Month: October 2013

There may only be a few people repainting the vandalized boat at Harmon Park, but behind Bend Park and Rec stands an army of support. “It’s that time and effort that people want to put in to make this right again — it’s exceptionally impressive,” Mark Ellington, the park district’s facilities and construction manager, said

Bend Park and Recreation District staff began cleaning up graffiti on a beloved boat play structure at Harmon Park on Monday as authorities continued to seek tips to find who was responsible for that vandalism and more at Al Moody Park over the weekend. Cleaning, prepping and repainting the boat “will be done as quickly

COCC and OSU-Cascades are collaborating this week to offer four different events to raise awareness of safety and health issues related to alcohol. October 20-25 marks National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week on campuses throughout the country. With alcohol use and binge drinking rates peaking during the ages of 18-25, colleges are increasingly focused on reducing

Bend Park & Recreation District is seeking adult volunteers to coach in boys’ middle school basketball league. With practices and games held mid-week, the season begins November 4th and runs through December 19th. Coaches volunteer approximately four to five hours per week throughout the season. Several teams are in need of volunteer coaches. Some basketball

Home fires can happen without warning, leaving families without possessions, precious family photographs, or even something as simple as clothes to wear. Important questions begin to arise. Where will you sleep? Will you be able to feed your children, or get the things they need to return to school? How will you replace your prescription

Bend police said Monday they have identified a suspect in burglaries from at least 10 rented storage units around town since 2010 and recovered stolen property. They asked others who may not have reported being victims around the region to please do so, as their items also may be in police hands. Officer Tommy Russell

Five Deschutes County agencies attempted to serve 126 warrants and made six arrests last week as part of the 11 th annual National Family Violence Apprehension Detail, sheriff’s officers said Monday. The sheriff’s office partnered last Wednesday with the county’s Adult Parole and Probation and police departments from Bend, Redmond, Sunriver and Black Butte Ranch

Due to conditions not favoring smoke dispersion away from Bend, Deschutes National Forest fuels specialists will not be burning Monday a 138-acre area 12 miles southeast of Bend near Company Butte and the intersection of China Hat Road (FS Road 18) and FS Road 1825, as previously advised. Instead, prescribed fire operations today will be

Timed to coincide with the mailing of property tax statements, a new report from the League of Oregon Cities out Monday tracks how property tax revenues are spent in eight cities throughout the state, including Bend. “Where the Money Goes“ examines the financial challenges facing those cities in case study profiles. Among the highlights from

Halloween is one of the most exciting times of the year for children, but sometimes hectic for parents and guardians. In addition to worrying about costumes and cavities, parents must be conscious of where their children are and who they are with. Oregon State Police and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children urge

If you own property in Deschutes County, you’re familiar with recent real estate market value “ups-and-downs” during the last few years. Through upcoming town hall meetings, Deschutes County Assessor Scot Langton wants to prepare you for an interesting combination of Measure 50 consequences, market fluctuation and current economic circumstances. Scot and his staff will hold

A Sisters woman faces drunk and reckless driving charges after a head-on crash early Sunday morning on Hwy. 20W in the east end of town that sent her to a Bend hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies were dispatched shortly before 5:30 a.m. to the reported two-car crash on Highway 20

Acting on a citizen’s tip, a missing Medford-area motorcyclist’s body was found Sunday morning at the site of a crash off a remote Forest Service road in Lane County, authorities said. The body of James Lutter, 60, was found pinned beneath his motorcycle, about 15 feet off Big River Road and down a 12-foot embankment,

The Open Gym Foundation held its second annual shoe and equipment drive Sunday. The foundation’s purpose is to help fund athletic activities for low income children and young adults throughout the Central Oregon area. Open Gym accepted “gently used” and new athletic gear and shoes. All donations will be given to youth in need in

One person reportedly was seriously injured Sunday evening when a rock fell off one vehicle and struck another along Highway 26 on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, authorities said. Oregon State Police said the accident occurred around 5 p.m. east of the Highway 216 intersection in Wasco County. The injured person was being taken to

A 19-year-old Springfield man escaped serious injury in a rollover crash off Hwy. 126E in Lane County early Sunday but was left trapped in his overturned car off the road for about two hours. He called a friend by cellphone, and the signal led rescuers to the scene — and authorities cited him on drunk

Federal and Crook County officials working to solve the fatal shooting of three wild horses returned to an area about 30 miles east of Prineville to continue their investigation Friday and found three more shot and killed, bringing the total to six. Coincidentally, that’s the number of wild horses found shot and killed in the

Webfoot Painting hosted the fifth annual “Carving for Kids” pumpkin-carving event on Saturday to raise funds for MountainStar Family Relief Nursery program, which helps keep babies and toddlers safe from abuse and neglect. Trained volunteers were on hand throughout the event to help kids carve their very own Jack-o-lanterns. MountainStar executive director Tim Rusk talked

The search is on to find answers to why so many fish have been found dead in a dried-up channel of the Deschutes River southwest of Bend. Dropping water levels in the Deschutes trapped the fish in a channel near Lava Island resulted in the death of hundreds if not thousands of fish. But officials

Low water levels on the Deschutes River have prompted the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to consider closing the river to anglers from Wickiup Reservoir to Benham Falls. “This year, with the drought conditions we’ve had, we’ve seen a little bit more rapid decrease in flows (on the Deschutes River),” ODFW Region Manager Chip