Month: June 2014

Residents at Greenwood Manor Apartments in northeast Bend have been without hot water for two weeks, and after plenty of complaints and lots of frustration, they are still waiting for it to come back on “We pay our taxes and are in our senior years, and now we can’t even get hot water,” resident Patricia

Gov. John Kitzhaber on Friday announced awards for eight projects that will advance alternative fuels across the state, including a city of Bend compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station. The Oregon Department of Transportation will award a total of $4 million in federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Funds to qualified projects to spur the CNG

Due to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals, NewsChannel 21 at Five instead aired Friday evening on KFXO (Fox Central Oregon) at 5 p.m. That is Channel 10 and 610 (HD) on BendBroadband. A Special Edition of NewsChannel 21 will air after the hockey game ends on KTVZ (Channel 5/605), which has gone into

It’s hard to believe, but until the 1980s, the only sewer pipes Bend owned were located in the downtown area. In other areas, Bend homeowners and businesses got rid of sewage individually, either by a drain hole or by septic tank and drain field. Even today, Bend’s sewer collection system is still a hodgepodge of

With the Two Bulls Fire at 70 percent containment, Bend Park & Recreation District officials said Friday they have reopened the northern section of Shevlin Park. The southern section of the park will remain closed through the weekend, officials said, adding that the park was spared from the wildfire. The open area of the park

Bend Cascade Middle School had to confiscate about 800 yearbooks Thursday after discovering some unapproved, inappropriate content. The loss adds up to more than $10,000. The last day of school is supposed to be a time for celebration, but at Cascade, the focus quickly shifted to controversy after a group of students made last-minute yearbook

In an effort to best serve you, we will shortly be retiring our current text alerting platform as we upgrade to a more robust & reliable push alerting platform. Please make sure to sign up for our email alerts by visiting http://www.ktvz.com/sms from your desktop computer, and download our latest Android &/or iOS News apps

After a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs audit released earlier this week showed that Oregon’s VA medical centers were among the worst in the nation for wait times, Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are calling on the national VA to prioritize assistance to fix long wait times at Oregon VA facilities. In a

The Oregon Transportation Commission will hold its regular monthly meeting at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 20 , in the Barnes and Sawyer Room of the Deschutes Service Building, 1300 NW Wall Street, in Bend. Items on the commission agenda include: A request to approve ODOT’s proposed 2015 – 2017 Agency Request Budget, including proposed

The OSU Open Campus program has had special impacts in Crook and Jefferson counties in recent years, as local experts, volunteers and educators work with Oregon State University to broaden the educational opportunities for area residents. The program was just recognized nationally for its efforts to better meet local educational needs with innovative approaches. Among

The High Desert Food & Farm Alliance was recently granted $4,582 from the Clabough Foundation (www.claboughfoundation.com) to develop their garden and food skills programs for disadvantaged families: teaching the Oregon Food Bank’s Seed to Supper & Cooking Matters courses, enhancing the Food Donation Database, and increasing food distribution efforts through the Backyard Gardener program. Throughout

In just six days, $5 million has been spent fighting the 6,908-acre Two Bulls Fire west of Bend. Not exactly a fire sale price tag, but for the Oregon Department of Forestry, it’s a necessary one. “We want to hit it hard and fast,” Deputy Incident Commander Link Smith said Thursday. “And when a fire

There was no lack of emotion on the witness stand Wednesday afternoon as a Bend man accused of murder choked back tears and told why he felt hewas forced to shoot and kill someone he considered a friend. “He (victim David Ryder) grabbed me by the back of the neck and forced my head down

A Bend man, Luke Wirkkala, has waited more than a year to find out if he’ll go to prison for shooting and killing his house guest, 31-year-old David Ryder of Bend, last February. Now the state’s case against Wirkkala is in the home stretch. On Friday, attorneys will present closing arguments, and then his fate

Casey Roats, a small business owner and fourth-generation Bend resident, announced Thursday he is running for a seat on the Bend City Council in the November election. Roats will be running for the seat being vacated by Jodie Barram. A lifelong Bend resident, Casey is part-owner of Roats Water System, a privately-owned water utility company

In remarks on the Senate floor, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., highlighted a provision in the 2014 Intelligence Authorization bill which provides new statutory protections for intelligence agency whistleblowers. Wyden and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, succeeded in including the new protections in the bill, which passed unanimously late Wednesday evening. Wyden also raised serious concerns about

Change the luck for a shelter animal on Friday the 13 th . Turn the tables on superstition and adopt a fortunate feline or canine from the Humane Society of Central Oregon. Adopters get a lucky chance to draw an adoption fee discount ranging from 15% off to a FREE adoption. Adopt a dog, puppy,

Think your talents are competition ready? Is your item blue-ribbon worthy? The 149th Oregon State Fair is officially accepting entries for the Creative and Artistic competitions, honoring the DIY spirit of our state’s best! An annual summer tradition, the competitions are open to all skill levels.Registrationis required to compete and must be completed online by

Bend has been selected yet again as a top retirement destination — this time, for its lure of great fishing, by the magazine Where to Retire, geared toward helping people with retirement relocation decisions. Bend is one of eight selections profiled in a feature titled “8 Fishing Cities: Great Lures Across the U.S.” in the

Dr. Knute Buehler, candidate for State Representative, announced Thursday that he will visit every school in House District 54 before Election Day. The purpose of the listening tour, which includes 28 schools in Bend, is to gain a firsthand understanding of what local educators believe are the opportunities and challenges facing their local schools. “We