SAturdAy • May 1, 2021 • Serving Central Oregon since 1903 • $1.50
A TRUE ‘GAMER’ FOR LAVA BEARS
YOUNG PITCHERS DUEL IN BUDDING RIVALRY BETWEEN BEND HIGH AND RIDGEVIEW • PREP SOFTBALL, B1
COVID-19 pandemic
BEND | HOMELESS VETS
Veterans Village on track
to house some by June
Brown
defends
powers
in crisis
Oregon tops the nation in rate
of infections, hospitalizations
By GAry A. WArNEr
Oregon Capital Bureau
Dean Guernsey/Bulletin photos
Heart of Oregon Corps Construction trainer, david ralston, right, works with terry Clevenger to frame a wall that will be part of one of the homes at
the Veterans Village in Bend.
By BrENNA VISSEr • The Bulletin
soon as June 1. On Friday, eight volunteers from the youth advocacy organizations Heart of Oregon Corps
and J Bar J Youth Services built the walls that would soon become homes for six homeless veterans.
The project is the first of its kind in Cen-
tral Oregon, but modeled off existing vil-
lages like the one in Clackamas County.
Erik Tobiason, the president of the Bend
Heroes Foundation, which is behind the
project, said it’s been incredible to watch
local governments and private residents
come together to make the project happen.
“It’s amazing. A year ago, we were just
talking to the city and county about this
idea … a year later, we’re building houses,”
Tobiason said Friday. “We’re going to have
these people out of the woods in a few
weeks.”
Located on a plot of Deschutes Coun-
ty-owned land next to the public safety
campus off U.S. Highway 20 in north
Bend, the village will have 15 residen-
tial cabins and a community building for
homeless veterans once the project is com-
plete, Tobiason said.
The village will be managed by the
homeless nonprofit Central Oregon Veter-
ans Outreach.
For more information about the project
or on how to donate, visit centraloregon-
veteransvillage.org.
e
See Brown / A4
Erik tobiason, president of Bend Heroes Foundation, right, works with volunteers and Heart
of Oregon Corps personnel to build homes at the Veterans Village in Bend.
“It’s amazing. A year ago, we were just talking to the city and
county about this idea … a year later, we’re building houses.”
— Erik tobiason, the president of the Bend Heroes Foundation
Reporter: 541-633-2160, bvisser@bendbulletin.com
OSU-CASCADES
Academic dean Ketsdever chosen as interim VP
He will replace Becky
Johnson, who was
named interim president
By JACKSON HOGAN
The Bulletin
Oregon State University-Cas-
cades didn’t need to travel far to
find a new boss: Andrew Ketsdever,
the university’s dean of academic
TODAY’S
WEATHER
Double homicide
location is sold
New owners hope to restore
historic look of scene of tragedy
By GArrEtt ANdrEWS
The Bulletin
Though the August double homicide of
Ray Atkinson Jr. and Tasha Newby remains
unsolved, the underlying legal disputes sur-
rounding the Bend home where the couple
was killed have nearly concluded. A neigh-
bor and her husband recently purchased the
house at 932 NE 12th St. where the killings
took place, according to probate attorney
Brian Thompson, who is representing a
party involved in a dispute over the house.
See Home / A4
affairs, will become OSU-Cascades’
interim vice president on Saturday.
Ketsdever will replace Becky John-
son, who is moving to Corvallis to
become Oregon State University’s
interim president. Ketsdever said he’s
excited to get right to work with his
administrative and faculty teams.
“We can’t do it without every-
one being involved, so regardless
of what the title says, this really is a
team effort here,” Ketsdever, 52, told
Clouds, sunshine
High 66, Low 40
Page A8
INDEX
Business
Classifieds
Comics
The Bulletin. “We can’t do it without
the folks who put their blood, sweat
and tears into this place.”
Ketsdever arrived at OSU-Cas-
cades in 2018 as the associate
dean, before being named dean
of academic affairs in September.
That position — the de facto sec-
ond-in-command — oversees aca-
demic and research programs.
He will serve as the interim vice
president for a year.
A5-6
B7-8
B5-6
Dear Abby
Editorial
Horoscope
A6
B4
A6
Local/State
Lottery
Nation/World
A2-3
B2
A7
Ketsdever said his existing con-
nections with local schools, indus-
try leaders and Central Oregon
Community College will be benefi-
cial to the university.
“We have a large number of stake-
holders throughout Central Oregon
that we support, and support us, and
it’s important for us to continue those
relationships and not miss a beat
when we (change leaders),” he said.
See Ketsdever / A7
Puzzles
Sports
B6
B1-3
Correction
In a story headlined, “Virus cases surge,” which
appeared Friday, April 30, on Page A1, the number
of counties in Oregon was incorrect as well as the
number of patients at St. Charles Bend. The number
of counties in Oregon is 36, and there were 36 pa-
tients with COVID-19 at the hospital.
The Bulletin regrets the errors.
The Bulletin
An Independent Newspaper
We use
recycled
newsprint
Vol. 117, No. 329, 16 pages, 2 sections
DAILY
W
ith construction underway, the Central Oregon Veterans Village is set to house some homeless veterans as
Gov. Kate Brown said Friday that she has
no intention of rolling back orders issued
this week to fight the nation’s worst rate of
COVID-19 infec-
tions and hospital-
izations now hitting
Oregon.
“Cases are wide-
spread, driven by
new, more con-
tagious variants,”
Brown said during
a virtual press con-
ference Friday
morning.
Brown: “As your
The Centers for
Disease Control
governor, I chose
and Prevention re-
to save lives.”
ported Friday that
Oregon has the
highest rate of new infections and hospital-
izations in the nation. Cases of COVID-19
have risen 38% in the past two weeks, while
hospitalizations are up 43%. Nationwide,
both are in decline.
Fifteen counties already exceeded the ex-
treme risk numbers at the very top of the
state’s four-tier COVID-19 risk chart. But
Brown had ordered that the counties would
not need to resort to the most severe restric-
tions as long as the state’s hospital system
was not overly taxed. She set 300 COVID-19
hospitalizations as the tripwire for restoring
the ban on indoor dining and strict limits
on activities and gatherings.
When cases topped 300 on Monday,
Brown lifted the moratorium on extreme
risk limits, putting 15 counties into extreme
risk restrictions Friday. On Friday, the state
reported 339 COVID-19 patients in hospi-
tals around the state.
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