Month: October 2016

An Oregon Department of Corrections prison employee was arrested Wednesday by Oregon State Police on numerous charges of custodial sexual misconduct. OSP said it was notified by the corrections agency in February of potential misconduct by one of their staff members at the Coffee Creek Correctional Center in Wilsonville. DOC advised OSP they had received

The Redmond Municipal Airport will conduct a full response disaster drill Friday morning, officials said Thursday evening. The disaster drill will be held on RDM property inside the airfield fence and is not open to the public. The Federal Aviation Administration requires airports, of RDM’s size, to conduct realistic commercial passenger aircraft disaster training drills

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Malheur National Wildlife Refuge standoff defendant Shawna Cox took the witness stand in her own defense Thursday, becoming emotional as jurors watched a video of the traffic stop that ended with the death of occupation spokesman Robert “LaVoy” Finicum. In the video, Cox can be heard telling Finicum to “gun it”

The Humane Society of Central Oregon would like to offer some pet safety tips for the high winds expected in Central Oregon over the next few days. The Bend animal shelter said it is receiving calls about fences being blown over and pets escaping yards. Check and secure all fences and keep your pets inside

November represents National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, and – in commemoration – from Nov. 7 through Nov. 11, The Bloom Projec t will “Give Back to the Giver,” donating bouquets to the hard-working physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains and volunteers that provide care for hospice and palliative care patients. “Throughout the year, The Bloom

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Columbia County grand jury has indicted three people on aggravated murder charges in the death of a Portland woman. Sheriff Jeff Dickerson identified them as 28-year-old Jesse Lane of Medford, 29-year-old Charles Vernon of St. Helens and 20-year-old Stephanie Toney of St. Helens. They were arraigned Thursday at the courthouse

The 2016 Fire Season for lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry’s Central Oregon District will terminate at 12:01 a.m. Friday, the agency announced Thursday. Powerful winter storms are expected to cross central Oregon starting Thursday , bringing moisture and cooler conditions, reducing the risk of wildfire. “Reducing is the key word,” said Ben Duda,

BANDON, Ore. (AP) — A fisherman lost in the fog drove his boat onto a beach in Bandon. The Coos County Sheriff’s Office says 57-year-old David Brinsko of Reno, Nevada, was heading back Tuesday when he encountered fog so thick that he couldn’t see the mouth of the Coquille River. He tried to follow GPS

PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — Residents of a trailer park in eastern Oregon have been without clean drinking water for five months. Nancy Shaw, owner of Locust Mobile Village near Milton-Freewater, tells The East Oregonian (http://bit.ly/2dN0fvC ) that E. coli has been a problem in the park’s well for years and she is doing all she

The Oregon Department of Education released report cards Thursday for the state’s 1,239 schools and 197 school districts. Officials said the report cards serve as a tool for helping schools and districts share information on student demographics, performance on state assessments, student outcomes and educational programs. This year, however, schools did not receive an overall

STAYTON, Ore. (AP) — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office says a bicyclist died after getting hit by a minivan near Stayton. A spokesman says the minivan and bicycle were on Shaff Road, both heading eastbound in the rain before Thursday’s sunrise. The bicyclist wore dark clothing and the road has a very narrow shoulder and

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) — The Northwest’s first tribal eagle aviary is opening on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation. The Spokesman-Review reports (http://bit.ly/2dN8WGi ) that the Coeur d’Alene Tribe is partnering with the nonprofit Birds of Prey Northwest to create The House of the Bald Eagle for birds that have been injured and can’t survive

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon standoff figure Ryan Payne wants to withdraw his guilty plea. The Montana man admitted in July he conspired with others to prevent Interior Department employees from doing their jobs during the occupation of the Malheur National Wildfire Refuge. The U.S. attorney’s office in Oregon recommended that Payne’s expected prison sentence

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (AP) — A Springfield man who installed a large speaker on his rooftop and played a pro-hate message on loop has pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct. The Register-Guard reports (https://is.gd/vI8jSa ) Jimmy Marr entered the plea Wednesday during his initial court appearance. He reached a deal with prosecutors that will allow him

GARDINER, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say human bones found along the bank of the Umpqua River near the Oregon Coast Saturday were those of a woman. The Register-Guard reports (https://goo.gl/dsCVkY ) the woman was between 30 and 45 years at the time of her death. The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office says the woman died

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) –Portland police say they arrested 10 people who were protesting at City Hall over a new police contract that raised questions about the future use of body cameras and gives officers a pay raise. The Portland Police Bureau said in statement late Wednesday that protesters threw objects at officers both inside and

A 35-year-old Redmond man was arrested at Bend’s Sawyer Park last Friday afternoon, accused of trying to meet and have sex with a 15-year-old girl he’d sought to swap nude photos with online. Detectives who had stepped in and posed as the teen in text messages set up the meeting, where officers were waiting to

Workers at the Oregon Department of Human Services are largely proud of the work the agency does, but significant numbers of workers feel overworked, stressed, underpaid and under-supported in their jobs, according to an audit released Wednesday by the Secretary of State’s office. Using a work environment survey of DHS employees, state auditors identified seven

The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday vacated the 2012 conviction of a Bend man who’s in prison for raping a woman he met on a dating website, but the path ahead for a case that drew headlines for over a year is not totally set.. The appellate court said a judge erred in denying

Central Oregon haunt designer Sheri Stirewalt scares people for a living. But in her 11th season working for the Deschutes County Scaregrounds, she’s never seen this type of fright outside of the haunted house. “I’m just amazed that people would even think to do something like that,” Stirewalt said Wednesday. “Our environment here at the