COMING SUNDAY
What’s he got in there?
Tradition guide
Food? Compost? Bend bike courier transports it all • COMMUNITY, B1
WEATHER TODAY
SATURDAY
Sunny, afternoon winds High 90, Low 44 Page C8
• August 14, 2010 50¢
Serving Central Oregon since 1903 www.bendbulletin.com
Fewer hurt last year in Bend bike crashes
Trash tracks economy, so Bend has less, but is that good?
But 2 recent severe ones underscore need for vigilance By Erin Golden The Bulletin
By Hillary Borrud
Courtesy Bend Police Department
The Bulletin
If you bought less stuff since 2007 or your contracting business built fewer houses, you might have contributed to a drop-off in the amount of garbage going into Deschutes County’s Knott Landfill. A booming economy leaves plenty of refuse in its wake, and people living in leaner times have apparently generated less waste at Deschutes County’s Knott Landfill since the recession took hold in 2007. From a peak of 186,572 tons of garbage in 2006, the landfill’s intake fell by 8 percent in 2007, then by 18 percent in 2008 and again by 18 percent in 2009. The long rise and recent sharp fall in the amount of garbage collected in Deschutes County resembles a chart of the Central Oregon Business Index, prepared by the Oregon Economic Forum at the University of Oregon. While the decline in waste seems to be mostly bad news for the economy — a sign of rough times and a decrease in revenue for garbage haulers and the county — its impact on the environment and other areas could be a mix of positives and negatives. See Garbage / A3
A bicycle lies in pieces on the side of the road in Bend after a crash with a vehicle. Injuries from bike-car collisions in Bend dropped in 2009, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. Specific information about the crash above was not available.
The number of people injured in bicycle-vehicle collisions in Bend dropped slightly from 2008 to 2009, according to newly released statistics from the Oregon Department of Transportation. In 2008, when 21 cyclists were injured in crashes, Bend led the state in the number of fatalities, with two of the seven that happened that year. Last year, there were 18 crashes that resulted in injuries and no fatalities — though crashes else-
where in the state again caused seven deaths. Police and road safety advocates said they were pleased to see the drop in crashes and noted that it could be a sign that increased efforts to educate cyclists and drivers about the rules of the road are making a difference. But they said the bike-car crashes that have happened this year, including two that left cyclists in the hospital with serious injuries, have made it clear that plenty of work remains. See Crashes / A7
Cast away – for prizes, glory
Garbage and the economy The annual amount of garbage going into Deschutes County’s Knott Landfill has risen and fallen in roughly the same pattern as at least one regional economic index. Timm Schimke, director of the county’s Department of Solid Waste, said the current decline in garbage is the first he has observed in his 24-year career at the department. The Central Oregon Business Index follows several measures of economic activity, such as non-farm payrolls, Bend lodging revenue, initial unemployment claims in Deschutes County and building permits in the county. The index is generated by the Oregon Economic Forum, at the University of Oregon.
Tons of garbage collected, in thousands NATIONAL RECESSION
NATIONAL RECESSION 200
2006
150
186K tons
Ryan Brennecke / The Bulletin
100
2010
113K tons*
50
’98
’00
’02
’04
’08
’06
’10
Janet Dean, of Sausalito, Calif., practices her roll cast Friday afternoon on the 18-hole fly-casting course located throughout the Old Mill District. Dean and her husband were practicing the course in preparation for the 2010 Orvis National Casting Competition, with events scheduled to take place today in the morning and afternoon. Depending on skill level, competitors will have to land their flies in specific rings in a set number of casts. The course was designed to test and improve fly-casting skills in a variety of settings much like those found in actual fishing conditions. Competitors will compete for more than $10,000 in cash and prizes.
* Projected
Central Oregon Business Index NATIONAL RECESSION
NATIONAL RECESSION 200
2006 Q3
172.1
2010 Q1
109.3
By Shan Li
150
Los Angeles Times
1997 Q2
92.8 100
105.7
50
’98
’00
’02
’04
’06
’08
’10
Reported quarterly Source: Deschutes County Department of Solid Waste, University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Economics Andy Zeigert / The Bulletin
We use recycled newsprint
MON-SAT
Hey, they work — ‘mind games’ garner a following
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Charlatans and con artists have laid claim to its power for centuries. In science fiction, Jedi knights call it “The Force,” and the mind-bending X-Men (and Women) are old hats at it. Telekinesis. Harnessing the mind to control your surroundings. It is the stuff of fantasy. Now, that fantasy is crystallizing into reality. An array of new consumer products — including electronics, toys, medical devices and smart-phone apps — are de-
signed to be operated by mental power. Two games, which flew off the shelves last Christmas season, are based on technology that reads brain waves, similar to electroencephalograph (or EEG) machines used to diagnose brain disorders. Both games — Mattel’s $80 Mindflex and the $130 Force Trainer by Uncle Milton Industries — work by having players wear headsets that monitor the electrical waves coming from their brains. See Mind games / A7
The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper
Vol. 107, No. 226, 66 pages, 6 sections
On health care team, some pharmacists take a leading role By Reed Abelson and Natasha Singer New York Times News Service
Eloise Gelinas depends on a personal health coach. At Barney’s Pharmacy, her local drugstore in Augusta, Ga., the pharmacist outlines all her medications, teaching her what times of day to take the drugs that will help control her diabetes. Gelinas, a retired nurse, also attends classes at the store once a month on how to manage her disease with drugs, diet and exercise. Since she started working with the Barney’s pharmacists, she boasts that her blood sugar, bad cholesterol and blood pressure have all decreased. “It’s my home away from home,” she says. See Pharmacists / A6
Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times
Frank Adler, president of Uncle Milton Industries, demonstrates the Star Wars Science Force Trainer, a toy that uses a headset to measure brain activity and control the machine.
TOP NEWS INSIDE
INDEX Abby
B2
Comics
B4-5
Editorial Local
Business
C3-5
Community
B1-6
Classified
F1-6
Crossword
B5, F2
Movies
C6 C1-8 B3
Obituaries
C7
Stocks
Sudoku
B5
TV listings
B2
Weather
C8
Sports
D1-6
C4-5
STABBINGS: Suspect’s motives puzzle investigators, Page A2