Month: February 2014

Reduce the risk of losing your home to wildfire and take advantage of FREE yard debris disposal at local collection sites. Create and maintain defensible space around your home and recycle your needles, branches, brush, shrubs and limbs for FREE! Bend Knott Landfill 7AM-4:30PM May 2-10, 2014(closed Sunday May 4th) 61050 SE 27th Street, Bend

A non-injury produce truck crash on Highway 97 in Sherman County last month didn’t bring much attention, until a private tow company called in to unload the cargo found something odd – two bundles of drugs that fell from the produce pallets. Federal prosecutors now say the hidden cargo was close to $3 million worth

A phone call to a friend for help triggered a half-day rescue effort for two snowmobilers who became stuck in deep, wet snow west of Bend Thursday, losing their way and mistakenly crossing into the Three Sisters Wilderness Area, authorities said. Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue was notified around 11:30 a.m. by Ryan Fisher,

With flowers, signs of support and ribbons, the outpouring of love continues at Bend High School — and school officials say that well before last week’s tragedy, they already were working on making changes to make sure loved ones are safe. “Ever since Friday, it’s been around the clock,” Bend-La Pine School Communication Director Julianne

With focus on advancing educational opportunities, Central Oregon Latino Scholarship Fund announced Thursday it is offering academic scholarships to support college-bound Latino students. The privately managed fund has set aside $10,000 to fund scholarships in 2014, which will be awarded to qualifying students who enroll in Oregon colleges, universities and trade schools. Central Oregon Latino

Forty Deschutes County Jail inmates and eight staff members have recovered from a norovirus outbreak that began Monday, officials said Thursday. Test results have confirmed the gastrointestinal illness was Norovirus, a very contagious virus perhaps best known for outbreaks that have occurred on cruise ships in recent years. Symptoms can include vomiting, watery diarrhea and

With tourism and event season just around the corner, Deschutes County encourages individuals, businesses and organizers planning commercial events and outdoor mass gatherings in unincorporated rural areas to apply for the necessary permits at least 90 days prior to a scheduled event. Commercial events and outdoor mass gatherings generally include weddings, celebratory gatherings, concerts, festivals,

Once the High Desert Middle School Kindness Team–a class of seventh- and eighth-graders who focus on positive behaviors–decided to participate in the 2014 Polar Plunge, they quickly got to work recruiting other students and staff to join them in their goal of raising $1,000 to benefit Special Olympics Oregon–and, they hope, the school’s Life Skills

The latest Mirror Pond Ad Hoc Committee meeting dealt with a victory on one front and frustration on the other. “I was really pleased that Pacific Power stepped up and said let us repair the break in the dam right now,” Bend City Councilor Mark Capell said Wednesday. But one idea some favor is drawing

The Oregon House on Wednesday passed legislation to help Oregonians living in manufactured homes find out if their park is for sale, and to allow a short time for residents to put together an offer to buy the park. House Bill 4038 is the result of a bipartisan effort led by Reps. Nancy Nathanson (D

A wind-whipped garage fire spread and heavily damaged a home in a neighborhood south of Sunriver Wednesday afternoon, but La Pine fire crews were able to keep it from being destroyed, officials said. The fire was reported around 12:15 p.m. at 55967 Wood Duck Drive in the Oregon Water Wonderland No. 2 subdivision, said Chief

Sen. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., applauded Wednesday’s Senate passage of a bill that would safeguard current military retirees from changes to cost of living adjustments that were included in the budget agreement passed last December. The bill, passed earlier in the week by the House, was approved 95-3 by the Senate now heads

The Redmond Proficiency Academy and Redmond School District announced Wednesday that the district-sponsored charter school will be transitioning from the Hugh Hartman campus to a new, as-yet unspecified location in the 2015-2016 school year. RSD, which owns the Hugh Hartman campus facility, will reclaim occupancy and re-purpose the facility for student growth in 2015, when

The Deschutes County, Harney County, Malheur County, Happy Valley, Redmond, Sisters and Talent building departments have joined Oregon’s full-service e-permitting program. The addition of these jurisdictions brings the list of full-service jurisdictions to 21. The others are Aurora, Coos Bay, Cottage Grove, Florence, Jefferson County, Junction City, Lake Oswego, Lane County, Lebanon, Mid-Columbia Council of

The Small Business Development Center at COCC announces the appointment of Pam Stevenson as Business Advisor for the Grow Oregon program in Central Oregon. Grow Oregon’s mission is to help traded-sector Oregon companies with 10-99 employees and $1-$50 million in sales revenue reach the next level of growth through strategic needs assessment, advanced market research

Central Oregon’s premier museum has a new leader. Dr. Dana Whitelaw, formerly vice president of programs at The High Desert Museum, has been appointed president, effective immediately, the organization announced Wednesday. Whitelaw was selected after an exhaustive nationwide search by the Museum Board of Trustees. Board Chair David Souther, who led the search committee, said

A California man was arrested late last week during an Oregon State Police traffic stop two miles south of Redmond when a trooper found several ounces of methamphetamine and cocaine hidden in the car, troopers said Wednesday. “The OSP Drug Enforcement Section investigation has progressed to the point of allowing release of information,” the agency

PacifiCorp announced Tuesday it will reinforce a section of the company’s dam in downtown Bend to address a leak in one of the structure’s wooden panels that developed in October last fall. The installation of steel sheet pile upstream of a leaking panel is planned to begin in April, at an estimated cost of $250,000.

Anglers who turn in their 2013 combined angling tag and/or hatchery harvest tag before May 16 could win one of over 100 outdoor products or gift cards from Bi-Mart. ODFW is sponsoring the promotion to try to increase the number of returned tags. Currently, the department estimates, only about 20 percent of anglers return their

Bend Memorial Clinic is seeking people who have had a heart attack or stroke and have high cholesterol to participate in The Fourier Study, a clinical trial sponsored by a leading pharmaceutical company. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 71 million American adults (33.5%) have high LDL or “bad” cholesterol