News Archive

The News Archive contains all articles that have appeared on the Daily News page of this website, beginning with January, 2001.

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Although she is only 19 years old, Elena Weigand already bears one of the true marks of an artist — the inability to survive without her craft.

“I started dancing when I was eight,” said the Madras native.  “I took ballet and the moment I started — I can’t explain it — I knew I needed to dance for the rest of my life.”

When the Prineville-based High Desert Dance Arts Company opened a Madras branch studio in 1990, Weigand immediately took advantage of the new facility, catching the attention of the studio’s owner, Caroline Kaiser.

“As soon as our eyes met, I felt that she understood dance the same way I did,” Kaiser explained.  “She stood out not so much because she had an exceptional body for dance, but because she was incredibly open to information, and she was very aware of her body and how to use it.”

Originally taking courses in jazz and classical ballet at High Desert, Weigand began expanding her dance experience through involvement in Echo Theater’s “Do Jump” program, which is based out of Portland.  For some time, she thought the circus and trapeze type moves she was learning through Echo Theater would take her in a more unconventional direction professionally.

“I thought that I might go into the experimental type of dancing,” she said. “I loved ballet but it was too rigid, and jazz wasn’t quite my style.”

Despite these other areas of experience, Weigand finally settled on modern dance as her focus.
Graduating a year early from Madras High School, she began attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) two years ago, where she currently performs with the UNLV Repertory Dance Company.

Last summer, the company traveled to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival — a general arts festival in Scotland — where they performed every day during their month-long stay.

“We got professional experience dancing and we got to see other companies perform.  It was just fantastic,” Weigand said.

Her work at UNLV has led to another rare opportunity.  This summer Weigand will participate in a two-week-long workshop in San José, Calif. run by the New York-based José Lamón Modern Dance Company.

For the last two years, the company’s artistic director, Nina Watt, has taught classes on the Lamón technique as a visiting professor at UNLV.  After Weigand’s first semester in Watt’s class, she was given a leading role in one of Lamón’s original pieces of choreography, and at the end of this school year, Watt invited her to participate in the summer workshop.

When Weigand indicated that she was worried about the workshop’s tuition, Watt replied, “Money isn’t an option.  I really want you to come.”

Holding true to her promise, Watt called Weigand later in the summer to say that she had received the one full workshop scholarship offered by the company.

“I was so amazed I didn’t know what to say,” Weigand said. “She’s this icon who’s been on the cover of ‘Dance’ magazine and here I am coming from a small town and having this dream to dance and now it’s starting to come true — I could hardly breathe because I just didn’t know how it was happening.”

Recently, Weigand has been staying with her parents, Craig and Leslie, at their farm in Agency Plains while teaching a dance and yoga class in Madras, but last Friday she left for San José.  The Lamón workshop, which runs from July 30 through Aug. 10, will give her the opportunity to dance with company members and watch them perform.

“I plan to dance my heart out,” she said.

Although Weigand hopes that her talent and experience will lead to a professional dance career, she will continue dancing even if they don’t.

For her, it is more than merely a physical experience.

“Dancing is what feeds me,” Weigand said.  “There are poets and authors, people who express themselves through their writing.  If someone wanted me to say something really deeply or strongly, I would always dance it.”

O'Meara and city battle in court
By Susan Matheny
General Editor
August 1, 2001

You wouldn’t think a room full of people could talk non-stop about sewer effluent for five days, but last week’s O’Meara/City of Madras trial proved that assumption wrong.

While lawyers and witnesses talked at length, Circuit Court Judge F. J. Yraguen wasn’t one to mince words. “Coulda been, mighta been — I’m not interested. What I’m interested in is evidence,” the judge said at one point, admonishing an attorney for his line of questioning.

The trial, which ran July 23 through 27, was over an agreement between Nine Peaks Golf Course owner Kevin O’Meara and the City of Madras concerning irrigation water and leased land.

O’Meara has part of the golf course holes on private land and part on land leased from the city. In another agreement, the city provides him with treated sewer effluent to use to irrigate the course. In addition, nearby farmland was also leased from the city, where excess effluent could be used.

The O’Meara suit contends that the city did not provide a high enough quality (level IV) of effluent, and is seeking $100,000 in damages. The city filed a countersuit claiming O’Meara breached the agreement by not taking water according to the terms of the 1992 agreement, and that he began unauthorized construction of new golf course holes on the farmland. The city suit seeks $75,000 in damages.

In June, the city terminated its water and land lease agreements with O’Meara, but a 10-day restraining order from a judge temporarily kept the water from being turned off.

During the trial, witnesses were questioned by O’Meara’s attorney John Devoe and city attorney Martin Hansen. Witnesses were examined and cross examined in regards to effluent storage ponds, pumps, valves, back flow, pipe pressure, sprinkler heads and trouble with communications between treatment plant workers and golf course irrigators.

Witness George Raines, city public works superintendent, noted that the treatment plant had to be shut down several times because O’Meara had not accepted effluent. “It’s been nightmarish. We couldn’t start up and run continuously,” he said.

While questioning engineer Ned Dempsey the O’Meara attorney suggested there was a “simple fix” to the backflow problems between the city and golf course pipe systems. Backflow had only happened about five times and a check valve could be installed for under $1,000 to alleviate the problem, the lawyer suggested.

During closing statements last Friday, the lawyer noted O’Meara did make efforts to cultivate the farmland with effluent. As for beginning construction of golf course holes on the farmland, he noted O’Meara had believed there would be a future sale of that land to him if the city and county approved.

Judge Yraguen, typing notes all through the proceedings on his laptop computer, interrupted at that point to ask if perhaps O’Meara didn’t already consider himself the landowner?

“I’ve tried to understand why someone would do what Mr. O’Meara did in regards to the easement and the moving of golf holes, and (I’ve tried to) make any sort of logical reason of why a person of his background and experience would do what he did. and after five days I’m still baffled,” the judge stated.

O’Meara’s attorney responded, saying “we have indication there was some laying in the weeds,” referring to the fact that city employees driving by the area had seen construction going on at the farmland back in April, but noting had been done by the city in response.

“I’ve been waiting to hear who from the city was laying in the weeds and I can’t find anybody,” the judge said, adding, “If anybody laid in the weeds, I’m wondering if it wasn’t your client in regards to his intentions on the property.”

O’Meara’s attorney finished by saying the city’s termination of the lease hadn’t given the proper 30-day landlord-tenant notice, the city didn’t provide level IV effluent, and the city’s pump was not providing the proper water pressure for irrigation.

In the city’s closing statement, attorney Hansen shortened the case to two points: “not enough pressure and not level IV effluent.”

Hansen said if the two sides communicated and worked in partnership, Nine Peaks could be green and lush like the Prineville golf course. “Such a partnership can work,” he said.

However, O’Meara, Hansen said, “was acting, maybe not intentionally, in odds with the sewer plant and backing the plant up.”

The other area focused on by Hansen was the farmland construction and dumping of 15,000 yards of dirt on it from the Safeway construction site.

“(The mayor and I) couldn’t believe it when we heard there were bulldozers moving up there without any approval ... this was the boldest move a person could make,” Hansen said.
Judge Yraguen asked why, then the city didn’t take any action back in April.

O’Meara contended he had given the city notice about construction work back in January when he filed his crop report for the farmland. On the report, in the middle of the list of crops to be grown were the words “golf course expansion” which were overlooked.

“After (O’Meara’s) history of litigation, you’d think the city would be watching everything like a hawk. That any document coming from Mr. O’Meara’s hands would be reviewed. And yet, that sailed right through and nobody caught it,” Judge Yraguen said.

At the trial’s conclusion on Friday, the judge said he would issue a written decision by Friday, Aug. 3.

Issues on skeletal remains at Warm Springs
By Elena Lesley
Staff Writer
July 27, 2001

The discovery of an 8,400-year-old human skeleton dubbed “Kennewick Man” has focused national attention on modern questions of racial ambiguity, and stirred up controversy surrounding tribal and scientific claims to the dead.

Although the much contested remains cannot be viewed at The Museum at Warm Springs’ “Kennewick Man on Trial” exhibit, visitors can learn more about the man’s unearthing and its ramifications through an informative display.

In July of 1996, two men watching the annual Hydro Boat Races at Columbia River Park in Kennewick, Wash., found part of a human skull at the river’s bottom. Later, deliberate searches unearthed nearly all of the man’s remains.

Although scientific testing placed the remains well before any recorded European contact with North America, researchers noted that Kennewick Man possessed many surprisingly “Caucasoid” features.

This unlikely discovery has since launched a public debate about the origins of Native Americans and ethical questions involving tribes’ rights to bury their ancestors.

Some anthropologists have commented that, assuming the ancestors of Native Americans originally traveled from Asia to North America, Kennewick Man could simply display traits of these early human populations.

“Some anthropologists have noted that the narrow, elongated skull shape of Kennewick Man — and other traditionally ‘Caucasoid’ features — are shared by several early populations in Asia and the Pacific,” reads a display at the exhibit.  “Based on this information, many scholars believe that it would be ‘farfetched’ at this point to claim Kennewick Man came from Europe.”

But even if Kennewick Man can be grouped with traditional “Native Americans,” such ambiguities call into question the very nature of race itself.

Although humans have long attempted to separate themselves and others into categories based on allegedly racial characteristics, much modern research suggests that “human populations cannot be divided into clearly defined, biologically distinct groups,” reads the display.

Regardless of the uncertainty inherent in racial discussion, ethnicity will play a key role in Kennewick man’s future.

After the remains were initially tested, a group of five tribes claimed Kennewick Man under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

“Every tribe has sad stories about graves being pillaged, the offerings and skeletons removed,” reads a display quote of Leigh Jenkins, director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office.  “Scientists always had one standard for themselves and another for Indians.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers originally agreed to return Kennewick Man to the tribes for burial, but the procedure was halted when eight anthropologists filed a suit in Portland’s U.S. Magistrate Court, attempting to secure the remains for more scientific testing.

Kennewick Man will remain at the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum at the University of Washington while the lawsuit is pending.

“The resource is part of the public trust,” reads a display quote of archaeologist Ernestine Green.  “At issue is the freedom to pursue knowledge and scientific inquiry without political pressures or legal restraints.”

For those interested in learning more about the controversy surrounding Kennewick Man, The Museum at Warm Springs will be hosting the traveling exhibit through Aug. 6.  Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week.

COCC reconsidering Grizzly site
Susan Matheny
General Editor
July 26, 2001

A change may be in the air for the proposed COCC Madras campus.

“It’s going to be happening, but there was a concern over treatment plant smells,” noted Madras resident Don Reeder, who is a member of the COCC Board of Directors.

Reeder said the board expressed some concern over developing a college campus down wind from the city’s sewage treatment plant. The city will know in the next few weeks after the plant starts up if any odors will be detectable.

A 50-acre parcel near Grizzly Road has been under consideration for the COCC campus since March. The Madras campus would offer higher education courses, along with corrections-related courses and is set to open the fall of 2004, in conjunction with the proposed state prison.

“The campus location is still sort of in limbo and COCC is investigating other sites. One is across from Jefferson County Middle School,” Reeder said, adding, “I’ve heard from (COCC President) Bob Barber and (COCC Vice President for Institutional Advancement) Matt McCoy that the board is still extremely interested in a Madras campus.”

Reeder noted he excused himself from the board’s deliberations since he is an attorney for the Bean Foundation. College representatives are slated to have a meeting Tuesday evening with the Bean Foundation Board, which owns the property across from JCMS.

The eye of CBS comes to Culver
By Elena Lesley
Staff Writer
July 25, 2001

The toss of a dart brought a CBS news crew to Culver recently.

To choose the next location for an installment of CBS’ feature program “Everybody has a Story,” the last person profiled, who happened to reside in Brainerd, Minn., threw a dart at a map of the United States and it landed on Jefferson County.

The news crew, headed by correspondent Steve Hartman, soon followed its path.

On June 22 they arrived in Madras and stopped at the Dairy Queen phone booth to find residents who were willing to be followed for the weekend and could provide a slice of “middle American life” to CBS’ viewers.

Randomly selecting names from the phone book, Hartman received several rejections before stumbling upon the number of Mike Macy, a farmer from Culver.

“I thought it was a joke,” Mike said, “and that’s probably the only reason I went along with it at first.  But then (Hartman) started asking some pretty serious questions and I knew it wasn’t a friend playing a trick on me.”

By a stroke of good fortune, Mike had taken a break from working in the fields to get a glass of water. Otherwise, he said, he probably wouldn’t have been in the house to take the call.

His wife, Milne, discovered the news crew would arrive that evening when she called home from a wedding rehearsal she was helping coordinate.

“I got my sister, who was visiting for the weekend,” Milne explained, “and she said, ‘You’ve got to come home. I’m cleaning your house.  CBS is coming.’”

Although the Macys were unsure what to expect, any apprehensions they may have had were eased when they met Hartman and the news crew that evening.

“They’re the type of people that you meet and you know really well automatically,” Milne explained.  “They were very honest and forthright — you can’t help but trust them.”

For the rest of the weekend, members of the news crew followed the Macys, filming their daily routines, asking questions about their lives and sometimes participating in activities themselves.

“Steve Hartman was interviewing me while I was decorating for the wedding,” Milne said, “and I said, ‘Since you’re here, you might as well do some decorating yourself.’  So, he helped out.”

A cameraman also filmed Mike as he farmed during what proved to be an especially busy weekend.

“My uncle and dad were gone,” Mike said, “so I was in charge of everything — I had to do a lot of supervising.”

But throughout their experience with the news crew, the Macys never worried that an unfair “spin” would be put on their segment.

“It will be interesting to see what ends up on TV,” Milne said, “because they have seven hours of tape for a three-minute feature.  But I’m not worried because they want to make something good and they want to make you look good.”

On Sunday, Milne determined the news crew’s next destination as the dart she threw landed on Charlotte, N.C.

“They were pretty excited that it landed on a city,” Milne commented, “because usually they have to go to rural areas.”

Although the Macys enjoyed the chance to be profiled and look forward to viewing the feature on TV, they agreed that their encounter with CBS gave them an even more important opportunity — time for self-reflection.

“You really don’t think about your life,” Milne commented. “You just kind of go through it day to day and when someone comes in and examines and picks it apart, it makes you consider a lot of things.”

Most significantly, Milne noted, members of the news crew wondered how she could be satisfied living in such a rural area.

“They didn’t understand why I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” she said.  “But I grew up on a ranch in Fossil so this is pretty populated for me. I can actually see all kinds of homes from here and we have a beautiful view of the mountains — it’s just magnificent.”

Although the Macys valued their chance to gain some perspective on their daily routines, they have no plans to alter their lifestyles in the near future.

“They made us question why we do what we do,” Mike said, “but it didn’t make us want to change anything.”

The Macys’ segment will air July 27 and 28 on the CBS Evening News and the Early Show, respectively.

Mountain View goes "home"
By Elena Lesley
Staff Writer
July 24, 2001

Starched nurses uniforms, bleached white walls and massive amounts of chrome have become passé in the world of hospital decor.

Health care facilities are now striving for “homier”, more comfortable environments, said Mountain View Hospital administrator Susan McGough.

For this reason, Mountain View has experienced ongoing renovations since the late 1980s, always trying to make staying in the hospital a less sterile experience.

“We want to connect the facility with what makes Oregon great, with a love of the outdoors,” McGough explained.  “So we’re trying to add more windows, outside light, and places where patients can get outside.  Basically, we want to make it a healing environment.”

Last fall, the hospital acted upon this potentially salutary decoration philosophy by transforming the facility’s chapel into a “spiritual center,” complete with access to an outdoor garden area.

“We have to be careful when we’re renovating to pay attention to things like the color of paint
and landscaping,” McGough explained.

The hospital recently completed a project that raised and partially concealed the building’s fire sprinkler system.  In the traditional layout, pipes were exposed which, McGough said, “visually didn’t make for a good experience.”

McGough believes that the ability to access knowledge can also improve patients’ stays in the hospital.  A formerly unfinished basement in the Physical Therapy wing now boasts new meeting rooms where many community outreach groups congregate and a Health Education Center that is equipped with internet access.

“When people have chronic illnesses or unanswered questions, it’s helpful to have this room,” McGough said.  “The internet information helps people cope with their illnesses and reinforces what they’re hearing from their doctors."

Many of the hospital’s future renovation plans, though relatively concrete, will depend on finances and the potential impact of a new prison in the area.

Next spring, McGough hopes, work will begin on the Acute Care patient Rooms and in the Living Center.  Sometime after that, the hospital outpatient area will be expanded.

But the exact timeline is tentative.

“The Department of Corrections contracted with a consultant group to measure the impacts on the (Madras) community of a new prison and they anticipated a large population increase,” McGough said. “As the population increases our service needs will increase.”

At the same time, hospital administrators must be careful not to build too far ahead of the prison’s construction, or else they will not make enough revenue to pay back loans taken out for the renovations.

“If we build too soon, we won’t have the volume of services to make the payments,” McGough said.  “It would be like building a school and then not having any kids come.”

Despite the difficulties raised by planning issues, McGough said the hospital will continue to create a more livable environment.

“Over 90 percent of people (recently polled by Modern Health Care) believe that surroundings have something to do with healing” McGough said. “That’s why we’re paying attention to all these things — we want to make the hospital more home-like.”

Mental Health head to resign
By Susan Matheny
General Editor
July 23, 2001

Jefferson County Mental Health Director David White is planning to resign his position, it was revealed at the July 11 meeting of the Jefferson County Commissioners.

White said he has not yet officially submitted his resignation, but will in September or the first of October and will give 30 days notice.

He spoke at the meeting to urge commissioners to provide vision and direction on the type of mental health program they want to see, instead of hiring a director to do that.

“The director should carry out the commission’s desires,” White said.

He requested a meeting with the commissioners to go over department programs and plans and talk about hiring his replacement.

“This will give us a good opportunity to discuss visions ahead of time before the new person is hired,” he said.

The meeting was set for the commission’s Tuesday, July 17 work session at 1 p.m.

White mentioned that Naomi Jacks, coordinator of the county’s Developmentally Disabled program (DD), retires Aug. 1, which will leave another gap.

“Jefferson County is looking for new DD people across the board. There are only five or six of us in the state in mental health with DD experience. We will need a director with DD qualifications,” White told commissioners.

There will be a lot of competition in finding such a person, he indicated, since there will be a large number of mental health directors retiring in the next few years.

“I’m not hearing of any current directors who’d be interested in Jefferson County. There may be some former directors or others with past experience,” White suggested.

Commissioners expressed an interest in talking about the possibility of privatization, or contracting with a private company to provide services, such as Wallawa, Union and Baker counties are doing. It was decided that avenue would also be discussed at the Tuesday meeting.
County business license?

County Counsel Paul Hathaway said he would bring information to commissioners at a later date on the possibility of establishing county business licensing.

“We’d have better authority to make people comply to rules and enforce codes,” Commissioner Bill Bellamy noted.

But Commissioner Mike Ahern felt differently. “I see it as a can of worms. Amway, telemarketing — where do you draw the line?” he said.

CRR Advisors
The July 25 commission meeting will be moved to Crooked River ranch in the morning in order to interview the seven candidates applying for five positions on the Crooked River Ranch Parks Development Advisory Board.

Applicants will also be interviewed at the same meeting to fill a vacant position representing the Ranch on the Jefferson County Planning Commission.

City chooses administrator
By Susan Matheny
General Editor
July 20, 2001

Following a 3 1/2 hours of deliberation in executive session, the Madras City Council voted unanimously July 16, to offer the job of Madras city administrator to Baker City resident Steve Bogart.

Since last Thursday’s interviews of both candidates, Bogart and former 509-J School District Business Manager Mark Brannen, council members have been grappling with the decision.
Brannen’s sudden resignation from the school district raised some questions from the public as did Bogart’s short stay at his last job.

Council members were extra cautious, not wanting to get into another controversy like the one that arose from the hiring of previous city administrator William Sizemore, who turned out to be a convicted felon.

Police checks were done on both candidates, and the council requested the Oregon League of Cities do employment background checks.

“Because of Sizemore, we wanted to make sure everything checks out. The police checks came out fine and the background checks will take a few days,” noted Mayor Rick Allen.
“We took the background checks as far as we could. We owed it to the city and to ourselves,” added Councilman Bob Sjolund.

The job offer to Bogart is pending a successful background check and contract negotiation, it was noted. The actual vote to hire him will be done at the next city council meeting Tuesday, July 24.

“We had a very difficult choice, as judged by the time we’ve spent deliberating on this. We had two strong candidates,” said councilmember Keith Johnson following executive session which lasted from 6 to 9:30 p.m., Monday.

Several councilmembers commented on why they chose Bogart.

“I think it’s the right move. He’s a good guy and he’s excited about coming here,” Allen said.
“I think you’re going to be surprised by this guy,” predicted councilman Mick Goss, who was pleased with the selection.

Bogart recently moved back to Baker City after working one year as the city coordinator for Vale, which has a population of around 1,500 residents.

Prior to taking that job, he was a county commissioner of Baker County from 1987-99, serving eight of those years as the county judge, or chair of the commission. In that position, he was responsible for management of county business, including operations, budget and personnel.
Before the county government job, Bogart worked from 1976 to 1989 for Ellingston Lumber Company in Baker City.

His educational background includes studying romance languages and physical education at Treasure Valley Community College; speech, theater and political science at the University of Oregon; and public administration and business management from Eastern Oregon State College.

Bogart serves on several state boards including the Oregon State Board of Education and the Oregon Workforce Quality Commission. Regionally, he chaired the Northeast Oregon Economic Development District for three years.

Imperial River Lodge preserves history
By Elena Lesley
Staff Writer
July 19, 2001

Think you need to set off for Maui or Martha’s Vineyard to vacation like a celebrity?  Think again.  Now Jefferson County residents need go no further than Maupin to relax where big shots like Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara unwind in their spare time.

Even if you’re not a member of the jet set, at the new Imperial River Company Lodge you can vacation like one.

The lodge, which is located on the banks of the Deschutes, caters to a variety of clientele, according to owners Rob and Susie Miles.

“We get hunters, rafters, fishermen and people who just want to get away from the city and enjoy the slow pace of Maupin,” Susie explained.

In addition to the lodge’s typical sporting activities, it offers a rarer attraction — the preservation of a small piece of history.  Susie’s mother, Jeanne Carter, owns the historical Imperial Stock Ranch in Bakeoven and the family has worked hard to connect the two businesses.

“We’re trying to incorporate the ranch more and more into the lodge,” Susie said.
The lodge’s restaurant already features the ranch’s lamb and beef in several dishes and the woolen products of Imperial sheep line the gift shop shelves.

