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Former Bend Running Back Charged with Murder
Amara Marluke’s family claims former Mountain View running back Keenan Harpole physically and psychologically abused Marluke before taking her life
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By Jack Harvel
Deschutes County Sheriffs arrested Keenan Harpole in Bend around 8:30 am on April 4 for allegedly shooting and killing Amara Marluke around 1 am on April 4 near the Portland State University campus. The sheriff’s office transported Harpole to Multnomah County and turned him over to the Portland Police Bureau. Harpole pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon and is being held on a no-bail warrant.
Marluke was a 19-year-old artist, activist and freshman at PSU where she was pursuing a music degree. Harpole was also a first-year student and former member of PSU’s football team, though he had left the team, according to the University. Marluke’s aunt told People Magazine the pair had been in an on-again-off-again relationship and that Harpole engaged in domestic violence shortly after the relationship began in the summer of 2021.
“The detective told me that she had passed and I just couldn’t believe it. And I still can’t, I’m still, I’m still struggling,” Marluke’s mother, Amy Marluke, told KATU-2. “There was a community around her trying to get her away, and to get her to stay away. But I think we all thought that there would be time— that there would be a chance for her, to heal and to make a different choice. And it just escalated so quickly.”
A Washington Post report found that nearly half of all women who were murdered in the decade prior were killed by a current or former partner. More than a third of men who commit domestic killings had proclivities toward violence and had been convicted of domestic abuse, were party to a restraining order, or committed other violent crimes.
Hundreds of people gathered at the PSU campus on Saturday to remember and celebrate Marluke and advocate for a more proactive approach to domestic violence.
“We hope to learn from that experience and have that energy part of it because her experience at Portland State makes us very sure that she is the very best of Portland State, we want to honor and treasure her,” PSU President Stephen Percy told KATU-2.
Harpole graduated from Mountain View High School in 2019 where he was voted the offensive and defensive most valuable player. Goviks.com, PSU’s official athletics website, said Harpole was majoring in applied health and fitness. Online court records show Harpole will appear in court next on April 14 to be arraigned on a pending indictment.
People experiencing domestic abuse are encouraged to contact the National Violence Domestic Hotline via phone at 800-799-7233, by texting “START” to 88788 or chat online at thehotline.org.
Courtesy of Portland State University/GoViks.com Courtesy of Portland Police Bureau
Left, Keenan Harpole, who allegedly shot and killed fellow Portland State University student Amara Marluke, played one season of football at the university, though his name is absent from the team’s spring roster. Right, activist, artist and PSU student Amara Marluke was shot and killed the morning of April 4. Police believe the shooter is former Mountain View High School running back Keenan Harpole, who graduated in 2019.
Code Changes Could Expand Shelter Capacity
The Bend City Council heard a report on changes recommended by the planning commission that could get it closer to the goal of 500 shelter beds
By Jack Harvel
The Bend City Council heard a report on proposed shelter code changes at its regular meeting on April 6. The controversial amendments are meant to increase the number of available shelter beds by clarifying zoning requirements for shelters.
The Sounding Board to House our Neighbors, which drafted the new code, is a committee formed by the City and made up of members of the city council, Bend’s planning commission and leaders in homelessness, housing and economic development. The Sounding Board held meetings from April to December of last year and surveyed over 850 residents while drafting code amendments.
The new code differentiates permanent and temporary types of shelters. Temporary types of shelter include hardship shelters, which allow homeowners to let RVs, manufactured homes and mobile homes park on their property for as long as 18 months for someone experiencing housing instability. Temporary shelters can resemble several different types of shelters and are limited to 180 days. They will be allowed in residential zones but only if a building has a non-residential use like a church.
“The proposed amendments to the Bend development code as recommended by the Sounding Board create three new permanent type shelters. It’d be group shelters, outdoor shelters and multi-room shelters,” said Pauline Hardie, senior code planner in the meeting.
The new code defines a group shelter as a building that has one or more sleeping areas, like the shelter operated by Shepherd’s House on Second Street, while an outdoor shelter is a site without a centralized building but can have tents, tiny homes or RVs. A multi-room shelter, meanwhile, has individual sleeping rooms. The most controversial aspect of the code change allows outdoor shelters to exist in residential areas.
On Feb. 16 the City Council dropped plans to create an outdoor shelter off Ninth Street after backlash over its proximity to two schools, trails and homes. The City Council will do a first reading of the amended code at its meeting on April 20.
Additional codes require shelter operators to prove they’ve set good neighbor guidelines and to communicate with neighbors before the shelter is running. City staff also emphasized what the code doesn’t do, like regulate operations, exempt shelters from general zoning rules, require shelters be built, supersede homeowners’ covenants, conditions and restrictions, or regulate camps on public property.
