Bulletin Daily Paper 09/20/12

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THURSDAY

September 20, 2012

Serving Central Oregon since 1903

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Seniors seek mediation in dispute with Bend park district

A pond of pride

By Erik Hidle The Bulletin

The United Senior Citizens of Bend on Tuesday suggested mediation of its demand that the Bend Park & Recreation District refund nearly $1 million the group claims it raised to build the Bend Senior Center. An attorney for USCB, Bill Buchanan, suggested the two sides discuss the disagreement over how much each party invested in the Bend Senior Center when it was constructed nearly 12 years ago, and what rights each side has in withdrawing from the investment. “I guess we could go to court, and in five years find out how this turns out,” said Buchanan. “But neither party will benefit from a protracted litigation.” Buchanan presented the opportunity to enter mediation at a Tuesday night meeting of the district’s board of directors. Don Horton, the district’s executive director, said the board is unlikely to respond to the request until after its Oct. 2 meeting. “The board and our attorney will need a few weeks to digest it and see where they will go with it,” Horton said. The two sides came to an impasse over the building because USCB believes the district never provided adequate services for low-income seniors, such as free meals and other social services. “What it really comes down to is parks and USCB have different missions,” Buchanan said. “They have tried for a dozen years to make this work, and it has failed. Who is at fault in that failure, it’s not really important.” Buchanan said what is important is USCB’s withdrawal from a partnership created when the building was constructed. See Mediation / A6

By Andrew Clevenger The Bulletin

WASHINGTON — Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden continued to push for legislation that would rework the allocation of water behind the Prineville Reservoir, during a hearing Wednesday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “After decades of missed opportunities, we now have the chance to change the management of Bowman Dam and do so in a way that benefits Oregon’s IN D.C. economy and environment,” Merkley said during brief testimony. The House of Representatives has already passed a bill that would authorize the release of 5,100 acre-feet of water into the Crooked River. That would offset groundwater the city of Prineville wants to pump to provide water for an additional 500 homes in the city and large data centers for Facebook and other tech companies. The House bill would also open the 240-foot-high dam to hydropower development by moving the Wild and Scenic boundary line about a quarter mile down the Crooked River, away from its current location in the center of Bowman Dam. The Senate version, introduced last month by Merkley and co-sponsored by Wyden, would also authorize the Bureau of Reclamation, which controls the flow of water from the dam, to release as much of the roughly 80,000 unallocated acre-feet — about half the water in the reservoir — as deemed necessary to promote healthy fish and fisheries downstream. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the state of Oregon would consult with the Bureau of Reclamation, providing recommendations on how much water to release and when. See Water / A6

Housing recovery gains momentum By Martin Crutsinger and Christopher S. Rugaber The Associated Press

©2012 DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, state of Oregon, map data © 2012 Google

TOP NEWS FRANCE: Cartoons spark Muslim outrage, A3 FAST AND FURIOUS: Report blasts operation, A3 TODAY’S WEATHER Sunny High 83, Low 42 Page C6

INDEX Business E1-4 Calendar B3 Classified G1-4 Comics B4-5 Crosswords B5, G2 Dear Abby B3 Editorials C4 Health F1-6

Horoscope B3 Local News C1-6 Obituaries C5 Oregon News C3 Outing B1-6 Sports D1-6 Stocks E2-3 TV & Movies B2

The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper Vol. 109, No. 264, 38 pages, 7 sections

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Merkley, Wyden push water bill at hearing

• An irrigation pond on Nike founder Phil Knight’s ranch near Smith Rock shows off the logo of its owner’s alma mater Eric Hagerty takes care of the farming and maintenance on Knight’s Coyote Rock niversity of Oregon alumnus and Ranch. In late 2010, he began digging an Nike co-founder Phil Knight has irrigation pond to supply water for about left a mark on Central Oregon 215 acres of alfalfa. From the cab of his — his alma mater’s trademark, to bulldozer, Hagerty had an idea. be specific. “I thought, ‘Anyone can dig a hole in the An irrigation pond shaped like the earth. Why not have a little fun with it?’” university’s signature O — 230 feet long he said. and 130 feet wide — now anchors an alfalfa Hagerty called Knight’s wife, Penelope field on Knight’s ranch near Smith Knight, and got the OK to dig the Rock State Park, about five miles pond in the shape of the universinorth of Terrebonne. ty’s logo. He pulled out his surveyIt’s unmistakable to those flying ing tools and measured the pond to overhead and on satellite images the specific dimensions of the O. like googlemaps.com (though The pond covers more than half you’ll have to tilt your head for full an acre and holds about 1.4 million effect:the O is east-west oriented). gallons, Hagerty estimated. Knight Knight, the 19th richest Ameri“I kind of wish we would have can and worth an estimated $14.5 made it bigger,” he said. “We have a billion, according to Forbes, is known for lot of irrigation here.” putting his school pride on display. He is Surrounding the pond is about 20,000 currently building a 130,000-square-foot square feet of sod and a 4-foot-wide rock on-campus football center estimated to barrier that helps the O stand out from the cost $68 million and he bankrolled the surrounding field. Matthew Knight Arena, the school’s A Nike swoosh pond would be a nice adnew basketball stadium known for its dition for the shoe mogul’s ranch — Hagerhardwood floors painted to look like ty has considered it — but that would be evergreens. much more difficult to dig. Plus, there’s But the pond was actually the brainchild nowhere to put it, he said. See Pond / A6 of Knight’s ranch manager.

By Joel Aschbrenner The Bulletin

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WASHINGTON — A jump in sales of previously occupied homes and further gains in home construction suggest the U.S. housing recovery is gaining momentum. The pair of reports Wednesday follows other signs of steady progress in the housing market after years of stagnation. New-home sales are up, builder confidence has reached its highest level in more than six years and increases in home prices appear to be sustainable. Sales and construction rates are still below healthy levels, economists caution. But the improvement has been steady. And the broader economy is likely to benefit. When home prices rise, Americans typically feel wealthier and spend more — a point Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made last week after the Fed unveiled a plan to lower mortgage rates. Consumer spending drives 70 percent of the economic growth. See Housing / A4

Derelict vessels cause boatloads of trouble By Maureen O’Hagan The Seattle Times

SEATTLE — Hundreds of derelict or abandoned boats, both large and small, are slowly rotting on Washington’s waterways. And despite a program whose sole mission is to deal with these potential environmental catastrophes, the state just can’t keep up with the tide. In March, 226 vessels were on Washington’s “derelict or abandoned” list. By June, the state or other agencies had helped move, shore up, or dispose of 23 of them — which sounds pretty good, until you realize that, in the meantime, 18 more vessels were added to the list. Some boats are removed, only to wind up back on the list a second or third time. See Boats / A4


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