News of Record, C2 Obituaries, C5 Editorials, C4 Weather, C6 THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2012
O www.bendbulletin.com/local
VOTER TURNOUT All ballots for the Nov. 6 general election must be returned by 8 p.m. today. Voter turnout as of Monday,
ELECTION: SECRETARY OF STATE
DESCHUTES COUNTY
For our complete coverage, visit tttoto.bondbollotin.com/oloction
Posta eecomescam ai nissue Road,
bycounty: Crook........... N/A Deschutes...... 54% Jefferson....... 62%
• Brown, Buehlewei r gh in on Postal Servicedirective about ballots By Laureu Dake The Bulletin
SALEM — If re-elected, Secretary of State Kate Brown said Monday she will push to change state law so postage on ballots is no longer required. Her Republican challenger Knute Buehler's campaign asked why the issue is coming up in the midst of an election. It started with an Oct. 23
LOCAL BRIEFING California man jailed in drug case A California man was
arrested nearMadras Sunday after police found 56 poundsof marijuana in his pickup
directive from the U.S. Postal Service stating ballots without postage should be delivered to county clerks' offices. The Postal Service declined to comment on why it issued the directive now, but said the nationwide policy has been on the books since 2008. The directive, however, contradicts state law, which forbids county clerks to accept mail-in ballots lacking
sufficient postage. Voters may place their ballots in drop-off boxes, of course, which do not require stamps. Brown made clear that in this election, all ballots received by county clerks, with or without postage, will be counted. At first, the Postal Service directive caught some county clerks by surprise; they were concerned about who would be on the hook to pay for the
postage. In an email to the Postal Serviceon Oct. 24 ,Stephen Trout, director of elections for the Secretary of State's Office, wrote, "While we appreciate that this policy is well intentioned, it is in direct conflict with Oregon state law and the practices we have had in place
for years." Local postal offices have had varying policies over the years to deal with ballots that don't have postage. SeePostage /C2
truck, the Oregon State Police said. John Stonebarger, 54, of Fall River Mills, Calif.,
was arrested onsuspicion of possession, distribution andmanufactureof marijuana,andsuspicion of possession ofacontrolled substance —Oxycodone —after police found asmallamount of the drug inhis vehicle, the
Scholarship gives Bend High grad a new perspective
OSP reported.
A trooper stopped Stonebarger for aspeeding violation eight miles south of Madras on U.S.
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Highway 97,according to the OSP. In a search of worth of marijuana and Oxycodone tablets in the
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County jail. The incident is under investigation.
Showshoe tour volunteers sought The Deschutes National Forest is seeking volunteers to help
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this winter. Volunteers will act as interpretive rangers at Mt. Bachelor from December through March. Duties will include
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Submitted photos
safely guiding up to 50 people on aone-mile snowshoe walk, helping
Skyler Nelson, top, a 2009 Bend High School graduateand a senior at Colorado Mesa University, spent a week in October flying in an aircraft like this one over the American Southwest as part of a scholarship environmental education program through EcoFlight.
visitors put on show-
shoes and occasionally removing snow from
By Megan Kehoe
the trail. Volunteers should
The Bulletin
have goodcommunication skills, be willing to
wear a ForestService uniform and have the physical ability to snowshoe in varied conditions. Volunteers must also be able to commit to at least
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four snowshoewalks per month. All training will be pro-
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vided free ofcharge. For more information,
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contact Karen Gentry at 541-383-4771 or karen.
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A photo taken by Skyler Nelsonduring a weeklong environmental education program in the Southwest shows man-made potash (fertilizer) ponds near Canyonlands National Park.
