A2 The BulleTin • Wednesday, april 6, 2022
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COVID-19 community levels for Central Oregon
The Bulletin is no longer publishing COVID-19 daily
case counts by county.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mon-
itors community levels of COVID-19 to help commu-
nities decide what prevention steps to take based on the
latest data. Levels can be low, medium or high and are
determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hos-
pital admissions and the total number of new COVID-19
cases in an area.
The CDC lists the following levels for Central Oregon:
Deschutes County: Low
Crook County: Low
Jefferson County: Low
Precautions the CDC recommends for communities
with low levels: Stay up to date on vaccines and get tested
if you have symptoms.
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City Club sets candidate forums for May ballot
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ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin file
Inmates walk in an exercise yard at the Deer Ridge Correctional Institution in Madras on Jan. 21, 2021.
Judge grants class-action
status to lawsuit filed by
COVID-sickened inmates
associated press
PORTLAND — A federal
judge has certified a class-ac-
tion lawsuit in Oregon over
state leaders’ response to the
COVID-19 pandemic inside its
prisons.
A group of adults in custody
who contracted COVID-19
first sued the state in April
2020, alleging culpability by
Gov. Kate Brown, Corrections
Department Director Colette
Peters and Health Authority
Director Patrick Allen, among
other state officials. The lawsuit
acknowledges the corrections
department has taken some
measures but argues they have
not been enough.
“This really is quite a ground-
breaking order, and decision,
and it could potentially be a
model for advocates in other
parts of the country where
they’re having similar prob-
lems,” Corene Kendrick, deputy
director of the American Civil
Liberty Union’s National Prison
Project, told Oregon Public
Broadcasting this week.
In Oregon, 45 people in the
Department of Corrections
custody have so far died after
testing positive for COVID-19,
and more than 5,000 people
have tested positive for the virus
while in custody.
Magistrate Judge Stacie Beck-
erman signed off on a wrongful
death class that will include the
estates of 45 adults who died
in the state’s custody and “for
whom COVID-19 caused or
contributed to their death.” The
other is a damages class that
would include anyone incarcer-
ated after Feb. 1, 2020, who was
diagnosed with COVID-19 at
least 14 days after they were in-
carcerated.
The state could appeal Beck-
erman’s ruling, settle, or take
the cases to trial. Spokesper-
sons for the governor’s office,
the Oregon Department of
Corrections and the state’s De-
partment of Justice declined to
comment on the pending liti-
gation.
Attorneys bringing the law-
suit have already used it to se-
cure vaccines for adults in cus-
tody in February 2021 before
vaccines were widely available.
In her ruling, Beckerman
said she found the theory of
the case was sufficient to certify
classes. Other questions, she
wrote, could only be answered
by a jury, should the cases go
to trial. For example, Becker-
man did not answer whether
the state acted with deliberate
indifference, or whether that
indifference was the reason
thousands were sickened with
COVID-19.
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Water levels
in Klamath
Basin look
bleak again
BY GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital press
KLAMATH FALLS — One
year after the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation shut off water
to the Klamath Project amid
a devastating regionwide
drought, conditions appear
to be worse heading into the
2022 irrigation season.
Upper Klamath Lake is
again getting record low in-
flows following another dry
winter. As of Tuesday, the
Klamath Basin had received
just 67% of its median precip-
itation for the water year dat-
ing back to Oct. 1 and 26% of
median snowpack.
Brian Person, a senior ad-
viser for the Bureau of Recla-
mation in Klamath Falls, said
the agency will announce its
annual water allocation for
the Klamath Project on April
12. He declined to speculate
whether there would be a sec-
ond consecutive shutoff, but
said it has been “a very diffi-
cult year.”
“We had a promising start
to the water year,” Person
said, adding the basin had
above-average snowpack in
November and December. “It
just stopped. It almost flatlined
through this calendar year.”
During that time, Upper
Klamath Lake inflows totaled
425,000 acre-feet of water.
That is a record low, Person
said, even lower than the pre-
vious record of 427,000 acre-
feet set last year.
Person said each of the last
three years — 2020, 2021 and
2022 — rank in the top five
driest years on record for Up-
per Klamath Lake.
“That’s not a record we were
hoping to set,” he said.
Oregon gas prices drop
4 cents over last week
BY JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
The Oregonian
Oregonians will see a lit-
tle relief at the gas pump this
week, as prices started to trend
down amid a national effort to
rein in fuel prices.
The state’s average price per
gallon fell 4 cents to $4.68, a
trend reflected around the
country. The national aver-
age slipped 7 cents to $4.18,
according to AAA. Average
prices per gallon in Portland
and Bend fell 3 cents from last
week to $4.76 and $4.71, re-
spectively.
