Horner’s chances take tumble
Plus: Ballroom dancing in Bend
Bend cyclist may drop out of Tour de France after rough crash in Stage 7 • SPORTS, D1
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• July 9, 2011 50¢
Serving Central Oregon since 1903 www.bendbulletin.com
Warrant Legislators’ toughest votes issued for Few contentious bills, but Central Oregon lawmakers faced many difficult choices Sawyer A LOOK BACK AT THE SESSION
IN THE LEGISLATURE
By Lauren Dake The Bulletin
Tim Donnelly / The Associated Press
The space shuttle Atlantis lifts off Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The liftoff was the 135th and final space shuttle launch for NASA.
SALEM — A bill that would have banned disposable plastic grocery bags in Oregon made headlines early in this year’s legislative session. Rep. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, received hundreds of e-mails from constituents urging him to vote against it. He
got only two e-mails from people asking him support the ban, but one of them came from a difficult constituent to ignore — his wife. The plastic bag battle was a rarity in the 2011 session, which saw few controversial bills make significant progress. Most bills that promised to provoke partisan rancor simply
• Inside: Breaking down how and when they voted, Page A8 didn’t have a chance thanks to the Legislature’s near-perfect balance. The House was evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, and the Senate saw a small Democratic majority.
Despite his wife’s best efforts, McLane said he would have voted against the ban. But in the end, he didn’t have to. “Thank God the bill didn’t make it out of the Senate,” he said. More than 3,000 bills were introduced at the beginning of the session. The House and Senate each approved more than 900. Though few of these could be characterized as far left or right, lawmakers were faced with a number of tough votes. See Votes / A8
Quilts, quirky and quaint
When the last shuttle returns ... By John Noble Wilford New York Times News Service
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — There was a time, some of us remember, when a countdown at Canaveral stopped the world in its tracks. On television or at the launching, every breath was held at liftoff and every eye followed the fiery plume of ascent, up and away. Godspeed, said someone who was everyone. That was a half century ago, when men first squeezed into their machines and, defying gravity, rode into a new dimension of human experience. Unbound to Earth, our species could imagine that an age of spacefaring was truly under way, the moon and Mars within reach, maybe even an asteroid where the Little Prince awaited our visit. The promised new reality legitimized fantasies. The atmosphere here Friday at the launching of the space shuttle Atlantis was, in some respects, reminiscent of the old days. The crowd was the largest in years, attracted by the last chance for no telling how long to see astronauts in this country leave for space. There was concern for the four lives in the winged space plane, of course, and all eyes searched for the break in the clouds that finally came. But this time, more than ever, spectators and others who care about NASA worried for nothing less than the future of human spaceflight in the United States. See Shuttle / A3
Atlantis’ mission Atlantis’ primary mission is to make one last supply run to the International Space Station, carrying a record 8,200 pounds of cargo, supplies and science materials. Atlantis also is carrying a Department of Defense satellite, which will be deployed, and a machine that will allow station astronauts to run experiments that could lead to robotic refueling and recharging of satellites. Atlantis’ return is set for July 20, though NASA is considering adding one more day to the mission if all goes well. — The Orlando Sentinel
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Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show employees Laurene Fitzjarrell, 62, left, and Susan Rola, 57, fold up a quilt at the show offices in Sisters on Friday afternoon. Meticulously laid out and in protective garbage bags, more than 1,300 quilts will be moved by teams of employees and volunteers to their display places around Sisters for the free show, which runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. Executive Director Ann Richardson said the quilts come from 35 states and four countries, and will bring over 12,000 visitors today for the 36th annual event. Cascade Avenue through Sisters will
be closed, but all other streets will be open, with plenty of parking in residential neighborhoods. A shuttle will operate from Sisters High School for large vehicle parking. Richardson requested that visitors do not park along Highway 20, which has been a dangerous problem in the past. “Save it for Sunday” is another option for quilt fans, says Richardson. “You can see a lot of the same great work on Sunday without having to fight the crowds.” Sunday viewing runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more, visit www.sistersoutdoorquiltshow.org or call 541-549-0989.
