Month: March 2015

At a meeting to be held early next week, the Deschutes National Forest, Crescent Ranger District, is seeking the public’s help in planning a landscape forest management project in an area south of Wickiup Reservoir and east of Davis Lake. On Monday, March 9, 2015 at 6 p.m. at La Pine High School, 51633 Coach

Facebook on Wednesday announced the 22 recipients of Facebook Prineville Data Center’s 2015 Local Community Action Grants. “These outstanding nonprofits and schools were awarded a total of $100,000 to support projects that put the power of technology to use for community benefit, help improve education at all levels, and bring people together either physically or

New data confirms that Oregon remains a hotspot in the national fraud epidemic, the National Consumers League warned Wednesday. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s recently-released 2014 Consumer Sentinel Data Book, Oregon was the 3 rd highest-ranked state in per-capita identity theft complaint rates to the FTC in 2014. Benefits, credit card and bank fraud

The state Medical Examiner’s Office has determined that a 31-year-old Bend man died in the Deschutes County Jail in mid-December of a methamphetamine overdose, sheriff’s deputies said Tuesday. The sheriff’s office received the reports Monday from the state Medical Examiner’s Office, along with a toxicology report, said Capt. Scott Beard. The cause of death for

The U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) kicked off its 5-day long annual Collegiate National Championship Tues day with a Snowboard and Freeski Rail Jam, women’s Alpine Giant Slalom, and a 7.5k Classic Nordic race. Mt Bachelor is serving as host for all events over the five days of exciting competition. A record-breaking 513

A recent rape investigation at the University of Oregon has brought an apparent loophole to light and is outraging many in the community, once they learn of it. “Why? That’s what I want to know,” COCC student Caylin Landry asked Tuesday. “Why is this loophole here in the first place?” FERPA is the Family Education

Sens. Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) introduced Tuesday the Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2015, which would extend the short line railroad track maintenance tax credit that expired last year. “Small railroads provide a critical service to communities and businesses across Oregon, and this bill means continued investment in important infrastructure,”

The city of Redmond and the U.S. Forest Service have completed several important steps to continue partnering to provide wildland firefighting support services at the Redmond Air Center located at the Redmond Airport. Recently, the city and Forest Service completed a new 10-year land lease for the 51 acres that the Redmond Air Center sits

The city of Redmond Transportation Division will be closing Black Butte Blvd. for half a block between 6 th St. and 5 th St. Monday through Friday, March 9 – 13 th . The closure will last during daytime hours, scheduled to re-open for the evening each day after 4 p.m. This will accommodate tree

The city of Redmond said it is beginning construction of the American Legion, Dry Canyon Gateway on Thursday. The gateway encompasses about one-half acre on the corner of Highland Avenue and Rimrock Way, adjacent to American Legion Park. The city acquired the property with the desire to beautify the highly visible parcel and develop it

Senate Education Committee Chair Arnie Roblan (D-Coos Bay) and Vice-Chair Tim Knopp (R-Bend) introduced three bills Tuesday that they say target strategic investment in K-12 education. The bills fund strategic grants for education innovation and intervention programs and increase funding for special education and ELL programs. “The perennial battle over K-12 education funding often neglects

After months of driver-welcomed declines, Oregon has the dubious distinction of having the second-largest weekly increase in gas prices in the nation this week, AAA Oregon/Idaho reported Tuesday. “Skyrocketing prices in West Coast markets due to refinery outages and operational issues are putting upward pressure on the national average for regular unleaded,” says AAA Oregon/Idaho

The IRS began testing an appointment-based service approach on Feb. 23 in 10 of its larger Tax Assistance Centers around the country. Since the original announcement, the test has been expanded to 34 other offices nationwide, including Bend. The IRS is testing the new approach to determine if it will increase efficiency during a time

With measles cases spreading across the country, Oregon lawmakers are taking a shot against the virus themselves — hoping to soon make it tougher for parents to opt their children out of vaccinations. “I’m all for freedom and personal choice — until it starts to harm other people,” said state Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, who

Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent in January, down .4 of a percent and the lowest figure since July 2008, the state Employment Department reported Tuesday . That continues the trend of decline seen since May 2009 , when Oregon’s rate peaked at 11.9 percent. The number of unemployed also declined to 124,000, from

The sewing machine buzzed, cloths cluttered the table, and fingers frantically finished a project four months in the making. A team of more than 20 women have been working since November to provide relief for young women in Uganda. “I think the story of making reusable sanitary napkins for girls and women would touch every

The Oregon Safety Belt Overtime Campaign is a statewide selective traffic enforcement program that seeks to reduce the number of motor vehicle-related deaths and injuries by increasing public awareness of laws regarding the three most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crash injuries: safety restraint use, speed, and impaired drivers. A statewide observation survey in June

Bend police and Bend-La Pine Schools officials shed more light Monday on an incident in which an 11-year-old Juniper Elementary School student allegedly wrote out a list of students to harm, prompting interviews and implementing a safety protocol. Police said the list apparently was written three weeks ago and destroyed a short time later. The

More than 500 athletes from 65 schools, their coaches, officials and volunteers are taking over Mt. Bachelor this week. The plan is to ski or snowboard their way to a national championship title. Athletes from all over the United States are in Central Oregon from the East Coast to the Midwest, to the West and

According to data released Thursday by CoreLogic, nearly 13,000 in Deschutes County, are currently designed at “High” or “Very High” risk for wildfire damage, representing a combined total reconstruction value estimated at more than $237 billion. There are some simple steps you can take to prepare your home and community for the upcoming fire season.