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JUNE 23, 2012
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Serving Central Oregon since 1903 www.bendbulletin.com
INFRASTRUCTURE
BLM brought into bridge compliance By Andrew Clevenger The Bulletin
WASHINGTON — Before last year, the Bureau of Land Management had never submitted inspection data on its bridges for inclusion in the National Bridge Inventory, a recent audit by the Department of the Interior’s Inspector General found.
Under federal law, any publicly accessible bridge longer than 20 feet must be inspected every two years, and inspection data must be submitted to the Federal Highway Administration for inclusion in the National Bridge Inventory. This is true whether a bridge is owned and maintained by a local, state or federal entity.
“At the time of our evaluation, BLM (did) not know the number of publicly accessible bridges in its inventory, the number of bridges that are behind locked gates, or the level of vehicular traffic that crosses BLM bridges at any given time,” said the report, which was published in April. See Bridges / A4
‘Deficient,’ ‘obsolete’ bridges not necessarily unsafe, ODOT says By Andrew Clevenger The Bulletin
While the National Bridge Inventory includes such scary-sounding categories as “structurally deficient” and “functionally obsolete,” these designations don’t necessarily mean that a particular bridge is unsafe, said Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman Dave Thompson. They are engineering terms that may indicate an upgrade or repair is needed, but shouldn’t give the public pause about continuing to use a particular bridge, he said. See Terms / A4
EATON ON FIRE
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
A
shton Eaton celebrates after setting a world record
The former Mountain View High School star is in first
in the 100-meter decathlon event at the U.S.
place after five events. The final five events are today, with
Olympic trials Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene.
Eaton having a chance at the American decathlon record.
Eaton followed up his 10.21-second performance with a second decathlon world record in the long jump.
TOP NEWS SANDUSKY: Ex-Penn State assistant guilty of child sex abuse, A3
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Local News C1-8 Movies B2 Obituaries C7 Sports D1-6 Stocks C4-5 TV B2, ‘TV’ mag
The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper Vol. 109, No. 175, 66 pages, 6 sections
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• Prosecutor stresses defendant’s lies, attacks testimony about slaying By Holly Pablo The Bulletin
Tensions ran high during the second day of accused killer Richard Ward Clarke’s testimony, with the prosecutor and the defendant at times struggling to speak over each other. A day earlier, Clarke appeared calm and confident while telling jurors of an amicable relationship between himself and Matt Fitzhenry, the man he is accused of killing in the house they shared on Northwest Georgia Avenue in Bend. He said he held no animosity toward his Clarke roommate, with whom he shared common interests of music, religion, ice cream and baseball. But Clarke’s demeanor turned serious and anxious during cross-examination Friday in his murder trial at the Deschutes County Circuit Court as he told jurors that everyone who has testified against him has lied under oath. Prosecutor Van McIver and Clarke went back and forth comparing Clarke’s testimony with incriminating statements from his friends. Clarke occasionally responded with “probably” or “OK.” McIver slammed Clarke’s testimony on the basis that he admitted openly lying to police on the night of the crime. “Are you fully willing to lie to authorities to get yourself out of trouble?” McIver said. “Yeah,” Clarke said. “Let’s go over your truthfulness,” McIver said. Clarke originally told police he had no idea what happened at the house after returning from a stroll. He denied being there during the attack. He said he did not know the whereabouts of a third roommate, a man he now claims was also home during the killing. See Trial / A6
The top three finishers at the trials are nearly assured of a spot on the Olympic team. See story, Page D1.
Roundup’s Prineville cattle drive canceled due to insurance, disinterest
Oregon study: mixed lessons on health reform By Annie Lowrey New York Times News Service
By Lydia Hoffman
TODAY’S WEATHER
Friction rises in Clarke trial
The Bulletin
The Crooked River Roundup, a weeklong rodeo and horse racing event in Prineville, has traditionally begun with a cattle drive through the city from U.S. Highway 26 to the fairgrounds. But the event was canceled this year when the insurance company said it was going to charge an additional $500 for high-risk events and that it would cover only city employees. That meant the high school rodeo club that would actually be driving the cattle wouldn’t be covered, according to Mary Puddy, human resource manager and risk manager for Prineville. The City Council decided it needed more time to coordinate and plan, said Dean Noyes, president of the board of the Crooked River Roundup and a member of the Prineville City Council. “Anytime you’re dealing with insurance companies and having to do something new, you don’t want to rush that.” The city also had a difficult time finding people willing to supervise
Alex McDougall / The Bulletin
Brett Hale, of Tenino, Wash., competes in steer roping Friday afternoon during the Crooked River Roundup. The event continues through the weekend.
and lead the drive, Puddy said. “If they want to see it come back, someone has to step up to the plate,” he said. “If you
can’t get people to drive the cattle, you can’t have a cattle drive.” See Roundup / A4
PORTLAND — When Wendy Parris shattered her ankle, the emergency room put it in an air cast and sent her on her way. Because she had no insurance, doctors did not operate to fix it. A mother of six, Parris hobbled around for four years, pained by the foot, becoming less mobile and gaining weight. But in 2008, Oregon opened its Medicaid rolls to some working-age adults living in poverty, like Parris. Lacking the money to cover everyone, the state established a lottery, and Parris was one of the 89,824 residents who entered in the hope of winning insurance. With that lottery, Oregon became a laboratory for studying the effects of extending health insurance to people who previously did not have it. Health economists say the state has become the single best place to study a question at the center of debate in Washington as the Supreme Court prepares to rule, likely next week, on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s health care law: What are the costs and benefits of coverage? See Health / A6