Month: January 2016

The Murphy-Parrell Road intersection in southeast Bend will be closed to all traffic beginning Tuesday, for construction of the city’s newest roundabout, officials said Friday. All traffic will be detoured during the closure and travelers are advised to use alternate routes. The city said it is building the new roundabout “to improve transportation safety and

Monday evening’s weekly community meeting in Burns has been moved to a new venue, after the Harney County School District said too many guns were brought to last week’s, in violation of school policy. It also will have an audience limited by tickets and be recorded for a statewide radio program. Last Tuesday’s gathering also

Addone more item for weights and measures inspectors with the Oregon Department ofAgriculture to look for while examining motor fuel dispensers around the state. Devices known asskimmers are being used by scam artists across the country tosteal personal information from credit cards used at gas pumps. The crime hascome to Oregon and a recent arrest

The results are in, and the number of homes sold in Bend last year were the highest seen in nearly a decade, broker Rob Eggers said Thursday. The year closed out with nearly 2,500 sales, up 9 percent from 2014, said Eggers, a broker and partner with Duke Warner Realty. “Bend has been through so

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined colleagues and researchers Thursday in calling for immediate funding of a gun violence research agenda at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Joining a group of Democratic senators and renowned national researchers, Wyden noted how a 1996 Republican appropriations rider prohibiting federal funds from being used to advocate or

Given the severe damage that winter weather has caused to U.S. Highway 97 in the Chemult area, the Oregon Department of Transportation said Friday it is planning an emergency repair project. Winter’s freeze-thaw cycle has been especially severe near Chemult, which at 4,764 feet has some of the coldest weather in Oregon, officials said. As

The OSU-Cascades Campus now being built on Bend’s Westside has created a long range development plan, and now citizens are helping to flesh out the details. The university created four community advisory committees. For the past two months, they’ve worked to craft their plan, and on Thursday evening they presented each one. The four committees

The city of Bend has spent about half of its $1.2 million budget for winter plowing, sanding and deicing, just one month into the official winter season, but two months after a major pre-Thanksgiving storm, city councilors were told Wednesday night. New Bend Streets Division Manager Chuck Swann, who succeeded retired Hardy Hanson, was introduced

On the sixth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United decision, OSPIRG Foundation released a report Thursday highlighting the sizable disparity between large donors and small donors in Oregon’s elections. The report finds that in the 2014 election season, just over a thousand large donors contributed nearly ten times more than all small donors combined–a

We’ve told you what causes potholes, and what’s being done to keep the roads patched, but what about if you’ve already learned about them the hard way? Bend resident Jen Floyd did just that Tuesday night “It had gotten dark out, it was raining, so there was water along the roadway, and all of a

The Bloom Project , a volunteer-driven nonprofit that provides fresh floral bouquets to hospice and palliative care patients, has been awarded a grant from the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation) . Receiving a donation of $2,500, The Bloom Project was one of 67 nonprofit organizations recognized in seven counties throughout southwestern Oregon. “Support from organizations

Families interested in exploring Bend-La Pine Schools’ Choice Options should consider taking advantage of upcoming tours and information sessions. Available for students in grades K-8, the district’s Choice Options provide learning opportunities that are significantly different from our traditional programs, while meeting the same standards and requirements as other schools within the district. More information

The Deschutes National Forest is one of 186 federal sites selected to receive a 2015 field trip grant from the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks. Funds from this grant will connect Central Oregon 4th graders to Volcanoes, Lava Caves, and Winter Ecology on the Deschutes National Forest. This $9,000 grant,

An organization that over 23 years has provided support to thousands of families in Deschutes County has just expanded to Crook County. The Family Access Network started in 1993. In 2015 alone, the foundation helped nearly 10,000 children and families in need in Deschutes County. Now, with the expansion to two elementary schools in Prineville,

The stock market is starting 2016 out horribly. The Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 500 points at one point Wednesday. Bend financial advisor Ed Wettig said lower oil prices are taking a toll on the economy and scaring some into pulling their money from the stock market. “Oil is probably looked at

Oregon’s governor expressed anger Wednesday over federal authorities’ handling of the occupation of a national wildlife refuge by an armed group and said she intends to bill the U.S. government for what the occupation is costing state taxpayers. Gov. Kate Brown said federal officials “must move quickly to end the occupation and hold all of

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Washington Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell urged U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday to address China’s restrictions on imports of GMO-free alfalfa hay. More than 1.2 million tons of GMO-free alfalfa is shipped out of western ports annually, and China has been a significant growth

A land-use watchdog group said Wednesday it has reached a compromise with land owners on Bend’s Westside on where to draw an expanded urban growth boundary line, and a city advisory panel has endorsed the proposal. “The Urban Growth Boundary process will determine what kind of city Bend will become,” Central Oregon LandWatch said after

Deschutes County has reopened its search for Audit Committee members. Citizens with financial or local government experience are encouraged to apply. The Audit Committee is an advisory committee to the Board of County Commissioners that: Provides oversight and coordination to auditing (external and internal) for the County. Reviews and comments on the work plan for

The OregonBicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee is seeking to fill a recently vacated position that represents the youth community. The committee was first formed by Oregon Statute 366.112, a bill passed in the 1973 Oregon Legislature. In 1995, the Oregon Transportation Commission officially recognized the committee’s additional role in pedestrian issues, and the group became