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The Bulletin
SALEM — Last session, state lawmakers threw a lifeline to counties that rely heavily upon federal timber payments. As a result, such counties may now dip into previously restricted road funds to keep patrol deputies on the job. The move will keep Curry County afloat into the next fiscal year, County Commissioner David Itzen told lawmakers Tuesday afternoon. The county has pulled $700,000 from the $33 million road fund to help with public safety costs. “It has enabled us to extend the life of our county considerably,” Itzen told members of a joint legislative task force addressing county timber payments. Before dipping into the road fund, Curry County officials thought they could be broke by Christmas. But that’s where the good news ends. The new law has created some breathing room, Itzen said via phone, as he and his colleagues could not afford to travel to Salem. However, he said, Curry County continues to live on borrowed time. It could continue to operate at severely reduced levels until June 30, 2013, by “cannibalizing” other funds, including road funds and vehicle-purchase funds. To improve the county’s outlook, Curry officials may ask voters in November to approve a 3 percent countywide sales tax. But Commissioner George Rhodes, who lost in the May primary, held out little hope that it would pass. “The issue for our citizens is, when we put something out there, there is no consequence for inaction,” Rhodes said. “It’s likely (they) won’t support either a sales tax or property tax increase. Two of us (commissioners) failed in the primary because we talked of a tax (increase).” See Curry / A5
Property values on mend? The shift, Langton warned commissioners Tuesday, could prompt an uproar in the near future as some people receive significantly higher tax bills in response to recovering property values. The county does not send out tax bills until October, but county officials heard an update from Langton during budget discussions Tuesday. Interim County Administrator Erik Kropp is not banking on an increase in tax revenue, however. He proposed a budget
By Hillary Borrud The Bulletin
Deschutes County’s assessor expects the total value of all property in the county to increase by 2.5 percent this year. That would be an improvement over last year, when the county’s tax rolls — the total taxable assessed property value — decreased 0.6 percent from the previous year. “I guess the good news is, we’re not in the free-fall we were in recent years,” said Assessor Scot Langton.
that assumes tax revenue will be flat in the upcoming year. In recent years, many property owners’ tax bills shrank as property values fell. This was the first time assessed values fell since voters passed Measure 50, Langton said last year. Under Measure 50, assessed value can grow by only 3 percent annually, and property taxes are based on whichever value is lower, maximum assessed value or real market value. See Property / A5
Services will weather budget cuts, officials say By Hillary Borrud The Bulletin
Deschutes County officials say services will not change noticeably over the next year despite a proposed budget that includes layoffs in the Parole and Probation
Body believed to be that of missing woman
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
Law enforcement and search and rescue workers return to their vehicles Tuesday evening after recovering a body from the Deschutes River near Ochoco Road and River Woods Drive in Deschutes River Woods south of Bend.
Body found Police believe a body recovered from the Deschutes River Tuesday afternoon is that of Carol Margaret Ray, a Bend resident missing for two weeks. Ray’s husband reported the 46-year-old missing on May 8. On May 9, her car was located parked near the river, upstream from
the Seventh Mountain Resort. About 2:40 p.m. Tuesday, a hiker walking along the river near Lava Island Falls spotted a body in the water and contacted police. Search and rescue crews from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office were called in. Authorities
had recovered the body and left the area by about 5 p.m. Lt. Ben Gregory of the Bend Police Department said that foul play does not appear to be a factor, but an autopsy will be performed after police obtain a positive identification. “Based on all the other
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factors we know about the case, we believe that it is her,” he said. Nearly every day for the past two weeks, the sheriff’s office searched the river and the surrounding area near the spot of Ray’s disappearance, Gregory said. — Scott Hammers, The Bulletin
New York Times News Service
Just days before Facebook went public, some big investors grew nervous about the company’s prospects. After publicly warning about challenges in mobile advertising, Facebook executives
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held conference calls to update their banks’ analysts on the business. Analysts at Morgan Stanley and other firms soon started advising clients to dial back their expectations. One prospective buyer was told that second-quarter revenues could be 5 percent lower than the bank’s earlier estimates.
As investors tried to digest the developments, Morgan Stanley was busy setting the price and the size of the initial stock offering. While some big institutions scaled back on their plans, others placed large orders. And retail investors clamored for shares. See Facebook / A5
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Scrutiny and criticism have fallen on Morgan Stanley, the investment bank that shepherded Facebook through its stock offering last week.
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Andy Zeigert / The Bulletin
U.S. Army more selective on recruits, re-enlistments By Lolita C. Baldor
By Evelyn M. Rusli and Michael J. de la Merced
Department, the juvenile detention center and a program to improve nutrition for women, infants and children. The state is cutting money for these programs, and county officials are reluctant to step in to close the gap. Instead, they intend to set aside more money to ride out the sluggish and unpredictable economy. See Budget / A5
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By Lauren Dake
DESCHUTES COUNTY
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Curry’s lifeline likely just for short term, officials say
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WASHINGTON — Uncle Sam may not want you after all. In sharp contrast to the peak years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Army last year took in no recruits with misconduct convictions or drug or alcohol issues, according to internal documents obtained by
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The Associated Press. And soldiers already serving on active duty now must meet tougher standards to stay on for further tours in uniform. The Army is also spending hundreds of thousands of dollars less in bonuses to attract recruits or entice soldiers to remain. See Army / A5
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