The BulleTin • SaTurday, June 12, 2021 B5
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Heidi Wright
Gerry O’Brien
Richard Coe
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Page Editor
Improve the
Deschutes 911
radio system
W
hen Deschutes County’s new digital radio system
for emergency responders launched in 2017, it had
problems.
There’s no need to recite the trou-
bled past in detail. County commis-
sioners and county 911 worked hard
to correct it. Just a taste, though, for
perspective: It got so bad that Bend
police officers filed a workplace com-
plaint with the state that the flawed
system was endangering their safety.
Those days have passed. The sys-
tem works. That doesn’t mean that
it is without its warts. It also must be
able to handle future needs.
Well, improvements are in the
works.
A consultant for Deschutes
County 911 issued a report ear-
lier this year outlining problem ar-
eas and solutions. In Bend, for in-
stance, there are still some issues
when communicating inside large
buildings. The report says there are
problems with signals around Aw-
brey Glen Golf Club. Bend’s cover-
age in the southeast part of the city
could use improvement. Redmond
also has problems with coverage in
large buildings. And Redmond is
primarily covered by only one tower
site at Cline Butte. Redmond could
use more redundancy in case there
is ever a problem with that tower.
There are some other issues, as well.
Three bits of good news: There’s
a plan to fix those problems and
more. It’s already part of the planned
county budget for 2022. And your
taxes for 911 services in Deschutes
County won’t go up to pay for them
but will stay the same.
The potential improvements in-
clude building an additional radio
tower at Long Butte, which is be-
tween Bend and Redmond. That
will help cover Redmond and should
improve coverage around Awbrey
Glen Golf Club in Bend. That has an
estimated cost of $716,000.
There’s a great deal more detail in
the consultant report. We had to ask
for the report to get it. No big deal.
Deschutes County 911 promptly
emailed it over. At 911, they do
know how to act fast.
Maybe not many are as inter-
ested as we are in the county radio
system. But we think it would be a
better general practice for govern-
ment agencies to post such reports
on their websites. The report is as
detailed an update there is on a crit-
ical government system, a system
with a regrettable history and a sys-
tem that has already cost taxpayers
more than $5 million. Seems like it’s
worth making that information eas-
ily available for everyone.
Historical editorial:
New fifty-four forty
e
Editor’s note: The following historical editorial
originally appeared in what was then called
The Bend Bulletin on July 20, 1906.
I
n the days when Oregon was oc-
cupied jointly by the Americans
and the British much was heard
of the phrase “Fifty-four forty or
fight,” the meaning being that the
American boundary should go up to
the parallel of 54° 40’ or there would
be war.
In these militant days we hear
much of another fifty-four forty and
it means a real fight in every case —
not with the British but with home-
grown greed entrenched in slimy
politics. This fifty-four forty is sec-
tion 5440 of the revised statutes of
the United States, under which most
of the land-fraud indictments are
brought. It is a conspiracy statute.
It provides that if two or more
persons conspire “to commit any
offense against the United States
or defraud the United States in any
manner for any purpose, and one or
more said parties do any act to effect
the object of conspiracy” all shall be
liable to a penalty of “not less than
$1,000 and not more than $10,000
and to imprisonment not more than
two years.”
The fencing of the public domain,
procuring and “expediting” unlawful
land entries and other offences fall
under this statute in Oregon because
of the peculiar political condition
that prevailed here for a long time, in
which there was “safety in numbers”
and the many links made a chain
of great strength and smoothness.
But the “numbers” that made fraud
a “safe” business in Oregon failed
to find security when there was no
response from Washington. The
Washington government is more
disposed to enforce the fifty-four
forty of this day that it was in the far-
off cry of a past generation, and the
dreams of many “influential” citi-
zens are thereby muchly disturbed.
Editorials reflect the views of The Bulletin’s editorial board, Publisher Heidi Wright, Editor
Gerry O’Brien and Editorial Page Editor Richard Coe. They are written by Richard Coe.
Support Central Oregon’s YouthBuild
as participation outgrows funding
BY GARY NORTH AND RYAN ECKMAN
GUEST COLUMN
A
s members of the Central Or-
egon business community, we
know it will take hard work
and tenacity to rebuild our commu-
nity after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lucky for us, we’ve seen such strength
firsthand, and well before the pan-
demic, as members of Heart of Ore-
gon Corps’ Employer Advisory Coun-
cil, or EAC.
Heart of Oregon’s YouthBuild
program partners with opportunity
youth — young adults between the
ages of 16 and 24 who are neither in
school nor employed — to pursue
their education, prepare for future
careers and grow into community
leaders. They receive construction
training and pre-apprenticeship skills
by building, repairing and renovating
affordable housing in our area. In our
capacity on the EAC, we help position
them for success by engaging in mock
job interview sessions, job site tours
and even hiring graduates to join our
own crews.