Oregon saw its highest gas
prices ever last month, reach-
ing $4.74 on March 11. The
U.S. hit its record the same day,
peaking at $4.33 per gallon.
Prior to that, gas prices
had peaked in the summer
of 2008. The state price at
that time was $4.29, which
would be about $5.65 now,
accounting for inflation. The
national price in 2008, $4.27,
would equal $5.63 today.
Gas prices are falling after
an unprecedented rise over
the past couple of months,
largely due to the Russian
invasion of Ukraine, ac-
cording to AAA. The U.S.
and several other countries
imposed strict sanctions on
Russia, one of the world’s
largest oil producers, driving
fuel costs up as high as $130
a barrel at their peak.
In response to the in-
crease, President Joe Biden
has authorized the release of
1 million barrels of oil per
day for six months, or a total
of about 180 million barrels,
from the Strategic Petro-
leum Reserve. The under-
ground reserve where mil-
lions of gallons of crude oil
are stored is managed by the
U.S. Department of Energy.
The release of the emergency
supply is driving costs back
down.
Even as prices drop, Oregon’s
remain some of the highest in
the nation, sitting at sixth be-
hind California, Nevada, Ha-
waii, Alaska and Washington.
And within the state, South-
ern Oregon continues to see
the most expensive average
gas price per gallon. Curry
County remains most expen-
sive, at $4.90 per gallon, with
Josephine County close be-
hind. Multnomah County has
the third-most expensive gas in
Oregon, averaging about $4.83
per gallon.
In Central Oregon, AAA
listed the average prices per
gallon as $4.67 in Crook
County, $4.71 in Jefferson
County and $4.46 in Jefferson
County.
patio
world
City Club of Central Oregon, the League of Women
Voters of Deschutes County and Connect Central Ore-
gon have partnered to bring Deschutes County voters a
series of five candidate forums for positions on the May
ballot. The forums will be pre-recorded and published
on the City Club’s YouTube channel.
People may submit questions for the candidates a
week prior to the event at bendbulletin.us/questions.
The forums, all starting at 7 p.m., are:
• April 19: Congressional District 5 Democratic
primary forum with Kurt Schrader and Jamie Mc-
Leod-Skinner.
• April 21: Congressional District 5 Republican pri-
mary forum with Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Jimmy Crump-
acker, John Di Paola, Madison Oatman and Laurel
Roses.
• April 26: Deschutes County Commission Position 1
Republican forum with Tony DeBone and Scott Stuart.
• April 28: Congressional District 2 Republican pri-
mary forum with Mark Cavener, Katherine Gallant and
Cliff Bentz.
• May 3: Congressional District 2 Democratic pri-
mary forum with Adam Prine and Joe Yetter.
“The City Club of Central Oregon believes the abil-
ity to engage with and hear from candidates running for
office is essential to a healthy democracy. The candidate
forums help educate the community about whom they
are voting for in the May 2022 primary,” said Kim Gam-
mond, executive director of City Club of Central Oregon.
Sign up for email reminders on the upcoming Candi-
date Forums email info@cityclubco.org.
Oregon State University-Cascades begins
registration for high school summer academy
Oregon State University-Cascades has opened regis-
tration for its summer academy program for high school
students.
The program includes classes, regional outdoor activ-
ities and introductions to life on the Bend campus, ac-
cording to a Tuesday press release from the college.
Students can select from four different program tracks,
including those that involve digital arts, business, creativ-
ity and tourism and recreational activities.
Those who complete the program will also receive a
$500 scholarship to be used in the college immediately
after graduation.
The in-person academy, which is for current and in-
coming high school students, occurs for five days from
July 31 to Aug. 5, and Aug. 14-19. It is led by college fac-
ulty and other experts. The academy costs $945 for those
who sleep in the dorms, and $675 for the day option.
Students will also learn from college admissions repre-
sentatives about searching and applying for college. Ad-
ditional lessons in the college’s career services, financial
aid and scholarships, health and wellness programs and
student life offerings are also provided.
Road to top of Pilot Butte opening later this
year, postponed until Memorial Day weekend
People hoping to drive up to the top of Pilot Butte will
have to wait longer than usual this year.
The access gate to the Summit Road Trail will be
closed starting Monday to repave the road, said Joe Wa-
namaker, the park manager for Pilot Butte State Park, in
a press release.
The summit and the road leading up to it will be
closed until just before Memorial Day weekend, accord-
ing to Wanamaker.
The Nature Trail and Base Trail will remain open
through this time.
Where Quality Matters
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