75 Years Ago

March 17, 1949 — Air force unit for area backed

Flight to McChord slated for project

Air force members of the Reserve Officers association are to be backed in their effort to obtain an air force reserve unit for central Oregon, it was decided at the March dinner meeting of Bend chapter of the ROA held Tuesday night at the Pine Tavern in Bend.

Air force personnel in this area, headed by Lt. Don T. Grubb of Bend, have made application for the unit. The ROA agreed to underwrite expense of a trip by air to McChord field to present the case. Dick Ballantine, manager of Roberts field, has offered to donate his Stinson plane and his services as pilot for the trip, and will accompany the delegation to McChord. It is expected three air force reserve officers will go.

The Reserve officers association felt that it is in the interest of all reserve personnel to push organization of the central Oregon air force unit at this time, said Lt-Col. Carl F. Degner Jr., president.

Major D. C. Haines, who commands the army composite group now active in this area, announced that definite information had been received there would be one day’s pay per month for officer and enlisted personnel of the group. If 60 per cent attendance of the assigned personnel was accomplished. Reserve officers enlisted men in the area should make it a point to be present at the next regular drill Wednesday, March 23, at 8 p.m., in the assembly room of the Bend court house to check on their status and to become active in the expanding reserve program of the area, Haines said.

50 Years Ago

March 20, 1974 — Board slashes 1%; School budget up 22%

The Redmond School District Budget Board Monday night approved a budget that is 22 per cent higher than the one that gained voter approval last year.

The move to accept the budget came at the conclusion of the board’s 12th meeting. During the sessions, barely more than one per cent had been trimmed from the original proposal presented in mid-February by superintendent Paul Eggleston.

School Board member Don Robeson made the motion accepting the budget, seconded by budget board member Ann Thomas. Joining them in voting for acceptance were Nora Copeland, Bob Eberhard, Eugene Brink and Rita Trachsel.

School board member John Halstead abstained from voting because he did not feel he was qualified to make a sound judgment after missing all but the last two budget sessions. Halstead had been unable to attend the meetings because he was in Ashland completing requirements for his master’s degree from Southern Oregon College.

Absent at the time of budget approval were Gary Powell, Les Carlsen and Kieran Madden.

A public hearing on the $4,406,776.41 budget will be held at 8 p.m. Monday, April 8, in Room 14 of Redmond High School. The budget winning voter approval last year totaled $3,573,908.

Since the last edition of The Spokesman, the budget board has met three times. At the session Wednesday of last week, the board approved installation of an underground sprinkler system and grass planting within the driveway area in front of the high school at a cost of $2,300.

Also approved were underground sprinklers, bark chip and shrub landscaping for the islands within the RHS parking lot. The board killed a proposal to install underground sprinklers and plant grass and shrubs in the large area southeast of the high school bounded by Rimrock Drive and Sisters Highway. Also eliminated was an underground sprinkler system for John Tuck School.

Approved as proposed was mercury vapor lighting in the RHS parking lot to increase safety and help prevent vandalism, drinking, drug abuse and other forms of misbehavior.

Also OK’d as proposed were paving of a bus loading area at Lynch School, playground fencing at Jessie Hill, playground leveling and paving at Terrebonne, playground leveling and paving close to the buildings at Tumalo, and construction of a concrete parking pier and parking lot fence at the new bus garage as a deterrent to vandalism.

Sheepmen to meet in Powell Butte

Decisions concerning the Central Oregon Wool Pool, election of directors and other business will be made at the Central Oregon Sheep Producers’ meeting next Monday, March 25.

Dr. John Landers, Oregon State University animal science specialist, will discuss nutrition, health and care of sheep, covering such items as foot rot, vaccinations and feeding for replacements.

The meeting begins at 8 p.m. in the Powell Butte School.

25 Years Ago

March 17, 1999 — Alcohol use remains high among youths

Alcohol use has dropped slightly among Deschutes County youth but continues to be prevalent, according to a recent survey conducted by the Deschutes County Prevention Office.

The Oregon Public School Drug Use Survey was last conducted in 1996 for sixth-, eighth- and 11th-graders to get an idea of how widespread the use of alcohol and drugs was among school-age kids.

An alarming statistic concerned cigarette use by county sixth-graders, which jumped from 4.1 percent in 1996 to 15.4 percent in 1998.

Amber Turnage, one of the Redmond School District’s two nurses, believes kids, especially in the younger grades, are influenced a great deal by what they see on television and in the movies.

“There is an increased use of people smoking in the media,” Turnage said. “We never saw kids smoking cigars until they saw movie stars and athletes smoking them on TV. Now we see kids smoking cigars.”

Frank Ribich of the Juvenile Services Program for the city also sees younger kids using cigarettes more and more.

“I get referrals on tobacco, probably five to 15 a week,” Ribich said. “It seems to be concentrated on middle school to the 10th-grade, though. The older ones have cars and they can drive off and smoke.”

The survey also found that alcohol use dropped from 1996 to 1998, yet continued to be high. Among 11th-graders, 37.7 percent reported using alcohol in the past 30 days. Use by eighth graders was slightly lower, 24.4 percent, and 8.3 percent of sixth-graders admitted to using it.

“Each year I am here, I see it fluctuate,” Ribich said. “I look at it as some years they get caught more.”

Ribich runs a teen court in Redmond where teen-agers caught in possession of alcohol go in front of a jury of other teens. Normally, he says, their sentences are community service, a letter of apology or a substance-abuse evaluation. He receives about one minor-in-possession case a week in court.

Craig Unger, Redmond’s D.A.R.E. and crime prevention officer, said peer pressure is a common theme when it comes to underage drinking.

“The majority of kids are doing it because it is cool and they want to be accepted by their peer groups,” Unger said. “Many kids are followers. We try to teach them to be more assertive.”

The survey shows marijuana use dropping since 1996 for all age groups, and inhalant use increasing for sixth- and eighth-graders, but decreasing for 11th-graders.