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from Source Weekly December 1, 2022

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NEWS And 'Verk' He Did!

A tribute to William Smith, 1941-2022

By Ellen Waterston

In a July 2017 “Bend Living Magazine” article (recommended reading) featuring Bill Smith and his wife, Trish, Bend writer Cathy Carroll recounts that Smith’s German grandmother, who lived with the family in Denver, had a favorite exhortation she directed at her five young grandchildren: “You must verk.”

And verk he did…starting in high school with his own landscaping business and helping at an uncle’s trucking company. In 1964, he received an economics degree from the University of Colorado followed by four years in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He completed his educational ambitions at Stanford Business School, graduating with an MBA in 1970 — the same year he met Trish, his wife of 52 years, and the same year the couple made their way to Bend where Smith began his association with Brooks Resources. Smith rose to position of president at the growing real estate development company, helping shape such iconic projects as Black Butte Ranch, Mt. Bachelor Village and Awbrey Butte. In 1985 he launched William Smith Properties, and the rest is Old Mill District history.

So, yes, hard work, doggedness, entrepreneurial wizardry complemented by a keen understanding of the art of the deal. When the going got tough, and it did, Smith’s response was to do more of what he loved, verk even harder, starting his workday at 3:30 am instead of 5:30 am; the light came on early in his office perched above the Deschutes River. In wrangling numbers onto the page, he’d joke that his favorite computer was an Eagle #2 in reference to the wooden pencil in his shirt pocket. Things had to “pencil,” had to make financial sense, but it wasn’t all about the bottom line. Cost/benefit analyses for his high-wire business initiatives included what you can’t put a value on: attention to detail (he’d stop to pick up litter on walks through the Old Mill), an eye for natural beauty (Smith oversaw, in his landscaping of the Old Mill District, Bend’s high desert answer to the Butchart Gardens) and lending a helping hand. He served on numbers of boards, supported countless nonprofits, offered ESL classes for employees for whom English wasn’t the first language, and, an example of his love of wildlife, went to great trouble to save an active osprey nesting site designated for removal during the construction of Bend’s Whitewater Park.

Thanks to Smith’s preservation of the historic brick mill powerhouse and its three gravity-defying smokestacks, newcomers to Bend can imagine the muscular, churning timber town Bend used to be. Some of us were here then. Until the early 1990s Bend was an economy based on natural resource harvest. Tourism as an economy was an oxymoron. Anyone in Bend, regardless of their profession, measured their day by the mill’s shift whistle. At that time, the section of river above Colorado Avenue was chock-a-block full of logs. When the timber industry collapsed, Smith saw promise in the abandoned mill sites and formed a partnership to acquire the 270 acres. One of the early investors was Emily Bonavia, a former central Oregon resident. She got involved, she says, “…because of Bill Smith’s vision and my belief in him. He was a character,” she recalls, “and above all he had character. He was a genius and a man of absolute integrity. I am overcome with feelings of deep respect and affection at the news of his passing.”

Bill Smith was not one to raze property in haste to make way for development, rather he not only preserved the powerhouse but also painstakingly disassembled the mills to be repurposed. According to Suzanne Johannsen, city council member and the executive director of the Bend Recycling Team at the time, one building was sold in pieces to an Eastern European buyer who reconstructed it to use as a plywood mill. Johannsen, now a financial planner in Bend, learned about this yeoman effort and awarded Bill Smith the Recycler of the Year award.

“I think it was in 1995. I chose him because of the trouble he took to salvage all he could but also,” she laughs, “as a ploy to get him into The Environmental Center where our offices were.” Though many of the nonprofits he supported were conservation and preservation oriented, he was not what you’d call an environmentalist. Nevertheless, he displayed the traveling trophy, made by a local artist of bicycle parts, tin cans and other recycled materials, until he passed it on to the following year’s winner. “When I met him, I told him I was so happy to meet the person who was making Bend more beautiful. Our town is so much better because of Bill Smith and his family being here.” Johannsen says that from that day forward she was dubbed “Greenie” by Smith. Indeed, he had his own social style and vernacular. High five was his favorite form of greeting. Once, in conversation, he explained to me his decades of involvement in large high desert ranching in three words: “I love dirt.”

All that Bill Smith contributed to Central Oregon is now in the capable hands of his wife Trish, always by his side as business and philanthropic partner, his children, Matt and Marney, who hold management positions at William Smith Properties, and their five grandchildren. Given Smith’s formula of caring, community, ingenuity and verk, there is much for Bend to be thankful for and look forward to.

