Month: July 2015

A transient pulled over for speeding in southeast Bend Thursday morning took off and led police on a chase, eventually crashing into and exploding a power transformer, then jumping a fence and eluding searchers, including two police dogs. His arrest came in far more subdued fashion later in the morning, as he walked down a

The Deschutes National Forest has closed the Tumalo Creek Trail due to people crossing the city of Bend’s construction zone to get there, agency officials said Friday. “This closure has been put in place for safety reasons,” the announcement said. “The only legal route to viewing the falls during construction of the city of Bend

A bill that would refer the issue of eliminating the statute of limitations for rape to the 2016 general election ballot was introduced in the Oregon Senate Thursday by Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, and Rep. Jodi Hack, R-Salem. Senate Bill 973 would allow for prosecution of first-degree sex crimes to be commenced at any time,

After members of the public flying drones disrupted wildfire operations in Southern California twice recently, federal, state, and local wildfire managers in Oregon and Washington are urging the public not to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems), often referred to as “drones,” within or near wildfires to ensure firefighter safety and the effectiveness of suppression operations. On

While final test results will not be available until later this summer, preliminary state-level results show that more students than anticipated met Oregon’s college- and career-ready standards on new state tests, officials said Thursday. With 95 percent of tests in, students have exceeded expectations in a vast majority of subjects and grades. Oregon had expected

The children who need legal representation most are often those who don’t have access to it, and lawyers in Bend are working to close the gap. Attorneys at Stahancyk, Kent & Hook P.C. are hosting a free training session to teach lawyers how to represent children in custody and parenting time cases through a continuing

The fast-growing, now nearly 13,000-acre Corner Creek Fire 11 miles south of Dayville has prompted an area closure of trails and campgrounds in and near the Black Canyon Wilderness while sending smoke streaming west and causing hazy skies in Central Oregon, officials said Thursday. Elsewhere, a 100-acre fire early Thursday near Prineville Reservoir is already

The Internal Revenue Service issued a consumer alert Friiday to help taxpayers protect themselves from scam artists pretending to be from the IRS. “If you get an unexpected phone call or e-mail from someone claiming to be from the IRS and making aggressive threats if you don’t pay immediately, you should assume it’s a scam,”

La Pine firefighters, in uniform and in a fire district vehicle, will be visiting homes and properties within the fire district this summer. The purpose is to pre-plan and collect critical data for firefighters to use when protecting homes from a wildfire. This is a continuation of a multi-year project started last year. The fire

The heat is on in Central Oregon, which has many people trying to cool off. Which can advantageous to air conditioning companies like Central Oregon Heating and Cooling in Redmond. “This is the best June in a long time,” James Gustaveson, production manager at Central Oregon Heating and Cooling, said Thursday. “You know, of course

The United Way of Deschutes County is pleased to welcome to the organization’s team Kati Hannigan as Community Impact Associate and Aimee White as Development Director. Kati joins UWDC after 26 years managing program launches for Chevron, including the Safeway and Chevron loyalty program partnership. She will serve as administrative support for the organization and

State officials and private partners kicked off Oregon’s new pay-by-the-mile road usage charge program, OReGO, on Wednesday, welcoming drivers to enroll online. “The doors are now open for Oregonians to enroll their vehicles and test-drive OReGO statewide,” said Vicki Berger, chair of Oregon’s Road User Fee Task Force, and a former member of the Oregon

The amount paid to people who have filed for unemployment insurance benefits has increased slightly, state Employment Department officials said Thursday. The maximum weekly benefit amount someone can receive will increase to $567, while the minimum amount will be $133. The change affects new unemployment insurance claims effective on or after June 28 . Those

Bend medical marijuana dispensaries and residents alike celebrated legal recreational cannabis Wednesday with private parties, informational booths and free joints that were, at one celebration, apparently gifted out of compliance with state rules. “We gave away about 1,000 joints before the state called us at 4 (p.m.) and asked us to stop,” Diamond Tree owner

Due to hot and dry weather conditions and the low amount of live fuel moisture, Bend Fire & Rescue and other area fire departments have increased the level of fire danger to “extreme,” officials said Thursday. To make matters more risky, the National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning from 3 p.m. Friday

Saving Grace was awarded a $7,700 grant from the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation to support Mary’s Place, Saving Grace’s Supervised Visitation & Safe Exchange Program. These funds will be used to provide extensive case management activities by Mary’s Place staff on behalf of families using the visitation center, to coordinate safety-focused services. Mary’s Place

The Deschutes County Road Department will be chip sealing a portion of Cascade Lakes Highway from Mt. Bachelor to Elk Lake from July 6th through July 9th. Flaggers and a pilot car will be used to escort traffic through the work zone. Drivers can expect delays of up to 15 minutes. For more information, please

The Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries will offer a historic cemetery and marker repair workshop on Saturday, July 18 near Tumalo. All of the events are free and open to the public. The workshop will be from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Tumalo Pioneer Cemetery, about 1.8 miles north of Tumalo on the Cline Falls

About 350 firefighters working in hot conditions have brought the Sugarloaf Fire north of Dayville to 40 percent containment, but a new fire south of the small community doubled in size Wednesday to over 12,000 acres, prompting an area closure. The Corner Creek Fire, estimated at 6,000 acres as of Wednesday morning, was at 12,700

As recreational marijuana became legal Wednesday, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel’s office prosecuted a pot delivery and manufacture case before a grand jury and he later issued a news release making the point: “It ain’t the wild West in Deschutes County.” Hummel said the voter-approved measure to to permit possession of small amounts of