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JLI in Action: Pacific Crest Middle School | Bend, OR

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Taming Wildfires By Noah B., Stieg S. and Jasper S.

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Taming Wildfires By Noah B., Stieg S. and Jasper S.

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Taming Wildfires

By Noah B., Stieg S. and Jasper S.

When you're on a walk through skyline park or on a mountain bike ride on whoops you don’t want to see a burned forest.

Wildfires are a big problem in central Oregon. From our overgrown forest to our dry climate and our little water supply, these are contributing factors which make wildfires even worse than they already are.

The biggest problem is humans. In Oregon, “Humans start 85% of wildfires,” said Melissa Steele, a fire analyst for Bend Fire Department. These wildfires have damaged our ecosystem and infrastructure, which we can see today.

Most people are affected by wildfires. Farmers farms burn and people businesses burn. In fact, the buildings that are typically not up to date on fire prevention are warehouses.

In central Oregon, some major things that affect our ability to put out wildfires are our high concentration of forest and the difficult and time consuming way of putting out wildfires.

Why wildfires are so bad today

Historically, people would put out every fire in Oregon.

This unbalanced central Oregon's ecosystem because before people started putting out every fire, a big fire would come through every 10-15 years and clear away all the underbrush. But now our forests are overgrown and there’s even more destructive wildfires because they burn hotter off all the underbrush that’s grown because it hasn’t been burned away since we started stopping all of the fires.

Steele said “firefighters spend 6 months fighting fires, and 6 months starting them”. They start fires to stop bigger fires from happening by controlled burning and logging forest. This method is the first step in stopping our fierce wildfires.

Today's Wildfires

Today wildfires are fiercer than the last few years due to the effects of putting out all of the fires, forests are getting overgrown and this means that there is far more brush that is able to catch on fire and burn much more fiercely, where in the past natural causes such as lightning caused forest fires which burned a lot of of the land, but also allowed it to clear most of the brush.

This meant that there were less fires, but nowadays since there is so much overgrown brush we have to do control burns to keep the amount of flammable material to a minimum.

Currently wildfires are occurring very often and most of them are caused by humans, the most common causes of fire are unattended camp/cooking fires.

Another big cause of fires is cigarettes that are not properly disposed of, most of these causes can be avoided just by having proper attention to causes and actions.

Some fires are caused by accidents or unavoidable factors like lightning, breaks sparking and catching debris on fire and in some rare cases the sun can cause spontaneous combustion.

The cost of a fire is also an issue currently in Oregon. A fire 1/10 of an acre can cost upwards of $1000 per hour and that is without air support which brings it up by a huge margin. When fighting a fire, there are many people involved such as coordinators, vehicle operators and ground support.

If a fire gets especially big, they can call an air support which also requires lots of money to pay for operating the aircraft and the people operating the aircraft.

Things you can do to help to reduce wildfires in central Oregon for the future are just being mindful of unattended fires, especially when out camping or cooking. Out of the 85% of fires caused by humans the most common ways are “campfires are one, the second thing would probably be unattended cooking.” Melissa said.

Restating what was said earlier, 85% of wildfires are caused by humans. This means you can make a difference simply by being mindful of unattended fires or things that could start a fire, especially since most human caused wildfires in Oregon are accidental. Even by reminding family or friends you lower the danger of wildfires in Oregon.

Another way you can help is “not to use drones,” Melissa said. Using a drone over a fire to take pictures or videos for example forces the fire department to not use air vehicles like air tankers full of fire retardant or helicopters with buckets. “That having any kind of interference with number one, our radio equipment or number two, getting within the wingspan of our plane will cause severe damage to our planes,” Melissa said.

If you ever see a wildfire the obvious thing to do is call the fire department and try to put it out if you have access to a fire extinguisher, water, etc. You can also just intern for the fire department to help with wildfires as long as you're a sophomore or higher.

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Mt bachelors price issue by miles s And griffin s.

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Mt bachelors price issue by miles s And griffin s.

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Have you ever dreamt about going snowboarding/skiing and having lots of fun blasting down the slopes? But then you come to the realization you can’t afford it? Well that is an issue plenty of people in Bend have been dealing with.

Bend, Oregon is a small city on the Deschutes river. In the west there are the lakes and peaks of the cascade mountains, with ski resorts like MT Bachelor and Hoodoo. In the south there is a museum named High desert museum, it showcases the local flora and fauna. Bend also has a population of 104,557 and an elevation of 3,623. Bill Healy was a former ski trooper for the 10th mountain division and on December 19th 1958 he founded mount bachelor (originally known as bachelor butte) with a single lift and a tow rope. At mount bachelors founding in 1958 a lift ticket cost 3 dollars (32.70 adjusted for today's inflation). The resort expanded over the years adding new features and terrain; the first two new lifts added were black chair in 1961 and red chair in 1964. Then in 1983 Mt Bachelor was reconsidered as an active volcano so the resort was renamed mt bachelor. During the 1990s mt bachelor didn't receive much publication so it was mostly a secret, but the 1990s ski consolidation was coming for mount bachelor. Then in 2001 powdr naught a majority stake in mt bachelor for 28 million.

Recently people haven’t been able to make it up to MT Bachelor due to prices, inflation has a lot to do with this since prices of gear have gone up lots lately as well as pass prices. the mountain being sold also has brought up lots of issues simply because they aren’t replacing things that break before they sell it, a big example of this is lifts running slower and not even opening some days, they also can’t make the halfpipe this year because the halfpipe cutter broke and they have refused to buy new parts before the mountain sells.

However MT Bachelor is aware of this and is trying their best to fix this issue. “Mt. Bachelor strives to be a welcoming place for all,” said Presley Quon, Communications & Community Relations Manager. “We believe that everyone should be able to experience the joy that is moving through the mountains. Through our Play Forever program, we work to break down barriers and increase access to the outdoors by providing scholarships, in-kind donations, field trip opportunities, and financial support to impactful local organizations.” Because of all of this they have helped many people get up to the mountain. Recently in 2024, they donated over $200,000 to local nonprofits. And this year they have already donated over $170,000 to local nonprofits to help people get up to the mountain, and more donations are being planned. Going back to 2024, they gave 356 scholarships for skiing, snowboarding, rafting, Nordic skiing, bike park and ziplining. This shows how much MT Bachelor employees truly care about the local community.

All of this information was gathered from an email interview with Presley Quon.

In conclusion yes MT Bachelor is going up in prices due to inflation, but they are doing lots to make this issue resolve. It is hard to tell what the future holds for MT Bachelor simply because when the mountain sells everything will depend on the buyer so for now all we really can do is wait and see what happens.

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Healthcare in Central Oregon

By Colbie, Fiona, and Rigby 

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Healthcare in Central Oregon

By Colbie, Fiona, and Rigby 

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Imagine you leaving the hospital after having a surgery and you look at your bill. $24,000. You realize you can’t afford that. Well you're not the only one.

Healthcare can be an issue to many, especially in Bend Oregon. Most healthcare facilities are too expensive for many leading to hundreds of deaths. What can people do to afford healthcare? Who can they contact for help?

“Lots of people come in asking if their insurance can cover their bill or how they can pay for it if they can’t afford it?” Dr. Jon Robert’s said.

What was healthcare like in the past?

Twenty fifteen, the population in Bend Oregon was a little over 86,000. Twenty twenty, the population was almost 102,000. As of 2025, the population is almost 108,000.

There has been a 1.53% annual growth rate since 2020. With a city growing so fast you may think that healthcare facilities are fully staffed, but you're wrong.

Lots of healthcare facilities are understaffed, one that’s local being St Charles.

St Charles healthcare facility has been understaffed for a while now, this act led to multiple strikes in the past.

Current issues in healthcare

“There are times where it’s really slow in trauma, like in the late fall… but then in the summer, all the tourists come in and people do really stupid things,” Dr. Jon Roberts said. Healthcare facilities are understaffed, though how understaffed depends on the time of year.

When healthcare is expensive, it’s to take care of the money spent on patients. But when it costs too much, people can’t get check-ups and miss appointments. Then they could miss a condition they have, until it advances to the point where they can’t come back from.

“Our system is designed to catch you at the very end,” Dr. Jon Roberts said. Far more money is spent trying to keep somebody alive at the end of their life, then it would cost to take care of their health issues early on.

Additionally, health issues like obesity are pretty common in the U.S, including Central Oregon. Obesity leads to other problems with people’s health (such as heart disease), and can push people to the end of their lives, where more money is spent trying to give them more time then it would take for the patient to have prevented their obesity.

What’s going to change in the healthcare system in the future?

The price of healthcare is “100%” going to rise in the future Dr Jon Roberts said. But what other things in the healthcare system will change? Will these changes prevent so many people from needing medical help so often? Let’s find out.

“People are disabled by stuff they could have avoided,” Jon Robert’s said. Jon talked a lot about how by developing more tests and cures Medicare would be much less expensive for everyone. A lot of people die when they don’t get the medical attention they need mostly because they are worried about the price and how they're going to pay it.

With the future also comes more knowledge, more information, and better technology. “We are years, even decades away from a cure to diabetes, it’s definitely not happening in my lifetime but there’s a chance it might happen in yours,” Adams said. There’s going to be a time when the cure for diabetes will be found, and over time more and more treatments and cures will be found and it will be groundbreaking for the healthcare system.

According to treatcancer.com, an average cancer patient can pay anywhere from 1,000 to 12,000 dollars a month and up to 48,000 annually. If the cure to cancer is ever found, that's 20,000 people a year in central Oregon being able to put their money towards something to improve their life instead of something they need to do but makes their lives miserable.

It’s going to be very unlikely that a cure to cancer is ever found but eventually there will be more effective treatments and more people's lives will be saved from this horrible disease that drains people’s  bank accounts every year.

What can people do to pay for their health care bills or how can they avoid paying them?

There are many organizations researching 24/7 about the cure to cancer some of the more well known ones being the National Cancer Institute (NCI), American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and Cancer Research UK (CRUK).