Photo courtesy of Marney Smith

Bill Smith and wife Trish at the Old Mill.

Cranston Sentenced to 10 Years

The sentence includes over a year of time served, with lesser charges running concurrent to the first-degree manslaughter charge

By Jack Harvel

Jack Harvel

Demonstrators march toward a makeshift memorial that’s been maintained at the site of Barry Washington’s shooting since it occurred in September, 2021.

Judge Beth Bagley this week sentenced Ian Cranston to 10 years in prison, including time served since he was jailed on Sept. 30, 2021, for the shooting of Barry Washington in downtown Bend in September, 2021. A jury convicted Cranston of manslaughter in the first and second degree, first-degree assault and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, but didn’t charge him with the most serious charge of seconddegree murder.

“I hope, contrary to your testimony at trial, if you had to do this all over again you would, in fact, do things differently. I can’t imagine how you couldn’t want to do it differently, how you couldn’t think that you did wrong, that you couldn’t realize now after more than a year how many lives you shattered. First and foremost, Mr. Washington’s and his family, your family, yourself,” Bagley told Cranston at a sentencing hearing on Nov. 28.

First-degree manslaughter is an automatic 10-year prison sentence in Oregon with no possibility of early release. Prosecutors recommended that Cranston serve the 10-year sentence with all other charges running concurrently. Lesser charges, like second-degree manslaughter, merged with higher charges on sentencing.

Washington’s mother, Lawanda Roberson, told media after the verdict was announced that she was pleased, but after learning Cranston would only serve 10 years for the killing of her son that it felt like a slap on the wrist during her impact statement at Cranston’s sentencing hearing.

“Your honor, when I heard the verdict, I was initially happy knowing this man is going to spend a lot of time in prison. But then I heard that he would only get 10 years in prison, which is a slap on the wrist for murdering my son, that it’s heartbreaking and disappointing that he will be able to get out of prison before he’s 40. He will be allowed to have kids and have a normal life. His mom will be allowed to see him and hug him while I have to visit my son at a cemetery,” Roberson tearfully told the court.

Roberson and other family members who gave impact statements denounced the defense’s attempts to portray Washington as a gang member, Cranston’s fiancee Allison Butler’s choice to turn over footage of Washington’s last seconds to news media, and the racism she believes motivated the shooting, as well as a torrent of racist abuse online after the shooting.

“I have received every horrible comment you can imagine under any social media post whenever I speak of justice for my son. To see the racist hateful comments about my son from people who have never met him in their life is something I’ll never forget. Everyone can ignore, not mention, not acknowledge and not bring into evidence the clear racism that’s involved in this case,” Roberson said. “What’s clear to me is that if my son was white he’d be alive today.”

Roberson was joined over phone calls by several aunts, cousins and Washington’s younger brother in delivering impact statements. Family described Washington as caring, outgoing and a charismatic mentor to his younger family members, and a dutiful son and nephew to his older family members. Many described learning about the shooting and immediately driving to Oregon only to learn on the way that Washington had passed. Washington moved to Bend less than a month before being shot to learn a trade while living with a longtime friend.

“He would have been better anywhere else but there, but now he’s gone forever,” said Tekerra Roberson, Washington’s cousin. “He was the only male in my life to step up and be my father figure.”

Cranston’s defense attorney, Kevin Sali, said he disputed the facts of statements made during impact statements but didn’t elaborate. Sali plans to appeal the conviction to a higher court. In Oregon an appeal must be made within 30 days of conviction, after which it is reviewed by a court judge who will determine if there were any legal mistakes made over the course of the trial. Judges typically don’t allow new evidence or additional witnesses during the appeal process.

If the judge doesn’t find any legal errors the defendant can again appeal to the Oregon State Supreme Court, but if the judge does find errors it can lead to an overturned conviction, a modified sentence or a new trial. The appeals process can take months or even years to be scheduled.

