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The BulleTin • SaTurday, January 1, 2022 A9 Omicron’s New Year’s cocktail SORROW, FEAR, HOPE FOR 2022 BY JOHN LEICESTER AND NICK PERRY associated Press PARIS — Sorrow for the dead and dying, fear of more infections to come and hopes for an end to the corona- virus pandemic were — again — the bittersweet cocktail with which the world said good riddance to 2021 and ushered in 2022. New Year’s Eve, which used to be celebrated globally with a free-spirited wildness, felt instead like a case of deja vu, with the fast-spreading omicron variant again filing hospitals. At the La Timone hospital in the southern French city of Marseille, Dr. Fouad Bouzana could only sigh Friday when asked what 2022 might bring. “Big question,” he said. “It’s starting to become exhausting, because the waves come one after another.” The mostly muted New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world ushered in the fourth calendar year framed by the global pandemic. More than 285 million people have been in- fected by the coronavirus worldwide since late 2019 and more than 5 mil- lion have died. In the United States, officials took a mixed approach to the year-end rev- elry: nixing the audience at a count- down concert in Los Angeles, scal- ing it back in New York yet going full speed ahead in Las Vegas, where 300,000 people were expected for a fireworks show on the strip. Yet by Thursday, rapper LL Cool J had dropped out of the New York telecast after a positive COVID-19 test, “The Music Man” was shuttered dean lewins/aaP via aP Fireworks explode over the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge as New Year’s Eve celebrations began in Sydney on Friday. on Broadway after lead actor Hugh Jackman tested positive, and restau- rant owners battered by staffing shortages and omicron cancellations throughout the holiday season strug- gled to stay open. “I’m really scared for our indus- try,” said restaurateur David Rabin, a partner in the Temple Bar, Skylark and other city venues who watched reservations and party bookings dis- appear this month. “No one made any money in December. The fact they may have a good night tonight, it has no impact.” The pandemic game-changer of 2021 — vaccinations — continued apace. Pakistan said it had fully vac- cinated 70 million of its 220 million people this year and Britain said it met its goal of offering a vaccine booster shot to all adults by Friday. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin mourned the dead, praised Russians for their strength in difficult times and soberly warned that the pan- demic “isn’t retreating yet.” Russia’s virus task force has reported 308,860 COVID-19 deaths, but its state sta- tistics agency says the death toll has been more than double that. “I would like to express words of sincere support to all those who lost their dear ones,” Putin said in a tele- vised address broadcast just before midnight in each of Russia’s 11 time zones. Elsewhere, the venue that many chose for New Year’s celebrations was the same place they became overly familiarly with during lockdowns: their homes. Because of omicron’s virulence, many cities canceled tra- ditional New Year’s Eve concerts and fireworks displays to avoid drawing large crowds. Pope Francis also canceled his New Year’s Eve tradition of visiting the life-sized manger set up in St. Pe- ter’s Square, again to avoid a crowd. In an unusual move for Francis, the 85-year-old pontiff donned a surgical mask for a Vespers service of prayer and hymns Friday evening as he sat in an armchair. But he also delivered a homily standing and unmasked. “A sense of being lost has grown in the world during the pandemic,’’ Francis told the faithful in St. Peter’s Basilica. Face masks again became manda- tory Friday on the streets of Paris, a rule widely ignored among afternoon crowds that thronged the sunbathed Champs-Elysées, where a planned fireworks display was canceled. In Florida, all four parks at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista were sold out on Friday, according to the company’s website. Australia went ahead with its cel- ebrations despite reporting a record 32,000 new cases. Thousands of fire- works lit up the sky over Sydney’s Harbor Bridge and Opera House at midnight. Yet the crowds were far smaller than in pre-pandemic years. Plans for OSU-managed coastal research forest move forward BY SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN Capital Press Oregon State University con- tinues to consider potentially managing a 91,000-acre re- search forest in Oregon’s south- ern coastal range, spanning Coos and Douglas counties. Researchers presented a fi- nancial analysis Dec. 21 as part of the years-long effort to transform the Elliott State For- est into a publicly owned state research forest. In December 2020, Ore- gon’s State Land Board voted for OSU to further explore how the forest might be used as a research hub. A year later, OSU has a clearer outline for what kinds of research will take place in the forest. The research forest, experts say, could benefit OSU re- searchers and students, forest- ers, small-woodland owners and scientists worldwide. “This is a very rare opportu- nity to start a research forest of this size,” said Kathleen “Katy” Kavanaugh, associate dean for research in OSU’s College of Forestry. “This would be one of the largest research forests in the world.” Research would include ex- periments on the role areas near streams and rivers play in the recovery of endangered species, exploration of potential new timber harvest systems and the study of steep forest terrains, in- cluding geological hazards. Thomas DeLuca, dean of Forestry at OSU, said experi- mental plots — different sec- tions of forest organized by watershed — will be managed differently. When a natural fire occurs in the region, research- ers will then study which treat- ments were most fire-resilient. OSu A view of the Elliott State Forest. Shannon Murray, Elliott State Research Forest director, said the project proposal in- cludes construction of research and laboratory spaces, offices, classrooms and living quarters for researchers living in the forest on a temporary or long- term basis. “It’s exciting thinking about the future of research there,” said Murray. But the project still has a long way to go. The proposed research start date is 2024, but several pieces of the puzzle must snap into place before that can happen. The biggest piece is owner- ship. Initially, the plan was for OSU to both own and manage the forest, but earlier this fall OSU