Month: April 2015

A Portland martial arts studio owner and sex abuse suspect who died in an apparent suicide early Sunday at the Deschutes County Jail had been given a mental health evaluation, but did not appear to be suicidal, officials said Monday. Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton and District Attorney John Hummel spoke at a news conference

Oregon’s new pay-by-the-mile road usage charge program, OReGO, took a big step forward Monday , as state officials announced that three private business partners are now technically certified to manage accounts and collect road user fees from those accounts for deposit into the State Highway Fund. “Oregon is pioneering the nation’s first pay-by-the-mile road usage

A 24-year-old Crooked River Ranch resident was arrested Monday afternoon after police were called out on a shooting report and learned three shots had been fired, but no one was injured, Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies said. The sheriff’s office responded around 1:30 p.m. to a report of shots fired in the 12000 block of Peninsula

A proposed federal geothermal energy research lab at the Newberry Volcano near La Pine cleared its first hurdle on Monday and was awarded $400,000 by the Department of Energy in first-phase funding. Now it’s one of five sites vying for the $30 million project. Last Thursday, Central Oregon lawmakers won their colleagues’ backing in a

Preparations got underway Monday for “modest” remodeling work at the Bend Senior Center, Bend Parks and Rec reported. The projects include re-purposing spaces, updating interior finishes and minor mechanical system improvements. Construction is scheduled to begin on Monday, May 4th and expected to continue through mid-June. Affected spaces are on the south side of the

Personal use firewood collection in designated woodcutting areas of the Deschutes National Forest opened Monday, and will ion Friday on the Ochoco National Forest and Prineville BLM lands. On the Ochoco National Forest, Crooked River National Grassland and the Prineville District Bureau of Land Management open Friday. All areas will remain open through November 30,

If weather conditions remain favorable, up to 800 acres could be burned beginning as early as Tuesday on the east slope of Lookout Mountain in the Pringle Falls Experimental Forest west of La Pine, the Deschutes National Forest reported. The experimental forest is about 25 miles southwest of Bend and 11 miles west of La

The search for a snowboarder from California, missing on Mt. Bachelor, took a big positive turn Sunday night when he was able to call and report he was OK, though it still took late into the night to find him near Lava Lake, after he had hiked some seven miles. Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort contacted

The kindness of others helped raise over 1,400 donated baby items with an estimated value of the new and used articles to over $10,000 to the 2015 Soroptimist of Bend “Community Baby Shower” project. “We have a generous community. DHS is very grateful that you (Soroptimist of Bend) has made us a partner in this

Two inmates who escaped Sunday morning from the minimum-security Shutter Creek Correctional Institution in North Bend by apparently scaling a fence were recaptured Monday, the state Department of Corrections reported. Police arrested Daniel Oliver Fullmer near Lakeside around 1:30 a.m. Monday, and arrested Harlan Earl Brown around 10:30 a.m. near Coos Bay. Oregon State Police,

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad will replace the railroad crossing of Baker Road in Deschutes River Woods from Monday, May 11 th through Wednesday, 13 th . Baker Road will be closed for three days to facilitate the work and to repave the crossing. All traffic in and out of Deschutes River Woods, west

(April 27, 2015) — The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announces up to $100,000 in funding available for woodland owners in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties to improve the health of their woods and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. Interested landowners should submit applications to the USDA Redmond Service Center by May 22

Is your home at risk of wildfire? With the extraordinarily severe 2014 fire season still fresh in their minds, Oregonians are now focusing their efforts to protect their homes and properties against future wildfires. “Get involved!” officials said in a Monday news release. “Take part in National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 2 !

Average retail gasoline prices in Oregon have risen 8.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.79/g on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 1,307 gas outlets in Oregon. Thats compares with the national average that has increased 8.2 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.54/g, according to gasoline price website

A 17-year-old Bend youth faces DUII, attempt to elude and other charges in connection with a pursuit and a pair of crashes in southeast Bend early Saturday, police said Sunday. Officers responded around 1:15 a.m. Saturday to a reported crash in the 400 block of Southeast Woodland Avenue, said Lt. Clint Burleigh. They arrived to

It was the best feel-good moment of the week in Bend, when about 250 residents joined together in support of the smallest members of the community — babies — by participating in Saturday’s 2015 March for Babies to benefit March of Dimes. RiverBend Park was packed with strollers, families and corporate teams who raised more

A decision on whether OSU-Cascades can build their new campus at a disputed site in southwest Bend is going to be delayed by another three to four weeks. The state Land Use Board of Appeals was expected to announce its ruling next week. However, an attorney for Westside campus opponents Truth in Site has requested

A 42-year-old, unoccupied mobile home in southeast Bend was heavily damaged by a fire early Saturday that investigators traced to a woodstove that work crews had started to warm up the fresh paint and sheetrock. Firefighters responded around 12:10 a.m. to the reported fire in the Country Sunset Mobile Home Park on Southeast 27 th

This week is the 100th anniversary of what many historians acknowledge as the Armenian genocide – the Turkish massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians. Born in Syria and now retired in Bend, Dr. Zohrab DerTorossian shared on Friday his family’s history during World War I. As an infant, his father survived the 1915 killings,

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, meeting Friday in Bend, directed ODFW staff to develop two options for taking wolves off the state Endangered Species Act — one for Eastern Oregon and another statewide. But it also kept open the possibility of leaving wolves on the list instead. The state’s Wolf Plan calls for initiating