Month: June 2015

Recreational marijuana will become legal in Oregon as of Wednesday. “Ready or not, here it comes,” Bend Police Officer Scott Vincent said Tuesday. Some of the basic rules are in place: * You have to be 21 years or older to be able to posses or smoke marijuana.* You can use it in your home,

The City of Bend WaterWise Program is once again highlighting the technological advancements in the irrigation industry that help conserve water. For the second year, the City of Bend will be giving away five smart irrigation controllers – devices that automatically adjust watering schedules based on weather and other factors. This year, the technology takes

With the Fourth of July holiday fast approaching, Central Oregon firefighters and land managers said Tuesday they want to remind the public to recreate safely on federal public lands this weekend. Continued hot and dry conditions have contributed to an increase in human caused wildfire activity and a HIGH fire danger rating. Visitors to the

Starting Wednesday, recreational marijuana becomes legal in Oregon for adults 21 and older. But there are limits, state officials reminded Tuesday. The What’s Legal? public education campaign (www.whatslegaloregon.com) provides basic information about what is and is not permissible under Measure 91, the voter-approved initiative passed last November. Using the slogan “Educate Before You Recreate,” the

The city of Bend needs $80 million to clear a backlog and fix its roads. “The roads in Bend have been deteriorating over the past eight years or so since the recession,” city Streets Director David Abbas said Monday. The city hired a Portland-based research firm to conduct a survey on the gas tax. More

Citizens who reported a suspicious red pickup driving on Bend’s Larkspur Trail Monday evening led to a traffic stop, arrest of the driver and recovery of the truck, reported stolen over two weeks ago from a parking lot, police said. A Bend resident reported the evening of June 13 that his Toyota pickup had been

Here’s to more homeownership education in Central Oregon! Just in time for National Homeownership Month, NeighborImpact’s HomeSource program is bringing Framework Online Homebuyer Education, a robust online Homebuyer Education Program, to Central and Eastern Oregon. NeighborImpact HomeSource is a participating member of HomeSmart Oregon, a collaborative of nonprofit organizations that connect first-time homebuyers with the

More than 200 firefighters worked Monday to contain a lightning-sparked fire north of Dayville that has blackened over 4,600 acres, as crews tackled several new blazes spotted after a weekend of thunder and lightning over much Central Oregon. Monday brought about nine new reports of small blazes, mostly scattered on or near BLM and Ochoco

“You’re a survivor the second you are diagnosed,” said Gary Bonacker, the co-owner of Sunnyside Sports in Bend and founder of the Tour des Chutes. “The only time you’re not a survivor is when you leave this Earth.” Bonacker underwent surgery for a cancerous brain tumor in late 2003. Less than a year later, he

The Fourth of July holiday is all about the red, white and blue — and unfortunately, on Round Butte, black, too. On Monday, BLM crews continued mopping up a two-acre blaze sparked Sunday by kids playing with fireworks. The burn scar is about a quarter-mile from a residential area. BLM spokeswoman Lisa Clark estimated firefighting

You see them all around the Museum in the summer, wearing periwinkle polo shirts and big smiles. “They” are teen volunteers, an active and integral component of the High Desert Museum. Through generous support of a $15,000 Fred Meyer Fund grant, the High Desert Museum will be able to expand the teen volunteer program to

Forget sleeping in on summer break; 93 teenagers across Central Oregon woke up a little earlier last week as they started work with the Central Oregon Youth Conservation Corps. For the next seven weeks, they will be showing up at 7:00 AM with their hard hats donned and work boots laced, ready to work conservation

A huge mass of unusually warm water that scientists have dubbed “The Blob” has lurked off the West Coast for much of the past two years and speculation is growing that it may be connected in some way with the drought plaguing West Coast states. So researchers are planning to run a series of studies

The Sisters Folk Festival announces that All Event Passes for this year’s Festival, September 11 – 13, are sold out. “This is the fourth year in a row that the Festival has sold out, and each year it’s been two weeks earlier than the year before,” said Managing Director Ann Richardson. “We’re thrilled to see

Mosaic Medical is pleased to announce that Kirk Schueler has been named Chief Financial Officer for our nonprofit community health center system. Kirk, who is a long time Central Oregon resident, brings extensive business management experience to Mosaic Medical. After receiving his degree in accounting from the University of Oregon, Kirk spent several years working

Average retail gasoline prices in Oregon have risen 1.8 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.14 a gallon Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 1,307 gas outlets in Oregon. That compares with the national average that has fallen 1.3 cents per gallon in the last week, to $2.78/g, according to gasoline price

While nearly 250 firefighters battled a nearly 4,100-acre wildfire north of Dayville in Sunday’s heat and evacuated residents returned home, officials said juveniles playing with fireworks sparked a two-acre fire on Round Butte, five miles southwest of Madras. Crews responding from the Prineville BLM and Jefferson County quickly contained the fire, but the Central Oregon

Two Bend juveniles playing with lighters ignited a brushfire Saturday afternoon that quickly climbed into trees and burned about 1/3 of an acre before being contained, officials said. The fire was reported around 4:15 p.m. in an undeveloped area off Hardy Road, in an area of homes west of Bend’s North Fire Station, said Fire

A 34-year-old Bend man who allegedly stole a Jeep from a Westside gas station parking lot Saturday afternoon was arrested after a Deschutes County sheriff’s sergeant spotted the car in northeast Bend and pulled it over, police said. Around 4:35 p.m., an employee of Joe’s Westside Shell said he saw a man steal a customer’s

Two people were treated at the hospital for minor injuries, and the driver was cited on several charges after a two-car crash Friday afternoon at a Tumalo intersection left her car dangling precariously from a power pole guy wire, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies were dispatched at 4:18 p.m. Friday to the intersection of