As many people know, the price of healthcare is inevitably going to go up in the future. But the question is what can be done to stop it? Today there are many deadly diseases that don’t have stable treatment or cures but many people don’t know that there are many monthly and yearly tests that should be done to catch cancer or any diseases before they progress past the point of survival.

“If you don’t have that happen it costs nothing and you’ll live for way longer,” Robert’s said. He was talking about how a big reason why people spend so much on healthcare is because they don’t know how to take care of themselves.

So many people that need medical attention walk into the hospital with one thing on their mind. “How am I going to afford this?”  But the thing is, if you walk into a hospital with a bullet in your shoulder they have no choice but to treat you right away. But if you're going to the hospital for cancer treatment and can’t afford it it’s a whole different story.

There are also many organizations that can help you pay for your healthcare, this includes anything from medical checkups to major surgery and cancer treatments. Medicaid, Medicare, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), are all great organizations that you should look into if you need help paying for medical care. Depending on the program it can help pay for dental care as well according to usa.gov.

Healthcare in central Oregon is indeed expensive but guess what. There are 100s of things you can do to avoid paying medical bills in the first place.

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Drug Use in Bend Oregon By: Molly T. and Lysha C.

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Drug Use in Bend Oregon By: Molly T. and Lysha C.

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Did you know that over 80% of local crimes in Central Oregon are related to drugs?

Central Oregon is made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook Counties. Bend is an outdoor oriented city in Deschutes County with a population of about 100,000.

There has been a rapid increase in drug use over the years in adults and adolescents. Rob Pennock, a member of the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team, said that teens have easier access to drugs because of the internet and are more inclined to use substances because of “societal influence,”.

Measure 110 allowed for a certain amount of drug possession to be legal for adults in Oregon. This caused drugs to become more of a social norm throughout our community.

Drugs can cause very serious damage to your physical health, mental health, relationships, and can possibly lead to death. It is important to know the risks of drugs because they are becoming more and more accessible in Bend, Oregon.

The Affects of Measure 110

Measure 110 was passed in November of 2020 for all of Oregon. It decriminalized the possession of a certain amount of drugs and reclassified the violation from Class A to Class E meaning the maximum fine for a violation would be 100 dollars.

Someone who obtains a violation has the opportunity to seek treatment to eliminate the charge. The appeal of this measure was that the state did not want to penalize drug users or give them a criminal record because it would increase the difficulty of obtaining jobs and being a member of society.

Deschutes county has the highest amount of Measure 110 violations in Central Oregon and has the fourth highest amount in all of Oregon.

“Measure 110 was a major fail for the state of Oregon, a major obstacle for law enforcement, and it cost thousands of lives,” said Rob Pennock.

What is Currently Being Done in Oregon

In January of 2025, Measure 110 was overturned for all of Oregon. “They re-criminalized what they called user amounts of drugs,” said Rob Pennock. This means that law enforcement is now able to arrest people using a small amount of drugs.

Currently, the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team is working their way from local dealers, to major cities, to drug cartels from Mexico, who are the original source.

Even with all that is being done and with the laws that have been put back into place, it is impossible to completely eliminate all drug use. Drugs are still becoming more accessible because the price to make and sell them has decreased and new substances are only becoming stronger.

What is Going to Happen in The Future

According to Rob Pennock, laws are being put back in place to prevent drug use. What can be done to prevent close ones and your children from being exposed or using substances is blocking easy access websites and making sure they aren’t around bad influences and informing them of all the downsides of substance use.

Make sure to check on people in our time so they can’t try finding drugs. Measure 110 was taken down and will help slow down the amount of drug possession in Bend, Oregon.

Enforcement officers are putting an effort to stop this issue, they’ll start from small dealers to the top dealers, excluding cartels at the moment. Although putting a stop to those cartels from other countries is not possible, officers will continue their security with national transport, which will potentially grow over time and stop the illegal substance transportation from across the border.

Drugs are a dangerous things that can become a habit for most people if not cautious enough. It’s globally recognized that drugs can do damage to your body.

Drug use stays a difficult issue that affects individuals, families and communities in many different ways. As our community continues to grow, we have to understand the causes effects and solutions to substance abuse.

What more can be done to convey the main causes of drug addiction rather than it’s just symptoms? How can we confirm that treatment and rehabilitation are available to everyone who needs it?

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse don’t wait to look for help. There are a lot of resources available from counseling services to support groups that can help with guidance or assistance needed for recovery.

As a community, we must root for better education and mental health support to prevent drug abuse before it starts or gets worse. By starting to take action today, we can work for a future where less people fall into addiction and more people find the help they deserve.

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Today we wish K9 Bonnie a very happy 6th birthday! We hope you sniff out some extra treats this year, Bonnie! Photo credit Amy Sandrin

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Homelessness

By Kate H. and Phoebe D.

Moved here because it’s a small town, beautiful landscape, and wonderful views. I didn’t know about the homeless.

Over the years the homeless population has grown an extreme amount. Most people don’t understand how big the issue really is. As of 2024 there are 959 people that are homeless, and 55% of Bend is living unsheltered.

Imagine a town without any homeless people. What do you notice? It’s clean, feels even more safe, and fresh. Thankfully, Bend, Oregon’s population of homelessness is a lot lower than other cities around the world.

There are lots of reasons why people become homeless but typically it is for substance abuse, lack of affordable housing, and lack of jobs.

Homelessness has always been an issue but has recently shot up a lot more. Previous reasons why people are or become homeless are pretty similar to reasons now. The most common reason why people are homeless is because when people move to Bend, it becomes even more expensive which can ultimately kick people out causing them to have no place to live. Another previous reason is there weren’t enough beds in homeless shelters so people would have to find somewhere else to sleep.

In Bend, the homelessness population was the worst it ever has been in 2024. It has increased 28% since 2022. Over the past six years since Covid-19, it has gone up a crazy amount. More people are homeless than ever. From 2022-2023, there was a 227 homeless population increase and from 2023-2024, there was a 53 person decrease. In the past, most officers and people around the town just ignored them because there weren’t enough homeless people to cause issues. Now that there are almost one thousand homeless people in Bend, it has been more noticeable and more people have tried to help them out. Issues that caused homelessness in the first place are still the exact same today. Sadly, nothing has gotten better with how many people are living unsheltered but hopefully in the future, things will change.

Bend,Oregon- natural beauty, and a thriving community, experiencing a significant rise in homelessness. The main factors contributing to the homeless issue includes a lack of affordable housing, rising housing cost and shortage of supportive services. The city has seen a rapid growth, that has replaced the development of affordable housing options, leaving many individuals and families struggling to find affordable, safe, stable places to live.

Several factors that are contributing to the homelessness crisis in Bend are the limited availability of affordable housing. Mayor driven, with rental cost increasing significantly faster

than wages. Additionally, a lack of sufficient mental health and addiction services prevents many individuals from accessing the support they need to overcome barriers to stable housing. As  affordable housing is the main cause for homelessness in Bend, Oregon the Bend Bulletin states, “the median home price in Bend has skyrocketed in recent years far outpacing wage growth, leaving many residents struggling to afford rent or mortgage.” The cost forces individuals and families into precarious housing situations, ultimately leading to one of the main causes of homelessness in Bend.

Many people are worried that Bend’s homelessness will escalate higher and turn into Portland, Oregon's homelessness crisis. People are now stating that walking through downtown with their kids frightens them due to the growth in the homeless population. This causes business’ to lose customers and revenue. Due to ballot measure 110 being passed this made drugs available, which resulted in people who already had health problems to have more due to them thinking that it will help them or take away their stress and relieve them from all their troubles. Central Oregon Daily News article says, “ Many experiencing homelessness are dealing with complex trauma and untreated illnesses, making it difficult to access and maintain stable housing. These intertwined challenges create significant barriers to self sufficiency.”

No town should experience homelessness. Everyone should be able to call somewhere home. Everyone should have a safe place to sleep at night. Unfortunately this is not the case. How can we fix this situation? Well, according to the mayor, Melanie Kebler, “we are planning to build a place where if you have nowhere to go, you can stay at this shelter for as long as you need where people will help you get back on your feet and eventually be able to own your own place.” In the future this could help many homeless people since a big issue around homelessness is just not being able to go back to working, owning a house, and just living on your own. Another issue that causes homelessness is drugs. If it wasn’t as easy to access drugs it would be harder to lead to addiction. Overdosing on drugs causes so much to go wrong and with one wrong move you could easily have nowhere to live. If drugs weren’t accessible to the public, it could possibly bring down the amount of people living unsheltered.

In Bend, Oregon there are only 527 shelter beds, 216 of which are low barriers. That’s not nearly enough beds for 959 homeless people. There needs to be enough for everyone living without a home so they have somewhere to go.

The rise of homelessness in Bend presents a significant challenge that demands immediate action. By addressing the cause, such as lack of affordable housing and supportive services, and by fostering collaboration on stakeholders, the mayor Melanie Keebler says “that she is reaching out to sate governors in hope for money to help address the issue,”. She adds that “with the money that is provided she will use it towards more homeless shelters, towards the food, running water, and beds that the homeless shelters provide.” Melanie Keebler says that one of her goals as Mayor of Bend, Oregon is to “help address and prevent homeless out on our streets, being able to help accommodate  the homeless with health care providers, getting a job, and being able to get into an apartment and to maintain an apartment and not get evicted.” This leads people of our city to believe that there is hope for our homelessness crisis.

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Bend to clear homeless encampments on Hunnell Road in July

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The city of Bend will remove homeless encampments from Hunnell, Clausen and Loco roads on the northern edge of the city in July, after a months-long delay and criticism from

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Traffic woes in Bend

By:Olin.S and Griffin.S

Do you want traffic in Bend to become less of a problem? If so, then you’re reading the right article. We have seen major increases in population, when there are more people there is more traffic. We are trying to implement a new arrangement of roads in the downtown area, because we have seen that downtown is without a doubt one of the most traffic-filled areas in Bend. We want to make traffic more efficient, safe, and convenient for residents and visitors alike.

