Vote Tony DeBone

As a Central Oregon resident and real estate agent for over 21 years, I’ve seen many changes in Deschutes County. Commissioner Tony DeBone is meeting those challenges with passion, vision and hard work.

I first met Tony years ago at a function at Eagle Crest. I found him to be a great listener (even when he disagreed with me!). He’s also kind and works toward consensus in a common-sense fashion. His concern for Deschutes County’s future economic and environmental success is much appreciated.

Tony currently serves as chairman of the board of county commissioners and has been diligent in meeting the needs of the county and its constituents. He is open to all ideas and bases his decision on what is best for the majority. As a former small-business owner, Tony knows the value of a dollar and strives to get the most from available resources.

Please vote “yes” to re-elect Tony DeBone as Deschutes County commissioner, Position #1.

Bea Leach Hatler

La Pine

Medical crisis

We literally have a medical crisis in Central Oregon. The demand is so far beyond the supply. The providers, even while some are kind of nice about it, are not accommodating or overly concerned/sympathetic. I’m currently waiting nine months for a routine test; I just found out if I drive to Portland, I can be seen in two weeks. And their time is always more important than yours — my relative has significant breathing problems; he was 11 minutes late for an appointment due to Bend traffic, and they canceled his appointment. I’ve had to take time off to be on time for appointments and still waited over an hour; the ER can literally be hours, but you have to wait because your doctor is too busy and sent you there.

Sad, and not a darned thing we can do. When I’ve told my doctors about long waits, they just shrug and say that’s how it is.

Erin Bennett

Bend

Vote Sam Carpenter

It’s time for a change, and time is running out. We must elect Sam Carpenter to the Oregon Governor’s seat and here is why: Oregon continues to go downhill fiscally, socially and environmentally under the watch of Kate Brown (and, pretty much every Democrat governor that has preceded her). Her disregard for rule of law and her mismanagement of our beautiful state is appalling.

Sam Carpenter will keep taxes low and spending lower, tackle the PERS crisis and cut the bloated bureaucracy in Salem. Sam knows how to govern, as he has run a successful business in Bend for 34 years. In the past few years, another one of his other companies has helped over 500 businesses repair their broken business models and turn them around into money-making successes.

Sam will end the illegal alien sanctuary state law to protect our citizens. He will improve our children’s education by allowing school choice. His heart is for the people of Oregon, including the elderly and the unborn.

Sam has a plan to stop the devastating forest fires we see every summer because of forest mismanagement. His plan would include changing the policies to allow thinning the crowded forests, putting many people back to work and opening up mills, as well. This is a two-pronged benefit, economic growth and clean air every summer.

The time is now! Join me in voting Sam Carpenter for governor, before it is too late for Oregon.

Find out more about him at www.makeoregongreatagain.com.

Joyce Waring

Redmond

Safety first

The editorial board (The Bulletin, April 10) seems shocked that the transportation panel has a focus on safety and protecting vulnerable road users. You say, “It’s telling that the first goal focuses on safety rather than on improving road conditions generally.”

I’ve been trained on dangerous equipment over many years and the FIRST topic is ALWAYS safety. Look at any manual on using equipment such as a lawnmower — the first few pages are always about safe use. Why isn’t this also true with our roads? We license people to use two-ton machines with very little training and weak enforcement (no speed cameras, no red-light cameras), and we have grown accustomed to people violating the law. So much so that many people feel safer driving than walking. If you want to improve Bend and the quality of life here, we need to protect the most vulnerable first — kids and adults walking and bicycling. If you can do that, you will find that some people get out of their cars and this will have the additional benefit of reducing congestion. Seems like a win/win to me.

Alex Anderson

Bend