Month: April 2016

Women in Bend are invited to volunteer during Habitat for Humanity’s ninth annual National Women Build Week and help address the need for affordable housing in their community. Bend Area Habitat for Humanity is one of more than 300 Habitat organizations nationwide hosting Women Build projects with support from Lowe’s, a longtime partner in the

As one school year winds down, it’s time to begin preparing for next year. Hundreds of teaching hopefuls gathered under one roof Monday at the Deschutes County Expo Center for the Central Oregon Teachers Job Fair. Teachers waited in line for their opportunity to interview with principals from 10 school districts across Central Oregon. About

For every dollar that an Oregon man earns, an Oregon woman usually earns just 82 cents, according to the Oregon Center for Public Policy. The non-profit research institute released a study Monday showing that the gender pay gap is most severe for women of color, and it exists regardless of education levels. “Oregon women deserve

Alarms can save lives, but when they go off for no reason, they can cost money and resources. In 2015, Bend PD responded to over 2,000 false alarms, Bend fire to over 400. At Sacred Art of Living in Bend, Program Manager Maryhelen Zabas is familiar with the problem. “We have about four or five

A predatory sex offender on post-parole supervision in Bend who cut off his GPS ankle monitoring bracelet and fled the area last week was arrested Sunday evening in Seattle, officials said. Deschutes County Parole and Probation had issued a community alert last Wednesday after Justin Lampke, 42, disconnected his monitoring device. The next day, officials

Fire managers on the Ochoco National Forest plan to take advantage of predicted moisture in the Ochoco and Maury Mountains to ignite two prescribed burns Tuesday. The forest has completed about 400 acres of prescribed fire in the Wiley Flat area of the Maury Mountains over the last 10 days, but ceased burning as the

The Deschutes Land Trust announced Monday that it has finalized an agreement to purchase 1,120 acres of land along Whychus Creek northeast of Sisters. The agreement allows the Land Trust to raise the funds necessary to purchase Rimrock Ranch. “This iconic property includes rugged canyons, pine forests, and almost two miles of Whychus Creek,” the

Average retail gasoline prices in Oregon have fallen 0.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.17 a gallon Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 1,307 gas outlets in Oregon. That compares with the national average that has fallen 1.2 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.04/g, according to gasoline price

Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins released new tools for Oregon voters Monday that will help them check and update their voter registration status or register to vote for the upcoming May 17 th Primary Election. The web portal www.oregonvotes.gov/myvote provides a “one-stop” online hub for information about voting options for the May Primary. Oregonians have

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken has ordered the Center for Biological Diversity, WaterWatch of Oregon, five Central Oregon irrigation districts and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to meet in an attempt to resolve their dispute over the Oregon spotted frog. The order for a settlement meeting came Thursday, as Judge Aiken issued a formal written

Oregon State University – Cascades announced Friday it has hired a transportation program manager to oversee multi-modal transportation efforts and parking management for the new Bend campus. “Casey Bergh recently joined the university and will be responsible for creating programs that promote active transportation options to lessen campus community members’ dependency on single-occupancy vehicles,” the

An allegedly drunk, 55-year-old Bend motorcyclist trying to pass three National Guard Humvees on Highway 126 near Redmond encountered an oncoming car, ran off the road and crashed Saturday night, leaving him in critical condition and facing DUII and other charges, police said. Officers responded around 8 p.m. Saturday to the reported motorcycle crash at

The Oregon Department of Revenue is reminding Oregonians that the deadline to file their 2015 personal income tax return is one week away — on Monday, April 18 . “We’ve already processed more than 1.1 million returns this year,” said Megan Denison, the policy and systems manager for the Personal Tax and Compliance Division. “Based

The Bend Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on Saturday honored 7th- and 8th-grade winners of the DAR American History Essay Contest. First-place winners were Zoe Crosson and Ellie Tomlinson and runners-up were Chloe Helikson and Rabecka Moffit. All four are students of Ms. Jennifer Laduca and Ms. Nicole Henry of Sky View

Crews working on the Cascade Natural Gas Bend Westside Line Replacement Project will be found this week around the Intersection of Northwest Tumalo Avenue and Congress Street. The next two blocks of NW Tumalo between State Street and Broadway will remain shut down to through traffic until at least this Friday. Crews have been averaging

The Redmond Police Department conducted two enhanced DUII enforcement efforts in March. During these efforts, Redmond police put two additional officers on the road, funded by DUII grant funds. Two officers worked a total of eight hours, resulting in the arrest of one DUII driver and the stop of another DUII driver, with the investigation

The Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s Office released the second cumulative report of the Oregon Motor Voter program Friday. Thedata from the first three months of implementation show 34,410 new voters are in the process of being added to the rolls since Oregon Motor Voter was implemented on January 1. Prior to Oregon

Bend Fire and Rescue on Friday presented 17-year-old Israel Hawley with a Lifesaver Award. Hawley and three Bend police officers were recognized for using CPR to save the life of Hawley’s grandfather last December. Bend Fire medics and police officers said bystander CPR greatly increases survival rates and can be the difference between life and

Harney County is going “back to the birds” — and the birders — this weekend for the annual Migratory Bird Festival, which has drawn added interest in the wake of the recent Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation. “You have things like the snow geese, which are really impressive,” said John Burch from Boise, Idaho, who

A barn went up in flames on Couch Market Road in the Tumalo area Saturday afternoon, causes $125,000 in losses and sending up a black smoke column visible for miles on a mild, sunny afternoon. The Bend Fire Department was dispatched around 1:10 p.m. to the reported fire at 18455 Couch Market Road, said Fire