A4 The BulleTin • Wednesday, May 12, 2021
“(Road maintenance) is made even more difficult when
people speed down the road at 55 mph after it is graded,
creating damaging washboards, or when motorbikes
perform donuts 100 yards behind the road grader.”
— From a Nextdoor entry posted by James Verheyden
Gates
Continued from A1
“This is made even more
difficult when people speed
down the road at 55 mph after
it is graded, creating damag-
ing washboards, or when mo-
torbikes perform donuts 100
yards behind the road grader,”
Verheyden said in the note.
A notice posted along the
road near the gates by Verhey-
den states the road is on pri-
vate property and the gates are
closed to the public, effective
May 10.
“This is in accordance with
the 2004 Deschutes County
Order which mandates that
gates be installed and closed
on this road. The Deschutes
County Order was specifically
adopted to prevent the public
from having access to private
property,” the notice states.
The notice explains that the
road was closed due to repeated
vandalism in the area, as well as
arson, poaching, dumping and
illegal vehicle use.
The notice adds that the Bull
Springs Road and portions
of road 4606 “are not county
maintained roads, but in fact
Local Access Roads, only to
be used for local access to the
property parcels that touch the
publicly dedicated portion of
the road.”
Chris Doty, Deschutes
County Roads Department di-
rector, said the description in
the notice is incorrect.
“A Local Access Road is a
public road that has been dedi-
cated for public use but has not
been accepted by the County
for maintenance,” said Doty in
an email.
Doty said the new gates do
not appear to be placed in ac-
cordance with any land use
decision issued by the county.
But he adds that the dispute
is mainly with the Forest Ser-
vice surrounding the easement
claims.
Shanda Group Limited,
which owns a 33,000-acre tree
farm just north of Verheyden’s
land, has in the past encour-
aged nonmotorized recreation
on its property. That land is
now inaccessible from the
south due to the gates.
Locals who use the area for
walking, biking and explora-
tion of the forest road have
voiced their concerns.
“This is a Forest Service
road. It’s a public road. It looks,
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
John Blankfort, who is critical of the gate, stands near it Tuesday on Forest Road 4606.
acts and feels like a public road.
What gives this guy the right
to put up a gate?” said John
Blankfort, a local resident who
frequents the area. “This is an
example of a multimillionaire
trying to lock up the forest.”
County Commissioner Phil
Chang said he is looking into
the matter and gathering in-
Redmond
Continued from A1
Two of Cummings’ main
concerns about Redmond
schools deal with the ripple ef-
fects of COVID-19: learning
loss and falling enrollment.
The student population fell by
400 this school year, and the
district is only planning for
about 250 of those students
to return in September. State
funding is tied to student pop-
ulation.
“For budgets, that’s going to
wreak havoc,” Cummings said
of the enrollment drop.
If elected, Cummings said
she’d push the school board
to record its meetings. At the
moment, Redmond School
Board meetings are exclu-
sively held over Zoom due
to COVID-19, but are not
posted online for later view-
ing on YouTube. This was also
the case before the pandemic,
when meetings were held
in-person.
“Sometimes, even when we
have in-person (meetings), I
don’t know if ... other parents
would be comfortable or avail-
able to engage in a meeting,”
Cummings said. “We’re deal-
ing with taxpayer funds, and
there should be transparency.”
Lavon Medlock, a health
care administrator for St.
Charles Health System and
a mother of two Elton Greg-
ory Middle School students,
said her passion for education
started early.
Growing up in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates, her
parents told her that educa-
tion could provide opportu-
nity, and encouraged her to
attend college in the United
States.
“It opened doors to me that
otherwise wouldn’t have been
opened, and I want to create
that same opportunity for stu-
dents locally,” Medlock, 43,
said.
Medlock is a member of
Redmond School District’s
equity task force, which was
formed in September to ad-
dress inequities in local educa-
tion. Celebrating diversity —
whether it’s diversity of race,
gender or thought — is im-
portant for helping local stu-
dents succeed in the modern
world, she said.
“We need to ensure we’re
setting our students up for
success in a global economy,”
Medlock said.
Medlock noted she would
also bring fiscal experience
to the school board. Before
working for St. Charles, she
kept a day spa in downtown
Bend afloat during the Great
Recession, she said.
“When candidates talk
about fiscal prudency, talking
Cummings
Gonzalez
about it and actually having
demonstrated it are two dif-
ferent things,” Medlock said.
“And I have demonstrated it.”
Ron Osmundson, a day-
care co-owner and former
assistant football coach at
Ridgeview High School, said
he was prompted to run for
school board after being dis-
mayed from seeing online
school first-hand. If elected,
he hopes to make some cur-
riculum changes that are eas-
ier for younger students and
have a heavier emphasis on
post-school adult life, he said.
