The BulleTin • Sunday, May 2, 2021 A9
Zoning
Continued from A1
Garrett Andrews/The Bulletin file
Luke Wirkkala greets supporters outside the Deschutes County jail the
day of his acquittal in his retrial for a murder charge.
Continued from previous page
Todd didn’t return numer-
ous requests for comment.
Wirkkala wishes Todd had
taken jury selection more se-
riously. In the first trial, the
process lasted half a day. In the
second, it stretched a day and
a half, with jurors polled about
issues close to the case, like
firearm use in home defense
and alcohol consumption.
“We just got so much more
information about them, and
I think we got a much better
jury,” Wirkkala said.
For his part, Hummel said
he reviewed Wirkkala’s case
after taking office and deter-
mined a murder charge was
appropriate.
He noted that 14 jurors in
Deschutes County voted to
convict Wirkkala over his two
trials, while 10 supported ac-
quittal.
“People sometimes misun-
derstand what an acquittal is,”
Hummel said. “It’s an example
of the system working.”
Wirkkala had a few dates
lined up in the coming weeks,
but his ex-wife seemed to
weigh heavy on his mind. Since
his release, they’d texted but
hadn’t spoken to each other.
He’d heard she’s dating some-
one else.
Wirkkala met Rachel Ras-
mussen in Astoria in 2011. He
says he knew in short order it
was a special relationship. In
2012, the couple moved from
the cloud-shrouded coast to
Bend and the promise of sun-
shine and opportunity.
Shortly after his conviction
in 2014, Rasmussen visited
him in jail, and he told her, “I
was going to ask you to marry
me,” meaning, had he been
acquitted, as he’d expected, he
would have proposed to her
then and there.
She told him “of course” she
would marry him.
“It was pretty devastating
to lose my wife while I
was inside. She helped me
survive this. She hung in
there for five years.”
— Luke Wirkkala
She moved to be near the
prison in Ontario and visited
him four days a week, the max-
imum allowed. But sometime
in 2018, she stopped taking
his calls. He thinks she finally
reached her “breaking point.”
They divorced that year.
Rasmussen asked to not take
part in this story.
As he recounted his experi-
ences in the brewpub he wore
a “Free Luke” bracelet and his
wedding ring, accessories he
wasn’t permitted as an inmate
of the Deschutes County jail.
“It was pretty devastating to
lose my wife while I was inside.
She helped me survive this. She
hung in there for five years,”
he said. “Losing her was pretty
heartbreaking. That just made
it a lot lonelier for me. I’m still
trying to figure it out myself.”
As his second trial ap-
proached, Wirkkala wasn’t sure
if Rasmussen would testify
again. But in March, she trav-
eled to Bend and was called as
a witness for the defense. She
told jurors she was grateful to
her ex-husband for defending
their household that fateful
night, which Wirkkala thinks
was crucial for the jury to hear.
Following her testimony, she
passed him at the defense ta-
ble and they locked eyes for the
first time in years.
His head tracked her move-
ment the whole way she retook
her seat.
“I’m trying not to think
about her too much.”
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0325,
gandrews@bendbulletin.com
Property zone changes
That Aceti is close to getting
his property zone changed
raises the question of what
other developments might oc-
cur along Highway 97. In an-
other 20 years will the lifeline
between Bend and Redmond
be lined with businesses,
warehouses, homes, and other
forms of sprawl?
That is unlikely, said Peter
Gutowsky, planning manager
for Deschutes County Com-
munity Development.
“A lot of zoning is Exclu-
sive Farm Use so it limits
(most) types of commercial
and industrial development.
It largely precludes it,” said
Gutowsky. “There has always
been an expectation that Bend
and Redmond would grow
together, but truly the zoning
that is in place is going to keep
it rural.”
Ben Gordon, executive
director of Central Oregon
LandWatch, a non-profit or-
ganization that seeks to pro-
tect open space, said his or-
ganization is committed to
keeping the area out of the
hands of developers.
“We advocate for preserving
the rural spaces in between for
a mix of rural residential and
agricultural uses,” said Gor-
don in an email. “Whereas the
cities are vibrant hubs of com-
merce, the rural lands are kept
intact for agriculture and as
open space.”
Pockets of development
While it does remain
mostly rural, the nine-mile
stretch of High Desert be-
tween Bend and Redmond is
starting to see increased pock-
ets of development.
There is a solar panel proj-
ect on 73 acres of land four
miles south of Redmond.
That project was built on land
zoned for Exclusive Farm Use.
