Month: December 2015

A fire tore through a manufactured home in the Tumalo area Wednesday afternoon, despite the efforts of Redmond and Bend fire crews, but the resident awakened to the smoke and made it out just in time (though without one of his boots, officials said. Firefighters were called around 1:20 p.m. to the home at 21195

Both the Redmond City Council and the Redmond Urban Renewal Agency Board unanimously approved funding Tuesday night to begin work on the transformation of the Evergreen Elementary School site into a new City Hall/Civic Center. Skanska Construction will provide the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) services for the $11,730,000 rehabilitation project, expected to be completed in

Home fires are the greatest disaster threat Americans face. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, nearly 47,000 home fires occur during the winter holiday season, claiming more than 500 lives and causing more than 2,200 injuries. On Saturday , Jan. 9, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., trained Red Cross volunteers will

The rapidly expanding energy systems engineering degree at Oregon State University – Cascades has become only the fourth of its kind in the nation to receive full accreditation from ABET, the body that accredits college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. Accreditation recognizes that the program meets quality standards to

For the fifth year in a row, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is partnering with America’s State Parks to offer free guided First Day Hikes in state parks across Oregon on New Year’s Day, including Smith Rock State Park The usual $5 day-use parking fee will be waived on Jan. 1 only. These same

A bipartisan group of Oregon and Idaho senators praised congressional leaders Wednesday for boosting wildfire funding in a year-end spending bill, and vowed to continue pushing for a long-term solution. Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined with Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and James Risch to renew their call for a long-term solution to

(Updating to correct nature of rape charge) A 25-year-old Florida man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, convicted of contacting Prineville-area minors at several online sites and traveling to Central Oregon, where he had sex with a 14-year-old girl last spring. Airon Bennett was arrested twice and released on bail – but then

The Redmond City Council approved a new 20-year lease agreement Tuesday night with the U.S. Forest Service, which plans to move the region’s wildfire dispatch center from Prineville to the Redmond Air Center. City officials said Wednesday the agreement includes the development of a 7,000-square-foot facility that will support efforts to relocate the Central Oregon

For the eighth year in a row, Oregon ranks as one of the best states for animal protection laws, according to a recently released report by national nonprofit Animal Legal Defense Fund. For 10 years, ALDF has released the Rankings Report, the longest-running and most authoritative of its kind, to track which states are taking

A 46-year-old Powell Butte man, let go by Prineville’s Woodgrain Millwork several years ago, has been arrested on charges he broke into the plant on two recent occasions and stole tools, equipment and a pickup truck, police said Wednesday. They said he was caught using the stolen pickup to try to pull another vehicle out

Jessica Rowan Saleem hopes when 3-year-old Nabiel is older, she and her husband will take their son back to visit family and friends in Yemen. But it’s at times like now — with Donald Trump splashed all over the media — that she’s grateful Nabiel is still a toddler. “It’s hard when you see the

Sen. Ron Wyden, D–Ore., issued the following statement Wednesday on the latest version of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, which has been included in the omnibus appropriations bill. “This ‘cybersecurity’ bill was a bad bill when it passed the Senate and it is an even worse bill today. Americans deserve policies that protect both their

A Bend man wanted on an outstanding warrant ran from police and threw away a bag with a gun in it before officers arrested him on Southeast Third Street Tuesday morning, police said. A woman who was with him also was taken into custody. James Karl Rahn, 31, was contacted in front of a room

Madras police released security video and asked the public for help Tuesday in trying to find two suspects who broke into a Central Organics medical marijuana dispensary over the weekend and stole about $2,000 worth of items, according to its owners. “Obviously, I was shocked,” said Mike Boynton, who owns Central Organics with his wife

The Redmond Police Department, in cooperation with Oregon Impact, Oregon Department of Transportation and law enforcement agencies across the nation, will be conducting enhanced DUII enforcement patrols during Christmas holiday period. Enhanced patrols began on December 11 th and will continue through January 3 rd , 2016. During this time Redmond police will have extra

Searching for the perfect holiday gift? Deschutes County’s SkidCar training is the perfect present for people of all ages. Defensive winter driving skills training can keep your friends and loved ones safe on the roads this winter. Deschutes County offers SkidCar Training classes seven days a week, by appointment, with a maximum of three participants

Federal officials say whoever cut down and hauled off a large old-growth juniper tree at a popular wilderness trailhead east of Bend may have committed a federal crime, and they are seeking tips to find the culprit. The tree was taken earlier this month from the Flatiron Rock Trailhead in the 30,000-acre Badlands Wilderness Area,

Presiding Deschutes County Circuit Judge Alta Brady signed Orders on Dec. 11 appointing local attorneys Bethany Powers Flint and Owyhee Weikel-Magden as Juvenile Court Referees under ORS 419A.150. Ms. Flint will serve as the primary Referee replacing former Referee Stephen Kurzer. Ms. Weikel-Magden will serve as a back-up referee, a role which did not previously

Sen.r Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced Tuesday night a bipartisan deal on a major part of a bill he introduced to lower the cost of college by providing much-needed tax relief and greater economic certainty for students and their families in Oregon and across the country. A centerpiece of Wyden’s PARTNERSHIPS Act was included in the

The Oregon Department of Education on Tuesday released data on K-12 attendance which it said highlights the high rates of chronic absenteeism in many schools and districts. Statewide, one in six students missed at least 10 percent of their enrolled school days last year – the definition of chronic absence – and for some student