Month: September 2012

Fall Food Drive season is around the corner, and FOX Central Oregon and NeighborImpact’s 21 Cares for Kids partner, News Channel 21 are hosting an area-wide food drive to benefit NeighborImpact’s Food Bank, beginning October 1 and running through November 18. Food collection barrels will be placed at all Papa Murphy Pizza locations and at

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced Monday that claim forms are going out to more than 23,000 Oregonians who may be eligible for payments under the national mortgage foreclosure settlement. Qualifying Oregonians could get cash payments of $840 or more. To be eligible, borrowers must have lost their home to foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008

Mt. Washington Drive (from Century Drive to Chandler Avenue) is scheduled for asphalt overlay on Tuesday. Road closures will be required to complete the work. Flaggers and local traffic detours will be in place. Please choose alternate routes toavoid the construction area. Construction Schedule The general contractor on this project is High Desert Aggregate. Project

The Deschutes County Children and Families Commission announced Monday the October release of the non-profit license plate, Keep Kids Safe, the product of a local effort years in the making. Oregon citizens are encouraged to purchase the license plate, which is expected to generate a sustainable source of revenue for proven child abuse prevention efforts

St. Charles Bend has received the American College of Cardiology Foundation’s NCDR ACTION Registry–GWTG Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2012 – one of only 164 hospitals nationwide to do so. The award recognizes St. Charles’ commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients, and signifies that St. Charles has

A Burns teen is on house arrest, suspected of making threats against a fellow high school student, KGW in Portland reported Monday. The 17-year-old made unspecified threats — involving bringing a gun to school — against the fellow student last Thursday, according to Burns police and Harney County School District 3. An automated call was

The 2012 Oregon Governor’s Volunteer Awards on Friday, Nov. 9, will honor 14 individuals and 12 organizations from throughout the state for their commitment to serving Oregon and its people. The Oregon Volunteers Commission for Voluntary Action and Service organizes the awards program, which is sponsored by Wells Fargo. At the awards luncheon, the winners

Deputy Superintendent Rob Saxton announced the performance of Oregon’s 2012 graduates on the SAT college entrance exam Monday and found cause for optimism, both in small increases in test scores and continued performance well above the national average. He said last years’ graduates performed slightly better on the test overall, with increases in both reading

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates saw little change for all three Central Oregon counties in August, the state Employment Department reported Monday. The statewide unemployment rate was also essentially unchanged in August (8.9%) from the July rate of 8.7 percent. The national unemployment rate remained essentially flat as well, with a rate of 8.1 percent in

Bend Park & Recreation District is seeking adult volunteers to come make a splash with adaptive swimming programs for school age children with disabilities. Adaptive aquatics programs focus on teaching swimming skills and water safety to elementary and middle school age students. Offered at Juniper Swim & Fitness Center throughout the school year, classes are

The Redmond community was shocked and saddened to learn Saturday that John Hartford, principal of Elton Gregory Middle School in Redmond, was killed late Friday afternoon in a motorcycle crash on Highway 26 west of Mitchell. Oregon State Police said the crash occurred late Friday afternoon near the Crook/Wheeler county line . According to Sgt.

Fire destroyed a detached garage in Deschutes River Woods Sunday afternoon and began spreading to the nearby home, but Bend firefighters prevented it from causing significant damage to the home, officials said. Crews responded just before 3 p.m. to the reported garage/shop fire within 20 feet of a home owned by Mike Smith at 59978

Dogs of all shapes and sizes showed off their talents at Ponderosa Elementary School on Sunday. It was all part of the Bend Agility Action Dogs competition. The dogs led by their owners and trainers navigated through a number of obstacle courses. Running, jumping hurdles and crawling through tunnels were all part of the agility

Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, including a K-9 unit, and Bend police searched an area just north of town Sunday morning but were unable to find a burglary suspect who ran away when he was confronted by homeowners. Deputies were dispatched around 8 a.m. to an address in the 63000 block of NE Anika Lane on

An Oregon Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter flew into the Crooked River Canyon Saturday morning and plucked a Redmond hiker from a precarious spot on the cliff where he’d been stuck through a long, chilly night, climaxing a challenging 16-hour rescue operation, authorities said. Benjamin Hyatt, 42, of Redmond had used his cellphone to

As many of us are heading to bed, night crew fire fighters are heading to the fire lines of the Pole Creek Fire. Firefighting is already a difficult task, but adding the dark of the night can make crews’ job more difficult. “Usually there’s smoke inversions,” said Pole Creek division supervisor Trish Wallace. “It’s hard

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued an Air Quality Alert for the High Desert on Friday, extending it until 5 p.m. Monday due to high concentrations of smoke from the Pole Creek Fire. “Despite a disturbance that is expected to track across the region this weekend, the layer of smoke is expected to remain

Two young hikers who became stranded more than 300 feet down the Crooked River Canyon were rescued in a complex, four-hour rope-rescue operation Wednesday afternoon, Crooked River Ranch fire officials said. Crooked River Ranch Fire and Rescue’s high-angle rope rescue team was dispatched around 11:40 a.m. on the report of two stranded hikers off of

Air Force First Lt. Justin J. Wilkens, 26, of Bend died in a plane crash in Djibouti, Africa on Feb. 18, 2012. A funeral for Wilkens was held in Bend on March 24th followed by his burial at Pilot Butte Cemetery. During the investigation of the crash site in Africa, additional remains of Wilkens and

Strong, fit girls are cool girls! Bend Park and Recreation invites girls ages 10 to 15 years old to join the new Will Power for Girl Power program. Held at Juniper Swim & Fitness Center this fall, the class is nationally recognized and led by certified wellness coach, Mikki Profitt. The program features a variety