Month: June 2016

Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced Thursday the Senate Appropriations Committee, on which Merkley sits, passed an Interior Appropriations bill including key provisions to keep Oregon communities safe with clean drinking water and to prepare for the possibility of a large-scale Cascadia earthquake. “This legislation will help fund water infrastructure projects so our

The forest became the classroom for dozens of students Thursday. A prescribed burn west of Sisters served as a live-fire exercise for new recruits. “I’m out here today because it’s always been on my bucket list to become a firefighter,” Amber Blanchard said. “I think it’s cool. It’s kind of like serving your country.” Blanchard

The Tower Theatre Foundation is the recipient of a $9,000 grant from the Daryl L. and Patricia L. Swenson Fund and a $1,000 grant from the Williamson Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation to help fund the Tower Theatre Foundation’s education manager for a third year. The mission of the Tower Theatre Foundation is

A gunman wearing black clothing and a skeleton mask held up the Madras Burger King Friday night after it closed for the evening, police said Monday as they turned to the public for tips, including the Crime Stoppers Tip Line. Madras and Warm Springs police and Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies responded shortly after 10 p.m.

A 21-year-old Bend man was killed early Thursday morning when his car left a curve on South Century Drive and rolled several times, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies responded around 7:25 a.m. to help an off-duty sheriff’s deputy who came across the fatal crash on South Century Drive near Big River Drive, said Sgt.

A southeast Bend motel guest called the front desk Wednesday afternoon, said he had a gun and was on his way to kill them, prompting the evacuation of guests and a major police call-out, including the region’s SWAT team, officers said. He was taken into custody about three hours later, and no weapon was found,

The Deschutes and Ochoco national forests and Crooked River National Grassland have lifted the temporary area closure on federal lands surrounding the Akawana Fire, sparked by lightning last week near Lake Billy Chinook. The approximately 50-acre closure of Oregon Department of Forestry-protected lands, Crooked River National Grassland and national forest lands on the Sisters Ranger

A long-time Prineville police chief was critically injured Monday night when his motorcycle collided with a deer on Highway 97 north of Terrebonne, Oregon State Police confirmed. The crash that injured James Soules, 65, was reported shortly before 9 p.m. at milepost 112, near Quincy Lane, said OSP Capt. Bill Fugate. Soules was conscious when

The Better Business Bureau serving the Northwest said Thursday it has received numerous reports of an email scam targeting small businesses across the country. In the past 24 days, BBBScam Tracker has received 23 reports from potential victims in the Northwest region. Here’s the rest of the BBB’s news release on the issue: This ploy

Central Oregon Veterans Outreach, Inc. is hosting the 2016 Veterans Stand Down and Community Resource Fair for Central Oregon onFriday, June 24. This event is open to everyone in our community that is homeless and/or low income, and is a one-stop area to connect with valuable resources from within our area. The Veteran Stand Down

After a successful Peanut Butter Drive, Robberson Ford in Bend and Prineville is donating approximately 4,374 40-ounce jars of peanut butter to NeighborImpact’s Emergency Food Assistance Program. Protein-rich foods such as peanut butter play an important role for NeighborImpact food program, especially in the summer months when many children lose access to school nutrition programs.

The Exhibitor/Premium Book for the 2016 Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo is now available. The premium book includes all of the rules and regulations pertaining to the fair and details for each of the exhibit categories. The Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo will be heldAugust 3-7. This year’s theme is “Fair, Fun and Friends.” There

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued a statement correcting CIA Director John Brennan’s inaccurate description of the foreign encryption market at Thursday’s open hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence: “It is clearly inaccurate to say that foreign encryption is a ‘theoretical’ capability,” the senator said. “Strong encryption technologies are available from foreign sourcestoday– half

Pacific Power made the decision some time last week to keep the Mirror Pond Dam after initially saying in 2013 it would divest itself of the century-old structure. After Pacific Power announced they wanted to get rid of the dam, the conversation over the future of Mirror Pond was sparked, wider than the earlier talks

The Bureau of Labor and Industries has published new minimum wage rules in preparation for a July minimum wage increase, the agency announced Wednesday. The rules will help employers calculate wages in circumstances such as a worker performing duties at a location other than the employer’s permanent location or working in multiple areas in the

Rock chucks are taking over downtown Redmond this summer. Twenty uniquely decorated rock chuck statues had their big reveal Wednesday evening, before being scattered throughout downtown businesses. The animal was chosen because they’re a staple in the area. “We thought it was kind of an iconic little animal that we see in Redmond all the

The City of Bend is seeking applicants for two positions on the Bend Economic Development Advisory Board. Bend Economic Development Advisory Board members are appointed for three-year terms to advise the City Council on economic development matters, facilitate entrepreneurial support among community resources, guide City marketing and outreach efforts to the business community and oversee

Beverly Jackson, professor of health information technology and director of the HIT program, has been selected as the 2016 recipient of Central Oregon Community College’s Faculty Achievement Award. Presented annually since 1986, the award recognizes excellence in teaching. “COCC has so many amazing instructors; I am truly honored to have received this award!” said Jackson.

Equine Outreach needs to raise more money to continue with its horse rescue operation. NewsChannel 21’s learned Wednesday the money is going to an increased rent, but the landlords are actually some of the rescue group’s board members. The property is owned by the nonprofit’s founder, Joan Steelhammer, and her husband, Gary Everett. After 10

Discover Your Forest would like to invite Central Oregon photographers to submit their photo representations of iconic Deschutes and Ochoco National Forest landscapes to be featured and auctioned off at a fundraising event in August. The second annual, “Stars Over Newberry” will be held on August 12 th . A casual event that will take