Month: May 2015

A homeowner northeast of Redmond reported a cougar came through her front yard Saturday afternoon, prompting Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies to conduct a search that did not find the animal, they said. Deputies were dispatched around 2:30 p.m. to the area of Northeast Yucca Avenue and 17 th Street on the reported sighting, said sheriff’s

A report of someone pulling a gun in a northeast Bend convenience store parking lot led to a brief lock-out of Mountain View High School Friday morning. Police rushed to the U.S. Market at 27th Street and Butler Market Road shortly after 7 a.m., responding to a call, and the school to the south locked

More than 1,000 dams have been removed across the nation due to safety concerns, sediment buildup, inefficiency or having otherwise outlived usefulness. A paper published Friday in Science finds that rivers are resilient and respond relatively quickly after a dam is removed. “The apparent success of dam removal as a means of river restoration is

Oregon consistently has one of the highest rates of melanoma incidences and death in the nation. We recently became the state with the fourth highest skin cancer rate in the country. ShanRae Hawkins, a skin cancer survivor and advocate for melanoma awareness, says area residents are more susceptible to sun exposure. “Central Oregonians are incredibly

Thursday ‘s state Supreme Court ruling on a Public Employees Retirement System lawsuit could cost Oregon’s K-12 schools as much as $358 million in the 2017-19 biennium, according to official estimates. The state Legislative Fiscal Office reached that figure by estimating that PERS rates school employers pay would rise by an average of 5.5 percent

The decline of the world’s large herbivores , especially in Africa and parts of Asia, is raising the specter of an “empty landscape” in some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, according to a newly published study. Many populations of animals such as rhinoceroses, zebras, camels, elephants and tapirs are diminishing or threatened

A 29-year-old Bend skier described by authorities as “avid and accomplished” lost control, crashed into a tree and died on Mt. Bachelor Thursday afternoon, despite life-saving efforts, officials said. Peter R. Sky had been skiing with a friend and was on the Leeway run when he lost control and hit a tree, said Deschutes County

Oregon Reps. Greg Walden, Peter DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer, Kurt Schrader and Suzanne Bonamici on Friday urged the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to swiftly release Secure Rural Schools payments to struggling Oregon counties. They said the program provides much0needed funding for schools, roads and law enforcement in rural forested communities in Oregon

A fire burning in the wall between two southwest Redmond apartment caused an estimated $35,000 damage Friday afternoon, displacing a family of five and tying up traffic near Redmond High School as classes let out for the week. Fire crews were called around 2:30 p.m. to the Canyon Crest Apartments at 532 SW Rimrock Way,

The Red Cross was called in to help nine Warm Springs residents, including six children, displaced by a house fire early Friday morning that also claimed some puppies, the agency said. The fire was reported around 1:45 a.m. at a home in the 1700 block of Bray Avenue, a Red Cross spokeswoman said. Warm Springs

On the very day a state appeals board heard arguments over a disputed campus site, Oregon State University President Ed Ray challenged the Central Oregon community Thursday night to look forward and contribute to the success of OSU-Cascades and the opening of a new branch campus in west Bend. “I am proud to say that

Arsenault Structural Moving Systems will be moving three houses over Forest Road 41 (also known as Conklin Road) on Sunday morning, Deschutes National Forest officials say. The moving is expected to take a few hours. Forest users should not park alongside the road and be prepared for delays. Movers are expected to be off the

Eight members of Ridgeview High School FBLA Chapter, qualified for national competition at the Oregon State competition for FBLA, (Future Business Leaders of America) April 9-11. With nearly 1,500 students participating in over 60 events, the top 3 placers in each event qualify to compete at nationals. We are proud and excited for these students

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley on Friday welcomed tougher federal regulations regarding oil train safety but said the measures don’t go far enough to inform local authorities and protect the public. The senators released the following statement after the Department of Transportation issued a final rule to address the safety of shipping oil-by-rail:

The Oregon House on Thursday unanimously passed House Bill 2776, a bipartisan bill to increase protections for people in danger of domestic violence or abuse. It would allowing peace officers to obtain temporary emergency protective orders with the victim’s consent or permission, and if the peace officer has probable cause to believe the person is

“I think I’m getting a pretty darned good workout,” Bend Pickleball club member Kari Schoessler said. PIckleballers can play indoors or outdoors — leaving plenty of chances to get in some good exercise. The Bend Pickleball club has seen it gain popularity. “It started out as a lot of boomers,” said Kirk Foster, vice president

Friday marks the beginning of Wildfire Awareness Month in Oregon and Saturday marks Wildfire Community Preparedness Day in Deschutes County. Across the state and in Deschutes County, fire departments and organizations are encouraging residents to learn about living in Fire Adapted Communities and take steps to reduce the threat of wildfire destroying lives and homes.

The U.S. House passed a bipartisan funding bill Thursday to increase resources for America’s veterans and continue reforms at the Department of Veterans Affairs, said Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., who strongly supported the bill. “We as a nation owe our freedom to the men and women who have served in uniform,” Walden said. This legislation