Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2022)
A4 The BulleTin • Tuesday, sepTemBer 13, 2022 Funds Continued from A1 evan Vucci/ap President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law at Boston Logan International Airport on Monday in Boston. Biden: fight against cancer should be a ‘national purpose’ President likens effort to 1960’s space race that brought Americans together BY ZEKE MILLER AND CARLA K. JOHNSON associated press BOSTON — President Joe Biden on Monday urged Americans to come together for a new “national purpose” — his administration’s effort to end cancer “as we know it.” At the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Mu- seum, Biden channeled JFK’s famed moonshot speech 60 years ago, likening the space race to his own effort and hoping it, too, would galva- nize Americans. “He established a national purpose that could rally the American people and a com- mon cause,” Biden said of Kennedy’s space effort, add- ing that “we can usher in the same unwillingness to post- pone.” Biden hopes to move the U.S. closer to the goal he set in February of cutting U.S. cancer fatalities by 50% over Crisis Continued from A1 Federal health officials said that under the program, 85 cents of every dollar spent by states to expand these services and utilized by Medicaid-cov- ered individuals will be paid for by the federal government. There are more than 1.4 mil- lion Medicaid recipients in Oregon, according to the Or- egon Health Authority. That’s almost one-third of the state’s population of 4.1 million. An example of such a pro- gram exists in Eugene, where teams of paramedics and be- havioral health practitioners take mental health crisis calls out of the hands of uniformed and armed officers. The Eugene program is called Crisis Assistance Help- ing Out On The Streets, or Measure Continued from A1 decades. Former Deschutes County commissioner and current Chair of the Deschutes Repub- licans Phil Henderson said the organization is against the bal- lot measure. He said current systems are working well and having both a primary and a general election allow for ade- quate candidate vetting. Last year, the Nonpartisan County Commission Commit- tee recruited former Deschutes County Commissioner Tammy Baney to speak in support of the ballot measure and educate voters on how partisanship af- fects the election process. The committee was responsible for collecting signatures to support the measure. “Giving voters more options is what this represents,” Baney told The Bulletin on Monday. Baney lost as a Republican candidate in the 2018 primary election after serving as com- missioner for 12 years. She is now the director of the Cen- tral Oregon Intergovernmental Council. It’s often nonaffiliated voters who are left out when it comes to partisan commission the next 25 years and dramat- ically improving the lives of caregivers and those suffering from cancer. Experts say the objective is attainable — with adequate investments. The president called his goal of developing treatments and therapeutics for cancers “bold, ambitious, and I might add, completely doable.” In his speech, Biden called on the private sector to make drugs more affordable, and data more regularly avail- able. He ticked off medical advancements possible with focused research, funding and data. And he spoke of a new fed- erally backed study that seeks evidence for using blood tests to screen against multiple cancers — a potential game- changer in diagnostic testing to dramatically improve early detection of cancers. Danielle Carnival, the White House coordinator for the effort, told The Associ- ated Press that the adminis- tration sees huge potential in the commencement of the blood diagnostic study on identifying cancers. “One of the most promis- ing technologies has been the development of blood tests that offer the promise of de- tecting multiple cancers in a single blood test and really imagining the impact that could have on our ability to detect cancer early and in a more equitable way,” Carnival said. “We think the best way to get us to the place where those are realized is to re- ally test out the technologies we have today and see what works and what really has an impact on extending lives.” In 2022, the American Cancer Society estimates, 1.9 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed and 609,360 people will die of cancer dis- eases. The Centers for Dis- ease Control and Prevention ranks cancer as the sec- ond-highest killer of people in the U.S. after heart disease. The issue is personal to Biden, who lost his adult son Beau in 2015 to brain can- cer. After Beau’s death, Con- gress passed the 21st Century Cures Act, which dedicated $1.8 billion over seven years for cancer research and was signed into law in 2016 by President Barack Obama. CAHOOTS. CAHOOTS teams, which are not sent on calls involving violent situa- tions, handled 24,000 calls in 2019. