Month: August 2015

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has financial and technical assistance now available to help Oregon ranchers improve sage grouse habitat in Baker, Crook, Deschutes, Grant, Harney, Lake, Malheur and Union counties. The funding will help landowners perform a variety of rangeland health conservation practices, such as removing invasive juniper trees and other conifers, treating exotic

It’s the largest business deal in Oregon history, and it could affect hundreds in Central Oregon. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway says it’s paying over $37 billion for Precision Castparts, a Portland based company. At a location in Redmond, PCC Schlosser employs over 300 workers. It’s the third-largest manufacturer in Central Oregon. Jon Stark, senior manager

When it comes to cannabis legislation, both Measure 91 and the rules lawmakers passed to implement it, nothing is simple. “There is six different options,” said Deschutes County Commissioner Tony DeBone said Wednesday. “It’s like a matrix of choices that we may be getting to.” Oregon’s new sales tax for recreational marijuana of 25 percent

Three million gallons of toxic waste have turned the Animas River in Colorado a mustard yellow color. The sludge leaked from an abandoned mine called the Gold King Mine. The Environmental Protection Agency accidentally caused the leak while working on the site. Colorado is one of many states, like Oregon, with thousands of abandoned mines.

The Downtown Bend Business Association announced Tuesday its chosen Rod Porsche as its new executive director. Porsche succeeds longtime director Chuck Arnold, who held the position since 2006 and is moving on to a new role as the city of Redmond’s economic development and urban renewal coordinator. In its’ announcement, the DBBA said, “Rod comes

Are you interested in being an Ambassador for Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo? Can you talk to and work with all ages of people? Can you ride a horse? Will you be 17 years old by January 1, 2016 & not yet 21years old by July 25th 2016? Do you live in Deschutes, Crook or

There were no signs of foul play in connection with a body found Friday in a northeast Bend irrigation canal, believed to be a 57-year-old Bend man who had been missing for a week, police said Monday. Police had confirmed Friday night that the body found in the Juniper Ridge area was tentatively identified as

Four people were arrested during a multi-county “saturation patrol” over the weekend at Lake Billy Chinook for operating a boat under the influence of alcohol, an official said Monday. Jefferson County sheriff’s Capt. Marc Heckathorn added, “This office will continue actively enforcing all marine laws, including boating under the influence, in an overall effort to

Glass growlers are available at many — in fact, most — breweries, restaurants and growler fill stations on the High Desert The latest vessel to draw beer lovers’ attention combines the convenience of a portable growler and disposable can. “About 50 percent of our business is filling beer into ‘crowlers’ to-go,” The Growler Guys owner

NPG of Oregon Inc., a cluster of television stations that includes NBC, FOX, The CW, and Telemundo affiliates in Bend, Oregon, is accepting applications for an Operation Supervisor. This position will oversee all on air transmissions for the station and will supervise the Operations department staff. This position is also responsible for training the On-Air

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader, Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici asked the Oregon Department of Agriculture and Oregon State University on Monday to implement an industrial hemp pilot project in time for next year’s growing season. Currently, American farmers are banned from growing hemp in the United

After 65 years of serving Crook County, Pioneer Memorial Hospital will close on Sept. 21, the same day the new hospital — St. Charles Prineville — opens. The community is invited to a special ceremony on Monday, Aug. 17, from 4 to 5 p.m., at the Cascade conference room and adjoining outdoor area at PMH

A passer-by alerted authorities to a deck on fire at a northeast Bend home early Sunday — the city’s second such deck fire this weekend traced to improper disposal of cigarettes, fire officials said. At 6:17 a.m., fire crews responded to the reported fire on the front deck of a home on Northeast Sierra Drive,

Forests worldwide are vulnerable to growing risks of drought- and heat-induced tree mortality and forest die-off because of a rapidly warming Earth, according to just-published research in the scientific journal Ecosphere. The paper is an invited “ESA Centennial Paper” to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Ecological Society of America. Researchers from the USGS, University

Firefighters are making good progress on the 22,500-acre Stouts Creek Fire in southwest Oregon — but a wind shift sent major amounts of smoke from that and other far-off fires blowing into Central Oregon on Sunday, making for hazy skies, watery eyes and worried residents. “Local firefighters continue to respond to small, human-caused fires, but

A fire destroyed a barn more than five miles north of Prineville Sunday afternoon, but the owner was able to get the animals out before it was engulfed, officials said. Crook County Fire and Rescue was dispatched around 1 p.m. to the barn fire off McKay Creek Road, said Fire Chief Matt Smith. Crews arrived

A citizen helping police search for a missing Bend woman with severe dementia found her in apparently good shape Saturday evening, officers said. Officers had alerted the public that Helen Fisher, 75, walked out of her home on Northwest Pickett Court around 6 p.m. Lt. Jason Maniscalco said she last had been seen on foot

A 34-year-old Powell Butte man escaped serious injuries early Saturday when he tried to avoid a group of deer in the road and his pickup truck hit a large boulder, slid across the road, struck a rock wall and overturned, Crook County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies were dispatched around 12:30 a.m. to Southwest Bent Loop

Smaller brushfires continue to keep fire crews busy on the High Desert, including two on Saturday in Crook County’s Juniper Canyon and earlier in the day north of La Pine. Crook County Fire and Rescue responded shortly after 3 p.m. to a reported garage fire and arrived to find a wildfire that had burned near

It was a heated debate; now Senate Bill 941 is about to go into effect. Starting Sunday, all private gun sales require background checks through a licensed dealership. Many big-box stores, like Fred Meyer, have already said they will not provide those background checks for private gun sales. That puts the burden on small gun