Serving Central Oregon since1903 75III
SATURDAY February 2,2013
aceso enra re on's eneraionsPrephoops COMMUNITY LIFE • D1
SPORTS• C1
bendbulletin.com TODAY'S READERBOARD A 5-year high mark — The Dow closed above14,000 on
Friday for the first time since
By Lauren Dake
the Great Recession.C5
The Bouetin
PIUS —Unemployment holds steady below 8 percent.C6
SALEM — Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton said this week that he believessome proposed sentencing reforms — sure to spark debate in the marbled-tile hallways in Salem this session — are risky business. His Central Oregon counterparts in Crook and Jefferson counties also
question the proposals put forth by a commission created by Gov. John Kitzhaber. Kitzhaber has prioritized a push for prison reforms during the legislative sessionthat starts Monday. He's urged lawmakers to not worry about being labeled "soft on crime," a label hard to shake during an election cycle.. A state Commission on Public Safety
has already proposed cost-cutting measures. And the governor's budget is built around the assumption that with reforms, the inmate population could grow by only 300 inmates, rather than a projected2,300,overthenext decade. But lawmakers aren't the only players the governor will have to convince. Local sheriffs aren't keen on the proposals, which include giving judges more flex-
ibility to sentence offenders who would otherwise be locked up for voter-approved mandatory minimum sentences. "Those were voted on by the public wanting to be tough on crime," said Blanton, referring in particular to proposed changes to Measure 11, a mandatory-minimum-sentencing requirement voters approved in the 1990s. SeeSheriffs/A4
A plloto Story — Takealook behind the scenes at Bend Instrument Repair Inc.B2
Inspections
FEATHERS FLYIN DOWNTOWN BEND
Sage grouse — Hopingto
LIPin Bend
stave off anendangeredspecies listing, Eastern Oregon ranchers
after fire at Brazi cLlb
are working onvoluntary steps to reduce harm to the bird.B3
Odituary —As NewYork's fiery mayor, Ed Koch led the city through fiscal aus-
terity and racial disharmony in the1970s and '80s.B5
Arole at the SuperBowl — A Bend tech company plays a part, if small, in the NFL
experience.C6 In SPortS —Super Bowl XLVII is one of firsts, of lasts and of comebacks.C1
And in national newsThe Obama administration on
Friday guaranteed widespread access to contraceptives, but — in a reversal — said that
nonprofit religious groups won't be forced to pay for their employees' birth control.A2
Photos by RobKerr • The Bulletin
EDITOR'5CHOICE
A different same-sex marriage debate By Elaine Sciolino New York Times News Service
PARIS — The invitation-only soiree at the Rond-Point Theater on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday gathered 1,000 of this city's glitterati, among them government ministers, intellectuals, politicians, artists and even union leaders, to support the legalization of samesex marriage in France. France is both a secular republic that champions the rights of the individual and a traditional, religiously rooted country that glorifies family life; demonstrating and debating are national pastimes. But even some supportersofthe law are ambivalent about "marriage for all," as the initiative is called. Pierre Berge, the longtime personal and business partnerof Yves Saint Laurent, was the financial sponsor for the Rond-Point event, but even he had reservations. Asked whether he and Saint Laurent would have marriedifsame-sex marriage had been legal when the designer was alive, he seemed stunnedinto silence. Then he replied, "I don't know." See France/A5
They carried their pillows, but were wide awake. A flash mob assembled in downtown Bend during the First Friday Art Walk last night, going to battle with their bed pillows as a crowd watched. Organized through social media, the 7 p.m. spectacle followed a Cascade Middle School Flash Mob dance as a fundraiser for the school's Sparrow Club.
Suici es rise, utveteransmakeup ewer By James Dao New York Times News Service
Suicides among military veterans, though up slightly in recent years, account for a shrinking percentage of the nation's total number of suicides — a result of steadily rising numbers of suicides in the general population, accordingto a report released Friday by the Department of
Veterans Affairs. The report, based on the most extensive data the department has ever collected on suicide, found that the number of suicidesamong veterans reached 22 a day in 2010, the most recent year available. That was up by 22 percent from 2007, when the daily number was 18. But it is only 10 percent higher than in
1999, according to the report. Department officials described the numbers as "relatively stable" over the decade. In the same 12-year period, the total number of U.S. suicides rose steadily to an estimated 105 a day in 2010, up from 80 in 1999, a 31 percent increase. As a result, the percentage of the nation's daily suicides
committed by veterans declined to 21 percent in 2010, from 25percent in 1999. "What's happening with veterans is a reflection of what's happening to America," said Jan Kemp, the national mental health director for suicide prevention at the VA. "The suicide rate in America
has been creeping up." SeeSuicides /A4
Bulletin staff report In the wake of a nightclub fire that killed 236 people in Brazil this week, the Bend Fire Department stepped up its program to inspect city venues for safety and fire code compliance, a deputy fire marshal said Friday. Not that any of the 500 large-occupancy buildings or the 50-some bars on Bend's west side are unsafe, said Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki. He's using the fire in Santa Maria, Brazil, as a teachablemoment, he said. "The most common thing we see when we do inspections at nighttime is ... something in front of the exit," a trip hazard or something hindering escape, Derlacki said. "Simply, things that can be moved out of the way." The Fire Department conducts regular inspections of large-occupancy buildings or building complexes once a year, said Derlacki, one offour deputy fire marshals. Derlacki's jurisdiction covers west Bend, including Mt. Bachelor ski area, the Old Mill District, Central Oregon Community College and downtown, home to the largest nightclub venues. Midtown Ballroom at 51 N.W. Greenwood Ave. can hold 900 patrons, while Liquid Lounge at 70 N.W. Newport Ave. is rated for 700. "We have inspection
priorities (for) fire inspections from the beginning of the year," the deputy marshal said. "But we're bumping up the bars and nightclubs to a higher priority to do them this month." SeeClubs/A5
Amber Alert comesto your cellphone By Tami Abdollah The Associated Press
The next time a child is abducted near you, your cellphone may shriek to life with an alert message. A new national Amber Alert system officially rolled out earlier this month to millions of cellphones, and because the alerts are automati-
cally active on most newer phones, the messages have already taken tens of thousands
of people by surprise. The newly expanded emergency alert system is an effort by FEMAto updatethe way it reaches people with new technologies, but some officials worry the lack of public education and some initial stumbles
may undermine the program's purpose, especially when people are startled and annoyed and choose to opt out. Lisa Rott was jolted from her sleep at 1:44 a.m. earlier this month in her Sarasota, Fla., home. A high-pitched tone sounded in spurts for about 10 seconds while her phone buzzed multiple times.
Initially Rott, 50, was worried something had happened to her elderly mother. Then she saw the message: "Emergency Alert: Amber Alert. An Amber Alert has been issued in your area. Please check local media." "I thought it was spam," Rott said. SeeAmber IA5
The new national Amber Alert system has
sent messages to cellphones in a dozen states, including Oregon. The Associated Press
TODAY'S WEATHER Sunny High 52, Low 25
Page B6
INDEX
The Bulletin
Busines s/Stocks C5-6 Comics/Puzzles E3-4 DearAbby 06 Obituaries B 5 C1-4 Calendar B3 CommunityLife D1-6 Horoscope 06 Sports D6 Classified E 1 - 6Crosswords E4 Lo cal & State B1-6 TV/Movies
Vol. 110,No. 33, 46 pages,
AnIndependent Newspaper
6 sections
+ .4 We userecycled newsprint
:: IIIII o
88 267 02329