Month: December 2013

UPS driver Micky Stanton may not wear a red suit. “I don’t have a beard that’s for sure,” Stanton said Tuesday. There’s no miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer. But just like Santa, Stanton delivers presents to homes during the holidays. “We get called the brown Santa Claus a whole lot,” Stanton said. For 21

Bend firefighters were able to stop a blaze tearing through a home east of Bend Monday night, but not before it caused an estimated $220,000 damage to the house, its contents, and two vehicles officials said. Firefighters were called just after 10:30 p.m. to the burning single-story home of Mark Carlton and renter Ron Tennant

The city of Bend has teamed up with local Bank of the Cascades to refinance $10 million in loans. Taking advantage of the current low interest rates, the city is expected to save $817,000 over the life of the debt. The transaction included a Transportation Improvement loan in the amount of $6.3 million and a

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife veterinarians on Tuesday advised home and land owners that poison baits used to control mice and rats can sicken or kill owls, hawks, foxes, bobcats and other species. To protect wildlife, they urged people to carefully follow product directions and explore other options for rodent control. According to Julia

More of Oregon’s Millennials are making a difference in their communities by volunteering; in fact, so many of them are volunteering that Oregon now has one of the nation’s highest volunteer rates for their generation, officials said Tuesday. That’s according to a report entitled “Volunteering and Civic Life in America,” ( http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/ ) released Monday

Medical science has known for years that people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol actually have a reduced risk of death. In general, they are healthier and have better cardiovascular function that those who don’t drink alcohol at all. Now, new research from Oregon Health & Science University adds a fascinating twist: moderate drinking may

The Shepherd’s House, a local charity serving Central Oregon’s homeless, continues to meet the needs of Bend’s homeless on a very tight budget throughout 2013. Through September 2013 the organization barely raised enough support to keep the doors open, however, beginning in October, community support increased. The Shepherd’s House is asking the community to continue

The downtown Bend branch of Home Federal Bank was held up by a masked robber Friday afternoon for the third time in 18 months. The description matches that of a serial robber believed to have held up the same bank twice last year, as well as two holdups of another Bend bank. A light-complexion man,

A special Terrebonne girl used her arts and craft skills to raise more than $400 for the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program. This year, Bend Toys for Tots expects to give gifts to more than 5,000 kids. Many of those kids will see the result of Ella Rawlins’ generosity, but it’s the way she

When it comes to helping those in need at the holidays, many think of kids. The Assistance League of Bend, one of our 21 cares for kids partners, knows seniors need holiday cheer, too. The organization gives Secret Santa gifts to people at eight senior homes in Bend. The gifts go to those on Medicaid,

BendFilm was honored to present the Tenth Anniversary BendFilm Festival this past October. BendFilm welcomed 100 filmmakers to downtown Bend and the Old Mill District to present their films to the Central Oregon community, which turned out in record numbers to enjoy Bend’s lauded and beloved film festival. In order to sustain the success and

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement regarding the U.S. District Court’s ruling on bulk collection of phone records. “Judge Leon’s ruling hits the nail on the head. It makes clear that bulk phone records collection is intrusive digital surveillance and not simply inoffensive data collection, as some have said. “The court noted that

Property owners at Black Butte Ranch, the 1,800-acre Central Oregon destination resort community west of Sisters, have approved an $11.5 million lodge area development plan. The plan was sent out to vote on October 7th to 1,251 Black Butte Ranch property owners, and the approval was announced last week. The improvements will include a new

Umpqua Bank on Monday announced the 20 organizations and schools selected to receive $2,500 grants from Umpqua’s $50,000 Good Deed Fund, which was generated through “good deed” pledges community members made in Umpqua stores and on its Facebook page. The beneficiaries — located throughout the company’s footprint of Oregon, Washington, Nevada and California — were

This holiday season, the Oregon State Police, Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association and Oregon Association Chiefs of Police urge everyone to support their enforcement efforts and show zero tolerance for drunk and drugged driving. Throughout December, law enforcement agencies around the country are stepping up enforcement efforts during a time when the excitement and celebrations of

The Oregon Parks and Rec reation Department invites the public to ring in 2014 by participating in one of 30 guided hikes to take place in state parks on New Year’s Day, including Smith Rock State Park. This is the third year that OPRD has participated in First Day Hikes, a nationwide initiative sponsored by

Technology is improving at a rapid pace, and Sunday at Bend’s Mountain View High School, Central Oregon kids provided another example of that by competing in a LEGO robotics tournament. To be successful, it takes a combination of skills. “We’re just really creative, and we like to play with LEGOS and build stuff,” Riley Teitgen

KEDS for KIDS-no feet left behind: this program raises money to purchase new gym shoes for Deschutes County elementary school kids that need them. Developed in 2010, the program was initially established to meet the needs at Bend’s Juniper Elementary School, but its’ success has motivated expansion in 2013 to include Jewell and La Pine

A 13-year-old Obsidian Middle School student was taken into custody on several charges early Friday afternoon, accused of shooting an Airsoft gun onto the campus from across the street, with one pellet striking a female staff member in the leg, police said. The woman was uninjured, and the boy was apprehended without incident by another

A Bend man delivering mail for the U.S. Postal Service was seriously injured and flown to a Bend hospital Friday after his station wagon was struck by a Sisters man’s pickup truck on Fryrear Road east of Sisters, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies and Cloverdale Fire Department medics were dispatched around 11:40 a.m. to