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, said Monday’s announcement means Ore- gon is the first state to qualify for a higher federal Medic- aid match of 85% for the next three years to reimburse mo- bile crisis services delivered to Medicaid beneficiaries. “That stepped-up federal investment makes it much easier and cost-effective for local communities to build CAHOOTS-like programs tailored to their needs,” Wyden said. Appearing at a telephone news conference with Sper- ling, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and federal officials, Wyden said he had personal interest because his late brother, Jeff, suffered from schizophrenia. “For years on end, the Wyden family would go to bed at night — my brother on the street — and all of us wor- rying if he would hurt himself or someone else,” Wyden said. Brown said the federal in- vestment “will be a game changer.” “These teams will encom- pass all the services, sup- port and treatments people need and can be provided in a timely manner,” she said. “They can be available wher- ever and whenever an indi- vidual is experiencing a men- tal health crisis.” They will complement the new 988 national mental health crisis/suicide hotline, ready to deploy if requested by the call centers, Brown said. elections and seats, Baney said. Deschutes County has 154,729 registered voters. Over 50,000 of those voters are nonaf- filiated, more than the number registered in any political party. Primary elections for the Deschutes County Commis- sion only allow for partisan candidates, so nonaffiliated or minority party voters are not privy to the same visibility, momentum and resources as Democratic and Republican nominees, said Commissioner Phil Chang. “A large portion of voters didn’t see a Deschutes County Commission candidate on their May primary ballots,” Chang said. He is the treasurer for the Nonpartisan County Commission Committee. “We’re the youngest county in the state, but we’re clinging to the oldest form of govern- ment possible,” he said. Chang argued partisan elec- tions disenfranchise voters and encourage a misrepresentation of Deschutes County’s “very purple community.” He said removing partisanship from the County Commission elec- tion process doesn’t mean that political parties can’t endorse a candidate. If Deschutes County voters vote in favor of the measure, the question remains of how the county could conduct non- partisan elections. Jefferson County allows anyone who wants to run for a commission seat to file for the May primary election. Then, if someone earns more than 50% of the vote, that candidate wins, but if no one earns a majority, the top two contenders partici- pate in a runoff in the Novem- ber general election. █ 541-633-2160, akaminski@bendbulletin.com D N Shirley Mae Fraley Other top contributors include $500,000 from Eugene heavy equipment company Papé Group, and $341,000 from Columbia Sports- wear Co. CEO Tim Boyle. The Johnson campaign has received $200,000 from Sierra Pacific Industries, whose founder, Red Emmerson, is the na- tion’s largest landowner. The company last year made its first major purchase in Ore- gon, acquiring Eugene-based Seneca Saw- mill, including 175,000 acres of Oregon tim- berlands. Timber and construction groups have given heavily to Johnson, whose family has ties with the industries going back to the early 1900s. Johnson is the daughter of the late Sam Johnson, a wealthy timber industry operator who as a Republican served in the state Leg- islature representing Deschutes County and was mayor of Redmond. Johnson spent her more than two decades in state politics as a Democrat representing districts near the Oregon Coast. Along with her father’s ties, she’s built up her own rela- tionships while operating an aviation ser- vices business. Spending: Johnson’s biggest spending has been $5.32 million with Targeted Platform Media, a Crownsville, Maryland, advertising buyer. In a notable campaign quirk, John- son has reported 386 expenditures totaling $330,000 since April 20 with Facebook, the social media platform. Nearly all the transactions are for $900 each. While nearly all campaigns use Face- book for targeted digital ads, most place the purchase through media buyers. Johnson’s campaign sends payments via debit card di- rectly to Facebook’s Menlo Park headquar- ters. Cash on hand: Johnson’s campaign has more than $2.9 million in the bank. Christine Drazan, Republican Drazan’s win in a crowded field of 19 Republicans in the May primary changed national GOP plans for spending in Ore- gon. With 36 races for governor across the nation in 2022 — including 20 where Re- publicans are defending seats they held — money is prioritized to go where the party has a chance to win. With Republicans failing at the ballot box for 40 years in races for governor, Or- egon didn’t seem to qualify. But the win by Drazan — a Republican woman legislative leader from suburban Portland — checked key demographic boxes to compete in 2022. Drazan is anti-abortion, opposes gun control and is decidedly pro-business. But she says President Joe Biden won the 2022 election. She isn’t personally identified as an acolyte of former President Donald Trump. Some Republican leaders, including Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, have worried that unwavering allegiance to Trump has been the determining litmus test in primaries that produced “weak” can- didates without appeal to the wider general election electorate. The emergence of Johnson as a third can- didate gave Republican strategists enough hope of a three-way split in the general election vote to redirect national GOP funds to back Drazan. Fundraising: The Republican Governors Association has given Drazan $1.58 mil- lion. It’s a big part of the $7.99 million she’s raised so far. Other big contributors