Running strong at 85
Earth Day: How far has Central Oregon come from the first?
Take it easy? Not in John Keston’s vocabulary • SPORTS, D1
GREEN, ETC., C1
WEATHER TODAY
MONDAY
Mostly cloudy, chance of rain High 68, Low 38 Page B6
• April 19, 2010 50¢
Serving Central Oregon since 1903 www.bendbulletin.com
2 seeking Deschutes commission seat tout fiscal credentials By Hillary Borrud The Bulletin
Deschutes County Commissioner Tammy Baney has spent the first three years of her term advocating for social services, public safety and prevention programs, she says. Baney says she has found at least one way to fulfill her 2006 campaign promise to cut unnecessary government expenses, but Bend businessman Ed Barbeau, who is challenging Baney in the May Republican primary, says he is the true fiscal conservative and promises to find ways to save taxpayers money. Both candidates say county commissioners should focus on job creation, and Baney plans to propose an approximately $3 million low-interest county loan fund to help businesses. No Democrats have filed for Baney’s seat. See Commission / A5
NATIONAL GUARD’S RETURN
“To know they support us, whether or not they agree with the job or the war, is a huge morale boost.” — Sgt. Florentino Valdez, 31, Prineville
Back to family and a welcoming throng By Erin Golden The Bulletin
FORT LEWIS, Wash. — y the time they boarded the buses in the dark around 3 a.m. Sunday, the soldiers were more than ready to come home. Over the last year, they’d spent three months training in California and Georgia and nine months serving in Iraq before making their way back to the U.S. for a final week of duty at a military base south of Seattle. Up ahead, there would be hundreds of wellwishers lining the highway, homecoming messages spelled out on signs and speeches from politicians in a packed stadium. But as they stowed their gear and stretched out in their seats, trying to find a comfortable position to catch some sleep, the soldiers of the Oregon National Guard’s 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team said they were excited about getting a warm welcome — but mostly thinking about the people they’d been missing for months. “We’re not looking for praise,” said Sgt. 1st Class Curt Mayo, 42, of Bend. “We’re looking for our families.” The convoy of eight buses, filled with about 400 soldiers from the Bend-based 1st Squadron, 82nd Cavalry, was headed toward the first of four demobilization ceremonies marking the end of the 41st Brigade’s service in Iraq. In total, the deployment involved about 2,700 Oregon troops and was the state’s largest deployment since World War II. As the buses rolled south on Interstate 5, some soldiers dozed or watched a movie playing on the small overhead screens. A few chatted about their time in the Middle East, joking that the film selection — “Groundhog Day,” a comedy about a man that relives the same day over and over again — was a fitting tribute. See Guard / A4
B
More on the election
ELECTION
• Meet the candidates: Deschutes County Commission and U.S. Senate, Page A5 • To read about GOP candidates for the U.S. Senate, go to www .bendbulletin.com/elections
Wyden keys on jobs, economy; opponents on anti-D.C. feelings By Keith Chu The Bulletin
WASHINGTON—With 30 years of experience representing Oregon in the U.S. Capitol and a hefty war chest of campaign funds, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden figures to be an overwhelming favorite in this year’s Democratic primary. But in an election when anti-incumbent sentiment is peaking, his two challengers for the U.S. Senate seat say Wyden’s long tenure in Congress is exactly why he shouldn’t keep his job. And Wyden’s challengers are about as far from the political establishment as it gets. “The idea of a long-term professional politician is the problem,” said Loren Hooker, a 53-year-old farmer in Glendale, who jumped into the race to oppose what he calls a “radical” streak among Democratic leaders. “That’s why I’m doing this; I’m saying we need to break the power structure in Washington up.” Wyden’s other Democratic opponent is perennial candidate Pavel Goberman, a self-described “fitness guru” who has unsuccessfully run for half a dozen major offices since 2002. See Senate / A5
TOP NEWS INSIDE
Photos by Andy Tullis / The Bulletin
TOP: The first of eight buses filled with Oregon National Guard soldiers returning from Iraq pulls through downtown Bend on Sunday morning, on the way to a demobilization ceremony at Vince Genna Stadium. ABOVE: Staff Sgt. John Gates, 25, of Klamath Falls, plays with his 4-year-old daughter, Madison, before the demobilization ceremony. “It’s good to be home,” Gates said. “It’s been a long year. RIGHT: Lynda Combs, 30, of Redmond, gives her husband, Spc. Galen Combs, 36, a kiss as they hold their 15-month-old daughter, Grace, and son, Isaac, 12. The family was one of hundreds that was reunited Sunday when about 400 Oregon National Guard soldiers returned home from a yearlong deployment.
“We’re not looking for praise. We’re looking for our families.” The Associated Press
VOLCANO: Feeling cancellations, airlines push to get flying, Page A3
INDEX Abby
C2
Editorial
Calendar
C3
Green, Etc. C1-6
Sports
Classified
E1-6
Horoscope
Technology
A2
Comics
C4-5
Local
TV listings
C2
Weather
B6
Crossword C5, E2
B4
C5 B1-6
Movies
C3
MON-SAT
We use recycled newsprint
U|xaIICGHy02329lz[
Obituaries
B5 D1-6
The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper
Vol. 107, No. 109, 30 pages, 5 sections
— Sgt. 1st Class Curt Mayo, 42, Bend
Goldman Sachs’ top leaders Drive along for the ultimate are linked to mortgage deals road trip: Alaska’s big haul By Louise Story
New York Times News Service
Tensions were rising inside Goldman Sachs. It was late 2006, and an argument had broken out inside the Wall Street bank’s prized mortgage unit — a dispute that would eventually reach all the way up to the executive suite. One camp of traders was insist-
ing that the American housing market was safe. Another thought it was poised for collapse. Among those who saw disaster looming were an effusive young Frenchman, Fabrice Tourre, and his quiet colleague, Jonathan Egol, the mastermind behind a series of mortgage deals known as the Abacus investments. See Goldman / A4
By Kim Murphy Los Angeles Times
DEADHORSE, Alaska — The pavement ends 70 miles north of Fairbanks. From there, it’s 414 miles of gravel, ice and blowing snow to Deadhorse, where what’s left of the continent stretches along the rough peaks of the Arctic ice pack. It has been called the greatest
road trip in the world. John Thomas has driven it 2,990 times, give or take a few. He’s driven it at speed, with his big, 475-horsepower Kenworth straining the limit. He’s driven it at 5 mph, when the snow was blowing so thick he had to crack open the door to see the edge of the road. See Road / A4