Bend’s traffic is increasing due to construction around town. We discussed traffic in Bend with Mayor Melanie Kebler who said,”We have something called a capital plan, and it is a document with all of the public ground projects in Bend, including roads, bridges, sidewalks, and more. We have a plan for Bend’s roads and traffic but we have just started experiencing major rises in population therefore we just started these projects, and they take time.” Mayor Kebler also said, “These projects currently on the capital plan will probably be finished in ten years, and by then there will be more on the capital plan, so the capital plan never really ends.”

In the past, Bend historically hasn’t had a lot of traffic until now. As population and tourism is increasing, people are on the roads more often. We have never really had a problem with traffic in Bend before, but bicycle, pedestrian, and automobile traffic is growing. We have had a lot of people move to Bend in the last 15 years. In 2010, according to the U.S census bureau, the population was 76,658 people. The population in 2025 was recorded at 107,812. In 15 years the population in Bend increased by approximately 31,154 people. This is the main contributor to Bend’s road congestion. Lastly, according to the city of Bend’s website, the city’s population is estimated to grow by 2.2% over the next 10 years which would be a population of 132,209 people. If this is true, that would mean the population will have almost doubled since 2010.

Traffic in our modern era is painful. Due to population increase, crashes and dui’s have been on an incline. Also in Bend, due to an agreement made almost 20 years ago the Bend road workers have to destroy and repave all roads around Bend. New roads have been built especially near the warehouse shopping centers like home depot, and staples due to bad traffic and congestion in the roads. Also many people from places all around the usa have started moving to Bend. Due to this, traffic in Bend has increased dramatically. Also in Bend in the winter it snows a lot so defrosting roads and making it easier to drive is a must, especially to people that aren't used to the ice and snow. And slippery roads. Bike lanes in Bend are not very safe because of their slim design and cars being parked half way through the middle of them, forcing the rider to turn into the road risking getting hit just so they can get around a car.

Our goal for traffic in Bend is better roads, better technology, more safety, and less crashes. These problems can be solved, but not very fast in our current funding system. It would most likely take many decades to solve these problems. Buses and trains with higher carrying capacity will be built out along busy corridors, connecting hubs of public services and places of interest. From these main lines are shorter roads and pathways for non-vehicle transportation. This system results in reduced crashes, increasing safety, and less vehicle congestion. Furthermore, this model of transportation improves flow during periods of snow and ice. lastly For bike lanes in the future there needs to be more safety for cyclists like the width of the bike lane or going through intersections.

In conclusion, Bend is doing pretty well with traffic, but there are many improvements that need to be made. From the small things like more stop signs, all the way to completely new roads. Next with increasing rates of people buying homes and moving to Bend, it leaves people with many questions and concerns for our traffic and roads in Bend. One question I have is “Should we have a winter driving test so people are used to the ice?” Lastly for car crashes people just need to be more cautious and aware of what they are doing.

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Homelessness Bend Oregon Brynnley & Paige

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Homelessness Bend Oregon Brynnley & Paige

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Did you know that there’s 1,811 people who don’t have a place to sleep at night in Bend Oregon alone. A small city on the Deschutes river. Why are people homeless? Mostly because the housing markets are so high right now and people falling into addiction also not having a good relationship with their family. What do we do in the first place to prevent homelessness “ That’s a good question. um we help by giving them assistance like if they need help paying for their rent. Mayor Keebler said”

In twenty twenty three there were one thousand and twelve people that were homeless in Bend Oregon. In 2022 the homeless population was 785 people that were homeless that means 227 people fell into homelessness in a year. In 2007 the county purchased a hotel and leased it to a nonprofit organization to create the region’s first homeless shelter The Bethlehem Inn. What are some things we’ve done in the past to stop homelessness? “That’s a good question we have put multiple shelters out and pods for people to rest and stay in and we have helped and talked to people a boy their situation’s”

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Wildfires in central Oregon have been growing rapidly throughout the area. The smoke is a big problem in the dry months in Bend Oregon. If we don’t put effort into ending them now, we might not get the chance again.

If you just put in a little bit extra effort, we can change the path for  generations to come    Wildfires are destroying our ecosystem, damaging our communities, and ruining people’s lives.

Wildfires can’t fully be stopped but they can be slowed down. If you throw away your cigarette, if you check your kitchen before you leave, little things like that can prevent a lot of damage and suffering.   Wildfires are also incredibly expensive and normally cost 1,000-1,500 dollars per hour to fight a fire. If you use a plane it rapidly increases in price.   Also, the firefighters have to get paid for every hour so that costs another $1,000 which is a crazy amount.

“A fire that is the size of about 6 to 7 desks on a windy day could cost up to $50,000 dollars, maybe more with a plane.”

Fires problems from the past

The town of Bend is surrounded by national forests which are very flammable in the months of June-September.  Rarely, some wildfires last until the winter.

Back before people settled in Central Oregon a big fire would burn through the area and naturally clean out and restart the forests.

We haven’t let the fires clear out the forest since settling here. Now if a fire would come through it wouldn’t be able to do what it did years before.

There are two main causes of wildfires, human and natural. 100 years ago humans were recorded to cause 68-70% of all fires and natural occurrences caused 30-32% of the fires.

The most common season for wildfires 100 years ago was the late summer months which was August and September following October where wildfires began to slow down for the winter.

The reason why most fires occurred through the months of August-October was because Central Oregon was extremely hot and dry.

Most wildfires that occurred in the west 100 years ago weren’t recorded because of the low amount of technology and civilization.

In the early 2000s most fires that occurred were in Deschutes County or just outside of the county.

Although most wildfires in the 1900s weren't recorded you can definitely see the remnants of wildfires that happened a long time ago.

Current fire pros and cons

Some pros of fires are that they are sometimes helpful to our ecosystem and can burn down some bad spots in the forest.

They can also create new habitats for certain species by clearing vegetation and creating open areas. Some plant species can also rely on the fires to release their seeds to cause growth for the wildlife.

Some animals benefit from the changes in habitat created by fire, such as increased prey availability or access to resources.       A con of wildfires is that the fires tend to contaminate the soil, causing farming problems and fewer crops.

Wildfires release smoke and particulate matter into the air, which can cause respiratory problems and other health issues           Wildfires can ruin water sources with ash and other pollutants which makes the water contaminated and not drinkable, to anyone. Currently “85-90% of wildfires are caused by humans not throwing away their cigarettes, not throwing out their trash, etc,” said the fire inspector our team interviewed.

Changes we need to make to prevent fires  People need to take action to prevent wildfires. They are extremely destructive. A fire could easily rip through Bend and leave thousands of people devastated.

Fire departments are doing everything they can to prevent a wildfire from destroying Bend, Oregon.     That's why the fire departments do controlled burns beforeevery fire season. If a fire did start, there would be very little to burn.

Even with controlled burns, each year there are a couple of really destructive fires that get close to Bend.

“People just need to be more careful,” a Bend fire inspector said to my reporting group. I completely agree with that statement. Oftenhumans leave a fire unattended when it would have been easy to put out.     Another big problem with wildfires involves homeless people. The homeless community is gradually getting bigger, pushing into the forests on the outskirts of Bend. That increases the risk of wildfires

In the summer of 2024, a group of homeless people started a fire right near Bend, close to the Redmond airport. It spread rapidly.

“Say there’s a big fire somewhere else. Then all the water tankers that are at the Redmond airport will go to that fire and if a different fire starts in Bend then we don’t have any water tankers to help the fire in Bend,” said a fire inspector.              I think in the future we should get more water tankers at the Redmond airport in case of such an emergency.

What humans can do to help    Wildfires are a big problem in Central Oregon. Acres of land and trees  are getting burned to the ground because of global warming and humans not being careful.   Wildfires have been coming much too close to civilization and we humans need to prevent these fires from happening. Preventing wildfires isn’t that hard when it comes to humans. All of us need to realize that wildfires are becoming a biggerproblem and we need to take action now to prevent wildfires from burning so close to civilization.

That’s why I think most western states should put more money into fire prevention and fire equipment in states such as Orego  Controlled burns are helping a lot but it’s not enough. Oregon needs to invest more time and money into wildfire prevention, including more water tankers and bigger fire departments.

Oregon doesn’t have nearly enough fire fighters when it comes to fighting a big wildfire and putting it out fast.

We need to take action to prevent wildfires now because it could affect future generations and wildlife, and habitats. Ecosystems will be ruined just because we didn’t do enough.

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School Funding & How it Works in Oregon By: Mase & Eli 

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School Funding & How it Works in Oregon By: Mase & Eli 

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Bend has high property taxes so shouldn’t it have good schools? Well that’s not necessarily the case, our local school district Bend La-pine Schools is “chronically underfunded,” Nick Shein, a BLS finance employee, said. But that’s not just the case with BLS, it’s an issue with almost all school districts.

Even though the State of Oregon puts an average of $11.4 billion dollars towards education every biennium (two years). But with 197 school districts in Oregon each school district gets only a tiny slice of the pie.

Last year BLS got about $260 million, but this is not nearly enough for a district as big as BLS is. This is because BLS has over 17,000 students, one of the biggest districts in Oregon.

How the Money is Spent

What does all this money go towards? Well in the past, quite unsurprisingly a lot of it goes towards people. Totaling 85% of the budget paying teachers and other staff, that’s $221 million dollars and the median salary is roughly $50,000 dollars a year.

Minimum wage is about $30,000 a year. Most new teachers are getting paid $48,000 a year. That’s less than double of someone who may not have gotten a college education and has to pay student loans off, making that difference in pay very small.

Making it even harder for teachers is the fact that the median rent in Bend is $27,600 a year. With that expense most teachers are left with about $20,000 for food retirement and personal expenses.

The other 10% has gone to things like utilities, transportation and school lunches. Some of which the district gets extra money from the state for, and the final 5% is saved in case of emergency as “rainy day funds,” Shein, said.