Stevens Road Survey
The final round of public comment is underway for a 261-acre plot of land in southeast Bend that could create up to 2,476 new housing units
By Jack Harvel
The City of Bend is holding its final public open house for people to weigh in on the Stevens Road Tract Concept Plan, a 261-acre plot in southeast Bend. The western portion of the Stevens Road Tract, called the Stevens Ranch Master Plan, was brought into Bend’s urban growth boundary in 2016 and the City is now trying to bring the rest of it under House Bill 3318.
The bill lays out a process for a City to expand its UGB outside of its normal timeline, but also requires certain things for new developments like recreational spaces, having multiple types of housing and ensuring adequate capacity for water, sewer and stormwater systems. The City’s been gathering public input on three different ways the land could be developed.
The City’s first attempt at gathering public opinion on the Stevens Road Tract in a survey from Nov. 24 to Dec. 19 last year and identified broad principles that could be built upon. The highest principles included preserving the natural environment (20%), opportunities for affordable housing (13%) and creating recreational opportunities (11%). The second online open house on the issue went out on Feb. 20 which garnered 36 responses and laid out three different scenarios that the City could pursue.
Scenario 1 proposes the land be developed with current market trends and City policies. It would add 1,660 housing units, 49% of which would be detached single dwellings and the remaining either middle housing or multi-family dwellings. Scenario 2 prioritizes a mix of housing types and plans for 1,935 new housing units, 42% being detached homes. Scenario 3 favors density and a third of the proposed 2,476 new housing units would be detached homes. Scenario 3 also maintains the most open space, with about 39 acres dedicated to parks, open spaces and trails.
Respondents preferred scenario 3, with it edging out the others in categories like livability (41%), best opportunity for places to work (47%), best for places to play (67%) and best overall scenario (47%). Written responses showed people preferred scenario 3 because it leaves the most open space, while others noted it would add the most housing units to the Central Oregon’s undersupplied housing market.
Those who preferred other scenarios noted their preference to single-family homes, that some industrially zoned areas would bring better employment opportunities and that it’d fit better with the surrounding areas.
The City launched its final round of survey questions on April 5, and it’ll run until midnight on April 17. Questions regarding values and which scenarios are preferred are both included in the final option for public comment. The background information provided on the survey page differentiates the options more concretely than prior attempts, and lists tradeoffs for each plan.
The Stevens Road Tract got a nod from the state on April 12 when the Oregon State Land Board submitted a letter of support to the Department of Land Conservation and Development, giving its consent to the City to pursue incorporating Stevens Road Tract into the UGB. The City must have an approved concept plan to the DLCD by July 1, after which Bend can amend the City’s comprehensive plan and land use regulations to incorporate the property by Jan. 1, 2025, before it can ultimately be sold.
Farmworkers Overworked
Researchers found Oregon farmworkers suffered dehumanizing experiences during the pandemic
By Jack Harvel
Between February and July of 2021 researchers conducted 48 interviews with farmworkers in agricultural regions throughout the state, concluding that farmworkers endured unsafe and dehumanizing experiences throughout the pandemic.
Farmworkers often lack protections afforded to most professions. They can be fired for union activity and aren’t owed overtime, two protections enshrined in the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. Farms that don’t hire more than seven workers in a calendar year are exempt from all FLSA provisions, including minimum wage. Oregon became the eighth state to grant overtime pay to most farmworkers during its short session this year.
The study, a collaboration between Oregon State University, Portland State University, the University of Oregon, Oregon Health and Science University, the California Institute for Rural Studies and dozens of community care organizations, follows up on a survey conducted between August and September of 2020, and goes into greater depth on the personal experiences farmworkers face. The study documents lack of workforce COVID protections, food insecurity, wage loss, the child care crisis and lack of access to information for medical, social and economic support.
“Over the years that I’ve taught, I still have to remind people that the way food gets to our table is by people’s hands,” said Professor Ron Mize, an author of the study, in a press release. “It’s hard labor that’s really poorly remunerated that keeps our food prices low, keeps our food plentiful, keeps food on our table; and yet we consistently neglect the reality that farmworkers are fundamental to our food system.”
Fifty-three percent of those interviewed said they didn’t feel protected in the workplace, and just as many said they’d tested positive during the time frame of the interviews. Communicating COVID-era protections often failed to cross the language barrier, especially among the 30% of respondents who are indigenous and speak Mesoamerican languages rather than Spanish.
“If you go home and take the test and you come out positive, well, they do pay you. I said, ‘if I stay at home and I don’t come out positive, they won’t pay me my days that I am going to be home and what am I going to do?’ So, I stayed at work and, well, I worked with my precautions. I worked it out in my mind that if I had symptoms or something like that, well, I was going to tell them,” said a woman identified by the pseudonym Amelia in the study, a 47-year-old berry harvester.
The report ends with a list of 14 policy recommendations, including strengthening the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s worksite auditing activities, expanding overtime eligibility and providing access to culturally informed mental health services.
“Too often, the standards for what’s OK for farmworkers are different from what’s OK for everybody else,” Mize said. “OSHA can be held responsible, farms can be held responsible, and we as a collective public can be held responsible.”
