now, there’s cattle farmers that are beginning to have to buy hay because of no early grass, and that’s a big worry,” Dorran said. “Dryland wheat farmers, where are they going to be and what kind of moisture are they looking at? Are they going to be able to sustain the crops they have un- til the next rain they get?” Don Wysocki, a soil scien- tist for Oregon State University based in Umatilla County, said this year’s wheat crop is in dire need of rain. “If we get rain too late, we can’t really recover,” he said. “I think it’s still at a stage where if we get rain, we’d have pretty good recovery. But another week or two and we’re going to be beyond good recovery.” Counties like Baker and Union have already declared a drought as much of Central and Eastern Oregon is experi- encing either extreme or severe drought conditions, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A Bend man pleaded guilty Thursday for threatening to report a man to immigration authorities, and as part of a plea deal h e has agreed to serve probation and commu- nity service, along with ful- filling other conditions. A judge will decide whether to go along with the deal worked out by prose- cutors and Thomas George Schlossmacher, 61. Schlossmacher pleaded guilty to one count of fel- ony extortion in Deschutes County Circuit Court. His sentencing is sched- uled for May 11. The case arose out of a business dispute be- tween Schlossmacher and Cuahtemoc Cardona, who performed landscaping work for him in summer 2020, Breese’s comments pro- A Republican state law- vide more detail about the ex- maker who says she was sub- changes she says prompted her jected to sexual harassment by to file a complaint with the Leg- Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, islative Equity Office. Breese said he responded inappropri- Iverson has asked that House ately when she asked Speaker Tina Kotek him to support a bill. remove Witt from “I asked for a yes the three legislative vote,” Rep. Vikki Breese committees they both Iverson of Prineville serve on. told the Central Ore- Kotek’s office said gon Daily News. “He Tuesday she was set- responded with some ting up a meeting with questions. I responded Breese Iverson the legislative equity to his questions. He officer, who fields ha- interjected with, going out for a rassment complaints. beer, going out for dinner, dot An independent investigator dot dot. I continued to ignore looking into the complaint rec- those and just give the answers ommended that Witt be barred to the questions he had asked, from contacting or coming and the last text that came near Breese Iverson and that he through was just unacceptable.” be removed from chairing the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, of which Breese Iverson is a member. Following Witt volunteer- ing to step down temporarily as committee chair, Kotek for- mally made that change Mon- day. In a note to lawmakers, she said Witt also would not attend virtual committee hearings. Witt has said he believes “101% that it will be found that there was no ill intent on my part whatsoever, but rather an attempt to further the commit- tee interests.” An independent investiga- tion is expected to conclude by the end of April. The mat- ter would then go before the House Conduct Committee to consider whether Witt violated legislative rules. A S ENIOR M OMENT Senior Living Solutions A Senior Moment is committed to personally assisting you with fi nding the right community to meet your needs at no cost to you! • Retirement living • Foster care • Memory/Alzheimer’s care • Nursing homes • Independent living • Assisted living Nancy Gotchy, 541-408-0570 | Tiffany Plagmann, 541-788-3487 www.aseniormoment.us We are 100% local, independent and not affi liated with any single provider network. — Bulletin wire reports STATE BRIEFING Oregon’s gray wolf population grows 9.5% SALEM — Oregon’s gray wolf population continued to climb in 2020, with at least 173 individuals doc- umented by year’s end, ac- cording to state wildlife of- ficials. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife released its annual Wolf Conserva- tion and Management report Wednesday, which includes a minimum known count based on verified evidence such as tracks, sightings and remote camera photographs. The 2020 population is a State lawmaker from Prineville says harassment by peer was ‘unacceptable’ Associated Press according to the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office. As partial payment for the work, Schlossmacher gave Cardona his pickup truck. There was a disagree- ment about the final $1,500 payment, which led Schloss- macher to text Cardona a threat to “turn you and your family into INS authori- ties for deportations, your choice,” according to the dis- trict attorney’s office. Cardona is lawfully a resi- dent of the United States, ac- cording to the DA’s office. According to a plea petition filed in circuit court, Schloss- macher has agreed to serve three years probation, 100 hours community service, pay $1,500 to Cardona, remove the lien on Cardona’s vehicle and write him a letter of apology. He had no prior convic- tions. 9.5% increase over the end of 2019, when ODFW recorded at least 158 wolves. “While Northeast Oregon continues to host the ma- jority of the state’s wolf pop- ulation, dispersal to other parts of Oregon and adja- cent states continues,” said Roblyn Brown, ODFW wolf program coordinator. A total of 22 packs were also documented in 2020, the same number as in 2019. Of those, 17 qualified as breeding pairs, having an adult male and adult female with at least two pups that survived to Dec. 31. — Capital Press Hope Starts Here MountainStar Family Relief Nursery Child Abuse Prevention mtstar.org | 541-322-6828 Say in The Bulletin The Bulletin will feature your Mother’s Day message in our classifi ed section on Sunday, May 9! SUBSCRIBERS GET 50% OFF WITH PROMO CODE: MAMA 1x3 message: $30 Subscribers: $15 2x3 message: $45 Subscribers: $22.50 3x4 message: $75 Subscribers: $37.50 Purchase online at: www.BendBulletin.com/special or call 541-385-5809