WednesdAy • May 12, 2021 • Serving Central Oregon since 1903 • $1.50
SPORTS PULLOUT, A5-8
Brown: 70% vaccination rate across
state will lift COVID-19 restrictions
Gov Kate Brown laid out
some basic math on Tuesday
for Oregon’s way out of pan-
demic restrictions: Get 70%
of adult residents at least one
shot of vaccine and “nor-
malcy” can start to return as
early as next month.
“Let’s get this done. Let’s get
our economy open and en-
joy the summer,” Brown said
during an afternoon press call.
Oregon Health Author-
ity Director Pat Allen said
the state needed to inoculate
about 430,000 more people to
reach the goal by June.
The announcement marked
a major policy shift in which
the vaccination rate will now
be the key measure of a coun-
ty’s ability to drop COVID-19
restrictions.
Individual counties could
move out of restrictions even
earlier under the new policy.
Counties could apply for the
removal of restrictions early
next week if they can show
65% of residents 16 and older
have started the vaccination
process. If approved, restric-
tions could be curtailed start-
ing May 21.
Counties must also submit a
“vaccine equity” plan on how
to get vaccine opportunities to
people in underserved com-
munities.
OHA officials said some
counties with high vaccination
rates and low infection counts,
Redmond
candidates
talk masks,
summer
school
such as Clatsop County, could
move out of the restrictions
next week.
But the new emphasis on
vaccination levels also meant
counties such as Deschutes
and Washington could move
out of most restrictions de-
spite high infection rates this
week.
e
See Vaccination / A13
Editor’s note: This is the second of two
mini profiles of Redmond School Board
candidates in the May 18 election. The
first published Tuesday, May 11.
By JACKsOn HOGAn
The Bulletin
Gates shut
The most competitive races
on the May 18 ballot are for
the Redmond School District.
Eleven candidates are running
for four seats, with only one in-
cumbent in the mix.
All six candidates running
for positions 3 and 4 inter-
viewed in this article have
never served on the board, and
none have held elected office.
on rural road
popular with
hikers, bikers
Position 3
Jill Cummings said she is fa-
miliar with both the financial
world — she’s an administrator
with Summit Bank — and, as a
mother of two Redmond stu-
dents, the education world.
“I think we’re dealing with
the two most important things
to most people: their kids and
money,” said Cummings, 41.
“I feel uniquely qualified with
both.”
Road runs through west Bend
property owned by orthopedic
surgeon James Verheyden
See Redmond / A4
Man gets
7 years for
knife attack
in Madras
break-in
Mountain bikers stop Tuesday to read a sign at a gate closing off Forest Road 4606 near shevlin Park.
A
By MICHAeL KOHn
The Bulletin
gravel road that connects Bend and
Sisters through a scenic area of the
High Desert was blocked by gates on Mon-
day by a local landowner who says the
road invites illegal camping, poaching and
arson.
Forest Road 4606 is frequently used by
hikers and bikers. Their access is now in
doubt while the U.S. Forest Service chal-
lenges the installation of three gates.
At the core of the issue is who owns a 3.5
mile stretch of Forest Service road where
it passes through property owned by Dr.
James Verheyden, an orthopedic surgeon
in Bend, Deschutes National Forest spokes-
person Jean Nelson-Dean said in an email.
“That is the legal question that we are
pursuing with our legal counsel. That is the
issue,” said Nelson-Dean.
Land disputes between private landown-
ers and federal authorities are not com-
mon in Bend, but as the city explodes in
population, more individuals are moving
out to areas that bump up against federal
Dean Guernsey/Bulletin photos
John Blankfort gives information to a driver on Forest Road 4606.
lands. Forest Road 4606 passes through
private property where the Forest Service
has an easement.
“We were aware that private landown-
ers had installed three gates on FSR 4606/
Sisters Mainline Road,” Nelson-Dean said.
“We are now aware those gates have been
closed and locked.”
Nelson-Dean said the Forest Service is
working with the landowners “to resolve
the issue amicably.”
“We value the public’s access to FSR
4606/Sisters Mainline Road and hope the
situation can be resolved quickly,” Nel-
son-Dean added.
Verheyden, who built three gates along
the road, declined to comment for this
story. Verheyden’s lawyer Craig Russillo
also declined to comment, explaining that
“the situation was fluid.”
But on April 4, Verheyden posted a
message on the website Nextdoor explain-
ing his plans for the road. He said he has
maintained the road at his own expense
without help from the Forest Service and
the maintenance is very expensive.
By GARReTT AndReWs
The Bulletin
A Madras man was sen-
tenced to 7½ years in prison
for a 2020 home invasion and
knife attack that left the victim
with permanent facial scars.
Steven Jesus Arce, 33, ap-
peared Tuesday in Jefferson
County Circuit Court to plead
guilty to one count of first-de-
gree assault.
“Certainly with hindsight,
it’s easy to look back,” said
Arce’s attorney, William Con-
dren. “But my client under-
stands the harm that he caused.
He also understands that he’s
serving a significant prison
sentence as a consequence.”
See Gates / A4
See Attack / A13
SISTERS SCHOOL DISTRICT
Bond would build new, larger elementary building
By JACKsOn HOGAn
The Bulletin
Voters in the Sisters area will
decide May 18 whether or not
to fund a new, larger building
for Sisters Elementary School
with a $33 million bond.
Sisters School District lead-
ers say that the proposed new
elementary would allow for
more room for the crowded
TODAY’S
WEATHER
school, make the elementary
a true K-5, instead of K-4 and
create a cohesive, three-school
Sisters campus on the west
end of town.
Passing the bond won’t raise
taxes. It will simply retain the
tax rate that’s been in place
since residents passed a bond
in 2001 to build Sisters High
School.
Sun and clouds
High 77, Low 43
Page A12
INDEX
Curt Scholl, superintendent
of Sisters School District, said
he is hopeful Sisters voters
would approve the bond.
“We have a strong partner-
ship with the community, so
we are optimistic,” he said.
The current Sisters Elemen-
tary building — built in the
’70s — only has enough room
for grades K-4, unlike a typi-
Business
Classifieds
Comics
A11-12
A14
A9-10
Dear Abby
Editorial
Horoscope
A7
A8
A7
cal K-5 elementary. That can
make ordering curriculum
tricky for elementary leaders
— most elementary curricu-
lum covers K-5 — and fifth
grade teachers, who are at the
middle school, Scholl said.
“All the curriculum we buy
is K-5, so it just makes sense to
build a K-5,” he said.
Even with one fewer grade,
Local/State
Lottery
Nation/World
A2-3
A6
A13
Obituaries
Puzzles
Sports
A4
A10
A5-7
Correction
Sisters Elementary is stuffed.
The school expects to need
portable classrooms next
school year, and small groups
taken out of the classroom for
breakout sessions are forced
onto the stage, in hallways and
even closets, Principal Joan
Warburg told The Bulletin in
February.
In a story about the Bend
Police chief’s new budget plan,
which appeared Tuesday, May
11, on Page A1, the number of
new staff positions proposed
to be added to the department
was incorrect. Chief Mike
Krantz has proposed adding
six new positions.
The Bulletin regrets the
error.
See sisters / A13
The Bulletin
An Independent Newspaper
We use
recycled
newsprint
Vol. 117, No. 329, 14 pages, 1 section
DAILY
By GARy A. WARneR
Oregon Capital Bureau
SCHOOL BOARD
ELECTIONS
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