“So far having the beef and lamb on the menu has turned out great,” Susie said.  “Everyone comments that the flavor of the meat is wonderful.”

Each of the lodge’s 12 rooms has been individually decorated by the Mileses, and many display Imperial Ranch paraphernalia.

In the “Homestead Room,” original boards from an old barn at the ranch have been fashioned into shelves, while a mural of the very same building, along with pictures of the ranch’s original owners, decorate the walls.

Despite the ranch’s already strong presence in the lodge, the Mileses hope to make it even more prominent.  They see it as their mission to help preserve the ranch’s history through ownership of the lodge, which they purchased in January.

“We’re planning on starting ranch tours so people can learn about its history,” Susie said.  “It’s a unique place and it needs to be preserved.”

Even though the ranch and lodge have both experienced some success, Susie stressed that the businesses’ financial benefits are not nearly as important to the family as their historical significance.

“We’re not looking to become a corporate power and sell our products all over the world,” Susie explained.  “We want to protect the ranch and educate people about it — to take a stand today to preserve the past.”

Trio faces charges in stabbing death
By Elena Lesley
Staff Writer
July 18, 2001

Three suspects were taken into custody last weekend for involvement in the murder of 26-year-old Warm Springs resident and tribal member Michael J. Saludo, whose body was found in the Lower Dry Creek area Thursday evening.

Earlier that day, a vehicle that was registered to one of Saludo's relatives had been discovered near Birch Lane in the North Unit Irrigation Canal, said Warm Springs Police Chief Don Courtney.  The police, aided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, immediately began a search and rescue mission in the canal for Saludo, who was the car’s last known occupant.

When officers found some of Saludo’s belongings near Lower Dry Creek, they launched a search in that area, discovering his body around 7:20 p.m.

On Friday, Saludo was taken to Portland for an autopsy that determined the cause of death as multiple stab wounds, said State Medical Examiner Clifford Nelson.

The following Monday, Warm Springs residents and tribal members Ronald McKinley, Angelo Fuentes and Tony Gilbert Jr. — all of whom are charged with Saludo’s murder — made their initial appearance in the Portland Federal Courthouse.  Their preliminary hearing will be held July 23.

Chief Vernon Henry dies in car accident
By Susan Matheny
General Editor
July 17, 2001

Chief Vernon Henry, the first elected Paiute chief of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, was killed in a single-car accident July 11, on Highway 3, Mile Post 25, north of Simnasho.

Chief Henry, 66, was a passenger in a pickup driven by Ruby Bulloch, 28, who is a Native American, but not a member of the Warm Springs tribe. The pickup rolled during the 10 p.m. wreck, and Henry died at the scene, but Bullock, who is pregnant, was transported by Warm Springs ambulance to Mountain View Hospital and was reported on July 12 to be in stable condition.

“It’s a tremendous loss to Indian Country,” said Louis Pitt, director of Warm Springs Government Affairs.

As a leader of the Paiute Tribe for over 14 years, Chief Henry had a long-term memory of tribal business. He added stability and integrity to the Warm Springs tribal government, and of course he was a friend to many people,“ Pitt said.

Chief Henry was elected Paiute chief from among five candidates in 1987. Prior to that, the position was hereditary. The previous Paiute Chief, Nick Kalama, passed away in 1985. The chiefs now remaining on the 11-member Tribal Council are Warm Springs Chief Delvis Heath and Wasco Chief Nelson Wallulatum.

During his time as Paiute leader, Chief Henry worked to build partnerships with other Paiute tribes, it was noted.

He is survived by four children: daughters, Leah Henry, Martha Winishut and Alexandria Henry, and son, Anthony Henry. He was preceded in death by his son, Roderick.

A prayer service was held July 12 in Warm Springs, dressing ceremony July 13 at the Agency Longhouse followed by overnight services. Burial was July 14 at the Lower Seekseequa Cemetery.

County commission approves mine
Staff Report
July 16, 2001

In a July 11 meeting closed to public testimony, the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a controversial proposal to include an area near Metolius on the county list of significant aggregate sites.

Earlier this year, the property’s owner, Lee Bissell, filed an application to include 150 acres of land off Eureka Lane on the county list.  After those living near the site complained, the county planning commission recommended that the county commission approve the proposal.

On June 6, the board met to hear testimony from both sides and decided to discuss the issue further at the July 11 board meeting.

“This is a time for the three of use (board members) to discuss the issue at hand, but we cannot hear new testimony,” explained board chair Janet Brown at the second meeting.

After touching upon topics ranging from the qualifications necessary for a proposed aggregate site, to issues recommended for examination at the conditional use meeting, board members decided that the quality, quantity and location of rock on Bissell’s property warranted the area’s addition to the county list.

“Since I have been on the commission, the director has indicated the need for a rock source on the southern part of the county,” said board member Bill Bellamy.  “This aggregate site will have the least impact you can have on residents and it’s a good quality of rock for roads.”

But upon approval of the proposal, Bellamy added, several issues, such as the location of airport access, traffic at the intersection of Elbe and Eureka, and the location of “quasi-commercial activity,” need to be further discussed. These topics regarding conditional use will be under the jurisdiction of the planning commission.

“Now, (Bissell’s property) is on the map,” Brown said after approving the proposal, “but not one piece of rock can be hauled out commercially until conditional use is decided.”

Artist's studio hit by drunk driver
By Elena Lesley
Staff Writer
July 13, 2001

When Coralee Popp returned home from a recent vacation, she found three disturbing messages on her answering machine.

“There’s been a horrible accident,” said the owner of Popp’s art studio on the first recording. “I hope you have insurance.”

While Popp was visting her grandchildren in California, Jesus Garcia Julian of Madras had veered off the road, knocking over two trees, a telephone pole, and crashing into the side of her studio.  The collision proved so intense that plaster from the wall in the building’s front had splatered onto paintings in the back.

“It was ugly,” said Popp.  “There was glass and plaster everywhere and I have a show in August so I thought, ’Oh man, where am I going to work?’”

Although three statues, a Navajo rug, and a mosaic had been damaged, Popp remarked that she was thankful the accident’s losses were only material.

“Fortunately no one was hurt,” Popp said, “but it could have been worse — what if children had been peeking into the windows when that guy came by?”

According to the police report, the incident occurred during the evening of June 9 and “there was a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on (Julian’s) breath,” when he spoke to police officers.
The accident’s only eyewitness stated that Julian’s blue pickup truck was racing north on 5th Street when the vehicle’s two left-side tires blew out near the Black Bear Diner.

“The pickup then went over the curb, struck the light pole and tree, then crashed into the store,” reads the report.

Julian was released after his arrest for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and will be contacted for specific insurance information.

“Luckily, he’s insured,” Popp said.  “You’d think that if someone drinks that much and drives, they wouldn’t be responsible enough to have insurance.”

“I talked to a member of the city council,” she continued, “and he said the city’s looking at about $10,000 in damages.”

Popp’s studio is the third Madras building to be hit by a reckless driver within the last year, the other two being Hatfield’s and McDonald’s.

State grants soccer fields $250,000
By Tony Ahern
Publisher
July 12, 2001

A $250,000 state grant is the final financial piece for the Juniper Hills Park soccer fields.

“This fills in all the (funding) gaps,” said Mike Morgan, Jefferson County administrative officer.

On June 21, County Commissioner Mike Ahern, Bean Foundation member and soccer project promoter George Neilson, and Jesse Macias, who’s vision started the project rolling, presented their proposal to the ruling board of the local government grant program through the Oregon State Parks fund. They were one of just 63 proposals before the board.

Last week, county officials were notified that all of their $250,000 request had been approved. It was the maximum that the grant program provides.

“It was tremendous,” said Morgan. “We expected that we might get some funding, but to get the full amount was fantastic.”

The soccer program request reportedly ranked third in highest priority out of the 63 proposals.
Morgan credited Ahern, Neilson and Macias with providing an outstanding presentation. “They were absolutely compelling,” he said, noting that each gave a short, moving address with three very different angles.

New fields by 2002
The soccer complex, under construction east of the present baseball/softball fields, will entail two adult-size fields, which could be transformed into four youth-size fields. Burms are planned for around the fields for grass seating. An additional mile of paved walking paths, which would mesh with the existing paved paths around the park, are also in the plans.

A parking area and restroom facility are planned on the west side of the first field, off the east side of the road that leads to the baseball fields parking lot. A 72-space parking area is planned to the north of the second field.

Morgan said he has been in contact with the United States Soccer Foundation and officials there have tentatively agreed to provide detailed landscape and field design services at no cost.
Presently, Oregon National Guard crews are using heavy equipment to clear and sculpt the ground. Before they’re done they will have moved 60,000 cubic yards of dirt. The crews have been working at the site since spring.

The total cost of the soccer complex is budgeted at $764,000. However, the project is being largely funded by grants, donations and in-kind work.

The primary contributions have included the Bean Foundation, which donated the land valued between $150,000 and $200,000; and Sen. Ron Wyden, spurred by an inquiry from Macias, got the National Guard to do the ground prep work, valued at approximately $150,000.

The recent agreement from the U.S. Soccer Foundation to provide the landscape design will also be a money-saver.

Morgan said the county had hoped to have the fields playable by the upcoming fall season, but that target date is out of reach. Present plans call for the fields to be seeded or have sod placed by October.

The soccer fields will be an addition to the Juniper Hills Park complex, which presently includes four adult softball fields, three Little League baseball fields, a playground, a restroom facility, and a figure-8-style walking/running path wrapping around and through the park.

'Hounds return for powwow
By Elena Lesley
Staff Writer
7/11/01

Dedicated rock enthusiasts from locations as diverse as Australia and Eugene gathered last week at the “Rockhound Powwow” to swap stories, advice and, of course, rocks.

The event, which took place at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, housed over 50 vendors whose wares included rough rocks, fossils, crystal and mineral specimens, rock-carving equipment, and jewelry.

But no matter what items participants bought or sold, all shared an uncanny fascination with gems and minerals.

Doug Johnson, who ran a table at the powwow, first contracted “opal fever” 20 years ago while mining in Australia.  Since that time, he has sold Australian Opal, Onyx and Burma-teek on 47th Street in New York, at the Louvre in Paris, and in London.

“I have a mine in Australia, but I like to come up here for the gem shows,” he explained.  “And, this is a really friendly town.”

Rob and Cheryl Warwick of “Warwick Designs” in Eugene manned a table with a variety of agates and a geode from Mt. Saint Helens.  A jeweler by trade, Rob described rock collecting as “a side business and a way to get out of town on the weekends.”

“I love to camp, hike and explore,” he said. “I’ve been doing this since I was a kid.”

Rob came to the powwow two years ago and remarked that it was “a great show” where he met rock hobbyists with similar interests and passions.

For Ash Carter of Southern California, collecting rocks had financial motivations.

He first went on a “dig” in 1972 and remarked that, “being a little bit of a greedy type of person, I decided I’d like a hobby that makes money.”

Now, he travels with wife Irene during the summers to various rock gatherings, selling mostly uncut natural Australian Opal.  This was his second year at the Madras powwow, which he said proved more profitable than one the couple had attended for years in Sisters.

“This is a good show for us because there are more people who are interested in uncut material,” he said.  “There are more real rockhounds.”

Brian Davidson bears the label “rockhound” proudly.

A part-owner of the Ashland Rock Shop, he explained his interest in rocks by describing “the fascination I have for the beauty of gems.”

At the powwow, his table display included a large collection of sparkling Brazilian amethyst cathedrals.

“These are great because they reach more than just rock people,” he said.  “They bridge the gap from common people who want something beautiful in their homes to avid collectors.”

Davidson, along with the majority of powwow participants, would fit into the latter category.
“I have to travel a lot for advertising and sales, but I do really enjoy these gatherings,” he said.  “These are my people.”

Roth starts High Desert Taxi
By Susan Matheny
General Editor
July 10, 2001

Madras resident Rebecca Roth had worked locally as a caregiver, house cleaner and educational assistant for Special Ed kids, but was searching for a career change.

“I wanted to be more independent — my own boss and to do something the town needed,” she said.

To get ideas she approached the Chamber of Commerce and asked what services Madras was lacking. “Parrish (Van Wert) said the town is growing and we really needed a good taxi service,” she related.

With that tip, High Desert Taxi was born July 1. Roth said one reason Madras hasn’t had an official taxi was because start-up expenses are high. Besides the Volkswagon Jetta she purchased to use, she has to pay $4,700 yearly for car insurance. She also has had to purchase business licenses to operate the taxi in Madras, Culver, Redmond, the Redmond airport, and the Warm Springs Reservation.

The taxi is available every day from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with other hours possible by reservation only. Rates around town are $2 per mile, with a $5 minimum charge. Other longer distance fees are more negotiable. Customers can catch a ride from Madras to the Redmond airport for approximately $40, Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Casino and Resort for $50, and Sisters or Bend for $50.

High Desert Taxi can be reached by tollfree cell phone at 815-0134, or at Roth’s answering machine at 475-5892, which she checks regularly. She can accept cash, VISA or other credit card payments, but no checks.

She asks customers to be patient. Since she is the only driver, she can only transport one ride at a time and it may take a few minutes to answer other calls.

That will change in the future, however. “I have great plans. In 1 1/2 years I hope to expand to have a partner, or employ a couple of other people,” Roth said.

“Public transportation is a huge problem in Central Oregon with Dial-A-Ride for seniors being about the only thing,” she added.

In an effort to fill the gap as well as make her business successful, Roth is a state provider for medical transportation to take patients to doctor’s appointment in Bend or Redmond. Patients contact the Senior and Disabled Office, which then contacts Roth.

She is encouraging groups of four workers to “carpool” by having the taxi pick them up at a designated spot and sharing the cost. Food deliveries to businesses around town are another special service she is more than happy to do — for just $5. This helps out local restaurants as well as hungry office or mill workers.

It can be cheaper to take a cab to the Redmond airport than pay to park you car, Roth points out, and said many tourists from Kah-Nee-Ta and other areas could hire her to go on excursions around the area.

“Carlos Smith, the administrator at Kah-Nee-Ta, has been really supportive and will put brochures in all the guest rooms. Then convention people who want to see Sisters or the lava lands can get there by taxi,” Roth said.

Roth is enthusiastic about her new job and glad to be of service to others.

“It’s kind of a fun job. You meet all kinds of people and they seem to really need and want a taxi here,” she said.

Residents discuss limits on Deschutes
By David McMechan
News Editor
July 9, 2001

There are a variety of reasons why people agree that there should be some limit on the number of people who are on the river on a given day.

When you get tens of hundreds of people floating the same area of river on the same day, the experience is less enjoyable for all of them.

Also, when a river becomes too crowded, people have a hard time finding a place to fish, and somewhere to camp.

People are forced to camp in areas that had not previously been camped in, and to walk along river bank that previously had been left alone. This causes damage to fish habitat.

The important question is: At what point has the river become so crowded as to justify the implementation of a permit program.

According to the 1993 management plan approved for the Lower Deschutes, the target number for the area between Warm Springs and Maupin is 550 people on a weekend summer day.

Agency officials suspect that boaters have reached this number, and apparently greatly exceeded it.

The method by which the managing agencies count the boaters, though, is a point of controversy.
Calculating the number of boaters in a particular part of the river can be difficult, because the Deschutes has many points of entry.

Also, the boaters travel downstream at different paces, the fishermen taking their time, and the white-water rafters moving relatively quickly.

“It is beyond our physical and financial capability to implement a system of tracking that accounts for each boater each day on the river,” said Steve Brutscher, of the Parks and Recreation Department.

For management purposes, the Lower Deschutes is divided into four segments, each segment having unique qualities that set it apart from the others.

During one day, if a boater floats from segment one into segment two, agency officials consider this as two boating days on the river: One day in segment one, and one day in segment two.
The reason for this is that the boater, during the one day, has contributed to the management issues of two segments of the river.

“You have two boater days, but the person is on the river only one day,” Brutscher said.
“People might look at that and say we’re double counting. Our response is that this may seem to artificially inflate the numbers, but it is the only way we can account for the boater’s impacts in the two segments.”

Brutscher said, “In order for us to manage the environment and the boating use in a segment so that it provides the recreational experience and setting that people expect, we have to ascribe numbers.”

The counting system, he said, is not ideal, but it is necessary for management of the resource.

O'Meara to go to trial
By David McMechan
News Editor
July 6, 2001

Trial is set for next for next week in the case of Kevin O’Meara versus the city of Madras.

O’Meara, owner of Nine Peaks Golf Course, filed suit about two years ago, claiming the city had breached an agreement to provide treated water from the city treatment plant for irrigation of the golf course.

The city has filed a countersuit, claiming O’Meara breached the agreement by not taking the water in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

The city last month terminated the water agreement, and also terminated a property lease agreement with O’Meara.

Nine Peaks is now a nine-hole course, as the other nine holes are located on, or partly on the former city-leased acreage.

The city decided to terminate the lease after O’Meara began construction of new golf course holes on other ground that O’Meara leased from the city.

This other property was intended only for farm use, according to the city. O’Meara’s attempt to construct golf course holes on the land has taken this ground out of farm production, the city contends.

The action was a serious breach of the property agreement, the city contends.

For irrigation of the remaining nine holes at Nine Peaks, O’Meara is using his North Unit Irrigation District water rights.

High Desert caps year with performance
By Elena Lesley
Staff Writer
July 5, 2001

Dancers tapped, twirled and tendued their ways through strenuous routines at the High Desert Dance Arts’ recent “Dance Scenes, Dance Dreams” performance.

The event, which took place last Friday and Saturday at Crook County High School, featured performers from the dance company’s Madras studio who showcased their abilties in styles ranging from classical ballet to breakdancing.

A class of young tap students in turqouise tutus opened the show with their rendition of “How Much is that Doggie in the Window?” and “Daddy Wouldn’t Buy me a Bow-Wow.”  Their shuffling, feet-stomping, and finger-wagging warranted hearty applause from the sold-out auditorium.

The advanced ballet class’ performance proved another crowd pleaser.  Dancers helped choreograph the routine, a “rock ballet,” in which they executed traditional ballet steps while Lenny Kravitz’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” filled the room.

While introducing the two advanced tap classes’ performance of the “Devil Came Down to Georgia” on Saturday, the classes’ instructor urged audience members to “stay in your chairs and keep your hats on your heads until the end of the performance,” explaining that some parents had become over-excited the previous night during this high-energy routine.  Most audience members obliged, waiting until the two groups of tappers had finished their furious “dance duel,” to erupt in applause.

Toward the event’s end, the program took an unexpected turn.  Boy dancers outfitted in street clothes snaked, cart-wheeled and flipped across the stage, performing moves they had learned in the studio’s first-ever breakdancing class, taught by high school senior Dennis Williams.

But, fittingly, the “Dance Scenes, Dance Dreams,” showcase ended on a more reflective note.  In the final piece, “Quidam,” which was choreographed by the dance company’s owner and lead instructor, Carolyn Kaiser, red background lighting, projected clouds, and spotlights created a surreal and tranquil setting.

The Madras Branch of the High Desert Dance Arts company holds this performance annually.  Next year, the pre-dance classes will have a separate performance so tickets to both events will be more readily available.

City of Madras adopts Budget
By David McMechan
News Editor
July 4, 2001

The Madras City Council last week adopted its 2001-02 budget, totaling $11.7 million for the year.

The city sewer fund constitutes close to half of the total, at $5.3 million.

For 2001-02, the city general fund, derived from property tax, is about $1.2 million. The city tax rate is just short of $4.13 per $1,000 of assessed real property value.

The police department, with a budget of $959,000 for 2001-02, is the single biggest component of the general fund.

The 2001-02 city budget includes a transportation operations fund of $718,500. The city over the next year intends to spend about $100,000 of this money on badly-needed overlay projects, improving various streets in town.

Some of the streets to be resurfaced are those running between Fourth and Fifth through downtown. This will be coordinated with the Oregon Department of Transportation resurfacing project, scheduled to begin this month.

As part of its 2001-02 budget, the city is increasing its tax on hotel and motel rooms, called the transient room tax. The city last week agreed to raise the tax by 3 percent, to 9 percent.
This should generate an additional $30,000 for the city, in addition to the $96,000 that the tax current generates. Under the plan the city is now pursuing, a part of the transient room tax revenue would go toward an urban renewal program.

One local motel owner last week spoke to the council regarding the increase in the tax. Bill Hoffman, owner of Hoffy’s Motel, said his hope was that the city would wait a year before implementing the increase.

Other residents spoke in favor of the increase, as a means of economic development and tourism promotion.

Local resident Carlos Kemper testified to the council in favor of the room tax increase. Kemper expressed a concern that the downtown area has more vacant buildings than during any other time that he could remember.

City officials are hoping the added room-tax revenue will help in making some long-term improvements to downtown Madras.

The 2001-02 city budget also calls for an increase in planning fees.

The budget calls for an overall 50-percent increase in revenue generated by the city planning department.

In this way, the department can become self-funding, rather than relying on property tax from the general fund.

The Madras Planning Commission is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m., July 11, to discuss how to implement the fee increase in the planning department.

Implementation will be done with input from representatives of the building and development sector of the local economy.

The city council unanimously adopted the 2001-02 budget, as recommended by the budget committee and city staff.

Logan Potato plant roof collapses
By Elena Lesley
Staff Writer
July 3, 2001

When Sandy Balch of Metolius heard the sounds of crashing metal and splintering wood coming from an old Logan Potato Plant building next to her house, she called her neighbor, Gail Breazeale, to see if it was being torn down.

The two would soon find that the entire building’s roof had been demolished not by an order from Logan International, but the decree of mother nature.

“It’s an old building and it’s been abandoned since 1995 when there was a fire here,” said Jefferson County Fire Chief Earl Cordes.  “I would guess it just rotted.”

Cordes drove out to the site Thursday afternoon in response to Breazeale’s call to the Sheriff’s Office.  Upon arrival at the scene, he yelled into the building because transients had reportedly been living inside.

“So far I’ve received no answer,” he said, “so they’re either unconscious, dead or not there.”

The structure’s weakness and threat of stretched electrical wires prevented officers from searching for anyone possibly trapped inside.

“As I walked around [outside], I could still hear popping and creaking,” said Cordes.
Although the building is potentially dangerous in its current condition, liability technically rests with the owner, Logan International.

“I called them earlier but so far haven’t heard back,” said Cordes.  “I hope they’ll at least rope it off or put up a night watch because it’s a hazard — kids might play around in there unsupervised and people are going to be stopping and gawking.”

Tribes celebrate with Pi-Ume-Sha
By David McMechan
News Editor
7/2/01

This past weekend (June 23-24), the Warm Springs Tribes celebrated the 32nd annual Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days.  The three-day powwow included grand entries, dance contests, a rodeo, a softball tournament, and other activities.  The annual powwow is a celebration of Tribal sovereignty as contained in the U.S.-Warm Springs Treaty of 1855.

