Bulletin Daily Paper 07/07/12

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A local lacrosse ‘superfan’ • D1

Oral histories from longtime locals B1 •

JULY 7, 2012

SATURDAY 75¢

Serving Central Oregon since 1903 www.bendbulletin.com

U.S. troops score win over IEDs

NOVEMBER ELECTION

Measures on the fall ballot

By Kimberly Dozier The Associated Press

Almost afraid to say it aloud lest they jinx their record, U.S. troops in Afghanistan achieved one small but important victory over the past year: They found and avoided more homemade bombs meant to kill and maim them than a year ago, thanks to a surge in training, equipment and intel. Bomb-planters have picked up the pace during the summer months, planting improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, along roads or footpaths. But the explosives are no longer the leading cause of death and injury in Afghanistan. In the first three months of this year, only 5 percent of the bombs planted across Afghanistan hit their mark, according to Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero, director of the Pentagon’s Joint IED Defeat Organization. That’s down from 10 to 12 percent over the same three-month period a year ago. The new figures show a slow but steady decline, from a high of 368 deaths caused by IEDs in 2010 to 252 in 2011, according to Icasualties.org, which tracks war casualties. See IEDs / A4

fishing and another abolishing the state’s inheritance tax. Those and four other initiatives gathered the required number of signatures to get on the ballot. The Secretary

By Lauren Dake The Bulletin

SALEM — An initiative to legalize marijuana is a step closer to getting on the November ballot, along with a measure banning gill net

of State’s Office has until Aug. 5 to ensure the signatures are valid. Out of the 40 petitions floated, only seven survived Friday’s deadline. The other four deal with gambling, the corporate kicker

tax and a real estate tax. Proposed changes to the Oregon Constitution need 116,284 signatures to qualify, while statutory changes require 87,213 signatures. Proponents of legalizing

marijuana stood on the Capitol steps Friday morning, holding signs urging people to “end prohibition” on the drug and to “regulate (rather than) incarcerate.” See Measures / A7

WESTERN WILDFIRES

Local firefighters back from big blazes There was a somber coincidence to their return: It was 18 years ago to the

MORE FIRES FORECAST

day that 19 Hotshot firefighters, including 14 from Prineville, died in the Storm King Fire near Glenwood Springs, Colo. By Holly Pablo The Bulletin

PRINEVILLE — The caravan of white trucks came to a stop and 20 Central Oregon firefighters jumped off. In less than 30 minutes, they tossed duffle bags, shuffled equipment and went home. If they were in a rush, it’s because they have been on assignment for two weeks tackling the Russell’s Camp, Arapahoe and Willow fires in Wyoming and Colorado before making the

three-day drive to Prineville from Wyoming. This crew is a mixture of personnel from the Ochoco National Forest, Prineville Bureau of Land Management and the Deschutes National Forest. Now they have two full days off to relax, said Tim Trujillo, an ESL teacher at John Tuck Elementary School in Redmond who is entering his 15th season fighting fires with the Deschutes National Forest team. See Firefighters / A6

Football wins may boost academic reputations

The National Interagency Fire Center’s Predictive Services has released a fire outlook for the U.S. through October. Belowaverage precipitation and high temperatures have led to high fire potential around the country, although some areas have below normal fire potential. Above normal potential

Normal potential

Below normal potential

JULY

AUGUST-OCTOBER

By Dan Zehr Austin American-Statesman

College football coaches might have more to worry about than the high expectations of their faithful fans. A big season might help enhance their universities’ academic reputations, too. According to a working paper published this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research, winning on the field also increases donations, applications, academic reputation, in-state enrollment — and incoming test scores. Now, keep in mind that the academic and enrollment benefits — while statistically significant — are modest at best, according to the study’s authors. “There are effects, but they’re not so large you’d want to run a huge deficit on the team” to chase more victories, said Michael Anderson, an economist at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley and the author of the study. “You definitely still want the team to break even.” Consider it a bonus for having a team that wins more than it loses, he said. Still, it wasn’t exactly what Anderson expected to find. See Football / A7

MON-SAT

We use recycled newsprint

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Ryan Brennecke / The Bulletin

Ashley Miller, 28, packs her gear shortly after arriving at Lamonta Compound in Prineville on Friday afternoon after returning from fighting wildfires in Colorado.

Source: National Interagency Fire Center

Andy Zeigert / The Bulletin

Visit www.bendbulletin.com/airtanker for video of a ride in the cockpit of an airtanker as it drops retardant on the Colorado fire.

AN ADDED CHALLENGE

No more parts for C-130 retardant planes By Mead Gruver The Associated Press

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The demise of the only company that manufactured a device specially designed to spray fire retardant from the back of U.S. military C-130 cargo planes has some experts worried about the future viability of a program that has helped fight wild-

fires for 40 years. The Modular Airborne Firefighting System is a bus-sized device that can be shoved into the belly of a cargo plane and then used to spray retardant, or slurry, at 3,000 gallons in less than 5 seconds. The $4.9 million device’s only manufacturer, Sacramento, Calif.-based Aero Union, went out of busi-

The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper

Vol. 109, No. 189, 72 pages, 7 sections

ness in August, and no other company has replaced it. Critical spare parts also are no longer being made. Last year, MAFFS C-130s flew to wildfires in Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. They’ve been critical again this year against wildfires in Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. See Retardant / A6

INDEX Business Classified Comics

C3-5 E1-4 B4-5

Community B1-6 Crosswords B5, E2 Editorials

C6

Local News C1-8 Movies B2 Obituaries C7

The Associated Press file photo

Planes that spray retardant to snuff out wildfires may have far less air support in the future.

TODAY’S WEATHER Sports D1-6 Stocks C4-5 TV B2, ‘TV’ mag

Sunny High 90, Low 53 Page C8

TOP NEWS LIBYA: Tense day ahead of vote, A3 JOBS: Weak report sets tone, A3, C3


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