Month: December 2015

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., lauded Wednesday’s Senate passage of the final K-12 education bill to boost high school graduation rates in Oregon and across the country as part of the much-called-for replacement of the 2001 No Child Left Behind law. The bill, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), includes a provision to help more students

Experts predict the price of both medical and recreational marijuana will increase dramatically in Oregon next year. It’s all due to new regulations regarding testing cannabis for pesticides. Cannabis has always been tested for some pesticides. “There are rules, but they’re vague,” Ellen Parkin, lab director at CannAlytics in Bend, said Tuesday. They’re vague —

Two men, from Madras and Bend, face drug charges after police stopped to help with their SUV, partly blocking a lane of the Bend Parkway, and found more than two pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside it, officers said Tuesday. An officer stopped around 1:40 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1, to help with a 2007 Yukon

A Bend woman said she had a gun pointed at her during a suspected road rage incident Sunday afternoon on South Highway 97 at Pinebrook Boulevard, police said Tuesday as they sought the public’s assistance in the case. The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. as the 26-year-old Bend woman was heading north on Highway 97

City Club of Central Oregon is pleased to announce the appointment of Barb Hess as the organization’s 2016 Board President. Hess follows Jamie Christman, who served in this leadership role in 2015. Barbara Hess, PHR, is Director of Human Resources for Brooks Resources Corporation. She has been with Brooks Resources for over 33 years and

The Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission has enacted rules to provide a simpler, more cost-effective way for cities to amend urban growth boundaries. But the revised rules won’t change Bend’s ongoing process to expand its UGB, city planners said Tuesday. The new rules, adopted late last week at the LCDC’s meeting in Salem, authorize

Police released a third photo Monday of a gunman who held up the Chevron gas station-convenience store in downtown Prineville early Sunday morning as they scoured tips they hope will lead to the suspect. The man fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said. Officers had released two security-camera images Sunday in hopes the

This year marks Crooked River Ranch Fire & Rescue’s 6 th annual Shop with a Firefighter program. Every year, many children living on Crooked River Ranch find themselves in less than fortunate circumstances during the holiday season. This year, 39 children will enjoy an evening of shopping and a pizza party. The children will ride

The Family Access Network (FAN) is the recipient of a $50,000 planned giving donation from an anonymous donor to support FAN advocate services to local children and families. FAN connects children and their families to vital resources, with the goal of keeping children healthy and in school. “We are very appreciative of the generous donation

Thousands ofchildren will soon experience the joy of Christmas , thanks to the Bend community. Residents packed empty shoeboxes with small items like toys, school supplies and hygiene items for Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse that sends gifts to children living in difficult situations around the world. Bend volunteers and residents contributed

Discover Your Forest, in collaboration with the Deschutes National Forest and Mt. Bachelor Ski Area, will begin their annual interpretive snow tours in the next few weeks. Beginning Saturday, Dec. 19, visitors to the Mt. Bachelor Ski Area can go on a snowshoe tour with a ranger, ski or snowboard Mt. Bachelor slopes with a

A La Pine woman was arrested on DUII, reckless driving and assault charges after a crash into a tree early Tuesday on South Century Drive that sent two passengers to the hospital with serious injuries, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies responded shortly before 1:30 a.m. to the reported single-vehicle crash on South Century Drive

Bend Fire & Rescue will be conducting a live fire training exercise in Tumalo on Wednesday, burning a structure donated to the department for training. The purpose of this exercise is to provide the most realistic training environment for our firefighters by using a structure scheduled to be demolished and burning it in carefully controlled

Oregon has experienced a significant increase in wildfires over the past several years. Not only have these fires increased damages and costs to Oregon’s forests, landowners, and local communities but they have stretched the state’s “complete and coordinated fire protection system,” officials said Monday. Seeking ideas to address these challenges, the Oregon Department of Forestry

On the early morning of December 7th, 1941, Japanese warplanes bombed the USS Arizona in a surprise attack. The warplanes killed 2,400 Americans and prompted the U.S. to enter WWII. On Monday, the nation saluted the soldiers who fought and died in the battle. A ceremony took place at Pearl Harbor to remember those who

Mike Williams was heading home to Redmond on U.S. Highway 20 east of Sweet Home Monday evening when he ran into a major rockslide — fortunately, not literally, as he figured some of the boulders that had just tumbled onto the road were big enough to likely flatten his pickup truck. Williams went to ODOT’s

Central Oregon Partnerships for Youth (COPY), a program of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, is offering a class to prepare volunteers to become mentors for children with an incarcerated parent. After initial training and comprehensive background checks, volunteers are matched with a child in Bend, Redmond, Sisters or LaPine that share similar interests and activities

The City of Redmond is hosting a public workshop on Wednesday, 6:00 -8:00 pm, Redmond City Hall, 716 SW Evergreen Avenue to review the final draft of a vision and plan for Mid-Town Redmond that will help transform an underused district into a thriving neighborhood that reflects Redmond’s history and hopes for the future. The

A festive night in La Pine — the annual Christmas Lights Parade — turned frightening when a 9-year-old La Pine girl fell off a float and was run over, suffering several injuries, family members said Sunday. Samantha “Sammy” Sheeran was riding on a float during Saturday night’s event when she fell off and was run

Beginning as early as Tuesday and continuing through the week, fuels specialists plan to burn 167 acres of piles west of Bend, Deschutes National Forest officials said. The units to be burned are about five miles west of Dillion Falls and are concentrations of leftover woody debris associated with previous vegetation management activities intended to