Beefing up local food
Ignite Bend Wednesday night at the Tower
Website connects Oregon producers to buyers • BUSINESS, B1
WEATHER TODAY
FRIDAY
Mostly cloudy, mild High 58, Low 35 Page C6
• February 4, 2011 50¢
Serving Central Oregon since 1903 www.bendbulletin.com
TURMOIL IN EGYPT
Merkley: Violence must end or aid will By Keith Chu The Bulletin
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley called for an immediate end to violence against protesters in Egypt on Thursday, joining a group of Democrats who said the U.S. should cut off foreign aid to the nation unless a peaceful solution is quickly found. Merkley, D-Ore., said violence by supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is clearly unacceptable, especially for a country that is a major recipient of U.S. military aid. “What happened (Wednesday) with thugs attacking peaceful demonstrators on behalf of the government must not happen again,” Merkley said. “In no way can America turn a blind eye to this ruthless assault on ordinary citizens. “If we see a repeat of this violence, America must send a very strong message: There will be no further aid to the Mubarak government,” he continued. See Merkley / A4
Never too late to learn Bend City Councilor Tom Greene put his five kids through college. Now he’s earning his own degree
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
Bend City Councilor Tom Greene makes a point during a city council meeting at City Hall on Wednesday. Greene, 58, is currently seeking his bachelor’s degree through online classes at the University of Phoenix. “I learn something new every day,” he says.
Bend could revise water rates By Nick Grube The Bulletin
The city of Bend is exploring a pay-for-what-you-use water rate structure that, if adopted, would change the way utility customers are billed. Instead of the current system, in which residents on a threequarter-inch pipe pay a flat $18.40 fee for the first 400 cubic feet of water and $1.38 for every 100 cubic feet after that, this new structure would be based mainly on meter readings, so people would only be charged for what they actually pour from their taps. This means a customer would pay a rate for every cubic foot of water he or she used. City officials say they’re considering a switch because they believe it would be more equitable for customers who use less water, and could result in some increased conservation. They are also studying another option, lowering today’s 400 cubic feet water allowance to 200 cubic feet. See Water / A5
IN CONGRESS
Photos courtesy of the Greene family
As Muslim Brotherhood rises, its role remains hazy By Scott Shane New York Times News Service
WASHINGTON — After maintaining a low profile in protests led largely by secular young Egyptians, the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest opposition force, Inside appeared to be • U.S., Egypt taking a more discuss plan assertive role for Mubarak Thursday, issuto resign, ing a statement Page A4 asking for President Hos• Journalists under attack, ni Mubarak to step aside for Page A4 a transitional • U.S. Mideast government. “We demand policy in peril, that this regime Page A4 is overthrown, and we demand the formation of a national unity government for all the factions,” the Brotherhood said in a statement broadcast by Al-Jazeera. The Obama administration has spoken cautiously about the future role of the Brotherhood, which has long been banned by Mubarak’s government. See Brotherhood / A4
MON-SAT
We use recycled newsprint
U|xaIICGHy02329lz[
Tom Greene, far right, is seen with his siblings and parents on Easter in 1972. Greene is the oldest of 13 kids, and his family couldn’t afford college tuition. He entered the Air Force instead. Now he’s taking online courses to earn his bachelor’s degree.
By Sheila G. Miller The Bulletin
T
Tom and Lee Greene have five children, all of whom have gone to college. From left to right, Anna, 23; Ian, 21; Jason, 25; Josh, 29; Tom; Vanessa, 33; and Lee.
om Greene is a wellknown principal broker in Bend’s real es-
tate world, a city councilor and a 22-year Bend resident. He’s also a college student. Greene, 58, is taking online classes to earn a bachelor’s degree in public administration through the University of Phoenix. The father of five helped put his kids through college; now it’s his turn. “They’ve all got degrees except me,” Greene said, laughing. Greene grew up the oldest of 13 kids in Salem. His parents didn’t go to college; Greene’s father was an ad man for the Statesman Journal in Salem, and eventually moved the family to the East Coast for a similar newspaper job. There was no money for college and no one to help Greene navigate higher education. So he went into the Air Force, serving in the Vietnam War. He was in the service for six years, until 1978, and eventually he and his wife,
Lee, moved to Bend to raise a family. But even as he succeeded in the real estate world and entered public life, his lack of a college education nagged at him. Over the years, Greene and his wife would take the kids on college tours. “We made them into family vacations,” he said. “We’d load up the travel trailer.” The Greenes would check out colleges all over the country, and when it came time to drop one of his children off at college, Greene always had the same reaction. “I wanted to stay,” he said. “I wanted to stay in the dorm.” Sure, there’s something special about going to college on a real campus. But with the schedule he keeps as a principal broker and city councilor, it’s just
not an option. So after looking at various online programs, Greene settled on the University of Phoenix and began taking classes in May. Greene expects to finish his bachelor’s in public administration in 2012. He received life-experience credits for some of his work, as well as credit for courses he took in the military. When the entrance fee was waived as a special promotion, Greene took the plunge. He applied for financial aid, just like he’d done every year for his five children. He qualified for some loans, and then got to thinking: he’d helped his kids find scholarships; why couldn’t he get one, too? See Greene / A5
“Some of the young kids tell their parents about me, about this 58-year-old guy in their classes, and they said it’s inspired their parents to go back to school.” — Tom Greene, Bend city councilor who is earning his bachelor’s degree online
The Bulletin
Vol. 108, No. 35, 64 pages, 7 sections
Abby
E2
Comics
E4-5
Family
Business
B1-4
Crossword E5, F2
Horoscope
Classified
F1-6
Editorial
Local
C4
E1-6 E5 C1-6
By Stephen Sawchuk McClatchy-Tribune News Service
WASHINGTON — The debate about “value-added” measures of teaching may be the most divisive topic in teacher-quality policy today. It has generated sharptongued exchanges in public forums, in news stories and on editorial pages. And it has produced enough policy briefs to fell whole forests. But for most of the nation’s teachers, who do not teach subjects or grades in which valueadded data are available, that debate is also largely irrelevant. Now, teachers unions, content-area experts and administrators in many states and communities are hard at work examining measures that could be used to weigh teachers’ contributions to learning in subjects ranging from career and technical education to art, music and history — the subjects, in other words, that are far less frequently tested. The work has taken place quietly — in contrast to the larger value-added debate — and is renewing interest in alternative sources of achievement information. See Teachers / A5
TOP NEWS INSIDE
INDEX
An Independent Newspaper
How do you evaluate an art teacher?
Movies
GO! 31
Obituaries Sports
C5 D1-4
Stocks
B2-3
TV listings
E2
Weather
C6
CHINA DROUGHT: Hu calls for ‘all-out efforts’ to allay crisis, Page A3
AUSTRALIA: Cyclone devastates large swath of north coast, Page A3