The Budget Over Time

Over time the budget has remained relatively the same, Dr. Steve Cook, BLS Superintendent said. Because of inflation and other factors property taxes have increased so shouldn’t that mean schools as a whole get more money?

As the property taxes rise the amount the state puts in (excluding property taxes) drops. “25 years ago K-12 schools in Oregon got about 45% of the state's budget, now it’s about 33%,” Dr. Cook said.

Today the schools in Oregon are working to receive more funding with legislation. To do this though they need voters to agree to paying more for schools, but this is Bend and many people already find it hard to make ends meet.

Getting people to pay more for schools is quite challenging as property taxes are often considered to be given directly to one's school, however this isn’t true. In truth all the state property taxes are put into one giant pool with the state funding and then evenly distributed amongst all 197 school districts based on student count giving each student about $10,300.

How Can / Do Schools Save Money

Many schools struggle with this as the state will only provide additional funding for up to 11% of students who need extra staff to be educated at the same level as other students, but Oregon averages 15% of students needing that additional funding. Leaving schools chronically underfunded and spending “All of our money on people but it's still not enough,” Shein said.

Even if we get more funding it will still be hard to fit everything into the budget as each day costs about $540,000. However the school district does have some ways to save money or use less funding on essentials.

Some of the ways the district saves money is by using our seven period schedule with it being one of the cheapest schedules to run. The district also gets state funding for school meals so it’s not coming out of the budget and gets 70% of the transportation costs for students covered by the state.

How School Funding May Change

So how will funding change in the future? Both Shein and Dr. Cook said that they were hopeful for the future, they said that more and more people are realizing how important funding schools really is.

Another way school funding might change because the budget is decided upon every two years by the budget committee. This means that every few years the distribution of money may differ, so one year about $3 million dollars may go towards nutrition services and another year 5 million dollars may go towards the same thing.

How Funding is Decided Upon

The first part of the process is the finance department holding talks with the other departments and getting a rough sense of how much money each department needs. Then the budget committee fine tunes and works out every little detail and expense.

The budget committee who decides this is made up of the seven school board members and seven community members. The seven school board members are Marcus LeGrand the board chair, Carrie Douglass the board vice chair, Cameron Fischer, Shirley Olson, Amy Tatom, Ross Tomlinson, and Kina Chadwick. The community members are not permanent as they serve three year terms.

Important Things to Remember

To review schools don’t get all of the property taxes of their district they get money per student enrolled. Most school districts are underfunded in some way as the state only covers up to 11% of students with IEPs and Oregon averages 20% of students.

What you can do to help. You can support laws and levy’s meant to raise money for schools. You can also volunteer when possible to assist with school events and Field trips.

For students affected by this you can reach out to local officials on your district, but as Bend La-pine superintendent Dr. Steve Cook says “If the superintendent is doing their job pretty well everyone is a little mad and a little disappointed.”

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Skyliners isolated road: a Nice Scenic Road, but can be scary

Bend is a town/city in Deschutes County, Oregon, that has a lot of forest and buildings.

Bend Oregon has some of the most isolated roads. One road “Skyliners Road” is one of the most isolated roads! On these roads, adventure seekers find that there isn't any cell service also this highway  leads into forests that can be very empty throughout the year. Skyliners road is a road that connects Pacific Crest Middle School to a cabin some people from Pacific Crest Middle School go to for field trips.

Skyliners road is a long road that cyclists love to ride on and also for many hikers as well. Skyliner Road is open year around so many cyclist and hikers are usually in the area. During the winter months, the streets can become a little isolated and the wildlife like the Deers come out more and do cross the streets a lot, which can become dangerous. People can also start to feel like they are isolated when you’re way up in the mountain because cell reception becomes very weak and without many emergency services, Skyliner Road can become scary.

Weather can change and roads can become impossible to pass and travel on because of snow. There are many incidents that can happen on Skyliner.  Road accident assistance can be delayed if you are upon the mountain because and cell service may not work so trying to call 911 may be delayed. If you get hurt in the accident youwill probably go for a long time without medical attention and make major injuries worse.

Sometimes there is No cell service in isolated parts of Skyliners Road ambulances can't get there fast enough in snowy conditions and combined with bad cell reception is just terrible, people die when they are stranded because of this. If you take a drive and your car breaks down be prepared to be stuck for a while without help.

There is wildlife at some parts of the road. If a car gets hit by a wild life animal it's very bad. Example of wildlife: bears, deer, elk, cougars. On a isolated road you should always bring: a sleeping bag, pillow, water bottle, ice machine, weapon, extra clothes, and a charger, phone, & radio.

Skyliner Road can be beautiful with the brown trees with green leaves in the summer and in the fall vibrant orange leaves. But this road can be dangerous. According to TRIP transportation research “Oregon’s rural road fatality rates are among the highest in the U.S.”

If you find yourself taking a trip on an isolated road there are ways to be prepared incase of an emergency. Always have some extra fuel, some water, alot first aid kits, fully charged phone or a satellite communication device, as well as a map or compass to be prepared for a GPS failure.

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E-bike safety: How to avoid crashes and stay safe on the road! By: Juliana and Olivia

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E-bike safety: How to avoid crashes and stay safe on the road! By: Juliana and Olivia

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The beauty of Bend OR:

E-bike crashes are on the rise, are we riding into danger? E-bikes are weaving in and out of Bend, Oregon. The quaint town of Bend, Oregon is known for its snow sports in the winter, its breweries, and its fun river activities in the summertime.

When the weather gets nice, teens take out their e-bikes to ride. They are very rough on them so each year teens get severely injured or killed when they are messing around on the roads with their friends.

They usually are going way too fast on them, or some don’t even wear helmets, which is very dangerous. Oftentimes, drivers are not aware of e-bike riders driving around town.

Plenty of people are killed every day because they are going way too fast while other drivers are not aware of the e-bike riders on the roads. “The chance of surviving while going 25 mph on an e-bike is 10% and going 35 mph on an e-bike is a 0% chance of survival”, states Sean Keating, the principal of Pacific Crest Middle School, in Bend, Oregon.

“Even if you aren’t going that fast when you crash, the risk of the heavy vehicle falling  on you could injure you as bad as crashing from high speed”, Keating said.

What are E-bikes:

E-bikes are very different from regular bikes. E-bikes have a motor that assists riders. Regular bikes don’t have a motor, it takes legs to pedal the bike. While for an e-bike you press a button and don’t have to pedal to move. Therefore regular bikes are better if you want to have exercise, but an e-bike is for getting places fast, and having fun.

Although they are very different bikes, they do have some similarities. They look very similar, and they both have wheels, frames, handlebars, and pedals. The routine maintenance are also very similar for regular bikes and e-bikes.

Why people prefer e-bikes:

People prefer e-bikes over regular bikes. That’s because of the e-bikes convenience, the ability to ride far, and tackle steeper terrains. Although, exercisers definitely prefer regular bikes because they want to put in the energy to climb steep hills, and feel like they got something out of it. “People prefer to ride e-bikes for the fun of going super fast and riding wherever they want to go with their friends”, Keating said.

Why the law is in place:

The E-bike law is a very important law. It’s there to ensure safety, regulate usage, and address environmental, social, and traffic concerns. They set standards for things like speed, age, and helmet use. These laws aim to create a safe, organized environment for e-bike riders while maximizing the  benefits of this growing mode of transportation.

In most states you have to be 16 years of age to ride an e-bike. E-bikes can reach up to a speed of 20-28 mph depending on the class of the bike. It’s harder to control, especially for younger riders who may not have yet developed the motor skills to handle such speeds safely.

What we can do to make riding safer:

There’s many ways to make e-bike riding safer each day. First, we can start off by always wearing a helmet when riding an e-bike. We can also wear bright clothing so drivers on the road can always be aware of e-bike riders.

Flashing lights on e-bikes will also be helpful to stand out to drivers on the road. Policemen should  continue to patrol the roads to make sure e-bike riders are obeying the speed limit rules and wearing a helmet. The Bend Police stated, “some solutions are axillary lighting, and a special transportation helmet”.

Even smart features would help. Such as anti-lock braking systems, GPS tracking, and collision detection sensors. All those could do a lot to save a person's life.

E-bike riders should do everything they can to make themself visible to oncoming traffic. The Bend Policemen also stated, “teenagers under 18 should not be able to ride e-bikes. “I wouldn’t want my kids dying because they wanted to go fast on an e-bike”.

Kids should have some experience driving a regular car before stepping up to something that goes super fast and is less stable than a regular car.

Where you should go if interested in getting equipment:

If you own an e-bike and are interested in getting some lights or bright clothes, you can go to  Bend Electric Bikes.

They have some great options for bright clothing, safe helmets, and lights to attach to your e-bike. That will help people save their lives each day by wearing visible colors on the road.

Even drivers will benefit from this because it’s not like they want to take an e-bike rider's life just because they weren’t aware of them on the road. Make sure you wear your bright clothes and safe helmet to help save yourself from severe injury or even death!

In conclusion, while e-bikes offer exciting and efficient transportation, it is crucial for riders to be aware of the potential risks and take the necessary precautions. By

wearing protective gear, following traffic laws, and staying mindful of their surroundings, cyclists can enjoy a safer and fun riding experience. Remember, safety should always be the main priority to ensure that every rider ends on a positive note, and is able to get home safely!

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Max M. : Conclusion, Future

Bodhi K. : Lead, Past

Theo I. : Photos, Present

Water Levels in Bend

Have you ever experienced a drought? Well in Bend, Oregon, that’s not a rare occurrence. The rivers get low and even some parts dry up almost every summer. Fish die and healthy habitats deteriorate. These are some of the things that happen when we overuse the Deschutes river.

The water gets low in the winter, and high in the summer. The amount of water being released from the source is controlled but the side effects are some places getting less water, which can be very problematic for the ecosystem.

The uneven water flow affects the Oregon Spotted Frog. “The flow erodes the banks destroying the wetlands, which is the habitat of the Oregon Spotted Frog”, said Kate Fitzpatrick, the Executive Director of Deschutes River Conservancy.