There is also an RV stor-
age lot, a pet resort, and a
handful of other businesses.
Gordon said his organiza-
tion is kept busy reviewing
applications for development
and has thwarted attempts at
added infrastructure, includ-
ing a road that was planned to
parallel Highway 97 between
Deschutes Junction and Red-
mond.
“LandWatch prevailed at
the Land Use Board of Ap-
peals since the project would
have violated the state trans-
Bulletin file photo
Looking north toward Redmond, this photo shows traffic in the north and southbound lanes on U.S. High-
way 97 on the north side of Bend in 2017.
portation planning rule regu-
lations, and the county plans
were dropped,” he said.
Closer to Bend, a camp-
ground could soon be added
to the landscape. The Road-
house Ranch and Camp, de-
veloped by California real es-
tate agent Shawn Kormandy,
could be in place a year from
now, about a half-mile north
of the current Bend urban
growth boundary.
The project was discussed
Wednesday by the Deschutes
County Commission as it
moved toward approval.
Neighbors living close to the
project have already expressed
concern that if the project
moves ahead it will bring too
much noise and evening light
to the area.
Deschutes Junction
Then there is Deschutes
Junction, where Aceti has his
property. An estimated 3,000
to 4,000 people live within two
miles of Deschutes Junction,
he said, and there are few ser-
vices for them in the area.
“Deschutes Junction should
be master-planned with a
boundary around it. This is
an area that needs some rural
commercial. It needs a store
and a gas station,” said Aceti.
“It needs a place where this
rural population can go so
they don’t have to go to town
to get a loaf of bread and a
gallon of milk.”
Gutowski said the develop-
ments that have occurred are
rare and there are significant
barriers to converting land
OBITUARY
OBITUARY
Lee Wickland
1926 - 2021
Lee died on April 13,
2021 of congesti ve
heart failure. He was
94.
Lee was born Leonard
Lee Wickland Jr in
1926 in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, to Leonard
and Sylvia Wickland.
He was the eldest of
four children.
Lee was a veteran of
WWII, stati oned in Alaska with the Coast Guard. He
studied engineering at Multnomah College. He had
a long and respected career with the Bonneville
Power Administrati on. Lee was a Line Constructi on
Supervisor for BPA. He worked on most of the high
lines in the Pacifi c Northwest. He and his crews built
roads into very rough and hard to reach places, in
order to build the high line towers, then they strung
the power lines between the towers. He received
several commendati ons for safety.
Lee was a bowler, and an avid golf player, and was
sti ll playing several games of bridge per week even
into his 90’s.
Lee is survived by his sister Pat and his brother Bill,
his daughter, Cheryl, stepdaughters, Pam Rice and
Judy Goforth, and stepsons, Alan Mortlock and
Michael Mortlock. He had 12 grandchildren and 10
great-grandchildren. Lee was preceded in death by
his sister Barbara, and his 3 wives, Opal, Joyce and
Geri.
The family would like to thank the angels at the
Partners in Care Hospice House, and Lee’s many
friends and caregivers at Aspen Ridge Reti rement.
Lee loved a good joke, nature and animals, and
especially birds of all kinds. Memorial contributi ons
can be made to the High Desert Museum of Bend,
Oregon or the Nature Conservancy.
Deegan Domion Ceniga
October 16, 2002 - April 7, 2021
Deegan Domion Ceniga, born October 16, 2002 was
a soon to be graduate of Ridgeview High School and
had lived in Central Oregon for his enti re 18 years.
On April 06, 2021 while working out at a local gym,
Deegan experienced a ruptured brain aneurysm.
Despite heroic eff orts to save him at the gym and
St. Charles Hospital, Deegan passed April 07, 2021.
Deegan was preceded in death by his late grandfather
Nick Ceniga and late great grandfather Jim Barret.
Deegan is survived by his father and mother,
Gabriel Domion Ceniga and Lindsay Beth Ceniga.
His siblings include Ashlynn Marie Ceniga and Tyler
Domion Ceniga, Tyler’s fi ance Britt any Celene Gates
along with beloved nephew Axton Domion Ceniga.
Grandmothers Jody Turcott and Janet Ceniga also
survive him plus many loved aunts, uncles, cousins,
nieces, nephews and a great grandmother.
Deegan was deeply loved and will be greatly
missed by his family and friends. He was a kind
and a compassionate person who loved animals,
was quirky, funny and loved spending ti me with his
brother, nephew and best friends Gunner Scheer
and Chase Ceniga. Some of Deegan’s passions were
working out at the gym and power lift ing with his
best friend Gunner. He grew up riding dirt bikes
and conti nued to ride with his friends and family.
