A4 The BulleTin • Wednesday, May 19, 2021
SPECIAL DISTRICT ELECTIONS
Initial results from Tuesday’s elections in Central Oregon • Coverage starts on A1
IN BRIEF
Area levies
failing;
new face
on library
board
Bulletin staff report
In other special district elec-
tion news:
• Voters appear to have de-
feated a five-year local option
tax levy for the La Pine Park and
Recreation District by a 2-to-1
margin, according to early un-
official results. The levy would
have cost property owners in
the district 27 cents per $1,000
in assessed property value and
money would have supported
and expanded youth programs,
expanded wellness, fitness and
outdoor programs for adults
and fund maintenance and
technology upgrades.
• The Cloverdale Rural Fire
Protection District appears to
have failed to pass a five-year
levy to support better fire and
emergency medical response.
The levy would have cost $1.35
per $1,000 of assessed property
value and would have funded
the hiring of three firefighter/
EMTs and an ambulance. It was
failing by a wide margin in early,
unofficial results Tuesday night.
• Challenger Anne Ness
appears to have defeated in-
cumbent Martha Lawler in a
rare contested race for the De-
schutes Public Library Board.
Ness was leading 55% to 44% in
early, unofficial results Tuesday.
• Mercedes Cook appeared
to be winning the three-way
race for a seat on the Redmond
Area Park and Recreation Dis-
trict Board. Cook had 40%
of the vote in early returns,
besting Lena Berry (30%) and
Jeremiah Pedersen (28%).
Matthew Gilman was beating
Jon Golden for a different seat
on the Redmond park board,
leading 65% to 33% in early re-
sults Tuesday night.
Sisters school bond appears to pass
Also, board expected
to get a new member
BY KYLE SPURR
The Bulletin
Voters in the Sisters School
District appear to have ap-
proved a bond measure for a
new elementary school and
elected a new member to
the school board, according
to early unofficial returns in
Tuesday’s special district elec-
tion.
The $33.8 million bond was
passing with 1,052 votes, or
62.3%, in favor. It would fund
a new, larger building for the
Sisters Elementary School.
School officials said the pro-
posed building would ease the
crowding at the school, which
has been welcoming more stu-
dents than the current build-
ing can hold.
The larger building would
also be built near the middle
school and high school and al-
low the school district to make
the elementary school K-5,
rather than the current K-4.
The bond won’t raise taxes
for Sisters residents. It will re-
tain the existing tax rate in
place since residents passed a
bond in 2001 to build Sisters
High School.
In the Sisters School Board
elections, Position 1 candidate
Jencia Cogdill was leading
Rodney Cooper with 63.81%
of the vote. Early unofficial
returns showed Cogdill with
Bend-La Pine
Continued from A1
McPherson Douglass, with nearly
70% of the vote, appeared to defeat
challenger Maria Lopez-Dauenhauer,
who had about 30% of the vote, in
early results Tuesday night.
“I’m excited to go back to work and
focus on making up for lost learning
and the mental health needs of our stu-
dents,” said McPherson Douglass.
LeGrand, with about 65% of the
vote, also appeared to beat his chal-
lenger, Wendy Imel, who had about
35% of the vote in early results.
Olson held about 66% of the vote,
Parks
Continued from A1
Hovekamp, a Central Ore-
gon Community College bi-
ology professor, has been on
the board since 2015 and is
the current board chair. He
said he was pleased with the
results.
“My colleague Deb Schoen
has been on the board for
some time. I am really happy
to see her strong results,” said
Hovekamp. “Zavi has got a
Cogdill
Jones
1,012 votes to Cooper’s 568
votes. Both candidates are
newcomers who are seeking
the seat that opened when
board member Jay Wilkins
did not seek reelection.
Cogdill, 43, who has a
daughter in the fourth grade,
was motivated to run for the
first time to offer a parent’s
perspective on the board.
Cogdill, a manager of
customer experience at Les
“I’m excited to go back to work and
focus on making up for lost learning
and the mental health needs of our
students.”
— Carrie McPherson Douglass, incumbent
on the Bend-La Pine School Board
seemingly defeating Gregg Henton,
who had about 34% of the vote in early
results.
