Month: June 2011

With over $1 million worth of sought-after cost-of-living raises just one of several issues, Deschutes County employees locked in negotiations as their contract expires held an informational-picketing rally Thursday outside the county offices in downtown Bend. “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!” the chant went up, some times accompanied by

Tourists will be making their way in and out of Central Oregon for the Fourth of July weekend, a traditional trip for many, and a slight dip in gas prices comes right in time for the holiday. While drivers are hitting the road, it’s a notorious weekend for drunk driving, meaning police will be out

Oregon lawmakers approved legislation Thursday that will help fund the purchase of a permanent building for Oregon State University-Cascades graduate programs. Rep. Jason Conger, R-Bend, said the 2011-13 capital construction budget provides the bonding authority necessary to cover roughly half of the building?s costs. ?The establishment of a facility owned by OSU-Cascades is an important

It’s a touchy subject: Whether those who get lost should be charged with such rescues. Search efforts, by and large, are done by volunteers, not paid staff, and some say that if people wait to call for fear of billing, the risk to them and the rescuers increases. In the wake of a major rescue

No maps, no compass, 13 hours lost in the woods. “They were just going for a short hike, they got turned around and couldn’t find their way out,” said sheriff?s Lt. Scott Shelton, search and rescue coordinator. As morning fog blanketed Hosmer Lake, 55-year-old Terri Harris was was taken by boat to safety. Her husband

What was supposed to be a fun summer raft trip on the seemingly placid Deschutes River in Bend quickly turned life-threatening Wednesday when a mother and her two children were pulled by strong currents over the Colorado Dam spillway. On Thursday, the Redmond mother described what led to the near-drowning and expressed gratitude for everyone

It’s our national bird, the sacred symbol of the United States of America — and now one of them is in the hands of Central Oregon veterinarians, clinging to life. Discovered by three La Pine women mushroom-hunting near Crane Prairie Reservoir, the rare raptor was motionless and badly injured with head trauma, spinal cord trauma

Deschutes County sheriff?s deputies are seeking the public?s help in finding a man who dumped a white or milky-colored substance into an irrigation canal east of Bend Sunday afternoon. They stressed there is no apparent danger to humans and no indication it was done to poison or tamper with the canal. ?At this point, it

“Praise the FSM”: These are the words written, spray-painted and tagged across not one, but two churches on opposite sides of Bend Sunday night. When Pastor John Bluebaugh of Christian Life Center got the news Monday morning, his first thought was, “Not again.” “Really, what went through my mind was, about six months we were

To most people, there is nothing humorous about crime, or religious beliefs. But a group with a name many would find amusing is very serious about helping two churches vandalized in its name. Word of Sunday night’s tagging spread to Pastafarian members with the Church of The Flying Spaghetti Monster and atheists across the country.

A California couple staying on the fourth floor of The Oxford Hotel in downtown Bend had a rude and unusual awakening early Saturday — a man entering their room by the balcony?s sliding glass door, police said. He was one of two Bend men who had climbed the hotel “like Spider-Man” to get there, then

Officers called to a domestic dispute at a northeast Bend home early Saturday made no arrests in that matter, but did take three people into custody on drugs and other charges, also removing two children from the home, police reported. Around 1:30 a.m. officers were called to a reported domestic dispute at 63351 Vogt Road,

More than 30 county district attorneys along with Oregon’s U.S. Attorney, Dwight Holton, all signed a notice warning dispensaries they’d better not be selling marijuana or they’ll face criminal prosecution. Owners and managers of marijuana clinics NewsChannel 21 talked with about Friday’s warning said they know its illegal to sell pot and are against those

A Bend grocery store has found itself the victim of a cheesy heist. The brazen crime against Gouda and bleu cheese happened Tuesday night in the wine section of Whole Foods Market — and was caught on surveillance video. Two women, a shopping cart, and nearly $600 worth of gourmet cheese wheels walked right out

Around town, he’s known as Cheeto, and he’s called this corner on Greenwood and 27th “home” for nearly two years. “It seems like paradise is gone when you see so many people needing help, Hopefully we’ll get back to paradise soon,” Cheeto said Wednesday. Cheeto says he used to be part of a dying breed