Month: September 2012

Reed Market Road (Bond Street to Bend Parkway) is scheduled for asphalt overlay Monday. Low nighttime temperatures require the paving work to be completed during warmer, daytime hours. Road closures will be required to complete the work. Flaggers and local traffic detours will be in place. Please choose alternate routes to avoid the construction area.

With the opening of the rifle deer season a week away on Saturday, Sept. 29, ODFW and Oregon Department of Forestry are warning hunters they may find more private forestlands closed this year due to the high fire danger. “This year, it’s more important than ever that hunters check for closures before heading afield and

With hot and dry conditions and now the threat of lightning, fire officials spent Friday preparing for any new fire starts. Firefighting resources across the West have been stretched thin for weeks. With fewer resources, crews on the Pole Creek fire are now spreading out across the region. “The Deschutes National Forest has a considerable

The Ochoco National Forest building and parking lot will be reopened to the public on Monday, after being closed during renovations. All public services will be available at the Ochoco National Forest Service office during normal business hours of 7:30 to 4:30, Monday through Friday. The renovation, being completed in four stages throughout the building,

Fire erupted early Friday in several piles of wood chips and brush in southwest Redmond, sending up flames visible for miles before it could be extinguished, officials said. The call came in just after midnight at the Bar Seven A Trucking wood yard at 1920 SW Sixth St., said Fire Marshal Tracy Cooper. Crews arrived

Redmond Fire and Rescue respond to an early morning woodchip fire just after midnight on Friday. Several woodchip piles at the Bar 7 A facility on 6th street caught fire, having spread due to close proximity to each other. Afacility employee manned a loader, pulling the piles apart while Redmond fire crews doused the flames.

As the Pole Creek Fire continues to burn, were getting a much different view. Fire information officers released new video Thursday of a burn-out operation on Three Creeks Road. John Nokes, a firefighter on the lines, captured the moments as flames shot into the night sky Tuesday. The video gives more insight into what firefighters

The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development acknowledged the city of La Pine’s Comprehensive Plan and Urban Growth Boundary on Thursday. This milestone enables La Pine to exercise local control of city land use issues (zoning, land use, code enforcement capabilities, and more), and to self-govern. “Achieving self-governance is why La Pine residents wanted

Sparks from a grinder apparently ignited a brushfire in a vacant northwest Redmond lot Thursday afternoon, officials said. Redmond fire crews were called to 413 NW Larch Avenue around 2:30 p.m., said Fire Marshal Traci Cooper. They arrived to find grass, trees and brush on fire in the vacant lot, with two structures in close

Tuesday’s explosive blaze in which one home was lost and another damaged at The Ridge at Eagle Crest is a strong reminder of the value of defensible space and hazardous fuels reduction, an official involved in such efforts said Thursday. Meanwhile, the owner of the destroyed home contacted NewsChannel 21 on Thursday and offered appreciation

The Deschutes and Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland will implement the first herbicide treatments under the 2012 Invasive Plant Treatment project starting next Monday, officials said Thursday. Ten sites across both the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and Crooked River National Grassland have been identified for herbicide and manual treatments to begin

The Oregon Construction Contractors Board, in cooperation with the National Association of Contractor Licensing Agencies, conducted simultaneous undercover construction stings with seven other state licensing agencies to alert consumers to the large numbers of illegal construction activities offered online. On Sept. 12, set up two undercover sting operations in the Salem and Bend areas targeting

The state is evaluating its long term care system and how it can meet the growing demands as Oregonians live longer and healthier lives. The public is invited to provide input and direction on the future of long term care services at a series of public meetings around the state through October. Mike McCormick, APD

Bend police said Wednesday they are still investigating Monday evening’s crash on Hwy. 20E that left a 16-year-old motorcycle rider with serious injuries, but that the driver of the pickup that struck him was not using a cell phone or speeding at the time of the collision. The crash was reported around 5:30 p.m. Monday

Bend’s famous three-legged dog has jumped from the champion Frisbee course into the pages of a new children’s book –and so did a Bend girl who stepped up to help feed hungry animals in a novel, high-tech way. First-time Bend author Brooke Smith recently published the first book in her series titled “Mimi and Maty

Redmond fire officials said Wednesday that barbecue ashes dumped in a plastic garbage can started the fire that ripped through an Eagle Crest home Tuesday. A few good Samaritans, followed by fire crews, stopped the flames from spreading to a nearby home. But the damage was still costly — a total of $465,000 to the

Warm Springs Forest Products said Wednesday it is expecting to lay off 93 full-time employees this November. It’s not the mill’s first big layoff in recent years, but there’s still hope for restoring some of the lost positions next spring. The lumber mill is among the top 15 private employers in Jefferson County. The upcoming

Newberry EGS, a joint venture of Davenport Newberry and AltaRock Energy, announced Wednesday that the Newberry Enhanced Geothermal Systems Demonstration has obtained a “sundry notice” approval from the Bureau of Land Management. The notice allows the stimulation process to create geothermal reservoirs to begin, which is part of Phase II of the Newberry EGS Demonstration.

The digital age and social media has changed just about every aspect of our lives. Now firefighters are using it when they fight wildfires. Fire information officers are using everything from Twitter to Flickr to get the word and pictures out about the blaze. On the fire liens, they’re using other technology to relay information

BendBroadband is partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Oregon to implement a digital literacy outreach program for the 2012-2013 school year. This program is modeled on Connect2Compete, a national nonprofit initiative, aiming to bring disadvantaged students and families online. Eligible families will be able to receive high speed Internet for $9.95 for 2