The BulleTin • SaTurday, May 29, 2021 A7
SAN JOSE
Shooter had 12 guns,
22,000 rounds of
ammunition at home
Los Angeles Times
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Masked and unmasked shoppers stroll Wednesday along Brooks Alley during the Bend Farmers Market.
Masks
Continued from A1
Q:
A:
Should I mask up at shops
and grocery stores?
It depends. Some places
still have mask mandates
in place, including Fred Meyer.
Other places are following
guidelines from the Centers for
Disease Control and Preven-
tion, which permits customers
to drop their mask if they have
been vaccinated. According to
Gov. Kate Brown’s office and the
Oregon Health Authority, you’ll
need to present your vaccination
card to enter the store without a
mask. Employees are supposed
to check your card but in prac-
tice, this does not seem to be
happening in many cases.
One easy way to deal with
this is just to take a picture of
your vaccination card with
your phone and keep your
original card in a safe place at
home.
Aaron Price, store director
at Food4Less, said rules are
changing frequently and warns
that what you hear today could
be obsolete by next week. The
confusion has angered custom-
ers in stores and led to verbal
abuse.
“The ever-changing rules are
causing hardship for retailers,”
said Price. “They frustrate cus-
tomers and put store workers
in dangerous situations.”
about entertainment
Q: For How
venues?
now, most venues still
A:
require masks. Stepha-
nie Johnson, events manager at
Tower Theater, said masks are
required inside the building but
patrons may remove their masks
while “actively” eating or drink-
ing items from concessions. The
theater is still following 6-foot
social distance guidelines.
Fans of Bend Elks base-
ball should likewise pack a
mask along with their foam
finger when they head to the
ballpark this summer. When
seated, fans can enjoy the game
maskless, but will be required
Pandemic
Continued from A1
The changing guidelines
have been dizzying. Just last
month, the state moved De-
schutes County into “extreme
risk,” and then last week the
county moved to “low risk.”
The risk levels are based on
the number COVID-19 cases,
which spiked in recent months.
Throughout April, cases rose
in Deschutes County from
6,370 to 8,029.
Cases have since slowed
but had still reached 9,564
as of Friday, including 79
people who have died from
COVID-19.
The main reason Deschutes
County is at “low risk” is due to
at least 65% of its residents re-
ceiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
The growing number of vacci-
nated residents is encouraging,
but people are still taking pre-
cautions.
Ken Ferrasci, a Bend cattle
rancher and real estate inves-
tor, kept his mask on Wednes-
day as he took his daily walk
through downtown.
He stopped by the Bend
Farmers Market on Brooks
Street Alley, where posted
signs asked all visitors to wear
masks. All vendors and most
to mask up when heading to
the bathroom, concessions or
other areas of the stadium.
“We will proceed with an
overabundance of caution to
ensure our players, fans, and
staff are safe at Vince Genna
Stadium,” said Kelsie Hirko,
sales and marketing manager
for the Elks.
Masks are still required at
the High Desert Museum.
There’s a slightly more re-
laxed approach at the De-
schutes County fairgrounds,
where general manager Geoff
Hinds said pursuant to cur-
rent Oregon Health Authority
guidelines, members of the
public are not required to wear
a mask at the fairgrounds if
they are vaccinated. Under that
guidance, proof of vaccina-
tion must be presented before
a person can enter the fair-
grounds.
However, social distancing
requirements remain in place.
This includes home games
for the Oregon High Desert
Storm, a professional indoor
arena football club.
Q:
I am planning to go to Les
Schwab Amphitheater for
a concert this summer. Will I be
wearing a mask?
It’s still too early to tell,
said Marney Smith, the
amphitheater’s director.
“We just don’t know what
the state requirements will be,”
said Smith. “If the choice is up
to us, we will not require masks
or proof of vaccination.”
The key is the state’s vaccina-
tion rate, she said.
“The state of Oregon has in-
dicated that once Oregonians
reach a 70% vaccination rate,
most restrictions will be lifted,
but we have been given no in-
dication of what those lifted re-
strictions will be,” Smith said.
A:
plan to do this year — the state
is not requiring face masks for
students, staff, volunteers, and
spectators. School districts may
still enforce face masks if they
choose, but of the five Central
Oregon districts with outdoor
ceremonies, all but Redmond,
will not require masks, district
representatives said.
Redmond will have its grad-
uation ceremonies indoors at
the Deschutes County Fair-
grounds, where face masks are
no longer required pursuant
to state guidance. According
to the guidance, organizations
that choose to no longer re-
quire masks and physical dis-
tancing must require visitors to
show proof of vaccination.
Cascade Lakes. Mask needed?
“There is no mask require-
ment on trails or outside,”
said Jean Nelson-Dean, spokes-
person for the Deschutes Na-
tional Forest. “We do still have
a mask requirement at some of
our facilities as we look at the
new CDC guidelines to follow
them.”
Nelson-Dean added that
masks are still required at
the Lava River Cave to pro-
tect bats from exposure to
COVID-19.
A:
My kids signed up for an
Q:
after-school program
through Bend Park & Recre-
ation District. What are the
rules now?
Mask rules are consis-
tent with Bend-La Pine
Schools. Masks are required in-
doors and participants can re-
move masks while outdoors and
socially distanced.
