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from Source Weekly September 23, 2021

by The Source Weekly

from Source Weekly September 23, 2021, page 5

Article from: Source Weekly September 23, 2021

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NEWS Not So Fast

The first Safe Travel Summit seeks survey participants to address perplexing 2020 data on fatal car accidents

By Jack Harvel

Common sense would tell you fewer people driving on roadways would mean fewer traffic deaths, but 2020 traffic fatality data show the opposite trend occurring. Americans drove 13.2% fewer miles total in 2020 but fatal traffic accidents rose by 7%. In Deschutes County 31 people died in traffic crashes, the most in a decade, driven mostly by speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, impaired driving and distracted driving. The first Safe Travel Summit, hosted by the Bend Metropolitan Planning Organization partnering with the City of Bend and the county, will attempt to address the issues, guided by community feedback in a survey they will publish on Sept. 30.

“The idea behind the survey was to ground truth, information and advice from as broad of a base of residents as we could to help policymakers, elected officials, other community leaders decide what can be done about this,” said Clark Worth, principal of Barney and Worth, the company contracted to conduct public education related to transportation safety.

The six-question survey can be completed in about a minute. It asks where respondents are living, their quality of life, their top priority in vehicle safety, their idea of how important improving transportation safety is and how local officials can help. So far over 1,000 survey results have been sent back, and Worth says he expects a good deal more before the survey closes at the end of September.

“At the top of their list are, one, greater enforcement is the suggestion made most often and we’ve got hundreds of suggestions back,” Worth said. “The second one is infrastructure improvements to protect bikes and pedestrians. And the third one is more public education.”

Data from the last year suggest the nationwide increase of traffic fatalities are likely a result of reckless behavior, spurred by empty roads.

“There are data that shows that average speeds increased during 2020, and also more examples of extreme speeds,” Worth said, noting extreme speeds are those exceeding 100 mph. “I think the data to some extent, proves interestingly, the risk factors exactly match the biggest problems that we have in Central Oregon.”

Along with speeding, Worth said driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and encouraging seat belt use is a top priority.

Prioritizing Safer Streets

The survey faced some criticism from safe streets advocates, who believe it focuses too much on individual actions and not enough on safe street design.

“Bend Bikes in our newsletter took the position that these are the wrong

Ella Taft Ella Taft

A memorial for Jonathan Adams, who was struck and killed by a Fed-Ex semi-tractor trailer in the intersection just east of NW Wall Street as the vehicle was turning right from NW Wall Street onto NW Olney Avenue on Nov. 20, 2017.

questions to be asking because it’s really talking about what can individual drivers do—but drivers will go as fast as the roads allow them to,” said LeeAnn O’Neill, president of the Board at Bend Bikes, a grassroots nonprofit advocating for the safety of cyclists. “For us, it’s really about design; if you want drivers to slow down you need to design the streets to slow drivers down.”

Culture change will take longer than it would take for us to implement projects that prioritizes the safety of people who walk, bike and roll —LeeAnn O’Neill

O’Neill said this can be achieved in many ways, including speed bumps, chicanes, mini-roundabouts or narrow lanes of travel, depending on what’s best for a particular roadway. In the last year she’s heard stories from local cyclists that drivers became more aggressive, reaffirming her belief that design is the most important aspect of safe streets.

“Culture change will take longer than it would take for us to implement projects that prioritize the safety of people who walk, bike and roll,” O’Neill said. “The idea that there’s this campaign that’s going to magically make everybody work within our existing infrastructure, it’s not going to fix places where you’ve got a conflict.”

Tyler Deke, manager of Bend’s Metropolitan Planning Organization, said the Summit will likely touch on most pressing pedestrian issues.

“Particularly for pedestrians who are either seriously injured or killed, we know they’re generally, for the most part, walking, usually on our multilane roadways, that’s like our four- or

five-lane roadways,” Deke said. “People trying to get across those big roads is where we see disproportionate impact on people walking.”

Though the Summit’s aim is a better understanding of what Central Oregonians want for their roadways, Deke also said he hopes it can recruit safe streets advocates to continue the conversation.

“We’re trying to find some champions within the community, for helping us with our safety messaging. Hopefully we’ll be able to identify some folks that will help us continue to push this message over time, so that it’s not just a one-and-done sort of discussion,” Deke said.

NEWS Downtown Shooting Leaves One Dead

Man shot after argument outside of a downtown nightclub

By Jack Harvel

Officials say 27-year-old Ian Cranston shot and killed 22-year-old Barry Washington Jr. outside of The Capitol, a nightclub in downtown Bend early Sunday morning.

Washington had moved to Bend a little over a month ago from the San Francisco Bay area. A memorial was erected by family and friends on the downtown Bend sidewalk where he was shot.

“Barry was just a big teddy bear,” Washington’s aunt, Valencia Roberson, told KTVZ. “He’s a protector of everyone. Just fun-loving, trying to get away from drama and follow up with his music career.”

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said the incident started earlier in the night when Washington complimented Cranston’s girlfriend in the bar. The woman politely turned him away, saying she was flattered but in a relationship.

