Month: September 2013

A Bend squirrel who picked a poor power-line perch paid the price Sunday morning – and his demise sparked a brushfire that wound up knocking out power to hundreds of residents on the city’s Westside for up to four hours, officials said. Bend Fire and Rescue responded shortly before 10 a.m. to reports of an

A Madras woman was in serious condition and a Bend man in fair condition late Sunday at a Bend hospital, one day after their car left a road northwest of Redmond at high speed on a curve, went down an embankment and overturned, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies were dispatched shortly after 5 a.m.

Neka, a 6-year-old African lion at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, gave birth to three healthy cubs Saturday night, officials said Sunday. According to keepers, the three not-so-little kittens entered the world between about 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. The first-time mom and her new family are doing well in their behind-the-scenes maternity den. The litter

A California apple-truck driver says he lost control of his rig while trying to avoid several deer in the dark on Highway 97 in Sherman County early Sunday morning, Oregon State Police reported. Juan Guillermo Jimenez, 47, of Lake Elsinore, Calif., avoided serious injury in a crash that destroyed his truck and trailer and left

Facing an outcry over a key intersection closure on Bend’s Westside, especially from hard-hit businesses along Galveston Avenue, the city relented Friday and said a key thoroughfare will reopen earlier than planned, on Sept. 17. “In listening to the business community along Galveston Avenue, the city has decided to make a change to the schedule

The penultimate day of the 2013 USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships shifted to downtown Redmond for nine criterium races on Saturday. The classic eight-corner, T-shaped course in downtown Redmond that favors technical riders proved to be a welcomed new addition to the event. The 1.2-kilometer lap provides riders with fast terrain, with ample room

Since joining the Hollinshead Community Garden in northeast Bend six years ago, Joeth Ryan’s experience has grown from having a place to get her hands dirty to a place for her kids to get hands on with their food. “The kids were pretty little when we started, and they’re into eating their veggies when they

An 18-year-old Madras man faces two counts of criminally negligent homicide, DUII and reckless driving charges after his SUV apparently ran a stop sign and struck a car south of Madras Thursday evening, killing a Madras couple, Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies said Friday. The crash at SW Dover Lane and Bear Drive was reported around

Thirty-one national champions were awarded on Friday at the 2013 USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships at Mt. Bachelor. Over 300 competitors contested road races as temperatures hovered in the mid-50s and a morning rain greeted the day’s first races. As the day continued, the temperature slowly warmed, drying the pavement throughout the course. After

Forty students from all over the world will meet in Bend next week to learn the nuts and bolts of starting their own breweries. Nearly one-third of the participants are women, and over half are traveling from outside of the Northwest, including as far as away as Australia and England. The inaugural Craft Brewery Startup

After a series of wet thunderstorms, and with cooler fall days approaching, the Prineville District Bureau of Land Management, the Deschutes National Forest and the Crooked River National Grassland are lifting most public use restrictions related to campfires and lowering the Industrial Fire Precaution Level from a Level III (Partial Shutdown) to a Level II

A Deschutes County grand jury has indicted Joshua Leo Jokinen on a murder charge in last Saturday’s killing of Cloverdale horse breeder Carolyn Burdick, District Attorney Patrick Flaherty said Friday. The indictment alleges that Jokinen was on supervision for an earlier criminal offense and that Burdick, 78, “as in a particularly vulnerable state when the

On September 15th -17th, faith leaders, advocates, union leaders and community members will come together in Central Oregon for a Walk for Citizenship to urge Congressman Greg Walden (OR-R) to support Comprehensive Immigration Reform with a path to citizenship. Over three days, participants will walk from Madras to Bend, from the heart of Central Oregon’s

A string of intense thunderstorms rumbled north through the High Desert Thursday afternoon, dropping heavy rain, up to golf ball-sized hail, lightning and damaging winds from a possible “gustnado.” The National Weather Service issued two severe thunderstorm warnings within 45 minutes, first warning around 2 p.m. of a storm 23 miles southwest of Bend, moving

Northwest salmon and trout are some of the stars of a new report that predicts a changing climate doesn’t have anything good in store for them — or the anglers who spend so much time and money trying to catch them. Freshwater fish need plenty of cold, clean water, and a National Wildlife Federation report

A Redmond reserve officer, under investigation, and could be charged with assault. After he is caught on camera hitting a Bend transient with the back of an ax. Brian Alvarez of Redmond was off-duty last week at the time of the incident. But he pulled in to Lava Lanes in northeast Bend just as a

After close to two hours of testimony and debate, Bend Mayor Jim Clinton cast the tie-breaking vote Wednesday night that means the city will let the long-time owners of a vacant parcel near Mirror Pond downtown seek up to a five-foot variance from the zone’s 35-foot height limit. “I guess I’ll vote yes to wrap

The 2013 USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships on Thursday moved to Mt. Bachelor for the first day of road races. The day started sunny with comfortable temperatures in Bend, but a thunderstorm with golf ball-sized hail pelted the course in the early afternoon, postponing three races. The five races that were contested on Thursday

New Jersey-based, global drug-maker Capsugel announced Thursday it has entered into an agreement to acquire Bend Research, a pioneering drug technology company with 250 workers that will stay in Bend and pursue growth plans, officials of the two companies said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Bend Research officials said the company will

Though the trail will not be closed, the lack of a handrail and intermittent delays on the very popular and heavily used North Fork trail may impact recreationists for approximately a week. Beginning this next Monday, Forest Service crews will be doing maintenance on a bridge on the North Fork Trail (#24.2), which goes from