include $375,000 from Glendale-based forest products firm Swanson Group, and $350,000 from Eu- gene-based Murphy Plywood. Spending: Drazan has spent about $7.8 million. To get her message out, Drazan has allocated $3.73 million to Strategic Media Services, a Republican-aligned media buyer based in Arlington, Virginia. It was also the main media company used by Knute Bue- hler in his 2018 run for governor. Cash on hand: Drazan reports having just under $1.28 million in the bank. Tina Kotek, Democrat Kotek, was the longest serving Oregon House speaker when she resigned both her position and seat in the House to run for gov- ernor. Fundraising: Kotek has raised just over $8.9 million in the past two years, with an accel- erating pace of contributions as Election Day grows closer. She has received $1.88 million from the Democratic Governors Association. Other large contributors include $375,000 from the Citizens Action for Political Educa- tion, a political action committee associated with the SIEU public workers labor union. Stand for Children PAC, a child advocacy group, has given more than $346,000. Kotek has been endorsed by Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control group backed by billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Kotek has received $75,000 so far. But Bloomberg has shown a willingness to spend much more in past campaigns. Gov. Kate Brown received $750,000 from the group in 2018 and another $250,000 directly from Bloomberg. Spending: Kotek has spent $7.1 million so far, with the largest portion — just under $4.5 million — going to Canal Partners Media, a firm popular with Democratic candidates, in- cluding President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign for the White House. Cash on hand: $1.84 million in the bank. █ gwarner@eomediagroup.com OBITUARY Randall L. Webster December 15, 1945 - September 7, 2022 It is with profound sadness we announce the passing of Randall L. Webster on Wednesday, September 7th, in Kansas City, Missouri. His life began December 15, 1945, in Long Beach, California, one of three children born to Gilbert and Mary Webster. Most of his childhood was spent in San Francisco, California. After graduating from Washington High School, he went to college at San Jose State earning a bachelor's degree in Marketing. After serving as an officer in the Navy for four years during the Vietnam War, some of it "in country," he received an honorable discharge as a Lieutenant. He returned to California where he earned an MBA from Long Beach State. During his career in Marketing, working for companies including Nieman-Marcus and Bear Creek Corporation, he traveled all over the world. He was married three times, and his son, Christopher, was from his first marriage to Carol Bridges. His second marriage was to Annette Kahn, of Dallas, Texas. In 1998, he met Valorie Smith while living in Kansas City, Missouri, and this time he got it right. They were married at Lake Tahoe, California on September 8, 2003. For several years they worked as a sales team for The Gerson Company, making the move to Bend, Oregon in 2001. A lover of the great outdoors, Randy was able to spend his retirement years exactly as he had imagined: as a resident of Bend, skiing Mt. Bachelor in winter, golfing, hiking, and fishing the rivers and streams of Deschutes County in summer, while playing racquetball and pickleball year-round. But, even in retirement, he continued to contribute to his community as a volunteer mediator, helping people find positive ways to resolve conflict, a role he enjoyed tremendously and at which he excelled. Randy and Val had many adventures together traveling with friends and family in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. Examples include a voyage on the Queen Mary, sailing in the Virgin Islands and the San Juan Islands, and touring aloft elephants in the jungles of Cambodia, just to name a few. Randy enjoyed music, particularly country music, appreciated fine art and authentic international cuisine. He was a man of intelligence and good humor, with a kind and generous heart, loyal, loving, and supportive to his family, stepfamily, and to the family he chose-his lifelong friends-all of whom will mourn him deeply. His wife and soulmate, Val, walked beside him every step of the way through the long course of his ordeal with Lewy Body and Parkinson's disease, sparing no effort to make his life as comfortable as possible. of Bend March 15, 1931 - September 1, 2022 Services: 1:00 pm, September 13, 2022, Memorial Gardens, Bend, OR. Contributions can be made to: Partners In Care Randy was preceded in death by his mother, Mary Levy, father, Gilbert Webster, stepfather, Gene Sacks, and sister, Margaret "Peggy" Webster. In addition to his wife, Valorie, and his son, Christopher, Randy is survived by his stepchildren Brad Scott and his wife, Marni, Jessica Horn; grandchildren, Alex, Jackson, Tyler, Ainsley, and CJ, as well as his beloved brother Roy Webster and Roy's wife Sandy. Randy also leaves many close friends who will never forget the rich experiences they shared. OBITUARY DEADLINE You may share a message with the family or sign an online guest book via www. parklawnfunerals.com. Arrangements: Park Lawn Northland Chapel (816) 781- 8228. Call to ask about our deadlines 541-385-5809 Monday - Friday 10am - 3pm Email: obits@bendbulletin.com