Water flow is another problem, and experts are working on rerouting the water. This is helping the state of the water, but that isn't the only problem.

Water rights problematic since the start of Oregon, currently is and might be in the future

The history of water problem in Bend

Water is and always has been vital for an ecosystem, so you can see why water is something to pay attention to. It all started with settling in Oregon in the 1700-1800s.

When people were settling in Oregon, the government started to give away rights to a portion of the water in the Deschutes. This was one of the bonuses for moving to the west, but there was one problem.

At first this seemed fine, until people started using up the water. This had an impact on the ecosystem, and it still is a problem today. Then and now, some parts of the river would dry up and native fish that lived in the river would die.

Another contributor is the canals, that when they were created they were made out of volcanic rock. The volcanic rock had many holes in it which water seeped into, through the cracks, and made us lose a lot of the water. About half of the water was lost in the canal water transfer Kate Fitzpatrick said.

All of the water supply problems made it so fish, plants, and other aquatic creatures died. It also gave a native frog a lot less habitat to thrive.

The Present day Canals

Have you ever noticed the water levels changing in the Deschutes between seasons? Or the canals being empty in the winter. Well a lot of this is because of the dams and water rights.

The water levels here in Bend change a few feet throughout the seasons which isn’t bad, but as soon as you head downstream to the Deschutes Basin, water levels fluctuate an immense amount each season.

This is a result of farmland and irrigation systems needing a large amount of water for crops. This water mostly comes from the Deschutes. “Because the river is managed for irrigation it harms fish populations and frogs, particularly the Oregon spotted frog.” Kate said.

In the spring and summer when there’s more water because of melted snow and rain the Deschutes water level will be higher. When the season changes to fall and winter there’s almost none or no water because the farmers drain more water out of the Deschutes through canals.

The Deschutes River dries up because the state of Oregon gave away water rights to too many settlers than the river could handle. Today we see this near dams and reservoirs where a lot of the river is overused.

Another reason is because canals move water from the river to farms, wells, and for drinking water. In the process of the water traveling through the canal, roughly 50 percent of the water is absorbed into the ground which requires more water to be used, then what is healthy for the river.

Water Diversion in Bend

As the water flows down the Deschutes through Bend it goes through mirror pond, the spillway, then Sawyer park.

As the water flows through Sawyer park (by Bend International School) “92% of the water is diverted before Sawyer park” Kate said. It flows through the North Canal Diversion Dam which is mostly used for irrigation.

Fish

Fish are a big part of the ecosystem in the Deschutes. Over the years the fish population has fluctuated which has affected the ecosystem.

One reason the fish population has fluctuated is due to warmer temperatures and the Deschutes River drying up near its basin.

When the Deschutes dries up fish get trapped on the now dry part of the Deschutes and drown. There are efforts every year to help fish not die from the river drying up. You should join one of these and save a lot of fish's lives.

The Future of the Deschutes

While the deschutes river affects everybody, there are some who are affected by the river in more significant ways. These people include farmers that rely on irrigation from the river. Since farms get their water directly from the river, anything that happens to the deschutes will correlate to the supply. Others majorly affected by the Deschutes river include tourist companies and your average citizens, even the flora and fauna by the river.

While these people are affected by the river, they also majorly affect it. For example, the farms that draw from the river are also using a lot of water from the river’s supply, and since there are a lot of farms the river is being overused. Although the farms aren't the only reason why the river is being overused, simple usage like tap water can majorly affect the river. Experts are seeing that the major over use in the deschutes’ water supply and its putting the deschutes river in a  bad situation, and it will only get worse in the future.

“The Oregon spotted frog, that got listed under the endangered… its best habitat is in the upper deschutes between here and wickiup reservoir, and that’s suffering from the flow issues,” Fitzpatrick said. The Oregon spotted frog is currently endangered and if conditions worsen it could go extinct in the near future.

What’s Happening to fix the Problem

The Deschutes river is in a bad position and is in need of help. Luckily there are organizations that are working to help with river conservancy, they are working to remove harmful or not so useful dams, and helping the river in places where it is overused.

“In town it is not great because of recreation, nut groups are trying to fix this.” Fitzpatrick said.

You can help these organizations by donating to them. One notable organization is the Deschutes river conservancy. By donating to them you help to improve our river and make it more enjoyable for everyone.

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The Rising Issue of Homelessness in Central Oregon

Do you ever worry about if you’re going to have a place to sleep at night? In central Oregon, many people suffer from being homeless every day. The houseless problem is a rising issue in many parts of Central Oregon.

Central Oregon mountains, and outdoor activities. Can be a great thing to experience. However, some people might not be able to experience those things because of their situation.

Homelessness is such a big issue because the prices of housing and other things are rising every year. Brooke O’Keefe a homelessness shelter owner in Bend, Oregon states “There’s a deficit of housing in Oregon” which means there are not enough houses in Oregon.

Homelessness during covid

the beginning of homelessness

Homelessness became a bigger issue In central Oregon when COVID-19 hit in 2020. “The number of people living on the streets rose by 30%,” the homelessness research institute said. The number of homeless has only increased since then and is expected to continue to increase over the years.1

COVID impacted the homeless community because a lot of jobs were taken away” The hospitality industry suffered the greatest job losses, but every major industry lost jobs over the year” the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics said But the only jobs that would most likely accept homeless people are fast food places but those places lost a lot of money during Covid because everyone was social distancing and customers did not go out to get fast food which made it hard to make money.

COVID was also hard on homeless people because it was so expensive to get health care during COVID-19. “Homeless populations experience disproportionate rates of underlying health conditions,” Brooke O'Keeffe said.

It’s reported that homelessness started to become a big issue in central Oregon in 1980 due to the rising cost of housing and “deinstitutionalization of mental health services” BrookeO'keefe said. The issues that caused homelessness back then are mainly the same as we have now in 2025.

The current state of homelessness

The present Issue of Homelessness in Central Oregon

Many people today might make judgments and stereotypes about homelessness. According to NYU in an article written by Robert Polner some of the general stereotypes a person may have about homeless people consists of thinking things along the lines of; “Most are mentally ill,” or even “The majority abuse drugs and alcohol,” Some people might even picture stereotypes about homelessness subconsciously, because of the way our society views homelessness in general.

Those things are not necessarily true in the reality of things. Many people who experience becoming homeless don’t even have any connections to drugs in the first place. Some things that could be the reason for losing your house could be; housing being so expensive in many areas, if they have to pay off a big medical bill, or even losing a job and not having money to pay rent, etc. And when people make assumptions about homeless people they may turn out to be inaccurate because everyone’s situation is different.

But on the other hand, there are homeless people in central Oregon that fit those stereotypes. “People who are homeless sometimes are scary, sometimes they’re loud, sometimes they’re dirty.” Brooke O'keefe said, a Central Oregon homeless shelter owner.

That's where people might be basing all of the stereotypes off of because in reality there are people who will be perceived as such. O’keefe also said that when people are representing those types of things then it makes the general public's view difficult to change, especially if there are many different stories about homeless people going through the community.

There's no specific reason why someone will become homeless because everyone has a different experience. Central Oregon has gone through housing pricing increases throughout the past year of a 4.7% increase in price according to the Oregon Housing Market.

There’s also a general trend of increasing housing prices in Central Oregon. Brooke O’keefe also said “There’s a deficit of housing across Oregon,” This means that there are not enough houses for everyone in central Oregon. With there being not enough housing for the amount of people we have in Central Oregon that alone makes getting a house difficult. Another factor that contributes to this is how central Oregon is such a competitive place to live. From our beautiful mountain view’s, to our lakes and rivers, these areas have many people wanting to move here just because of the natural environment. But in the end that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the factors that contribute to homelessness in Central Oregon.

Homelessness affects our society negatively in many ways, some of these examples include harming our environment, endangering the public, and damaging the public lands. Homelessness has contributed to large amounts of trash being discarded improperly in public places. Homeless people also are camping out on public property, which is a misuse of that land and sometimes causing harm to the surrounding area through littering and human waste. There have been reported cases of crimes against and from the homeless community in Central Oregon throughout the years that this has been an issue. And in the end there are no good things that come from this, as a society what do you think we should do to help?

Homelessness is predicted to be worse than this

The Future of Homelessness.

Some things we can do to improve helplessness is maybe having the house prices go down because they keep going up and a lot of people can’t afford to buy a house.“  Oregon saw a 24% increase in the state's number of sheltered homeless people between January 2023 and January 2024.”

Bend needs more affordable housing and smaller lots so that they can make smaller houses instead of having these big extravagant houses not a lot of people could afford “ Oregon's homeless population increased by 9% between 2023 and 2024. Nearly 1,800 people were counted around this time last year.”Central Oregon Daily said.

Another thing that can improve homelessness in the future is having more job opportunities for people who are houseless because a lot of people have jobs but it’s hard for them to get better jobs that will make them more money for themselves and their families.

The houseless people do not have homes because of the high housing prices “it impacts the availability of healthcare resources, crime and safety, the workforce, and the use of tax dollars.” Kion said.

How we can fix Homelessness

To prevent homelessness in the future, we need to lower the prices of resources needed to survive and humanize homeless people. Instead of viewing them as less than, us as a society needs to work on treating everyone as a person. People who are affected by this can get assistance by going to the homeless shelter or going to a food bank and get a place to sleep and get cleaned up. Such as making public showers and laundry more available for people who need it. Another thing that Central Oregon can do is focus a part of our taxes on funding and helping open up more homeless shelters.