I am going to the public
A:
Q:
pool and other Bend Park
& Recreation District facilities.
Do I need to mask up?
Face coverings are not
required for outdoor ac-
tivities including the district’s
youth and adult sports pro-
grams, outdoor swimming and
roller skating, and when in parks
and on trails. For river recre-
ation, be prepared to social dis-
tance and to wear a mask on the
Ride the River shuttle.
For indoor activities, face
coverings are no longer re-
quired if full vaccination can
be verified by staff at recreation
facilities (Larkspur Commu-
nity Center, Juniper Swim &
Fitness Center, and The Pavil-
ion).
For those who are unable or
prefer not to verify vaccination,
individuals can participate
with masks. Everyone is asked
to wear a mask when entering
the lobby areas initially.
Patrons may bring a vacci-
nation card (a copy or digital
photo) when visiting a park
facility and the front desk
staff will register you as vac-
cinated so showing the card
upon future visits won’t be
necessary.
A:
After a mass shooting
left nine workers at a Valley
Transportation Authority rail
yard in San Jose, California,
dead, authorities are trying to
understand why — and how
— the gunman committed
the horrific attack.
Evidence has painted
a picture of the assailant,
57-year-old Samuel Cassidy,
as a disgruntled VTA worker
who hated his job. Authori-
ties on Friday said an initial
search of his house — which
was burned in a fire that co-
incided with Wednesday’s
shooting — uncovered mul-
tiple cans of gasoline, sus-
pected Molotov cocktails, 12
firearms and approximately
22,000 rounds of various
types of ammunition.
“It is clear that this was a
planned event and the suspect
was prepared to use his fire-
arms to take as many lives as
he possibly could had sheriff’s
deputies not made entry to
stop his rampage,” Santa Clara
County sheriff’s spokesman
Russell Davis said.
Emerging reports Friday
also indicated that Cassidy
may have been facing a disci-
plinary hearing at the agency,
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Bulletin reporter Jackson Hogan
contributed to this report.
Reporter: 541-617-7818,
mkohn@bendbulletin.com
where he worked as a main-
tenance worker for the last
eight years.
But representatives for
VTA said he was not sched-
uled for a disciplinary hear-
ing Wednesday “or any other
upcoming or prior date.” He
was scheduled to report for
a regular shift the day of the
shooting.
The VTA is reviewing all
records pertaining to Cassidy
and whether he made other
employees fearful or uneasy,
the agency said.
Some who worked with
Cassidy described him as a
loner at the agency.
“Sam was definitely out-
side the group,” said Kirk
Bertolet, 64, a 12-year VTA
employee who was on duty
at the time of the shooting.
“I never once saw him sitting
at a table with co-workers
talking or doing anything.
He was always beside himself
doing something, and never
interacted.”
Bertolet said the workplace
was composed of blue-collar
workers who were sometimes
tough on each other.
“Sometimes, if you’re a lit-
tle thin-skinned, maybe you
don’t fit in,” he said.
541.480.8130
louie@louiehoffman.com
“Catch My Drift”
Louie Hoffman, CCIM
Principal Broker, Licensed in Oregon
SRES, Senior Real Estate Specialist
Proudly Serving Central Oregon Real Estate
Communities for 29 Years
%(1'_5('021'
What about mask require-
Q:
ments at high school grad-
uation ceremonies?
For outdoor graduation
A:
ceremonies — which is
a hike planned for
what most local high schools
Q: I this have weekend
near the
“It’s a small price to pay for your safety and somebody
else’s. I’m comfortable doing it for as long as it takes for this
problem to end.”
— Ken Ferrasci, the Bend cattle rancher and real estate investor kept
his mask on Wednesday as he took his daily walk through downtown.
He stopped by the Bend Farmers Market on Brooks Street Alley, where
posted signs asked all visitors to wear masks.
visitors complied.
Ferrasci said he is being ex-
tra careful lately because he still
needs his second COVID-19
vaccine shot.
He’s optimistic that in a few
more months wearing masks
will be unnecessary.
But for now, he keeps his
mask on.
“I’m still not real comfort-
able if it’s crowded,” Ferrasci
said.
Ferrasci is staying patient
and believes his precautions
are keeping others safe.
“It’s a small price to pay for
your safety and somebody
else’s,” Ferrasci said. “I’m
comfortable doing it for as long
as it takes for this problem to
end.”
Isak Ziegner, a woodworker
from Los Angeles, spent the
past week visiting a friend
in Bend. Ziegner wasn’t sure
what the safety guidelines for
COVID-19 were in Oregon, so
he carried a mask with him at
all times.
“I tend to err on the side of
personal caution,” Ziegner said.
Ziegner brought his
18-month old daughter, Juni-
per, with him on the trip. Juni-
per has never known a world
without COVID-19 and she’s
never been inside a grocery
store, Ziegner said.
Juniper is too little to prop-
erly wear a mask and too
young for a vaccine.
“We don’t go into any indoor
spaces with her at all, except
our home,” Ziegner said.
Ziegner tries to avoid in-
doors spaces as well.
He plans to keep wearing a
mask indoors throughout the
year.
“I have know idea who’s
vaccinated and who’s not,” he
said. “I’m able to protect
myself by wearing a mask.”
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Reporter: 541-617-7820,
kspurr@bendbulletin.com
5/31/2021