After midnight, outside the bar, Washington approached the woman again and complimented her. Hummel said Washington may not have recognized he was talking to the same woman, and that he was respectful during both occasions.

“There’s no evidence that what Mr. Washington did when he approached the woman was inappropriate,” Hummel told KTVZ. “There’s not an allegation that he groped her, grabbed her, was crass with her. He complimented her in a respectful manner. She was fine back. She said, ‘No, thank you. I’m flattered but I’m in a relationship.’ No allegation that anything Mr. Washington did was inappropriate.”

Cranston began arguing with Washington, and they began scuffling with each other, officials described. Eventually their friends stepped in and started fighting as well. Washington was reportedly fighting with Cranston’s friend when Cranston allegedly shot him.

“He said some words to Mr. Washington. Mr. Washington said some words back,” Hummel said. “There was some pushing, some jostling, some punches thrown, but then it calmed down. It was not going to get out of hand. Then Mr. Cranston pulled a gun out of his waistband and shot and killed Mr. Washington.” Washington was given aid before being taken to St. Charles Hospital where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room. Cranston was charged with second-degree manslaughter Sunday morning, and was released after posting 10% of his $100,000 bail later in the day. “On the weekend, there’s no court hearings, there’s no adversarial process, I’m not there, the suspect’s attorney’s not there,” Hummel told Central Oregon Daily. “So the judge has given the jail deputies a bail schedule, and Mr. Cranston paid the bail schedule amount for the charge he was arrested for and that’s why he was released. He was treated the same as any other person would be in his situation.” Hummel said that manslaughter charges were filed because Washington and Cranston didn’t know each other, it was not planned in advance and that the shots were fired during a chaotic situation. Though Cranston was drinking, Hunnel said blood-alcohol levels taken don’t indicate he was significantly impaired. Cranston had a concealed carry permit, and works for Nosler, an ammunition manufacturer based in Bend. A Nosler spokesperson told KTVZ that Cranston was suspended while the investigation takes place.

It’s unlikely that Cranston will be able to claim self-defense, according to Hummel.

“You’re allowed to use non-deadly physical force at a pretty low bar. If someone comes up and shoves you and pushes you, you can shove and push them back, and that’s not a crime…but if you’re going to kill someone, there’s a much higher standard that Oregon law sets, which it should,” Hummel told Central Oregon Daily News. “You can only use deadly physical force if you or someone else is about to be killed or about to be seriously physically injured. There is no allegation here that Mr. Washington was trying to kill anyone, or trying to seriously physically injure anyone.”

A Deschutes County Grand Jury will have the final say on what charges will be brought against Cranston. Cranston’s first court date is scheduled for Oct. 5.

"There was some pushing, some jostling, some punches thrown, but then it calmed down. It was not going to get out of hand. Then Mr. Cranston pulled a gun out of his waistband and shot and killed Mr. Washington."

- John Hummel

Courtesy Facebook

Barry Washington moved to Bend just over a month ago, before he was tragically shot and killed in downtown Bend early Sunday morning. Courtesy Facebook Friends, family and strangers contributed to the memorial of Barry Washington Jr. in downtown Bend.

Noticias en Español La primer cumbre de Safe Travel (viaje seguro) busca participantes de la encuesta para platicar de la sorprendente información del 2020 en relación a los fatales accidentes automovilísticos

Por Jack Harvel / Traducido por / Translated by Jéssica Sánchez-Millar

El sentido común le diría que entre menos personas manejan por las calles hay menos muertes por accidentes de tránsito, pero los datos de muerte por accidentes automovilísticos de 2020 muestran lo contrario. Los norteamericanos manejaron 13.2 % menos millas en 2020 pero los accidentes mortales aumentaron un 7%. En el Condado de Deschutes, 31 personas murieron en accidentes de tránsito, siendo el número más alto de muertes en más de 10 años. Especialmente, están en riesgo los jóvenes, los ciclistas y peatones, comentaron las autoridades. La primer cumbre Safe Travel de la zona centro de Oregon, organizada por una alianza de instituciones y organizaciones, incluida la ciudad de Bend, intentará abordar los problemas. Sera guiada por los comentarios de la comunidad, dados en una encuesta que publicarán durante la cumbre el 30 de septiembre.

La encuesta de seis preguntas se puede contestar en alrededor de 1 minuto. Pregunta dónde viven los encuestados, su calidad de vida, su prioridad primordial en la seguridad vehicular, su idea de lo importante que es el mejorar la seguridad del transporte y cómo pueden ayudar. Hasta el momento, más de 1,000 encuestas han sido contestadas y Clark Worth, cabeza de Barney y Worth, la compañía contratada para ofrecer educación pública con relación a la seguridad de transporte, dice que espera recibir más respuestas antes que se cierre la encuesta a finales de septiembre. “En sus prioridades están, una mayor implementación, es la sugerencia que se hace con más frecuencia y tenemos cientos de sugerencias,” comento Worth. “La segunda son las mejoras de infraestructura para proteger a los ciclistas y peatones. Y la tercera es más relacionada con la educación pública.”