Courtesy of OSU via Flickr
The workers who helped put food on our tables during the pandemic did so at considerable risk.
Noticias en Español Campesinos agotados
Entre febrero y julio de 2021, investigadores llevaron a cabo 48 entrevistas con trabajadores agrícolas en zonas agricultoras de todo el estado, concluyendo que los trabajadores agrícolas padecieron vivencias peligrosas e inhumanas durante la pandemia.
A menudo, los trabajadores agrícolas carecen de la protección otorgada a la mayoría de las profesiones. Pueden correrlos debido a llevar a cabo actividades sindicales y no se les paga horas extras de trabajo, dos de las protecciones plasmadas en la Ley Nacional de Relaciones Laborales y la Ley de Normas Laborales Justas (FLSA por sus siglas en inglés). Las fincas que no contraten a más de siete trabajadores al año están exentas de todas las regulaciones por parte de FLSA, incluido el salario mínimo. Oregon se convirtió en el octavo estado en otorgar pago por horas extras de trabajo a la mayoría de los trabajadores agrícolas durante su corta temporada de trabajo de este año. El estudio, el cual fue una colaboración entre la Universidad del Estado de Oregon, la Universidad del Estado de Portland, la Universidad de Oregon, la Universidad de Ciencias y Salud de Oregon, el Instituto de Estudios Rurales de California y docenas de organizaciones para el servicio comunitario, da seguimiento en una encuesta realizada entre agosto y septiembre de 2020 y profundiza más en las experiencias personales que los trabajadores agrícolas enfrentan.
El estudio documenta la falta de protección contra el COVID en la fuerza laboral, la inseguridad de alimentos, la pérdida de ingresos, la crisis en el cuidado infantil y la falta de acceso a la información para el apoyo médico, social y económico.
“A través de los años que he enseñado, le tengo que seguir recordando a la gente que la forma en la que llega el alimento a nuestra mesa es a través de las manos de la gente,” dijo en una rueda de prensa el profesor Ron Mize, autor del estudio. “Es un trabajo difícil y mal pagado, lo cual mantiene bajo el precio de los alimentos, hace que tengamos suficiente comida; y, aun así, descuidamos constantemente el hecho que los trabajadores agrícolas son fundamentales para el sistema alimenticio.
Cincuenta y tres por ciento de las personas entrevistadas dijeron que no se sentían protegidas en el espacio laboral y muchas personas dijeron que salieron positivas durante el transcurso de las entrevistas. A menudo, las protecciones durante la era de COVID no fueron comunicadas debido a la barrera del idioma, especialmente entre el 30% de las personas encuestadas, las cuales son indígenas y hablan otro idioma Mesoamericano en lugar del idioma español.
El reporte termina con una lista de 14 recomendaciones, incluyendo el fortalecimiento de las actividades de auditoría en el lugar de trabajo de la Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional, la ampliación de la elegibilidad para las horas de trabajo extra y el acceso a los servicios de salud mental impartidos culturalmente.
Noticias en Español Ex corredor de campo de Bend acusado de asesinato
La policía del condado Deschutes arresto a Keenan Harpole el 4 de abril in Bend alrededor de las 8:30 por presunto disparo y por matar a Amara Marluke alrededor de la 1 am cerca del plantel de la Universidad del Estado de Portland (PSU por sus siglas en inglés). La oficina del alguacil transportó a Harpole al Condado Multnomah y lo entregó a la policía de Portland. Hardpole se declaró inocente a los cargos de asesinato de segundo grado y por el uso ilegal de un arma y está detenido sin oportunidad de fianza.
Marluke era una artista de 19 años, activista y cursaba su primer año de universidad en PSU para terminar su licenciatura en música. Harpole también estaba cursando el primer año de universidad y llegó a formar parte del grupo de fútbol americano, aunque según a Universidad, tuvo que dejar el equipo. La tía de Marluke le dijo a la revista People que la pareja estuvo saliendo y que empleó violencia doméstica poco después de haber comenzado la relación en el verano de 2021. “El detective me dijo que había fallecido y no podía creerlo. Y sigo sin creerlo, sigo…me sigo resistiendo,” le dijo la madre de Marluke a KATU-2, la señora Amy Marluke. Había personas alrededor de ella tratando de alejarla y para ayudarla a que se mantuviera alejada. Pero, creo que todos pensamos que habría tiempo, que habría una oportunidad para que ella sanara y para que eligiera algo diferente. Simplemente se agravaron las cosas rápidamente.”
Un reporte de A Washington Post report encontró que cerca de la mitad de todas las mujeres que fueron asesinadas en la década anterior fueron asesinadas por su pareja anterior o actual. Más de un tercio de los hombres que cometen asesinatos domésticos eran propensos a la violencia y habían sido condenados por abuso doméstico, tenían alguna orden de restricción o habían cometido otros delitos violentos.
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