Month: March 2015

On December 5, 2014 the Central Oregon Association of REALTORS® (COAR) installed their 2015 Board of Directors. Members of the Executive Committee include: Carolyn Bostwick, Treasurer, of Tamarack Real Estate Services; Wendy Adkisson, Immediate Past President, of Cascade Sotheby’s International Realty; Dave Feagans, President Elect, of Alpine Real Estate; and Scott Halligan, President, of Coldwell

Antonio Rico-Sanchez, found guilty of running a drug ring in 2011, was arrested in February on charges of methamphetamine at his Bend grocery store. Rico-Sanchez owns Rico’s Groceries and Rico’s Tacos, a popular food cart in Bend. He appeared in court by video hookup from the jail for a motion hearing Wednesday. Rico-Sanchez was arrested

The family of the Deschutes County inmate who died in December due to a meth overdose will pursue state and federal lawsuits against the sheriff’s office, according to Bend attorney Jennifer Coughlin. Coughlin said Wednesday the family of Edwin Mays plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit in state courts and a federal civil rights

A Redmond man facing manslaughter and other charges in a fatal crash got a stern reminder from a judge in a Bend courtroom Wednesday: A no-contact order means just that — no contact. William Wayne Fix, 33, was back in court Wednesday for a clarification on his release conditions. He pleaded not guilty last Friday

New applicants and those who need to recertify their eligibility for the disabled or senior citizen property tax deferral programs have three weeks left to file their paperwork. For their taxes to be paid in November, taxpayers need to meet the April 15 deadline, explained Bronson Rueda, deferral program manager at the Department of Revenue.

Like it or not, want it or not, the Bend area keeps on growing – and at one of the fastest rates in the country, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday. The new estimates for population growth in the year ended last July 1 show the Bend-Redmond metropolitan area – actually encompassing all

Another fire season is quickly approaching, and with our mild winter, we could be seeing an active one. This week, the U.S. Forest Service is putting a different group of rookies through a trial by fire — not on how to fight them, but how to find where and how they started — and possibly

Deep-water marine fish living on the continental slopes at depths from 2,000 feet to one mile have liver pathologies, tumors and other health problems that may be linked to human-caused pollution, one of the first studies of its type has found. The research, conducted in the Bay of Biscay west of France, also discovered the

During 2014, Oregon’s private employers were looking to fill about 45,000 job vacancies at any given time, according to new annual figures released Wednesday from the Oregon Employment Department’s Job Vacancy Survey. The Job Vacancy Survey provides a snapshot of the labor market job seekers face. The number of job vacancies in 2014 increased by

SOAR Oregon, a nonprofit funded by the state of Oregon, has made two significant hires as it begins its second year focused on developing the civilian Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS or commercial drone) industry in Oregon. Chuck Allen, a veteran of entrepreneurial startups and multinational corporations, has been named Executive Director of SOAR; and John

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel released jail video Tuesday showing the last few hours of an inmate’s life that ended in December. Approximately four hours of jail recordings capture 31-year-old Edwin Mays and jail staff from the time Mays was booked, until responding EMTs tried to save his life. The sheriff’s office has stated

The Ochoco National Forest is seeking public feedback on a draft plan to treat parts of the 2014 Bailey Butte fire area. The Bailey Butte fire started by lightning on private property July 14 and then ran south onto the Lookout Mountain Ranger District. The fire was contained on July 26 after burning 10,272 acres,

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said Tuesday he has asked the Oregon Department of Justice’s District Attorney Assist Unit for an independent review of the investigation into the Dec. 14 death of a county jail inmate. The State Medical Examiner concluded that Edwin Burl Mays, 31, a pre-booking inmate at the jail, died of

It’s said that music is a universal language, which is why more than 40 Japanese students have hit the High Desert to connect with Mountain View High School band members. Through the Rotary Oregon-Japan Exchange program, 43 students from the Kogane Band in Japan are teaming with the Cougars band in the 20th such gathering

A new feature on Bend’s southeast side is on the way — 37 acres of park land that will be developed by the Bend Park and Recreation District. The future community park is in an area that is currently busy with construction, with more on the way. “We acquired the property last week — it’s

Power for a whole town, provided from a 5-acre site. That could soon be a reality at the Newberry geothermal site by Paulina Lake. Officials said Tuesday new federal regulations on fracking — injecting high-pressure liquid underground to extract oil or gas — won’t apply to their project. Three years after the Newberry site got

Margi Robberson joined the Board of Trustees for Family Kitchen at their meeting in January. Robberson brings experience volunteering for local programs that work to address the issue of food insecurity in Central Oregon. She volunteers at the Nativity Lutheran Church Food Pantry and through Nativity’s service team at the Bethlehem Inn. Her most recent

The economy continued to improve across the High Desert in February, due in part to the unseasonably warm and snow-free conditions, the state Employment Department reported Tuesday. Seasonally adjusted unemployment showed significant improvement in the last month as our warm winter fostered a stronger job market, said Regional Economist Damon Runberg. Deschutes County’s unemployment rate

SEIU Local 49’s Act Now for a Healthy Oregon campaign on Monday released a white paper comparing prices for common procedures at non-profit hospitals in Oregon and listed St. Charles Bend as the ninth-most expensive nonprofit hospital in the state. But hospital officials took issue with the findings, saying it’s not that simple — and

A brutal attack on a Prineville police officer by a hammer-wielding burglary suspect is putting a spotlight on a critical staffing and funding shortage, Interim Police Chief Les Stiles said Monday. NewsChannel 21 asked Stiles why Sgt. Jimmy O’Daniel was the only officer responding to the scene early Saturday when he encountered the suspect, Trevor