Suspects sought in park vandalism
By Elena Lesley
Staff Writer
7/1/01

When Brenda Symons, a park maintenance worker in Culver, arrived at Culver City Park Thursday morning, she was confronted with a sight that has become all too familiar.  New picnic tables sat carved with graffiti markings, obscene drawings and words were scrawled across park bathroom walls, sprinklers lay destroyed by large rocks, and Big Mac wrappers, food scraps, and other garbage littered the baseball diamond.

Although vandalism in the park is a common occurrence, Symons noted that the damage this time was more extensive than usual.

“This happens a lot,” she said. “Broken bottles, graffiti, and busted lights are pretty common.  But this is bad—it’s probably going to cost three to five hundred dollars to fix it up.”

Brenda will have to devote at least 15 hours to scrubbing toilet bowls and urinals with pumice brick, applying paint thinner and primer to bathroom walls, and painting over the obscene markings.

On Thursday morning, her incentive to work quickly was especially great considering that groups of children were arriving at 11 a.m. to participate in the Summer Fun Program sponsored by Parks and Recreation.

“I wouldn’t want my son seeing this,” she commented.

Although maintenance workers will now probably start locking the bathrooms at dusk when the park closes, Symons does not think this will necessarily solve the  vandalism problem.

“If they can’t do it at night, they’ll just do it during the day,” she remarked.

This statement holds some truth.  Last July the park bathroom was set on fire during the middle of the day.  Someone ignited the flames in a paper towel dispenser, causing smoke damage so extensive that the inside of the building had to be repainted.

According to Symons, the vandalism problem’s solution may lie in more community participation.  She would love to help start a program for patrols in which Culver residents could watch over the park and surrounding areas.

Jeri Jones, the city recorder at Culver’s City Hall, also thinks members of the community could help prevent similar occurrences in the future.  After the discovery of Wednesday night’s vandalism, she created flyers to circulate around town that included pictures of the park’s damage.

“It’s not pretty,” she said,“but we have to shock people so they know what’s going on.  We need people to help watch the park.”

Most of all, those involved with the park’s upkeep want to keep it a safe and pleasant environment for all of the town’s residents.  But to do this they may need a community-wide network of assistance and observation.

“We work hard to keep the park nice for people to enjoy and then a few hoodlums tear it all up,” Symons said.  “It’s sad.”

If you have information regarding the identity of those who vandalized Culver City Park, please call City Hall or the Sheriff’s Office.  A reward will be offered to anyone who provides the city with information leading to the perpetrators’ arrests.

Spare change helps build home
By David McMechan
News Editor
June 29, 2001

When working toward financing the construction of a new home, every penny counts. Nickels, dimes, quarters are also welcome. With the help of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Jefferson County Habitat for Humanity recently raised $789.50, mostly in change.

On Easter Sunday, the church distributed 56 small paper coin boxes, shaped like little houses.
Parishioners took the boxes home, and placed them on a kitchen counter, on a coffee table, or in some other noticeable location.

Fifty days later, on Pentecost Sunday, the parishioners brought the boxes back. By that time, the boxes were filled with money, mostly coins, but also $1 and $5 bills, and the occasional $20, plus a check or two.

The money was donated by the parishioners and the people who visited their homes during the 50-day period between Easter and Pentecost Sunday. Marilyn Brown, of Jefferson County Habitat for Humanity, wished to thank all of those who contributed.

`This is the first fund-raiser for Jefferson County Habitat using the penny houses,' Brown said. `And it was very successful.' Father Jim Stephens, Habitat volunteer and board member, coordinated the recent fund-raiser.

The money will go toward construction of the seventh local Habitat for Humanity house. The new home will be that of Stacia Hein and her two sons, who will help in the construction. The house will be built at Ashwood and B streets in Madras. Ground-breaking is set for Sunday, July 15, at 2 p.m. The public is invited.

Very pleased with the result of the recent St. Patrick’s penny-house fund-raiser, Marilyn Brown encouraged anyone else interested in helping through this type of project to contact her at 475-5606.

City considers administrator hire
By David McMechan
News Editor
June 28, 2001

An idea that Brown is looking into would be to have penny-house donation boxes in local school rooms. The Madras City Council will meet next week to discuss possibly hiring a new city administrator.

The council recently advertised the job, which pays between $68,000 and $82,000 per year, in various newspapers and other publications in the state. The city has received over a dozen applications, three of which city officials are seriously considering, said Andy Parks, interim Madras administrator.

City council members, and citizen members of the hiring committee, are planning to meet at 6 p.m. next Thursday, July 12, to discuss the matter. Parks has been interim administrator since early this year. He was hired after the city terminated the employment of former Madras administrator Bill Sizemore.

A couple of months ago, the city advertised the administrator job through the services of the League of Oregon Cities. The process brought in more than 40 applications, but the council decided to continue looking until an ideal candidate is found.

Madras council OK's budget
By David McMechan
News Editor
June 27, 2001

The Madras City Council last week adopted its 2001-02 budget, totaling $11.7 million for the year. The city sewer fund constitutes close to half of the total, at $5.3 million.

For 2001-02, the city general fund, derived from property tax, is about $1.2 million. The city tax rate is just short of $4.13 per $1,000 of assessed real property value. The police department, with a budget of $959,000 for 2001-02, is the single biggest component of the general fund.

The 2001-02 city budget includes a transportation operations fund of $718,500. The city over the next year intends to spend about $100,000 of this money on badly-needed overlay projects, improving various streets in town.

Some of the streets to be resurfaced are those running between Fourth and Fifth through downtown. This will be coordinated with the Oregon Department of Transportation resurfacing project, scheduled to begin this month.

As part of its 2001-02 budget, the city is increasing its tax on hotel and motel rooms, called the transient room tax. The city last week agreed to raise the tax by 3 percent, to 9 percent.

This should generate an additional $30,000 for the city, in addition to the $96,000 that the tax current generates. Under the plan the city is now pursuing, a part of the transient room tax revenue would go toward an urban renewal program.

One local motel owner last week spoke to the council regarding the increase in the tax. Bill Hoffman, owner of Hoffy’s Motel, said his hope was that the city would wait a year before implementing the increase.

Other residents spoke in favor of the increase, as a means of economic development and tourism promotion. Local resident Carlos Kemper testified to the council in favor of the room tax increase. Kemper expressed a concern that the downtown area has more vacant buildings than during any other time that he could remember.

City officials are hoping the added room-tax revenue will help in making some long-term improvements to downtown Madras.

Man drowns at Cove
By David McMechan
News Editor
June 26, 2001

The sheriff’s office is investigating the drowning death of a 38-year-old Madras man.

Sergio Nava drowned in Lake Billy Chinook at the Cove day-use area at approximately 4:15 p.m., Monday, June 25.

Sheriff’s deputies and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the scene, but efforts to revive Nava were not successful.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. The water where Nava drowned was approximately 25 feet deep, according to a report from the sheriff’s office.

The case is under investigation.

Law addresses feral pig problem
By David McMechan
News Editor
June 25, 2001

A growing concern over wild pigs in Central Oregon has resulted in a new law that adds feral swine to the state’s definition of wildlife. In the past, the disease-carrying pigs had legally been considered livestock, even though they do not belong to anyone, and are unsuitable for a farm.

As livestock, the pigs enjoyed some protection, because a landowner with a feral pig problem was limited in how he or she could deal with the animals. As livestock, the pigs had to be either returned to the rightful owner, or sold at a public sale as stray livestock.

Now classified as wildlife, the pigs can be hunted and trapped. The pigs in recent years have been causing problems to landowners, including those in Central Oregon.

Estimates by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife place the number of feral swine at several hundred in a specific area of Jefferson and Wasco counties. Crook County has also been experiencing some feral pig problems.

The new law, signed by Gov. Kitzhaber last month, 'aims to eliminate feral swine degradation of riparian areas and the depredation of ground-nesting birds. The hunter can help control the nuisance.'

Rooting by swine has resulted in damage to agricultural and forested lands, including soil disturbance in riparian and upland areas.

The pigs have caused increased erosion, and the acceleration of the spread of noxious weeds, factors that are detrimental to native fish and wildlife species. While the wild pigs tend to inhabit areas not commonly seen by humans, they will disperse into agricultural and livestock operations as their population grows.

The animals also can pose a threat to human safety: the pigs are wild and dangerous, with the large boars weighing up to 500 pounds.

Sows with litters can be aggressive and attack people. Disease transmission is also a concern.
Two years ago, responding to complaints from Central Oregon landowners, the Oregon Department Agriculture set up two control areas, one in Antelope covering Jefferson and Wasco counties, and the other in Post, covering Crook County.

Rockhounds arriving soon
By David McMechan
News Editor
June 22, 2001

Over 50 vendors of interesting rock and mineral items will arrive next week at the the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. The vendors travel from around the U.S. and the world to rock-hound powwows held across the nation.

This is the 52nd year that the All Rockhound Powwow will appear at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds: The powwow runs from Wednesday, July 4, through Sunday, July 8.

The rockhounds powwow is a great chance for people to pick up unique gift items; also, people who already are knowledgeable about rocks will find something of interest at the show. The vendors will have everything from rough rock, slabs, fossils, crystal and mineral specimens to jewelry and jewelry-making supplies, tools, equipment and books for sale.

`The vendors are always pleased to answer questions and to offer encouragement and advice,' commented Linda Averill, from Marysville, Wash., spokeswoman for the All Rockhound Powwow Club of America.

The powwow, Averill said, `makes for a great family outing, a delightful recreational and educational opportunity.'

The vending booths are open from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m. daily during the powwow. There will be a daily swap table, and nightly activities including music, games, dancing and an auction. A rock-toss and other special events provide extra fund for youngsters.

City considers annexations
By David McMechan
News Editor
June 6, 2001

In recent weeks Madras officials have been discussing the possibility of significantly expanding the city limits. Officials are considering two separate possibilities:

One is the annexation of the Industrial Park; and the other is the annexation of all the rest of the land outside the city limits that is within the urban growth boundary (UGB). The UGB is the area surrounding the city limits designated for the accommodation of long-term growth. Both of the proposed annexation projects would increase city revenue:

Preliminary estimates indicate that annexation of the Industrial Park could generate as much as $230,000 per year for the city; and the UGB expansion could add another $234,000. The city immediately could annex the Industrial Park, if a majority of the business owners at the park agree to the action.

The city would likely put the other annexation proposal to a vote of the residents within the UGB. The vote probably won’t happen before November of 2002. Meanwhile, city officials are beginning a discussion with business owners at the Industrial park, regarding the annexation idea.

The city would like to move ahead with this annexation in the fairly near future, said Rick Allen, Madras mayor. City finances are a main reason why local officials at the present time are taking a close look at the possible annexations.

In recent weeks, while developing a city budget for 2001-02, council and budget committee members have agreed that Madras needs to take action very soon to ensure future financial stability. For instance, for the coming budget year, the reserve funds of the city will likely be reduced by approximately $80,000, from $187,800 to about $106,375.

The reduction in carry-over is necessary to maintain current police services, and perform a minimum of necessary city street work. If the present trend continues for the 2002-2003 budget, then the city reserve fund fall to nearly $0: That is not a reasonable option, said interim city administrator Andy Parks.

Council and budget committee members unanimously agree with Parks’ determination that something needs to change. Correcting the city’s financial situation involves two options: Either reducing city staff and services, or increasing city revenue.

Of the two choices, laying off staff and reducing services is not a long-term financial solution for a growing community, city officials agree. Instead, at Parks’ suggestion, council members, with the unanimous recommendation of the budget committee, are considering annexation as a means of stabilizing city finances.

City budgets for street work
By David McMechan
News Editor
June 5, 2001

The last time that the city of Madras did overlay work on a city street was at least five years ago. For most cities, overlaying streets is a common thing, but for Madras in recent memory it has been rare.

The county roads located in the city have seen more attention over the past five years than have the city-maintained streets. The reason for this, of course, is the city budget, which has been a constant problem for the past few city councils.

The city budget has not grown at the rate the community has grown. City services have stayed about the same, while the number of people being served has increased. The new treatment plant is a big step toward addressing one aspect of needed infrastructure expansion. Meanwhile, though, city roads have seen little attention.

You have a multi-million dollar investment in the city street system, and there is no way you can just go on forever without maintenance,' commented interim city administrator Andy Parks.
For the 2001-02, the city has budgeted $100,000 for road overlay work.

Roads that will see work are the ones between Fourth and Fifth through Madras.
This work will coincide with the Oregon Department of Transportation road work that is scheduled for July and August in Madras.

In the coming budget year, the city will also work on various other roads throughout town, including Buff Street, C Street, Second Street, among others. Along with street maintenance projects, the city’s proposed 2001-02 budget includes funding for street construction.

The largest of these projects will be J Street, and the related Tenth Street paving project, from Buff to J. The J Street project is a cooperative effort between the city and county. The city and county are using revenue from fees on new construction for the J Street project.

The street projects are discussed in the proposed 2001-02 budget recommended for adoption last week by the Madras Budget Committee. The committee consists of the city council as well as citizen representatives.

After reviewing and discussing the draft budget proposed by city staff, the committee was unanimous in its recommendation that the council adopt the budget. The city council will consider the budget in June.

County to consider rock-pit proposal
By David McMechan
News Editor
June 4, 2001

The county commission on Wednesday will consider whether to add a proposed aggregate mine site near Metolius to the list of significant aggregate resource sites in the county. The county planning commission has recommended that the site, located off Eureka to the west of Metolius, be included on the list of significant sites.

The property owner/applicant is Lee Bissell, who owns approximately 450 acres off of Eureka west of Metolius. The proposed aggregate site would include 150 acres of the property. The plan is not to mine the entire 150 acres at once, but rather to have smaller operations over time.

At the planning commission review level, residents along Eureka near the proposed mine area spoke against the application. Main concerns are dust and traffic from the trucks traveling to and from the aggregate site.

Bissell has estimated that, when the mine is in operation, six truckloads of aggregate will be taken from the site per day. The estimate is that two truckloads would travel west on Eureka, and four would travel east, toward Metolius.

There are about half a dozen residences along Eureka in the area of the proposed mine.
The county’s process in considering Bissell’s is twofold: first, the applicant must request that the property be included on the list of significant aggregate resources sites; and second, the applicant must request a permit to actually operate the mine.

The Bissell property is zoned exclusive farm use; so operation of the mine will require a conditional use permit. The test to determine whether to include the property on the list of significant aggregate resource sites involves consideration of the quality and quantity of aggregate.

Consideration of whether to grant the conditional use permit involves consideration of impacts such as traffic, said Devon Hearing, senior county planner.

Cogentrix outlines water options
By David McMechan
News Editor
May 30, 2001

The company planning to construct a large power-generation plant in Jefferson County is exploring the possibility of using water from wells drilled in the area of Juniper Butte. Operation of the power plant proposed by Cogentrix Energy, Inc., would require approximately five million gallons of water per day.

To compensate for water taken from the wells, Cogentrix would line irrigation canals in the region, thereby reclaiming water for irrigation that would have seeped into the ground. Pat King, Cogentrix representative in the Portland office, provided this and other information to the Madras City Council last week.

The city council earlier this year endorsed the Cogentrix proposal, which is to construct a 1,000-megawatt power station near Grizzly Butte. Site of the proposed plant is off Ramms Road, near the Grizzly power substation, to which the new power plant would be tied.

The plant would be fueled by natural gas, access to which is nearby the proposed development. Some energy would also be generated through steam from the heat of the gas-powered turbines.
The Cogentrix proposal has generated opposition from residents living near the site. The opponents have voiced concerns regarding potential environmental impacts of the plant, including impact to local water resources.

In response, Cogentrix officials have said that no local water users would be harmed by development of the plant. Fish habitat in the Deschutes could even be improved through the project, said Pat King.

This year, Cogentrix will spend over $300,000 on test wells related to the Grizzly power project, King said. In all, the company will spend about $1 million on studies and documentation related to the project, he said.

A main well site that Cogentrix is considering is located south of Juniper Butte, close to the old Opal City site. Another site is closer to the High Bridge. The well-site near Juniper Butte once was used for water by a railroad company. The railroad stopped using its well several decades ago.

Water is needed for the plant mainly as part of the cooling system. Five-million gallons per day is a good amount of water, although maybe not as much as the “five-million” figure might imply.
For perspective: If you stood on the Deschutes Crossing Bridge by Warm Springs, five-million gallons would flow by in the river below in about two or three minutes.

Administrator job narrowed to four
Staff Report
May 23, 2001

The field of candidates for the Madras city of administrator job has been narrowed to four. The city received over 45 applications for the job.

City officials are hoping that a new person will be on board this summer, at least by early September. The hope is to have the new person on board by the start of the school year.

The League of Oregon Cities provided Madras officials with a suggested ranking of the candidates into general categories of very qualified, qualified, and not so qualified.

The city council then narrowed the field to six finalists, two of whom in the meantime have taken other jobs. City representatives will interview the final four candidates, leading to a final choice by the council. Citizens may also be involved in the process, said Mayor Rick Allen.

Tribes await vote results
Staff Report
May 17, 2001

As of Thursday afternoon, results were still not finalized on the vote regarding the proposed new elementary school in Warm Springs. A important question is whether the vote saw the necessary 50-percent turnout.

On Thursday morning, an unconfirmed report from Warm Springs was that the turnout was at about 50-percent, although perhaps approximately 40 votes shy. However, it was not possible to say with certainty whether this report would prove accurate.

The elections officers are waiting for the return of the Tribal Council before annoucing a final vote count. Tribal Council members are out of state at the present time. Election results may be known Friday or early next week.

The question on the ballot was whether the Tribes should spend up to $8 million on construction of a new kindergarten through fifth-grade school. Of the $8 million estimated construction cost, half would be repaid to the tribes over a 20-year period by the Jefferson County 509-J School District.

The new elementary school would be located in the south area of Warm Springs, near the Tribes’ clinic facility. The new school would be 65,000 square feet in size, and would include 24 classrooms and house up to 600 students.

The current Warm Springs Elementary School facilities, parts of which date back a number of decades, are no longer adequate, supporters of the ballot proposal have said. The oldest portion of the current elementary school was built about 60 years ago. A new portion dates back to the late 1950s. The school also includes a number of modular units.

Safety for students, due to the age of the building, is a part of the reason why a new school is necessary, supporters say. Also, the cafeteria is located across a street from classrooms, presenting another safety issue.

Having the modular units for classrooms is also an inconvenience, and another reason why there is support for construction of a new building, Spino said. There are 2,104 eligible voting members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. A 50-percent turnout is needed.

The new elementary school project is a joint effort of the Tribes and the 509-J district. Along with jointly funding the new school, the Tribes and the school district would also work cooperatively on electing the engineers, architects and planners.

Former teacher facing more charges
Staff Report
May 16, 2001

Former Culver school teacher Craig Clemmer this week was arraigned on additional charges of first-degree sexual abuse. Clemmer had been facing six counts, and now is facing 20 counts.
In the initial grand jury indictment, filed last month, the district attorney alleged that Clemmer had sexually abused four young female Culver students.

After further investigation, the amended indictment alleges that the case involves five victims. The new indictment includes 14 additional counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Conviction of one count of first-degree sexual abuse, a Measure 11 crime, brings a mandatory minimum prison sentence of six years and three months.

Clemmer has entered pleas of not guilty to all of the charges. He is currently lodged in the Jefferson County Jail, with bail set at $300,000. Clemmer’s attorney has requested that the bail amount be reduced. A hearing on this request is set for Friday of this week.

Trial in the case is set for June 12. Clemmer, 46, was arrested on April 13, after he turned himself in to the custody of the sheriff’s department. Court documents allege that, sometime over the past two and a half years, Clemmer subjected five young students to sexual contact.

At the time, Clemmer was the physical education teacher. He had been a teacher at Culver since 1992.

Scout's expulsion raises question
By David McMechan
News Editor
May 15, 2001

Everyone who knows Jordy Brown thinks he is an upstanding young man. His report card at Madras High School includes nearly all A’s. He’s active in the school band and the school drama club.

He’s an Eagle Scout who has taken it upon himself to establish a memorial to county residents who were killed at war. His parents are well-liked and respected in the community: His dad Tom Brown owns the Coach Works auto shop, and his mom Janet Brown is a county commissioner.

Anyone who knows Jordy, 17, would surely be surprised to learn that he had been expelled from school. Some people might also think the three-day expulsion was not fair. School officials, though, may have been compelled to expel the student. From the school administration perspective, what happened may seem fairly straightforward: Brown brought a knife on school property.

However, the Browns tell another side of the story. From their perspective, a good and necessary school policy, the prohibition of bringing a knife on campus, can sometimes create a kind of Catch-22 situation for the student.

School officials have not been able to comment on the matter, as a school disciplinary case is a closed process. From Jordy and his parents’ point of view, there are some circumstances that indicate expulsion was not the right way to address the situation.

First of all, Jordy, who is a junior, did not realize he had brought the knife to school: Jordy says he found it in a sweatshirt pocket after class, as he was packing a bag to travel with fellow students to a school band competition at Oregon State University.

Brown had been using the pocketknife a few days before while working on the war memorial under construction at Friendship Park. Accidentally, he had left the knife in his sweatshirt pocket.

Then, last Wednesday after school, Brown says that upon realizing he had accidentally brought the knife on to campus, he immediately informed assistant principal Sean Gallagher of the circumstances.

As he voluntarily turned the knife over to Gallagher, Brown initially thought the incident was not going to be a big deal: After all, Brown says, he had done all he could to correct his inadvertent possession of the knife.

Brown continued getting ready to leave with the rest of the band students, but soon realized that school officials did not view the situation the same way that he did. Brown was given an expulsion from school, based on a school district policy prohibiting the possession of weapons on campus.

The rule says that possession of a knife 'may' be grounds for expulsion, although the policy is not mandatory. The expulsion was originally for five days, but it was reduced to three days.
As a result of the expulsion, Jordy missed the prestigious state band competition at OSU. He plays tenor sax in the MHS band.

Over this past weekend, Brown missed the MHS production of The Wizard of Oz, for which Brown was a technician. And the worst part, he missed three days of school. Brown is close to being a straight-A student, but this year Algebra II has been a hard course for him.
Missing three days was a very unfortunate consequence of the expulsion, commented Janet Brown.

Janet, Tom and Jordy feel the school was unfair in how the situation was handled. The lesson of the school district, they say, seems to be that telling the truth about an honest mistake can lead to expulsion.

No doubt, people in the 509-J school district are aware of other cases in which a parent feels a child has been disciplined unfairly. For instance, Brown is not the first 509-J student to have been disciplined for accidentally having a knife at school.