backed out of its plan to take ownership, saying the fi- nancial risk was too high. The forest is supposed to be financially supported primarily by timber harvests. According to OSU’s models and data from Mason, Bruce & Girard, a consulting firm, har- vests are expected to start at a maximum of 1,300 acres per year for the first five years, later dropping as low as 500 acres Homeless Continued from A1 Both proposals are from Central Oregon Villages, a nonprofit organization that was born out of local churches and other community mem- bers coming together last year to discuss ways to establish managed camps as a safer al- ternative for homeless people currently occupying unsanc- tioned homeless camps in the region. The nonprofit is part- nered with SquareOne Vil- lages, which creates similar kinds of camps in Eugene. “We’re not talking about moving an unregulated camp with sanitary issues into some- one’s neighborhood,” said Jim Porter, Bend’s former police chief and the nonprofit’s board president. “We’re talking about getting individuals into a struc- tured situation where laws and policies are obeyed.” The organization has pro- posed two kinds of managed camps. One proposal is for a 10- unit village for older, unhoused women, with the goal to expand the village to 20 units, according to documents provided by Por- ter. If expanded, the goal would Politics Continued from A1 Two have previously made it to the final round of voting for governor before. Bud Pierce of Salem was the 2016 Republican nominee in the special election for governor. Patrick Starnes was the Inde- Photos courtesy of Central Oregon Villages A digital rendering shows what a managed homeless camp could look like at a city-owned property off Ninth Street in Bend. be to offer spots to women and children escaping physical and sexual abuse. If the contract is awarded to Central Oregon Villages, the goal would be to open some- thing by Feb. 1, though the proposal does not specifically identify which property this village would be on. The second proposal is a six-shelter micro village. The proposal doesn’t identify a spe- cific population it would serve, but envisions the village to be built in conjunction with a safe parking program, which allows people to legally camp in their vehicles or RVs in exchange for following community guide- lines. The micro village would be fenced and locked overnight, according to the proposal. The Juniper Ridge location was suggested as a possible site, but the organization was flex- ible about where this village could be placed, according to the documents. Any managed camp pro- posal that moves forward would require residents to fol- low certain rules to be able to stay in the village, such as not using drugs and contributing to the upkeep of the facility, Porter said. Residents would also have to meet with a staff member at the camp to help address physical and mental health needs, as well as work pendent Party nominee in the 2018 election. Both Pierce and Starnes were defeated by Gov. Kate Brown, who can’t run again this year because of term lim- its. Starnes endorsed Brown in the late stages of the 2018 cam- paign. This time around, he’s run- ning as a Democrat. In the end, it will come down to voters. According to the lat- est count by the secretary of state, in September 2021, there were 2,947,391 registered vot- ers. The big question mark is the 991,360 nonaffiliated voters. Most were automatically A digital rendering shows the vision of what a managed camp could look like at a property off S. Third Street in Bend near a Les Schwab Tire Centers store. on professional development to get into the workforce if the resident isn’t already working. So far, Central Oregon Vil- lages has purchased 10 small shelters, which can house two to four people and can be bro- ken down and moved eas- ily, Porter said. So far, efforts from the nonprofit are largely funded by a state grant of more than $300,000 obtained by Bend Church and SquareOne Villages. But other details, including specifics about staffing and on- going, long-term funding, have yet to be discussed in the ne- registered to vote while getting a new driver’s license at the Or- egon DMV, then didn’t mail in the card asking for their politi- cal party preferences. Currently, Democrats and Republicans only allow regis- tered party members to vote in primary elections. The reality of “closed” pri- maries is that they leave nearly 1 million people out of the pro- cess of choosing who is most likely to make it to the general election ballot. Everybody, regardless of party registration, gets to vote in the general election. Of those who have registered with a party, the totals are: per year after most major thin- ning is completed. Although OSU officials pre- dict profitable timber harvests, there are too many uncertain- ties, including potential log- ging limitations because the Elliott provides prime habitat for federally protected species. OSU has decided not to shoul- der the risks. The committee advising OSU and the Department of State Lands about the forest is now exploring an alternative plan: having OSU manage the forest but another entity own it. One possible option is es- tablishing a stand-alone entity, such as a public corporation or independent public agency, to own the forest. This would re- quire legislation. Development of a formal legislative concept for the 2022 legislative session is underway. gotiation process with the city, Porter said. Estimates in the proposals show startup costs for the vil- lage for older women would be $268,560. For the micro village, estimates show startup costs being about $98,000. The hope is to find a way to fund operations for two to three years, Porter said. The city of Bend earlier this summer set aside $1.5 million dollars of American Rescue Plan Act money to go toward developing managed outdoor shelters. Central Oregon Villages is also anticipating and trying to prepare for staffing shortage is- sues — a problem many orga- nizations are facing. “Our hope is we will be able to find like-minded individu- als who have the same calling to serve with access to con- struction companies to help us stand something up quickly,” Porter said. The city hopes to review proposals by the middle of January, according to Joshua Romero, a spokesperson for the city. e Reporter: 541-633-2160, bvisser@bendbulletin.com Democrats: 1,026,313 Republicans: 729,676 Independent Party: 138,489 Libertarian: 21,640 Working Families: 8,648 Pacific Green: 8,002 Constitution: 3,841 Progressive: 3,016 Other parties: 16,406 e gwarner@eomediagroup.com
