Month: July 2013

Next Tuesday, the Deschutes National Forest will apply herbicides to invasive plants in an area adjacent to the Deschutes River Trail southwest of Bend. From 5 a.m. to noon on July 16, the Bend-Ft. Rock Ranger District will use two herbicides (Rodeo® and Poast®) to treat invasive reed canary grass within a nine-acre area of

The Redmond Police Department said Wednesday it has activated its first social media Facebook page with the intent to connect better with the community it serves. The page can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/RedmondPolice#!/RedmondPolice Here’s their announcement, from Lt. Keith Knight: “The police department is excited to enter into the technological realm of social media. Our

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., on Wednesday reintroduced the Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act, which he said would deliver needed water to Prineville for job creation, clear the way for clean energy at Bowman Dam and create new water conservation opportunities in Central Oregon. “This is a no-cost, job-creating, clean energy plan, and passing

A Redmond man was injured Tuesday morning when he was struck by a car while trying to cross on foot a five-lane stretch of Highway 97 south of Redmond, Oregon State Police reported. Shortly before 10 a.m., Jason W. Brown, 28, from Redmond, was trying to cross Highway 97 near SW Tomahawk Avenue on foot

As of Tuesday, visitors to national forests in Oregon and Washington are prohibited from possessing, discharging or using exploding targets, the U.S. Forest Service announced. The agency said exploding targets are a documented cause of wildfires, and have been associated with at least five wildfires on National Forest System lands since 2012, resulting in more

Starting next January, the GED is getting a makeover. The General Equivalency Diploma test will be more complex and cover new topics. In short, it’s getting harder. “You’re going to be interpreting data, critical thought, evaluative questions, questions that build on themselves,” OCC Director of Tutoring and Testing Kellie Smith said Tuesday. “It’s not a

At the very end of a long legislative session, Oregon lawmakers acknowledged the growing problems of domestic violence and sexual abuse in the state. They allocated twice as much funding as in the previous two years for prevention and services for survivors. It is part of a larger public safety reform effort to shift state

A 35-year-old Bend man was injured in an SUV rollover crash on the Old Bend-Redmond Highway Monday evening that also resulted in fatal injuries to his dog and the driver being cited for drunk driving, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies and Bend fire medics were dispatched around 7:45 p.m. to the reported crash on

The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services said has levied fines totaling nearly $1.4 million against seven people and companies who were part of a gold mining investment scheme. Promoters raised approximately $2.6 million from 158 investors, most of them Oregonians, during a three-year period ending in 2007. Promoters told investors that their money

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office soon will have a new patrol boat to help marine law enforcement patrolling Lake Billy Chinook and other local waterways. The new patrol boat is a 21 foot River Wild Aluminum boat, manufactured by Liquid Technologies in Grants Pass, and comes equipped with a Yamaha (EPA and carb-compliant 4-stroke) 150

Deschutes County annual appliance recycling event will be held Saturday, August 17 from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Knott Landfill Recycling & Transfer Facility, 61050 SE 27th St. in Bend. Residents are encouraged to recycle their own used appliances and appliances that have been dumped on or around their property. Only the items listed

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that it has earned re-accreditation from the Oregon Accreditation Alliance. The Oregon Accreditation Alliance establishes professional standards of accountability, management and operations for Patrol and Investigative Services across the state. It exists to improve the quality of law enforcement agencies in Oregon and ultimately, the quality of services

A Madras woman driving to Prineville on the O’Neil Highway Saturday morning fell asleep at the wheel of her SUV, which crossed the oncoming lane and rolled into an irrigation ditch, Crook County sheriff’s deputies said Monday. Arcenia Reynoso Villagomez escaped serious injuries, taken by ambulance to Pioneer Memorial Hospital, where she was treated and

The American Red Cross issued an emergency request Tuesday for platelet and blood donors of all blood types to roll up a sleeve and give because many fewer donations than expected were received in June and the first week of July. “We are counting on generous volunteer blood and platelet donors to step up and

Cascade Bancorp, the holding company for Bank of the Cascades announced Monday that it’s buying the Klamath Falls branch of AmericanWest bank and assuming the customers, deposits and some loans of its Bend and Redmond branches. The bank late Monday announced the execution of a purchase and assumption agreement where the Bend-based bank will take

We’ve talked money and we’ve talked looks, in Sunday’s story, but how could changes to Mirror Pond affect the river’s most popular use? “As far as floating down the river, I don’t think faster is what we’re looking for,” said one woman floating the river near Drake Park on Sunday. “Speeding up the channel would

As the temperatures continue to rise in Bend, so does activity on parts of the Deschutes River, with people floating and boating to beat the heat. On Sunday, Drake Park was filled with people splashing, tubing the river and stand-up paddle-boarding. But recreation in Mirror Pond could look a little different in the future. The

Hiking and biking, picturesque scenery and a simple lifestyle are just a few reasons why many people are drawn to Central Oregon. From your average Joe, to high rolling CEOs, it brings many people from different walks of life. “I think the major economic impact for having residences like this is when we have out-of-towners

A new nonprofit in Bend, the Pediatric Foundation, wants to help Central Oregon families who have a child battling cancer organizer said Monday. With no cancer treatment available for kids on the High Desert, many parents are faced with huge issues getting their child the care they need. “There is only one motivation when your

Oregon State University’s branch campus in Bend is a step closer to establishing a four-year campus after a successful vote Monday by the Oregon State Legislature to provide $16 million in general fund-backed bonds for the acquisition or renovation of facilities for classroom and other purposes. The bonds will be matched with $4 million in