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Jack Harvel

Jack is originally from Kansas City, Missouri and has been making his way west since graduating from the University of Missouri, working a year and a half in Northeast Colorado before moving to Bend in the Spring of 2021. When not reporting he’s either playing folk songs (poorly) or grand strategy video games, and checking out the different hiking trails in Central Oregon.

jharvel@gannett.com
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New Year, New Villages

In 2021 Central Oregon Vet Villages became the first-of-a-kind shelter in the region; in 2022 even more will open
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Central Oregon Villages submitted two proposed models for a managed campsite to the City of Bend, and are the only organization to do so by the end of the City’s request for proposal period ending Dec. 9. The region saw its first village-style shelter open on November 11, 2021, when Central Oregon Veteran’s Village welcomed five veterans […]

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Black Market, Green Product

Deschutes County seeing a change in illegal marijuana farms amid a crackdown in Southern Oregon
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In early September the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office raided a 30-acre illegal marijuana farm in Alfalfa. It was the largest marijuana bust in the county’s history, and very different from a typical grow in the area. “Since I started with this, most of our illegal grows are indoor; they’re in shops, or they’ll actually buy […]

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Skier Dies on Bachelor

Twenty-eight-year-old Birkan Uzun suffocated in a tree well
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Washington resident and Cyprus native Birkan Uzun died after falling into a tree well on the Devil’s Backbone run on Mt. Bachelor New Year’s Eve. Skiers saw Uzun fall into the well around 1:30 pm. They dug him out and administered CPR until ski patrollers arrived. Uzun was an outdoorsman and mountaineer who just weeks […]

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Less Deadly, More Contagious

Omicron makes up nearly 30% of COVID cases in Oregon
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The Omicron variant of COVID is spreading in Oregon and gaining ground against the Delta variant, which has been the leading strain since August. The Oregon Health Authority reports the new variant made up 27% of cases on Dec. 19, the most recent data available, since appearing in early December. Centers for Disease Control and […]

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Year in Review

A look back on some of the Source Weekly’s most impactful and important stories of 2021
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Giddy up, readers! It’s time for a look back at our top 10 most impactful stories of the year. Oregon Voters Said Yes to Using Psilocybin as a Mental Health Therapy. What’s Next? Jan. 5, 2021 When Oregon decriminalized drugs, they also legalized medicinal psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms.” A growing number of […]

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Right to Camp, Right of Ways

The City of Bend drafts guidelines for removing unhoused camps
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Bend city councilors recommended changes to the City’s houseless camp removal in public right of ways at their meeting Dec. 15. The City approved a policy for removing a camp on Emerson Avenue in June, but the council tailored that policy just for the Emerson camp. The policy changes proposed during this month’s meeting can […]

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A Pilot Program for Houseless Services?

Rep. Jason Kropf shares details on the program aimed at helping municipalities collaborate on solutions for homelessness
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On Dec. 8 the Deschutes County Commission signed a letter that put it in the running for a potential pilot program that would give $1 million to communities to form joint offices to address houselessness. Rep. Jason Kropf (D-Bend) is developing the concept with the League of Oregon Cities, Association of Oregon Counties and other […]

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Gatherings, Back On The Table

Locals Compare the 2021 holiday with memories of 2020
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel and Charlotte Ferguson

The holidays usually involve friends and family coming together to share a meal, gifts and good tidings. Last year, with a pandemic raging with no vaccine or end in sight, a lot of people adapted to a distanced Christmas. Now two COVID-Christmases down, people are easing back into their holiday traditions, though often with extra […]

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Addiction Treatment Program Begins

Sheriff’s Office teams up with an addiction clinic to address increased overdose deaths
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The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, along with Ideal Option, an addiction treatment organization, launched Operation Guardian Angel Dec. 10. The program encourages drug users to trade in their drug paraphernalia in exchange for the recovery services at Ideal Option. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates over 100,000 people died in the U.S. of […]

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