Cases such as this show that school officials nowadays, understandably, take a strict approach to students with potential weapons on campus. The zero-tolerance policy is understandable, but for some it can seem unfair and beyond common sense.

Metolius enjoys new road work
Staff Report
May 14, 2001

Metolius residents in two neighborhoods were glad last week to see improvements to the roads leading to their homes. In two areas of town, Washington Avenue and Eighth Street, once gravel roads, were paved with asphalt.

The Washington Avenue paving work will help in controlling dust for the homes along the avenue. Washington is on the west side of town, and the prevailing wind would carry the dust from the road into the homes along Washington.

Some of the residents along the avenue are senior citizens; and the dust was a big problem because some the people have allergies. The Eighth Street work, at the south end of Metolius, was needed because this neighborhood has a good number of houses, and the gravel road was no longer adequate, said Hal Littlejohn, Metolius Public Works director.

The paving work was made possible through a $25,000 small cities allotment grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation. A total of 966 linear feet of Washington Avenue were paved; and a total of 1,558 linear feet of Eighth street were paved. Contractor for the job was Hooker Creek Asphalt.

City considers police chief options
By David McMechan
News Editor
May 13, 2001

In the long-term, in looking to hire a police chief, Madras officials have two choices.

They can try to recruit a police chief from outside the community, or they can look to the officers currently working for the department. In the past few years, the hiring of permanent chiefs of police from outside the community has not been greatly successful for the city.

Their average tenures have been fairly short, for instance, and some have left amidst controversy and conflict with former city council members. As an alternative to hiring a new chief of police from outside the community, Madras officials are now exploring the long-range idea of promoting Madras police Cpt. Tom Adams as the new chief of the department.

The idea is for Adams to train for the police job over the next year or so. During that time, he could complete  courses at the FBI Academy, among other training. The idea of recruiting a new chief from within the department has the support of city council members such as Melanie Widmer, who serves on the city police commission, as well as Mayor Rick Allen.

Enes Smith, currently serving as interim chief of Madras police, is advocating that the council pursue the long-term idea of promoting Adams to chief of police. Smith said he would work with Adams over the next year on this project.

City councilwoman Widmer, in explaining her support of this idea, commented, `In the past few years we have not been very successful in recruiting a chief from out of the area.' On the other hand, she said, `Cpt. Adams has been with the department for a number of years, he’s well respected, and he’s done well as an officer.'

In April of this year, Adams, who formerly served as the police department’s drug officer, was promoted to the position of captain, second in authority after the police chief.

Tribes to vote on new school
By David McMechan
News Editor
May 9, 2001

Members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will vote next week on whether to construct a new elementary school. The question on the ballot is whether the Tribes should spend up to $8 million on construction of a new kindergarten through fifth-grade school.
Half of the cost of the new school would be repaid to the tribes over a 20-year period by the Jefferson County 509-J School District.

The new elementary school would be located in the south area of Warm Springs, near the Tribes’ clinic facility. The new school would be 65,000 square feet in size, and would include 24 classrooms and house up to 600 students.

The current Warm Springs Elementary School facilities — parts of which date back a number of decades — are no longer adequate, supporters of the ballot proposal say. The oldest portion of the current elementary school was built about 60 years ago. A new portion dates back to the late 1950s. The school also includes a number of modular units.

Safety for students — due to the age of the building — is a part of the reason why a new school is necessary, commented Tribal member Madeline Queahpama Spino, supervisor of Warm Springs vital statistics.

Also, the cafeteria is located across a street from classrooms, presenting another safety issue, Spino said. Having the modular units for classrooms is also an inconvenience, and another reason why there is support for construction of a new building, Spino said.

The vote on the $8 million proposal is Wednesday of next week, May 16. There are 2,104 eligible voting members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
A 50-percent turnout is needed.

Aggregate mine proposed near Metolius
By David McMechan
News Editor
May 8, 2001

An application for the designation of a gravel pit near Metolius is currently pending before the county. The county planning commission has recommended that the site, located off Eureka to the west of Metolius, be included in the list of significant aggregate resource sites in the county.
The county commission has final authority to grant the application. The commission is slated to consider the matter on June 6.

The applicant is Lee Bissell, who owns close to 450 acres off Eureka west of Metolius. The proposed aggregate site would include 150 acres of the property. The plan is not to mine the entire 150 acres at once, but rather to have smaller operations over time. Residents along Eureka near the proposed mine area have spoken against the application.

Main concerns are dust and traffic from the trucks traveling to and from the aggregate site, said Devon Hearing, senior planner for the county. Bissell has estimated that, when the mine is in operation, six truckloads of aggregate will be taken from the site per day.

The estimate is that two truckloads would travel west on Eureka, and four would travel east, toward Metolius. Another concern of the opponents is in regard to the potential impact of the mine on wildlife.

However, there is no designated wildlife area, winter range or sensitive bird sites, for instance,  near the proposed mine. There are about half a dozen residences along Eureka in the area of the proposed mine. Some of the residents spoke against the application at the planning commission meeting last month.

The county’s process in considering Bissell’s is twofold: first, the applicant must request that the property be included on the list of significant aggregate resources sites; and second, the applicant must request a permit to actually operate the mine.

The Bissell’s property is exclusive farm use; so operation of the mine will require a conditional use permit. The test to determine whether to include the property on the list of significant aggregate resource sites involves consideration of the quality and quantity of aggregate.
Consideration of whether to grant the conditional use permit involves consideration of impacts such as traffic, said Devon Hearing.

Popular air show to return
By David McMechan
News Editor
May 7, 2001

The event last year was a great success, and people who attended have said they hope it becomes a tradition. The Madras Air Show last year brought over 60 interesting aircraft to the Madras Airport.

The two-day event also drew a large and appreciative audience, who enjoyed watching the aerial stunts, listening to live Big Band music, and admiring the wide variety of planes. Residents will be happy to learn that the Madras Air Show will be returning again this year, for a two-day weekend run during the month of August.

Like last year, the show will feature the breathtaking stunts by aerial acrobat pilots and skydivers. There will be a nighttime pyrotechnics display, and a great number of interesting airplanes.

Even the Betty Burger Big Band will make a return performance in the north hanger. While the show this year promises much of the same kinds of activities that were a success last year, there will be some differences in the 2001 Madras Air Show.

`For one thing, we may decorate the hangar a bit more, and add some emphasize that part of the show,' commented Don Mobley, fixed-base operator of the Madras Airport. Mobley was a main organizer of the 2000 Madras Air Show, which was an event of the Central Oregon Experimental Aircraft Association.

This year, Mobley is in charge of the entertainment part of the show, while Judy Patterson, a pilot from Sisters, is chairwoman of the Air Show organizational committee. The Experimental Aircraft Association will still be a part of the Air Show, but the group is not officially a part of the event organization.

Patterson keeps her airplane at the Madras Airport, and is a former flying student of Don Mobley. Her husband Mike is now taking lessons from Mobley. Mike Patterson is quite familiar with the hangars at the Madras Airport: last year, he was hired to paint the large, World War II era buildings.

As a good friend of Mobley, Judy Patterson agreed earlier this year to be the chair of the Air Show organizing committee. The event requires extensive preparation, and Mobley already has a lot of responsibility managing the day-to-day operation of the airport.

On the other hand, Judy Patterson has a more flexible schedule: she has a bed-and-breakfast in Sisters, and also does interior design work. She was was impressed with last year’s Madras Air Show: `It was wonderful, very sweet and nostalgic,' Patterson commented.

The event was well-organized last year. There was only one unexpected expense, about $1,340, which the city later picked up, so that Mobley would not have to pay it out of his own pocket. The city and the county, which jointly own the airport, also contributed $2,500 each to the event.
`It was well organized last year, but we’re going to be even more organized this year,' said Judy Patterson. `It is a great event for the airport, and the for the community.'

City forum provides lively discussion
By David McMechan
News Editor
April 25, 2001

The topics of discussion ranged from a performing arts center to the state prison.
Also, the subject of the Cogentrix power plant came up from time to time.

Madras Mayor Rick Allen’s State of the City forum last week was well attended, with close to 100 people on hand.

The forum began with Allen recounting some of the developments in Madras city government over the past four months, since the time that he and the new council took office.

Kept it from sinking

The city government was in serious trouble late last year, but the change in council and a change in staff has helped straighten things out, Allen said. The council is almost completely new, with only Dave Allison serving from the previous council.

Other former council members and the former mayor were either voted out of office in November, or recalled in January. Also in January, the city placed former city administrator Bill Sizemore on leave, and then terminated his employment a few weeks later.

Andy Parks, of the Bend city staff, has been filling in as interim city administrator. This arrangement has been a great help to the city, Allen commented. `The ship was sinking,' Allen said of situation that existed at city hall late last year. `But we kept it from going down. That was the first priority.'

The city is in the process of hiring a new permanent city administrator. Working with the League of Oregon Cities, city officials are hoping to have a new administrator by the fall, Allen said.
In another personnel item, the city is looking to keep Enes Smith as police chief for a while longer, Allen said.

The department officers, other law enforcement agencies, and the Madras community in general are getting along well with Smith as chief of police, Allen commented. Regarding the public works department, the city will try to hire a new public works director by the end of year. The current interim director, Tom Gellner, has been a great help to the city, but Gellner can continue working for Madras only for a limited time, Allen said.

Since the beginning of the year, the city has also established and made appointments to new committees for public works, the airport/industrial park, police, and so forth. City officials have also spent part of the year getting up to speed on city projects that were under way when the new council took office. These projects include the $9 million sewer treatment plant, and the J Street extension, Allen said.

Downtown improvement

A focus of the city in coming years will be the improvement of the downtown area: The city, Allen said, may look at increasing its transient room tax by 2 or 3 percent, with the additional revenue dedicated to downtown improvement.

Another interesting means of improving the downtown could come through a cooperative effort with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Allen said. It is possible, he said, that the Tribes could have a business downtown, a salmon market, for instance, that would add a unique character to the Madras downtown.

`The downtown will be a main emphasis,' he said, mentioning also that in coming years:
The city may look to annex all of the land in the urban growth boundary into the city limits. This would likely be put to a vote of the city residents.

The city will focus on growing to the east and to the west, rather than north and south along the highway. The city may take over full responsibility for the airport, which Madras and the county currently operate jointly.

Allen also summarized his long-term vision for the city: In 8 to 12 years, he said, the city should have between 8,000 and 10,000 residents. This population would support amenities like an additional golf course, a movie theater, and public pool, `but you would still know your neighbor, and the drive to work could still only take five or ten minutes.'

W.S. woman pleads guilty
Staff Report
April 24, 2001

A Simnasho woman pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder in a case involving the death of a child who was left alone in a hot vehicle. Tamara Coffee, 34, will spend up to six and a half years in prison federal prison for the conviction.

Coffee was charged last summer with murder in the death of Andres Estaben Saragos, who died at age 4. A medical examiner concluded that the child died from dehydration and heat exhaustion.

Charges were that Coffee, while acting as the boy’s foster parent, left Andres Saragos in a vehicle in a parking lot while she was at work. The incident happened July 13 on the reservation.

Coffee’s guilty plea came last Tuesday, just before the time when her trial was scheduled to begin. In entering the plea agreement, she avoids a potentially longer prison term.

County gains 120 jobs

Jefferson County added 120 new jobs during the month of March, according to a recent report from the Oregon Employment Department. The new jobs were mainly the result of the reopening of the Seaswirl boat manufacturing plant in Culver, the report indicates.

Despite the increase in new jobs, the unemployment figure for March of this year was still 250 jobs below the figure for March of last year, according to the report. The Employment Department had not yet calculated the percentage unemployment rate for the county in its latest release.

In the Central Oregon region, Deschutes County has had the strongest job growth in recent months. Last month, Deschutes added 550 jobs, with 1,410 more jobs last month than during the same month in 2000.

Crook County in March lost 90 jobs, but still had 220 more jobs last month than during the same month in 2000. In Central Oregon, Jefferson was the only county that had fewer jobs in March 2001 than in March 2000, the recent Employment Department report indicates. In other information from the report:

The statewide March unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, down 0.2 percent from the previous month. The drop in the rate followed a gain during the prior month, when Oregon’s unemployment rose from 4.4 percent in January to 4.9 percent in February.

The statewide employment rate compares favorably with the average annual rates over the past seven years, according to the report. In recent years, the highest jobless in the state was 5.9 percent, in 1995. Nationwide during the month of March, the jobless rate was 4.3 percent, about the same as during the month before.

Neighborwoods helps in tree plantings

The city of Madras Urban Forestry Commission is continuing its successful NeighborWoods program, which encourages tree plantings in the city and its urban growth boundary. A $10 donation back to the program buys the participant a tree of choice, up to $35, at either Desert Valley Nursery or McPheeters Turf.

If the participant buys a tree over $35, then the participant is responsible for the cost above $35.
Urban forestry commissioners are looking for anyone interested in inviting their neighbors and hosting a NeighborWoods tree sign-up party.

Commissioners will answer questions on plant, watering, etc., and help them select the type of tree needed. To qualify for this program, the participant should live in the city or its urban growth boundary.

The NeighborWoods program is made possible by contributions from Pacific Power and Portland General Electric Co. Anyone wanting to buy a tree or host a sign-up party, or who needs more information, can call Urban Forestry Commissioner Rob Osborn, 475-6204.

Teacher's arrest a shock to Culver
Staff Report
April 19, 2001

A grand jury this week will consider whether a Culver teacher, now on unpaid leave, will be charged with multiple counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Craig S. Clemmer, 46, physical education teacher at Culver for the past seven years, was arrested last week on allegations of sexual abuse of students.

Clemmer was lodged in the county jail on $200,000 bail, pending review by a grand jury of the charges. Conviction of a count of first degree sexual abuse, involving sexual contact with a child under 14, carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of six years and three months.

The district attorney’s information in the Clemmer case, filed preliminary to grand jury review, states six counts of first-degree sexual abuse involving four different victims. The alleged victims are elementary and middle school age children, according to law enforcement officials.
At a court hearing on Monday of this week, senior deputy district attorney Steve Leriche indicated that one of the alleged victims in the case was an 8-year-old girl.

`Everyone here was shocked by this,' commented Mark Funderburg, Culver school superintendent. Funderburg said that counselors were on hand this week for any students who wished to discuss the situation. A school staff meeting on the matter was also scheduled for Monday.

`This has raised everyone’s awareness and level of concern,' Funderburg commented. He pointed out that the case is both a criminal one, as well as school personnel issue. The personnel situation, whether Clemmer would be fired, may be determined by the outcome of the criminal proceeding, Funderburg said.

Clemmer has been a teacher at Culver since 1992. His fairly long tenure at the school was one reason why the criminal charges came as such a shock to the community, Funderburg commented.
On Saturday evening, the day following Clemmer’s arrest, the Culver Boosters held an auction at the school.

`The emotions of those who attended ran the gamut from disbelief to anger,' commented Sheriff Jack Jones, who is a Culver resident with a child in the local school system. Clemmer `is someone who has been in the community for a while, and he had gained a lot of confidence and trust,' Jones said.

`This is one of those things that disappoints you. It bothers the kids to tears, to have believed and trusted in someone.'  The allegations are that Clemmer, the track coach at Culver, sexually abused young female students between 1998 and the time the criminal investigation began, on April 2.

The alleged abuse happened at the school, according to a report by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department. On Friday of last week, Clemmer, made aware of a pending arrest, turned himself in to authorities. Bail was set at $200,000, which Clemmer’s attorney has requested by reduced to $100,000.

At $100,000, Clemmer’s family members could post the 10-percent necessary to provide for his conditional release, attorney Ralph Smith said at a court hearing on Monday. Judge Gary Thompson indicated that the question of whether to reduce the bail would be considered at an arraignment hearing on Friday of this week.

At the hearing on Monday, Thompson heard a request by Clemmer that the court appoint a public defender to the case. After reviewing Clemmer’s listed assets, Thompson granted the request. At that point, Smith was replaced as defense attorney by Barbara Bagg, of the law firm of Crabtree & Rahmsdorff.

District attorney Peter Deuel said that a grand jury on Thursday of this week may conclude whether to formally indict Clemmer on the sex abuse allegations. If he is indicated, then the Friday hearing would be an arraignment on the charges, at which point Clemmer may be asked to enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty.

Motor sports begin soon
Staff Report
April 18, 2001

For many Jefferson County residents, spring means the beginning of the motor sports racing season. Jefferson County has three separate motor sports tracks: The Madras Dragway; the Speedway, also known as the Circle Track; and the Willow Creek motocross track.

The motocross track is the most recent addition to the local motor sports racing tracks, which are located in the northwest area of town, by the Industrial Park and airport. The speedway is entering its 17th racing season. The dragway, meanwhile, this year is marking its 40th anniversary.

Started in ‘61

The first official points race at the dragway is scheduled for this Sunday, April 22. After that, races are every other weekend. Many different kinds of vehicles race at the one-eighth mile dragway racing track.

Categories include the super-pro dragsters; the pro category, which includes mainly modified street cars; and sportsman, which are street driven cars. The junior dragsters, youths in small-sized dragsters, also complete at the dragway. People also race motorcycles and modified snow mobiles.

The Madras Dragway is only drag strip in Central Oregon; the next closest ones are in Woodburn and Lakeview. The drag strip was built in 1961. At that time, the track was operated by a group called the Madras Timing Association, a joint venture of the Loafers Auto Club of Madras and Jefferson County Jaycees.

The association was formed for insurance purposes; and insurance remains an expensive part of the operation of the dragway. The Madras Dragway carries a $1 million insurance policy, said John Preuss, who has been the dragway operator since 1993.

The dragway was sanctioned in 1961 by the National Hot Rod Association, and the track remains an NHRA member track. Admission to the track is $5 for spectators; and $25 for a car and driver. The spectator entry fee includes access to the pit area, where you can visit with the drivers and get a closer look at the cars.

The fastest speed ever recorded at the track is 178 mph, Preuss said. This year may see that record broken, Preuss said. Racing events are all summer long, but the months of July and September will see some particularly interesting events at the dragway.

In July are the Second Annual Junior Dragster Race, and two West Coast Pro Comp Qualifying races; and a funny car match-up. In September is the Blast from the Past Nostalgia Drag race, limited to cars that predate 1973.

Les Schwab Tire Center is a sponsor is a these events. For information on the dragway, call John Preuss at 475-1958.

Arbor Day on Friday, April 20
Staff Report
April 17, 2001

The city of Madras will celebrate Arbor Day next Friday, April 20, starting at 12 noon at Sahalee Park. The event includes the Arbor Day Poster Contest Awards presentation.

Students who have made the best posters receive birdhouses and trees. Also, Katie Kause of the Oregon Department of Forestry will present Madras with its annual Tree City USA award.

Madras has been a Tree City USA for the past seven years. The Friday event at the park will begin with comments from Mayor Rick Allen, followed by an introduction of the Madras Urban Forestry Commission.

Chamber of commerce director Parrish Van Wert will also discuss the importance of urban trees to the business community. The Oregon Community Trees council, a division of the Oregon Department of Forestry, will present a special award to Ed Harris.

Council supports Cogentrix
Staff Report
April 16, 2001

The Madras City Council adopted a resolution stating the council’s support of the power plant proposed for Jefferson County by the Cogentrix Company. Listing some of the benefits of the proposed plant, the resolution in part states:

`The plant will have advanced emissions control technologies which will reduce the facility’s air emissions levels to far lower than conventional plants...'

And, `Cogeneration is a highly feasible form of energy production which could eventually allow industrial customers to curtail their use of older, less efficient boilers and limit pollution.'

And, `the proposed Cogentrix plant would create 300 new jobs during the two-year construction period, and once constructed and in operation would employ 30 people.'

Cogentrix is proposing to build a $400 million power plant on Ramms Road, located off East Highway 26 between Madras and Prineville. The company’s plan has support among city and county officials; residents living nearby the plant development site, however, are in opposition.

The opponents have said the plant would deplete local water resources, and would create pollution. In the long-term, they say, the number of new jobs at the plant is small, in comparison with negative impacts to the environment. Cogentrix intends to submit its development application to the state this summer.

Woman arrested for attempted murder
Staff Report
April 11, 2001

After allegedly trying to run over her aunt with a car, a 24-year-old Madras woman has been charged with attempted murder and other crimes. Margaret LeClair Silva was arrested Sunday, April 1, at approximately 2:35 a.m., at an apartment complex on Third Street, between C and D streets in Madras.

Earlier, LeClair had been involved in an altercation with her aunt, Regina LeClaire Brito, 41, according to a report from the Madras Police Department.

The report states that Silva and Brito apparently had been drinking together prior to the incident.

The altercation began when Brito refused to give Silva keys to a car, the report indicates.

At that point, Silva physically assaulted Brito and retrieved the keys; Silva then drove from the apartment complex parking lot, across the street, and attempted to run over Brito, the police report states.

Instead, the vehicle struck a tree, which fell on Brito, pinning her to the ground. Silva then left the scene, but police officers located her and arrested her at a residence in Madras.

In the initial response to the incident, police thought Brito had been seriously injured, as a branch of the tree had fallen across her throat.

The victim was then Air-Lifed to St. Charles, where her injuries were determined to be not so serious.

Earlier this week, she was in fair condition at the hospital. She had suffered multiple cuts and contusions.

Industry honors Foster
By David McMechan
News Editor
April 10, 2001

Over the past 20 years, the Keith Manufacturing Co. has changed the handling and conveying of solid waste. The Keith Manufacturing Walking Floor system, developed by company owner Keith Foster, is now used all over the world, from Siberia to South America.

The sales figures demonstrate how good of an idea Foster had with the Walking Floor system: In 1973, the first year of production, the company made and sold three units; now, Keith Manufacturing sells over 2,000 Walking Floor units each year.

In every state in the Union, and in countries across the globe, over 22,000 Walking Floor systems are now in use. Based in Madras, Keith Manufacturing has branch offices in Canada and in Europe.

`The Walking Floor system has frankly revolutionized the waste industry,' said Alice Jacobsohn, of the Environmental Industry Association.

The association, representing waste management interests nationally, recently presented Foster with the industry’s highest honor. On April 4 in Chicago, Foster was one of three people inducted into the Environmental Industry Association (EIA) Hall of Fame.

`This is the most prestigious and enduring award presented by EIA,' said Bruce J. Parker, association president.

Began in the ‘50s

Originally from Oklahoma, Foster, chief engineer at Keith Manufacturing Co., moved to Central Oregon in 1950. At the age of 22, he and his wife had visited Central Oregon during their honeymoon. They liked the area and decided to move here.

Foster first began work at a farm machinery agency in Redmond, and soon started his own manufacturing company. During that decade and into the 1960s, Foster made self-unloading systems for agriculture harvesting.

