Month: July 2012

Officials representing Central Oregon’s electric utility cooperatives advised a top state energy official Thursday night that many of the provisions of Gov. John Kitzhaber’s draft 10-year Energy Action Plan, “while laudable, need to better reflect the economic interests and energy-related achievements of rural Oregonians.” Testifying at the hearing on the Central Oregon Community College campus

The intersection of Brookswood Blvd. and Powers Rd. will be closed to traffic starting in the morning on Monday, July 23 and continuing through October for the construction of a new roundabout. Work will be performed by local contractor Jack Robinson & Sons. A temporary, signed detour route will be in effect for the duration

The athletes competing in the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic range from world-renowned riders to Bend business owners who juggle work, family and training. “Team Oregon” is a group of local riders who prove that with enough dedication, they can hold their own against the top cyclists in the world. Bend cyclist Scott Gray,

Firefighters kept working Thursday to contain several wildfires ignited by a lightning storm that passed through Central Oregon Tuesday night while responding to three new blazes, officials said. Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch workers remained on high alert, as lightning was predicted through midnight, but the watch for “sleeper” smoke columns will last for many days

A Redmond man was arrested early Thursday morning, accused of entering the Bend home of a woman he knew, awakening her, pulling a knife, raping her and threatening to kill her. Police said she broke free and ran to a neighbor’s home for help. Officers were called to an unidentified northeast Bend home around 12:05

Thomas Bray could spend nearly 10 years behind bars, and that’s if he’s convicted of even just one of the Measure 11 crimes he’s charged with. The 38-year-old ex-COCC anatomy teacher faces 11 misdemeanor and felony counts of sex abuse, stemming from two different women accusing him of beating and raping them. NewsChannel 21 will

Police have arrested a Bend man on a Utah warrant that accuses him of soliciting and receiving nude photographs from a teenage girl, according to a Utah newspaper. Daniel Dean Divine, 30, was booked Monday into the Deschutes County Jail and was being held without bail Tuesday on the Utah warrant. The Deseret News reports

An eight-month investigation by Oregon State Police fish and wildlife officers, aided by U.S. Forest Service law enforcement and Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, has led to several charges against three teens accused of the illegal take and waste of deer and elk in the Metolius Wildlife Management Unit. “To see this basically happen in my

All seven governors from Pacific states and territories have come together to send a joint letter to President Obama, encouraging more federal assistance with the Japanese tsunami debris washing up on the coastlines. A $50,000 grant was announced from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to help with the response, and Oregon is in the

Sunriver Resort is pleased to announce the success of the second annual Rhythm on the Range Charity Concert Weekend, which raised more than $5,000 for local not-for-profit Wonderland Express during the two-day festivities held on July 6 and 7. The family-friendly weekend of music was held on the Meadows Golf Course driving range, adjacent to

Researchers at Portland State University said Wednesday they have discovered how mosses can use chemical cues to recruit small creatures to help with fertilization, through a process similar to pollination in flowering plants. In a new study published by Nature, the team found that despite a lack of sweet smelling flowers, mosses produce scents than

Gov. John Kitzhaber and Chief Education Officer Rudy Crew announced Wednesday that Oregon has received federal approval for its Elementary and Secondary Education Act flexibility application. With this approval, Oregon will be able to tailor the mechanisms of the ESEA, or No Child Left Behind Act, to create a more accountable and responsive system that

Six fires were ignited in southeast Deschutes County early Wednesday morning due to thunderstorms across the area. Thunderstorm season usually begins in July and runs until early September, and officials with the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center say they’re getting busy. “Yes, it does get busy — we watch the weather pretty close. Yesterday (Tuesday),

A Visa-Mastercard settlement gives businesses the option to pass along credit and debit card use fees to customers. But are Central Oregon businesses going to start passing that fee on to you? The business owners NewsChannel 21 talked with Wednesday said the answer is “no.” But they said the swipe fee is just another one

Both women accusing Thomas Bray of raping them took the stand Wednesday morning in the first full day of testimony. No cameras are allowed in the courtroom at the request of the alleged victims in this case. While we will not name either alleged victim, their personal information was revealed for everyone to hear in

A Prineville teen was thrown from his pickup Monday evening after Crook County sheriff’s deputies say he swerved to miss the car in front of him. The crash happened just after 5:15 p.m. on Lamonta Road near Gumpert Road. Sgt. James Savage said said the 17-year-old male driver swerved into oncoming traffic to miss another

Central Oregon Pediatric Associates (COPA) is undertaking a major building expansion and remodel at its east Bend location, beginning Wednesday. The practice remains open for patients and operating at normal capacity, seven days a week, during the remodel. Work is expected to be complete by late October. COPA’s other two locations, on Bend’s west side

Thunderstorms that made their way through Harney County Monday sparked six new fires. In a news release, Tara Martinak of the Burns BLM district said the Slope Fire was the largest of the new starts. It has burned about 760 acres near Riddle Mountain, 15 miles east of Diamond. With dozens of firefighting resources already

A Deschutes River Woods homeowner, jolted awake by a lightning strike early Wednesday morning, soon noticed an odd odor and called in firefighters, who found that the bolt had sparked a small fire in the garage, officials said. As thunderstorms rumbled through the Bend area early Wednesday, a Bend fire engine responded to 59946 Minnetonka

It’s a growing trend across the U.S.: teens huffing freon to get high. It’s now being seen on the High Desert, and has local officials asking you to talk with your kids. Home Heating and Cooling in Bend says they got a call from a homeowner who said their air-conditioning unit was not working. When