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A solution to homelessness in Central Oregon? A first of its kind apartment building

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A crowd of housing officials, elected leaders, social service providers, architects and general contractors paused for a moment Monday afternoon to take in chirping birds, the quiet hum of a

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Electric bikes affect on bend by Mason & sam

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Electric bikes affect on bend by Mason & sam

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Under age E biking can possibly be a threat to traffic and pedestrians

In the streets of Bend, Oregon .ebikeing can possibly be harmful to children, riding electric bikes, and pedestrians walking or driving and can be the fault of either side

However, it can be helpful, allowing children to get around places, quicker, and more efficiently and families who do not have a car, this can be great

But according to trauma surgeon, John Roberts “ if you rupture something in your stomach, I can put a tube in you and fix that but if it’s your head, it’s a different story“

And a lot of teenagers do not wear helmets biking And since the speed of E bikes has been increasing drastically lately and if you get a crash, most of the time you are flying off of your e-bike it is very likely that you will hit your head, which can give you extreme damage to the head as well according to a Bend PD officer has this has this to say about e bike

Past

The first e-bike was the Philips simplex electric bike the first which E-bikes were introduced to Bend, Oregon in the 2000s since then in 2018  crashes in Bend, pOregon 66 crashes happened in the year 2018 and in 2022 total of 98 crashes happened and it has still been growing leading to the present

Present

A 16-year-old boy crashes his E-bike killing him the boy was riding on the wrong side of traffic and had a passenger. I’m not here to take sides however, I’ve noticed a lot of people have not mentioned this when they talk about the crash this opened the eyes of the public to the danger of e-bikes where a law was passed prohibiting children under 16 from using E-bikes. Also cars do not often see E bikes or pedestrians, and they sometimes hit them. This is a fault to bigger cars and stupid drivers.

Future

Their main customer kids under 16 and according to graph E bike sales have been going down since 2023 this leads me to believe that E bikes will slowly or not so slowly disappear the public

Conclusion

In conclusion we should figure out a solution to this problem by banning e-bikes or creating a system to teach people younger than 16 to properly ride an E bike

Bend post

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Bend, Oregon has a problem with homelessness.

959 people in bend are experiencing homelessness and 55% of people are living unsheltered. with apartment and housing prices on the rise we need to figure out a solution to this problem. “there is a population of people you cant just give an apartment. they need extra help to make sure they stay stable” says Melanie kebler. around the pandemic the houseing crisis became a problem. the increased price of housing and apartments only added to the problem

How did we get here?

bend has had high housing/rent prices with high prices some people can’t afford to live. If they can’t afford to live they end up on the streets. Bend has 16 homeless shelters providing 529 year around beds 959 people in bend are experiencing homelessness. How can we help by helping local shelters donateing money to homeless shelters. I don’t think that this problem will go away anytime soon with the current housing situation and rent increases homelessness will go away in bend in conclusion we can help the situation by helping are local communities and shelters.

What can we do?

Working with a network of agencies and community we can increase the availability of emergency shelters, outreach programs, and housing.

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Homeless People - Here are some facts about homelessness...

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Here are some facts about homelessness in America: - Homelessness is on the rise: Homelessness has been increasing since 2017, with a 6% overall…

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Housing Market in Bend, Oregon- Why Can’t People Afford to Live Here?                                                                By Audrey B. and Lauren B.

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Housing Market in Bend, Oregon- Why Can’t People Afford to Live Here?                                                                By Audrey B. and Lauren B.

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"If you have an average income, there’s no houses for you to buy. It’s that much of a crisis,” Brian Ladd, a principal broker and the owner of the company the Ladd Group, said. What does that mean for our growing community of Bend?

All people need a home to live in. It's a basic necessity of life. But what if all of the homes are getting too expensive to live in? This affects everyone here in Bend- people who are moving here, people who already live here, and also people selling their houses. “We just have a massive housing shortage in Bend,” Ladd said.

Housing in Bend has grown astronomically over these past few years. Can we do anything about it? The short answer is no- but there are some solutions that might be able to keep housing prices around the same, or maybe even lower them. How?

“We are short about 3,000 to 5,000 homes in Bend to have enough affordable housing for everyone,” Ladd stated. So is this our solution; to build more houses? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Here’s why.

Bend’s Experience With the Housing Market

In the past, such housing prices have never been so expensive in Bend, Oregon. “Prices are absolutely at an all time high,” Ladd said, “Since the beginning of the pandemic, housing prices have been up about 45%.”

From 2018 on, housing costs greatly fluctuated according to the material expenses to build them. When material costs rise, so does the house price, even if the builder doesn’t want to raise expenses. This has played a major part in why the housing market has been so absurdly high.

“The biggest raise in housing prices we have ever seen is during the pandemic,” Ladd said. Since then, it has been very difficult to get the prices to lower. In effect, an increasing number of Bend citizens have found it hard to stay afloat. Over the past few years, it has become difficult to sell or move homes in Bend, “Lots of people who have been in our community for a long time are falling into homelessness because of high housing costs,” Ladd said.

Due to the major shift in the market, people have had trouble finding affordable housing. Overall, there really hasn’t been anyone to benefit from inflation, even the builders. There could be one great sale, but really, if they ever want to own a house again, they are losing all that money. In reality, the housing market has been very back and forth.

What is Currently Happening?

Despite the past, some could argue that Bend's present situation is much different. The mayor of Bend, Melanie Kebler, shared the plan for the city's housing situation. She wants to add more homes into neighborhoods, and fast.

“We’ve tried really hard to build a lot more houses in the last few years,” Kebler said. One of the main reasons why we are seeing such high prices is due to the lack of housing, so building more homes is projected to slow the growth of housing costs by a lot.

On the other hand, rental costs have been experiencing a drop. In the past year, rental prices went down about 15%.

Rentals can be beneficial to anyone looking to live in Bend because they have lower prices and are widely available. Those that are currently not homeowners have shown to be affected by inflation most, consequently, it might be helpful to many if rentals are easily accessible.

In addition, businesses are starting to struggle, especially small ones. Due to high living costs, it’s made it difficult for relocating businesses to find employees who are willing to live here. “…they can’t afford to pay enough money because their employees can’t afford to live here because of the high housing costs,” Ladd said. Seeing that Bend heavily relies on small businesses, this has a huge impact on our growing city.

What’s Projected to Take Place in the Next Few Years?

Leading on into the future, the main thing Bend is focusing on, said Kebler, is building more houses.

“If we can get that to happen more in the next few years, then we will see the prices start to flatten,” Kebler states. The prices would still be high, but it would prevent them from rising further as each year goes by. Although there is no predicting what the future may look like, it doesn’t seem to be slowing this year- housing has already risen 2-3% this year so far, and the average appreciation each year is around 5%, stated Ladd. That’s not exactly on pace for 5%, is it? Not even half the year has gone by.

Looking ahead, the market is expecting to flatten prices as time goes by. Until then, citizens may rely on rentals and the building of a variation of homes. “You need to have some density, you need to have some multi-family, you need to have some townhomes, and you need to have some regular homes,” said Kebler. This is the key to making the most out of Bends mission to lower housing costs. The variation of homes will draw in many different types of people, and make it possible for anyone in diverse living conditions to find a good home.

So what can you do? The task is quite simple. By simply recycling your waste you can lower material costs for houses. Your waste can be reused, therefore lessening the need to make new products. In turn, the fees to build a home won't be so costly if the material costs have gone down.

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Do you really know how serious the drug problem in central Oregon is?

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Do you really know how serious the drug problem in central Oregon is?

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In central Oregon there are many drug traffickers and many lace their product with fentanyl which gets their sellers hooked on it so they will buy more and have a permanent buyer but may not realize and have a lot higher chances of overdose.

This is a MASSIVE problem for Oregon because it is destroying cities and towns in Oregon, especially Portland. It has turned from a beautiful forestry metro city to a place full of garbage,needles,homeless and boarded up buildings which happened during the Covid time period. Most of this is from measure 110 which Andrew Doyle, a Bend prosecutor says “Oregon was tricked to decriminalize drugs by hiding it in a fine print.” Which has killed 1000s of people all because Oregon got scammed .

Not only ruining cities but forested areas this can be observed in the China hat area which is full of garbage torn up campers and exposed fires and most of the people that live there use drugs or sell/transport them. This hurts the animals and the ecosystem from the garbage and broken glass scattered across the whole forest.

The Big Main problem about drugs is that hundreds of people die from it because of it or are affected by it. but most of the deaths are from overdoses, 59% of people that do hard drugs overdose.“if you go down the path of drugs it ends up in an overdose death”.Officer Robert Pennock said.

Fent started to get more known in the 1980s but really started to get more used and overdosed on in the past 10 years. This is because some of the dealers will use small amounts of fentanyl in the drug they're selling and have a permanent customer that can make a lot of money from it. “People don’t do fentanyl to get high but to make the painful feeling of not having it go away”, Officer Robert Pennock said in our recent drug interview. Most of the fentanyl in the past came from hospitals which the drug could easily acquired which still happens but not as much.

Back then it was mostly made in labs or stolen from hospitals or patients would sell their extras for money. Some drug addicts would go as extreme as faking having a problem so that they could get pumped with fentanyl. All this really started the whole fentanyl problem In our nation.

Our current situation isn’t getting any better. It seems like a monthly occurrence where there’s a drug bust in Bend or a crime where the person is hopped up on drugs which usually leads to shooting or robberies which is harming people and the economy. “We think that everybody is harmed by drugs even if you don’t use them or are near them”, said the bend traffic team.

Even though drugs are bad for everybody they do serve a very important purpose. Which is medical and has saved millions of peoples lives but is also a reason why people get addicted to drugs and it’s just not possible to wipe out the drug problem entirely.

But there are ways for addicts to get better. “Oregon offers drug addicts a 90 day get off of drug plan which is where the person who is caught with drugs either goes to jail or gets off of drugs for 90 days”. Officer Robert Pennock said. Which can help many get off drugs but just not 100%.

What about the future for Bend? Our sources say “it will continue to get worse over time but at a slower rate” also Oregon has the second worst overall addiction rate nationwide Which means that drugs are coming into Oregon more than most other states.

With the new fast production of fentanyl this will make the drugs coming into Oregon skyrocket, which will probably bring Prices down and get people hooked more than ever. Further ruining our economy not just as Oregon but as a nation. This would be a lot less of a problem if our drug force and police department weren’t so understaffed then the problem would be a lot more under control. But it will take a lot of work to get enough officers that are trained to handle the drug problem and which will take many to a couple of years to heal from it.

