STATE Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 9, 2022 Unopened boxes of unused surgical gloves and masks seen in Bend landfi ll Threats lead to arrest of Powell Butte boy By SUZANNE ROIG The Bulletin By JOE SIESS The Bulletin Submitted Photo Ryan Reid, a Bend resident, was at the Knott Landfi ll Recycling Center on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, and saw unopened boxes of hospital gowns, N95 masks and gloves that had been thrown away. country were faced with a criti- cal shortage of personal protective equipment,” Goodman said. “We ordered whatever (personal pro- tective equipment) was available, including certain substandard types of (it) we would not have previously considered using.” But as the supply chain improved, this equipment got moved to the back of the supply warehouse and put in storage by a third-party vendor, Goodman said. The idea was it would be put to use only in an emergency. Even as the highly contagious omicron variant circulates in Cen- tral Oregon communities, increasing illness and hospitalization, that day never came. A year later, the hospital realized it wouldn’t need this equipment, so it off ered it to organizations, schools, counties, construction fi rms and reli- gious groups, Goodman said. “The third party responsible for liquidating this (personal protec- tive equipment) by donation or sales made the decision to discard (it) after many eff orts to place it, including shipping it to developing countries,” Goodman said. “While we regret this (personal protective equipment) couldn’t be re-homed, we feel a strong responsibility to provide our caregivers with the safest and highest quality both for their protection and our patients.” Reid, outraged by the waste and not knowing the background, con- tacted several media outlets. “It was pretty shocking and a gross amount of waste,” Reid said. “I have friends in the med- ical fi eld who still have to reuse masks. There is still a pandemic and high value material was thrown away.” University reports surge in COVID cases By DAVIS CARBAUGH The (La Grande) Observer its COVID-19 data this school year. The previous single-day high was seven cases on Sept. 13. Eastern’s testing has continually increased throughout the 2021-22 school year, reaching 2,425 total tests through Feb. 1. The 251 total positive tests result in a 10.4% positivity rate. The measurement had stayed steady around 5% through most of the fall, peaking toward the end of January STRUCTION, LL N O C C AW Featuring: Get strong, fast Wi-Fi to work and play throughout your home. ^ No annual contract. Based on wired connection to gateway. Power multiple devices at once— everyone can enjoy their own screen. Number of devices depends on screen size/resolution. Over 99% reliability. AT&T INTERNET 100 †† Excludes DSL. 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Eastern Oregon University has totaled 251 total positive COVID- 19 cases this academic year, since the school began tracking data at the start of July. Of that total, 152 posi- tive tests came from off -campus stu- dents, 45 positive tests accounted for employees and 40 positive tests were from on-campus students. From Dec. 6 to Jan. 1, there were 16 cases among on-campus students. By the end of January, that total rose to 40. The rate among employees at Eastern Oregon University saw a similarly mild increase, rising from 22 to 45. Cases among off -campus students saw a signifi cant rise in the same time frame, jumping from 44 cases to 152. The university had several high points in January, mirroring national and statewide trends as the emer- gence of the omicron variant led to an increase in cases. Eastern recorded a record-high case count for a single day on Jan. 4, tallying 23 positive cases. The school recorded 21 cases on Jan. 10 and 14 on Jan. 25. Those are the three highest single-day case counts since Eastern started tracking POWELL BUTTE — Police arrested a seventh-grade boy at Powell Butte Community Char- ter School after linking him to a number of threats made against staff and students at the school earlier this week. Crook County Sheriff ’s Offi ce deputies were dispatched to the charter school Wednes- day, Feb. 2, after multiple threats of violence were left on the school’s phone system. The messages prompted a lockdown at both the school and the Powell Butte Christian Church next door, but an inves- tigation by local deputies and the FBI did not initially turn up anything suspicious. After more messages were left on the school’s phone system Thurs- day, authorities were able to link the messages to the seventh grader as classes resumed. The student was searched, but no weapons were found. After deputies searched the student’s home, they turned up enough evidence to arrest him for calling in the threats, the sheriff ’s offi ce said in a statement released Thursday. The boy was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center in Deschutes County. School offi cials said Fri- day that the seventh-grader had masked his threatening calls to the school to avoid getting caught. However, the second call the student made led to his arrest. “The sheriff ’s department told us, the second (call) made it easier for them to fi nd out who it was, connect all the dots… and make the arrest,” said Jason Carr, communications director for the Crook County School District. The fi rst call was not made from a number that authorities could trace, Carr said. Carr said the seventh-grader could have used a number of methods to make a call that would be diffi cult to trace, including the use of a burner phone, or by using a number of applications available on the web. Carr said the school district is cooperating with the sheriff ’s offi ce on the matter, but has not been in contact with any other law enforcement agencies. “We are confi dent, and so is the Sheriff ’s Offi ce, that the situation has been resolved,” Carr added. “There is no linger- ing threat to the Powell Butte Community Charter or any of the other schools in the school district.” Crook County Undersher- iff James Savage said the FBI is still assisting with the investiga- tion, but in a support capacity. Savage declined to release information about the suspect or the nature of the evidence recovered in the investigation at this time. S279218-1 BEND — As Bend resident Ryan Reid tossed his construction trash in the Knott Landfi ll Recy- cling Center on Thursday, Feb. 3, he couldn’t believe what he saw: boxes of unopened medical masks, gloves and gowns, some still in their origi- nal packaging being dumped. Reid thought to himself about all the people who have died and gotten sick from the COVID-19 pandemic and how some of this personal pro- tective equipment could have been used. St. Charles Health System con- fi rmed late Thursday that it had its vendor dump the unopened boxes of personal protective equipment. Reid also confi rmed with a landfi ll opera- tions supervisor that St. Charles sent the supplies. Chad Centola, the Deschutes County solid waste director, said a vehicle came in Thursday afternoon and dumped an undisclosed amount of boxes, some still attached to wooden pallets, of personal protec- tive equipment in the landfi ll. Early in the pandemic, when personal protective equipment like masks, gowns and gloves were in short supply, the hospital scoured its sources for any and all personal pro- tective equipment it could acquire, Lisa Goodman, St. Charles Health System spokeswoman, said in an email. “In early 2020, St. Charles and other hospital systems around the Offer ends 4/13/22. All offers require credit qualification, 24-month commitment with early termination fee and eAutoPay. Prices include Hopper Duo for qualifying customers. Hopper, Hopper w/Sling or Hopper 3 $5/mo. more. Upfront fees may apply based on credit qualification. S281061-1 MKT-P0108 S281057-1 A10 Prepare for unexpected power outages with a Generac home standby generator REQUEST A FREE QUOTE! 877-557-1912 FREE 7-Year Extended Warranty* A $695 Value! 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