gentry©discovernw.org. — Bulletin staff reports
his October, college student Skyler Nelson spent an entire week staring out the window. But Nelson wasn't just another college student sitting in a classroom and spacing out during a lecture. Nelson was staring out the window of a small aircraft, gazing at the rich landscape of the American Southwest below her. "Before you fly over it, you don't realize how massive those wildernesses are," Nelson, 21, said. "You don't understand how little you really are until you're up there." Nelson, a 2009 Bend High School graduate, is now a senior majoring in environmental science at Colorado Mesa University. Recently, she was selected to participate in Flight Across America 2012, a scholarship program offered by EcoFlight, an organization based in Aspen, Colo., that works to protect wild lands and educate students on environmental issues. See Environment/C2
Octoder2012weatherfor Bend H H KR H H KI E SEREHRREHEHKRERESKIKIKRKIKRKRKIKIKRKIKIKIIII 56 57 59 69 69 72 69 74 72 6 7 67 67 6 5 57 61 73 59 48 61 46 46 47 48 5 5 60 60 6 2 6 6
Il I
nl
r I
0
0
26 25 23 26 23 27 35 38 38 44 46 41 4 8 29 29 36 39 30 30 30 32 27 26 3 7 49 37 4 6 43
PRECIPITATION TOTAL: 1.94" Historical average precipitation for the month: .72" I«RR R R R R R R R R R R R R R D K RR R R
T= Trace
R R H RHR R R R R EHD R
ALMANAC
Highest recorded
temperature
Lowest recorded temperature
forthe month:
for the month:
90'
0
on Oct. 6, 1979
on Oct. 31, 2002
0
* Monthly averages calculated from 1928 through 2005, Western Regional Climate Center Sources: NOAA, Western Regional CItmate Center, Bend Public Works Department
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Following up on Central Oregon's most interestingstories, even if they've been out of the headlines for a while. Email ideas to neLvs@bendbulletirLcom. To follow the series, visit www.bendbulletin.com/updates.
By Scott Hammers
National Association of Broadcasters, and The last Repubjust signed a contract lican to win a stateextension that will wide race in Oregon, tie him up for two former U.S. Sen. Gor- Sm i th more election cycles. "My wife's thrilled don Smith, insists he's the wrong man to lead about that," he laughed. his party out of the political A Pendleton native, wilderness. Smith ran his family's froFour years after narrowly zen foods packing business losing his seat to Democrat in nearby Weston before Jeff Merkley, Smith, 60, said entering politics by winning he's turned the page on elec- a seat in the state Senate in toral politics. He's loving his 1992. new job as president of the SeeSmith/C5 The Bulletin
Lowest temperature
Commissioners Tony DeBone and Tammy Baney also thanked those involved in the contract bargaining. "I think that there's a place for unions, but they only need to be as strong as they have to be," Baney said. "And I think that comes down to leadership in the organization, and I think it comes down to the culture in the organization, and I see this as a reflection of really good work." Nelda Wilson, assistant business manager for the union, did not return a call forcomment on Monday. Deputy County Administrator Erik Kropp said the new contract "maintains the county's current operations and how we use contract labor and contract out certain parts of the work." For example, it maintains the county's ability to contract with seasonal workers in order to avoid the cost of unemployment insurance during periods when they are not needed, Kropp said. SeeContract/C5
Staying in the lobby
FREEZING
temperature
The Deschutes County Commission voted unanimously Monday morning to approve a new three-year contract with the union that represents approximately 65 employees in the Road Department and Department of Solid Waste. Under the contract, employees represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701 will get a 2.9 percent cost-of-living raise retroactive to July 1, when their previous contract expired. The union is one of several county unions that made concessions during the current economic downturn
FORMER SEN.GORDON SMITH
I
Highest
The Bulletin
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ... •
DAILY HIGHS AND LOWS Average temperature:48.8' (1.4' above normal)
38 42 3 6
By Hillary Borrud
Unger said.
guide showshoetours
©
contract
raises for at least a year. Nonunion employees also went without a cost-of-livingraise.Employees were still eligible for merit raises. Commissioner Alan Unger said Monday that he appreciated the employees' help in keeping down costs. "I want to thank them and the (management) team for coming together and creating a contract that helps recognize our situation,"
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car, according to anOSP news release. Stonebarger was taken to theJefferson
78 81 7 8
workers get new
by forgoing cost-of-living
his Ford Rangerpickup, police found $43,000
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sanitation
Average high
Average low
Monthly average high temperature through the years:
Monthly average through the years:
63
32.1'
low temperature
Greg Cross/The Bulletin