He spent about 4 years of his youth wrestling. He
excelled at anything he tried. Deegan thoroughly
enjoyed camping, swimming and family vacati ons.
Because of Deegan’s generous and loving spirit,
he gave the gift of life to many people through his
organ donati ons.
A memorial service will be held in the future.
use permits from farm use to
rural industrial.
“I just don’t see those devel-
opments as a transformation,”
said Gutowski. “In large part
it’s piecemeal stuff that is not
going to change the character
of Highway 97 between our
two largest cities.”
County commissioner Phil
Chang also remains confident
that Oregon’s property laws
are well-suited to prevent the
sprawl seen in states like Cali-
fornia, where city limits often
collide with no rural space left
as a buffer zone.
“Our state land-use system
is set up to contain sprawl and
encourage compact develop-
ment pretty well,” said Chang.
Maintaining aesthetics
What development does en-
sue, said Gutowski, has rules
surrounding it. Large bill-
boards and out-of-place build-
ings are unlikely to appear.
“We have a landscape man-
agement combing zone that
deals with aesthetics when
you are visible to Highway
97,” said Gutowski. “Any new
structures have to be earth-
toned, with some screening
involved.”
Chang said he hopes to see
“large sections” of the high-
way corridor remain either
agricultural or wildland open
space including sage steppe
and juniper woodlands.
The county can work with
existing permit holders to en-
sure that the development of
their land veers toward natu-
ral uses, he said.
“If we work strategically to
designate some green space
corridors along Highway 97,
anchored in public land own-
erships, then we could pre-
serve some large stretches of
the highway as agricultural
or wildland open space,” said
Chang.
Aceti agrees that develop-
ment along most of the route
is improbable due to a lack of
safe access points. The over-
pass at Deschutes Junction
made his area unique in that
it overturned a patch of ru-
ral ground but in doing so it
opened up opportunities for
business.
“The overpass created a
problem for one use but it cre-
ated an opportunity for rural
commercial or rural industrial
use,” said Aceti. “That is my
59 cents.”
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7818,
mkohn@bendbulletin.com
OBITUARY
George Thomas Crisp
January 10, 1932 - April 26, 2021
George Thomas
Crisp
died
peacefully aft er
a brief illness on
April 26, 2021,
surrounded by
loving family and
friends, at his
home in Bend,
Oregon.
Born on January
10, 1932 in
Teaneck, New
Jersey, to George
Thomas
Crisp
Sr. and Edith Catherine Crisp (née Lindquist), George
graduated from Lehigh University in 1953, where he
was a member of Theta Xi. Aft er college, he att ended
the Naval Offi cer Candidate School and served as
a lieutenant on the USS Tidewater, protecti ng our
country’s Caribbean front in the Korean War. Aft er his
service in the Navy, he began a career with Armstrong
Building Materials sales and in the late 1950s they
sent him to Oregon as his territory. He fell in love with
the natural beauty and recreati on, and sett led in the
Portland area, where he was acti ve for many years as a
member of Wy’East Climbers, Mt. Hood Ski Patrol and
Portland Mountain Rescue.
In 1963, he married Nancy Dawn Williams in Portland.
Soon thereaft er, George obtained his master’s degree
in educati on and began his career as an AP English and
Humaniti es teacher at Clackamas High School, where
he enriched many students’ lives unti l his reti rement
in 1990. He founded and led that school’s Alpine Club,
which introduced many students to climbing and
mountaineering.
George raised his family in a house he built himself
in Eagle Creek, where he enjoyed farming and raising
livestock. Aft er reti rement, George and Dawn traveled
extensively in the Briti sh Isles and throughout Western
Europe. In the late 1990s, they moved to Bend, where
they lived happily the remainder of their days. He
had many passions, including skiing, mountaineering,
golfi ng, literature, and family.
George was predeceased by his wife, Dawn. He is
survived by his children, Timothy S. Crisp (Laura
O’Brien) of Santa Fe, NM, and Megan M. Paquin
(Joseph) of Staff ord, OR, and by grandchildren Reece
Paquin, Amy Paquin, Britt a Crisp, Anders Crisp,
Jacqueline O’Brien and Jacob O’Brien. A recepti on
for friends and family will be held in his memory this
summer. In lieu of fl owers, those who wish may make
contributi ons to the Kids’ Center in Bend Oregon.