The closest race was between Lle-
randi and Jon Haffner. But Llerandi still
held a strong lead in early returns Tues-
day night, with nearly 60% of the vote
great lead, and he will be an ex-
cellent addition to the board,
so it’s really very exciting.”
Hovekamp added that the
election was well run by all the
candidates.
“I believe voters appreciate
campaigns that are substan-
tive but still conducted with
dignity and decorum,” Hov-
ekamp said.
In the third contested race
for a Bend park board seat,
Schoen was leading Eliza-
beth Hughes Weide by a wide
Schwab Tire Centers, also
plans to use her marketing
and consulting experience
from a previous career in Eu-
gene and Portland.
Cooper, 66, works as a sub-
stitute teacher for the school
district. He taught K-8 for
32 years in the small Lane
County town of Crow, west of
Eugene. He wanted to bring
a teacher’s perspective to the
board.
In the Position 5 race, in-
cumbent Edie Jones was lead-
ing challenger Kevin Eckert
with 67.61% of the vote. Early
unofficial returns showed
Jones had 1,052 votes over 498
for Eckert.
Jones, 82, was appointed to
the school board in February
compared to about 38% for Haffner.
Llerandi said she was excited to join
the school board and get up to speed.
“Thank you to all the voters; thank
you for believing in me and for voting
for transparency, honesty and the kids,”
she said.
LeGrand shied away from declaring
victory after the initial results dropped.
“I just want things to be finalized com-
pletely,” he said. “But I’m still hopeful.”
Olson felt similarly.
“I’m looking good, and I feel good
about that,” she said. “But no final re-
sponse until every vote’s counted.”
The two competing slates of can-
didates were each supported by a
margin, with around 74%,
according to early, unofficial
results.
Schoen, the incumbent, has
been on the board since Jan-
uary 2020. She said big issues
to tackle include buying land
for parks in underserved areas
and dealing with challenges
presented by the growth in
Bend.
In comments after the cam-
paign, she praised her oppo-
nent for “running for all the
right reasons” and said she
Reporter: 541-617-7818,
mkohn@bendbulletin.com
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7820,
kspurr@bendbulletin.com
separate political action committee.
However, the PAC that supported Re-
publican-endorsed candidates spent
much more money.
“I think tonight’s results show that
our community demonstrated it’s not
money, but voters, who decide elec-
tions,” said McPherson Douglass.
The Republican-backed candidates
had extremely minimal, or no, contact
with local media and refused to par-
ticipate in the local nonpartisan can-
didate forum. However, they did chat
with nonlocal conservative pundits, in-
cluding Lars Larson and multiple Fox
News commentators.
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7854, jhogan@bendbulletin.com
hoped Hughes Weide would
continue to be involved in the
district. Schoen added that
Borja will bring a fresh per-
spective to the board.
“Equity and inclusion is
a priority for the board, but
we don’t have the lived expe-
riences that Zavi does,” said
Schoen. “I think he is going
to bring a great perspective as
well as his incredible energy
and enthusiasm.”
e e
2020. Jones joined the school
board after a long career in
early childhood education and
work with nonprofit organiza-
tions. She said she would use
her experience to help guide
the school district as it ex-
pands the elementary school.
Eckert, 48, an architect and
builder who owns Build LLC,
based in Seattle and Sisters,
was a first-time candidate for
elected office. He intended to
share his professional experi-
ence with the board as it nav-
igated building the new ele-
mentary school.
Board member David
Thorsett ran unopposed Tues-
day for his Position 2 seat.
Central Oregon’s
source for events, arts
& entertainment
Pick up Thursday’s Bulletin for
weekly event coverage
and calendars
OBITUARY
ELSEWHERE IN OREGON
Oregon Health Authority director losing
reelection bid to Sherwood School Board
The leader of the state agency that helped craft guidelines for
operating Oregon’s schools during the pandemic appears to have
lost his bid for a third term on the Sherwood school board.
Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen trailed chal-
lenger Duncan Nyang’oro’s with 46% of the vote in partial re-
turns as Tuesday night. Those totals are out of nearly 4,600 ballots
counted by the Washington County elections office in the race for
that seat so far.
Nyang’oro, an auditor for the SAIF Corporation, spent $9,000
to unseat Allen. The incumbent raised about half that amount.
