Month: December 2015

The Lookout Mountain Ranger District of the Ochoco National Forest has issued a decision to move forward with restoration work on 176 acres surrounding Walton Lake, officials said Tuesday. The Walton Lake Restoration Project will include selective thinning and replanting in an effort to improve public safety and maintain visual aesthetics surrounding the forest’s busiest

State Treasurer Ted Wheeler and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced Tuesday that Oregon has helped to secure a $150 million settlement in a class action lawsuit filed against JPMorgan Chase & Co. to compensate investors for a financial scheme uncovered in 2012. The so-called “London Whale” trading scandal impaired investors’ holdings including those of

A new Oregon law, effective Jan. 1, authorizes the state Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority to garnish Oregon Lottery prize payments greater than $600 to recover overpayments of public assistance, medical assistance and supplemental nutrition assistance. What does this new law, approved by legislators, mean to players? If a player claims

Financial technology company SmartAsset said Monday it has ranked America’s top 10 boomtown s of 2015, and the Bend metro area takes the fourth spot in its list. “Everyone wants to live in Bend. Or at least, a lot of people do,” the Website says in a report out Monday. “According to U.S. Census Bureau

The latest in a month of snowstorms blew into the High Desert Monday, accompanied by gusty winds and rain, toppling numerous trees, sparking power outages affecting thousands around the region and triggering a snowslide near Santiam Junction but also bringing lots of fresh powder for holiday-week skiers and boarders to enjoy, Traffic was getting by

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined with six fellow senate Democrats on Monday in seeking more information from federal officials on efforts to coordinate and facilitate medical marijuana research. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in sending a

The holidays will be in full swing in a few days, and the Humane Society of Central Oregon is reminding people to keep pets safe during family gatherings and holiday parties. If you lose or find a pet, report it immediately to your local shelter and reclaim your pet quickly. Consider the following tips to

St. Charles Hospice’s Light Up a Life ceremony of remembrance will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 30 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at St. Charles Madras in the Metolius Room. The annual Light Up a Life ceremony of remembrance is a night to come together to remember and celebrate loved ones who are no longer

The Bureau of Land Management Prineville District Office will be accepting comments proposed improvements to the recreational experience in Segment 3 (Buck Hollow to Macks Canyon) on the Lower Deschutes River. Comments can be mailed, emailed or faxed and must be postmarked or received by February 1, 2016. The Segment 3 Environmental Assessment (EA) was

Two dozen Oregonians from around the state received the year’s highest honors from Oregon State University’s Extension Association at a banquet Dec. 9 at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center in Corvallis. “Our volunteers are the backbone of Extension,” said Deborah Maddy, associate provost for University Outreach & Engagement. “They bring so much talent and skills

Bend Spay+Neuter Project and Bend Pet Express want to make sure that every pet in Central Oregon has a Merry Christmas. In order to do that, the two organizations have teamed up to provide holiday goodie bags for needy cats and dogs here in Central Oregon. The idea came from the HOPE Pet Food Bank,

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Four college students from Oregon were among those hurt when a vehicle plowed into pedestrians on a sidewalk outside a Las Vegas Strip casino. Pacific University spokesman Joe Lang says the students are members of the wrestling team and were in Las Vegas to compete in a tournament. He says 19

Following one of the worst U.S. wildfire seasons on record, researchers at Oregon State University have been awarded a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to study the impacts of smoldering combustion. This type of combustion produces no visible flame but can emit higher amounts of pollutants than flaming combustion. It can

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River) has announced the nomination of five students from Central Oregon for acceptance to one of the prestigious United States service academies. Members of Walden’s Service Academy Nomination Board — active and retired military officers who interview potential candidates to the service academies and make recommendations to Walden — selected these

Oregon Highway 230 (West Diamond Lake Highway) reopened to traffic Sunday afternoon with a chain requirement, more than a week after heavy snow and downed trees forced several roads’ closure, ODOT officials said. ODOT and contract falling crews worked to reopen the highway since it was closed Saturday , Dec. 12, due hundreds of downed

A 72-year-old La Pine man walked into a northeast Bend bank Friday, displayed several “explosives” (later found to be hoax devices) and demanded a large sum of money, sparking a tense hostage drama that ended with his surrender 40 minutes later, police said. But while all workers and customers got out unhurt, the “devices” left

A 39-year-old Redmond bicyclist riding in the oncoming lane was struck by a car on Highway 126 early Friday morning and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Officers were dispatched shortly before 4 a.m. to the reported crash on Highway 126 near Southeast Lake Road, said Lt. Mike Kidwell. An investigation that

Warm Springs tribal members voted overwhelmingly Thursday to pursue marijuana growing and sales at tribal-owned stores off the reservation, unofficial results showed. Here’s a release issued Friday afternoon by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs: Results of Thursday’s referendum were certified this (Friday) morning by the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of Warm

The drunk driver of a car spinning circles at a northeast Bend intersection early Thursday sped away when police tried to stop him, and the snowfall prompted the officer to stop a pursuit, police said. But the snow also provided tracks in the snow that led to his abandoned car, and snowy footprints that led

On Friday, December 18 , the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Bend Police Department and Sunriver Police Department assisted The Riverhouse, SYSCO Foods and the La Pine Food Basket in delivering more than 525 meals to needy families in the La Pine area. This is the 13th year the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, the Riverhouse, SYSCO