Photo courtesy of Jamal Block Facebook

Cranston sentenciado a 10 años

Por/By Jack Harvel Traducido por/Translated by Jéssica Sánchez-Millar

8 La juez Beth Bagley sentenció esta semana a Ian Cranstton a 10 años en prisión por dispararle a Barry Washington en el centro de Bend en septiem/ BEND’S INDEPENDENT VOICE bre del año pasado. Un jurado sentenció a Cranston por homicidio involuntario en primer y segundo grado, agresión en primer grado y dos cargos por el uso ilegal de un arma, pero no lo acusó del cargo más grave por asesinado en segundo grado. “Espero que, contrario a tu testimonio en el juicio, si tuvieras que hacer todo esto de nuevo, en verdad, harías las DECEMBER 1, 2022 / cosas de otra manera. No puedo imaginarme el que no quisieras hacerlo de otra manera, cómo no podrías pensar que hiciste mal, que no podrías darte cuenta hoy después de más de un año de cuántas vidas destrozaste. Primero y WWW.BENDSOURCE.COM ante todo, la familia del joven Washington, tu familia, tú,” dijo Bagley a Cranston durante la audiencia de sentencia el 28 de noviembre. El homicidio involuntario en segundo grado equivale automáticamente a una sentencia de 10 años en prisión en Oregon, sin posibilidad de salir antes. Los procuradores recomendaron que Cranston cumpla una sentencia de 10 años junto con todos los otros cargos al mismo tiempo. Cargos menores, como el de homicidio involuntario en segundo grado se agrupó con cargos más altos en la sentencia.

La madre de Washington, Lawanda Roberson, le comentó a la prensa después de que se anunció el veredicto que estaba satisfecha, pero después de enterarse que Cranston soló cumplirá una sentancia de 10 años por haber matado a su hijo sintió como una cachetada durante su declaración de impacto en la audiencia de sentencia de Cranston.

“Su señoría, cuando escuche el veredicto, estuve feliz al principio por saber que este hombre pasará mucho tiempo en prisión. Pero después escuche que soló recibiría 10 años en prisión, lo cual es como una cachetada por el asesinato de mi hijo, es desconzolador y desepcionante que pueda salir de prisión antes de los 40 años. Se le permitirá tener hijos y tener una vida normal. A su mamá se le permitirá ir a verlo y abrazarlo mientras que yo tengo que visitar a mi hijo en el cementerio,” dijo Roberson al tribunal entre lágrimas.

Roberson y otros familiares quienes dieron declaraciones fuertes denunciaron los intentos de la defensa de tratar de plasmar a Washington como miembro de una pandilla, la elección de la prometida de Cranston, Allison Butler, de entregar imágenes de los últimos momentos de Washington a los medios de comunicación y el racismo que ella cree que motivó el disparó, así como una torrente de abuso racista en línea después del tiroteo.

“He recibido los comentarios más horribles que te puedas imaginar por medio de las redes sociales cada vez que hablo por la justicia de mi hijo. Ver los comentarios de odio racistas hacia mi hijo de parte de gente que nunca lo conoció, es algo que nunca olvidaré. Todos pueden pasar por alto, sin mencionar, sin reconocer y sin poner en evidencia el tan aparente racismo que existe en este caso,” dijo Roberson. “Lo que me queda claro es que si mi hijo fuera blanco estuviera vivo hoy día.”

Varias tías, primos y el hermano menor de Washington acompañaron vía telefónica a Roberson durante para compartir declaraciones de impacto. La familia describió a Washington como una persona atenta, sociable y como un consejero carismático para sus familiares más chicos que él y un hijo y sobrino obediente para los familiares más grandes que él. Muchos compartieron que al enterarse del tiroteo inmediatamente se dirigieron a Oregon solo para enterarse en el camino que Washington había muerto. Washington se mudó a Bend menos de un mes antes que le dispararon para aprender un oficio mientras que vivía con un viejo amigo.

“Hubiera estado mejor en cualquier otra parte menos allí, pero ahora se ha ido para siempre,” dijo Tekerra Roberson, prima de Washington. “Fue el único varón en mi vida que dio un paso al frente, fue mi figura paterna.

El abogado defensor de Cranston, Kevin Sali, dijo que impugnó los hechos de las declaraciones hechas durante las declaraciones de impacto pero no dio detalles. Sali planea apelar la condena ante el tribunal superior. En Oregon una apelación debe presentarse dentro de los 30 días posteriores a la condena, después la cual la revisa un juez de la corte, quien determinará si hay algún error legal establecido durante el transcurso del juicio. Los jueces generalmente no permiten la entrada de nuevas pruebas o de más testigos durante el proceso de apelación.

Si el juez no encuentra algún error legal, el acusado puede apelar de nuevo ante la Corte Suprema del Estado de Oregon, pero si el juez encuentra errores, puede anular la condena, modificar la sentencia o llevar a un nuevo juicio. El proceso de apelación puede tomar meses o incluso años para ser THC_WallofFlower.pdf 1 2/14/22 9:24 AM

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