Bend-La Pine Schools has taken swift and important action to help prevent school shootings in our district. However, it has yet to address the fact that the majority of guns used by children in school shootings come from homes in which guns are not securely stored. Clear and consistent messaging to parents about the importance […]
Guest Commentary
Posted inOpinion
A visiting couple alleges gender discrimination in a rideshare car
My husband Peter and I are visitors to Bend for the month of September. We live in the UK. On Sept. 11 we had our first baby at St. Charles via our wonderful surrogate, a Bend resident. Peter and I are same sex parents. Together 21 years, it took us 14 years to put together funds to […]
Posted inOpinion
Tobacco Prevention in Deschutes County
In the wake of new e-cig regulations, a word from the county’s tobacco prevention and education program coordinator
Tobacco still remains the number one preventable cause of death and disability in Oregon every year. Nearly one in five adults regularly use tobacco products, with about nine out of 10 stating they began tobacco use before the age of 18. In recent years, the use of tobacco products among young people has increased due […]
Posted inOpinion
Things are changing for the river and for canals. Here’s why.
Last month, the Source Weekly published a story illustrating community concerns about the effects of irrigation improvements on groundwater levels and private wells. Piping canals has been a controversial topic in Central Oregon over the past several years. For many decades, these canals have been part of the landscape, winding their way through our dry […]
Posted inOpinion
Perspective from the Chair of the Septic to Sewer Advisory Committee
Hello! I am Bethann Bicknase, Chair of the 11-member Septic to Sewer Advisory Committee. I volunteered to serve on this committee because my home backs to 27th and, when the Southeast Interceptor was constructed, the Bend City Council was looking for citizens with finance in their background to serve on a citizen committee to make […]
Posted inOpinion
You Are Not Helpless
How to protect your property from wildfire
In the past 30 years, Bend has had several large wildland fires which either threatened or destroyed multiple homes. The 1990 Awbrey Hall Fire razed 22 houses and damaged several others, while the 1996 Skeleton Fire consumed 30 structures. Although one can imagine a massive wall of fire raging through a subdivision, the reality is […]
Posted inOpinion
Confronting the Death Cult
Three lessons learned at The March For Our Lives
Anything this big can’t be that good, you’d like to think. Last year’s Women’s March was rightfully criticized for blinding whiteness and a recalcitrant approach to intersectionality, but after a million or so people again appeared out in protest for last weekend’s March For Our Lives in Washington, D.C., it’s apparent that the 2017 march […]
Posted inOpinion
The Bill That Could Stop the Completion of the Deschutes River Trail
A guest OP-ED by Don Horton, Executive Director, Bend Park and Recreation District
*Editors Note: The bill has now successfully passed the House and moves to the Senate.** House Bill 2027 impedes public engagement processes on the Deschutes River Trail A bill now before the Oregon House—HB2027—would imperil planned expansion of the Deschutes River Trail by prohibiting the development of a proposed pedestrian and bike bridge across the […]
Posted inOpinion
Teens Need Our Help to Stay Healthy
They don’t always ask, but teens need our help with so many things: homework, learning to drive, dating—and, yes, avoiding unintended pregnancy. While the teen pregnancy rate has declined significantly over the past two decades, it’s still a serious issue in Central Oregon. May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, and it’s a good reminder […]
Posted inOpinion
Guest Commentary 3/16-3/23
Just Add Water
Few people alive remember what the Upper Deschutes River was like before Wickiup Dam was built in 1949. It was then regarded as one of the finest fisheries in the US. In 1914 Clyde McKay received the Field and Stream award for the second largest stream-caught rainbow on a fly in the US. The City […]