By Sheila G. Miller The Bulletin
A warrant has been issued for Tami Sawyer’s arrest in the wake of her recent indictment on felony first-degree charges of criminal mistreatment and aggravated theft. The warrant, signed Thursday by Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge Alta Brady, had not been executed as of Friday Tami Sawyer night. It re- was indicted quires $50,000 Tuesday bail. on charges Sawyer was of criminal indicted Tues- mistreatment day, accused and aggraof first-degree vated theft. criminal mistreatment. The indictment alleges she took custody of Thomas Middleton, “a dependent or elderly person,” for the purpose of fraud. Sawyer is also accused of firstdegree aggravated theft. The indictment alleges that in October 2008 she stole more than $50,000 from the Thomas S. Middleton Revocable Trust. State and court documents show that in July 2008 Middleton, who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, moved into Sawyer’s home months after naming Sawyer trustee of his estate. Middleton deeded his home to the trust and directed Sawyer to make it a rental until the real estate market improved. Sawyer signed documents in mid-July to list the property for sale. Middleton died July 22 by physician-assisted suicide. Documents show the house was listed two days later and sold in October 2008 for $202,077. On the same day the sale was finalized, $202,077 was deposited into a bank account for a Sawyer business called Starboard LLC. When the deposit was made, Starboard’s bank account had about $87 in it. Ninety thousand dollars was transferred from that bank account to two other Sawyer companies, Genesis Futures and Tami Sawyer PC. See Sawyer / A7
BETTY FORD • 1918 – 2011
Grief and questions follow Candid first lady struggled, inspired fan’s falling death at ballpark By Enid Nemy New York Times News Service
Betty Ford, the outspoken and much-admired wife of President Gerald Ford who overcame alcoholism and an addiction to pills and helped found one of the most well-known rehabilitation centers in the nation, died Friday. She was 93. Her death was confirmed by Chris Chase, Betty Ford’s biographer, who said she was surrounded by her children at the time. Further details were not immediately released. Her death brought statements of condolence from President Barack Obama, former Presidents George W. Bush and
Jimmy Carter, and Nancy Reagan, the former first lady. “She was Jerry Ford’s strength through some very difficult days in our country’s history,” Reagan said, “and I admired her courage in facing and sharing her personal struggles with all of us.” Few first ladies have been as popular as Betty Ford, and it was her frankness and lack of pretense that made her so. She spoke often in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, endorsed legalized abortion, discussed premarital sex and said she intended to share a bed with her husband in the White House. See Ford / A7
The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper
Vol. 108, No. 190, 72 pages, 7 sections
New York Times News Service
The Associated Press ile photo
Betty Ford, who triumphed over drug and alcohol addiction, died Friday at age 93.
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next one?” the father asked. “I just gave him a nod,” HamARLINGTON, Texas — Josh ilton, the Rangers’ All-Star outHamilton doesn’t make a habit of fielder said. And when he chased tossing baseballs to fans, down another foul ball in so when he fielded a foul the second inning, Hamball early in Thursday In Sports ilton sought the pair out night’s game against the and tossed the ball at the • Chasing Oakland Athletics, he did father. baseballs a what he usually does: he It was a touch short, so tradition as turned it over to the ball Shannon Stone, a fireold as the girl along the left-field fighter from Brownwood, game itself, line at Rangers Ballpark. Texas, leaned in front of Page D1 As he did, he heard a his 6-year-old son, Cooshout from behind the per, to grab the ball. In left-field fence. There an instant, Stone flipped stood a father and son in the first over the railing and fell 20 feet to row of an elevated bank of seats. the concrete pavement below. “Hey, Hamilton, how about the See Fan / A7
By Tom Spousta and Lynn Zinser
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SOUTH SUDAN: Newest nation celebrates, Page A2 DEBT TALKS: Where’s the political center? Page A3