Month: October 2012

Central Oregon specialty crop producers and food processors will benefit from a recent grant provided by Oregon Department of Agriculture to Wy’East Resource Conservation & Development and their partners Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, Oregon State University Extension Service, Crook County Open Campus and Jefferson Soil & Water Conservation. “Specialty crops are the foundation of our

Golfers from throughout Central Oregon scored hundreds of birdies to help raise over $23,000 for MountainStar Family Relief Nursery’s Birdies 4 Babies TM program, an annual grassroots golfing fundraiser. Completing its eighth season, Birdies 4 Babies TM is truly a community-inspired event carried out by local golfers, which has generated more than $143,000 since its

Alabama has run its streak of weeks at No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll to eight, the longest stay atop the rankings by the Crimson Tide. Alabama received 59 of 60 first-place votes from the media panel in the poll released Sunday. The Tide has twice previously been No. 1 for seven

An English Bulldog puppy that was taken from an Oregon City couple at gunpoint has been found safe after police arrested a suspect in Vancouver Sunday. KGW reports that Vancouver police said Sunday that the SWAT Team was called to 4710 Plomondon Street #14, and after a three-hour standoff, 23-year-old Jajuane Etheridge was arrested and

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber told the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong Friday that increasing the state’s future trade of products and expertise with China and the rest of Asia represents a critical opportunity to create jobs for Oregonians. “China is one of our top trading partners and an enormous opportunity for growing businesses

Gresham police announced late Friday that they had found the body of Whitney Heichel on Larch Mountain, and they had arrested Jonathan Daniel Holt of Gresham in her murder. Police say Holt, 24, was an acquaintance who lived in the same apartment complex as Heichel, 21. Holt was arrested after being interviewed several times by

Outdoor debris burning within Deschutes County Rural Fire Protection District #2 will open at sunrise on Saturday morning, October 20 th . Outdoor burning within the city limits of Bend is prohibited, in accordance with city ordinance 5.30.005. Campfires, recreational fires, warming fires and cooking fires may be permitted within the city of Bend and

Hundreds of people packed Living Hope Christian Church in Madras Thursday for the Statewide Marijuana Summit. Several speakers offered insight on Ballot Measure 80, which would legalize marijuana in Oregon. “I really want to educated my whole family, so I brought all my kids,” said one attendee. “Warm Springs is taking a really strong stance

Election ballots began showing up in mailboxes on Friday, and in all Central Oregon counties, voter registration is up from four years ago. “Since the end of August, there has been a 7 percent increase in voter registration, so we’re up to 98,800 voters,” Deschutes County Clerk Nancy Blankenship said Friday at her busy elections

The Central Oregon District of the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) announced that wildfire season will end on Saturday. The district previously ended Regulated-Use restrictions on Oct. 16. This means that all industrial and non-industrial fire prevention restrictions will be lifted as of the 20th. “Despite the long and very dry conditions we experienced this

Opponents of Bend’s controversial surface water improvement project expressed appreciation Wednesday for a federal judge’s preliminary injunction, blocking work to replace two aging pipelines from a Tumalo Creek tributary until a fuller hearing can be held. The two sides will hold settlement talks, but a city appeal is possible. Central Oregon LandWatch has opposed Bend’s

Hertz Car Sales and Hertz Rental Centers are encouraging customers this October to give hope to kids battling cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases by donating $1 at the register from October 1 through October 31 during the St. Jude Halloween Promotion campaign to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ® , one of the

Middle and high school youth in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties may now apply for INSPIRE (Imagine, Navigate, Share, Practice, Influence, Respect and Engage); grants to fund youth-led community projects that promote health. The deadline for youth to apply for the grants is Friday, November 2. The INSPIRE project challenges groups of youth (ages 11

Eight rifles and shotguns were among items stolen from a Culver home by burglars who got in through an unlocked window, Jefferson County sheriff’s investigators said Wednesday as they both warned the public and sought its help in recovering the weapons. The burglary and theft occurred at a home on Lakeshore Drive on Monday, between

Central Oregon’s 2012 Sustainability Awards were announced by The Environmental Center Thursday night at a celebration at the Cascade Culinary Institute’s Elevation Restaurant. The Environmental Center received 20 nominations and the winners were selected by a community review committee. “Sustainability is a big, complex topic.” said Mike Riley, Executive Director of The Environmental Center. “Achieving

With nearly 400 nurses nominated, there remain 183 finalists for 2012 Oregon Nurse of the Year — 19 of them live in Central Oregon. For the second year, this award will honor outstanding Oregon nurses for their constant care and compassion toward patients. Sixteen nurses will be awarded Nurse of the Year; one in each

With significant moisture recorded across Central Oregon over the last week and more forecast for the weekend, Deschutes National Forest fuels specialists intend to begin burning piles along Highway 58 near Odell Lake on Monday. As conditions allow, specialists expect operations to continue into November as they burn piles in several locations across the district,

Nearly 5,000 Pacific Power customers in northeast Bend lost power Thursday for about 45 minutes afternoon, knocking out traffic lights and leaving stores, homes and assisted living centers in the dark. Utility spokesman Tom Gaunt said the outage began around 2:45 p.m. and affected 4,928 customers. The utility’s Oregon outage Web page at first said

The Board of Directors of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Oregon announced Wednesday to the parents of Ariel Glen Apartments in southeast Bend its decision to discontinue youth development services at the Ariel Unit at 1707 SE Tempest Drive “until committed resources are available for the sustainable future.” Due to reduced revenue from federal,

Firefighters said Thursday they have declared containment of the more than month-old Pole Creek Fire southwest of Sisters, a nearly 27,000-acre blaze that sent up towering or low-hanging smoke plumes for weeks and caused thick smoke to envelop Sisters, Bend and other communities during the peak of the firefight. Officials announced Thursday that crews had