Redmond
Continued from A1
Michelle Salinas’ lead over Michael
Summers was even smaller, with an 81-
vote difference in early results for the Po-
sition 2 seat. Salinas received about 39% of
the vote, Summers 37%, and Rachel Visi-
noni about 9%. Lacey Butts, who dropped
Jefferson
Continued from A1
In the Position 3 race, Jacob Struck, a
construction superintendent, has a lead
over Jaylyn Suppah, a community plan-
ner in Warm Springs, with 53.8% of the
vote compared to Suppah’s 46%. Both
were running for a seat that opened when
board member Tom Norton Jr. did not
Nyang’oro ran on a promise to fully reopen the district’s schools
in the fall and criticized Allen and Gov. Kate Brown for not doing
so in campaign material.
Tax for Oregon Historical Society museum wins big
Multnomah County voters overwhelmingly approved extend-
ing a local levy to support the Oregon Historical Society and
make admission to its museum free to county residents.
Countywide, 76% of voters said yes to renewing the small levy for
another five years, according to partial returns. It will cost prop-
erty owners 5 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property value.
Ruby Eloise “A nderson” Uptegrove
April 26, 1937 - May 8, 2021
— Bulletin wire reports
out of the race, still snagged nearly 14% of
the vote.
Salinas said the extremely close results
were nerve-wracking.
“I have no fingernails left because I’ve
chewed them all off,” she said.
With about 32% of the vote, Keri Lopez
led the race for the Position 4 seat in early
results. Bob Perry, who dropped out of the
seek reelection.
Struck, 34, who works for Skanska
USA Building, ran for the school board
to support the existing vocational pro-
grams and possibly add more. The father
of three children in kindergarten, second
and fourth grades also wants to get more
families involved in their children’s edu-
cation.
Suppah, 34, was motivated to serve
race, received about 24% of the early vote.
Carmen Lawson and Oscar Gonzalez were
close behind, receiving about 23% and
21% of early votes, respectively. There was
only a 442-vote gap between Lopez and
Gonzalez in early returns.
“I’m feeling like it’s too close to be com-
fortable,” Lopez said.
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7854, jhogan@bendbulletin.com
on the school board and add more rep-
resentation for Warm Springs students
and families. Suppah planned to use
her experience in educational advo-
cacy work as a part of the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs’ education com-
mittee.
Board Chair Laurie Danzuka ran unop-
posed Tuesday for her seat.
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7820, kspurr@bendbulletin.com
A Smarter
Way to Power
Your Home.
REQUEST A FREE QUOTE!
ACT NOW TO RECEIVE
A $300 SPECIAL OFFER!*
(844) 989-2328
*Off er value when purchased at retail.
Solar panels sold separately.
On May 8th , 2021, Ruby had a heavenly reunion with
her husband Mel, and her son Steven. She passed
peacefully at home lovely surrounded by “her girls”.
She had just celebrated her 84th birthday. She was born
in Oak Creek, CO. and moved to Bend when she was 2
years old. She married Melvin August 23, 1956.
Ruby was a great asset to Bend Family Denti stry where
she spent over 35 years keeping things going and is
now a legend. Prior to that she worked in the Physical
Therapy department at St. Charles.
She had a love for reading and shared that love with
her great-granddaughters by reading to them and
having them read to her. She was loving, caring, and
generous with a pinch of feisty, and had a great sense
of humor which was an asset as she helped raise her
granddaughters. She established lasti ng relati onships
with her co-workers, enjoyed gardening, and in her
younger years, cross country skiing.
The family wishes to thank Partners in Care Hospice
nurses for her wonderful in-home care.
Ruby is survived by her son, Mike Uptegrove (wife
Marcie), daughter Linda Spitt ler (husband Bob);
grandchildren, Kailee Corpus, Erin Fielder (husband
Ross), Adam Uptegrove, Heather Wong (husband
Aaron), Rob Spitt ler (wife Amara); great granddaughters
Mia Fielder, Elloise Fielder, and Abigail Spitt ler.
There will be a celebrati on of life scheduled this summer,
TBD. Her wishes were to be cremated.
Donati ons may be made to Partners in Care Hospice
house in her name. 2075 NE Wyatt Ct. Bend, OR 97701
Please sign the guestbook for the family online at
www.niswonger-reynolds.com.