Bend Teachers Union Reaches Contract Agreement
On Jan. 29, Bend-La Pine Schools and the Bend Education Association, the BLPS teacher’s union, reached a conceptual agreement on a new contract, according to a press release. The four-year agreement concluded negotiations that started last May.
The agreement provides a cost-of-living increase for certified employees, and an agreement to re-open discussion in Spring 2025 to negotiate salary. The parties will bring the proposed bargaining agreement to the BEA membership for a ratification vote and to the School Board for approval. The district continues negotiations with the Oregon School Employees Association, representing classified district employees.
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Three Locals Arrested in Fentanyl Trafficking Operation
The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team concluded an investigation on Jan. 28 with the arrest of three Bend people, including 24-year-old David Vance, 26-year-old Justin Vance and 20-year-old Katie Borden. CODE received community tips identifying David Vance as a fentanyl trafficker. After conducting surveillance for several weeks, drug agents allege Vance was selling large quantities of fentanyl in the area around the Lighthouse Navigation Center near NE 2nd St and Franklin Ave in Bend.
A search of a Subaru driven by Katie Borden and occupied by brother David and Justin Vance found a commercial and substantial quantity of powdered fentanyl and fake pharmaceutical pills made of fentanyl. Additional evidence was collected at the Franklin Ave. shelter, where David Vance and Katie Borden were staying.
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Human Foot Found Near Landfill Likely a Disposal Error
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched on Jan. 21 to a report of possible human remains found near the Knott Landfill. An individual walking a number of dogs saw that one of the dogs had returned with what appeared to be a portion of a human foot.
Deputies arrived to secure the item and determined that it was indeed a portion of a human foot. Several Deschutes County Offices assisted in identifying how the human remains ended up in the vacant field near the landfill. Investigators determined the remains are not suspicious and likely the result of accidental improper disposal of an amputation.
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“Gathering people together and helping them recognize the injustices and how the systems they were in did not meet the people’s needs — that is phenomenal, being able to show that level of courageousness to fight for other people.”
-Marcus LeGrand, Afro-Centric Student/College Prep Coordinator at COCC, on the college’s Black History Month events. From this week’s Gung Ho story.
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70%
2023 graduation rate for La Pine High School, from this week’s News story, “Oregon, along with Bend-La Pine Schools, Saw Increased Graduation Rates in 2023”
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Governor Tina Kotek, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler each declared a 90-day state of emergency on Tuesday, to “address the public health and public safety crisis driven by fentanyl in Portland’s Central City.”
“Our country and our state have never seen a drug this deadly and addictive, and all are grappling with how to respond,” Gov. Kotek stated in a press release. “The Chair, the Mayor and I recognize the need to act with urgency and unity across our public health and community safety systems to make a dent in this crisis. We are all in this together. The next 90 days will yield unprecedented collaboration and focused resources targeting fentanyl and provide a roadmap for next steps.”
The three emergency orders allow city, state and county resources to be dedicated to a coordinated response. Officials will stand up a command center in the central city of Portland to allow state, county and city employees to work together to address the problem of fentanyl in the city.
This article appears in Source Weekly February 1, 2024.
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