The company sold thousands of these machines, called the Foster Chaff Saver, during the ‘50s and ‘60s. Then in the early 1970s, Foster founded Keith Manufacturing, which produced the first Walking Floor units in 1973.

After 28 years, the sale of Walking Floor systems continues to grow. In fact, Foster said that in the next few years he expects to see a big increase in demand for the product. This is true because the company is developing a Walking Floor that will allow for the easy unloading and loading of delivery trucks. This innovation will dramatically expand the use of Walking Floors, Foster said.

`I think we’ve only scratched the surface,' Foster said of the uses that people can make of the Walking Floor system.

J Street a lesson in growth
By David McMechan
News Editor
April 9, 2001

The J Street extension in northeast Madras is an example of the kind of road project that will become more common in the city in coming years. This is true in large part because the Oregon Corrections Department next year is scheduled to begin construction of a state prison east of Madras.

The $170 million, three-year prison construction project will have a major impact on local transportation. The traffic impact will continue for the long-term, as the prison facility, when in operation, will create up to 600 new local jobs.

The J Street extension, to be completed sometime next year, will connect Highway 97 in south Madras to B Street in the east area of town, by the middle school. Corrections and local officials anticipate that B Street/Ashwood Road will be a major access road to the prison.

From this perspective, the J Street extension can be seen as the first road project directly related to prison. And for this reason, the project serves as an early example of the types of issues that some neighborhoods in Madras will contend with in coming years.

Satisfied with process

The county public works department has finished the preliminary foundation work for the first phase of the J Street extension, from McTaggart up the grade to Tenth Street. The city and county, working jointly on this road project, plan to put the rest of the work, the paving, sidewalk and gutters, etc., to bid in the summer. Officials expect the first phase to be complete in the early fall.

For people living nearby, the J Street extension has not been a welcome development in the neighborhood. `We’ve lived here for 30 years, and this is quite an imposition,' commented resident Judy Gallagher.

She and her husband Jack Gallagher also mentioned, however, that Madras officials made a good effort at trying to work with residents on issues related to the road. `We’re satisfied, not that the road is going in, but with the city,' Jack Gallagher commented.

The Gallaghers said they realize the need for the extension, `but it is hard on our neighborhood,' Judy commented. As the J Street extension was progressing, the city held a special council meeting in regard specifically to the project. Elected city officials and the interim administrator also visited with people at their residences on or near J Street.

Growth not always easy

The residents had voiced concerns regarding pedestrian and vehicular safety; access to driveways and off-street parking; potential heavy truck traffic on the new road, among other problems.

`We worked hard to address their concerns,' commented Madras Mayor Rick Allen. `Most people went away pretty happy, although not everyone got what they want. You can’t do everything for everyone, that is a given in a project of this scope.'

Allen said that the city of Madras in the future can expect to contend with an increasing number of growth-related issues. `It’s obvious even now that as we grow, it will be tough on people,' Allen said.

`I think the biggest challenge for elected officials is making sure we balance the needs of the future with the needs of the people who are impacted immediately,' he said. Recently, the focus has been on J Street; but other neighborhoods will see similar development in coming years, Allen commented.

Forum will address 'state of the city'
Staff Report
April 8, 2001

Madras is facing some important city-government related issues, from personnel to transportation, in the coming year. For those who are interested, Mayor Rick Allen last this month will be discussing Madras business during a `state of the city' forum.

The event, sponsored by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, is perhaps a first for Madras. `The chamber feels there is enough going on in Madras, and enough interest among the residents, to warrant the forum,' said Parrish Van Wert, chamber director.

The state of the city forum is slated for 7 p.m., next Thursday, April 19, at the Jefferson County Middle School. `It’s a chance for residents to hear my ideas about what is going on with the city,' Allen, elected mayor last year, commented.

`I feel it’s important to update citizens on where we are, and where we’re headed,' Allen said. For this kind of discussion, next week’s forum will provide a more relaxed atmosphere than a city council meeting, Allen said.

Snowy owl sighted in county

Area birdwatchers are all aflutter over the recent spotting of a rare Snowy Owl near the Madras Airport. Gordon Wood, utility worker with the City of Madras Public Works, was making rounds Sunday, March 11, when he spotted a large white owl at the drag strip near the airport.

`It was resting on the ground with something it had killed,' he said. Wood took a picture of it to show his inlaws, and also contacted Madras naturalist Gary Clowers, who was surprised about the sighting.

`He video taped it and was real excited. Buck fever is the only thing I’ve seen that comes close to describing it,' Wood said, admitting he wasn’t much of a birdwatcher himself.

`This is the first authenticated sighting of a Snowy Owl on the east side of the (Oregon) Cascades,' Clowers said, noting once in a while they have been seen in the Willamette Valley.
The normal habitat of Snowy Owls is the arctic regions of Canada, Europe, Russia, and Greenland.

Larger than a Great Horned Owl, the Snowy Owl can measure 23 inches long with a 52-inch wing span. While the females are brown with gray spots, the males are white in color, which makes this one very visible against the brown High Desert landscape.

Their main diet is lemmings, but in five to seven-year cycles, the lemming population becomes scarce and the owls fly further south to feast on ground squirrels. `That’s what it’s been eating here, California ground squirrels and Belding’s ground squirrels,' Clowers said, noting the rodents could even be seen in some of the photos taken.

The sighting got the stamp of approval from Craig Miller of Bend, who authenticates rare bird sightings for the Audubon Society. But that doesn’t mean Snowy Owls have never been in the area before. `I’ve since talked to an aircraft mechanic at the Madras Airport who said he saw one in 1980, but it wasn’t authenticated,' Clowers related.

Census shows growing diversity

The Hispanic population of the county has increased beyond that of the Native American Population. Also, Jefferson is the second youngest county in the state. These are two of the demographic statistics shown in the 2000 Census, information from which was released last week.

During the decade of the 1990s, the Hispanic population of Jefferson County grew by 133 percent: in the year 2000, there were 3,372 people of Hispanic ethnicity in the county, the Census indicates.

The Native American population grew by 14 percent: in 2000, there were 3,042 Native American residents of Jefferson County, according to the report. The White non-Hispanic population grew by 31 percent: of the total 19,009 people in Jefferson County last year, 12,552 were White non-Hispanic.

Jefferson is the most diverse county in the state, and Madras is the most diverse city, the Census data indicates. Along with demonstrating the continued increase in cultural diversity, the Census 2000 report indicates that Jefferson County is fast-growing, and young in comparison with other counties in the state.

Youthful population

In the year 2000 in Jefferson County, 30 percent of the population (5,666 people) were 18 or younger. In this category, Jefferson ranked second in the state, behind Morrow. The statewide average was in the mid-20 percent range. The Census indicates that 27 percent of the Crook County population (5,100 people) were 18 or younger; and in Deschutes, 25 percent.

Jefferson County’s youthful population would appear to be the result of a combination of factors, commented Jerry Street, director of the county health department. The number of young families moving to the county would seem to be a main contributing factor, rather than a big increase in the local birth rate, Street said.

`We have many new people, including young families, moving here,' Street commented. The total population of Jefferson County last year topped the 19,000 mark: the Census indicates that the year 2000 population of the county was 19,009 people, an increase of 39 percent from 1990 population of 13,676.

Of the total people in Jefferson County last year, 5,078 lived in Madras, the Census indicates. For the decade of the 1990s, Madras experienced a growth rate of 47.49 percent. The two other incorporated towns in the county experienced a similar rate of growth during the past decade: Culver, with a total 802 people in 2000, experienced a growth rate of 40.7 percent; and Metolius, with a population last year of 635, saw growth at a rate of 41.1 percent.

Specific data was not available regarding Crooked River Ranch, which is unincorporated. However, the Ranch last year had an estimated population of about 4,000, according to the CRR administration office.

The decade of the ‘90s was one of rapid growth at the Ranch: in the year 1993, the most distant year for which a fairly specific number is available, the population of the Ranch was about 1,000.

Local water best-tasting in state

Deschutes Valley Water District was voted as having the best-tasting groundwater in Oregon at the Oregon Association of Water Users 23rd Annual Management and Technical conference at Sunriver, March 6.

A panel consisting of OAWU and other nonpartisan judges determined which of the 18 water samples was the winning entry, based on clarity, smell, and taste.

As the best overall winner, DVW will have the opportunity to compete on a national level at the National Rural Water Association Convention in Washington, D.C., on May 8.

MHS reduces dropout rate

Madras High School’s dropout rate has continued to fall and is now close to the state average, according to a report issued last week by State Schools Supt. Stan Bunn. Madras High’s dropout rate fell from 10.4 in 1998-99 to 6.59 in 1999-00. The state dropout average also fell from 6.6 to 6.3 last year.

Madras High was one of seven schools the report highlighted as having the greatest percentage of dropout decreases. The other schools were Gervais, Coquille, Sweet Home, North Marion, Henley and Douglas. MHS Principal Dick Junge said the decline in dropouts was due to a combination of things.

`We’ve increased our holding power of students by offering things like Buff Learning Center alternative school, JROTC, and the ropes Adventure Course. We’re also doing a more thorough job of tracking why students leave and where they go. Last year, Assistant Principal Brad Sperry called every single student (who withdrew) to find out the true reason they left,' Junge said.

The state report listed 51 dropouts at MHS last year, but Sperry called well over 100 students who left school for any reason. Some he found had left to enter Job Corps, or GED programs, while others had moved, were attending school in another state, were in jail, working, or pregnant.

Two things were most often listed as reasons for dropping out.  `For girls, it was teen pregnancy, and for boys it was because they got so far behind in credits that they couldn’t catch up and decided to forget it and dropout,' Sperry related.

For that reason, and because most students dropout when they are freshmen or sophomores, Sperry said it is important that freshmen get connected to school and have curriculum in which they can be successful. `It sets the stage for the rest of high school,' Sperry observed.

Looking at next year, Junge predicted the dropout rate would fall even lower because of having a closed campus this year, and the hiring of Paul Brown as a full-time Dean of Students, in charge of tracking attendance and contacting parents daily.

The statewide report noted the dropout rate for Hispanics is more than double the overall statewide rate, but it has steadily declined over the last five years.  Last year it was 13.3 percent, down from 14.9 the year before. The rate for Native Americans also dropped to 9.9 percent from 11.1 in 1998-99.

The 509-J district has an enrollment of 3,121 with 40 percent White, 23.9 percent Hispanic, 34.6 percent Native American, and 1.5 percent of other ethnic background. Culver High School saw a decrease in dropouts, going from 7.14 percent in 1998-99 to 6.29 last year, which was lower than the state average of 6.3 percent.

Miller new AmeriCorps volunteer

After graduating from Madras High last June, Valerie Miller became an AmeriCorps member and is currently working on four programs aimed at reducing teen pregnancy. She is one of 23 representatives from various counties that have joined to form a coalition called the Reduce Adolescent Pregnancy Partnership (RAPP).

While co-worker Michele Chavez-Hudson does activities with teenagers, Miller’s job is to educate the adults in the community about the extent of the teen pregnancy problem. Jefferson County has had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the state for the past 10 years.

Working out of the Jefferson County Health Department, Miller researched, then developed a 20-minute power-point presentation about Jefferson County and teen pregnancy rates, what’s things have been done and what other ideas could be tried to reduce the rate.

But so far, community groups don’t seem very concerned about the problem. `Out of 95 groups we called in Jefferson County, only one responded,' Miller said, of her offer to give the presentation.

Only age 19, Miller said she was the youngest AmeriCorps worker at their training class. `It’s been hard being so young and giving presentations to high school kids, because they don’t take me seriously,' she admitted.

Miller is also involved in several other projects. She is just winding up the five-session Students Today Aren’t Ready For Sex (STARS) abstinence program, which she co-coordinated. `When the program ends we will have contacted every sixth grade student in the county,' she noted.

Next, she will accompany Jefferson County Middle School sixth-graders in May on their annual Outdoor School excursion, which this year will be at Wild Horse Canyon Youth Camp (formerly the Big Muddy Ranch). At the three-day camp, students study everything from bugs to fly-fishing, she said.

Good turnout in district election

Voter turnout in Jefferson County was 33 percent in this week’s special district election.
The voter-participation rate, a little short of 3,000 ballots cast, was somewhat better than average, in comparison with similar past elections in the county, said Lynne Weisin, elections clerk. Often, special district elections draw a turnout in the high 20-percent range, Weisen said.

Mountain View Hospital

In this week’s election, in the race for position 2 on the Mountain View Hospital District board, Garland Brunoe received 45.7 percent of the vote, to Will Bean’s 37.9 percent. Brunoe received 1,307 votes, to Bean’s 1,085.

In the race for position 4 on the hospital board, Carlos Kemper received 64.9 percent of the vote, to Dick Montee’s 25 percent. Kemper, who earlier in the month was named the county’s Citizen of the Year, received 1,858 votes, to Montee’s 716.

For position 6 on the hospital board, Bev Schultz received 47.7 percent, to Mark Brannen’s 35.7 percent. Schultz received 1,364 votes, to Brannen’s 1,022.

For position 7 on the Mountain View board, Earl Cordes received 47.8 percent, to Roger Tathwell’s 41.5 percent. Cordes received 1,368 votes, to Tathwell’s 1,187.

Janelle Orcutt received the most votes, 32 percent (918 votes), in the four-way race for position 3 on the Mountain View Hospital District Board of Directors. In the position 3 race, Jennifer Allen received the second-most votes, 25.4 percent; Jim Quiad received 13.8 percent; and Richard Candland, 11.9 percent.

Fire, school boards

In the race for position 3 on the Culver School District board, Scott Leeper received 57.2 percent of the vote, to John Schilling’s 25.8 percent. Leeper received 324 votes to Schilling’s 146.

In the race for position 4 on the school board, J.D. Alley received 58.3 percent of the vote, to Dustin Hansen’s 28.3 percent. Alley received 330 votes to Hansen’s 160.

In the race for positoin 2 on the 509-J school district board, Bob Ringering received 64.7 percent of the vote, to Lucy Suppah’s 28.6 percent. Ringering received 1,260 votes, to Suppah’s 557.

2 longtime 509-J principals to retire

Two longtime School District 509-J principals, Amy Barr and Bill Cordill, who will be retiring at the end of the school year, recently took time to reflect on their careers. Before coming to the 509-J District, Barr taught first through sixth grades for 17 years in the Monmouth-Independence area for Central School District. She also worked placing student teachers for Oregon College of Education.

Coming from a Hispanic background she said, `I became the district’s bilingual English as a Second Language program coordinator, which was perfect for my background.' This was at a time where ESL programs were just starting up in Oregon.

She and her husband, Larry, who was also a teacher, chose to come to the Central Oregon area. `I was looking for a community with a diverse population,' Barr said. By then she was an administrator and her first position with 509-J was as assistant principal, under principal Dick Junge, who she called her mentor.

Going from an elementary to a junior high setting was quite a learning experience for Barr, whose duties were mostly in the area of discipline. `But I used my sense of humor and ended up falling in love with the seventh- and eighth-grade age group,' she admitted. She was at the junior high for eight years.

Next, she was a temporary half-time principal of Metolius Elementary and half-time elementary curriculum director for one year; then returned as the assistant principal at the junior high, working with principal Stan Pine for one year. Following that, she became the principal of Metolius Elementary, director of the 509-J migrant services, and coordinator of Central Oregon migrant services, which kept her busy.

`Six years ago, I came full circle, back to the building I started in,' Barr said. The former junior high building had been converted into a new Westside Elementary, and she was its first principal. Though 39 percent of Westside’s student body is Hispanic, Barr said she has been pleased that parents see her as an administrator for all kids, not just Hispanic kids.
Diversity does bring challenges, though, she admitted.

Bill Cordill began his career in 1970 teaching fourth grade for 509-J, and subsequently taught fifth and sixth grades, and Special Education over the next 16 years. After taking a year off to earn a master’s degree, he returned to work at the administrative level as a junior high vice principal, MHS athletic director, and principal of Buff Elementary, Jefferson County Middle School, and Metolius Elementary. For a time he also worked at 509-J Support Services supervising transportation, maintenance and cafeteria services.

`I’ve had goodbye parties at so many schools that people said I’d have to throw the party if I came back,' Cordill joked. He was the principal in charge during two of the district’s major building projects, the construction of the 1,000-student middle school, and most recently, of the new addition to Metolius Elementary. But he also experienced health problems along the way.
He had his first heart attack in 1983, when he was the MHS athletic director, and a second one when JCMS was built. He chose to retire now for health reason and because after 30 years it was time.

`I want to have time to enjoy my retirement,' he noted. Looking back on his career, Cordill said he’s enjoyed his daily interaction with students the most, and the contents of his office make that evident.

A rubber chicken sits on his table, he has a collection of more weird eyeglasses than Elton John, and his office drawers are chock-full of silly hats and joke toys. `Laughing with kids and having fun with them have been the best parts of my career. I’ve found that using humor really relaxes kids and gets them to listen to you,' he observed.

`I know the pressures students are going through, but watching them grow through those and trying to guide and interact with them has been fun,' he said. Besides teaching, Cordill has been active in the Madras community as a volunteer fireman for 15 years, past Chamber member, working with the Sparklers on the Fourth of July celebrations, the Collage of Culture for four or five years, and other activities. He intends to continue being a volunteer fireman, and would like to do school assemblies to educate children about fire safety.

Jump noted in jobless rate

Unemployment rates in Central and South Central Oregon rose significantly in all counties during January 2001. Jefferson County experienced the highest increase at 5.3 percentage points, followed by Lake County with a 3.6 percentage point increase. Klamath and Crook counties experienced 3.1 and 2.6 percentage point increases respectively, while Deschutes County had the lowest increase at 2.2 percentage points.

In Jefferson County, the preliminary unemployment rate for January was 11.1 percent, up 5.3 percentage points from December’s benchmarked rate of 5.8 percent and 3.2 point higher than the January 2000 benchmarked rate of 7.9 percent.

City hires new interim director

The city of Madras recently hired a new interim director of public works, Tom Gellner, who is the former director of the Bend Public Works Department. Until recently, the city of Madras had been contracting with Bussard Engineering for public works administrative services.

By contracting with Gellner, commented Mayor Rick Allen, the city will save money, and also receive more work from the interim director. For about 55 hours per month of work, the city had been paying the Bussard firm between $6,000 and $7,000, Allen said.

Gellner will be working approximately 120 hours per month, for about $2,000 less than the city was paying Bussard Engineering, Allen said. Gellner will serve as interim Madras public works director perhaps for the next couple of months.

Ballots trickling in at clerk's office

 
Jefferson County Clerk Kathy Marston reported earlier this week that approximately 13 percent of county voters had returned ballots for the special district election. Ballots are due at the clerk’s office by 8 p.m., Tuesday, March 13.

The special district election will have no where near the turnout of the November general election. Marston said that a turnout of less than 50 percent is to be expected for the special district election.

The final days of the vote will likely see a higher number of ballots coming into the office, Marston said. In some elections, the final days bring a doubling of the number of ballots received up to that point; however, the closing days of current election probably will not see a similar strong voter response, Marston said.

The Madras Pioneer will not have the results of the election in next week’s edition, as the ballot-count will happen after the paper’s deadline. However, by midmorning on Wednesday, March 14, the Pioneer web site will include the results.

Traditionally, the special district elections bring a fairly small voter response, especially when many of the seats are uncontested, such as they are on the current ballot. Contested seats on the current ballot include those on the Mountain View Hospital District, the 509-J and Culver school boards, and the fire district.

Kemper named Citizen of the Year

He came out of retirement to help with the straightening out of the city government. He helped organize the landslide election of a new mayor, and was a chief coordinator in the recall of two councilmen, a proposal that also proved to be overwhelmingly popular with voters.

`More than all of that, Carlos Kemper has always been there for the community, ever since he came to Madras in the late ‘60s,' commented Mayor Rick Allen. `From supporting the Buff Boosters, to helping clean up a creek through town, you can count on Carlos to be there.'

Many others in the community agree with this opinion, which has prompted the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce to name Kemper the Citizen of the Year for 2000. `Carlos is a highly motivated citizen, and has demonstrated a willingness to be called upon again and again,' commented Parrish Van Wert, chamber director.

Kemper received the award during the Chamber’s annual awards banquet, held on Saturday at the Senior Center. His son Greg was asked to make the award presentation. Carlos commented afterward, `It was a real surprise. I had no idea it was coming, until my son got up there and began speaking.'

Kemper is a longtime resident of Madras; he moved here with his wife Peggy in 1968, when Kemper began his local medical practice. He retired just a few years ago. Over the years, he’s been a supporter of the hospital, school sports teams, and many community improvement projects.

Cogentrix meeting draws big turnout

By David McMechan
News Editor

The $400 million Cogentrix power plant proposed for southeast Jefferson County has generated a good amount of local interest. On Thursday, March 1, over 100 people showed up for the first public meeting on the Cogentrix proposal.

Six representatives of Cogentrix, and an official from the Oregon Office of Energy, fielded many questions from those in attendance. A common theme among a number of the questions was in regard to potential environmental impacts of the proposed Cogentrix plant.

The Cogentrix people answered the questions as best they could, but also commented that the development planning process is in a very early stage. This phase of the process, the company officials said, is to identify the issues that need to be addressed. `This evening, we’re hear mainly to listen,' said Jef Freeman, director of Cogentrix public affairs.

Freeman and Frank Erwin, Cogentrix vice-president of development, then gave an overview of how the Grizzly Power Generation Project idea has come into being.

Factors favoring site

Cogentrix, based in North Carolina, currently has 22 power-generation plants in operation. Another five are in the planning and development phase. Most of the company’s power plants are in Eastern and Midwestern areas of the U.S., but Cogentrix in recent years has been focusing more on the western region.

The need for new power sources in the West is one reason for this expansion, Freeman said.
In making a preliminary proposal to develop a plant in Jefferson County, Cogentrix also took into consideration some practical and social factors as well, Freeman said.

A practical consideration working in favor of the Jefferson County site, he said, is its proximity to both a source of natural gas, and a tie-in site to the Northwest power grid. A social factor working in favor, Freeman said, was the positive response the company has received from the county and the city.

Major power facility

The proposed development site is a 20-acre lot adjacent to and south of Ramms Road, about two miles to the east of Highway 26 on the way to Prineville. The site is about 3,000 feet past the BPA Grizzly substation. Pacific Gas pipeline facilities are also within a three-mile area of the proposed development site.

The power plant would be fueled mainly by gas, and would have an easy tie-in to the Northwest power grid at the Grizzly substation. Part of the power would be generated by steam, the heat-source coming from the gas-powered portion of the plant.