In conclusion, Bend is an amazing place with beautiful mountains, rivers, and forests that draw thousands of tourists to bend. We wanna keep it that way.

But as we know, drugs are a giant problem that affects everyone and everything. With the growing problem our first responders in the city are struggling and can’t keep up with all the overdoses and crimes caused by drugs. About 224 people die every day around the world from opioid overdoses and it’s only rising with time and he’s not going to get better unless we do something, so what can you do? You may be asking, well if you don’t wanna be one of those 224 people to be you or your family and friends, DON’T DO DRUGS also don’t forget to keep your family and friends away from drugs.

Now that you’ve read this article, you can educate people about just how bad and addictive drugs can be! All it takes is one time to be addicted for life Also, if you wanna be rich and have money stay away from drugs, drugs are not cheap. If you do drugs you can kiss your dream house, dream car, and dream job away. People that are addicted to drugs can spend up to 4000 dollars a month on pills and things to smoke, and it’s not just hard drugs.

Kids around the world have started to use vapes 1 in 10 kids have said they have tried tobacco products and sources think that it’s only going to get worse with time. So how will you take action to keep your community, family and yourself safe and away from drugs? Stay strong!

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Homelessness in Bend, Oregon by Alex P. & Henry W.

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Homelessness in Bend, Oregon by Alex P. & Henry W.

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Bend Oregon

Bend Oregon is a beautiful town where you can ski, snowboard, float down the Deschutes River, hunt and fish. This has made it a very popular destination for people to move. This has caused housing to get more expensive and homelessness to rise.

“Homelessness in Bend has been increasing for decades”,said mayor of Bend, Melanie Klebler.

There are currently 959 homeless people in Bend and 55% of them live unsheltered. In weather that can get as low as -10 and as high as 107, 27 people that were homeless died last year in Bend, many of those died because of the weather.

How did we get to this place

“For decades homelessness in Bend has continued to rise each year”, said Klebler.

In 2013 there were a total of 500 and that number has continued to rise. The highest number was 1000 people in 2023.

The biggest reason homelessness has gotten so high was the ‘’housing crash of 2008”, Klebler said. Another big event that has led to this is the Covid 19 pandemic.

Most of the people are experiencing homelessness because housing in Bend is so expensive.  A studio apartment in Bend is on average $1,637 a month;  a lot of people that can’t afford it end up on the street.

Homelessness today

“Most people who experience homelessness are constantly in search of food, shelter, and a source of income,” stated the Homeless Leadership Coalition. Those are some of the cons about being homeless, but there are still a lot more. For example, not having enough money for anything, getting sick, and not having help sometimes makes life so difficult . Homeless people also have a high risk of suicide.

There are no major pros for becoming homeless. Homeless people do receive pros like having free shelter, free food, and getting good hygiene.

“Some harms that houselessness has caused, according to Mayor Melanie Kebler, are people getting affected because nobody wants people to be living outside under a bridge or in a tent outside in the freezing cold or burning hot.” It also affects the environment because homeless people don’t have a trash service so it gets left and causes litter. Homelessness also causes those issues in the land right outside of Bend which is where most homeless people live.

Homelessness is such a big problem In bend which has no upside.

Will homelessness rise or fall

“We have done a lot to increase our shelter space so we want to make places for people to go and we don’t want to keep building shelters, we want to build actual homes for people to move into. We just opened some new apartments that are for people who have mental health issues and need support for them to live in a place where there is actually supportive services right there at the same apartment complex with them and we are trying to build homes in general to make sure there is more apartments, more small homes, and big homes so that everything is available for people that need them” said Mayor Melanie Kebler.

The stakeholders are people that are donating and Bend itself for building real homes and not just shelters. Since people are risking their money for something that people might not have enough money for.

How we can resolve this

We know that we have seen issues in Bend with homelessness. That issue can be resolved by informing homeless people of shelters and health organizations. This will help people get off the street. “In 2024, 959 people experienced homelessness in Bend,”  Amy from The City Of Bend said. You can even help by giving info to homeless people about shelters near them or you can volunteer in campaigns/fundraisers for the homeless.

Homeless people should still be able to get a chance in life to get a job but they still have to meet requirements to get that job. Calling cops and complaining doesn’t help homeless people. It makes it worse. “People aren’t used to homeless people, that’s why people get scared,” Amy from The City Of Bend said. People should stop calling cops and complaining about the homeless and making life worse for them. Imagine yourself as a homeless person and being in their shoes and following the Golden Rule.

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Homelessness and House Prices in Bend Oregon by Ryan S and Iris H

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Homelessness and House Prices in Bend Oregon by Ryan S and Iris H

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The Problem within our Community

Imagine it’s below freezing outside and you have no place to sleep. What would you do? Unfortunately, this is the reality for over 1000 people in Central Oregon. In early 2024, almost 1,800 homeless people were counted. Homelessness can be a huge issue for not only the people experiencing it, but for our entire community. A big part of the problem is

the very high housing prices in our town.

The prices of houses in Bend and the rest of Central Oregon are a big attribute to homelessness and have always been an issue. “Ever since I was first elected, we’ve been dealing with a housing crisis,” said Melanie Kebler, mayor of Bend. “Housing is too expensive for too many people,” she said.

Homelessness can affect entire communities and it can really be a problem because part of having a healthy community is having everyone be safe and be able to contribute to the town. “I think everyone should have a place to lay their head at night that’s safe,” Kebler said.

How did we get here?

Our town’s housing prices have skyrocketed in the last 10 years, making it very hard to buy and maintain a house. This can happen because there’s not enough houses, so the prices go up, making it harder for people to get one.

Homelessness rates have also gone up over the years, and they don’t seem to be going down. People can become homeless for a lot of reasons, one of the most common ones is that they spend a lot of their money on addictive things such as drugs and alcohol, and they continue to support that habit and aren’t able to afford to keep their houses.

Why and How can we help to Fix the Problem?

Currently, Kebler and other Bend city council members are trying to figure out ways to help with homelessness. They have done a lot to increase shelter capacity, and are continuing to expand on different shelter options, so houseless people have a temporary shelter to stay at while they figure out where to live. They’re also working on building more affordable housing. “From shelter all the way up to the home, all the steps in between, we wanna make that available to help get people out of homelessness,” Kebler said. Helping these people is very important because having so many homeless people can impact our environment, economy, and how we perceive our community. Kebler stated, “There’s a lot of impacts, and it’s not just the people that are living outside, it’s everybody,”

They’re also focusing a lot on the housing crisis. This includes working on building more homes, while also being mindful of how they make use of the space that Bend has. Another way they are working on bringing prices down is by building homes and using public money to “subsidize” or to pay for part of the cost to build the houses, which can help the rent be lower for people with lower incomes. “This has been the top issue, every time we set our goals, every time we do a survey with the community, it’s housing prices and trying to make them more affordable.” Kebler said. Bringing housing prices down is becoming more and more important for our community because when somebody loses their house, they tend to start living out of their car, couch surfing, or they become homeless, which just adds on to the issue. Another thing people might do is move away, but still work in Bend, which can be bad for our roads and environment. “A big effect of the housing crisis is causing homelessness, but also causing us to lose folks that are important to the community,” Kebler said.

What can we Expect for the Future?

As the prices in Bend continue to rise, in the future we can expect to see people moving out of Bend to find more affordable housing prices if the housing here continue to increase, and Mayor Kebler said that if the housing prices continue going up there is going to be more driving around from living in one place and working in another, going to bend to other places like Portland and Redmond. One problem is we will lose a big population of our town from this happening in the future, and if more people are homeless then non homeless that will make Bend look less like a community. We also can expect prices of other things in Bend could be going up such as food, gas, and hotels. This also links to why the homelessness population is going up in the future, and if the homeless population goes up, it could make less people want to come to Bend.

Conclusion and Ways you can Help

Some ways you can help with homelessness are: volunteering at the giving plate passing out food, or donating and volunteering at shelters. Another way you can help is donating clothes or things you don’t need, or fundraising. “Simply just start spreading  the word about the raising homeless population to people,” Kebler said. Put yourself in these people’s shoes. Shouldn’t everyone have a place to sleep at night?

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Jobs For Teens

When you think of jobs in your area do you picture teens? It might seem odd, but work experience can play a big role in teen responsibility. As teens get older and more responsible, they may want to get a job and start making their own money. We interviewed a couple sources to see their thoughts on the issue.

When we interviewed Mayor Melanie Keebler she said,

“I think I got my first job when I was 16.” She also talked about how she didn’t know any teens (specifically 14 year olds) who were employed.

According to parentingtodaysteens.org,

“Kids need jobs! And no amount of after-school activities, social clubs, sports programs, or music lessons can replace the education and life skills gained at work.”

However other sources may disagree with this idea since kids might already have a lot on their plate, with schoolwork and extracurriculars.

How young is too young?

In 1938, child labor laws in the US evolved through state-level initiatives and federal attempts, including the Keating-Owen Act of 1916. This law stated:

“ The Keating-Owen Act aimed to regulate child labor by prohibiting the interstate shipment of goods produced in factories or mines where children under 14 were employed, or where adolescents between 14 and 16 worked more than an eight-hour day.” (Us.capital.com)

This law did however get struck down later by the Supreme Court. The laws have since been changed (see below) but still have the same general idea.

What are the pros and cons?

You may be wondering if it’s better to work as a teen or not. Well there are good and bad things about both sides, For example:

There are many pros of being a teen working, some of them are; It’s a new life experience and a great opportunity, part time jobs are great self esteem boosters, teens can be left feeling accomplished, teaches important life skills and more appreciation of the money earned.  Said Teenlife.com

However there are a couple cons to working as a teen. Some of them could be considered as a lot of pressure to handle especially during school, jobs can be draining, teens can even get 40 hours of work, and can be naïve and inexperienced. Teenlife.com said.

