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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2021)
THURSDAY • October 21, 2021 Serving Central Oregon since 1903 • $3 IN GO! » Couch surf the world with virtual travels VIRTUAL YOSEMITE SPORTS PULLOUT, A5-8 Sign of the season West side of McKenzie Pass Highway to close Thursday Accused in assault, man sues alleged victim Bend runner Mark Richard Mastalir was arrested for alleged assault on Uber driver BY GARRETT ANDREWS The Bulletin A vehicle drives through a large lava field at the summit of McKenzie Pass near the Dee Wright Observatory on Wednesday. Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin BY KYLE SPURR • The Bulletin T he west section of McKenzie Pass High- way, near the state Highway 126 junc- tion to the Dee Wright Observatory, will close at 10 a.m. Thursday due to expected snowfall, according to the Oregon De- partment of Transportation. The closure will be in place from milepost 62, about 7 miles east of the Highway 126 junction, to milepost 72, near the observatory. Travel on the east side of the highway will re- main open from Sisters to the observatory. The entire highway is expected to close Monday, Nov. 1. It may close sooner depending on snowfall, ac- cording to the state transportation department. “It really has to do with snowfall and snow plow resources,” said ODOT spokesperson Kacey Davey. The highway, also called state Highway 242, will reopen in late spring or summer 2022, de- pending on road conditions following the winter season. The 37-mile scenic route, with a summit at 5,325-feet elevation, traditionally closes in mid-November when snow starts to accumulate and it becomes difficult for crews to remove the snow. The earliest closure of the highway was Oct. 18, 1996. The latest closure was Jan. 10, 1939, ODOT records show. The highway usually opens in June and aver- ages about 350 vehicles per day. The road’s short- est season was in 1999, when it was only open 90 days, beating the previous record of 120 days set in 1979, according to the records. McKenzie Pass was the main route between Eugene and Bend, but became a seasonal high- way in 1962, when construction finished on state Highway 126. Reporter: 541-617-7820, kspurr@bendbulletin.com An intense legal battle has played out this year in Bend as a man accused of assaulting an Uber driver has sued that woman for $1 million for allegedly defam- ing and assaulting him. Attorneys for the driver say Mark Richard Mastalir is attempt- ing to reduce his criminal liability through an “asinine” move in civil court, which they say will backfire. “What you got here is a rich bully trying to use his connections and his wealth and his position in the community to beat down this woman that he attacked,” said Greg Kafoury, attorney for the Uber driver, Bend woman Rhonda Bowlin. “I’ve been prac- ticing for 47 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it.” Mastalir, 53, was arrested March 21, 2020, after Bowlin reported to police that while driving the intoxicated Mastalir home, he’d grabbed her, pulled her hair and assaulted her. Police found him bloody by the side of Skyline Ranch Road, Bowlin having suc- cessfully fought him off using pep- per spray, a stun gun and a baton, police said. Paramedics transported Mas- talir to St. Charles Bend, where he received staples to close wounds on his scalp. He was indicted by a grand jury in June 2020 and has pleaded not guilty to eight counts including allegations he physi- cally assaulted Bowlin, caused her to swerve into oncoming traf- fic, grabbed her breasts and spat blood on a responding sheriff’s deputy. See Assault / A4 Deschutes Brewery closes Over half of most serious juvenile make commutation list Roanoke, Virginia, taproom offenders List includes four Pandemic restrictions that have upended the economy and forced the closure of nu- merous Bend businesses have caused another casualty. This time it’s the Deschutes Brew- ery Tasting Room in Roanoke, Virginia. Michael LaLonde, president and CEO of Deschutes Brew- ery, announced Wednesday that after four years of opera- tion, Deschutes will not renew its lease for the taproom and will cease its operations at the end of the year. The pandemic has laid waste to hundreds of pubs and restaurants across the country amid on-and-off lockdowns, TODAY’S WEATHER BY NOELLE CROMBIE The Oregonian Deschutes Brewery/Submitted photo Patrons crowd into the Deschutes Brewery taproom in downtown Roa- noke, Virginia, which opened for business in 2017. supply chain disruptions and challenges in finding workers. Foot traffic to breweries and pubs has fallen off during the Cloudy High 69, Low 44 Page A12 INDEX pandemic in many cities, hurt- ing bottom lines and leading to closures. See Deschutes / A14 Business Classifieds Comics A11 , 1 3 A14 A9-10 Dear Abby Editorial Events A7 A8 GO! More than half of the peo- ple serving time in Oregon prisons for crimes they com- mitted as juveniles will be eligible to seek parole or in some cases released outright under a commutation plan by Gov. Kate Brown. About three-quarters of the estimated 250 prisoners who meet Brown’s criteria were sentenced under Mea- sure 11, the state’s mandatory minimum sentencing law, which applies to the most se- rious crimes, including sex- Horoscope Local/State Lottery A7 A2-3 A6 Obituaries Puzzles Sports A4 A10 A5-7 The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper We use recycled newsprint Vol. 117, No. 329, 38 pages, 2 sections The governor’s criteria does not apply to people convicted of crimes as juve- niles whose projected release dates are in 2050 or later or those who were convicted as juveniles but are also serving time for offenses they com- mitted as adults. So Kip Kinkel — who fa- tally shot his parents before killing two students and wounding 24 others at Thur- ston High School — in 1998 isn’t among the group. Brown’s office released to The Oregonian the names of all offenders who met her criteria. The list is com- prised of people who com- mitted crimes as young as 14 through 17 and are now in the adult prison system. See Commutation / A4 SUN/THU convicted in 2001 Redmond killing BY MICHAEL KOHN The Bulletin ual abuse, rape and murder. The governor’s plan rep- resents the latest significant effort to reexamine crimi- nal justice policy in Oregon. In recent years, the state has undertaken multiple major reforms, including rethink- ing how it prosecutes juve- niles. The move will apply to some notorious young kill- ers, further fanning the sim- mering philosophical debate about where victims and their families fit in the re- form picture. Brown wants to emphasize crime prevention and reha- bilitation over “harsh pun- ishments and lengthy and costly prison sentences,” said her spokesperson Elizabeth Merah. U|xaIICGHy02330rzu
