Month: March 2014

Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) is pleased to announce the hiring of Robyn Sharp as its economic development manager for Bend, replacing Nate LiaBraaten in the role, effective Monday. “As a respected local leader, we are excited to welcome Robyn to our team. She brings a professional background to this role different from her

A Sisters High student on Thursday filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against the school district, more than a year after a shop accident left him permanently disfigured. Nineteen-year-old Joshua Ward didn’t realize how much he took his fingers for granted until the worst day of his life. “I look down and I see blood and

The Oregon Office of Emergency Management 2014 Emergency Preparedness Workshop will take place in Sunriver., Apr. 1-3, with more than 140 state, private, non-profit, county, tribal and city emergency management leaders from throughout Oregon scheduled to attend. The workshop will provide education and networking opportunities designed to further develop Oregon’s disaster resilience capabilities. “In the

Affordable housing on the High Desert is hard to come by. Recent statistics show there’s less than 1 percent vacancies in Bend. It’s a situation that makes it especially hard for low-income families like the Anguianos in Bend. “He was diagnosed with kidney failure when he was four months old,” Yaneth Anguiano said Thursday of

A tall stack of new documents submitted to the Oregon Supreme Court outline why Randy Lee Guzek believes his fourth death sentence in the brutal 1987 murders of a Terrebonne couple should be overturned and retried yet again. The 890-page defense brief was submitted March 20th, four years after Guzek was sentenced to death a

ODFW will host a series of public meetings around the state in early May to hear public comment on proposals for big game, game bird, and furbearer hunting and trapping seasons. The Central Oregon hearing will be in Bend on May 7th from 4-7 p.m. at the ODFW Regional Office, 61374 Parrell Road. At the

It’s spring break, and 7-year-old Mason Proknow loves nothing more than to get outside and play baseball. But imagine not being able to single out your coach’s instructions. “I think he was about 8 weeks old when we got the official diagnosis of him being severe to profound hearing loss,” Karina Proknow, Mason’s mom, said

After some tumultuous times for the local and national economy, Deschutes County — known to the Census Bureau as the Bend “metro area” — is back in a familiar spot, when it comes to population growth — fastest in Oregon and, in fact, fastest of the entire West Coast. New estimates released Thursday show the

BrightSide Animal Center will offer a series of beginning obedience classes for dog owners and their pets. BrightSide’s basic obedience class is a great way to enhance your relationship with your dog. The class introduces essential skills for a well-behaved dog including sit, down, stay, heeling while walking, loose leash walking, recall, leave it and

The Deschutes National Forest Bend-Ft. Rock Ranger District released Thursdasy the Welcome Station Trail Connections Environmental Assessment Draft Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact for a 45-day objection period. The project would create a non-motorized paved trail between the City of Bend and the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway Welcome Station, which would allow

The Deschutes National Forest, in partnership with Discover Your Forest, is hosting a Volunteer Recruitment Event in early April to find volunteers interested in providing support for programs on Newberry National Volcanic Monument and Mt Bachelor. The Volunteer Recruitment event will be held on Tuesday, April 8th, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Deschutes

Change is coming to the Jefferson County Kids Club, as several renovation projects are planned at the non-profit’s aging facility. Wednesday afternoon, the sound of hammers, drills and wood hitting the ground filled the gymnasium at Westside Elementary in Madras. Demolition volunteers from Skanska Construction worked to tear a wall down separating an upstairs game

A 69-year-old Bend man has died of injuries suffered Sunday afternoon when his dirt bike struck a downed tree and he was thrown on Forest Service northeast of La Pine, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Ernest Gerloff died Tuesday at St. Charles Bend of injuries suffered in the crash, said Sgt. Don Manning. He had

A 24-year-old man wanted on an arrest warrant for drug charges was spotted driving in northwest Redmond and arrested Tuesday, and found to possess methamphetamine, heroin and Oxycodone, police said Wednesday. Redmond officers observed Mickey Robert Witt driving around 2 p.m. Tuesday in the area of NW Fifth Street and Cedar Avenue, said Detective Sgt.

Central Oregon has a lack of affordable housing, forcing many low-income families into homelessness. “It’s probably one of the biggest social issues we have right now,” said Kenny LaPoint, director of Housing Works in Redmond, said Wednesdasy. “I mean, living expenses Bend are extremely high. I think low-income families are being pushed out of the

The Environmental Protection Agency, along with the Army Corps of Engineers, is proposing new rules to protect streams and wetlands in an effort to clarify what types of waterways should be protected under the Clean Water Act. The new rules would change the language for what types of streams and wetlands can qualify for protection.

The House has approved a Republican bill to limit the president’s ability to designate new national monuments, a step President Barack Obama and predecessors have taken to protect historic or ecologically significant sites. The bill approved Wednesday, sponsored by Utah Rep. Rob Bishop, would require an environmental review — including a public hearing — before

Bend Memorial Clinic and Deschutes Dermatology Center will be offering free skin cancer screenings in an effort to encourage early detection and prevention of skin cancer. This is in conjunction with other central Oregon community screenings that have been offered in the past through the American Academy of Dermatology. The free screenings will be held

The Redmond City Council voted 5-1 Tuesday night to ban marijuana dispensaries within the city limits, but that won’t enough to make it happen right away. In order for the ordinance to pass in one shot, meaning a first reading, second reading and vote, there needed to be a unanimous yes vote. The lone no

The Oregon Electronics Recycling Program, Oregon E-Cycles, completed its fifth year of operations in 2013 to collect, transport and recycle computers, monitors and TVs. The 2013 final figures demonstrate a 3.9 percent gain of covered electronic devices collected over the previous year, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, which administers the program, said Wednesday. In