Graduates toss mortarboards into the air following their commencement ceremony at Madras High School in 2022.

No gas station

The City Council will decide Wednesday, Feb. 1 whether to hear an appeal against the proposed building of a gas station on Brosterhous and Murphy in southeast Bend. Yes, the build will be in southeast Bend but this is a citywide issue. Responsible development is a citywide concern: Neighbors want walkability, bikeability and connectivity — how do we get this outcome if the City Council doesn’t incorporate our input and take action on our behalf?

Councilor Anthony Broadman recently stated: “We have to think of generations to come with every land use decision we make.” We agree.

We are not NIMBYs. We want commercial businesses that serve the local community, like a book store, restaurant, fresh produce market, a satellite for our local library, food trucks. Businesses we can walk and bike to. Not vehicle-intensive businesses like a gas station, which does nothing for the surrounding neighborhoods the current lot is supposed to serve.

The City Council needs to listen to its Bend residents — residents voices must carry more weight in land use decisions.

Please hear our appeal.

— Sue Smith, Bend

Developments that do not comply with city code are coming to Bend?

Bend is at a crossroads. A hearings officer on a gas station application in southeast Bend recently shifted the burden of proof from the applicant to the opposition. He ignored the Bend Development Code, which states it is the applicant that has the burden of proof. The Bend City Council will be considering whether to accept an appeal on Feb 1. They really won’t want to because they haven’t in the past and there’s a 120-day deadline that looms on March 2, which doesn’t give them much time. If the hearing officers decision becomes law then….

Developers, for any project in the city, will no longer have to prove they meet the code — they can submit evidence of less quality— perhaps just a statement.

Neither the city nor opponents will be able to challenge a developer unless they hire many experts to conduct studies to prove that the development doesn’t meet code. This will likely be very difficult to do unless one has a lot of money.

Bend will get stuck with developments that don’t comply with code. I can’t even imagine what problems this may create for residents.

What can you do?

Show up Feb. 1 and tell city councilors they need to retain their authority over the meaning of their laws by accepting this appeal, reversing the burden of proof shift and excluding the appeal time from the 120-day deadline. I can’t speak because I am an appellant. Please speak for me.

— Jim Christo lives in Bend.

Oregon’s graduation statistics are not impressive

I was surprised to read the happy story about graduation rates in Central Oregon.

It gives you a warm cozy feeling.

However, your story failed to mention Senate Bill 744 which the governor signed on July 14, 2021. Senate Bill 744 suspended reading, writing and math competency testing for high school graduation for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024.

For the moment, an Oregon High School diploma is a certificate of attendance.

Local administrators praised the dedication of staff to improve graduation rates.

One even suggested ‘free’ sports enrollment was a driver.

Fact is: the state removed standards and Oregon still has one of the lowest graduation rates in the nation.

— George Bretz, Terrebonne

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