High Desert 2014: The year in review – and links

The year 2014 was tumultuous on a global, national and state scale – from ISIS to Ebola, missing-jet mysteries, a shift in congressional power and the demise of troubled Cover Oregon.

The High Desert had its share of drama as well, from a pair of fired police chiefs to the buyouts of two high-profile Bend businesses, a shocking classroom suicide and dramatic murder and sex abuse trials and convictions.

Jobs were added by the hundreds at Redmond and Bend call centers, but lost at a Prineville mill hit by a roof collapse. Some local leaders retained their seats in the May and November elections, while others won new positions and incumbents were sent packing — most notably, challenger John Hummel’s defeat of Deschutes County DA Patrick Flaherty.

But towering above it all, literally: a shocking early start to Central Oregon’s wildfire season, as the Two Bulls Fire erupted on a warm blue-sky June Saturday and threatened thousands of homes on Bend’s Westside.

It took a week to contain the nearly 7,000-acre blaze – fairly small by standards of the many wildfires that raged around the West, but one that was so visibly frightening to tens of thousands who live or play on the High Desert. The ensuing weeks brought more tense times, highway closures, evacuations and alerts for other in the region, on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, in Crook County and east to Mitchell.

Here’s a month-by-month look back at some of the biggest news of the year, with links to the original KTVZ.COM stories as we reported them.

We at NewsChannel wish all of you a very Happy New Year and a rewarding and only-good news 2015 – and we thank you for your support. –Barney Lerten, digital content director

JANUARY:

-8th:Gymnastics coach Richard Gustafsonis arrested on sex abuse allegations focusing on New Year’s ‘sleepover’ at Acrovision, the facility he founded; later in the year,after a trial, Judge Wells Ashbyfinds him guiltyon 31 of the 33 counts against him and he’ssentenced to nearly 33 years in prison.

-13th: Bend policeLt. Chris Carney resignsafter investigation finds he had sex with four women on and off duty, at the police department.

-15th: Deschutes County DA findsBend PD Officer Erick Supplee was justifiedin fatally shooting burglary suspect Tyler Keinonen in Nov. 2013.

-22nd: Bend City Manager Eric Kingfires Police Chief Jeff Saleto change the department’s culture, increase communication between command and patrol officers; Jim Porter is appointed to succeed him on interim, then permanent basis.

FEBRUARY:

-7th: Bend High student Zachary Leyes, 17,commits suicide at the schoolamid his classmates; prompting a lockdown of the school for several hours; in the fall, the teen’s his mother, sisterspeak outduring National Suicide Prevention Week.

-9th: Heavy snowfall plays a tragic role inthree Central Oregon deaths, including Harry and Brooke Constable of Sisters andwildland advocate Tim Lillebo.

MARCH:

-3rd: The Oregon Health Authority receives nearly 300 applications to be registered medical marijuana facilities,including 17 in Deschutes County.

-30th: Kyle James Thomas, 28, of La Pine, iskilled in an avalanchewhile snowmobiling near Paulina Lake Lodge.

APRIL:

-9th: Central Oregon Community College boardstops plans to hire top choice Dr. Patrick Lanningas its new president, due to “unanswered questions” about his being placed on paid leave by his previous employer, eventually it’s revealed he was accused of raping a colleague; the presidential hiring process restarts late in the year andfour new finalists are chosen.

MAY:

-1st: Telephone and Data Systems Inc. of Chicago announces it isbuying BendBroadbandand its affiliates for $261 million.

-19th: Federal judge overturns Oregon’s ban on gay marriage, and fivesame-sex couples in Deschutes Countyare among those who obtain marriage licenses.

-20th:Challenger John Hummel defeats Deschutes County District Attorney Patrick Flahertyin theprimary election; Randy Miller defeats Thomas Spear for judgeship; Bend lawmaker Jason Conger loses to Monica Wehby in the fight for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate; Bend Fire levy proposal approved.

-20th: Ibex Global, the former TRG Customer Solutions (and previously iSky) call center in Bend’s Old Mill District, says it will hire more than 450 employees, more than doubling its workforce, asConsumer Cellular’s call center in Redmondalso expands.

JUNE:

-7th: Two brush fires start at almost the same moment near Tumalo Reservoir west of Bend andmerge to become the Two Bulls Fire, a very early start to wildfire season and one that threatens thousands of homes, prompts evacuations and alerts on the Westside of Bend and its outskirts, closing schools; the blaze burns almost 7,000 acres and is found to be human-caused, likely arson; reward fund established.

-16th: A Bend jury findsLuke Wirkkala of Bend guiltyof first-degree murder in the Feb. 2013 shooting death of David Ryder; he’ssentenced to lifein August.

-17th: About 200 members of the Oregon National Guard’s 1-82 Cavalry Squadron leave Bend for training in Texas and later aftera rousing gathering at Vince Genna Stadium, later deploy to Afghanistan.