Los datos del año pasado sugieren que el aumento de muertes por accidentes de tránsito, a nivel nacional, probablemente sea el resultado de un comportamiento imprudente, propiciado por calles vacías.

“Hay datos que muestran que la velocidad promedio aumento durante 2020 y también hay más ejemplos de velocidad extrema,” comento Worth, dando a notar que la velocidad extrema está excediendo las 100 mph. “Creo que los datos hasta cierto punto, curiosamente demuestran que los factores de riesgo coinciden con los grandes problemas que tenemos en la zona Centro de Oregon.”

Junto con el exceso de velocidad, Worth dijo que el manejar bajo los efectos de drogas o bebidas alcohólicas y el enfatizar el uso del cinturón de seguridad son los temas principales.

Dar prioridad a calles más seguras

La encuesta enfrento algunas críticas de parte de las personas que abogan por calles más seguras, quienes creen que se enfoca demasiado en hechos específicos y no lo suficiente en el diseño de calles seguras. “En el boletín informativo, Bend Bikes, opinó que estás son las preguntas equivocadas porque en realidad se trata de lo que pueden hacer los conductores, pero los conductores manejarán tan rápido como se lo permitan las calles, dijo LeeAnn O’Neil, presidente de la junta directiva en Bend Bikes, una organización sin fines de lucro que aboga por la seguridad de los ciclistas. “Para nosotros esto se trata acerca del diseño; si quiere que el conductor baje la velocidad, necesita diseñar las calles para que los conductores bajen la velocidad.

O’Neill dijo que esto se puede lograr de muchas formas, incluyendo los topes, glorietas o carriles angostos, dependiendo de que sea mejor para cada calle.

Tyler Deke, gerente de la organización Metropolitana de Bend, dijo que la cumbre muy probablemente abarcara los problemas más urgentes de los peatones.

Vemos enormes efectos en los peatones que intentan cruzar esas calles anchas.

Like Rocket Fuel for Nonprofit Fundraising

Central Oregon Gives aims to raise $1 million through its online end-of-year giving campaign

By Nicole Vulcan

Organizers have labeled it as “rocket fuel” for a nonprofit’s end-of-year giving campaign—and if the past two years of the Central Oregon Gives program are any indication, that’s pretty dang accurate.

This week, the Central Oregon Gives campaign—a project born and fostered right here at the Source Weekly—kicked off the 2021 edition of the fundraising effort by putting out a call to nonprofits to join. Over the past two years, the project has raised loads of cash for area nonprofits. In its first year, in 2019, Central Oregon Gives had a modest goal of raising around $50,000. That goal was magnified 10 times, with the end result of the campaign bringing in $500,000. Last year—even amid the stress of the pandemic—the campaign leveled up again and raised $750,000. Its goal this year is another level-up, aiming to raise $1 million. Last year, over 75 nonprofits took part.

Nonprofits can sign up to take part in the program by visiting the project’s new website at centraloregongives.com. Once all of the nonprofits are assembled, the Central Oregon Gives team publishes a profile of each participating nonprofit on its website, giving people a one-stop-shop for finding organizations to support and donate to ahead of the end of the year. Those profiles go live in November.

Central Oregon Gives’ success has been largely attributed to the perks offered to people who take part. Contributors browse the Central Oregon Gives website, choose a nonprofit (or two or three) to donate to and then receive a perk like a pint of beer or a cup of coffee from a local coffee shop in exchange for their donation.

“With Central Oregon Gives we want to be the link between open-hearted community members and nonprofits doing deeply meaningful work such as providing affordable housing, serving at-risk youth, or supporting vulnerable seniors,” said Aaron Switzer, publisher of the fine publication you’re reading right now, and the founder of the Central Oregon Gives campaign. “This project is about transforming regular people into powerful forces for good—and offering them something fun and valuable in return.”

Nonprofits have an incentive, too. The organization that raises the most money overall through the campaign will earn an additional $15,000 gift from an anonymous donor. The nonprofit earning the highest number of donations under $25 also gets a $2,500 gift. And the top-earning nonprofit in each of five categories— Education, Family & Children; Basic Needs; Arts & Culture; Animal Welfare and Health & Environment—also earn a $2,500 gift.

“We’ve designed Central Oregon Gives to provide nonprofits with a big boost in exposure and donationsthrough this creative campaign,” said Switzer.“We encourage all organizations to take advantage of this rocket fuel for their end-of-year giving promotions by signing up today.”

Nonprofits can head over to centraloregongives.com to sign up. The site will accept nonprofit signups through Oct. 13. Then, each one will be added to the site, which launches with all the nonprofit profiles in November. People who want to donate can do so from November through Dec. 31, offering an easy way to make those end-ofyear tax-deductible donations that so many people look for.

Here at the Source Weekly, we’ll publish each nonprofit’s profile in the Nov. 11 issue, allowing readers to read more about each organization in print, encouraging everyone to donate through the Central Oregon Gives website. With a revamped logo, a new website and a new online donation platform, it’s going to be easier than ever to give.

Central Oregon Gives