According to The Benefits and Risks of Adolescent Employment, “Most parents like the idea of their children working, as they think that employment instills a whole set of positive traits, including independence, responsibility, interpersonal skills, and a good work ethic.” Said Millikancorydon.com

These jobs in Bend, Oregon allow as young as 14 year olds to work as an employee at the store/shop. It may be something easy to start off until you get old enough, such as a dishwasher, cashier,

The FLSA states that minors under 16 may not work more than eight hours per day and 40 hours per week when school is not in session, and they may not work more than 3 hours per day and 18 hours per week when school is in session. Workforce.com said. Minor labor laws are in place to provide safeguards for people under 18 who are employed and, generally, still attending school. These laws help employers like you prioritize young employees’ health, well-being, and education. Workforce.com said

Intakes from sources

“I think having a food service or food related job is totally okay." As long as they are trained and professional, said mayor Melanie Keebler in an interview.

When prompted with the question:

“Do you think teens get paid the same as adults?”

Melanie said;

“I think it totally depends on the job, if it’s one of the more seasonal jobs, for example blowing up tubes at the river, I think it’s totally reasonable that they get paid the same as adults.”

In conclusion, as a young teen you are allowed to work/be an employee,but it comes with a lot of responsibilities and laws if you are willing to take them on. It can be worth it, but you have to put in the work and effort.

Some sites you can view to look into jobs are https://www.indeed.com/q-teen-l-bend,-or-jobs.html?vjk=6faf969c8eda939f and also https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Jobs/14-Year-Old/-in-Bend,OR

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Teenagers Overall Effect On The Economy In Bend

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Teenagers Overall Effect On The Economy In Bend

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When teenagers get together, they can either profit or wreck businesses. Recently, teenagers have become increasingly more concerned with popularity. Teenagers usually tend to travel with others. When they go with their friends into businesses they can act differently than they would on their own, breaking things, stealing items, and distributing paying customers and employees. “They feel superior in a way.” Said officer Dan Koenke, a professional police officer in Bend.   As you know this year we and our fellow classmates were banned from the grove with little to no context, they didn’t tell us much but they grouped us all together as a bad thing for the economy. But are the accusations true? Are teenagers really that bad for the economy?

The Grove. You’ve probably been there, ate there, drank there, everyone goes after school for a snack! That was until our Advisors announced our whole age group being banned. For what? That’s what we are going to find out. All they told us was that we were too loud and too disruptive, said a teenager. But that doesn’t justify a ban, what did we really do? From some research we found out that there were countless cases of theft, vandalism, and destruction. “It’s like a mob mentality.” Koenke said. Being with other humans that you like causes a dopamine rush. Who isn’t happy when they are with their friends? As you know, we love to shop, spending money as an activity. Teenagers do a great job staying loyal to businesses and helping small businesses, and overall we do a good job being respectful. The grove was an exception to this, with three schools surrounding it, it quickly became ‘the hang out spot’, want lunch? Go to the Grove. Wanna hang out? Go to the Grove. Want morning coffee? You know where to go. But did the Grove handle it well? Did every teen deserve this?

What Caused This Ban? The Grove is a relatively new business that quickly turned into the public’s food court. It has coffee and alcohol, food and ice cream, even a seafood counter serving sushi, salads, and snacks. It quickly became ‘the hang out spot’. Want lunch? Go to the Grove. Wanna hang out? Go to the grove. Want morning coffee? You know where to go.  Teenagers have always acted out but it started to get worse and worse at the Grove with all the schools surrounding it. The Old Mill and Sephora both face similar problems. Sephora, Lululemon, and Sweet Tooth are just some of the popular places teens like to go. The most popular businesses are affected the most from this, yes they get lots of customers, but it also comes with getting products stolen and having to deal with customer complaints. On one hand, the kids were benefiting the small businesses by spending money on items. On the other hand, we were losing the business money and they were leaving a trail of chaos wherever they went. This caused the Grove to ban teens at lunch and after school. With this ban, they lost money, probably more than they lost due to theft, and stereotyped all teenagers. “Since last year, there’s been about 11,000 dollars worth of damage from Summit students, specifically at our lunch time,” said Mary Thomas to the Summit Pinnacle. Any popular store or business at the time faces similar issues and are affected in both negative and positive ways. But was banning us the right move? Was it justified? The ban could potentially have a negative outcome on the money coming in. Would the employees accept us back if these people changed their behavior? Could we come back from this incident?

What Teens Are Doing In Bend Right Now

Teens of all ages have recently been biased because of their stage of life. Some teens at the grove have been overly disrespectful at this market hall, breaking some things, stealing others. Otherwise, more teens at the Grove have been kind and respectful to the building and the community. To take another reach about the economy at the Grove and other malls, “Teenagers have an overall beneficial effect on the economy.” Koehnke said.  Thinking about the fact that we have recently gotten banned from the market hall, do we really have that effect? Are we actually benefiting the businesses even though we are also destroying products?

We’re sure many of us are missing the freedom of after school Grove trip to grab a snack, do some homework, maybe procrastinate on school work? Let’s talk about the big picture of why we got banned. Our parents and guardians got an email a while ago stating that the Grove needed us basically out of sight so they could thrive without the disturbance of entitled and ignorant teens. “Students have limited access to its premises during lunch and after school hours on Wednesdays from 2:15–4:00 pm.” The Summit Pinnacle verified. We’re guessing that most of you all will understand but some kids still don’t so let’s break it down. The employees at the Grove saw some teens acting silly, breaking things, being bratty, and being overall loud and obnoxious. We bet some of you are in denial but it’s the truth. Officer Dan Koenke said “I know that there were a lot of times where the bathroom stall doors were getting wrecked, paper towel dispensers were being ripped off the wall.” As well as “there was some theft from the businesses inside… Over a few months there were several different incidents with different people coming in.” This behavior was not ok and caused the Grove to need to make a hard decision. Lots of people on the internet are calling our generation ‘screenagers’ because we have more access to technology devices they didn’t have when they were our age. This is mildly upsetting for some kids because it’s not all of our generation who are attracted to their devices like bugs to a light. Some of us would rather get off devices like iPhones to go enjoy the sun or spend time with their loved ones instead of being on the phone 24/7.  Lots of teens around 13-14 are acquiring phones and tablets to use on their own time. Some teens in Bend recently have been told they act differently when they have a smartphone in their hand according to google search. Recent studies show that the phone does damage to the brain of developing kids and teens causing them to develop an unhealthy obsession with cellular devices. This could be part of the problem of entitlement in teenagers.

What Will Come Of This Behavior?

In the future, what will happen? Will we be known as the ‘worst generation’? Will other businesses follow the grove's lead? Will we keep getting side eyes from every adult in a store and random searches for stolen products that weren’t stolen? Teenagers around 13-15 usually act less mature than people 16 and up, especially when they’re around their friends. You probably have seen the videos online.  Some familiar video titles might say  “Story time about the time I was kicked by a 13 year old at Sephora.” and “I was smacked with a 12 year olds Stanley over a Benefit cosmetic.” These videos are very entertaining to watch but are also really informative as well. They show what these businesses deal with on a daily basis. Hopefully the majority of people that are stealing and vandalizing will grow out of it with age. Maybe some will get caught doing something bad and face charges. Online there are hundreds of articles from moms that don’t know what to do about their out of control kid. “I think when kids are making poor choices it is a reflection of how they were raised,” Officer Dan said. “Raising kids, you don’t just know how to do it… It’s not always going to be perfect. Like I said it’s sometimes kids with the greatest parents, sometimes kids with not great parents.” Officer Dan said. The worst part about the whole situation to me is that now if you do go to the Grove you will be treated differently with less freedoms.  Not all of the kids are the problem. Some people are being targeted for a problem they didn’t start. Many people at our school are being looked at rudely near the market hall when they are minding their own business and being respectful, all based on the stage of life they were in. The old mill faces a similar problem with theft and destruction at the popular hang out spot. In the Sephora at the old mill, testers were getting destroyed and stolen, angering other customers. This behavior isn’t uncommon here. They may not sound like it but they are subtly teaching you that acting rude in businesses is not okay at all.

This is a real photo of one of the testers at Sephora. Damaged, open, and disgusting. Don’t do this. It will ruin the product for everyone.  But will this change? For  both you and me I certainly hope it does. Hopefully people grow out of the destruction and get us unbanned.

How we can help We need to make sure we keep the good reputation officer Dan gives us so that we don’t have another grove incident. Make sure to always use good manners, try not to be too loud, and don’t commit felonies. Teenagers in Bend do a pretty good job and it was just a few people that ruined it for everyone, Officer Dan summarized. Try asking officers or people in charge about confusing rules. Make sure to stand up when you are biased by your age but don’t let the hard facts hurt your feelings. Let them influence you to become a better version of yourself! Also, don’t forget that when you are 13-17 years old you are not adults yet and you don’t have the authority to make a fuss about rules in place to protect other people's property.

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incidents that can happen on Skyliner. Road accident assistance can be delayed if you are

upon the mountain because and cell service may not work so trying to call 911 may be delayed.

If you get hurt in the accident youwill probably go for a long time without medical attention and

make major injuries worse.

Sometimes there is No cell service in isolated parts of Skyliners Road ambulances can't get

there fast enough in snowy conditions and combined with bad cell reception is just terrible,

people die when they are stranded because of this. If you take a drive and your car breaks

down be prepared to be stuck for a while without help.

There is wildlife at some parts of the road. If a car gets hit by a wild life animal it's very bad.

Example of wildlife: bears, deer, elk, cougars. On a isolated road you should always bring: a

sleeping bag, pillow, water bottle, ice machine, weapon, extra clothes, and a charger, phone, &

radio.

Skyliner Road can be beautiful with the brown trees with green leaves in the summer and in

the fall vibrant orange leaves. But this road can be dangerous. According to TRIP transportation

research “Oregon’s rural road fatality rates are among the highest in the U.S.”

If you find yourself taking a trip on an isolated road there are ways to be prepared incase of an

emergency. Always have some extra fuel, some water, alot first aid kits, fully charged phone or a

satellite communication device, as well as a map or compass to be prepared for a GPS Failure