“A lot of the curriculum was
tough on students, like they
didn’t understand,” said Os-
mundson, 40. “Sometimes the
teacher was a little too strict
and was starting to get un-
nerved with students.”
Osmundson has three chil-
dren, with the oldest expected
to start kindergarten at Sage
Elementary School in the fall.
He ran for Redmond City
Council in November , land-
ing in fifth place out of nine
candidates with about 11.5%
of the vote. He is currently
an appointed member of the
city’s budget committee.
One of Osmundson’s top
issues with Redmond schools
are high schools hosting vac-
cine clinics without requiring
parental consent, he said.
“What scares me is that
these kids are able to make
these decisions without get-
ting any kind of guidance or
any kind of thought into it by
their parents,” he said. “They’ll
just do it by themselves or be
pressed under peer pressure to
get them.”
In the state of Oregon, teens
age 15 and older can agree to
medical services — including
immunization — without pa-
rental consent, according to
the Oregon Health Authority.
Osmundson also said
he doesn’t believe students
should have to wear face
masks in schools. He said
teachers need to be able to see
students’ faces so they can tell
if they’re struggling with an
assignment.
“I believe in not being
masked in the classroom,” Os-
mundson said. “I like to see
how kids react, see the emo-
tions on their faces.”
Mask wearing, along with
other COVID-19 precautions,
are mandated by the state gov-
ernment and are not under lo-
cal school district control.
Lawson
Lopez
Position 4
Oscar Gonzalez, currently
a staffer with Bend nonprofit
Latino Community Associ-
ation, was an administrator
for the KIPP Academy char-
ter school in Houston in the
’90s and ’00s. That school had
students attend class during
summer to keep them from
losing knowledge — and
that’s something he’d like to
implement in Redmond.
“It’s just a radical, revolu-
tionary concept that worked,
especially for our kids, who
were already two or three
years behind,” said Gonzalez,
60. “I really feel strongly that
kids taking summer off is so
antiquated.”
Gonzalez’s children are
grown adults, he said.
Gonzalez also believes the
Redmond School Board —
which is entirely white —
needs Latino representation.
As of October 2019, 18% of
Redmond students identified
as Latino or Hispanic.
“A lot of kids that typically
fall through the cracks ... I
don’t think they really had
much of a voice at the table,”
said Gonzalez, who identifies
as Latino. “I felt compelled to
be that voice.”
Local schools also need to
reform how they discipline
students, Gonzalez said.
“We’ve got to get away from
this notion that suspensions
and expulsions are the solu-
tion,” he said. “We’ve got to
get creative and make those
Medlock
Osmundson
situations teachable mo-
ments.”
Carmen Lawson is the
only teacher running for a
Redmond board seat — she
teaches kindergarten at Ma-
dras Elementary School. She
believes that experience gives
her an advantage in figuring
out how to best help students
and keep Redmond teachers
happy.
“I can collaborate well with
staff and teachers and admin-
istrators, and understand the
stressors they’re in, because
it’s the job I do every day,”
said Lawson, 42.
“Whatever decisions (the
board) is making, it affects the
workplace of a teacher, and
the workplace of a teacher is
the environment of students’
learning.”
Lawson has three sons in
Redmond schools: one each at
Redmond High School, Elton
Gregory Middle School and
John Tuck Elementary.
Collecting and using data
to improve schools is another
goal of Lawson’s, if elected.
These stats could be used to
find what areas students need
extra assistance in, or how
students of color feel about
their school experience, she
said.
Lawson also wants to make
extracurricular activities
more accessible to all students
who don’t speak English or
can’t afford sports or music
equipment.
“They need communica-
Homer I. Clark
of Redmond, OR
Fred Lewis Coulter
of Bend, OR
Feb 19, 1928 - April 30,
2021
Arrangements:
Arrangements Entrusted
To: Redmond Memorial
Chapel; 541.548.3219.
Please visit www.redmond-
memorial.com to sign the
on-line guest book or to
leave a thought, memo-
ry, or condolence for the
family
Services:
Graveside services are
scheduled at Juniper Ha-
ven Cemetery, Prineville,
Friday, May 14, 2021 at
10:00 AM. Potluck to follow
service at Harwood Park,
Prineville
Contributions may be
made to:
A Charity of Your Choice
August 20, 1927 -
April 28, 2021
Arrangements:
Baird Funeral Home of
Bend is honored to serve
the Coulter family. Please
visit our website,
www.bairdfh.com, to share
condolences and sign our
online guest book.
