Month: March 2013

No one heard it, so it was quite a surprise Sunday morning when residents of a home east of Bend found that a bullet had been fired through their garage, lodging in a wall and another object, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. It was the latest in a string of such incidents reported around the

A driver stopped for speeding on Hwy. 126W west of Veneta apparently shot and killed himself Sunday afternoon, Oregon State Police reported. At the request of OSP, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident, which occurred about five miles west of Veneta. The names of the driver and trooper were being withheld until

After surviving for six nights, injured and alone on Mt. Hood, Mary Owen talked about her ordeal Sunday from a hospital bed where she’s recovering with frostbitten toes and an injured leg. “I just got it into my head that I wanted to go alone, which was not a good idea,” Owen said in an

Fire heavily damaged a detached garage-shop in Culver early Sunday, authorities said. A resident of the property called dispatchers shortly before midnight to report the fire at 4121 SW Smith Lane, said Capt. Kirk Hagman. The first of nine firefighters on scene said flames were coming from the 20-by-30 foot structure, and crews did a

A Bend Garbage & Recycling worker sustained minor injuries when a “bottle bomb” exploded in his hand after he opened it Thursday afternoon. The Oregon State Police Bomb Squad was called out from Salem to safely dispose of two other similar devices, found by a co-worker. “I left about 4:30, and I saw a couple

The driver of a car apparently ran a stop sign in northeast Bend Friday afternoon and it collided with an SUV that turned on its side, blocking Second Street and Olney Avenue, police said. Officers said a Ford Focus heading south on Second Street ran the stop sign and hit the driver’s side of a

It’s a trip that’s been on hold — a three-year break in a Bend-Japan exchange program due to the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. Mt. View High School hosted 47 students and three staff members for a small town near Tokyo. The band spent the beginning of the week rehearsing, and held a concert Wednesday night.

As favorable weather conditions return to Central Oregon, fuels specialists with the Forest Service said Friday they are preparing for the spring prescribed burning program and outlined their plans for this year. Prescribed fires, often completed in conjunction with thinning and mowing, reduce hazardous fuels which may decrease future wildfire intensity and allow for more

A 12-year-old Damascus, Ore., girl improved to serious condition at a Portland hospital Friday after she slipped and fell 40 feet into the Crooked River Canyon behind a home at Crooked River Ranch, triggering a 2-hour rescue effort, authorities said. Allison Billard was vacationing with her family, staying at a home on Waterhole Place at

Drop mail off in Bend and it will soon be a straight shot to Portland — even if you’re sending it to another Bend address. “If you have a small business and you rely on the post office to mail your packages, you’re going to have to get your work done earlier in order to

This weekend marks the fourth anniversary of the creation of Oregon’s newest wilderness areas. They include the Badlands near Bend, and Spring Basin near the John Day River in north central Oregon. The Badlands, east of Bend, encompass 29,000 acres and are popular with hikers and horseback riders, with 50 miles of trails through the

The local Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop located next to the movie theaters in the Old Mill Shopping District (680 SW Powerhouse Dr.) continues the long-standing tradition of Free Cone Day as a way of saying thanks and giving back to the community with free cones for all from noon – 8 p.m. on Tuesday,

According to the latest snow survey, taken Thursday, the snowpack in Central Oregon is a little below average, but officials say it’s doing fairly well. Sticking a long, hollow tube into the snow, Deschutes Basin water engineers measured the depth of the snowpack in the Wanoga Sno-Park area. “The snowpack is really important, to understand

There’s a new fence going up at Deer Ridge Correctional Institute. But instead of keeping inmates in, this one’s designed to keep deer out. The correctional facility is expanding its inmate gardening program, adding a half-acre garden outside of the security fence and finally making use of a greenhouse. “Working with others was something I

The closure on Forest Road 42 from the junction on Forest Road 22 east to the junction with Forest Road 4210 has been rescinded. Warmer weather conditions have made the road passable for both logging traffic and public use. As of yesterday (3/27/13), the 42 road was still blocked by snow up near Big Summit

The Deschutes National Forest along with Discover Your Northwest is hosting a Volunteer Recruitment Event on Tuesday, April 9. The focus of the event will be finding volunteers interested in becoming Interpretive Rangers for activities at Newberry National Monument from May to September or at Mt. Bachelor from July to September and seeking out candidates

Kate Klein, Ochoco National Forest supervisor, has decided to extend the comment period for the Ochoco Summit Trail System project until April 15, 2013, based on the high level of public interest. Project related documents may be found online at: http://data.ecosystem-management.org/nepaweb/nepa_project_exp.php?project=26807. Comments can be mailed or hand delivered to the Ochoco National Forest, 3160 NE

Volunteers interested in registering for a annual training weekend focused on developing trail skills and certifying volunteers to do trail work on the Deschutes and Willamette National Forests are being asked to sign-up by April 30. Every year the Deschutes and Willamette National Forests and the Pacific Crest Trail Association host weekend trainings, called Trail

This year marks the 5 th anniversary for CAN Cancer. Donations by our communities have raised over $99,000 and helped 466 local Central Oregon families. The demand for assistance continues to increase and more help is needed. CAN Cancer provides financial assistance to help cover non-medical living expenses for Central Oregonians fighting all forms of

Important filing deadlines are approaching for the state’s Senior and Disabled Citizens Property Tax Deferral Program. People currently part of the program who need to recertify their eligibility this year with the Oregon Department of Revenue have until April 8 to file the necessary paperwork, said Bronson Rueda, the unit manager for the program. “Those