Month: July 2016

NeighborImpact’s Energy Assistance program announced Monday a new summer energy assistance program specifically for electric bills. Even if households have already received assistance for their winter heating bills, they may be eligible for another payment through the summer program, the agency said. Area residents are encouraged to call 541-504-2155 to set up an appointment in

Three fires in the Culver area kept Jefferson County Fire District No.1 crews busy on Sunday, two that threatened homes and other structures and a third that destroyed a barn full of hay, causing $710,000 in losses, officials said. The first fire was reported shortly before 11 a.m., burning in juniper and grass on Southwest

Oregon’s 74 delegates in Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention could be met by hundreds of anti-poverty protesters on the convention’s opening day. The Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign is holding the “March for Our Lives” demonstration in Philadelphia on Monday. Former Green Party vice presidential candidate and organizer of the march, Cheri Honkala,

Firefighters expect full containment Monday of a blaze that has burned about 33,500 acres of grass and brush nine miles northwest of Condon in Gilliam County. Firefighters spent Sunday improving fire line on the Scott Canyon Fire and mopping up hot spots, officials said. With lines holding through Sunday afternoon winds, the 33,587-acre fire was

Two motorcyclists on Skyliners Road west of Bend were injured Sunday morning when a driver pulled out of a driveway into their path and the two motorcycles collided with her SUV, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies and Bend Fire medics responded around 10:15 a.m. to the reported crash near milepost 8.5 on Skyliners Road,

More than 250 Oregon Army National Guard soldiers with 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment, are scheduled to mobilize to Romania this week with the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team to participate in Saber Guardian 2016, a multinational military training exercise. Exercise Saber Guardian 2016 will be held from July 27 to August 7 at the

Early Sunday , Bend sixth-grader Lily Sweet leaves Portland for Purdue University in Indiana, where she will represent Oregon at the national Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador Summit. As Oregon’s 2016-2017 Fuel Up to Play 60 State Ambassador, she will attend with students from other states, program advisors and professional athletes from the

The city of Bend encourages Bend area residents to attend an upcoming community open house to learn about the city’s Urban Growth Boundary Remand project. The focus of this meeting is to provide information about the recommendations for the proposed UGB expansion and related plans, policies and codes that will be considered for adoption by

According to the ASPCA, over 7.5 million animals end up in shelters every year. A one day, coast-to-coast pet adoption drive Saturday tried to do part to “Clear the Shelters,” with the local assist of three shelters and NewsChannel 21. The 2015 Clear the Shelter drive resulted in almost 20,000 animals being adopted nationwide, and

After two years of low bottle-return rates, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has followed a legislative dictate and will boost the bottle deposit amount from five to 10 cents next April. Here’s the OLCC’s annoouncement At their monthly meeting this week, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission reviewed statewide beverage container redemption data from the past

Anyone on a rental hunt in Bend right now knows how tough, and expensive, it can be. “There is virtually no housing here for rent. If you can find something, grab it immediately, because it is a very, very tight market. Rent prices have skyrocketed in the last three to five years. Basically anywhere from

A rumor is sending people to dangerous places to try and catch elusive Pokemon with the extremely popular new smartphone game Pokemon Go. “There are rumors out there that say, ‘Hey, go near substations’ power lines, transformers to find them.’ And that’s really not safe for people to do,” Courtney Linville, communication coordinator for Central

After months of investigation and case reviews, federal prosecutors have charged an Oregon State Police Crime Lab analyst with stealing pills from evidence at facilities in Bend and Pendleton over a period of more than 18 months. The charging document, called an “information,” filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland charges Nika Larsen with

Summer is finally heating up. And while this is great news for outdoor enthusiasts, fire officials want to remind everyone that the summer heat could lead to careless wildfires. “Preventing wildfires and wildfire safety is everyone’s responsibility,” said Oregon State Fire Marshal Jim Walker. “I encourage citizens to join their neighbors in reducing the wildfire

Voters in Bend could be deciding this November on yet another tax, this time on recreational marijuana. Starting next year, cities across the state are allowed to ask voters for a up to a 3 percent sales tax on recreational marijuana sales. Currently, the state’s recreational marijuana sales tax is at 25 percent. The tax

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., issued the following statement after the news that the NBA will move their 2017 All-Star game out of North Carolina in response to the state’s passage of HB2, legislation that sanctions discrimination against the LGBT community: “I applaud the NBA for standing up for the values of diversity, equality, and inclusion,

A packed room in Bend’s City Hall Thursday showed how much the community cares about whether or not a city climate action plan is a step forward. Business leaders objected earlier this year when an ordinance was proposed to spell out community-wide goals reducing carbon emissions. The proposal was revised to focus solely on setting

Central Oregon drug agents conducted a high-risk, guns-drawn traffic stop in a parking lot near Mt. Hood this week, arresting a man and woman from southwest Washington and seizing more than 2 pounds of methamphetamine agents said was being brought to Central Oregon. Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team detectives stopped a Mitsubishin Eclipse and made

Two recent overnight burglaries of a business at the Madras Industrial Park led to a raid on a mobile home and the arrest of four people – one in those crimes and three others on drug charges, police said Thursday. Police responded on July 12 and again a week later to a business off Wescott

A mountain biker from Boise was injured in a crash in the Phil’s Trail Complex west of Bend on Thursday, prompting a rescue effort and a flight to St. Charles Bend for treatment, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Deschutes County 911 dispatchers got a call around 11:40 a.m. from Jeff Frechette, 46, reporting that his