These young people demonstrate
grit and leadership beyond measure
— they just don’t have equal access
to opportunity. But when they reach
their full potential as working citizens,
all of us benefit. Our neighborhoods
flourish with refreshed housing, pub-
lic service projects and young leaders
Bulletin file
A Madras High student checks a mea-
surement for shed walls as part of Heart
of Oregon Corps YouthBuild.
who are equipped with the tools they
need to thrive. Our goal, as employ-
ers, is to continue to build the life
skills that Heart of Oregon Youth-
Build teaches and help create mean-
ingful careers. And as our economy
starts revving up again, it’s imperative
for all of us to partner with oppor-
tunity youth in transforming their
lives and communities. With serious
drive and unique perspectives, they
are a gift to any workforce. It’s been
a pleasure to welcome these gradu-
ates to our own crews. And, if they
decide this field is not the career for
them, that is more than OK. First and
foremost, our primary goal is to help
them expand their skills so they leave
with more confidence in their own
abilities and the drive to find their
path.
It’s an honor to be part of their jour-
ney. We thank the Oregon congres-
sional delegation for its support of the
Department of Labor’s YouthBuild
program funding in fiscal year 2022
to help these young people receive
the training they need to become the
skilled, educated leaders they were
meant to be. Our communities need
their perseverance and work ethic
now more than ever. But each year,
there are more interested YouthBuild
participants than its federal appropri-
ation can support. For as much good
as Heart of Oregon does every sin-
gle day for youth in our community,
funding is finite.
And so, we invite you — whether
you’re a neighbor, a business leader,
or a local, state or federal official — to
join us in recognizing the importance
of the Heart of Oregon YouthBuild
program in our Central Oregon com-
munity with your time, donations and
support.
e
Gary North is vice president of R&H Construction
in Bend, and Ryan Eckman is general manager of
Mike’s Fence Center in Bend.
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Let’s come together to Envision Bend amid changing city needs
BY LAURA FRITZ AND JAMES DOROFI
P
ilot Butte’s unmistakable pro-
file can be seen from great
distances in our region. It is
viewed as a kind of symbol of our
community: sitting close to the cen-
ter of town, straddling east and west,
north and south and offering vistas
as far as the eye can see. It reflects
our history, our connection to place
and our views to the horizon.
This butte has served as a way-
finder for the native peoples who tra-
versed this region for millennia. In
more recent times, this cinder cone
jutting up 500 feet at the edge of Ore-
gon’s High Desert has became a kind
of beacon not only for those seeking
a sense of direction, but also for peo-
ple moving to this area seeking better
lives.
No surprise then that the Bend
2030 board of directors has cho-
sen Pilot Butte as the visual symbol
of our nonprofit organization’s new
name and brand identity: Envision
Bend — Shaping Our Future. It cap-
tures what we aspire to for our com-
munity: a clear sense of direction and
better lives for all our residents.
In recent months The Bulletin has
published a number of guest col-
umns addressing the issues facing
this growing and changing city: con-
tinued expansion and new develop-
ment; transportation and environ-
mental challenges; public health and
safety concerns; affordable housing
and the unhoused; looming drought
and wildfires; and so much more.
Beyond our region, our world is
changing so fast we can barely keep
up. Climate change, population mi-
grations, social media and cyber-
crime are examples of some of the
major shifts underway.
And the global pandemic has ac-
celerated the change. Virtually every-
one and everything has been touched
by the virus — jobs, families, schools,
health care, travel, recreation, gov-
ernment, social services and more.
GUEST COLUMN
Dorofi
Fritz
While the long-term impacts are
still unclear, some aspects of life may
never go back to “normal.”
Given all the change around us, it’s
no wonder that Bendites are a little
on edge. The ongoing transformation
of our little slice of paradise from big
town to small city has caused grow-
ing pains. And no one wants to lose
those things we love most about liv-
ing here.
In short, as a city and a commu-
nity we are at a crossroads.
This is not the first time we’ve
been in this place. Back in 2005,
when Bend faced unprecedented
growth, the community came to-
gether in a groundbreaking con-
versation to plan for a better future.
The Bend 2030 project resulted in a
forward-thinking vision and plan of
action.
Many of the big ideas included in
the vision were eventually accom-
plished: a four-year university cam-
pus, regional transit system, more di-
versified economy, better-connected
trail system and more. Bend 2030
went on to sponsor dialogues on
such pressing issues as traffic, hous-
ing, civic equity and governmental
reform.
Today, while much has been
achieved, even more has changed
since the original vision was adopted.
Our community vision needs up-
dating, and this is the perfect time to
revise and renew it. Once again, it’s
time for Bend to come together in a
collaborative, inclusive and nonpar-
tisan way to plan a desired future for
the next generation.
Envision Bend is gearing up to do
just that. Over the summer we will
be reaching out to our sponsors and
community partners, launching our
new website and crafting a vision-
ing project to commence in the fall.
More than ever, we want all commu-
nity members to get involved.
As we look to our community’s
horizons, we invite all members of
the Bend community to have a voice
in shaping our future. Stay tuned for
announcements, sign up for emailed
updates at our new website (www.
envisionbend.org), or email us di-
rectly at info@envisionbend.org.
And join us on this journey.
e
Laura Fritz is executive director of Envision Bend
(formerly Bend 2030), a local nonprofit that
brings diverse stakeholders together to give all
members of the Bend community a voice in the
city’s future. James Dorofi is chair of the Envision
Bend board of directors.