FEATURE
WWW.BENDSOURCE.COM / DECEMBER 30, 2021 / BEND’S INDEPENDENT VOICE
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Year in Review Jack Harvel
O
regon Voters Said Yes to Using Psilocybin as a Mental Health Therapy. What’s Next? Jan. 5, 2021 When Oregon decriminalized drugs, they also legalized medicinal psilocybin, Courtesy Chad Kuske
Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative to overcome barriers including lack of resources, gaps in data, challenges surrounding jurisdictions and a lack of coordination between different levels of law enforcement. Its first annual report found 11 missing indigenous people in Oregon—four of whom are from Warm Springs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office anticiCourtesy Warm Springs Police Dept.
Jack Harvel
Veteran Chad Kuske.
the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms.” A growing number of studies suggest that the hallucinogen can be helpful in treating major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and endof-life psychological distress. The Source spoke to patients who’ve undergone psilocybin therapy, therapists who oversee it and regulators who will determine the treatment’s future at the end of a two-year development period. From spiritual trips in Peru to clinical treatment to hospice patients, a wide variety of therapies are approved under the measure. With psilocybin still illegal federally, and the Food and Drug Administration remaining skeptical about some of the details, there’s still a lot that can happen with this treatment in the coming years. Combating the Other Epidemic — Missing Indigenous Girls Mar. 17, 2021 As the nation was dealing with a pandemic, the number of missing and murdered indigenous women reached epidemic levels. Women in some tribal communities face murder rates more than 10 times the national average, largely committed from individuals outside of the indigenous community. The U.S. Department of Justice launched a national Missing and
process changed the donut-shaped border that mapped Central Oregon since the 1990s. New congressional maps lop Bend in with parts of the Willamette Valley into a relatively competitive but still Democrat-favoring district. Bend’s outskirts, along with La Pine, remain relatively safe Republican seats. The state’s districting map sheds its southern half, including Deschutes River Woods and Sunriver. Redmond is split in half, with part joining District 53 in Bend and the other joining District 55 which goes as far south as Klamath County. “There’s no way to have drawn it perfectly to meet everyone’s expectations,” said Judy Stiegler, a former state legislator and political science professor at Oregon State University-Cascades. “I think it was probably as bipartisan as it ever was going to be under the circumstances.” A Tale of Two Rentals May 12, 2021 The Source explored Bend’s housing woes through two different perspectives.
Tina Vel Spino's remains were discovered earlier this year.
pates that number is an undercount. Drawing the Lines / New Political Maps for Central Oregon April 21 & Oct. 5, 2021 The once-in-a-decade redistricting Courtesy of Oregon Legislature
Dwayne Tayles and Nydonna Gibbs have had to live in motels as a result of the housing shortage.
Newly drawn legislative map lines for Oregon.
One, a longtime Central Oregonian struggling to find a place to live and a neighborhood that banded together to avoid an Airbnb moving into their neighborhood. Bendites’ difficulties finding adequate and affordable housing intertwines with home construction, underutilized housing stock and tourism. We don’t know how the region will adapt to alleviate these growing pains, but until it does, neighborhoods and individuals will have to navigate the tumultuous path toward housing stability.
Two men died the same day during Oregon's heatwave.
Two Dead at Hunnel Campsite Jun. 29, 2021 Two people died at the Hunnel Road campsite in one day during Oregon’s unprecedented extreme heatwave in June. The heatwave led to more than 500 deaths in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Canada. Joseph King, a paralyzed veteran, was one of the deaths on Hunnel, who volunteers knew for his good sense of humor. Alonzo “Lonnie” Boardman also passed away. Service providers said he was like an uncle to other campers, and always kept his trailer clean. The deaths vitalized a community effort, leading to cooling stations and a supply drive for the road’s residents, though the people living there and the service providers attending to them often have to deal with hostile people disrupting their efforts. Now Hiring, All Positions, All Shifts Jul. 7, 2021 At the start of the pandemic essential workers were hailed as heroes for keeping the country afloat, but as the workforce was hesitant to return to work, businesses became frustrated at their inability to open their doors. Though many blamed enhanced unemployment insurance and an ungrateful workforce, experts say the market forces driving the shortage are more complex. The difficulty of getting to full employment after mass layoffs, an unprecedented amount of quitting, Baby Boomers reaching retirement age, growth in the