Services:
1:00pm on May 15, 2021
at Finley-Sunset Hills
Memorial Park in Portland,
Oregon
Contributions may be
made to:
St. Charles Hospice
(https://foundation.
stcharleshealthcare.org/
donate)
Gloria J. Kuenzi
of Redmond, OR
February 3, 1939 -
May 2, 2021
Arrangements:
Arrangements Entrusted
To: Redmond Memorial
Chapel www.redmondme-
morial.com ; 541.548.3219
Services:
A Celebration of Life will be
planned for a future date
Contributions may be
made to:
American Diabetes
Association
Lois Mae Maddox
of Terrebonne, OR
May 1, 1928 - April 29,
2021
Arrangements:
Autumn Funerals, Red-
mond 541-504-9485 www.
autumnfunerals.net
Services:
No Services will be held at
this time.
OBITUARY DEADLINE
Call to ask about our deadlines
541-385-5809
Monday-Friday 10am-3pm
Email: obits@bendbulletin.com
formation on the dispute but
would like to see public access
continue. In an email he sent
Sunday to Doty, Chang said the
Forest Service has indicated it
would contact the U.S. Attor-
ney’s office to resolve the issue.
“As a recreationist myself
who has been on the 4066
road, I appreciate how import-
tion, so they know there are
supports for them, so all stu-
dents can do the activities
their white middle-class peers
would do normally,” she said.
Keri Lopez, an administra-
tive assistant for Bend con-
tractor Rogue Builders, said
her top priority is keeping
students learning in-person
next fall. She’s worried about
all students being forced back
to distance learning, she said.
“It should be something
people need to think about,”
Lopez, 41, said. “I’m con-
cerned about it.”
However, part- or fully-on-
line school programs should
be made available for students
and teachers who prefer it,
she said.
ant that patch of public land
and access is for so many peo-
ple in Deschutes County,” said
Chang. “So I am interested in
learning what the county can
do to resolve this situation so
the community can continue
to access that area.”
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7818,
mkohn@bendbulletin.com
Lopez is the mother of a
fifth grader at Tumalo Com-
munity School and a sixth
grader at Obsidian Middle
School.
If elected, Lopez said she’d
want to increase opportuni-
ties for parent involvement
in local schools. One exam-
ple is allowing parents back
into classrooms to volunteer,
which hasn’t been allowed
since the pandemic began.
“That really is import-
ant for teachers, to feel sup-
ported,” Lopez said. “They
have the opportunity to say
(to parents), ‘Hey, can you
run and make copies of this,
so I can eat my lunch?’”
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7854,
jhogan@bendbulletin.com
OBITUARY
Bert Swift
April 17, 1931 - April 23, 2021
Bert H. Swift Ph.D. passed away peacefully and swift ly
on Friday April 23rd 2021 a few days aft er celebrati ng
his 90th birthday.
Bert was born in Ballard, Seatt le, the fourth child of
Mary and Ethelbert Swift , of Seatt le. Bert collected
college degrees and had a passion for reading and
learning. Bert’s career ran the gamut from pumping
gas, parking cars, greasing trucks, and canning salmon,
to acti ng as Director of the Graduate School Program
in Health Care Administrati on at the University of
Maryland. Bert’s community service conti nued into
reti rement as one of the founders of High Desert
Village, a community group to support the aging,
President of the Archeological Society of Central
Oregon, and supporti ng eff orts to improve trails and
restore habitat at Todd Lake.
Bert’s approach to life was “don’t sweat the small
stuff ” and he loved music, dancing, travel, craft beer,
and cars. He played many instruments, enjoyed
Karaoke and singing in choral groups, and loved to
dance, especially with his favorite dance partner, wife
Carol. Bert traveled around the globe with friends and
family and was looking to many more internati onal
adventures. Bert was staunchly independent and was
walking 10 miles per week, living alone, driving, and
handling his own aff airs unti l the day he died.
Bert is survived by his four daughters Jennifer, Cathy,
Stephanie, and Roberta; sons in-law Andy and David;
and grandchildren Selina and Leander. He will be
missed by his nephews and nieces and their families
and by his many friends - both new and old - from Bend,
Oregon; Alexandria Virginia; and Seatt le, Washington.
Bert was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years,
Carol L. Swift , his parents Ethelbert and Mary Swift , his
siblings Claude, Marilyn, and Sue, and nephews Randy
and Bob.
A celebrati on of life will be announced to friends and
family. His remains will be scatt ered in Puget Sound by
his family, according to his wishes.
Arrangements handled by Baird Funeral Home.
Please visit htt ps://www.bairdfh .com/obituaries/
Bert-Swift ?obId=21023623#/celebrati onWall
for more tributes to Bert and to sign the online
guestbook. In lieu of fl owers, please make donati ons
to Discover Your Forest’s Todd Lake Project at:
htt ps://www.discovernw.org/discover-your-forest-
todd-lake-project-donati on-811.html