50 years of picnics
Central Oregon’s best
swimming holes
Local group carries on a tasty tradition • COMMUNITY, E1
SPORTS, D1
WEATHER TODAY
TUESDAY
Mostly cloudy, chance of thunderstorms High 73, Low 51 Page C6
• June 28, 2011 50¢
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Schools may get more financial freedom
BEND
Budget’s passage heralds rise in water, sewer rates
OSU-Cascades among public universities that could benefit from bill
By Patrick Cliff The Bulletin
The Bend City Council passed the city’s 2011-13 budget Monday. The budget, passed by a 5-1 vote, includes three layoffs, a reduction of 11 open positions and increased water and sewer rates. In total, the two-year budget is $428.7 million, an amount that includes a $76 million general fund. The general fund, about $1.2 million less than the previous biennium’s, covers several city functions — from police to economic development — and its revenues come primarily from property taxes. In the coming year, property tax revenue is projected to fall by 4 percent. To help deal with budget difficulties, the city will spend $21 million of its $67 million in reserves. Other pressures on the city include planned water and sewer improvements, which are projected to cost about $100 million. Part of that cost comes from a reconstruction of Bend’s Bridge Creek water system, where Bend gets about half its water. The largest sewer project involves diverting sewage from southeast Bend directly to the city’s treatment plant in the northeast. To deal with those costs, the budget includes a 7 percent rate hike in water rates and a 10 percent increase for each year in the biennium. See Budget / A4
By Lauren Dake The Bulletin
Back to gravel? Pete Erickson / The Bulletin
Two SUVs drive east on the gravel of Ward Road after it crosses Gosney Lane east of Bend on Monday.
Faced with a shortfall in roadwork funds, Deschutes officials weigh cost-saving options By Hillary Borrud The Bulletin
The looming expiration of a federal subsidy is forcing county officials across Oregon to
some roads to gravel to save money. The county is at least $2 million short of what it needs each year to fill potholes, put down chip seal and asphalt overlay and do other road maintenance, according to a recent county report. That will grow by more than $1 million when the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, also known as timber payments, expires next year. Counties across Oregon face similar problems because state and federal funding for local roads isn’t keeping up with the
look at their roadwork budgets. What they see isn’t encouraging and in Deschutes County, it’s prompting officials to once again discuss whether to return
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Correction
280 miles of obligation Deschutes County maintains 280 miles of paved local roads, and County Administrator Dave Kanner has repeatedly proposed returning those roads to gravel as a way to save money. So far, county commissioners haven’t endorsed that idea.
Bend In a story headlined “Senate OKs renewal of water plan,” which appeared Saturday, June 25, on Page A1, Central Oregon Cities Organization was misidentified. The Bulletin regrets the error.
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In the fight against hackers, humans are the weakest link
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Vol. 108, No. 179, 42 pages, 7 sections
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SAN FRANCISCO — The Department of Homeland Security ran a test this year to see how hard it was for hackers to corrupt workers and gain access to computer systems. Not very, it turned out. Staff secretly dropped computer discs and USB thumb drives in the parking lots of government buildings and private contractors. Of those who picked them up, 60 percent plugged the devices into office computers. If the drive or CD case had an official logo, 90 percent were installed. “There’s no device known to mankind that will prevent people from being idiots,” said Mark Rasch, director of network security for Falls Church, Va.based Computer Sciences Corp. See Hackers / A4
Attackers in uniform add to anxiety in Afghanistan
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By Mark Magnier Los Angeles Times
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BUDGET: As Obama steps in, parties remain divided on debt, Page A3
Business
The county faces at least a $2 million shortfall in its road maintenance budget. Commissioners want to look for ways to raise money for roads, such as by levying various taxes or fees, or passing a bond measure.
Brothers
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rising cost of asphalt, which is a petroleum product, said Jon Oshel, county road program manager for the Association of Oregon Counties. “Our prices have been going up, but our revenues have not been going up,” he said. “That’s a 30-year issue.” Other counties have also looked at taking some paved roads back to gravel, and many have made cuts that could translate into longer wait times until snow or landslides are cleared from roads, Oshel said. “Mostly, they’re reducing service levels,” he said. See Roads / A4
SALEM — A change in the way Oregon’s public university system is governed could mean the next time Oregon State UniversityCascades Campus officials want to buy a new building, they won’t have to wait for legislative approval. A bill approved by the House of Representatives on IN THE Monday, 55-5, would give the LEGISLATURE state’s seven public universities more • Highlights autonomy and, of Senate Bill advocates say, 242, Page flexibility. A5 Itwouldmean the state Legislature could no longer dip into reserves built from tuition funds to help other state agencies — a rare occurrence, but one that has been utilized. Universities would also be able to keep any interest earned on tuition and put it toward financial aid. And if a university had money in the bank and didn’t need general fund help or a bond issue, it would not need lawmakers’ go-ahead to purchase a building. See Schools / A5
Andy Zeigert / The Bulletin
BUMP ... SET ... SPLASH!
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
This group of friends decided to beat the heat by setting up a volleyball net on a sandbar in Mirror Pond on Monday. Connor Kelly, 23, of Bend, said they had decided that the sand volleyball courts were too hot, and realized that the shallow, muddy water would make for a fun game.
KABUL, Afghanistan — In late May, a NATO soldier was killed as he emerged from his tent. Two weeks earlier, two NATO soldiers were killed while eating a meal. In late April, eight U.S. troops were shot dead at a meeting at Kabul airport. The attacks had one thing in common: The killers all wore Afghan military or police uniforms. Foreign troops serving in Afghanistan say they’re increasingly concerned about the “enemy within.” Yet they emphasize the importance of keeping anxiety in check amid a climate of deepening mutual distrust. “You can’t go out scared every day,” said Sasha Navarro, an Air Force staff sergeant based at Camp Mike Spann in the northern province of Balkh. “You have to be confident in your training, and keep your head on a swivel.” Since March 2009, at least 57 foreign troops, including 32 Americans, have been killed in 19 attacks by Afghan service members. More than half occurred this year. See Afghanistan / A5