Family sues after Bend girl hit crossing street in area with safety concerns
A Bend family whose teenage daughter was hit by a car while crossing the street near a local middle school is suing Bend-La Pine Schools for negligence, alleging it failed to adequately provide crossing guards, signs and lights prior to the crash. Brian E. Cutler Jr. and his teenage daughter are also suing TAC Construction Inc., and its employee, Charles Laurie, who drove the company’s car involved in the crash on March 29, 2022, according to Deschutes County Circuit Court records filed April 17. The crash occurred less than three years after students lobbied the city to improve safety at the intersection, saying it was dangerous even though it was in a school speed zone. Since 2021, there have been seven reported crashes within the roughly four-block area that encompasses this intersection, from Neff Road and Northeast 13th Street to Northeast Leehaven Lane, according to data from Bend Police obtained by The Bulletin. (Bryce Dole/The Bend Bulletin)
Clark County Council plans to use building industry’s population estimates, not the state’s
After a lengthy debate in recent weeks over which population estimates are most accurate, the Clark County Council chose to use an estimate from the local Building Industry Association. The county BIA estimates the population will hit 718,154 by 2045, and that is the figure county officials want to use to update the county’s growth management plan, rather than the estimated 698,416 from the state’s Office of Financial Management. State officials normally provide a high-, mid- and low-range figure, and the mid-level estimate is typically used by local jurisdictions for planning purposes. Noelle Lovern from the Clark County BIA said that the mid-range estimate has lately missed the mark. But Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle disagreed, saying the state forecasts have “proven their local and statewide track record as being very accurate for more than 20 years.” (Shari Phiel/The Columbian)
Water levels rising as snowmelt hits Central Oregon water reservoirs
Water is flowing into the Prineville Reservoir at a rate not seen in several years, the latest indication that a devastating drought hanging over Central Oregon is beginning to ease. As of Tuesday, Prineville Reservoir was 82% full and fast approaching capacity — a big turnaround compared to a year ago at the same time when the reservoir was just 28% full. It’s even a big recovery from the start of April this year when the reservoir was only 20% full. The surge of water comes after a better-than-average La Nina winter that hammered the Pacific Northwest with storms in March. Snowpack in the Upper Deschutes and Crooked basin is 182% of normal, and precipitation for the water year was 94% of normal. (Michael Kohn/Capital Press)
Jackson County sheriff reopens 2013 cold case of missing woman
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office announced this week it has reopened a cold case investigation into the 2013 disappearance of Stephanie Anne Warner after new clues emerged this week. On Monday afternoon, what is believed to be human hair and tissue were found off China Gulch Road in the Ruch area not far from where Warner lived, according to the sheriff’s office. A mushroom hunter found the hair and called authorities about suspicious remains, triggering the renewed investigation, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators sent the tissue to the Oregon State Police Forensics Laboratory in an effort to get a positive scientific identification. “We believe Stephanie was the victim of homicide, but we’ve never been able to find her,” Sgt. Jesse Ainsworth said. “I believe this case is solvable — and that’s why we’re never going to give up until we find her.” (Grants Pass Daily Courier)
Farmworker advocates question poor on-farm housing
Agricultural workforce housing became a staple of migrant farming during World War II and continued into the 1960s. Now, it houses a shrinking proportion of farmworkers, often for short periods during the harvest season, people who use and supply that housing say the system isn’t working as it should. They say regulations that govern agricultural housing still allow for undignified living situations: portable toilets instead of indoor plumbing, cramped quarters, outdoor kitchens or none at all. Labor advocates say such housing isolates workers, reduces them to their labor and strips them of their dignity. Farm operators who provide the housing say current regulations are cumbersome, unclear and ill-enforced. That’s led to movement at the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration to review and update housing rules. Whether it will create new rules or tighten current ones is yet to be determined. (Shannon Sollitt/Salem Statesman Journal)