The proposed plant would be a major power facility, producing more than twice as much energy as the Pelton-Round Butte hydro-dams. The plant would produce approximately 1,000 megawatts of power, enough to serve a city the size of Portland.

Local support

To initially locate potential sites, company planners look at maps of different regions, explained Cogentrix’ Frank Erwin. A site that is near the intersection of a natural gas line and a power substation are identified as potential development sites.

The number is narrowed down based on various factors, such as topography of the region, proximity of residents, and so forth. For the Jefferson County site, the topography is conducive to a development project, and the closest residence is a mile away.

Also, the proposed site is not in an otherwise undeveloped or `pristine' area, as the Grizzly power substation, a fairly large facility, is already in existence nearby. Some local community leaders have indicated their support for the Cogentrix proposal. Benefits of the project to Jefferson County include new jobs, plus a boost to the property tax base.

The Cogentrix plant would create 300 new jobs during the two-year construction phase. When built and in operation, the plant would employ about 30 people. The company tries to hire locally, rather than bring in employees from other areas, said Jef Freeman.

The Cogentrix plant would have an estimated tax assessment of over $200 million. Eventually, the plant could generate $3 million per year in local tax revenue, said Parrish Van Wert, director of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.

Van Wert has been working with Cogentrix on the Grizzly Power Generation Project for about a year. He commented that the meeting last Thursday, the first time the public has had a chance directly to discuss the project with Cogentrix representatives, was a good one.

`The questions that were posed to Cogentrix were extremely valid,' Van Wert said. The hope, Van Wert said, is that the planning and permitting process will provide answers to all questions regarding the proposed plant.

The planning/permitting application process, including ample opportunity for public input, is expected to take approximately a year. Cogentrix is expecting to submit an application for development to the Oregon Office of Energy in June of this year.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

You don’t usually associate hot-tubs with structure fires, but that is what happened last week at a residence on the 800 block of Rancho Lane. The owner of the residence, Wayne Holzfuss, went to reset the controls on the hot-tub, but when he pressed the reset button, the wiring and insulation caught on fire.

Holzfuss put some water on the fire, but flames had already spread down into the insulation of the tub. Holzfuss was treated at the scene for a mild case of smoke inhalation. The incident happened at about 10:30 a.m. last Tuesday. Holzfuss had insurance. The fire damaged the hot-tub and an overhead gazebo.

Fire fighters, however, were able to contain the blaze, and kept it from spreading beyond the area of the hot tub.
 
 

By David McMechan
News Editor

Remember the north Y project? Well, forget about it. The north Y project has been taken off the Oregon Department of Transportation list of projects to be completed within the next four years.
When the project may again be added to the list is unknown.

No doubt, this information comes as no surprise to the many local residents who participated in the ODOT planning process regarding the north Y, where highways 26 and 97 intersect. A couple of years ago, when ODOT was holding public hearings regarding different design proposals, many people commented that the project would not happen during their lifetimes.

Nevertheless, residents gave their input as to how the problematic north intersection would best be realigned. After hearing public comment, ODOT planners finalized a north Y redesign proposal that included closure of the existing intersection, installation of a new stop light, and realignment of traffic along Oak Street.

This design, many downtown business owners said, would be the most beneficial option, in comparison with, for example, development of an underpass. At the conclusion of the public hearing process, the city of Madras added the preferred option, referred to as the signalized alternative, to the city’s long-term transportation plan.

ODOT, meanwhile, added the project to its State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP), which includes transportation renovation projects that may be completed within the next four years. Then last year, the state proposed a new gas tax, which was defeated at the polls.

ODOT has since removed the Madras north Y realignment from the STIP, because the agency’s budget would not accommodate this project, estimated at nearly $2 million. The north Y project is now on ODOT’s “needs” list, which includes transportation projects that the agency sees as important, but which are not among the priority projects.

Had the gas tax passed in 2000, the north Y project likely would have remained on the STIP, commented Ed Moore, ODOT senior planner for the region. Realigning the north Y would have been an ODOT modernization project, as opposed to a preservation project.

The paving of Fourth and Fifth through Madras, and the South Highway 97 paving project, both slated for this spring and summer, are examples of preservation projects. Both of the preservation projects will cost less than the north Y project would, although the cost difference is not that great.

The downtown paving has an estimated price of $1.64 million; and the highway project, including widening the shoulders of the highway, will cost about $1.4 million. Next year, ODOT is planning a modernization project at the south Y intersection: the agency is planning to add a two-way turn lane to the area where south highways 97 and 26 intersect.

The north Y, though, probably will not happen for quite some time.
 

RAPP helping address youth issues

Teenagers have a lot to offer the community, and RAAP, a new county-run youth group, is helping teens do just that. Coordinated by Michelle Chavez-Hudson, the Reduce Adolescent Pregnancy Project (RAPP) is a state-funded effort which began Dec. 1, and is open to all Jefferson County youth.

`The goal was to start a youth group that helps teens make healthy and positive choices,' Chavez-Hudson said, noting, `It’s also to raise community awareness that youth do good choices, have a lot of ideas, and like to be seen in a positive light in their communities.'

Statistics show that after school during the hours of 3 to 6 p.m., there is the most risk of kids getting into trouble because they are unsupervised. Jefferson County also has a high rate of juvenile crime and teen pregnancy.

By giving youth some positive activities after school, the RAAP youth group hopes to prevent these problems. Seventeen boys and girls have already joined the group and Chavez-Hudson said it could handle up to 50 kids. The great thing, she said, is that it has turned out to be a multicultural group, with Hispanic, Native American and Anglo members.

`This is also a safe place for youth to come and vent their own feelings,' she said. `At first, some of the boys came with a chip on their shoulder, but they participate very well now and have very strong opinions,' she said, noting the young people in the group are adamantly against racism, teen pregnancy and alcohol and drug use.

To help them express their opinions and take action, Chavez-Hudson guided 20 youth and 10 adults in putting on a candlelight vigil in Sahalee Park on Jan. 31, as a protest against hate crimes.

The group has gotten to attend youth conferences including a 4-H conference in Klamath Falls, and one at Oregon State University that encouraged students of color to attend college. They’ve had a pizza party, held fund-raisers, and gone swimming at Kah-Nee-Ta, where recreation director Fran Ahern told them about summer job opportunities at the resort.

Future plans call for creating a bulletin board at the county health department for Black History Month, doing a child abuse prevention activity in March, and traveling to Portland to attend a workshop put on by United Voices, another youth group with powerful speakers.

Chavez-Hudson meets with the kids every Wednesday and Thursday at the health department, and also goes to Madras High School a lot where her kids team up with Marge Gabriel’s MHS Multicultural Club. `In the club we have the kids do life skills projects to learn how to be leaders and positive role models,' she said.

This spring, the RAAP club will be putting on a `Teen Maze' event, hopefully at MHS. The maze is a room-sized board game where kids act as game pieces and move around a board where they are tempted by unsafe actions. Players draw action cards to show what they’ve done, then cards with the consequences of unsafe actions such as drinking and driving, drug use, or unprotected sex.

`One consequence (for drug use) leads you down to a casket with a mirror,' Chavez-Hudson said, noting the game is bluntly frank.

Chavez-Hudson understands a lot of what it’s like to be a teen in Madras, because she grew up here herself until age 14. She later attended college in Washington and New Mexico, and is pursuing a degree in criminal justice.

There are more programs offered now than when she attended school in Madras, she said, mentioning, `The alternative ed program is a real thumbs up, it was very needed.'

But there is still much work to be done to get community members interacting with teenagers and seeing the positive ideas and energy teens have to offer.

`We need more realization that this is a very diverse community. More understanding that everybody’s different. All kids need a lot of dedication and commitment from adults and the community and something to do besides just roam around town,' Chavez-Hudson said.

`There are a lot of positive adult role models who should get involved with the youth.'
 

Spring to bring much road work

Spring and summer will bring a great deal of road construction work to Madras, as well as to the highway south of town. The state will be spending nearly $3 million on two separate highway projects, one through Madras, and another from Ford Lane north 3.7 miles to the Highway 26/96 junction.

Preliminary construction work has already started to the south, with Deschutes Valley Water District crews repositioning some pipes in anticipation of the upcoming South Highway 97 work. Soon, the city of Madras also will be replacing water lines through town, in anticipation of the Fourth and Fifth street paving project.

The water-line replacement work, which will cost a little over $150,000, should begin during the month of March, said Terry Angle, of Bussard Engineering, the city’s engineering consulting firm. The work should be done by the time the repaving work begins on Fourth and Fifth.

The Oregon Department of Transportation anticipates the downtown paving project to take approximately two and a half months to complete. The downtown project will be bid in April, and construction will begin within 30 to 60 days of the bidding process, said Neil Chavre, ODOT project manager.

24-hour work schedule

Cost of the this project, a resurfacing from the south end of town to Willow Creek, is $1.64 million, Chavre said. Almost half of the total construction time will happen on the particularly problematic area of Fifth Street, from D north to Pine.

For this stretch of road, construction crews will be digging down as deep as 26 inches in order to replace the base rock.  Chavre said the `full-depth replacement' along this part of Fifth will take approximately one month. The prospect of a prolonged traffic disruption has been a cause of concern for business owners along this route.

In response, ODOT is some contract specifications that are intended to mitigate the impact to businesses. For instance, Chavre said, crews will be working, in shifts, round-the-clock on the full-depth reconstruction areas. This might allow for completion of the work within 48 hours in front of any one business, Chavre said.

That is the plan, although unforeseen circumstances, utility lines that were not anticipated, for instance, could require some modification, Chavre mentioned. `We’ve tried to locate every (utility line) that we can, but we can’t know for certain until we get down there,' he said.

Chavre added: `We’re trying to minimize the impact to businesses, and also trying to minimize traffic problems as well.'

For areas outside of the full-depth reconstruction site, ODOT intends for the construction to happen at night. `That is primarily to reduce traffic impacts,' Chavre said.

He mentioned that ODOT would like to have done the full-depth reconstruction along the entire length of Fourth and Fifth streets. Budget constraints, however, have eliminated this possibility. Instead, the full-depth work will happen only on the area that the ODOT road designers identified as particularly in need of replacement.
 

Home holds local history

One of the more interesting old homes in Jefferson County is that of Herschel and Nelda Read, whose house used to be a hotel in the town of Perryville. The Reads’ place is located just to the south of Haystack reservoir; this area, a hundred or more years ago, was the site of Perryville, which later became the town of Culver.

Perryville was named after Herschel’s grandfather, Perry Read. The main part of the Reads’ house, the original hotel building, was built in 1864. The Reads have made some additions to the structure, but the historic building still looks unmistakably like a hotel from the early pioneer and homestead days.

Next to the house is an old storage building, which dates back to 1912. Inside the storage building is Herschel’s 1968 Bel Aire Chevrolet, the car he drove around the county while he was serving as Jefferson County Court Judge. Read was judge of the county court from 1970 to 1982.

Youths advocate skate park

If you live in Madras, you hear the complaint all the time: `There is nothing in town for young people to do.' Several young skateboard enthusiasts are trying to do something that would help remedy this situation.

A number of local youths, with help from Greg Kemper, who owns Cascade Sports Authority in Madras, are advocating the development of a skate park. The park would be a concrete series of jumps and ramps, designed for skateboarders. The park would be located next to the existing Bean Park.

Advocates of the skate-park intend to meet in the near future with representatives of the Bean Foundation, which owns the land. The property has been designated as the site of expansion of the Bean Park facilities.

Development of the skate park might cost in the range of $150,000. This is a considerable amount of money, that would require some major fund-raising work. `I’m confident we’ll be able to do it,' commented Darren Halstead, 17, one of the main advocates of the skate park idea.

Number of benefits

Halstead mentioned that the idea has many supporters in the community. At a city council meeting last week, for instance, many people — youths, as well as parents — spoke in favor of the proposal. `I was excited to see many proponents,' Halstead commented.

City officials were receptive to the idea, and indicated a willingness to work with supporters of the skate-park. And some local businesses, Figaro’s Pizza, for instance, have already indicated they would be willing to help with the fund-raising.

Halstead and others say that a skate-park would have the same benefits for young people that would come with development of other recreation projects, such as new soccer fields. The skate-park would be an economic development project for the city: people considering whether to move to Madras would be more likely to do so, if they see the town has recreational opportunities for young people, commented skate-park supporter Paul Houck.

Also, Halstead added, development of a skate-park would reduce the less-safe skateboard traffic in areas downtown. With no park, `we have to skate at local businesses, until they tell us to leave,' Halstead said. With a skate-park, `we would have a place that we wouldn’t get kicked out of.'

BMX track

City officials last week asked the advocates of the skate-park a number of questions regarding the proposal. City officials wanted to know, for instance, if a skate-park would increase graffiti problems at the rest-rooms at Bean Park.

Advocates said the skate-park would tend to reduce graffiti, as the presence of more people at the park would discourage people who have spray-painted and otherwise vandalized the rest-rooms at Bean Park.

City officials asked whether the skate-park would increase the amount of litter at the park. Advocates said that, with trash cans readily accessible, this would not be a problem.
A number of supporters of the skate-park also advocated the development of a BMX track adjacent to Bean Park and the proposed skate-park.

Tribes again look to Hood River

By David McMechan
News Editor

The Warm Springs Tribes are moving forward with a plan to develop a casino just outside the town of Hood River. The Tribal Council last week, by a vote of 10-0, directed its Gaming Board of Directors and other Tribal officials again to focus on the Hood River casino project.

A casino at Hood River, costing perhaps $150 million to develop, has the potential to generate over $100 million in annual revenue for the tribes, said Rudy Clements, spokesman for the Tribes. Clements, who chairs the Warm Springs Tribal Gaming Board, said the Tribes are now in need of a substantial economic development project.

For the current year, the Tribal government is facing a budget shortfall of $1.6 million, which could require a personnel cutback of 39 jobs, Clements said. Also, the Warm Springs Forest Products Industries mill this month implemented a personnel cutback of 70 workers. This layoff was announced in December 2000, when the effected workers were given two-months notice.

Gov. cannot veto

To offset set the anticipated budget shortfalls, the Tribes in 1998 initially suggested developing a casino at the Hood River site. The 40-acre property, located along I-84 two miles east of Hood River, has been in Tribal trust ownership since 1976.

The year that the Tribes acquired the property is important because it predates the year that the federal government adopted the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Adopted in 1988, IGRA provides the states with a veto authority in regard to tribal casino proposals on trust property.

However, the authority exists only in regard to trust property which tribes have acquired after adoption of the IGRA. States have no authority to block a tribal casino on trust property which a tribe had acquired before 1988.

2 options eliminated

Three years ago, when the Warm Springs Tribes first proposed developing a casino at the Hood River property, residents living nearby the site, including a large majority of residents of the town of Hood River, voiced strong objection.

In response, the Tribes looked to the town of Cascade Locks, to the west of Hood River, where residents were receptive to the casino idea. At the time, the Tribes owned no property at Cascade Locks, but in 1999 they did acquire a potential casino development site in the town.

Through his authority under IGRA, Gov. Kitzhaber, who studied the issue for several weeks, blocked the Tribes’ proposal to build at Cascade Locks. Sometime later, the Tribes proposed developing a casino on tribal trust property at the Madras Industrial Park. This idea was voted down by tribal members last year.

As their options have been narrowed, the Tribes are proceeding with the original Hood River proposal, said Rudy Clements.

Sensitive issues

The Tribes’ Hood River property is located in the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area, and along the Historic Columbia River Highway, which is a designated linear state park. As the efforts to develop a casino at Cascade Locks, and then at Madras, have shown, Tribal officials realize the Hood River site involves some sensitive issues.

However, because of the budget shortfall, the Tribes feel they no longer have a choice but to proceed with Hood River, Clements. This time around, he said, the objections by residents at Hood River will not sidetrack the development plan.

`We’re not going to destroy ourselves because they object,' he commented.
County revising land-use ordinance

Following a year of work, the county planning commission is preparing to forward to the county commission a revised and update county land-use code. The planning commission has held a number of public meetings over the past year, listening to suggestions on the proposed changes, drafts of which were developed by Chris Bedsaul, county community development department director.

Many of the proposed ordinance changes are technical, updating statute references, and correcting typos, for instance. On the other hand, some of the changes will be more substantial. An example of this is the proposed change in the way that the county would handle land-use appeals, Bedsaul explained.

The appeals that would be affected are administrative decisions appealed to the planning commission, and planning commission decisions appealed to the county commission. Currently, the county has one form of appeal, in which the reviewing body must conduct a new hearing on all issues involved in the particular application that is being appealed.

The proposed change would give the appellant more options. An appeal could still be made involving a new hearing on all issues, and this would still cost the appellant $550. But the appellant could also choose to have a hearing on only some of the issues involved in the application. This would cost $450.

Also, the appellant could request that the reviewing body rely just on the record that had been established during the initial hearing. This process, called a review on the record, would cost $350.

Rather than appeal, a person could also submit a request for reconsideration to the body that had made the initial decision. This would cost $100. The change in the appeal process is recommended because it would give people more options in how to challenge a decision with which they disagree, Bedsaul said.

The county planning commission in the next month or so is expecting to forward the recommended changes to the county commission. The county commissioners will then conduct hearings, during which people can give their input.
 
 
 

Real estate office permit reviewed

Jefferson County commissioners recently heard testimony regarding a proposal to locate a real estate office at a building by the Central Oregon Livestock Auction Yard. Auction yard owner Clay Tanler had earlier received an OK by the county planning commission to operate the real estate office at the auction yard.

However, more recently, the county commission became aware that the approval of the permit to operate the real estate office appeared to have been in violation of county land-use ordinance.
The auction yard property is zoned for exclusive farm use, and the real estate office would not be permitted in that zone.

There had been concern that permission to operate a publication office at the auction yard may also have been issued in contradiction to ordinance. However, the situation regarding the publication, which provides livestock information to ranchers, appears to be different than that of the real estate.

The publication had been in existence a number of years ago, and therefore could qualify as an existing nonconforming use in the EFU zone. The real estate office, on the other hand would be new, and therefore could not be sited in the EFU zone through a conditional use permit.

If the county commission does find that the permit to operate the real estate office was improper, then Tanler could resubmit an application to operate this aspect of his business through a home-occupation application, said Chris Bedsaul, director of county community development.

At last week’s hearing regarding Tanler’s current permit to operate the real estate office, the county commissioners heard testimony from Tanler, as well as from two farmers, Dave Stevenson and Ron Olson, who testified that the permit had been improperly issued.
The commission had also received a written comment from farmer Gary Harris, stating that the permit was improper.

Harris first brought the matter to the commission’s attention, which prompted last week’s hearing. The matter was brought up for review at the commission’s own request, as opposed to having been appealed by an outside party. The commissioners continued the hearing until Feb. 28, at which time they will discuss the matter and probably rule either to uphold or reverse the planning commission decision.
 
 

Irrigation water in good supply

By Susan Matheny
General Editor

Despite relatively little rain or snowfall this winter, North Unit Irrigation District Manager Chuck Schonneker told farmers attending last week’s Farm Fair they could expect a good water supply this growing season. It’s next year they have to worry about.

`Next year could be a different story, and we’ll get a chance to test our water lining project,' Schonneker said. Schonneker was referring to NUID’s $8.5 million water conservation project which involved lining the canals that transport irrigation water from Wickiup Reservoir to Jefferson County with compact concrete to prevent seepage.

`We’ve saved 25,000 to 27,000 acre feet per year, the lining made that much difference,' he observed. The majority of NUID farmers have Deschutes River water rights with water coming from Wickiup Dam, but for the small percentage with Crooked River water rights the news was not as good. The Prineville Reservoir level is far below normal, but that area’s main snowfall comes between February and March, so there might be a chance for more precipitation.

Reporting on the repair of Wickiup Dam, Schonneker said the U.S. Congress had approved the project and it was now up to the Bureau of Reclamation to put the work out for bids. Under the Federal Safety of Dams Act, NUID was informed last February it would be required to earthquake-proof Wickiup Dam to the tune of $44 million.

A system of `jet grouting' a 215-foot long section of the dam will allow the repair to be done with Wickiup still filled to its 200,000 acre foot capacity. The other option of lowering the water level to do the work, would have put a pinch on irrigators.

During jet grouting, holes are drilled down 60 feet, the silt is pumped out and liquid grout is pumped in. The grout hardens into cement reinforcement columns. The canal lining project is already costing farmers $12.97 per acre, so until that loan is paid off, they will only be charged 50 cents per acre for the repairs to Wickiup Dam. Local farmers are paying 15 percent ($6.6 million) of the $44 million dam repair cost and the rest is being paid by the federal government. NUID was the first irrigation district to ever get an extended 30-year loan contract from the Bureau of Reclamation.

`We will have a 43,029 acre foot pull-down of Wickiup to do drain work this fall, and will have to maintain that until Nov. 1,' Schonneker said, noting the dam’s toe drain filters have to be replaced with new filters.

Schonneker said the Wickiup repair work will go out to bid in March, a construction company will be chosen in June, work will begin in July and should be completed by 2003. The only quirk so far has been the discovery of 32 Oregon Spotted Frogs at the dam, which are listed as a threatened, and will probably be put on the endangered species list.

Morning blaze consumes trailer

A travel trailer burned Wednesday morning in Madras, causing about $10,000 in damage. The trailer was valued at about $4,000, and the contents, about $6,000. The trailer and contents were totally destroyed, and there was no insurance, said Don Robertson, owner of the trailer.

The blaze happened shortly before 8 a.m. Source of ignition was a propane tank with an attached heating device. The heating element had accidentally tipped on its side, which caused the initial flames.

The fire spread very quickly. Some telephone and cable television lines above the trailer were scorched by the flames, knocking out service to a few homes in the area. The incident happened at S.W. Third and C streets. Robertson’s sister had been staying in the trailer for a couple of days, as she was looking to move into an apartment.

Seaswirl set to resume operation

Two companies have jointly purchased assets of the bankrupt Outboard Motor Corp. (OMC), which formerly owned Seaswirl Boats in Culver.

A news release from OMC on Tuesday afternoon of this week indicated that Seaswirl may resume operation by the end of this month.

It was not yet known how many Seaswirl employees would be back on the job, but news of the purchase was nevertheless welcome for many Culver residents.

Seaswirl employed over 220 people before its closure in December. The closure was the result of OMC’s filing for bankruptcy.

Two companies, Bombardier Motor Corp. of America, and Genmar Industries Inc., combined to purchase the OMC assets out of bankruptcy.

The bid by the companies was $95 million.
 

Culver opposes closure of crossing

By David McMechan
News Editor

King Lane in the Culver area is one of the many unpaved, quiet country roads in Jefferson County. In recent weeks, however, King Lane has become a point of contention. More precisely, the point of contention is the place where King Lane crosses the Burlington Northern railroad tracks.

