Month: September 2016

Debate season is upon us, and presidential debate watch parties in Central Oregon Monday night were as spirited as the candidates. Hillary Clinton supporters gathered at her campaign headquarters in Bend. “Hillary is doing great. She’s addressing actual issues, and how they relate to me and my Central Oregon neighbors,” said Lisa Pierce. Donald Trump

Oregon’s sheriffs and police chiefs announced Monday they will support changes in state laws to make user-amount drug possession charges misdemeanors, not felonies, as long as there is mandated treatment. Their stance drew praise from Oregon’s attorney general. Here’s the full joint statement from the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association and Oregon Association Chiefs of Police:

A federal lawsuit regarding Edwin Mays’ death in the Deschutes County Jail in December 2014 has been revised to seek a larger amount – $16.6 million — while dropping four defendants and adding two — then-jail commander, now-Sheriff Shane Nelson and Lt. Robert Trono. The revised wrongful death lawsuit also seeks a court order (preliminary

On Monday evening, the Crook County Sheriff is hosting the first of seven public meetings to lay out his case for voters to back a bond measure that will pay for a new jail. Sheriff John Gautney said there are nearly 100 people on a list waiting to serve their jail sentence, and crowding is

A Bend man was recovering at home Monday from injuries suffered in a fall while hiking on the northeast side of Broken Top Sunday morning, prompting an hours-long rescue effort. According to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Douglas Amend, 54, of Bend, was hiking with two friends earlier but chose to continue by himself, attempting

A garage fire spread and destroyed a southeast Bend home late Sunday afternoon, with booms heard over a wide area likely from tires exploding, officials said. The fire also destroyed a car and a boat, but there were no injuries and neighbors helped residents and pets evacuate safely. Firefighters responded at 4:47 p.m. to the

A fire that broke out in a shop northeast of Redmond spread quickly and heavily damaged an adjacent manufactured home Saturday afternoon, but a passing family who spotted the blaze alerted residents napping inside, authorities said. The fire also sparked a brushfire that crews from several agencies contained. There were no injuries, but eight people

A crash on Highway 97 in Redmond Saturday evening sent two people to the hospital with injuries, one by helicopter, and tied up traffic, police said. An initial investigation determined that the driver of a 2012 Honda SUV was stopped in the turn lane to turn left into the Taco Bell parking lot near Veterans

Fire managers on the Ochoco National Forest plan to take advantage of recent precipitation to ignite two prescribed burns next week. Recent moisture coupled with cooler temperatures has created an opportunity to achieve a beneficial, low intensity burn within two planned burn units. The Rush Springs burn unit is approximately 320 acres, located about 15

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said Friday he’s launched an online community survey in an effort to better understand residents’ perceptions on crime and public safety. The survey is part of a larger effort being spearheaded by the DA’s community-based advisory panel, DeschutesSafe, to analyze, assess and supplement current crime prevention programs. An invitation

Workers under contract with Knife River Corp. will be closing the north and southbound fast lanes on the Highway 97 Lava Butte project starting Monday for installation of the median barrier, ODOT reported Friday. These lanes will be closed 24 hours a day for the duration of the installation project. ODOT highway managers anticipate that

One of five teens convicted in a Redmond-area woman’s brutal murder 15 years ago received a new life sentence Thursday in a Deschutes County courtroom — this time with the possibility of parole in 15 years, having served 30 years. Justin Link, now 33, was sentenced by the same judge — Circuit Judge Alta Brady

A Bend woman is among a dozen owed thousands of dollars after a surrogacy center in the Portland area suddenly shut down. After the business shut down in April, a judge ordered Jeri Chambers, the owner of The Greatest Gift Surrogacy Center, to pay more than $173,000. Chambers admitted taking money from people who were

Oregon farmworkers are joining advocates across the nation to petition the Environmental Protection Agency, calling on them to ban the use of a toxic pesticide called chlorpyrifos. The feds banned home use of the insecticide in 2000, but have allowed use on farms to treat crops such as apples, nuts, and corn, and it is

With the cost of housing squeezing family budgets across the country, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released draft legislation Thursday that would create a new tax credit to spur the development of rental homes affordable to Americans with moderate incomes. The new incentive, called the Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit (MIHTC) is carefully

Crook County School District announced Thursday that lead testing found “the water supply in our school facilities is safe for our students, staff and community members.” “Recent testing showed that water from 130 of the 131 drinking fountains and food service faucets falls within state guidelines for lead, according to the Oregon Department of Education

In Week 3 of our suicide prevention campaign, Let’s Talk, we are continuing to talk about suicide from a parent’s perspective. The pain of losing your child never goes away, just like the love for your child. It’s that love that inspires most suicide survivors to continue the conversation. “I knew that I had a

A car went over the center line and collided head-on with a semi-truck on Highway 97 south of Madras Wednesday evening, seriously injuring two people in the car, closing the highway for eight hours and bringing police, medics and a Life Flight helicopter to the scene, authorities said. Oregon State Police Trooper Jess Oliver said

With consistently cooler nights, reduced fire activity around the Northwest and fewer human-caused wildfires of late, fire restrictions are being eased on public lands around the High Desert. The Prineville District of the Bureau of Land Management, the Deschutes and Ochoco national forests and the Crooked River National Grassland are lifting campfire and smoking restrictions

The Bend City Council gave its final approval to the Urban Growth Boundary plan Wednesday night, a unanimous vote on a short, positive agenda item the city hopes means a smooth path to a nod from the state.. The plan, scaled back from one the state rejected years ago, also drew support from Central Oregon