Border collies at work • E1
IRONMAN: 81-year-old stands alone • D1 NOVEMBER 1, 2011
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WASTEWATER PROJECT
Stiegler seeks seat on circuit court bench Bend gets a $2.2M billing Bend High surprise teen, ‘a By Sheila G. Miller The Bulletin
Former state representative and local attorney Judy Stiegler announced Monday she will seek appointment to the Deschutes County Circuit Court bench.
Gov. John Kitzhaber is appointing a replacement for Judge Stephen Tiktin, 64, who will retire Dec. 31 after 22 years on the bench. Because Tiktin is leaving his post midterm, Kitzhaber must appoint his successor.
Monday was the final day to apply for the position. Stiegler and deputy district attorney Beth Bagley are the only applicants to express their interest in the seat publicly. See Judge / A4
Stiegler
Bagley
THE STUDS GO ON
• As a result, sewer customers could see their rates increase
wonderful kid,’ dies in car crash
By Nick Grube The Bulletin
Thanks to overly optimistic budget projections, Bend will probably spend $2.2 million more than anticipated on design work for a $38.5 million upgrade of its wastewater treatment plant. That increase more than doubles what was initially budgeted for the final design phase of the project. To make up the difference, the city will have to shift money that had been earmarked for construction. Unless the project can be built for less money than budgeted, sewer customers will likely pay for the misstep through higher rates. Because of this, Bend city councilors have refused to spend the extra $2.2 million until they hear a detailed explanation of what went wrong. That discussion is scheduled to take place Wednesday. “When a contract amendment comes in $2.2 million more than what was budgeted, that’s concerning,” Bend Mayor Jeff Eager said. The city hired engineering firm CH2M Hill in 2009 to do some predesign work, such as topographical surveys and geo-technical analysis, for a future expansion of the municipal sewer plant. That contract was for about $204,000. Since then, the city has asked CH2M Hill to do an additional $1.19 million worth of work on the wastewater treatment project, including a value engineering study to find potential cost-saving measures. To complete the design work, however, the city must pay CH2M Hill an additional $4.2 million, which would bring the total contract amount to about $5.6 million. While city engineers knew the contract with CH2M Hill would grow, they told city councilors during an Oct. 19 meeting they didn’t know by how much. See Wastewater / A5
By Patrick Cliff and Sheila G. Miller The Bulletin
Olivia Jeanne Mockus, a 17-year-old Bend High School senior, was killed in an automobile accident Sunday afternoon. A sincere and quiet student, Mockus was remembered Monday as a muchloved and kind-hearted teenager. The school will plant a tree next week in her memory. Kimberly Soto’s son, Evan, was Mockus’ friend, and Mockus the two families have known each other for 15 years. As Soto drove by the Mockus home Monday evening, she glanced at the house and her “heart just absolutely broke.” That one of her son’s friends had died is difficult to take, said Soto. She remembers Mockus visiting her home with a group of friends, who would hang out or, in summer, head to the Deschutes River to float. “It was so enjoyable hearing the kids all laughing,” Mockus said of those times. “There was not a mean bone in Olivia’s body. She was just a really happy, positive kid.” Mockus was driving a 1990 Geo Prizm east on U.S. Highway 26 Sunday when the car drifted onto the south shoulder near Fir Lane, outside of Madras. According to Oregon State Police, Mockus overcorrected and the car collided head-on with a 2006 Chrysler van. The crash was called into the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at 3:21 p.m., and a deputy arrived at the scene three minutes later, said Sheriff Jim Adkins. Madras City Police officials arrived at nearly the same time. Mockus was declared dead at the scene. The crash remains under investigation, according to OSP spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings. Mockus’ passenger, Bend High senior Lomeli “Karen” Ruiz, 17, was taken to Mountain View Hospital in Madras and released later that night. See Teen / A5
MON-SAT
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Sgt. Seth Bullock tries a serving of chicken and rice. Army food scientists are working to improve the oft-maligned MRE. The Washington Post
Pete Erickson / The Bulletin
Les Schwab employee Alex McCleary prepares to put studded tires on a car for the winter on Monday at the Les Schwab tire store in Bend. Studded tires are legal in Oregon from today until April 1. Scattered rain and snow is in the forecast toward the end of the week. See page C6.
Updating the military ration By Christian Davenport The Washington Post
STEVE JOBS’ DECISION
A tumor is no clearer in hindsight By Denise Grady New York Times News Service
Was Steve Jobs a smart guy who made a stupid decision when it came to his health? It might seem so, from the broad outlines of what he did in 2003 when a CT scan and other tests found a cancerous tumor in his pancreas. Doctors urged him to have an operation to remove the tumor, but Jobs put it off and instead tried a vegan
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diet, juices, herbs, acupuncture and other alternative remedies. Nine months later, the tumor had grown. Only then did he agree to surgery, during which his doctors found that the cancer had spread to his liver, according to the new biography by Walter Isaacson. Cancer eventually killed him. The sequence of events has given rise to news articles and blogs based on 20/20 hindsight, specu-
lating that if only Jobs had the surgery right away, doctors could have caught the cancer early, before it spread, and saved him. But there is no way in this life to know what might have been — not in politics, baseball, romance or the stock market, and certainly not in sickness and health. And Jobs’ wish to avoid or delay surgery was not unusual. See Jobs / A5
INDEX Business Calendar Classified
B1-6 E3 G1-6
Comics E4-5 Community E1-6 Crosswords E5, G2
Editorials C4 Local News C1-6 Obituaries C5
NATICK, Mass. — And now, from the folks who developed the atomic bomb, Kevlar underwear and the Humvee, presenting the latest in war-fighting technology: Caffeinated meat. That’s right, an Army lab here is testing a beef jerky stick that contains an equivalent of a cup of coffee’s worth of caffeine to give Inside even the sleepiest soldier that • Military meals in U.S. up-and-at-’em boost. history, A4 After a decade of war, military food scientists at a research facility outside Boston are turning the field ration — known as the Meal, Ready to Eat, and perhaps the most complained about food in the world — into something not just goodtasting but full of energy-enhancing ingredients. See MREs / A4
TODAY’S WEATHER Sports D1-6 Stocks B4-5 TV & Movies E2
Mainly clear High 44, Low 15 Page C6
TOP NEWS CAIN: Denies harassment, A3 SYRIA: Kidnapping allegations, A3