For vehicle safety reasons, the Oregon Department of Transportation is considering closing the King Lane crossing. At the same time, ODOT and Burlington Northern are planning to improve, with crossing arms and flashing lights, the nearby Feather Drive rail crossing. The Feather Drive crossing is about half-a-mile from the King Lane crossing. Residents of the Culver area are close to unanimous in their opposition to this idea of closing the King Lane crossing.

Emergency response a concern

Some residents are concerned that closure of the King Lane crossing could, under an extreme circumstance, restrict access to homes by emergency response vehicles.  If Feather were unexpectedly blocked, if it were washed out, for instance, and if the King Lane crossing was closed by ODOT, then there would be no public-road access to residences in the area of Juniper Butte.

For this reason, Earl Cordes, chief of the Jefferson County Fire District, has commented in opposition to the suggested closure. Also, some Culver area residents have commented that closing the King crossing would restrict the transport of agriculture-related products, such as to and from the Mallory’s Feed Lot dairy operation.

A North Unit Irrigation District representative commented in opposition to the closure because if King were closed, then people might be inclined to use an alternate route to Feather, involving a North Unit canal road.

A bus driver for the Culver School District commented that closing the King crossing could create an inconvenience, involving a detour of a couple of miles, for some bus routes.
Last week, ODOT and Burlington Northern discussed the King Lane closure idea with the Jefferson County commission, and about 40 residents of Culver and the surrounding area. All but two of the many people who testified were in opposition to the closure.

The two who were in favor say that traffic on unpaved King Lane creates a dust problem: and if the King Lane crossing were closed, fewer people would use the road, reducing the dust. If King were paved, the two people in favor of the closure probably would also be in opposition to closing the crossing.

Decision in 2 or 3 weeks

Last week, Burlington Northern workers were making improvements to the crossing at King Lane: the work consisted of replacing the old wood crossing ties with new ones. The improvements do not mean that ODOT has determined to keep the crossing open, said Craig Reiley, manager of ODOT’s railroad crossing safety section. Reiley said that ODOT might make its decision in two or three weeks, after agency officials have reviewed the transcript of last week’s public hearing in Culver.

Reiley explained that ODOT is suggesting closing the King Lane crossing for safety reasons. The suggestion came at the present time because ODOT and Burlington Northern are planning to improve the safety of the nearby Feather Drive crossing. When safety improvements are made to one crossing, then ODOT looks for nearby, less-safe crossings that could be closed. In looking at options to close crossings, ODOT is following a state policy, as well as federal transportation suggestions, Reiley said. The federal objective is to close 25 percent of crossing in the nation, he said.

ODOT and Burlington Northern this year are planning to make approximately $150,000 in safety improvements at Feather, Reiley said. The department’s budget does not allow for a similar project at King Lane, which is why the agency has suggested that this crossing be closed.
The decision of whether or not to close the King Lane crossing will involve weighing various factors, Reiley said.

On the one hand are the state and federal objectives of closing the unsafe crossings; on the other hand are the impacts of a closure on the local community. These factors include things such as access by emergency response vehicles, and potential impacts on local businesses, Reiley said.

ODOT considers the public input, but the agency also has discretion in determining whether or not to close a particular crossing: even if everyone in the community were opposed, ODOT could still go forward with a closure.
 
 

County improves youth conditions

By David McMechan
News Editor

The dropout rate at Madras High School improved; but the rate was well above the statewide average. Eighth-grade reading and math proficiency improved among youths in the county; but the county-wide math and reading proficiency level was below the statewide level.

Also, the teen pregnancy rate in Jefferson County fell during 1999 from the previous year; but the rate was well above the statewide average. Overall, Jefferson County improved in many youth-related areas; but the county still has ample room for improvement.

This is one conclusion drawn from a recent publication by Children First for Oregon, a nonprofit and nonpartisan group. Children First was founded ten years ago, and since that time has been a leading advocate for improving the well-being of the state’s young people.

The group recently published its Status of Oregon’s Children County Data Book, a compilation of statistics, for the year 1999, on various youth issues among the state’s 32 counties.

Teen pregnancy, dropout rates

The big problem areas for Jefferson County, in regard to youth issues, remain the high school dropout rate, the publication indicates. Jefferson had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the state for 2000; and had the second-highest dropout rate. These are not new developments for Jefferson County, which has posted high dropout and teen pregnancy statistics for many years.

The teen pregnancy rate for Jefferson County was approximately 31 per 1,000 girls ages 10-17; the statewide average was about 22 per 1,000. The high school dropout rate in Jefferson in 1999 was 9.6 percent, while the statewide average was 6.5 percent. In this category, Jefferson was behind only Multnomah, which had a 10.2 percent dropout rate.

Despite the high dropout rate in 1999, and the high incidence of teen pregnancy, Jefferson County did see improvement in both of these categories from the previous year, the recent data book indicates. (The publication does not specify the extent of the improvement.)

Alcohol, illegal drug use

For its county data book this year, Children First for Oregon focused particularly on `Kids in the Middle,' youths between the ages of 8 and 13. Earlier reports had focused more specifically on early childhood issues, data for which is again included in the recently published data book.

In looking at the needs of kids in the middle, especially middle school students, the publication compiled data on the rate of alcohol consumption among middle school students; the incidence of carrying a weapon to school; juvenile arrests; and the rate at which middle school students feel harassed at school.

For Jefferson County, one of the more interesting statistics from the recent public is in regard to alcohol abuse by eighth-grade middle school students. Jefferson was among the lowest in the state in this category. Twenty-percent of Jefferson County Middle School students reported drinking alcohol in the past month, the report states.

Statewide, the average was 26 percent; in Crook County the rate was 35 percent; and in Deschutes, 24 percent. On the other hand, Jefferson County eighth-graders showed a relatively high, though not exceedingly high, rate of illegal drug use, according to the recent publication.
For the year 1999, 17 percent of Jefferson County eighth-graders reported having taken illegal drugs, the report states. This figure was the same in Crook County. Statewide the average was 13 percent; and in Deschutes, 13 percent.

Middle school profile

The Status of Oregon’s Children publication states that 9 percent of Jefferson County Middle School students reported missing at least one day of school in the past month because they did not feel safe.

This was below the statewide average of 17 percent; and the same as the figure for Crook and Deschutes counties. (All of the middle school profile statistics for Jefferson are the same as for those of Crook and Deschutes, the report indicates.)

The publication indicates the following regarding the middle school:

Forty-four percent of Jefferson County Middle School students reported being in a physical fight in the past year. Statewide the average was 40 percent. Twenty-nine percent of local middle school students reported fighting on school property, in comparison with the 21-percent statewide average.

Of Jefferson County Middle School students, 17 percent reported being purposefully hit, slapped or physically hurt by an adult family member. Statewide the average was 14 percent. For Jefferson County, 19 percent of middle school students reported carrying a weapon such as gun, knife or club in the past month. Statewide the average was 15 percent.

For Jefferson, 6 percent of middle school students reported carrying a weapon to school. Statewide the average was 3 percent. Ten percent of Jefferson County Middle School students `reported attempting suicide in the past year,' the report states. Statewide, the average was 6 percent.

Power shortage prompts conservation

By Susan Matheny
General Editor

In an effort to have Madras do its part to conserve electricity, Mayor Rick Allen pulled the switch last week on the glittering white tree lights decorating the downtown area.

`Due to the California power crisis, we’ve turned off those lights and asked businesses and residents to look at turning off yard lights and other lights,' Allen said, noting, `We’ve had a lot of calls at city hall about conserving electricity.'

While California’s rolling blackouts have gotten a lot of attention lately, it is not just a California problem. Gov. John Kitzhaber and Washington Gov. Gary Locke stressed this recently through an appeal to the citizens of their states in a full-page ad printed in The Oregonian.

The governors explained that electricity supplies for the entire Northwest are now at bare minimum, since our states normally buy excess power from California in the winter.

The shortage is occurring partly because there has been steady economic and population growth in California, Oregon and Washington, but no additional power plants constructed to keep up with the increased demand. The other factor is weather. Low amounts of rain and snow this year have left hydropower reservoirs at lower than normal levels, and most of our area’s power comes from dams.

The two governors’ request to conserve electricity is not to bail out California, but to keep our own power supply afloat this winter. As electricity becomes scarce, the price to purchase it goes up, which is passed on to consumers in their monthly bills. This especially hits businesses hard.

`We have already seen a handful of businesses close their doors because they can’t afford the price of power,' the governors’ statement said. In Madras, two large businesses have already taken action to conserve energy.

Bright Wood Corporation earlier installed new motors, which save it $72,000 a year in power costs, according to Pacific Power spokesperson Shannon Shoul. In October, Safeway Stores Inc. implemented energy-reduction measures nationwide in their 1,700 stores by lowering lighting, and by installing more efficient systems in their huge freezer warehouses. Since October, lighting as been reduced by 30 percent in Safeway’s Oregon and Washington stores.

Jeff Nordstrom, Madras Safeway manager, related, `The district manager came into our store with a meter to measure our lights and our store was actually below the guidelines (of where to decrease). We chose to turn off the lights above the service counter to further conserve energy.'

Central Electric Cooperative Member Services Director Jim Crowell noted 80 percent of CEC’s power load is used by residential customers, rather than businesses.

`It seems like our membership is up to speed on what’s happening, and are doing what they can to help by cutting back as much as they can,' he said. Crowell also pointed out, `A high amount, 70 percent, of our residential customers heat with electricity. Others use natural gas, but the use of wood has decreased dramatically since 1987.'

Oregon received good news Jan. 30, when it was announced that U.S. Rep. Greg Walden of Hood River had won a coveted assignment to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, which has jurisdiction over the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). Walden is the only member form the Northwest assigned to the committee.

`This is a crucial assignment for Oregon,' Walden said following the announcement. `I argued that the Northwest desperately needs representation on energy issues in Congress, and this assignment will help a great deal in that regard. I will start working immediately on the subcommittee to protect Oregon consumers from high prices and the specter of blackouts,' he said.

Walden has already sent a letter to BPA requesting a study into the possibility of adding four turbines to the John Day Dam. Adding the turbines could generate as much as 600 additional megawatts of power, enough to light half of Portland.

Wind in the Columbia River Gorge will also being harnessed to help ease the electricity crunch in a project that will be the world’s largest wind farm. This month, PacifiCorp, an Oregon utility serving six states, and FPL Energy of Florida, a windpower developer, will join forces to construct 450-wind turbines that will generate 300 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power 70,000 homes.

Called the Stateline Wind Generating Project, it will be located between the Oregon and Washington border, with turbines in Walla Walla County, Wash., and Umatilla County, Ore.
Recent improvements in turbine technology now make wind power more feasible as well as more profitable. The project will also generate 200 construction jobs, 25 permanent jobs, and provide farmers with money from the lease of their land for the wind farm.

With oil and natural gas costs rising and electric plants being overloaded, a new interest is being shown toward renewable energy sources. Besides installing solar panels, it may be time to bring back the old-time windmills that used to dot the American landscape.

Dave Campbell has done just that on his farm north of Madras. Ten years ago Campbell came across an old `WindPower' generator made in the 1940s, and just for fun hunted down parts, repaired it and studied up on the devices. He mounted the wind generator on a 45-foot wood tower, and enjoyed watching it spin.

But a year ago, the Campbells decided to put the generator to work creating power for their house. Dave ran a cable from the tower to the house, and now has a small battery house containing old telephone batteries. The windmill charges the batteries and the Campbells draw electrical power from the batteries when needed.

`In the old days these generators ran 32-volt lights in the houses, but you can buy inverters to convert the 32-volt direct current to 110-volt alternating current like we use in houses now,' Campbell said.

The wind generator is tied into one circuit and powers lights, fans and the TV in the Campbell’s living room. At full power, when the wind is blowing at 18 mph, it can generate 800 watts.
`That’s like lighting up eight 100-watt light bulbs,' Campbell noted.
 
 

Suspect charged with theft

Following a search of his residence last week by Madras police, a 32-year-old Madras man was arrested on allegations of first-degree theft, conspiracy to commit theft, and possession of a controlled substance.

Edward Bockoven was arrested Jan. 30, at approximately 4 p.m., at his apartment residence on the 500 block of S.W. Third Street, according to a report by the Madras Police Department.
The search by police of Bockoven’s apartment was pursuant to a warrant regarding stolen property.

Seized at his residence were stereo equipment, which was stolen, as well as drug paraphernalia containing a small quantity of methamphetamine, the police report indicates.

Bockover was lodged in the county jail. The Madras Police Department was assisted in the search and arrest by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.
 
 

Trial date set in child death case

A trial date of April 17 has been set for a Simnasho woman accused of causing the death of a child who reportedly was left alone in a hot vehicle. Tamara Coffee, 34, is charged in federal court with murder for allegedly causing the death last July of Andres Estaben Saragos, who died at age 4. A medical examiner concluded that the child died from dehydration and heat exhaustion.

Allegations are that Coffee, while acting as the boy’s foster parent, left Andres Saragos in a vehicle in a parking lot while she was at work. The incident happened July 13 on the reservation.

Recently, Coffee’s attorney argued in federal court that some statements Coffee made following the child’s death should be suppressed at trial. This request was denied, meaning the statements will be admissible at trial.

At the time of the incident, Warm Springs police reported that Coffee had apparently left the child in the vehicle for several hours. Later, when she found Andres Saragos unconscious in the vehicle, Coffee brought him to the police department, where efforts to revive the child were unsuccessful, according to a police statement at the time.

An autopsy conducted at the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Portland found the cause of death to be heat exhaustion and dehydration. Results of the investigation were then presented to a federal grand jury, which on July 25 issued an indictment alleging murder. Coffee was arrested that day at her residence in Simnasho, according to tribal information.

A shot time later, she entered a plea of not guilty to the charge against her. She was released from custody, pending trial. Parents of the Andres Saragos are Vernice Switzler, who is a Warm Springs member, and Manuel Saragos.
 
 
 
 

City extends Smith's contract

Enes Smith has been hired for six months as the chief of the Madras Police Department. The city offered Smith a contract that expires June 30 of this year, and Smith accepted the offer. Smith, who lives in Bend, has been serving as Madras chief of police since late summer of last year.

Smith has told city officials that, during the next six months, he may consider moving to Madras.
If that were to happen, then Smith could be hired as the permanent Madras police chief. Smith has two daughters, ages 12 and 14, who are in school in Bend. This situation is the main reason why he is not sure about whether to move to Madras, Smith said.

In offering the six-month contract to Smith, Madras Mayor Rick Allen commented that the city at the present time should not have another important personnel vacancy to fill. The city is likely to begin the hiring process for a new administrator, as well as a permanent public-works director.

The city may also be looking to hire an attorney as part of city staff. To add the job of chief of police to this list would be a burden to the city at the present time, Allen said. At least as importantly, Allen added, Smith is well-liked and respected in the Madras community, including among the police department officers.

Smith has brought some stability to the police department during a difficult time of controversy at Madras City Hall, Allen commented. The six-month contract that the city and Smith agreed to is based on a salary of $52,000 per year, which is a comparable figure for former Madras police chiefs

Smith has been in law enforcement since 1974. He is a former chief of police of the Warm Springs Police Department. From 1990 to 1992 he served as intelligence coordinator and investigator of the Central Oregon Drug Task Force, and was also the Central Oregon Community College criminal justice program coordinator.

City hires administrative help

By David McMechan
News Editor

The chief financial officer and assistant manager of the city of Bend began work last week for the city of Madras.

Andy Parks will be working nearly full-time for Madras, while also working part-time for Bend.
For now, Parks is not serving as `interim administrator' for the city of Madras; however, on March 1 he likely will become interim administrator.

From now until the beginning of March, Parks is providing government administrative services to Madras on an independent contract basis. The reason for this arrangement — a delay before Parks becomes interim administrator — is that Madras still officially has a permanent administrator, Bill Sizemore.

However, the city council on Feb. 13 will consider terminating Sizemore’s employment. After that time Parks can become interim administrator for Madras.

Budget a priority

The city hired Parks last Tuesday. The salary for the first part of his contract, ending Feb. 28, is $6,000. The salary for the longer part of the agreement, from March 1 to June 30, is $4,800 per month.

The city will also pay some compensation for Parks’ expense in traveling between Bend and Madras. If the city has not found a new administrator by July 1, then the agreement with Parks could be extended for a longer period of time.

Madras officials have commented that Parks’ experience in government finance will be especially helpful over the next few months. `Our first big job is the budget,' commented city councilman Bob Sjolund, who took office with other new Madras officials in early January.

Parks will be working with the city council, the budget committee and city finance director Brenda Black in developing a 2001-2002 city budget. Parks is a Certified Public Accountant, and has worked for the city of Bend since 1988.

His first job with Bend was as the assistant finance director. He was promoted in 1993 to finance director, and then promoted in 1998 to assistant city manager and chief financial officer.
Parks has worked for Bend while that town has grown at a rapid pace. This experience, Parks said, will be especially useful in working for the city of Madras.

`Madras will see similar growth. It’s not a matter of if, but when. And the city needs to be prepared,' Parks commented. The city council last week was unanimous in its decision to hire Parks to work for the city of Madras.

Jump noted in jobless rate

Jefferson County saw an increase in unemployment during the month of December, according to a recent report from the Oregon Employment Department. Even without counting the loss of jobs that happened when Seaswirl Boats closed, the jobless rate in Jefferson increased from 5.7 percent in November to 6 percent in December.

The Employment Department did not include the Seaswirl layoff figures because the plant closure occurred after the time the department compiled its December county unemployment figures.

Over 220 jobs were lost in the county when Seaswirl, the second-largest private sector employer in the county, closed in late December. Prior to the Seaswirl shutdown, Jefferson was experiencing a jobless rate very close to that of December of the previous year (5.8 percent).

Before Seaswirl closed, Jefferson had the second-lowest jobless rate in the region, following Deschutes, which had a December unemployment rate of 4.7 percent. Crook County saw a December jobless rate of 7.7 percent, an increase of 0.3 percent from the previous month.

The state jobless rate in December was estimated at 4.2 percent, an unusually low figure for the month, the Employment Department indicates. For the year 2000, the state’s average unemployment rate was 4.8 percent, the lowest yearly level since 1995, when the rate was 4.8 percent. The national unemployment rate for December was 4 percent.
 

Madras schools on the mend

By Susan Matheny
General Editor

The State School Report Card was released Thursday with good news for the 509-J School District. Madras High rose from last year’s ranking of `unacceptable' to an overall rating of `low,' while Jefferson County Middle School also moved up from `low' to a `satisfactory' rating.

`In all six of our schools the numbers improved,' said Assistant Supt. Keith Johnson. Noting the State Report Card uses a rating scale of unacceptable, low, satisfactory, strong and exceptional, and figures are based on the 1999-2000 school year. Only students in grades three, five, eight and 10 are tested by the state to compile the Report Card.

`Madras High has made tremendous growth, and was just three points below obtaining a satisfactory rating,' Johnson pointed out.

MHS showed improvement in its dropout rate, which moved from 10 percent the year before to 6.6 percent last year, and had a higher number of students complete the state tests, 93 percent, compared to the state average of 98 percent.

Attendance remained about the same at 81.3 (state average was 93 percent). This fall, however, MHS closed its campus, which is expected to boost next year’s attendance figures, Principal Dick Junge noted.

`Madras High fared better on the Report Card this year, and we were actually only four points off from being rated satisfactory. Our average daily attendance this year has been 88 percent, so I believe we’ll be in the satisfactory category next year,' Junge said.

The middle school was able to improve its test scores, and the number of students taking tests was rated exceptional, but attendance was still unacceptable at 89.9 percent.

JCMS Principal Pat Kelly commented, `(The rating) was a nice acknowledgment of the work we’re trying to do. A person from the Oregon Department of Education was just here last night working with us on our grant.'

Kelly was referring to a state school improvement grants of $50,000 to $65,000 per year for three years that JCMS has been awarded for teacher training, curriculum revision and consultants to work with teachers.

MHS, likewise, is receiving a three-year $30,000 grant from Northwest Regional Labs to use for school improvement.

Westside Exceptional

Out of all schools in Central Oregon, Westside Elementary was one of three rated `exceptional,' and was the only one jumping up two steps from its “satisfactory” rating last year.

Westside student test scores improved, its attendance rate at 94.6 percent was higher than the state average of 93 percent, and it had 100 percent of its students take the state assessment tests.
Principal Amy Barr said her staff was elated. `Five years ago when Westside Elementary was started we were at ground level with 25 percentile reading scores. To go from that to this — we’re in seventh heaven,' Barr said.

She said the school’s improvement was achieved by the administration, staff and parents working together to make student needs the primary focus. `I have a terrific staff that busted their rear ends. I pushed them and our expectations were great,' she said.

There is an irony in Westside ranking at the top, because when the school opened, many parents did not want their children transferred over from the more affluent Madras Elementary, fearing Westside wouldn’t have the same educational advantages.

`My school is at an 86 percent poverty level. And that tells me that poverty level has nothing to do with how kids can learn if teachers are committed and focused on helping kids succeed and we all work together,' Barr stated.

She listed all-day kindergarten, looping classes (same teacher stays with class for two years), daily scheduled reading times, continual student tracking, and band for fifth-graders as programs that helped Westside succeed.

Of the other three schools, Madras Elementary maintained its satisfactory rating. `It was already at a high level, so the score was constant,' Assistant Supt. Johnson explained. Warm Springs Elementary continued to show improvement, moving from satisfactory to strong because of improved test scores. The school also had 99 percent of its students take the state tests, and a 91.8 percent attendance rate.

`We expected really good gains and were happy to see what we felt validated,' said Principal Dawn Smith. She credited improvements to programs such as all-day kindergarten, accelerated reading and math lessons, and English as a Second Language (ESL) training for teachers.

Metolius Elementary did not have enough students in the chosen testing grades (need 40) to receive a ranking from the state. But based on the results of those who were tested, it would have been scored strong overall, the same as the previous year, if it had been ranked.

The state did rate Metolius on attendance, strong at 94 percent and exceptional in student participation for having 100 percent of its students take the state tests. The Ashwood and Camp Sherman school districts were also too small to receive a state ranking.

The 509-J School District will be sending parents a District Report Card as well as a report on their students’ individual school buildings toward the end of January, Supt. Phil Riley noted.
Statewide results

A total of 1,101 Oregon schools were rated by the State School Report Card, according to the Oregon Department of Education. Of those, 43 schools were rated exceptional, 459 were strong, 580 were satisfactory, 17 were low, and two were unacceptable (Aim School and Centennial Learning Center, both in Multnomah County).

State Schools Supt. Stan Bunn announced Jan. 18, that more Oregon schools earned higher marks on this year’s Report Card.

