Month: March 2015

Saving Grace is thrilled to announce an $11,400 contribution from Lay It Out Events. This donation is for proceeds from the OnPoint Community Credit Union Oregon WinterFest. The event saw big crowds over the three day event and raised a record donation of $11,400 for Saving Grace. Janet Huerta, Executive Director of Saving Grace said:

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, introduced their bipartisan bill Thursday to overhaul federal wildfire policy to boost funding for fire prevention and treat the largest wildfires as natural disasters. “Catastrophic wildfires threaten homes and lives across Oregon and the West year after year, and the money to fight those fires falls

The Steering Committee for the City’s Urban Growth Boundary Remand project will meet from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 19 at Bend City Hall. The public is invited to attend the meeting and will have an opportunity to comment. The UGB Steering Committee will review and act on recommendations from the project’s

The Oregon Department of Agriculture said Thursday it has lifted restrictions and removed the quarantine in Deschutes County related to highly pathogenic avian influenza found in the Tumalo area last month. There have been no new detections of HPAI in the county since the original incident in February affecting a flock of backyard birds near

Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Ron Wilkinson announced that Jen Healy has been selected to become William E. Miller Elementary School’s next principal. Healy is currently assistant principal at William E. Miller, a position she has served in since 2009. “I have some big shoes to fill, with Principal Steve Hill retiring. I’ve worked with him

Mosaic Medical said Thursday it has notified 2,207 patients of a possible breach of protected health information after learning of a break-in earlier this year at a temporary office. Here’s the statement issued Thursday on the event: On the morning of Thursday, January 15, 2015 we discovered that an overnight break-in had occurred at the

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., is urging Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to finalize proposed new safety guidelines for rail tank cars. The Department of Transportation has already missed a legally-mandated deadline of January, and is now saying that the rules may come out in May. “With recent accidents like the one in West Virginia, it is

The Oregon House on Thursday unanimously passed House Bill 2234, legislation sponsored by Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver, that works to adequately fund Oregon’s community-based Child Abuse Intervention Centers. Whisnant said the bill clarifies billing codes and processes to allow for the state’s reimbursement of the critical services these centers provide to treat and prevent child

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement after voting against the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act during a Senate Intelligence Committee markup Thursday: “Cyber-attacks and hacking against U.S. companies and networks are a serious problem for the American economy and for our national security. It makes sense to encourage private firms to share information about

The Sisters Rodeo 75 th Anniversary poster art was unveiled at this month’s meeting of the Rodeo Association. The Dennis McGregor poster depicts the era of the first Sisters Rodeo in 1940. The saddle bronc cowboy is reminiscent of mustached characters of the old West, dressed in a throwback loose-fitting shirt and baggy dungarees. “I

In the summer of 2013, BrightSide Animal Center rescued a severely injured pit bull who was found near death along a roadside, having been apparently dragged by a vehicle. Thanks to thousands of concerned animal lovers in Central Oregon, across the country and even abroad, donations poured in. Because of those donations, BrightSide was able

The City of Madras is currently accepting “letters of interest” for a vacancy on the Madras City Council. A qualified candidate must be at least 18 years of age, a registered voter, and a resident of the City of Madras for a minimum of one year prior to an appointment. This is a volunteer position

The city of Prineville has invited all Central Oregon county and city officials to a Marijuana Summit next Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon at Prineville’s City Hall. The summit’s goal is to give personnel an opportunity to review and discuss state Measure 91, also known as Oregon’s Control, Regulation, and Taxation of Marijuana and

Harvesting fire-killed trees is an effective way to reduce woody fuels for up to four decades following wildfire in dry coniferous forests, a U.S. Forest Service study has found. The retrospective analysis, among the first to measure the long-term effects of post-fire logging on forest fuels, is published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.

Another sign of the unusual low-snow winter: the Four Rivers Vector Control District in Sunriver is gearing up for mosquito season, in March. “I’ve already had mosquito complaints,” district Manager Chad Stubblefield said Wednesday. The insects are buzzing much earlier than previous years. “Past couple years, we’ve been treating third week in March or so

On Wednesday evening, more than 250 attendees gathered at the Tower Theatre to celebrate and honor women from throughout Central Oregon at the Bend Chamber’s inaugural Women of the Year Awards. “Overall the entire evening exceeded the Bend Chamber’s expectations,” said Robin Rogers, senior vice president of program and events for the Bend Chamber. An

Contractors on Wednesday began forest health restoration work in an area south of the Cascade Lakes Highway, about 10 miles west of Bend. On Monday, the Storm King bike trail will be temporarily closed for approximately four days to accommodate the work and provide for public safety. The work is part of the West Bend

A traffic stop on Highway 97 in Redmond Wednesday morning led to the arrest of a 23-year-old Richland, Wash., man and the seizure of over a pound of methamphetamine, worth about $45,000 on the street, police said. Officers were conducting traffic enforcement on the highway shortly after 8 a.m. when an officer witnessed the minor

The Intermountain Conference released its all-conference teams for the boys and girls basketball season. IMC Boys Basketball All-Conference Teams Player of the year: George Mendazona, Ridgeview Co-coaches of the year: Jon Frazier, Summit, and Craig Reid, Mountain View First team George Mendazona, jr., Ridgeview Ments Haugen, sr., Mountain View J.J. Spitler, sr., Bend Max Michalski,

Debris burning is Central Oregon’s leading cause of human-caused wildfires, and the early warm weather has led to a surge in illegal open burning calls, officials said Wednesday as they offered tips to avoid problems. Every spring firefighters respond to a series of escaped debris burns across Central Oregon, said Bend Deputy Fire Marshal Cindy