Month: June 2014

A Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office K-9 helped deputies track down and arrest a La Pine motorcyclist who failed to pull over for a traffic violation late Wednesday night, sparking a brief chase in the area, deputies said. Around 11:30 p.m., deputy tried to stop the Honda off-road motorcycle for a traffic violation near Big Timber

The MD-87 was created to fly passengers. But the one standing by on the tarmac of Redmond Airport is fighting fires — and was ready for its new role just in time to battle a big blaze that threatened Bend last weekend. The Erickson Aero Tankers plane, based at Madras Airport, was given the nod

The average Bend-area (Deschutes County) worker earned just over $20 an hour in May of last year, about 10 percent below the national average, new statistics released Tuesday showed. The latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics news release showing employment and wage data for occupations in the Bend metropolitan area is now available online at

The Mt. Bachelor Rotary Club selected Bend’s Sister-City of Condega, Nicaragua for one of its 2014 World Service projects by providing eighty water filters to families in and around Condega. “One of the most significant world health challenges is the provision of safe water.” states Don Kliewer, club member and project coordinator. “Rotary International has

Residents at Skyliners Road west of Bend who had to be evacuated Saturday evening after the outbreak of the Two Bulls Fire finally were able to return to their homes. “We were ready to be mobile within 10 to 30 minutes,” Tim Peacock said Wednesday. Residents of about 50 homes on Skyliners Road who were

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon State University are collaborating on an effort to survey Oregon hunters about their use and knowledge of lead ammunition. The random sample of 4,200 Oregon hunters will begin later this month and those selected should receive a letter from ODFW within the next two weeks. Oregon

Location: Tumalo Reservoir Area, west of Bend, OR Date: June 11, 2014 at 5:10 p.m. By Captain Shane Nelson, 541-617-3386 Evacuations Levels will Reduce Tomorrow Deschutes County I. T. has produced a link to a map that shows the current Evacuation Notice Levels, Interactive Map: https://maps.deschutes.org/custom/simple/index.html *This map will be updated with any change in

Summer time is especially busy at Bend Park & Recreation District, but this summer there is even more activity with the installation of new solar panels on the district’s administrative office building at Riverbend Park. The new solar panels and installation are made possible through grants from The Oregon Department of Energy, Pacific Power’s Blue

Central Oregon Council on Aging (COCOA) is recruiting volunteer drivers to deliver meals in the Bend-Tumalo area on a weekly basis. Through the COCOA Meals on Wheels program, nutritious meals are delivered to individuals at home who are either home-bound or unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. If you are looking for a

The city of Bend switched back on its Bridge Creek source of drinking water Wednesday morning as fire lines firmed up on the Two Bulls Fire near the city’s watershed. The Bridge Creek watershed is where the city gets most of its domestic water supply, fed by gravity to the city. The city shut down

With nearly 40,000 children in Central Oregon, there is a significant need for specialized pediatric care in our community. Central Oregon Pediatric Associates recently partnered with Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel in Portland to expand the number of experienced pediatric specialists coming to Bend on a regular basis. “We’re delighted to increase the number

Tearful murder defendant Luke Wirkkala took the stand in his own defense Wednesday afternoon, telling jurors he shot and killed David Ryder in self-defense to halt a sexual assault. “I only stopped what he was trying to do,” Wirkkala said in the second week of his jury trial. “He tried to rape and strangle me.”

Each year, the Bank of the Cascades team in Prineville carries out the legacy of belated Crook County residents Charles Hugh and Wilma Marie Perrin. As former customers of the bank, the couple set up a trust fund to establish The Perrin Foundation to benefit the Crook County Community through student scholarships and community grants.

A squirrel met an untimely demise at the Pacific Power substation near Mirror Pond Wednesday morning, and the resulting power outage affected a broad swath of downtown and other areas of Bend for nearly two hours, knocking out traffic lights and broadcast towers and causing a half-day delay in a murder trial. The outage occurred

A cookie drive has been organized to collect cookies for firefighters battling the Two Bulls Fire, but can they accept them? A cookie controversy is born. The firefighters don’t usually accept food, but they do accept support. “Earlier today, my kids were out here waving at all the trucks and everything,” Trevor Lugers said Tuesday.

A fire like Two Bulls requires carefully organized resources. I visited the fire camp this evening to learn what’s used and how, and as we continue to knock down this fire, officials expect a reduction in those resources. “That’s just kind of the natural flow of a fire,” said Two Bulls Fire Operations Chief Joe

A new wildfire was spotted just before noon west of Bend and south of Skyliners Road, near the Two Bulls Fire, bringing a quick call-out of fire engines and water-dropping helicopters that officials said had it contained at about a quarter-acre. The fire was reported to Deschutes County 911 by several callers not far from

Robberson Ford, in conjunction with Ford Focus on Child Hunger, will be collecting peanut butter to support the additional summer demand for kid-friendly foods at NeighborImpact, a 21 Cares for Kids partner. The peanut butter drive, which runs from June 14-21, will support the increased demand for this expensive staple during the summer months, when

State Rep. Dennis Richardson, the Republican nominee for governor, on Monday said the Two Bulls Fire raging near Bend was an example of the kind of fire that results from “poor forest practices.” “My heart goes out to the families and individuals affected by the Two Bulls Fire, and my wife Cathy and I are

Some Evacuation Levels Revised, All Schools Open Wednesday At 1:45 PM this (Tuesday) afternoon, the Two Bulls Fire incident commander confirmed with Bend-La Pine Schools that the evacuation orders have been revised to Level One for the areas around William E. Miller Elementary, Cascade Middle and Summit High schools. These schools will reopen on Wednesday,