JULY:

-14th: Group of lightning-sparked wildfires cause trouble over much of the High Desert: In ensuing days, the Waterman Complex of fires lead to theclosure of Highway 26 west of Mitchellandforce evacuation of the Marks Creek areaeast of Prineville, while the Logging Unit complex of fires promptevacuation alerts on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

-16th: After a months-long outside investigation, Prinevillefires Police Chief Eric Bush, alleginghe misused city “flex time” in his dual rolesas chief and brigadier general with the National Guard; he quickly sues the city and the investigating entity for $2.5 million, latersettling with the cityfor about $667,000. Former Deschutes County Sheriff Les Stills is Bush’s temporary replacement.

-23rd: The U.S. Department of Justicecloses its case against the city of Bend over Americans with Disabilities Act violations, saying it had made acceptable progress toward compliance.

AUGUST:

-28th: Lawrence Domanski, 66, of Bend,drowns while swimming in Reynolds Pond, a popular recreation spot near Alfalfa.

SEPTEMBER:

-26th: Gov. John Kitzhaber, Republican challenger Dennis Richardson stage firstdebate in Sunriverbefore the Oregon Association of Broadcasters.

-26th: William Fix of Redmond arrested on manslaughter, DUII, other charges incrash on Hwy. 97that killed his 7-year-old stepdaughter and injured four others

-29th: Bend City Council holds a five-hour hearing, upholds city hearings officer’s OK forOSU-Cascades’ new Westside campus; the opposing group Truth in Site later files an appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals.

OCTOBER:

-18th: ASherwood couple and their 7-month-old baby are killedin a crash on rainy Hwy. 20 west of Santiam Pass when their car crossed into oncoming lane, struck SUV towing a travel trailer.

-26th: A fiercefire destroys the century-old Old Madras Hoteland threatens nearby motel units that fire crews saved.

NOVEMBER:

-1st:A 22-year-old student, Eric Norgaard, is arrested on charges hestabbed COCC roommateJames Briles, 18, several times in what some others at first thought was a Halloween prank.

-4th:Central Oregon election resultsbring some surprises: Knute Buehler defeats Craig Wilhelm in hard-fought, high-spending race for Bend’s Oregon House seat; Bend voters pick challengers Nathan Boddie and Barb Campbell over incumbents Mark Capell and Scott Ramsay; Casey Roats wins open, third seat despite questions over his residency status.

-5th: In a move as controversial as it was surprising, Bend’s10 Barrel Brewing Co. is boughtby the global beverage giant Anheuser-Busch; co-founders insist everything will stay the same; many fans voice displeasure — some vowing to never drink it again — while others are happy for the owners’ good fortunes.

-7th: After years of debate over a silt-filled icon of Bend and the fate of an aging, failing hydro dam, anambitious plan for the future of Mirror Pondis unveiled, including dam removal, fish passage, new public space and waterfront development.

-14th: Heavy snow amid afrigid Snow-vember to remembercausesroofs to collapse on industrial buildings in Redmond and Prineville, also closing Redmond Airport for a time (during RDM’s difficult month of fog and frozen fog); the Prineville collapse dealsWoodgrain Millwork a death blow, as company officials say later they won’t repair the plant but instead close it, costing 200-plus jobs. The community rallies to help, with a food drive and job fair.

-30th:Two women are killed in crashat SE Bend intersection; one driver fails to stop at stop sign, crashes into other’s SUV.

DECEMBER:

-1st: After a contentious hearing, Bend city councilors vote 5-2 tolet Councilor-elect Casey Roats take his seatin January, despite having lived outside the city for much of the prior year.

-3rd:St. Charles Bend admits a fatal medication errorinvolving an IV bag filled with a paralyzing agent caused the death of Loretta Macpherson, 65, of Sisters; three workers placed on paid leave whole the hospital investigates what went wrong and works to make sure it never happens again

-5th: A federal judge who a year earlier put a partial halt to the city of Bend’s plansallows a $30 million water pipeline replacement project to proceed, upholding a revised Forest Service permit; critics have two months to decide whether to appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals; that’s also the same deadline for any petition effort to force a citywide vote on a $70 million city bond issue for the city’s water projects.

-18th: The Oregon Supreme Court rules that a Bend snowboarder paralyzed from the waist down in a 2006 crash at Mt. Bachelor canproceed with a negligence lawsuit, despite the liability waiverall visitors sign; the case will be closely watched as a possible precedent for the ski/snowboard industry.

-20th: Deschutes CountySheriff Larry Blanton announces he will retirenext July 1 after about eight years in the post, recommends Capt. Shane Nelson as his successor.

-22nd: Burlington Northern investigates vandalism or sabotage after rail placed by tracks in Bendruptures locomotive fuel tank, spilling 2,000 gallons of diesel.

Among the other news of note in 2014:

–Plunging gas pricesease the pain at the pump and in the pocketbook for Central Oregonians.

-Problem–plaguedCover Oregon replacedby Healthcare.gov

-The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge sweeps the nation –and the High Desert— raising unprecedented funds to fight Lou Gherig’s disease

-Deschutes County prosecutor Dan Reesorgets a new liverafter family, supporters go public in fight with county’s insurance provider