PPP PREVIEW • PART I
And for her next act ...
State champs Storm girls’ 3rd straight golf title
Stephanie Howe won the women’s elite race — as a rookie • SPORTS, D1
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• May 18, 2011 50¢
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MAY ELECTION
Coverage in Local, Pages C1-2 • Complete election scorecard on Page A2
JEFFERSON: Jail levy passes • LA PINE: City charter passes • SCHOOLS: Roundup of races • BEND: Park board’s new face
Judge allows Sawyers to visit Mexico property By Sheila G. Miller The Bulletin
Kevin and Tami Sawyer will be allowed to travel to Mexico to conduct business on their property there, a U.S. District Court judge decided Tuesday. According to federal court documents, Judge Thomas M. Coffin will allow the couple to go to Mexico under
specific conditions. First, the U.S. will file a civil forfeiture suit against the Sawyers, who will then assign their interest in their Mexico property to the clerk of court. If the Sawyers fail to show for trial in December, they will conditionally forfeit their interest in the property. “It allows them to essentially use
Oregon jobless rate at its best since 2008
the property as bond,” said Courtroom Deputy Paul Bruch. “It’s just basically a mechanism for them to get ahold of that property should the Sawyers not return.” Once that’s taken care of, the Sawyers will be allowed to take back their passports and travel to Mexico. See Sawyers / A5
Kevin and Tami Sawyer
Improving roads seems to trump lowering property taxes in Bend
BARRELING TO THE FINISH
By Nick Grube The Bulletin
Some of Bend’s roads will get much-needed upgrades over the next several years thanks to the passage of a $30 million bond measure Tuesday. In approving the measure, voters said they preferred improved roads over a reduction Measure 9-83 in their property tax bills. PASSED “I’m thrilled,” City Manager Eric King said after seeing • Issues $30 million initial results, which showed in general obligation a double-digit percentage bonds for road point approval. “It’s a real improvements. strong statement for Bend, Yes: 8,190 (55.9%) and I think it’s a real positive No: 6,458 (44.1%) statement the community has made that we’re reinvesting Initial election results in Bend.” The bond will pay for the reconstruction of Reed Market Road — one of the city’s main east-west corridors — from Third Street to 27th Avenue. See Bond / A6
By Tami Abdollah The Associated Press
SALEM — The jobless rate in Oregon fell to 9.6 percent in April, hitting its lowest point in more than two years, the state employment department said Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was the lowest since 9.2 percent Inside in December • Good news 2008, primarfor Bend’s ily due to an intourist crease in new season, jobs, agency Page B1 officials said. The rate has hovered in the mid-10 percent range for about a year after hitting a high of 11.6 percent in June 2009. The state also revised the March jobless figure down slightly from 10 percent to 9.9 percent. “Businesses are ready to start hiring again, they’re feeling more confident about the future,” said Nick Beleiciks, an economist with the Oregon Employment Department. Nationally, unemployment rose slightly to 9 percent in April from 8.8 percent in March. Oregon posted the seventh-fastest job growth in the nation, state officials said. The state got a boost of 1,600 jobs in April after a net loss of 2,000 in March. Since October, Oregon has seen “healthy” growth of an average of 4,000 new jobs a month, Beleiciks said. See Jobs / A5
‘No quick fix’ for gas prices, Salazar says By Andrew Clevenger The Bulletin
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Barrel racer Christie Kruz rides to a 15.962-second finish Tuesday in the Lucky ’11 Barrel Race Awards Series at the Crook County Fairgrounds in Prineville. Races will continue through the summer and into the fall. For specific dates, as well as how to enter, go to www.crookcountyfairgrounds.com and click on “Can Chaser Classic” under the “Events” menu.
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Correction In a story headlined, “Deschutes administrator hedges on DA’s budget, needs,” which appeared Tuesday, May 17, on Page A1, the prosecutor whom Deschutes County Administrator Dave Kanner e-mailed on March We use recycled newsprint
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WASHINGTON — While carefully regulated offshore drilling is good for America’s longterm energy prospects, it is not a way to lower gas prices quickly, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar told members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Tuesday. “As the president has said, we need to look back in history,” he said. “There is no quick fix for the price of gas.” Salazar touted President Obama’s position on expanding domestic oil production in a measured way to ensure safeguards are in place to prevent a disaster like last year’s Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. See Oil / A5
IN CONGRESS
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Bond passes handily
30 was reported incorrectly. Kanner e-mailed District Attorney Patrick Flaherty and wrote in the e-mail that Flaherty said at a March law enforcement meeting that the District Attorney’s Office was dismissing more cases, or bringing fewer to trial. The Bulletin regrets the error. The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper
Vol. 108, No. 138, 42 pages, 7 sections
FLOODING: Mississippi River takes a heavy economic toll, Page A3 OBITUARY: Baseball slugger Harmon Killebrew, Page D5 Killebrew autographs a bat for Vince Genna in Bend in 1995. The Bulletin ile photo
HIGH-TECH SCHOOLING
The end of snow days? By Heather Hollingsworth The Associated Press
PARKVILLE, Mo. — Could the Internet mean the end of snow days? Some schools think so, and they are experimenting with ways for students to do lessons online during bad weather, potentially allowing classes to go on during even the worst blizzard. “Virtual snow days” would help ease pressure on school calendars. Because districts are required to be in session for a certain number of hours or days, losing teaching time to winter weather can mean extending the school day or cutting short spring break or summer vacation. And canceling school in the winter,
when some of the most difficult material of the year is covered, risks leaving students with a learning deficit heading into the spring, when many states administer standardized tests. “Even if you can’t continue on at the same pace, being able to keep students on track can make a huge difference,” said Doug Levin, executive director of the nonprofit State Educational Technology Directors Association. Virtual learning, which has been widely used by colleges and universities for years, is becoming more viable for younger students as teachers and administrators grow comfortable with the technology. See Virtual / A5