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Hines moves to add Starlink capability after countywide fiber failure; community meeting set on OWRD voluntary agreements
Summary
City Administrator Roxane Worley said T‑Mobile/Starlink conversion for city phones will start the following day. The meeting also heard an emergency after‑action report on a Dec. 23 Lumen fiber failure that disrupted county communications; Worley announced a Jan. 22 community meeting on voluntary OWRD agreements following Representative Mark Owens' bill.
City Administrator Roxane Worley told the Hines Common Council that T‑Mobile/Starlink conversion for city phones would begin the next day to add redundancy for the Office, Public Works and first responders.
Worley summarized an after‑action report from Harney County Emergency Manager Melinda Todd about a Dec. 23 communications failure: a fiber cut originating at a Lumen office in Bend caused widespread loss of cellular and internet service across the county, temporarily rerouted 911 calls to Malheur County Dispatch, and required increased radio use and welfare checks at critical facilities. "Due to the communications failure, 911 calls were temporarily rerouted to Malheur County Dispatch Center," the report said; local agencies noted deficiencies that will be addressed in follow up.
Worley also briefed the Council about water‑management outreach: the City was an early adopter of a joint resolution on collaborative water management in the Harney Basin, and Representative Mark Owens presented a bill to the 2026 legislature that Worley said outlines procedures for voluntary agreements between OWRD and water‑rights owners. Worley announced a community meeting for Jan. 22 at 1 p.m. at the community center where Elizabeth Howard, attorney for the local coalition, and representatives from the governor's office will discuss voluntary agreements and next steps.
No regulatory action was taken at the Jan. 13 meeting; the community meeting and continued intergovernmental coordination were presented as next steps.