`The higher ratings in our second annual report cards reflect higher test scores, higher attendance and lower dropout rates,' said Bunn.
 

Vandals damage 70 mailboxes

Approximately 70 mailboxes in Jefferson County were vandalized last week. The person or people responsible will face felony criminal mischief charges, due to the extent of the damage, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Witnesses have descriptions of two vehicles that may have been involved in the vandalism spree. Witnesses described one suspect vehicle as a full-sized, white cargo van, without side windows, with at least two young adult males inside.

This vehicle was seen during the early morning hours of Jan. 17, according to the sheriff’s office. Later, another witness described a second suspect vehicle, a smaller red car. Anyone with information regarding the vandalism should call the sheriff’s department at 475-6520.

`We’ll follow any possible leads,' commented Lt. Greg Partin. `People should call if they have see anything suspicious.'

The first reports of the vandalism came Jan. 17, from residents in the areas of Canyon View Estates, Madras Ranchos, Northeast Bean Drive, Qualle Road, Clark Drive, Gateway and several locations on Agency Plains.

The following day, the vandals moved south, with damage reports coming in from residents in the vicinity of Culver. During the first night or early morning, 30 mailboxes were reported to have been vandalized.

Good news for Madras High School

The State School Report Card was released Thursday with some good news for the 509-J School District. Madras High rose from last year’s ranking of `unacceptable' to an overall rating of `low,' while Jefferson County Middle School also moved up from a `low' to a `satisfactory' rating.

`In all six of our schools the numbers improved,' said Assistant Supt. Keith Johnson, noting the State Report Card uses a rating scale of unacceptable, low, satisfactory, strong and exceptional. Figures are based on the 1999-2000 school year.

`Madras High has made tremendous growth, and was just three points below obtaining a satisfactory rating,' Johnson pointed out.

MHS showed improvement in its dropout rate, which moved from 10 percent the year before to 6.6 percent last year, and had a high number of students complete the state tests, 93 percent, compared to that state average of 98 percent. Attendance remained about the same at 81.3 percent compared to the state average of 93 percent.

Supt. Phil Riley noted, `The high school was hurt last year by attendance and the dropout rate. But next year we have reason to believe the high school will cross the line into a satisfactory rating. The attendance to day is at 88 percent.'

The middle school was able to improve its test scores, the number of students taking tests was rated exceptional, but attendance was still unacceptable at 89.9 percent.

Of the other four schools, Madras Elementary kept its satisfactory rating. `It is already at a higher level than the other schools, so the score was constant,' Johnson said.

Westside Elementary jumped from being satisfactory to the top rating of exceptional due to improvements on reading and math test scores and an improved attendance rate. It was also the only school with 100 percent of its students taking the state assessment tests. Tests on which the Report Card are based are given to students in grades three, five, eight and 10.

Warm Springs Elementary moved from satisfactory to strong because of improved test scores, 99 percent of its students being tested, and a 91.8 percent attendance rate.

Recent statistics show local growth

Jefferson County grew by 5.4 percent from 1999 to 2000, according to a report released recently by the Center for Population Research and Census at Portland State University. Jefferson County grew from 17,650 resident in 1999, to 18,600 last year, an increase of 950 people, the report indicates.

For 1999-2000, Jefferson had the second-highest rate of growth in Central and South Central Oregon. Crook County had the highest growth rate, at 8 percent. Deschutes was third at 2.7 percent.

Within Jefferson County for 1999-2000, the unincorporated areas had the highest percent rate of growth, 6.6 percent: The unincorporated areas, which include Crooked River Ranch, grew from 11,020 people in 1999, to 11,745 last year.

Metolius had a growth rate of 6.3 percent: the increase was from 715 in ’99 to 760 last year. Culver grew by 3.6 percent: from 835 in 1999 to 865 last year. Madras saw a population increase of 3 percent: from 5,080 people in 1999 to 5,230 in 2000, an increase of 150 residents.

Decade of growth

The recent report by the Center for Population Research and Census also includes growth figures for the decade of the 1990s. According to the report, Jefferson County saw the third-highest rate of growth in the state.

With a growth rate of 36 percent for the decade, Jefferson ranked just behind Washington County in percentage terms. In terms of actual growth, Jefferson County added 4,924 additional residents from 1990 to 1999.

Of the 36 Oregon counties, Jefferson is the 19th most populous, just behind Lincoln County.
Deschutes County experienced the highest rate of growth — 46.2 percent — during the 1990s. All three Central Oregon counties were all among the top five in terms of percentage growth for the decade, according to the population study.

In terms of actual growth, though, none were among the top five; although Deschutes — which added 34,642 people — was among the top ten in actual growth.

Increase in city residents

During the 1990s, Madras grew by 51.9 percent: from 3,443 residents in 1990, to 5,230 at the start of 2000. For incorporated areas of the county, Metolius had the highest percentage growth rate, 68.9 percent: from 450 people in 1990, to 760 at the start of 2000.

Culver grew by 51.8 percent: from 570 in ’90, to 865 people at the beginning of 2000.
For the decade of the ’90s, unincorporated areas of the county saw a population increase of 27.5 percent: from 9,213 in 1990 to 11,745 at the start of 2000.

The county’s overall growth rate of 36 percent for the decade of the 1990s was well above the state average growth rate of 18.4 percent.

Statewide figures

Only one of the state’s 36 counties saw a decrease in population during the 1990s: Sherman saw a decrease of 0.9 percent, according to the population report. At the low end of growth was Grant County, 1.9 percent, behind Coos County, which saw a 2.4 percent increase.

At the other end of the scale was Deschutes (46.2 percent); Washington (37.2 percent); and Jefferson (36 percent). Next were Morrow County (31.8 percent); Crook (28.6 percent); and Yamhill (27.8 percent).

Sheriff's offices now at new jail

January 16, 2001

By David McMechan
News Editor

The new county jail building now houses the offices of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department. Department employees last week moved their office furniture, computers and so forth to the new jail, located by the airport.

The sheriff’s offices had been located in the annex building by the county courthouse.
Later this year, the county clerk, assessor, treasurer, finance and administration offices will be relocated from the ground floor of the courthouse to the annex. The county commission will also have a meeting room in the annex.

The county juvenile department, which had been in the annex, has moved temporarily to the new jail. Eventually, the juvenile department will relocate, along with the district attorney’s office, to the ground floor of the courthouse. The district attorney currently has offices on both the second and ground floor of the courthouse.

When the county office rearrangement is complete toward the middle of this year, the entire second floor of the courthouse will be available for the court system.

Jail is under budget

While the office area of the new jail facility is already in use, the area that will house the dispatch center and the jail inmates will not be in operation until the middle part of this year.
The next county budget year begins in July 2001, and that is the approximate target date for moving the dispatch center, and beginning the use of the jail cells and other incarceration areas.

Until the new budget year begins, the sheriff’s department would not have funding to hire and train the additional employees who will be needed to operate the inmate portion of the jail.
Meanwhile, the construction of the $9 million jail is slated for completion in early to mid-February, about three weeks ahead of schedule.

Also, this construction project is coming in under budget by between $300,000 and $600,000. Revenue in excess of the construction cost will likely be used to begin paying the bond, county officials have said.

The current jail, in the basement of the courthouse, has capacity for about 20 to 25 inmates. The new jail, approximately 37,000 square feet in size, could house up to 150 inmates.

However, the county jail population will not immediately jump to 150 in July. Tony Lewis, jail manager, estimated that at this time next year, the inmate population of the jail will be at about 80. The county built the jail with a large inmate capacity so that the facility will serve the community’s long-term incarceration needs.

Voters in the county approved the construction bond for the jail in 1998. In November of 2000, they approved the operating levy. The rate for the levy was to be 91 cents per $1,000.
 
 

Several candidates for March vote

January 15, 2001

By David McMechan
News Editor

The March 13 district election drew many candidates for the various local board positions that are coming open. As the deadline to file to run in the election was approaching last week, a number of people submitted the necessary paperwork.

In the end, each of the numerous positions that are coming open drew at least one candidate who is interested in serving. Also, a number of positions, particularly on the Mountain View Hospital District board, have more than one candidate.

In all, there are 41 board positions, on 12 different local district boards, that will be determined in the March 13 election. A total of 53 people filed to run in the election.

Good level of participation

The Mountain View Hospital District board, with five seats up for election, drew the most candidates, 12. Four of the positions have two candidates, and one has four candidates.

The Jefferson County 509-J and the Culver school districts each have three seats up for election.
For the 509-J board, one seat is contested; and for the Culver school board, two of the seats are contested. The Jefferson County Fire District board has two seats that are up for election. One of the seats is contested.

At Camp Sherman in west Jefferson County, the school board has three positions open, with one of the positions contested with two candidates. Other local district boards with seats up for election are the library, Deschutes Valley Water, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Jefferson County Education Service District (ESD), Ashwood School District, and the road and fire districts at Crooked River Ranch.

For these boards, none of the positions to be decided in March are contested. Fortunately, though, each of these available seats drew one candidate, demonstrating a good level of participation by people interested in serving.

If a board position had drawn no candidate, then the board would have had to try and fill the vacant spot by appointment.

12 hospital board candidates

For the March vote in Jefferson County, Position No. 3 on the Mountain View Hospital District board drew the most candidates. The four candidates for this position are Janelle Orcutt, Jennifer Allen, Richard Candland and Jim Quaid.

Orcutt is co-owner and operator of Madras Sanitary Service; Allen is a law clerk; Candland is vice president of the Madras branch of Wells Fargo Bank; and Quaid is director of a counseling center.

Will Bean and Garland Brunoe are candidates for position No. 2 on the Mountain View Board. Bean is a registered nurse, and Brunoe is an executive manager for the Warm Springs Tribes. Brunoe is currently on the hospital board.

Carlos Kemper and Dick Montee are candidates for position 4 on the hospital board. Kemper is a retired physician, and Montee is a travel agent. Mark Brannen and Bev Schultz are candidates for position 6. Brannen is the business manager for the 509-J school district; and Schultz is an office manager. Brannen is currently on the hospital board.

Roger Tathwell and Earl Cordes are candidates for position 7 on the hospital board. Tathwell is a retired physician, and Cordes is chief of the Jefferson County Fire District. Cordes is currently on the hospital board.

School board candidates

For position No. 2 on the Jefferson County 509-J School District Board of Directors, the candidates in the March election are Robert Ringering, incumbent, and Lucy Suppah.

Ringering is assistant manager of North Unit Irrigation District, and Suppah is a printer
Candidates for position 3 on the Culver School District board are Scott Leeper and John Shilling. Leeper is a commercial pesticide applicator, and Shilling is a teacher.
Candidates for position 4 on the Culver school board are Dustin Hansen and J.D. Alley. Hansen is a farm manager, and Alley is a farmer.

Other positions on the 509-J and the Culver school boards are uncontested. Candidates for 509-J uncontested positions are Jeff Sanders and Steve Earnest, both of whom are current 509-J board members.

Michael Lofting, an accountant at Warm Springs, is running unopposed for position 1 on the Culver school board. In the Ashwood district, five school board positions are up for election, and five people have filed as candidates.

The candidates are Donald Cowdrey, who is a ranch/farm laborer; Gordon Finnell, retired truck driver; Lona Burkhart, rancher; John Marston, rancher; and Ann Snyder, rancher.

Fire, EMS, library boards

Candidates for position No. 2 on the Jefferson County Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors are Gary Gaston and Mike Williams. Gaston works for North Unit Irrigation District, and has a small farm. Mike Williams is a realtor. Jerry Huff, firefighter/EMT, is running unopposed for position 1 on the fire district board.

In March, three position are up for election on the Jefferson County EMS board. Three candidates filed: John Curnutt, county food bank director; Patricia Neff, who is retired; and Greg Partin, lieutenant with the sheriff’s department.

Three positions are up for election on the library board, and three candidates have filed: Susan Stovall, dance instructor; Marie Glenn, teaching assistant; and Steve Hillis, teacher. Stovall, Glenn and Hillis are on the library board, having been first elected when the district was formed last year.
 
 

Voters overwhelmingly favor recall

January 11, 2001

by David McMechan
News Editor

By a margin of more than 7-1, Madras residents voted this week in favor of recalling Lloyd Hindman and Wayne Schjoll from the city council.

Regarding Hindman, the vote was 811 in favor of the recall, versus 112 against. For Schjoll, the vote was 815 in favor, versus 104 against.

As the ballot count has not yet been certified by the clerk’s office, Hindman and Schjoll technically remain members of the city council.

County clerk Kathy Marston said she may be able to certify the election results by Tuesday evening of next week, when the city council is scheduled to meet.

Hindman, however, commented that the agenda for the Tuesday council meeting does not include acceptance of the results of the recall vote.

For this reason, Hindman said that he intends to participate at the meeting as a councilman.
The Tuesday council meeting includes an executive session, during which council members could discuss whether city administrator Bill Sizemore, now on administrative leave, should be terminated.

Last year, the manner in which the city council hired Sizemore — keeping secret details of his criminal background, for instance — was a substantial issue leading up to the recall.

Sizemore’s employment contract, which is unusually weighted in favor of Sizemore, was also a highly controversial item that contributed to the recall effort.

Provisions of the contract — particularly, whether to pay any severance to Sizemore — could also be discussed at the Tuesday city council meeting.

In the future, after the recall vote is certified, Hindman said that he intends to participate as a citizen at Madras City Council meetings.

`I will participate, and when they do something that is illegal or wrong, I will tell them about it,' Hindman said.

Ted Viramonte, chief petitioner of the recall, commented that the outcome of the election demonstrates that residents want to put an end to the controversy that has enveloped Madras city government for the past several months.

`Mr. Hindman and Mr. Schjoll were quite clear that they wanted the people to decide; that is why they refused to resign, costing the city $2,000,' Viramonte said.

`By a ratio of nearly eight to one, I think the people were quite clear that they want a clean slate,' he said.

The city had to pay the costs of the election, about $2,000.

Hindman commented that he was not surprised by the results of the recall election. People in charge of the local media, he said, were biased against him and Schjoll.
 
 

Jobless rate up in county

January 10, 2001

Unemployment rates in Central and South Central Oregon rose in all but one county during November of last year, according to a recent report by the Oregon Employment Department.

Deschutes was the only county that experienced a decline in its unemployment rate in November, dropping by 0.2 percentage points, the report indicates.

For the remaining four counties, Lake experienced the highest increase with its unemployment rate, jumping by 1.8 percentage points, followed by Jefferson County with a 0.9 percentage point increase.

Crook and Klamath counties experienced 0.1 and 0.4 percentage increase, respectively.
Deschutes County also had the lowest unemployment rate of the two regions, at 4.5 percent, followed by Jefferson County at 5.7 percent.

Lake County had the highest unemployment rate (8.6 percent), followed by Crook (7.4 percent). Klamath County’s unemployment rate was 7 percent. In Jefferson County in November, total nonfarm payroll employment expanded by 20 jobs, but was 200 jobs lower than a year ago, the Employment Department report states.

Manufacturing employment remained flat as a ten-job gain in lumber and wood products was offset by a ten-job loss in other manufacturing.

In addition, manufacturing employment was 20 jobs less than November 1999. The 20-job gain in nonmanufacturing was the result of gains in trade (plus 50) and services (plus 10), being partially offset by losses in government (minus 20), construction and mining (minus 10), and transportation and public utilities (minus 10).

In the state, unemployment in November was 4.2 percent, down from 5.4 percent the month before, the Employment Department report indicates. The Oregon jobless rate in November was at its lowest level since the late 1960s, and only slightly above the national rate, which in November was 4 percent.
 
 

Junge back as MHS principal

January 9, 2001

by David McMechan
News Editor

Dick Junge began work last week as principal of Madras High School. For Junge the job is new, but also not new. Before becoming acting principal, Junge had been working as 509-J director of support services, so the principal job is new.

But he is also familiar with the work because for six years, from the mid 1980s until 1993, Junge was the MHS principal. Last fall, Tom Carlton was reassigned, for medical reasons, from the job of principal. The 509-J board of directors determined that Junge would be the best person to fill in through the rest of this school year.

Junge said that school officials are hoping to have someone in the principal position on a permanent basis by the start of the 2001-2002 school year. In the meantime, `I’m enjoying the work very much,' Junge said. `We have a great school, a fine staff and great students. I’m excited about being back.'

There have been a few significant changes at the high school since the first time that Junge was the principal. The closed campus is the most noticeable difference. The switch from block scheduling to a trimester is another big change, Junge said.

He is working with some of the same staff and teachers who were at the school when Junge was principal in the 80s and early 90s. But there also are many new people to get to know, Junge said. I’ve been busy learning the schedule, and getting acquainted with the staff and students,' Junge said.

In plain terms, the principal of the school is responsible for everything that goes in the school buildings and on at the campus. The areas of responsibility are diverse: budgeting, curriculum, student achievement, discipline, athletics, staff evaluation.

Junge has 16 years of experience as a principal at various school levels. He started out as an assistant principal in the Centennial School District in Gresham. Later, he worked several years as principal of an elementary school in Jefferson County, then the local junior high, and then the high school. He has been a resident of Jefferson County since 1983.

Junge says he was a little shocked last fall when he first learned that the school board was considering him as the candidate to take Tom Carlton’s place at the high school.

`Over the holidays the excitement started to build, and then I was really looking forward to coming back,' Junge commented.
 
 

Recall election this week

January 8, 2001

The question of whether Lloyd Hindman and Wayne Schjoll will remain on the Madras City Council is to be decided Wednesday evening of this week. The ballots were to be counted after 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Results of the recall will be posted on this website on the morning following the election.

Voter turnout, as of Tuesday of this week, was fairly high, at 46 percent, said Kathy Marston, county clerk. The large turnout is a likely sign that the vote will be in favor of recalling Schjoll and Hindman, commented Carlos Kemper, an organizer of the recall effort. `I think it really shows that people are anxious to get this resolved,' Kemper added.

Uncertain what will happen

This is the first recall election for the city of Madras. For this reason, there are some unknown elements to the process. For instance, if Schjoll and Hindman are recalled, then they might, or might not participate as councilmen during the upcoming (Jan. 16) city council meeting.

However, if the ballot count is not certified by that date, then Hindman and Schjoll probably will participate at the meeting, said Hindman. County clerk Marston explained that the unofficial vote count will be conducted this Wednesday evening.

The official count will not happen Wednesday because it is possible that a person — a Madras resident who is temporarily out of town, for instance — could vote by depositing his or her ballot at a different county courthouse by the Wednesday 8 p.m. deadline.

Marston said she does not expect to see many, if any, ballots submitted at other courthouses, but it is possible. She said that the official vote count could happen by the Tuesday, Jan. 16, city council meeting; at least, she said, the official numbers will be determined by the end of next week.

Morton a likely choice

When the clerk’s office has made the official count, and if the vote favors the recall, then the recorder for the city of Madras will provide written notice to Hindman and Schjoll that they have been recalled from the city council.

At that point, the city council will have the option of appointing two new members to fill the two vacant seats. Mayor Allen said that the council may want to go ahead fairly soon with filling one of the vacancies left by the potential recall.

Allen said that Frank Morton, who received the fourth-most votes in the November city council election, would be a logical choice to fill a vacancy. Morton, a builder in Madras, currently serves on the city planning commission.

To fill the second vacancy, the council may want to advertise the position, and then talk to people who are interested, Allen said. Hindman and Schjoll have been on the Madras City Council since 1998. Along with former mayor Marjean Whitehouse, former councilman Louis Peterson, and city administrator Bill Sizemore, Hindman and Schjoll have been subject to intense public criticism in recent months.

Mayor Allen commented that the recall vote is like a concluding chapter in the city controversy story that began in September of 2000. The first chapter was the November election, in which Allen defeated Whitehouse by a landslide. Another second chapter is how the new council will deal with Sizemore’s employment with the city.

And a key chapter in bringing the saga to a conclusion is the recall, Allen commented. For their part, Hindman and Schjoll have commented that they would like to continue serving on the council.

They say that the reasons behind the recall — the hiring and employment contract of Sizemore, and the costly attempt to issue revenue bonds, for instance — are not legitimate. Hindman and Schjoll recently published a tabloid-sized newsletter — called `The Other Side of the Story' — explaining their position on some of the controversial issues.

The publication was mailed to residents of city late last week. Hindman commented that the publication was intended to inform residents of illegal actions that previous city officials had taken.

The actions have not been made public, which prompted the development of  `The Other Side of the Story,' Hindman said. Also, he said, the hope is that people, in reading the publication, will have a fair perspective in considering the recall question.

He said that if he and Schjoll have the time and money, a second edition of `The Other Side of the Story' will be published in the future. On the other hand, people who support the recall said that Schjoll and Hindman’s publication served only to reinforce the need for the recall.

`After reading it, anyone who was undecided would support the recall,' commented former mayor Joe Krenowicz.
 
 

Board positions still open

January 4, 2001

The deadline to file for the March special district election is Thursday of this week, Jan. 11. Candidates are still needed for some positions, especially school districts.

The Culver School District Board of Directors has three positions that are available in March; as of Tuesday of this week, one person had filed.

The 509-J school district board has three positions that are open, and two people have filed. The Ashwood School District board has four positions open, and only person has filed.

The Jefferson County Education Service District District Board of Directors has four positions that are open, and three people have filed. The Jefferson County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) board has three positions open, and two people have filed.

The Crooked River Ranch Road District board has three openings and two filings. The CRR fire district board has four openings and two filings. In western Jefferson County, the Camp Sherman School District has no candidates.

Other district boards with seats up for election in March have enough candidates for the positions that are available. The Deschutes Valley Water District, for instance, has two positions available, and two candidates.

The Jefferson County Rural Fire Protection District has two positions open, and three people have filed. The county library district board has three positions up for election, and three candidates.

The Mountain View Hospital District board has five available positions, and eight candidates.
People who are interested in running for a position in the March 13 election can file at the county clerk’s office by signature petition, or by paying $10.
 
 

Mountain View Hospital goes on line

January 3, 2001

Mountain View Hospital District now has a site on the Internet. The district’s web site, which went on line just a couple of weeks ago, is at www.mvhd.org.

The hospital district home-page includes links to various categories of information regarding the hospital. For instance, visitors can learn about the personnel are who work at Mountain View Hospital.

Also, information is available on the Living Center, and the other services — emergency care, surgery, radiology, etc., — that the hospital district provides.

The Mountain View site also provides links to web sites of other hospitals and medical services in the region, including Air Life, St. Charles Medical Center, Pioneer Memorial Hospital, and the Central Oregon District Hospital.

Mountain View Hospital District contracted with a Bend firm to design and put the web site on line. The district was fortunate because its initials were not already taken as a web-site address.