Month: August 2016

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., wrote Tuesday to Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin to address the new system at the Social Security Administration that requires seniors receiving Social Security benefits to have a text-enabled cell phone in order to log into their online accounts. Merkley specifically asked for the new system to develop and implement an

The 2016 fire season is off to a promising start, in terms of far fewer acres of state-protected land going up in smoke, the Oregon Department of Forestry said Tuesday, while warning there’s still plenty of time for trouble — and a cause for concern. Following three consecutive prolific fire seasons, ODF said it is

Firefighters have made great success toward containing the Juntura Complex of three lightning-sparked wildfires in southeast Oregon, but better mapping, aided by aircraft and on the ground technology, has increased their overall size to 24,301 acres, officials said late Tuesday. After aerial mapping, the size of the Simmons Gulch fire has increased to 11,362 acres.

The city of Bend is rebuilding the roundabout at Northeast Franklin Avenue and 8 th /9 th Street, prompting about two weeks of detours, starting next Monday. City officials said Tuesday the project will be completed by Sept. 2, before school starts. During construction, the roundabout will be closed and detours marked (see the map

The American Red Cross on Tuesday urged blood donors to give in the final weeks of summer to help overcome a critical summer blood shortage. The summer months are among the most challenging times of years to collect enough blood and platelet donations to meet patient needs. Many regular donors delay giving while they take

A 30-year-old paddleboarder who came to the rescue of a woman who was struggling in the Deschutes River near the dangerous Newport Avenue Bridge spillway said Monday he doesn’t consider himself a hero, just “somebody trying to help somebody out.” Bend police hailed Tanner Boslau as a hero for coming to the aid of a

A Sweet Home woman was killed Monday afternoon when her pickup truck left U.S. Highway 20 and overturned, Oregon State Police reported. OSP troopers and emergency personnel responded around 2 p.m. to the reported single-vehicle crash near milepost 23, five miles west of Sweet Home, said OSP Captain Bill Fugate. A preliminary investigation found a

A Salem man was killed on Highway 126 near Belknap Springs Sunday afternoon when an oncoming vehicle came into his lane and he lost control trying to avoid a collision, Oregon State Police reported. A preliminary investigation found that around 2:30 p.m., a vehicle was heading east on the highway at milepost 19 near Belknap

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel announced Monday he’d determined that no crime was committed when a La Pine woman left her older sister’s body in her bed in the home they shared until it was discovered five months later. An autopsy determined that Christine Freise, 63, died last November of natural causes at the

The Deschutes Land Trust and Upper Deschutes Watershed Council announced Monday the start of a major, multi-year stream restoration project at the land trust’s Whychus Canyon Preserve, along a six-mile stretch of Whychus Creek. Restoration will begin on the northernmost mile of Whychus Creek at the Preserve and will improve habitat in and around the

Family members of a Portland college student who disappeared in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness Area nearly two weeks ago after official search efforts exhausted all leads and were suspended over the weekend. Acting on a tip provided by a private helicopter pilot who is assisting the Riley Zickel family in their search efforts, the Marion

Youwill see it at this summer’s Oregon State Fair. It will also be on display atthis week’s Deschutes County Fair and the one next week in Crook County. It’spossible you might notice ittraveling down the highway as a kind of billboardon wheels. The Invasive Species Education Station is the new name given to anew look

Redmond police have turned to the public for any leads to help find a man who apparently tried to abduct a 5-year-old boy from his family at the Deschutes County Fair early Sunday morning. Officers responded around 12:18 a.m. to the fairgrounds on Southwest Airport Way to investigate the reported kidnap attempt, said Lt. Jesse

The Bureau of Land Management’s Vale District reported Monday it is fighting several fires from Baker to Malheur County. In total, more than 20 fires were sparked in the district over the weekend, most caused by lightning. The largest of the new fires is the Simmons Fire, located about 15 miles east of Juntura, just

Bethlehem Inn announced Monday an urgent need for food in support of its Emergency Meal Program, saying the shelter’s pantries and freezers are bare. The following items are needed to help replenish supplies: lunch meat, sliced cheese; canned soups, canned tuna and chicken, peanut butter, jelly, spaghetti sauce, noodles and coffee/creamer are among the foods

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans in his or her golden years is still working, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Twenty years ago, only about one in eight Americans older than 65 was working. Adam Davis, founder of DHM Research in Portland, has surveyed the older population on the desire to keep working, and

Amid progress on the lines of the Bybee Creek Fire, Crater Lake National Park lifted the Level 1 evacuation notice for Rim Village and Park Headquarters on Sunday morning for the first time in a week. Also, the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail within the park, including the alternate route along the Rim

A new analysis suggests that massive earthquakes on northern sections of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, affecting areas of the Pacific Northwest that are more heavily populated, are somewhat more frequent than has been believed in the past. The chance of one occurring within the next 50 years is also slightly higher than previously estimated. The

Cascade Natural Gas crews working on the Bend Westside Replacement Project have completed the heavy work on the stretch of Northwest Broadway Street between Tumalo and Colorado avenues. Now, they will begin tying in residential gas services to the new replaced gas lines. Look for CNG crews digging in the alleys, starting at Broadway and

Three teens were taken to hospitals early Saturday, including a Redmond 18-year-old arrested for DUII and reckless driving in a rollover crash south of Redmond, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. One or two other passengers may have fled the scene before deputies arrived, they added as they sought the public’s help in finding them to