Month: June 2013

Walking through downtown Redmond, three empty buildings stand within feet of each other on Sixth Street. That’s just three of the dozen surrounding downtown. “I think if we have empty buildings, that means we have less to offer to the community and if we find a way to fill those, we have more to offer,”

For the second year in a row, the Prineville Police Department partnered with the Crook County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, Crook County Fire and Rescue, the Crook County District Attorney’s Office, the Oregon Army National Guard and local non-profit, “For the Children” to provide a free ride day at the Carnival for young children.

Predicted increases in temperature and drought in the coming century may make it more difficult for conifers such as Ponderosa pine to regenerate after major forest fires on dry, low-elevation sites, in some cases leading to conversion of forests to grass or shrub lands, a new report suggests. Researchers from Oregon State University concluded that

Bend residents Lindsey Lombard and Gretchen Boutin have been waiting to get married for more than 30 years. On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and declined to rule on Proposition 8, allowing same sex-marriage to resume in California. “It’s always been kind of this dream, or this hope

An 18-month-old Redmond-area boy who nearly drowned after falling into in an irrigation pond has been flown to a Portland hospital for treatment, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said Thursday. Deputies and detectives, assisted by Oregon State Police, were dispatched around 6 p.m. Wednesday on a reported drowning at a home on SW 58 th Street

Join Bend Area Habitat for Humanity on a build trip to Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras on November 30-December 8, 2013. Bend Habitat is looking for a team of 12 motivated volunteers who want to have an amazing experience in a different culture and help low-income families in Honduras. Volunteers will help build adobe houses

NorthWest Crossing has installed a new bicycle rack in its neighborhood center, just in time for the Hullabaloo street festival. The rack, which was designed and built by local metal artist and sculptor Andy Wachs, features a primary design of different colored circles. The 1960s-inspired design was created by Wachs for both functionality as a

The Crook County Community Health Improvement Project (CHIP) is donating $10,000 to the Central Oregon Trail Alliance’s Crook County Chapter to help fund the construction of trails that extend from Prineville to the surrounding territory. A nonprofit volunteer organization, COTA works with the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and other land managers

Online registration and competition handbooks for the 2013 Oregon State Fair are now available. Competitors have more options for submitting and retrieving their entries at new drop-off and pick-up locations located throughout the state. The last day to register online and by mail is August 2 , but in-person registrations will be accepted through August

Thursday was Deschutes Brewery‘s silver anniversary, and what better way to celebrate than with the long-awaited announcement that their beers will now be available year-round in the greater Philadelphia area? Here’s the company’s news release on their latest expansion: For the past four years, the Oregon brewery has fulfilled the thirst of Philly beer fanatics

After two days of negotiations, hotel owners and other Bend-area business leaders announced a compromise Wednesday evening on a controversial proposal to raise the city’s room tax. “Once we understood what each group was focused on and what their key objectives were, then we got to the business of hammering out a compromise,” Mt. Bachelor

The Nature of Words (NOW) announces the winners of the 2013 Rising Star Writing Competition. Now in its eighth year, Rising Star attracted nearly 200 submissions, a record for the most entries since the competition’s inception. Winners in fiction, literary nonfiction and poetry were chosen in three age categories: 15-18, 19-25, and 25+. Submissions were

Stan Hammett and Melody Sanchez of Redmond haven’t yet held their son, Luka. At nearly a month old, he’s fighting for his life — but he’s winning. “The doctors have said it’s kind of been miraculous how he’s healing,” Hammett said recently. Little Luka was diagnosed with a rare birth defect just weeks before he

Brief closures of a boat ramp on Wickiup Reservoir will occur this weekend to accommodate two triathlons during the Pacific Crest Weekend Sports Festival. On Saturday and Sunday (June 29-30, 2013) the North Wickiup boat ramp will be closed from 7 a.m. to noon to allow competitors to complete the swimming portion of the triathlons.

Central Oregon is no stranger to elite-level mountain bike races. But you don’t have to be an experienced cyclist to take on all the trails the High Desert has to offer. “Our trails around here are very good for beginners to ride on — they’re not overly technical or tricky,” said Mike Schindler , co-owner

The Bend Police Department conducted a Pedestrian Safety Detail on Wednesday June 26. The operation was held at the intersections of NW Galveston Avenue and 12 th Street . The primary focus of this detail was to raise pedestrian safety awareness of drivers and pedestrians through education and enforcement of pedestrian right of way laws.

Despite recent rains, forest and climate experts still anticipate an intense and longer than usual wildfire season in Oregon and across the Western United States. Of course, more wildfires mean more smoke and an increased possibility of poor air quality conditions. In order to provide Oregonians and the media with the most consistent and accurate

Mobile technology is getting faster, smarter and more capable every year. The level and pace of innovation in the mobile wireless industry is unlike any other sector of the economy, but that innovation could be threatened by multiple and discriminatory taxes levied by state and local governments. In an effort to protect consumers from overbearing

Oregon’s governor, U.S. senators and labor commissioner praised the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday for its rulings on same-sex marriage on Wednesday. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., released the following statement after the court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional. “This Supreme Court decision that the federal government must recognize all marriages is

A steering committee trying to figure out what’s best for Mirror Pond in Bend want more help from the community. They say in the second phase of the project, those attending meetings and giving feedback has fallen back dramatically. They say on average, they’re seeing 20 to 30 people show up to learn and give