Month: July 2014

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said Tuesday it has issued a $56,285 penalty to Bend Oregon Investments, LLC for operating an onsite wastewater treatment system that is discharging untreated or partially treated sewage onto the ground at the Green Acres RV Park north of Bend. DEQ officials said Richard A. Boro is the owner

The city of Bend is holding an open house from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 5, in City Council Chambers to share information about an upcoming sewer system project that will upgrade and replace the undersized and deficient sewer pump station in McKay Park. “Sharing information and listening to feedback from neighbors,

The U.S. House on Tuesday passed the Endangered Species Transparency and Reasonableness Act, which supporter Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said would make “common-sense reforms” to the Endangered Species Act. “Too often, listing decisions under the ESA are driven by litigation and made behind closed doors with little public input,” said Walden, a co-sponsor of the

The rush to save a life is second nature for a retired paramedic who spent decades in a hurry. But these days, Dan Cox takes his time packing his medicine bags. “A paramedic firefighter is all about emergency response,” Cox said Tuesday. “But later in my career I’d learned that slowing things down and visiting

A distracted teen driver with a suspended license swerved to avoid a crash on Highway 20 west of Bend Monday night, causing the car to spin 180 degrees and roll several times, throwing a passenger to the ground, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Despite the violent nature of the crash — and both 16-year-old girls

The city of Bend is seeking applicants for one position on the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee. Committee members are appointed by the City Council to recommend traffic safety improvements and traffic safety programs. The committee meets quarterly. Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m., Friday, August 15. For applications or questions, please contact: City of

For the second year in a row, the Oregon Department of Forestry ys it will draw on a catastrophic loss insurance policy to help cover the costs of fighting wildfires. ODF is responsible for protecting 16 million acres, roughly half the forestland in the state. It fights fires on Bureau of Land Management land, privately

Tyler Smith has a job, recently graduated school, and was recently receiving unemployment benefits from the State of Oregon — all was well, until he got a phone call saying they made a mistake, and he owes them a sizable chunk of money. Smith was participating in the Trade Act, an Oregon Employment Department program

A small fire, sparked in an unusual way, was stopped fast along the Old Bend-Redmond Highway on Monday, prompting fire officials to remind residents that despite recent rain from thunderstorms, the grass is dry and the heat is back, keeping the wildfire threat very high. Bend fire crews responded around 3:30 p.m. to a brushfire

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has joined California Governor Jerry Brown and Washington Governor Jay Inslee in calling for support of the federal Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, to provide the U.S. Forest Service with access to emergency funding for wildfire suppression and protection of programs aimed at reducing wildfire risk. The Governors signed a joint letter

From Maryland to Bend. Kevin Payne’s path around the U.S. takes about 9,000 miles. In Bend on Monday night, he was preparing for his return trip. But it’s not a flight out of Redmond. He’s giving up the bicycle, and running home — all to raise money to fight a syndrome many haven’t ever heard

Nearly one million acres of forest and range have burned so far this summer in Oregon and Washington, and the risk of wildfires will remain high through September. That’s the message delivered Saturday by the region’s top fire managers when they met with U.S.Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Wyden was in Portland to receive a briefing

Words like “catastrophic” or “devastating” are commonly associated with the term “wildfire,” but it’s time that changed to some degree, because Oregon has a fire-dependent ecosystem. Pete Caligiuri, ecologist at the Nature Conservancy, says, “It’s not a question of if fire will happen, it’s when fire will happen.” Sisters District Ecologist Maret Pajutee agrees: “They’re

The Prineville Police Department will be conducting a Pedestrian Safety Operation on Tuesday at different locations in the downtown area. The operation will be conducted between the hours of 8:00 am to11:00am. The Prineville Police Department, in addition to the pedestrian safety violations, will be enforcing the mobile communication device violation (ORS.811.507). The primary focus

The 2-week-old, over 10,000-acre Ochoco Complex of fires on the Ochoco National Forest was nearly 90 percent contained by Monday, with almost 500 firefighters still on the lines. Here’s Monday’s update: July 28, 2014 Fire Information: 541-416-0286; 541-447-6859 OchocoComplex@gmail.com http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3972/ Start Date Cause Size Percent Containment Helicopters Engines Crews Dozers Total Personnel July 13, 2014

The 2-week-old, nearly 10,500-acre Logging Unit Fires on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation still have more than 1,200 personnel fighting them, having brought the blazes to 80 percent containment as of Monday. Here’s the Monday morning update in full: Monday, July 28, 2014 – 8:00 a.m. PDT Fire Status Update Acres % Contained Total personnel

Several campgrounds and the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery have reopened to the public as crews continue to make solid progress on the 2-week-old, nearly 5,700-acre Bridge 99 Complex of fires 18 miles northwest of Sisters, officials said Monday. Fire crews continue to depart from the lines of the fire, leaving 289 firefighters as of Monday

Cascade Natural Gas Company is full into Phase III of the Bend Gas Line Replacement Project. For the next few weeks, pipeline replacement crews will be working on SE Second Street, between Scott and Wilson. Crews will be completing a gas main tie-in, on 2 nd & Miller Monday; when that’s complete, crews will move

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS The City of Bend has formed three technical advisory committees (TACs) to help complete the work necessary for the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) Remand. New TAC Member orientation – Tuesday, July 29, 2014 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm – an orientation meeting is being held for new TAC members in

U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell came to the High Desert on Saturday to meet with firefighting crews and others due to the lightning-caused fires that broke out over the past several days. Tidwell wanted to touch base and check up on the fires, to show the crews his support all the way from the